Abstract: A powered sliding device for sliding a vehicle door comprises a base plate, a wire drum rotatably mounted on the base plate by a drum shaft and rotated by a motor, a wire cable for pulling the door in an opening direction or in a closing direction when the wire drum rotates, a tension shaft slidably mounted on the base plate in a given direction and having a tension roller, a movable member slidably mounted on the base plate in a direction perpendicular to the given direction, and a coupling member having one end rotatably connected to the tension shaft and the other end rotatably connected to the movable member. The given direction coincides with a radial direction of the drum shaft. Each side of a contact portion of the wire cable relatively to the tension roller extends straight toward the wire drum.

Abstract: An apparatus for opening and closing a vehicle door comprises an outer open handle assembly and a latch assembly. The handle assembly has an handle base which is brought into contact with an outer surface of an outer door panel and a handle lever which is rotatably mounted on the handle base. The latch assembly has a bracket which is brought into contact with an inner surface of the outer panel, a latch mechanism which is engaged with a striker and mounted on the bracket, and an opening mechanism which is operative to release the latch mechanism and mounted on the bracket. The handle base and the bracket are fixed to each other with screws or bolts across the outer door panel. The latch assembly is covered with a decorative case.

Abstract: An impact resistant vehicle door latch device comprises a locking mechanism provided on a metal back plate fixed to a latch body. The locking mechanism has an inner locking lever which has a first base portion rotatably mounted to the back plate by a metal supporting shaft and a first tip portion extending toward an interior side of a door for being connected to an inside lock button, and an outer locking lever which has a second base portion rotatably mounted to the back plate by the supporting shaft and a second tip portion extending toward an exterior side of the door for being connected to a key cylinder. The supporting shaft has a large-diameter cylindrical part which supports the inner and outer locking levers, and a substantially annular flange which is integrally formed with the cylindrical part and has a plane surface perpendicular to an axis of the supporting shaft. The annular flange is located between the first base portion and second base portion.

Abstract: A latch device arrangement for a vehicle comprises a main engaging assembly attached to a vehicle body, a sub engaging assembly attached to a movable roof which is displaceable between a storing position and a lifted position and engageable with the main assembly for holding the roof in the storing position. The sub assembly has a ratchet for holding the engagement of the main and sub assemblies. The main assembly has a ratchet lever which comes into contact with the ratchet to release the engagement of the main and sub assemblies. The arrangement further has an open lever connected to the ratchet lever, a rotating handle rotating the open lever from a standby position toward an operating position, and a lock pin displaceable between a locked position and an unlocked position.

Abstract: A powered sliding device for a vehicle sliding door comprises a motor, a wire drum rotated by the motor, a wire cable provided between the wire drum and the sliding door, an optical sensor for outputting a detecting signal when the wire drum rotates, a controller for calculating from the detecting signal at least one of a rotational speed of the wire drum, a rotational amount of the wire drum and a rotational direction of the wire drum, a latch unit provided in the sliding door and engageable with a striker, a power supply switch for supplying electric power to the optical sensor. The power supply switch stops supplying the power to the optical sensor while the door is being closed.

Abstract: A powered sliding unit attached to a vehicle body slides a sliding door from an open position to a half-latch position where a rear latch unit fixed to the sliding door is initially engaged with a rear striker fixed to the vehicle body, and then a powered closing unit provided to the sliding door moves the sliding door from the half-latch position into a full-latch position where the rear latch unit is completely engaged with the rear striker. The powered sliding unit has a vertical base plate, a wire drum rotatably attached to the base plate by a horizontal shaft, and a wire cable for coupling the wire drum with the sliding door. The powered sliding unit is attached in an inner space inside of a rear outer side panel of the vehicle body.

Abstract: A door locking device with an antitheft mechanism comprises a main locking lever connected to a key cylinder and, for changing over the locking device to a locking state or to an unlocking state, a sub locking lever connected to an inside lock button of the door, a connector provided between the locking levers, always linked with the main locking lever and changed over to a normal position where it is linked with the sub locking lever and to an antitheft position where it is not linked therewith, an output member which is turned by the motor and is linked with the main locking lever, and a guide wall provided in the vicinity of the connector. The guide wall is engageable with the connector as the connector is displaced by unlocking rotation of the main locking lever in order to displace the connector from the antitheft position to the normal position.

