Patent ID: 8333414

Claim:
A vehicle door latch device comprising: a latch which is attachable to a door of a vehicle and which is rotatable while engaging a striker provided in a vehicle body; a pawl which is rotatable between a latched position where the pawl restricts a rotation of the latch to hold the door in a closed position and an unlatched position where the pawl permits the rotation of the latch; a pawl biasing member which biases the pawl to the latched position; a motor which starts rotating in response to operation of a door opening operating portion provided in the door, the rotation of the motor producing rotational power in either one direction of the motor or a different direction of the motor; a release power transmitting unit operatively connected to the pawl and which transmits the rotational power in one direction of the motor to the pawl and rotates the pawl from the latched position to the unlatched position, wherein the pawl is rotationally driven from the latched position to the unlatched position by the rotational power of the motor in response to the operation of the door opening operating portion, thereby allowing the door to be opened, a motor-side rotation board, a relay rotation board, and a pawl-side rotation board which are provided in the release power transmitting unit, and which are rotatably supported about a common rotation board rotating pivot; a pivot penetration long hole which is formed only in the relay rotation board among the three rotation boards, which allows the rotation board rotating pivot to pass therethrough, and which allows the relay rotation board to be linearly moved in a direction orthogonal to the rotation board rotating pivot; a first canceling mechanism which in a state where the relay rotation board is arranged in a power transmission position at one end of a linear movable range thereof, connects the motor-side rotation board, the relay rotation board, and the pawl-side rotation board together to be rotatable integrally to one another, thereby allowing the rotational power in one direction of the motor to be transmitted in an order of the motor-side rotation board, the relay rotation board, the pawl-side rotation board and the pawl, and in a state where the relay rotation board is arranged in a power shutoff position at another end of the linear movable range, cancels the connecting, thereby allowing the motor-side rotation board and the pawl-side rotation board to be individually rotatable, and divides the transmission of power from the motor to the pawl, between the motor-side rotation board and the relay rotation board or between the relay rotation board and the pawl-side rotation board; and a cancel operating portion is arranged at a position which faces an operating hole for emergency formed in the door, and which causes the relay rotation board to move to the power shutoff position from the power transmission position by a manual operation to the cancel operating portion when the motor is stopped in a state where the pawl is disposed in the unlatched position.