Patent ID: 8353542

Claim:
A closure latch for a vehicle door, comprising: a ratchet movable between an open position and a closed position; a ratchet biasing member positioned to bias the ratchet towards the open position; a pawl movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the pawl holds the ratchet in the closed position and a ratchet release position wherein the pawl permits the ratchet to move to the open position; a pawl biasing member positioned to bias the pawl towards the ratchet locking position; an inside door release lever movable between a home position wherein the inside door release lever permits movement of the pawl to the ratchet locking position, and a pawl release position wherein the inside door release lever moves the pawl to the ratchet release position; an inside door release lever biasing member positioned to bias the inside door release lever towards the home position: a lock link movable between an unlocked position wherein the lock link operatively connects an outside door release lever and the pawl, and a locked position wherein the lock link operatively disconnects the outside door release lever and the pawl; a lock link biasing member positioned to bias the lock link towards the unlocked position; a lock lever movable between a locked position wherein the lock lever moves the lock link to the locked position, and an unlocked position wherein the lock lever permits the lock link to move to the unlocked position; a lock lever biasing member that is configured to bias the lock lever towards both the locked and unlocked positions; an inertia member movable between a home position wherein the inertia member permits the lock link to be in the unlocked position, and an actuated position wherein the inertia member moves the lock link to the locked position, wherein the inertia member is movable to the actuated position by an actuation force that is at least a selected value acting in a selected direction on the vehicle door; and an inertia member biasing member positioned to bias the inertia member towards the home position; wherein a crash event that generates the actuation force initiates movement of the inertia member to the actuated position and movement of the lock lever to the locked position; wherein a reduction in force below the actuation force permits movement of the inertia member to the home position under bias by the inertia member biasing member, and wherein the lock lever remains in the locked position.