FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to a back door opening lever in vehicles, and, in particular, a locking mechanism for restricting free 5 operation of the back door opening lever. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to a sliding lock mechanism which locks and unlocks movement of the back door opening lever for latching and unlatching the back door.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] Generally, a back door or rear door has two points for unlatching. One is 10 manually by key or by remote key and other is by an opening lever which is provided inside the vehicle cabin. Generally, the back door opening lever is provided beneath driver seat for easy access by the driver to open the back door along with the fuel tank lid. The back door opening lever is mounted on floor panel of the vehicle. The back door opening lever is generally a metal part. 15
[003] Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of the back door opening lever 100. The back door opening lever 100 has a lever 102 which is pivoted with a pin 103. The lever 102 rotates about the pin for unlatching the back door upon pull force. Front portion of the lever 102 comprises a handle portion 101, the user holds the handle portion 101 to pull the lever 102 in upward direction F1. On the handle portion 20 101, a plastic cover is provided for aesthetic appearance and efficient grip of the handle. Further, the latch cable 104 is coupled with other end after the pivot pin 103 of the lever 102. To unlatch the lever or open the back door, the user holds the handle portion 101 and pulls up the lever 102 by force F1. Upon applying the upward force F1, the lever 102 rotates about the pivot point 103 and pulls the 25 latch cable 104 with force F2 and releases the back door latch. This is general mechanism to open the back door by back door opening lever 100.
[004] Japanese Patent Publication JP 2000103245 (A) discloses a lid opener for the vehicle. The opener lever part is installed in the front wall part of a floor cross
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member on the driver's seat side of an underbody. The opener lever part has a fuel lid opener lever and a back door opener lever. A fuel lid opener cable is connected to the fuel lid opener lever, and a back door opener cable is connected to the back door opener lever. These cables are wired to rearward of a vehicle in a centre side position of the under body. This present Japanese patent publication discloses 5 general presence of the fuel lid opener and the back door opener at the under body of the vehicle which is generally under the seat of the driver. Further, this provides a mechanism to solve technical problem to avoid damage of the lever by the driver’s feet.
[005] Technical problem associated with the existing back door lever opener is 10 that the lever does not have any locking mechanism to avoid accidental opening of the back door. For example, while refueling the fuel tank, the driver accidently pulls the back door opening lever which opens the back door. Further, there are safety regulations, for example, ECE R 11 which make it necessary to have a lock which should be unlocked before pulling the lever. It is two step process, i.e., 15 unlock and pull for opening the back door. This makes the vehicle safer.
[006] The present invention has been conceived in view of the aforementioned circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism for back door opening lever.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION: 20
[007] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a back door opening lever with a locking mechanism.
[008] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a back door opening lever with a sliding locking device which needs to be unlocked first by sliding it to open the back door. 25
[009] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a back door opening lever with a sliding locking device having a spring which regains its original position after unlocking.
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[0010] Yet another object of the present subject matter is to provide a simple, effective, and cost efficient back door opening lever with a locking mechanism. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0011] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a back door opening lever assembly with a locking mechanism. The back door opening lever assembly 5 comprises a lever arm pivoted with a pin on body of vehicle. The lever arm rotates about the pin while applying pull force. The lever arm has a knob portion at front end which is held by user to open the back door. At distal end of the lever arm, a cutout portion is provided to couple with back door opener cable. The assembly has a sliding locking device in the knob portion for locking and unlocking the 10 lever arm. The sliding locking device has a sliding head which slides over top surface of the knob portion. The knob portion has a cutout in which sliding locking device is positioned. Further, the sliding locking device can be integrated with the knob portion. The sliding locking device has L shaped member which is connected with the sliding head. The L shaped member has vertical plate and 15 horizontal locking plate. One end of the vertical plate is connected with the sliding head and other with the horizontal plate. The vertical plate and the horizontal plate are joined at vertical angle to form an L shaped member. The horizontal locking plate of the L shaped member engages with slot of bracket to lock the lever arm. The locking device is embedded with a spring to actuate movement of the 20 horizontal locking plate in locking and unlocking position.
