Patent ID: 7387004

Claim:
A lock assembly for a mobile part of a vehicle body such as a hatch or door, the lock assembly comprising a lock for securing the mobile part in a closed position with respect to a stationary part of the vehicle body; a rotatable lock cylinder and a key for insertion in the lock cylinder, wherein, when turned in an emergency situation, the key rotates the lock cylinder and moves the lock between an unlocking position and a locking position; a handle mounted on the mobile part, wherein the handle is operatively configured to pivot in a plane extending perpendicularly to the vehicle body; the handle being movable between a closed position in which the handle is flush with the vehicle body and protects the lock cylinder and an outwardly-pivoted position in which the handle can be gripped manually for opening the mobile part; the lock cylinder being accessible by the key when the lock cylinder is in the outwardly-pivoted position and the key can be actuated by rotation in the emergency situation for shifting the lock between the locking position and the unlocking position; the lock cylinder being mounted on a rear surface of the handle so that the lock cylinder and the handle form a combination, the combination being a structural unit pivotably movable between the closed position and the outwardly-pivoted position; the lock cylinder being arranged to point toward an interior of the mobile part when the combination is in the closed position; a rotating coupler with a rotating coupler element configured to rotate along with the lock cylinder when the lock cylinder is rotated by the key, the rotating coupler element being mounted on the combination; the rotating coupler having a stationary opposing element mounted at a defined location on the mobile part so as to act on the lock; in the closed position of the combination, the stationary opposing element is uncoupled from the rotating coupler element, and, in the outwardly-pivoted position of the combination, the stationary opposing element is in rotating engagement with the rotating coupler element; the stationary opposing element of the rotating coupler is arranged in a vertical plane in which the rotating coupler element moves during a coupling movement of the combination; and the rotating coupler element having a coupling point that engages during a last phase of the outward-pivoting movement of the combination with an opposing coupling point of the stationary opposing element.