Doerr, William M. (Farmington, MI)
Cowie, Gene O. (Madison Heights, MI)
Vance, Claude E. (Hazel Park, MI)

04/837522

06/01/1971

06/30/1969

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Chrysler Corporation (Highland Park, MI)

292/36

292/150, 292/167

E05C9/04; E05C9/00; E05C9/16; E05C1/06; E05C1/12

292/34,36,37,40,139,140,143,167J,ILDD,M,V,CO,150

Champion, Marvin A.

Wolfe, Robert L.

We claim

1. A latching mechanism for a pair of doors swingably mounted on a vehicle body for movement about vertical hinge axes between open positions allowing access to the interior of said body and closed positions in which the unhinged vertical door edges are in opposed, face to face relation, said latching mechanism comprising:

2.

3. a fully latched position in which said one bolt end projects a relatively large distance beyond said horizontal edge for relatively deep latching coaction with said vehicle body, and

4. an open position in which said bolt end is withdrawn from a position of latching coaction with said vehicle body;

5. an intermediate latched position in which said one end of said bolt projects a relatively small distance beyond a horizontal edge of said one door for relatively shallow latching coaction with said vehicle body,

6. a fully latched position in which said one bolt end projects a relatively large distance beyond said horizontal edge for relatively deep latching coaction with said vehicle body, and

7. an open position in which said one bolt end is withdrawn from a position of latching coaction with said vehicle body;

8. A latching mechanism according to claim 2 wherein

9. A latching mechanism according to claim 3 wherein

10. A latching mechanism according to claim 4 wherein

11. A latching mechanism according to claim 2 wherein

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to latching mechanisms for motor vehicle cargo doors of the "double" or opposed type. A latching mechanism for double cargo doors may typically consists of a vertical slide bolt latch system for one door, whereby that door may be positively coupled at top and bottom to the vehicle body at the sill and header, and coacting latch means at the vertical interface of the two door whereby the second door may be latched to the slide bolt door. The slide bolt door typically includes an interior handle to control the slide bolts and the other door typically includes inner and outer handles to operate the coacting latch means between the doors. Although several cargo door latching mechanism constructions are available and/or in actual use, all of the known constructions have one or more disadvantages. Some are of the "dead bolt" rather than the "live bolt" type so that the slide bolt door will not automatically latch when swung to a closed position. Others, while of the live bolt type, permit promiscuous movement of the interior handle on the slide bolt door and/or dispose this interior handle in a projectory, unsafe position at various times during the normal use of the door. Others require awkward and time consuming actuation of the inside slam bolt handle to move the bolts to their fully latched position after the slam bolt door has been closed. Others allow the slide bolts of the slide bolt door to be withdrawn without first opening the other door, thereby allowing children positioned within the moving vehicle to dispose the doors in an "ajar" condition even though the doors are theoretically "locked."

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cargo door latching mechanism which eliminates the disadvantages of the known latching mechanisms.

A more specific object is to provide a cargo door latching mechanism in which the slide bolt door cannot be unlatched until the other door has been opened.

Another object is to provide a cargo door latching mechanism of the "live bolt" type in which the slide bolt door is automatically disposed in its fully latched position in response to closing of the cargo doors.

Yet another object is to provide a cargo door latching mechanism of the live bolt type in which the slide bolt actuating handle is at all times maintained in a safe, out of the way position.

In the latching mechanism of the invention, the slide bolts are mounted on the slide bolt door for selective movement between an intermediate or "slam" position, a fully latched position, and an open position. The slam and fully latched positions are detented, and spring means resiliently resist movement of the bolts from the detented intermediate position toward the open position. A striker member projects from the unhinged vertical edge wall of the other door for coaction with an actuating member which is carried by the slide bolt door and is drivingly connected to the slide bolts. When the slide bolt door is closed, the bolts automatically assume the "slam" position and when the other door is thereafter swung to a closed position, the striker pin on that door picks up the bolt actuating lever on the slide bolt door and drives the slide bolts to their fully latched position.

The latching mechanism further includes a handle member on the slide bolt door which has a one-way driving connection with the slide bolts so that the handle may be pivoted in one direction to withdraw the bolts but is freely movable in the opposite direction relative to the bolts. The handle member has a separate spring constantly urging it for movement in its free wheeling direction so that, when the handle member is released after being actuated to withdraw the bolts, the bolt spring returns the bolts to their detented slam position but the handle spring returns the handle member all the way to its fully latched position.

