Patent ID: 8622443

Claim:
An actuating device, particularly for a vehicle lock, comprising: a lever, pivotally movable between two positions, the lever having a first interaction surface and a second interaction surface; a gear, selectively rotatable about a gear axis; and a cam connected to the gear via a lost motion connection, rotatable about a cam axis, having a pair of cam arms for actuating the lever, wherein rotation of the cam from a first position to a second position drives one of the cam arms to pivot the lever by engagement of the said one of the cam arms with the first interaction surface, and wherein when the cam is in the second position the other of the two cam arms engages the second interaction surface which prevents the rotation of the cam beyond the second position, wherein the cam is drivable from the first position to the second position by the gear through the lost motion connection, wherein the cam rotates about the cam axis against greater frictional resistance than the gear rotating about the gear axis, such that, upon a release of a force on the gear to drive the other of the two cam arms into engagement with the second interaction surface, a resulting bounceback of the cam and gear drives the gear to rotate through a greater angle than the cam rotates through, resulting in some lost motion between the gear and the cam.