Patent ID: 7475920

Claim:
An automotive door lock for releasably engaging a striker ( 4 ), said door lock comprising: a supporting body ( 2 ); a fork ( 6 ) pivotally coupled to said supporting body ( 2 ) for pivotal movement between a lock position engaging the striker ( 4 ) and a release position allowing withdrawal of the striker ( 4 ); a pawl ( 7 ) pivotally coupled to said supporting body ( 2 ) for engaging said fork ( 6 ) to releasably retain said fork ( 6 ) in said lock position; a control lever ( 18 ) pivotally coupled to said supporting body ( 2 ) for interacting with said pawl ( 7 ), said control lever ( 18 ) is loaded elastically into a rest position and can be set to a work position engaging said pawl ( 7 ) and pivoting said pawl ( 7 ) to disengage from said fork ( 6 ) thereby allowing said fork ( 6 ) to pivot to said release position; and an actuating member ( 31 ) by a drive mechanism ( 23 , 30 ) movable by a drive mechanism ( 23 , 30 ) along an axis (D) and including a projection ( 35 ) interacting with said control lever ( 18 ) and extending radially with respect to said axis (D), wherein said actuating member ( 31 ) is selectively activated to perform a first translational movement along said axis (D) to move said control lever ( 18 ) in a forward movement from said rest position to said work position when said actuating member ( 31 ) is set to a first configuration, and wherein said actuating member ( 31 ) is guided by an elastic member ( 34 ) to perform a second translational movement along said axis (D), opposite to said first translational movement, during a return movement of said control lever ( 18 ) to said rest position when said actuating member ( 31 ) is set to a second configuration in which said actuating member ( 31 ) is disconnected from said control lever ( 18 ) to minimize the time taken to complete said return movement.