Claims: WE CLAIM:
1. A mechanism (100) for actuating a latch (10) of a vehicle door, said mechanism (100) comprising;
• a handle (80) configured to be mounted on exterior surface of said door;
• a first lever (70), one end of said first lever (70) being coupled to said handle (80);
• a second lever (30);
• a coupling link coupling said first lever (70) and said second lever (30);
• a connecting link (20) with a first end and a second end, said first end connected to said second lever (30) and said second end connected to said latch (10), said second link configured to be displaced to open said latch (10) in response to pulling of said handle (80).
2. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handle (80) extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the ground surface on the outside surface of said vehicle door.
3. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handle (80) is configured to be displaced linearly in a normal direction to the exterior surface of said vehicle door.
4. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first lever (70) is pivotably mounted on a first pivot (60).
5. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second lever (30) is pivotably mounted on a second pivot (40).
Dated this 3rd day of February, 2020

MOHAN RAJKUMAR DEWAN
of R.K. DEWAN & COMPANY
IN/PA-25
APPLICANT’S PATENT ATTORNEY

TO,
THE CONTROLLER OF PATENTS
THE PATENT OFFICE, AT CHENNAI
, Description:
FIELD
The present disclosure relates to latching mechanisms and more particularly to a mechanism for actuating latch of a vehicle door.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Hand operated lever type handles are currently being used to open a latch of the tailgate of an onroad vehicle. Such handles are usually mounted horizontally on the exterior surface of the vehicle body while the latch remains mounted on the inside of the vehicle compartment. A mechanism with linkages and a lever is connected in between the handle and the latch. In case the handle is mounted vertically, the arrangement of the existing mechanism does not facilitate opening of the latch. Further, for the same number of linkages, the manual effort required in operating the handle increases with a vertical arrangement.
There is, therefore, felt a need of an efficient mechanism for actuating latch of a vehicle to tackle the aforementioned problems.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door, which requires less operating time to open the latch.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door, which facilitates unlocking the latch with a vertical handle.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door, which requires less operating manual effort.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure discloses a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door. The door comprises a handle mounted on the exterior surface of the door, a first lever with one end coupled to the handle and a second lever. A coupling link couples the first lever and the second lever . A connecting link with a first end connected to the second lever and a second end connected to the latch . The second link is configured to be displaced to open the latch in response to pulling of the handle .
According to one aspect of the invention, the handle is vertically mounted on the outside surface of the vehicle door. The handle is configured to be displaced linearly in a normal direction to the exterior surface of the vehicle door.
The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first lever is pivotably mounted on a first pivot and the second lever is pivotably mounted on a second pivot .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
The mechanism for actuating latch of a door of a vehicle of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 shows a side view of a mechanism for actuating latch of a door of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 shows the mechanism of Figure 1 in which the handle is in an assembled state corresponding to a locked position of the latch;
Figure 3 shows the mechanism of Figure 1 in which the handle is partially displaced state while performing an unlocking action of the latch; and
Figure 4 shows the mechanism of Figure 1 in which the handle is fully displaced state corresponding to an unlocked position of the latch.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 – mechanism
10 – latch
20 – connecting link
30 – second lever
40 – second pivot
50 – coupling link
60 – first pivot
70 – first lever
80 – handle
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being “mounted on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
Terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
Referring to Figures 1-4, a mechanism (100) for actuating a latch (10) of a vehicle door is shown. The mechanism (100) comprises a handle (80) which is fitted on an exterior surface of the vehicle body. The handle (80) extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the ground surface. The handle (80) is configured to be displaced linearly in a normal direction to the exterior surface of the vehicle door. A portion of the handle (80) extends horizontally inward into the vehicle body and is connected to an end of a first lever (70). The first lever (70) is pivoted on a first pivot (60) which facilitates rotation of the first lever (70). The first pivot (60) is mounted on the vechicle body structure. Another end of the first lever (70) is connected to an end of a coupling link (50). The other end of the coupling link (50) is connected to an end of a second lever (30). The second lever (30) is pivotably mounted on a second pivot (40) supported by the vehicle body structure. The other end of the second lever (30) is connected to a first end of a connecting link (20). A second end of the connecting link (20) is further configured to actuate a latch (10) mounted on the interior of the vehicle structure. The pivotably mounted arrangement of the first lever (70) and the second lever (30) facilitates multiplication of the input forces on the respective levers, thereby requiring minimal effort to be applied on the handle (80) by the user.
The working of the mechanism (100) will now be described referring to the figures 2-4. Figure 2 shows a state of the mechanism (100) in which the handle (80) is in an assembled state with the position of the connecting link (20) corresponding to a locked state of the latch (10). To perform unlocking of the latch (10), a user applies a force on the handle (80) which gets transmitted to the first lever (70) through its horizontal extending portion. The first lever (70) then rotates about the first pivot (60) in an anticlockwise direction, in response to the force applied by the user on the handle (80). This rotation of the first lever (70) raises the coupling link (50) vertically. The second lever (30) being connected to the coupling link (50) then rotates in the clockwise direction which starts lowering of the connecting link (20) as shown in figure 3. Position of the mechanism (100) in figure 3 corresponds to a partially displaced state of the handle (80) as well as the connecting link (20). Figure 4 shows a fully displaced state of the handle (80) and the connecting link (20), which corresponds to an unlocked position of the latch (10) contained in the vehicle structure.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a mechanism for actuating a latch of a vehicle door that:
• reduces effort required to be applied by a user;
• facilitates unlocking of the latch with a vertical handle; and
• requires less operating time to open the latch.
The foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.