Patent ID: 7159907

Claim:
A jam-resistant door latch assembly for vehicles, comprising: an outside lever adapted to move up or down in response to the actuation of an outside door handle or an inside door handle; a release lever operating in cooperation with the outside lever in such a manner as to rotate in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction in response to the upward or downward movement of the outside lever so as to allow the engagement or disengagement of a door latch assembly against or from a striker fixed to a vehicle body to be selectively performed upon the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the outside lever; a lock lever adapted to push the outside lever rightward while not rotating the release lever in a counterclockwise direction in response to the actuation of the outside door handle or the inside door handle upon the clockwise directional rotation so as to allow the door latch assembly to move to a latched position and to push the outside lever leftward while rotating the release lever in a counterclockwise direction in response to the actuation of the outside door handle or the inside door handle upon the counterclockwise directional rotation thereof so as to allow the door latch assembly to be moved to an unlatched position; and a jam-releasing lever of a linkage structure pivotally mounted between a central portion of the outside lever and the lock lever, and adapted to resiliently pull the outside lever upon the switching of the lock lever to an unlatched position of the door latch assembly, whereby a pressing end of the outside lever escapes from overlapping with the release lever in response to the actuation of the outside door handle or the inside door handle after a jam occurs between the outside lever and the release lever, and simultaneously the jam-releasing lever pivots resiliently while pulling the outside lever leftward, at which time when a driver or passenger re-actuates the outside door handle or the inside door handle, the outside lever is moved to actuate the release lever to a normal unlatched position of the door latch assembly to thereby open the door.