VEHICLE HANDLE WITH A SECURITY DEVICE

The present invention relates to a handle for doors or the like, and in particular to a lever handle which can be employed for unlocking and simultaneously opening the door of a motor vehicle and is provided with an inertial security device which prevents the accidental opening of this door in the event of an accident.

EP-A-1556569 in the name of the same applicant discloses a handle comprising a lever which can rotate in a frame to be fixed to a door of a vehicle and is mechanically connected to a rocker which can rotate in the frame when the lever is pulled for unlocking the door, said rocker being provided with a shoulder suitable to be intercepted by a stop piece of a locking member comprising a pendulum provided with an inertial mass, so that the stop piece intercepts the shoulder during a strong oscillation of the pendulum caused by inertial thrusts acting on this mass. With this arrangement, the handle, and thus the door, cannot open accidentally because of the inertial thrusts acting onto the lever during a side impact suffered by the motor vehicle.

However, the locking member of this known handle does not always work in a correct manner, since the pendulum can sometimes go back to its normal position during the impact, for example due to sudden changes of the acceleration acting on the inertial mass, or due to a bouncing of the pendulum. In other words, it is not always possible to synchronize the action of the inertial mass with the movement of the lever and/or to keep the pendulum in the handle locking position for a sufficient time.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a handle which is free from said disadvantage. Said object is achieved with an handle, whose main features are disclosed in the first claim and other features are disclosed in the subsequent claims. Thanks to damper mechanically connected to the pendulum, the handle according to the present invention retains the locking member in its locking position until the end of the impact. With this arrangement, the handle is always locked during an impact and is automatically unlocked after the impact.

According to a particular aspect of the invention, the damper is preferably unidirectional, so that the locking member is not hampered by the damper during its compression and can thus lock the lever in an almost instantaneous manner.

The damper is preferably arranged between the pendulum and the frame and acts in the same direction of the elastic means acting on the pendulum, so that also the known handles can be easily provided with the device according to the present invention. Further advantages and features of the handle according to the present invention will become clear to those skilled in art from the following detailed and non-limiting description of an embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

- figure 1 shows a view in a longitudinal section of the handle in the normal position;

- figure 2 shows a view sectioned along plane II-II of the handle of figure 1; - figure 3 shows a view in a longitudinal section of the handle in the impact position; and

- figure 4 shows a view sectioned along plane IV-IV of the handle of figure 3.

Referring to figures 1 and 2, it is seen that the handle according to the present invention comprises in a known way a frame 1 suitable to be fixed for example behind the outer surface of a door 2 of a motor vehicle. Frame 1 is provided with a transversal pin 3 acting as a fulcrum, around which a shaped extension 4 of a lever 5 suitable for being pulled outwards in the direction of arrow 6 for opening door 2 can rotate. Lever 5 thus rotates around a first axis 7 substantially parallel to the rotation axis of door 2. The other end of lever 5 is provided with an appendix 8 which protrudes into frame 1 and comprises a recess 9 in which a tongue 10 is engaged in a rotating manner. The latter protrudes from one side of a rocker 11 which can rotate in frame 1 around a second axis 12 substantially perpendicular to axis 7. With this arrangement, lever 5 is mechanically connected to rocker 11, so that the latter rotates around axis 12 when lever 5 is pulled. A helical spring 13 is arranged in a coaxial manner in rocker 11 for returning it to the original position, together with lever 5, when the latter is not pulled anymore. Rocker 11 is in turn connected to the unlocking mechanism (not shown in the figures) of door 2, so that the latter can be opened by further pulling lever 5. Said connection is for example carried out by means of a cable (not shown in the figures) which is pulled by rocker 11 during its rotation. Rocker 11 is preferably provided with a cam surface 14 on which a tappet 15, arranged at an end of the arm of a locking member comprising in particular a pendulum

16 pivoted to frame 1 or to a body integral therewith, can slide. Pendulum 16 therefore oscillates around a third axis 17 substantially parallel to axis 7 around which lever 5 rotates when rocker 11 rotates around axis 12. The other end of pendulum 16 is provided with an inertial mass 18 which preferably has a flat shape and is arranged close to the centre of frame 1. Elastic means 19, in particular a helical spring arranged between pendulum 16 and frame 1 with the longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to axis 17, exert a force on pendulum 16 for pushing it toward its normal position, in which tappet 15 is urged against the cam surface 14 of rocker 11. Rocker 11 is suitably provided with a shoulder 20 arranged at a distance from the cam surface 14 greater than the height of tappet 15 of pendulum 16. Tappet 15 therefore passes under shoulder 20 without contacting it if it slides on the cam surface 14, while it intercepts shoulder 20, so as to act as a stop piece and to prevent the rotation of rocker 11, when it moves away from this surface, in particular due to an oscillation of pendulum 16. In the normal use, when lever 5 is manually pulled in the direction of arrow 6, rocker 11 rotates in the direction of arrow 21, so that tappet 15 slides on the cam surface 14 without interfering with shoulder 20.

According to the invention, pendulum 16 is mechanically connected to piston 22 of a damper 23 suitable for dampening the oscillations of pendulum 16. Damper 23 is preferably unidirectional, i.e. the force opposing its expansion is greater than the force opposing its compression. In particular, piston 22 is pivoted to the inertial mass 18 and can slide along an axis substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis 17 of pendulum 16, in particular along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the helical spring 19. Damper 23 is arranged between pendulum 16 and frame 1.

Referring now to figures 3 and 4, it is seen that, in the event of an accident, if lever 5 undergoes a thrust which would tend to open it in the direction of arrow 6, also the inertial mass 18 undergoes the same thrust, so that pendulum 16 oscillates, thereby overcoming the force of the elastic means 19, so as to move tappet 15 away from the cam surface 14 in the direction of arrow 24. Tappet 15, in its new position, intercepts and locks shoulder 20 at the beginning of the rotation of rocker 11 pulled by lever 5, so as to prevent its complete rotation. Since it cannot rotate further, rocker 11 does not operate the unlocking mechanism of door 2, so as to prevent its accidental opening.

Damper 23 dampens any oscillation of pendulum 16 and/or the thrust of the elastic means 19, which would tend to move tappet 15 away from shoulder 20. At the end of the impact, pendulum 16 returns slowly to its initial position, thereby releasing tappet 15 from shoulder 20 and allowing the opening of door 2, if lever 5 is pulled.

Possible variations and/or additions may be made by those skilled in the art to the hereinabove disclosed and illustrated embodiment of the invention while remaining within the scope of the same invention.