The handle member drives the bolts through the bolt actuating member and, with the slide bolts in fully latched position, the striker member blocks movement of the actuating member in a bolt withdrawing direction. The handle member thus cannot be actuated to withdraw the bolts until the other door has been opened.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a motor vehicle employing double cargo doors;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the latch parts in a different position;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken on lines 6-6 and 7-7, respectively, of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 8 in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The motor vehicle of FIG. 1 is a commercial vehicle having double cargo doors 10, 12 on the curb side of the vehicle. Similar double cargo doors (not seen) are provided at the rear of the vehicle. Cargo doors 10 and 12 are pivoted at their remote vertical edges about vertical hinge axes defined by hinge pairs 14 and 16, respectively. Door 10 is latched to the vehicle body by a pair of upper and lower slide bolts 18 and 20 engaging respectively in the header 21 and sill 22. Door 12 is latched to door 10 by coacting latch means 24, 26 of any known form provided at the vertical interface of the doors. Latch means 24, 26 are controlled in known manner by an outside handle 28 on door 12 and an inside handle (not shown) on the inside of door 12.

Slide bolts 18, 20 have a compound or articulated construction. Upper slide bolt 18 is best seen in FIG. 2; lower slide bolt 20 will be understood to have a similar construction. Bolt 18 includes an upper link portion 18a pivotally secured by pivot pin 18b to a lower link portion 18c. Upper link portion 18a slideably guides in a U-shaped bracket 30 welded to the inner skin 32 of door 10. The upper tip end 18d of link portion 18a project through an aperture 34 in the upper horizontal edge wall 36 of door 10 and has a cam tip surface 18e for camming coaction with header 38. Tip end 18d is adapted to be slideably received in a socket 40 provided in header 38.

Slide bolts 18, 20 are controlled by a handle 40, seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Handle 40 includes a paddle portion 42 and an arm portion 44 freely journaled on a horizontal shaft 46. Shaft 46 is journaled in a bracket 47 secured to the interior face of a door inner panel 49 secured to and reinforcing the vertical edge wall 48 of door 10. A torsion spring 50 wraps around shaft 46 with one spring end 50a received at 52 in a hole in handle arm portion 44 and the other spring end 50b bearing against a door flange 48a formed as a bent over portion of edge wall 48. Spring 50 constantly biases handle 40 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. Flange 48a is stepped inwardly at 48b and then is bent over again to terminate in hem flange 48c. Edge wall 48 is bent over at the inside of door 10 to form inner door skin 32. Outer door skin 54 is welded to and wraps around door flange portions 48a and 48b to reinforce these portions.

Handle arm portion 44 includes a lug 54 coacting with a bolt actuating lever 56. Lever 56 includes a hub portion 58 fixed to the end of shaft 46 by splines 60 and a setscrew 62, an extension portion 64 extending into the space 66 between the edge wall 48 of door 10 and edge wall 68 of door 12, and a finger portion 70 at the end of extension portion 64 projecting generally downwardly within space 66 at a location longitudinally beyond hem flange 48c. A striker pin 72 secured to edge wall 68 projects into space 66 for coaction with finger portion 70 of actuator lever 56. It will be seen that shaft 46 may be rotated either by clockwise movement (as viewed in FIG. 2) of handle 42 or by engagement of striker 72 with actuator finger portion 70.

Rotary movement of shaft 46 is translated into selective reciprocal movement of slide bolts 18, 20 by a retractor assembly, seen generally at 74 in FIGS. 4--8, mounted on bracket 47. Bracket 47 includes upper and lower mounting flanges 74, 76 secured to door edge wall 48 by nuts 77 threaded on screw bolts 78 welded to reinforcement panel 49, and a central or bridge portion 79 which journals shaft 46 and is canted (FIG. 3) with respect to edge wall 48 to provide a shaft journal axis which is generally parallel to the vehicle centerline. A spacer 80 is positioned on shaft 46 between bracket bridge portion 79 and handle spring 50.

