1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a door lock for an automobile, especially to a housing of a door lock.
2. Description of Prior Art
A conventional door lock comprises a metal housing made by press process, a latch, a pawl, a striker engageable to the latch, a spring enforcing the latch for releasing from the striker and a spring enforcing the pawl for engaging to the latch.
In accordance with the operation of an outside handle or an inside handle, an open lever which connects with the handle presses the pawl and releases the engagement of the latch with the pawl to allow the door to open. On the other hand, when the door is closing the striker moves the latch rotating, while the latch is pressing the pawl. When the latch reaches a certain point, the latch engages to the pawl. The door lock can be locked by a key cylinder or a lock knob to release the connections between the open lever and the pawl. This is so called "locked" since the door is prevented from opening by the operations of the outside handle or the inside handle. When the key cylinder or the lock knob is operated for unlock, the open lever connects with the pawl so that the engagement of the latch and the pawl is released. The door is ready for opening.
The pawl works for engaging and releasing the latch with the help of the spring. The pawl is placed in the door lock housing to be allowed its rotation and is connected to the spring which is connected to the housing.
Thus, it is important for a door lock that the spring gives a certain force to the pawl. The spring is installed in the housing, however, it is difficult to assemble a spring into a small housing. There may be an uneven force applied to pawl by a spring because of a difficulty of assembly. This may cause a lack of the stability of the pawl movements. Further, a coil spring may be unstable in its position because of its shape, a coil spring may be assembled incorrectly in its position. This may also cause a bad response of the pawl and the latch movements.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds