PUSH-PULL LATCH FOR VEHICLE DOOR

摘要

According to one aspect a push-pull latch (10) for a vehicle door (15) is provided. The latch (10) includes a housing (12), a ratchet (14) and a pawl (16) that cooperate to selectively retain or release a striker (17), an outside release lever (30), an inside release lever (70), a locking mechanism and an inside link lever (80). The outside release lever (30) is pivotally mounted in the housing (12) for movement between a rest position and an actuated position. The locking mechanism selectively locks and unlocks the latch (10) by disabling and enabling the outside release lever (30). The inside release lever (70) is movable between a locked position, an unlocked position and a release position. The inside link lever (80) operatively connects the inside release lever (70) to the locking mechanism. The inside release lever (70) is connected to the inside link lever (80) by a transfer spring (78) and a lost motion connection. Pivotal movement of the inside release lever (70) in a first directional sense from the unlocked position to the locked position transfers movement of the inside release lever (70) to the inside link lever (80) via the lost motion connection, thereby locking the locking mechanism. Pivotal movement of the inside release lever (70) in a second directional sense from the locked position to the unlocked position transfers movement of the inside release lever (70) to the inside link lever (80) solely via the transfer spring (78), thereby urging the inside link lever (80) to unlock the locking mechanism. Movement of the inside release lever (70) in the second directional sense from the unlocked position to the release position drives the pawl (16) to the unlocked position thereby permitting the ratchet (14) to move to the open position to release the striker (17), and the lost motion connection prevents a transfer of movement from the inside release lever (70) to the inside link lever (80) during pivotal movement of the inside release lever (70) in the second directional sense from the unlocked position to the release position.