Abstract: An opening and closing device for a vehicle sliding door slidably attached to a vehicle body.

Abstract: A vehicle door latch device comprises a latch body, a metal back plate fixed to a rear side of the latch body, a locking mechanism provided on the rear side of the latch body and displaceable between a locked condition and an unlocked condition. The locking mechanism has a main lock lever which has a base part rotatably mounted to the back plate and an inner part extending toward an interior side of the vehicle door so as to be connected to an inside lock button, and a sub lock lever which has a base part rotatably mounted to the back plate and an outer part extending toward an exterior side of the door so as to be connected to a key cylinder. The back plate has a protecting part located on a front side of the outer part of the sub lock lever so as to prevent the outer part of the sub lock lever from making contact with the main lock lever when the outer part of the sub lock lever is deformed.

Abstract: A door latch device comprises a latch body fixed at its front side to a door, a latch for engaging with a striker, a ratchet for maintaining the engagement between the latch and striker, an opening mechanism for releasing the ratchet from the latch, a locking mechanism displaceable between a locked condition and an unlocked condition, a stationary plate attached to a rear side of the latch body and projecting rearwardly, and an actuator fixed to the stationary plate for displacing the locking mechanism between the locked condition and the unlocked condition. The actuator has a substantially closed housing, an output shaft projecting outward from the housing, and an output lever fixed to the output shaft and coupled to the locking mechanism. A gap is formed between the housing and the stationary plate. The output lever is located in the gap.

Abstract: A child proof apparatus for a vehicle door latch device comprises a child lever adapted to be manually turned, an intermediate lever having an abutting end engageable with an open lever and an elongated slot, and a child link having a child pin slidably engaged in the elongated slot. The pin is integrally formed in the child link and has a first engaging means which is engaged in the slot by being turned by a right angle after the pin is inserted into the slot. The child link has a snap fastener portion integrally formed therewith which is rotatably engaged in a second hole of the child lever. The child lever has a shaft integrally formed therewith having a second engaging means which is engaged in the slot by being turned by a right angle after the shaft is inserted into the slot.

Abstract: A vehicle door latch device comprises a latch body made of synthetic resin and having a recess at a front side thereof, a latch member rotatably mounted in the recess by a latch shaft for engaging with a striker and having an open position, a half-latch position and a full-latch position, a ratchet rotatably mounted in the recess and having a pawl portion for engaging with the latch member. The latch member has a first side surface incorporating a contact point with which the striker comes into contact when the door is closed while the latch member is in the full-latch position. The first side surface has a predetermined length defined between a first door opening side end and a first door closing side end. The first side surface is an arc having a uniform radius measured from the latch shaft or an arc having a distance from the latch shaft which gradually increases therealong from the first door closing side end to the first door opening side end.

Abstract: An actuator unit for shifting a lock lever of a vehicle door lock device between a locked position and an unlocked position comprises a housing having a reversible motor, an inside lever disposed inside the housing and being shiftable by the motor, and a key lever disposed inside the housing. The inside lever has a first shaft whose outer end extends through the housing and is connected to the lock lever. The key lever has a second shaft whose outer end extends through the housing and is connected to a door key cylinder. The first and second shafts being coaxial with each other but protruding in opposite directions. The inside lever has a third shaft coaxial with the first shaft and the key lever has a hole for supporting the third shaft. The actuator unit has first detecting means provided inside the housing for detecting a position of the inside lever, and second detecting means provided inside the housing for detecting a position of the key lever.

