It is known to provide for remote operation and control of such powered mechanisms as part of a central locking system of the vehicle, enabling, for example, all the doors of the body to be locked simultaneously. Known systems of this type necessitate complex wiring circuits with numerous conductors having to be connected between the body and the mechanism of each door or other closure making final assembly time consuming and costly, and giving rise to unreliability and vulnerability to damage, particularly where a wiring harness has to flex at the hinged junction between a door and the body. There is also the risk of deliberate damage, wiring may be attacked as by"fishing"into the door cavity or between the door and post in an attempt to break into the vehicle and even if unsuccessful this type of damage will be costly and troublesome to put right.

The object of the invention is to provide powered door mechanism which is of simple construction, readily assembled and installed, reliable in use, and less likely to suffer due to wear and tear or accidental or deliberate damage. Another object is to provide improvements in central locking systems which simplify their construction and operation.

According to a first aspect the invention provides a power actuated latching and locking mechanism for incorporation in a vehicle body closure, said mechanism comprising lockable latching means coacting with mating structure of the body in use to releasably retain the closure in closed condition, powered driving means for actuating the latching means, control means for selective operation of the driving means, and energy storage means for energising the driving means.

Preferably the control means includes signal receiving means responsive to input transmitted by electromagnetic radiation from a transmitting device remote from the closure in use, e. g. a hand-held infra- red or radio remote control unit and/or such unit elsewhere on or in the vehicle in use serving as a central control unit of a centralised locking system.

The energy storage means is preferably electrical such as an accumulator or capacitive device of known kind, and is connected to the electrical power supply of the vehicle in use to maintain its charge. It is contemplated that the charging connection to the storage means will be the only wired connection required between the closure and the body.

The control means may further include transmitting means for emitting electromagnetic radiated signals to remote receivers, e. g. other units of a central locking system, for monitoring the status and operation of the mechanism and/or for causing mechanisms of some or all the other closures of the body to act in unison with that from which the transmission originates.

According to a further aspect the invention provides a door or other closure for a vehicle body, said closure having power operated equipment mounted thereon or therein characterised in that the closure also has electrical or other energy storage means mounted thereon or therein for energising said equipment.

The equipment of the last preceding paragraph may include inter alia latching means, locking means, window operating means, mirror setting means or any other closure mounted powered ancillary equipment and if control thereof is effected by radiated signals the only wiring connection to the closure required will be a conductor for maintaining the power storage means in charged condition.

The invention is particularly useful for the equipment of sliding doors of vehicle bodies as described and claimed in our co-pending application GB 97........ of even date herewith.

The minimal"hard"connection, usually two wires only, between the closure and body provides further advantages. If this connection should be severed, e. g. in an accident to the vehicle; or if the vehicle power supply should fail due, e. g. to a flat battery, the door equipment remains operable as long as a charge is held in the storage means so enabling the door to be unlocked and opened in an emergency. As the wiring plays no part in the control and operation of the mechanism the door cannot be unlocked by interference therewith, with some central systems a door can be unlocked by powering appropriate conductors to bypass security coding or key operation. Damage to the simple wiring is easily traced and remedied.

The invention also resides in a vehicle door or other closure assembly including mechanism as defined by one or more of the preceding paragraphs; a vehicle body including one or more said closure assemblies; and or a vehicle central locking system comprising or consisting of a plurality of remotely controlled said mechanisms or assemblies.

An example of the invention is now more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle door latching and locking mechanism, and Fig. 2 is a like diagram of a vehicle body central locking system.

In Fig. 1 a vehicle driver's or passenger door 10 has a power actuated latching and locking unit 12 of known construction and an operating unit 14. In some applications the two units may be combined as a single module. Unit 12 is self-contained in that the control and operation thereof is wholly electrically powered for selective locking and unlocking, and in this example unlatching so that no mechanical linkages or connections are required to internal or external door handles or the like, the only external connections thereto being electrical circuitry 16 to unit 14.

This enables the units to be positioned in the door structure as most convenient and simplifies final assembly.

Operating unit 14 comprises a control board 18 passing power and commands to and receiving status signals from unit 12 via circuitry 16, a pre-programmed logic module 20 for switching board 18 as required, and a rechargeable electrical energy storage device 22, for example an aero capacitor device, powering the units. A regulating device 24 of unit 14 keeps device 22 charged, fed with current in use from the power circuit of the vehicle by way of a pair of wires 26 which are the only wiring connections needed between the assembled door 14 and the body. Device 22 will normally be kept fully charged from the vehicle battery even when it is standing, the current requirement for such trickle charging being minimal particularly while there is no output demand. However, device 22 will hold a substantial power reserve maintaining the units in operable condition for a substantial period even if connection 26 is broken or the vehicle power is not available for any reason.

Manually operable controls, for example conventional door handles, levers or the like are provided, one control 28 on the inside of the door and the other 30 on the outside. However these are not mechanically linked, they are in effect electrical switches wired by circuitry 32,34 to logic module 20. This again simplifies final installation and provides freedom in positioning the items in the door structure. It also gives added security as once the door is locked cutting or breaking any of the wires 16,26,32,34 will have no effect, the door will remain secure.

Unit 14 further includes a receiver 36 and transmitter 38. Security coded signals for locking and unlocking by a hand-held remote control 40 (Fig. 2) using radio or infra-red electromagnetic radiation are picked up by receiver 36 and passed to module 20 for processing and actuation of unit 12. Transmitter 38 is connected to module 20 to monitor status of the units and transmit signals to other remote units on the vehicle, and/or back to the remote control 40 e. g. to verify that operations have been carried out, or to check e. g. whether the door is locked or not.

Fig. 2 illustrates a central locking system of a vehicle body 42 having five doors, two front, two rear, and a hatchback. Each said door has a respective set of units 12 and 14 as above indicated together at 44,46,48, 50, and 52. The only"hard"wired connections between any of the doors and the body is the two wire power supply circuitry 26 for recharging, leading from the vehicle battery 54. A central control unit 56 at any convenient location in body 42 is in radio contact with the receivers and transmitters of the units of all five doors. Coded signals enable all the doors to be e. g. locked and unlocked in unison whenever a signal so to do is passed to any one of the units from the remote control 40. It will be apparent that various modes of operation and operating sequences can be programmed according to requirements.

Central unit 56 may also control other equipment and functions on the doors, or on selected ones of the doors such as window winding, mirror adjustment and the like with the"hard"wiring therefor being needed within the respective door only.

It is also contemplated that a central locking system can be provided using the invention without the need for a central control unit 56 as such.

This again simplifies manufacture and final assembly. Instead all or at least some of the closure units 44-52 are programmed to act interdependently so that a signal from the hand-held remote control 40 to any unit will also cause the other closure units to act as commanded, the commands being radiated directly between the closure units themselves.