[0012] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter. 25
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the 30
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accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, 5 and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0014] Fig. 1 illustrates structure of back door opening lever as known in the art;
[0015] Fig. 2 illustrates assembly of the back door opening lever with sliding locking device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0016] Fig. 3 illustrates side view of the assembly of the back door opening lever 10 with sliding locking device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0017] Fig. 4 illustrates perspective view of the assembly of the back door opening lever with sliding locking device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. 15
[0018] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein. 20
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0019] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a back door opening lever assembly with a locking mechanism. The back door opening lever assembly comprises a lever arm pivoted with a pin on body of vehicle. The lever arm rotates about the pin while applying pull force. The lever arm has a knob portion at front 25 end which is hold by user to open the back door. At distal end of the lever arm, a cutout portion is provided to couple with back door opener cable. The assembly has a sliding locking device in the knob portion for locking and unlocking the lever arm. The sliding locking device has a sliding head which slides over top
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surface of the knob portion. The knob portion has a cutout in which sliding locking device is positioned. Further, the sliding locking device can be integrated with the knob portion. The sliding locking device has L shaped member which is connected with the sliding head. The L shaped member has vertical plate and horizontal locking plate. One end of the vertical plate is connected with the sliding 5 head and other with the horizontal plate. The vertical plate and the horizontal plate are joined at vertical angle to form an L shaped member. The horizontal locking plate of the L shaped member engages with slot of bracket to lock the lever arm. The locking device is embedded with a spring to actuate movement of the horizontal locking plate in locking and unlocking position. 10
[0020] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, a rectangular bracket is mounted on floor of the vehicle. The rectangular bracket is in L shape where horizontal portion is welded with the floor of the vehicle. The rectangular bracket has a slot to receive the horizontal locking plate of the locking device. In the lock condition, the horizontal locking plate engages with the slot of the rectangular 15 bracket and locks the back door opening lever.
[0021] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the 20 same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various assembly that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the 25 reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, 30
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together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0022] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be 5 noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0023] Fig. 2, 3, and 4 illustrates various views of the back door opening lever 10 assembly with locking mechanism, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The back door opening lever assembly 200 comprises a lever arm 202, a knob portion 201, a pivot joint 203, and a cutout portion 204. The back door opening lever is an integrated device. Further, the back door opening lever can be bended as per requirements of the vehicle design. Generally, the knob 15 portion 201 and the pivot joint 203 are perpendicular to each other. Further, angular dimensions of the lever can be optimized based on the force requirement and design of the vehicle floor.
[0024] The lever arm 202 is pivoted with a pin 203 on the vehicle structure. The pivot joint with pin 203 allows rotation of the lever arm upon application of force 20 in upward direction and free fall. Further, the back opening lever assembly 200 has a spring which allows rotation of the lever arm 202 upon application of force and regaining its original position. Further, the lever arm 202 has a knob portion 201 at front end and a cutout portion 204 at distal end. The knob portion 201 is used by the user to hold and pull the lever arm 202 in upward direction. The knob 25 portion 201 is covered by a plastic layer to increase the holding area and grip. The cutout portion 204 is configured to connect with the back door opener cable 208. When pulling force applied on the lever arm 202, the lever arm transfers the force on the back door opener cable to open the back door.
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[0025] The knob portion 201 has a sliding locking device 205 for locking and unlocking the lever arm 202. The knob portion 201 has a cutout to accommodate the sliding locking device 205. The sliding locking device 205 can be integrated with the knob portion 201. The sliding head 205a slides in between lock and unlock position over the knob portion 201. The sliding locking device 205 has a 5 sliding head 205a and a L shaped member 205b connected with the sliding head 205a. The L shaped member 205b has a vertical plate 205ba and horizontal locking plate 205bb. One end of the vertical plate 205ba is connected with the sliding head 205a and other with the horizontal plate 205bb. The vertical plate 205ba and the horizontal plate 205bb joined at vertical angle to form an L shaped 10 member. The horizontal locking plate 205bb of the L shaped member 205b engages with slot 206a of bracket 206 to lock the lever arm 202. The horizontal locking plate 205bb of the L shaped member 205b has tapered profile at lower side. When the back door opening lever 200 comes back to original position after opening the back door, the tapered profile guides the horizontal locking plate 15 205bb to the slot 206a for locking.