Abstract: A clutch mechanism of a powered sliding device for a vehicle sliding door comprises a swingable member held at a neutral position by means of resilient force of a return spring, an output gear fixed to an output shaft of a motor, first gears rotatably supported to the swingable member and engaged with the output gear, second gears rotatably supported to the swingable member and brought into contact with the first gears with predetermined frictional resistance, respectively, rack members fixed to the base plate and engaged with the second gears, respectively, a wire drum connected to the sliding door through a wire cable, a drum gear integrally rotated with the wire drum. When the first gears and the second gears are rotated by the motor, the swingable member is rotated due to the engagements of the second gears and the rack members against the resilient force of the return spring so that one of the first gears is engaged with the drum gear.

Abstract: A tension apparatus of a vehicle door powered sliding device comprises a motor fixed to a base plate, a wire drum mounted to the base plate by a first shaft and rotated by the motor, a wire cable provided between a vehicle sliding door and the wire drum for pulling the sliding door forward or rearward when the wire drum rotates, first and second tension arms rotatably mounted on the first shaft and having tension rollers which makes contact with the wire cable, an intermediate lever rotatably mounted on the first shaft, an adjusting member for fixing the first tension arm and the intermediate lever so that an angle of the first tension arm and the intermediate lever can be adjusted, a tension spring provided between the intermediate lever and the second tension arm.

Abstract: An apparatus for mounting a front latch device to a front side of a sliding door to be closed and opened by moving in front-and-rear direction of a vehicle body comprises a mounting wall to which the front latch device is mounted by screws or bolts. The front latch device is provided with a latch body accommodating a fork member and pawl member, and first and second metal plates mounted to the latch body. The first metal plate is closely adhered onto the mounting wall, and the second metal plate has boss portions to be engaged with ends of the screws or bolts. The latch body sandwiched between the first and second plates. The mounting wall is parallel to a direction in which the front latch device moves.

Abstract: A vehicle door latch device enclosed entirely within a vehicle door comprises a latch unit having a fork member which engages with a striker fixed to a vehicle body and a pawl which engages with the fork member for preventing the fork member from reversing, a power unit for turning the fork member from a half-latch position to a full-latch position, and a cable for transmitting power of the power unit to the fork member. The cable has a middle portion provided in vicinity of a bottom edge of the door, a first end portion which is provided in proximity of a rear edge of the door in such a manner as to extend nearly vertically, and a second end portion which extends almost parallel with the first end portion and is connected to the power unit.

Abstract: A latch device for a sliding door comprises front and rear latch units attached to front and rear edge portions of the sliding door, respectively, a relay provided within the sliding door for coupling between the latch units and outer and inner open handles of the door, a child-proof mechanism provided on the relay and displaceable between a child-proof condition and a non-child-proof condition, a child-proof lever for displacing the conditions of the child-proof mechanism. The child-proof lever has an operation knob exposed to the outside of the sliding door through an opening formed in a front peripheral plate of the door. The child-proof lever is rotatably mounted to the front latch unit and is connected with the child-proof mechanism through a first rod.

Abstract: A vehicle door latch device comprises a synthetic resin latch body which has a recess at a front side thereof for receiving a latch and a ratchet, and a substantially horizontal bulged portion at a rear side thereof for receiving the striker when the door is closed. The latch device further comprises a door opening mechanism for releasing engagement between the latch and the so as to open the door and a locking mechanism displaceable between a locked condition and an unlocked condition. The door opening mechanism and the locking mechanism are located underneath the bulged portion. A protecting plate is attached to the rear side of the latch body for substantially covering the door opening mechanism. The protecting plate has an upper side edge which is adjacent to a lower surface of the bulged portion.

Abstract: A door lock device having an anti-theft mechanism comprises a motor adapted to change a locking lever into a locking position by a normal rotation thereof in a predetermined amount, to change an anti-theft member into an anti-theft position by a continuous normal rotation thereof over the predetermined amount, and to return the anti-theft member to an anti-theft canceling position by a reverse rotation thereof. A controller has a locking operation of changing the locking lever into the locking position by using the motor, an anti-theft operation of changing the anti-theft member into the anti-theft position by using the motor, and an anti-theft canceling operation of changing the anti-theft member into the anti-theft canceling position by using the motor. If the anti-theft position of the anti-theft member is detected after performing the locking operation, the controller performs the anti-theft canceling operation.