Patent ID: 7819442

Claim:
An apparatus for opening and closing a vehicle door, comprising: a door handle on an outer surface of the vehicle door for performing an opening and closing operation of the vehicle door from outside the vehicle; an operation detector comprising an unlock operation detector for detecting an intention of a user to unlock the vehicle door and a lock operation detector for detecting an intention of the user to lock the vehicle door, an electric control means for recognizing the intention of the user to lock or unlock the vehicle door and controlling the locking or unlocking of the vehicle door; and a light-emitting part positioned on the door handle and energized by the electric control means, the light-emitting part including a housing, first and second LEDs positioned on opposed ends of the housing and an ornamental light part covering the second LED, wherein the first LED is oriented to emit a light in a direction toward the vehicle door when the user's intention is to unlock the vehicle door, the second LED is oriented opposite to the first LED to emit a light in a direction away from the vehicle door when the user's intention is to lock the vehicle door, the ornamental light part encloses a periphery of the lock operation detector, and the light emitted from the second LED passes through the ornamental light part to allow the user to visually recognize an invitation to operate the lock operation detector for locking the vehicle door and a subsequent establishment of the locked state of the vehicle door, and the lock operation detector is located in the housing as an integrated module with the light-emitting part and the unlock operation detector is located on the door handle outside the housing.