Retractor assembly 74 includes a detent cam plate 81, upper retractor arm 82, and lower retractor arm 84. Cam plate 81, upper retractor arm 82, and lower retractor arm 84 are stacked up in that order on a diametrically enlarged, flat sided key portion 46a of shaft 46 with cam plate 81 juxtaposed to bracket bridge portion 79 and a spacer 86 and lock washer 88 interposed between cam plate 81 and retractor arm 82. Cam plate 81 is keyed to a shift key portion 46a and includes two detent flats 81a and 81b which coact with an arm portion 90a of square section torsion spring 90 to define and detent selected positions of the retractor assembly and slide bolts. Spring 90 winds around a headed pin 92 fixed to bracket bridge portion 79 with the tip end of arm portion 90a guiding in a slot 94 formed in an upturned edge tab 79a struck from bracket bridge portion 79 and the other spring end 90b bearing against a tab 79b struck from bridge portion 79.

Retractor arms 82 and 84 are each provided with generally figure eight central cutouts 82a, 84a of a size and shape to receive shaft key portion 46a; openings 82a, 84a are, however, oversize with respect to the shaft key portion to allow a limited amount of clockwise movement (as viewed in FIG. 5) of arms 82, 84 relative to shaft 46. The upper end of upper retractor arm 82 is pivotally secured by a pin 96 to the lower end of lower link portion 18c of upper slide bolt assembly 18, and the lower end of lower retractor arm 84 is pivotally secured by a pin 98 to the upper end of upper link portion 20c of lower slide bolt assembly 20.

A spring bracket 100 overlies bracket bridge portion 79 and is rigidly secured to portion 79 by the tip end 100a of a downturned tab 100b passing through a suitable aperture in the underlying portion of bracket bridge portion 79, and by the tip end 79c of bracket bridge portion tab 79b passing through a suitable aperture in the overlying portion of spring bracket 100. In assembled relation, the central portion of spring bracket 100 is juxtaposed to lower retractor arm 84 with the pilot end portion 46b of shaft 46 journaling in and passing through an aperture 100c in bracket 100. Bracket 100 includes a pair of diametrically opposed upturned ears 100d, 100c receiving a spring rod 102 overlying the shaft pilot end portion 46b and generally intersecting the shaft axis. A torsion spring 104 winds around rod 102 with the spring ends 104a, 104b passing through slots 100f, 100g in bracket 100 for coaction with notches 82b, 84b in retractor arms 82, 84.

OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With cargo doors 10 and 12 in their closed positions of FIG. 1, slide bolt assemblies 18 and 20 are in their fully latched positions as so labeled in FIG. 2, handle 40 is in its fully latched position (solid line position of FIG. 2) within the recess 66 defined between the adjacent vertical edges of the closed doors, and bolt actuator 56 occupies the solid-line position of FIG. 2 in engagement with striker pin 72. Slide bolts 18 and 20 are detented in their fully latched position by spring arm 90a pressing against cam detent flat 81a; spring arm 90a and cam plate 81 are preferably dimensioned so that, as shown, arm 90a bears only against cam plate corner portion 81c to provide a positive moment arm constantly urging the slide bolt assemblies toward their fully latched positions. In addition, the line of action passing through pivot pins 18b and 96 of the fully latched upper bolt assembly is arranged to pass to the left of the shaft axis (as viewed in FIG. 4) so that any downward "chucking" forces tending to move bolt link 18a out of its fully latched position serve to drive the lock line more firmly into the fully latched position. The line of action of the pivot pins of the lower slide bolt assembly 20 has a similar overcenter relationship to the shaft axis. With the slide bolts in fully latched position, spring ends 104a, 104b bear against the upper and lower ends, respectively, of slots 100f, 100g so that the spring force is absorbed completely by the latch frame structure.

