Lock Cylinder Attaching Device for Vehicle Movable Closure Locks

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to vehicle movable closure locks such as vehicle door locks and more particularly to a device for attaching a lock cylinder to a vehicle body member such as a door outer panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art

FIG. 1 shows a typical means for attaching a lock cylinder 10 to a door outer panel 12. The door outer panel 12 is formed with a hole 12a to accommodate therein the outer end portion 10a of the lock cylinder 10. The lock cylinder 10 has an enlarged head 10c at the outward termination of the outer end portion 10a thereof and is adapted to be insertable only from the outside of the door outer panel 12. The lock cylinder 10 is fixed to the door outer panel 12 by means of a clip 14 which is fitted in an annular peripheral groove 16 provided to the outer end portion 10a of the lock cylinder 10 and cooperates with the enlarged head 10c of the lock cylinder 10 to clamp therebetween the door outer panel 12. The lock cylinder 10 is thus supported at the outer end portion 10a by the door outer panel 12 and has an inner free end 10b projecting inwardly of the vehicle body. A lock cylinder lever 18 is attached to the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10 and adapted to be swingable in response to rotation of a key inserted into the lock cylinder 10. The movement of the lock cylinder lever 18 is transferred through a control rod 20 to an unshown door locking mechanism to control locking and unlocking the door.

With such a lock cylinder attaching means, the lock cylinder 10 may be forcibly swung about the outer end portion 10a by using a screw driver or the like, making it possible to move the lock cylinder lever 18 upwardly and downwardly without using a key. Such movement of the lock cylinder lever 18 may possibly effect unlocking of the door. For this reason, the above described lock cylinder attaching means is undesirable from an antitheft point of view.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a novel and improved lock cylinder attaching device which comprises a vehicle body member, a lock cylinder arranged transversely of the vehicle body member to have an inner end portion and an outer end portion, means for attaching the outer end portion of the lock cylinder to the vehicle body member, and a support having one end portion fixed to the vehicle body member and the other end portion supporting the inner end portion of the lock cylinder.

This structure enables the lock cylinder attaching device to be free from the drawback noted above.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved lock cylinder attaching device which is free from the drawback noted above.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved lock cylinder attaching device of the above described character which enables a vehicle movable closure lock to obtain a positiveand assured antitheft character.

The features and advantages of the lock cylinder attaching device according to the present invention will become more clearly appreciated from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a prior art door lock cylinder attaching device;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a door lock cylinder attaching device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a support employed in the lock cylinder attaching device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but shows a modified embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but shows a modified support employed in the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but shows another modified embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another modified support employed in the embodiment of FIG. 6.

Reference being first made to FIGS. 2 and 3, a lock cylinder attaching device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown to comprise means for attaching an outer end portion 10a of a lock cylinder 10 to a vehicle body member or a vehicle movable closure such as a door outer panel 12 as shown in the drawing. This lock cylinder outer end portion attaching means is substantially similar to that of the prior art device of FIG. 1. The door outer panel 12 is shown to have a recessed or inwardly bulged portion 12b for the disposition of an outside door handle 22 which is held in place by means of bolt 24 and nut 26. The bulged portion 12 has a relatively large structural strength as compared with other parts of the door outer panel 12.

In accordance with the present invention, the lock cylinder attaching device further comprises a support 28 in the form of a rectangular, flat plate arranged to be elongated vertically. The support 28 has at the upper end portion thereof a bolt accommodation hole 28a accommodating therein the bolt 24 and at the lower end portion thereof a lock cylinder inner end portion accommodation hole 28 accommodating therein the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10. With these circular holes 28a and 28b, the support 28 is fixed at the upper end portion thereof to the inwardly bulged portion 12b together with the outside door handle 22 by means of the bolt 124 and nut 26 and carries at the lower end portion thereof the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10 by receiving same in the hole 28b.

With the provision of the support 28, the lock cylinder 10 is now supported at two axially spaced points thereof, i.e., at both of the outer and inner end portions 10a and 10b on the door outer panel 12, positively and assuredly preventing the lock cylinder 10 from being swung about the outer end portion 10a and thereby enabling the door lock to effect a positive and assured burglarproof action.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown a modified embodiment of the present invention which is substantially similar to the previous embodiment except for a U-shaped notch or cut 28b' formed in the support 28 in place of the circular hole 28b and an annular peripheral groove 30 formed in the lock cylinder 10 in place of the groove 16. More specifically, the notch 28b' is provided to the lower end portion of the support 28 in a manner to open at one lateral side of same. The annular peripheral groove 30 is provided to the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10 so that the grooved inner end portion 10b engagedly fits in the notch 28b' of the support 28. With the notch 28b' and groove 30, the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10 and the lower end portion of the support 28 are interlocked to prevent the lock cylinder 10 not only from being swung about the outer end portion 10a thereof but also from being moved axially thereof relative to the door outer panel 12. The clip 14 employed in the previous embodiment thus can be dispensed with, making it possible to reduce the number of constituent parts of the lock cylinder attaching device. The lock cylinder outer end portion attaching means in case of this embodiment is constituted by the lock cylinder outer end portion accommodation hole 12a formed in the door outer panel 12 and the lock cylinder enlarged head 10c.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown another modified embodiment of the present invention which is substantially similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 except for a lower end bent portion 28c and an intermediate bent portion 28d which are both additionally provided to the support 28. The lower bent portion 28c projects outwardly from the lower end portion of the support 28 to form an abutment arm which is abuttingly engageable with the door outer panel 12. The lower bent portion 28c thus serves as a reinforcement member, increasing the structural strength of the lock cylinder attaching device and thereby providing the door lock with an improved antitheft character. The intermediate bent portion 28d projects inwardly from a location intermediate between the upper and lower ends of the support 28 to form a cover which is operative to conceal the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10. Such a cover is quite useful from an antitheft point of view. As seen from FIG. 7, the support 28 is of a single piece and preferably formed from a sheet of metal, and the intermediate portion 28d is formed by combined cutting and bending.

Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.