[0026] The locking device 205 is embedded with a spring (which is not shown in the drawings) to actuate movement of the horizontal locking plate 205bb in locking and unlocking position. The spring is provided to actuate sliding movement of the L shaped member 205b. The spring can be provided behind the 20 sliding head 205a in the knob portion 201.
[0027] In another embodiment of the present subject matter as illustrated in the figures 3 and 4, the rectangular bracket 206 is mounted on floor 207 of the vehicle. The rectangular bracket 206 is in L shape where horizontal portion is welded with the floor 207 of the vehicle. The rectangular bracket 206 has a slot 25 206a which is a rectangular slot to receive the horizontal locking plate 205bb of the sliding locking device. In the lock condition, the horizontal locking plate 205bb engages with the slot 206a of the rectangular bracket 206 and locks the back door opening lever as shown in the figure 4.
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[0028] In the back door opening lever assembly 200, the sliding head 205a of the sliding locking device 205 is to be slide in unlock direction which is backward direction to unlocked the knob portion 201 from the rectangular bracket 206. By sliding the sliding head 205, the locking key which is the horizontal locking plate 205bb comes out of the slot 206a of the bracket 206. After disengagement of the 5 horizontal locking plate 205bb with the slot 206a, the knob portion 201 is pulled up by force F1. The lever arm 202 pulls the cable 208 with Force F2 and releases the back door latch. The lock position is retained by the spring packaged behind the locking device 205.
[0029] The present back door opening lever assembly with locking mechanism 10 compiles with the ECE R11 requirements. Further, the present back door opening lever assembly eliminates accidental opening of the back door by the driver. The back door opening lever assembly is simple to manufacture and effective in use.
[0030] The term “vehicle” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to any moving vehicle that is capable of carrying one or more human 15 occupants and is powered by any form of energy. The term “vehicle” is a motor vehicle which includes, but is not limited to: cars, trucks, vans, minivans, hatchback, sedan, MUVs, and SUVs.
[0031] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the 20 functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present 25 invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present 30
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invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.
[0032] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described 5 in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is 10 intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.

We claim:
1. A back door opening lever assembly (200) with a locking mechanism comprising:
a lever arm (202) pivoted with a pin (203) which allows rotation of the lever arm (202); 5
a knob portion (201) provided at front end of the lever arm (202) to apply pull force;
a cutout portion (204) provided at distal end of the lever arm (202) to couple with back door opener cable (208);
characterized in that 10
a sliding locking device (205) provided in the knob portion (201) for locking and unlocking the lever arm (202), the sliding locking device (205) comprises:
a sliding head (205a); and
a L shaped member (205b) connected with the sliding head (205a), 15 wherein a horizontal locking plate (205bb) of the L shaped member (205b) engages with a slot (206a) of a bracket (206) to lock the lever arm (202).
2. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sliding locking device (205) is embedded with a spring to actuate sliding 20 movement of the L shaped member (205b), wherein the spring is provided behind the sliding head (205a) in the knob portion (201) to retain original position.
3. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein 25 the knob portion (201) has a cutout for movement of vertical plate of the L shaped member (205b).
4. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bracket (206) is mounted on floor of a vehicle, wherein the bracket (206) 30
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has a rectangular slot (206a) at upper side to receive the horizontal locking plate (205bb) of the L shaped member (205b) in locked portion.
5. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal locking plate (205bb) of the L shaped member (205b) has 5 tapered profile at lower side.
6. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sliding head (205a) slides over the knob portion (201).
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7. The back door opening lever assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking device (205) is integrated with the knob portion (201).