When it is desired to open the cargo doors, door 12 is first opened by suitable actuation of its outside handle 28 or its inside handle (not shown) to release coacting latch elements 24, 26 and allow door 12 to be swung to an open position. Door 10 may now be opened by actuation of handle 40. As handle 40 is moved in a clockwise direction from its stowed, fully latched position of FIG. 2, handle lug 54 picks up bolt-actuating lever 56 to turn shaft 46 clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4. The first few degrees of shaft rotation take up the lost motion provided by oversize retractor arm openings 82a, 84a, and further shaft rotation moves the retractor arms clockwise (FIG. 4) to begin to withdraw the slide bolts from the body sill and header. As the retractor arms reach the intermediate position of FIG. 8 (a view in the opposite direction to that of FIG. 4) and the slide bolts reach the intermediate position as so labeled in FIG. 2, detent spring arm 90a moves into detenting engagement with detent flat 81b to positively establish the intermediate latch position. Bolt actuator 56 is in its intermediate, dotted line position of FIG. 2 at this time. Door 10 still cannot be opened, however, since the slide bolts retain a shallow latching engagement with the sill and header.

As handle 40 is pivoted further clockwise, the retractor arms move toward their fully open position as seen in FIG. 5 and the slide bolts move toward their so labeled fully open position of FIG. 2. This movement is resisted by retractor spring ends 104a, 104b, which are picked up by retractor arm notches 82b, 84b as the retractor arms move from their intermediate toward their open positions. The open position is a transient position and is not detented. As soon as the slide bolts have been withdrawn far enough to clear the header and sill, door 10 will be popped open by the resilient door gasket (not shown) and the handle may thereafter be released.

Upon release of the handle, retractor spring ends 104a, 104b return the retractor arms, slide bolts and bolt actuator lever to their intermediate positions, which positions are again detented by coaction of detent spring arm 90a and cam detent flat 81b. As the retractor arms reach their intermediate position, spring arms 104a, 104b are picked up again by the respective ends of slots 104a, 104b so that the spring force is again absorbed by the latch frame. Handle 40, however, is returned all the way to its nested, fully latched position within opening 66 by the action of handle torsion spring 48; handle 40 is thus automatically disposed in an out of the way position where it will not interfere with loading and/or unloading of the vehicle through the cargo doors.

When the loading and unloading operations are completed, door 10 is swung toward its closed position; as the slide bolts in their intermediate position strike the header and sill, the cam tip ends of the bolts cam the bolt assemblies against the resistance of spring ends 104a, 104b toward their fully open position. As the bolts move into vertical alignment with header socket 40 and the corresponding socket in the sill, the bolts are driven into the header and sill sockets to their intermediate position by the retractor spring ends. This reciprocal movement of the slide bolt assemblies is not transmitted to shaft 46, lock actuator 56 or to handle 40 but rather is taken up by the lost motion connection provided by oversized retractor arm openings 82a, 84a. This lost motion connection also enables the slide bolts to move independently of each other in the event that they do not simultaneously strike the coacting body portions as the door is slammed.

Door 12 is now swung to a closed position. As door 12 approaches and assumes its closed position, latch elements 24, 26 coact to latch door 12 to door 10 and striker pin 72 picks up finger portion 70 of bolt-actuating lever 56 and moves lever 56 from its dotted line, intermediate position of FIG. 2 to its solid line, fully latched position. Lever 56 rotates shaft 46 and shaft 56, after a limited amount of angular movement to take up the lost motion connection of cutouts 82a, 84a, drives the retractor arms and the slide bolt assemblies to their fully latched positions.

It will be seen that both cargo doors have been closed and fully latched without requiring any manipulation of handle 40 by the operator. With the doors in their fully latched position, finger portion 70 of bolt-actuating lever 56 abuts striker pin 72 to prevent actuation of handle 40 until pin 72 has been withdrawn by opening door 12. This arrangement establishes a fixed opening sequence for the cargo doors and prevents a passenger within the vehicle from manipulating handle 40 to withdraw the slide bolts. As long as door 12 is closed, the slide bolts of door 10 cannot be withdrawn without first opening door 12 in a deliberate, premeditated actuation of that door's inside handle; and if latch elements 24, 26 are locked by the use of a conventional locking button (not shown) mounted, for example, on the garnish molding, door 10 cannot be unlatched until the locking button has been deliberately moved to its unlocked position and the inside door handle thereafter actuated to open door 12. The invention construction will thus be seen to provide a cargo door latching mechanism which requires a minimum amount of operator actuation of the slide bolt door handle, eliminates promiscuous movement of this handle, and prevent accidental or unwanted withdrawal of the slide bolts of the slide bolt door during movement of the vehicle.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be made in the disclosed embodiment without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.