Patent ID: 7182392

Claim:
A door latch device for a vehicle rear door of having a front panel adjacently opposed to a rear panel of a vehicle front door in a substantially parallel condition when the front door is moved to a door closed position with respect to a vehicle body, the door latch device comprising: an upper latch unit provided at an upper part of the rear door for engagement with an upper striker fixed onto the vehicle body; a lower latch unit provided at a lower part of the rear door for engagement with a lower striker fixed onto the vehicle body; a base plate secured on the rear door; a ratchet release lever pivotally mounted on the base plate by a first shaft, said ratchet release lever having a first arm extending in a radial direction of the first shaft and connected to the upper latch unit through a first connecting means and a second arm extending in a radial direction of the first shaft and connected to the lower latch unit through a second connecting means, and said ratchet release lever being removable of the engagement between the upper and lower latch units and the upper and lower strikers respectively when rotated from a standby position to a release position; an open lever connected to an open handle of the rear door and pivotally mounted on the base plate by the first shaft; a sliding pin movable between an engaged position in which the open lever is linked to the ratchet release lever and a disengaged position in which the open lever is not linked to the ratchet release lever; a detective lever pivotally mounted on the rear door for rotation when abutted with the rear panel of the front door in association with closing of the rear door; and a lock lever pivotally mounted on the base plate by a second shaft and connected to the detective lever by a third connecting means; wherein said lock lever moves from an unlocked position to a locked position when the detective lever is rotated as a result of abutment with the rear panel; wherein said lock lever is constructed in a manner in which the lock lever shifts the sliding pin to the engaged position when the lock lever is in the unlocked position and the lock lever shifts the sliding pin to the disengaged position when the lock lever is in the locked position; and wherein said sliding pin is slidably mounted in a slot which is formed on the first arm or the second arm and extends in a radial direction of the first shaft.