4013 results about "Door handle" patented technology

A lighting system for a vehicle having luminescent or “glow-in-the-dark” markings placed on an interior surface of the vehicle and a light source located remotely from the markings to illuminate the markings, particularly at night. The markings can be placed on any surface inside a vehicle, such as a gear shift know, door handle or steering column control stalk. Additionally, the light source can be placed in the roof of the vehicle, behind a steering wheel, or any other location having an unobstructed view of the markings.

A door handle assembly for a door of a vehicle includes a handle portion and an illumination module. The handle portion is disposed at the vehicle door and movable to actuate a locking mechanism of the vehicle door to open the vehicle door. The illumination module includes at least one illumination source and an icon element and a cover element. The illumination source, when operated, backlights the icon element so that an icon of the icon element is viewable through the cover element at an exterior surface of the handle portion. The icon element includes a security icon and the illumination module is operable to backlight the security icon when a security system of the vehicle is operational.

A latching apparatus may have a normal mode of operation in which a mechanical signal is employed to actuate a door pawl, and hence to release a door latch ratchet. An electrical actuator may be employed to send that mechanical signal, and operation of the actuator may be governed by an electronic control unit (ECU). The latch apparatus may also have a second, or emergency, mode of operation in which a second mechanical signal path is employed either to cause an augmented force to be employed to release the pawl, or to cause a sudden impulse to urge the pawl to release, the sudden impulse being driven by a release of energy from an energy storage device, in particular a mechanical energy storage device. The apparatus may include either an electrical or a mechanical door handle interrupt to prevent unwanted activation. The device may also include an auxiliary electrical back-up power source in the event of a main power source failure.

Multifunction assembly comprised of: an outer surface structure (CAR) containing a side door (D) that supports at least one exterior mirror assembly (RVM), an exterior door handle assembly (HE) of said door, and an exterior laser emitter (LE1) which emits a fixed and direct line of laser light (LL1) downwards on said ground adjacent to the vehicle, indicating an area (DA) where the doors open and combines functions associated with other indicator signal devices (BL), sensors and open door commands, and an ultraviolet light emitter device (EUV).

An electronic door latch includes a sensor mounted inside of an outer surface of the door. The sensor may be a proximity sensor, a touch sensor or other suitable sensor configured to determine if a user's hand is present. The door latch release system further includes a powered latch that selectively retains the door latch in a closed position. The system may include a handle formed by a flange or other structure extending across a portion of a recess or pocket in the door. The system may include a receiver that utilizes a signal from a security transmitter (e.g. keyless entry fob).

A flush door handle includes a powered actuator that shifts the handle from a fully retracted position to an intermediate position. A user can then grasp the handle, and pull the handle to a fully open position to thereby unlatch the door latch. After a user releases the handle, it shifts to a closed position due to spring force or a powered actuator. The door latch may also comprise a fully powered version wherein the handle shifts from a closed position to an open position, and a powered door latch releases the door latch if predefined conditions are detected.

A flush door handle includes a powered actuator that shifts the handle from a fully retracted position to an intermediate position. A user can then grasp the handle, and pull the handle to a fully open position to thereby unlatch the door latch. After a user releases the handle, it shifts to a closed position due to spring force or a powered actuator. The door latch may also comprise a fully powered version wherein the handle shifts from a closed position to an open position, and a powered door latch releases the door latch if predefined conditions are detected.

A refrigerator includes a door handle, which can prevent damage of an appearance of the refrigerator or noise by an operation of the door handle, and which can permit easy opening of a door with a small force being required by a user. The refrigerator includes a door installed to a main body of the refrigerator, and the door handle installed on the door. The door handle includes a rotational member rotatably coupled with the door, a compressive member installed on the door, to linearly move in order to compress the main body, a gear connection part to convert a rotational movement of the rotational member to a linear movement of the compressive member, and a returning member to return the rotational member to an original position.

The present invention is an integrated control system for use with various home appliances, such as washing machine, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and the like. In a first embodiment of the present invention, the integrated controls are incorporated into a polycarbonate clear door panel, and incorporate proximity switches and controls to provide control and operation of the applicance. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are optionally incorporated into a door handle for the appliance in an area out of sight such that only the light produced by the LEDs is seen and illuminates a handle for opening the door of the appliance. Additionally, opaque glass technology may be incorporated into one or more surfaces of the appliance which enables an opaque panel to become transparent to view the content of the interior of the appliance, such as a refrigerator.

A motor vehicle door locking system and a door handle are proposed. In order to prevent unlocking or opening of an electrically triggered motor vehicle door lock by unintentional actuation of a first actuating means, a second actuating means is employed and required to be activated in combination with the first actuation means for unlocking or opening of the motor vehicle door lock, and thus unlocking or opening the assigned motor vehicle.

A handle 16 for exterior use in a vehicle to authorize a mechanism (18) to unlatch an access door has a structural part (34); a cover (36); and a pair of sensors or switches (28, 29) between the structural part (34) and the cover (36). A first sensor or switch (28) to interact with one or more fingers of a user's (26) hand (2) and a second sensor or switch (29) spaced from said first sensor (28) to be activated by a user's (26) different finger or the user's (26) thumb. The combination of the two switches or sensors (28, 29) signal the mechanism (18) to unlatch the access door and wherein the activation of only the second sensor or switch (29) in the absence of touching the first sensor or switch (28) authorizes a mechanism (18) to lock the access door. Preferably, the first and second sensors or switches (28, 29) are electrically coupled such that activation of both authorizes an unlatching of the access door while the activation of only the second sensor or switch (29) authorizes a lock only feature. Accordingly, the second sensor or switch (29) changes authorization from unlatch to lock dependent on the use or non-use of the first sensor or switch (28).

Several new components are provided for a mortise lock. First, a non-handed clutching assembly, including a pair of spindle hubs rotatable within a pair of outer hubs, is provided for a mortise lock. Second, a spindle-mounted lock-handing selector—which can be removed from one side of the lockset body while the lockset body is installed in the mortise of a door—is provided to set the handing of the clutching assembly. Third, an escapement mechanism is provided for a reciprocating-slide-based clutch-actuator assembly, enabling the slides to move into a position biasing a locker-carrying lever toward a hub-coupling position, even if the outer and spindle hubs are misaligned. Fourth, a guardbolt-actuated blocking assembly for a lockset is provided to block movement of the stop works or clutch works when the door is closed and the outside door handle is disabled.

A metallic resin cover constitutes a portion of an outer wall of a human detection device in which a detection electrode of a capacitance sensor is provided, and which detects whether a human touches or approaches the human detection device. The metallic resin cover includes a covered body; and a metal layer that has a metal-object discretely arranged structure in which a plurality of metal objects are discretely arranged. The metal layer covers an outer surface of the covered body.

An illumination module for a vehicle includes at least one illumination source for illuminating a target area at the vehicle. The illumination module may be mounted at a handle of a vehicle door and may be operable to illuminate the handle region and / or pocket region of the vehicle door and to illuminate a ground region adjacent to the vehicle and generally below the door handle assembly. The illumination module may include an icon established thereat and the at least one illumination source may back light the icon so that the icon, when the illumination module is activated, is viewable by a person viewing the vehicle. The illumination module may project or direct the illumination toward a targeted area so that the icon is discernible at the targeted area.

A keyless entry system for a vehicle comprises a keyless entry pad having a plurality of keys. Each key has a corresponding symbol, and the symbols collectively form a textual representation of the vehicle and / or a user of the vehicle. A plurality of sensors in register with the keys for detecting the presence of a finger on each of the keys is coupled to an entry door latch for sending an unlock signal to the latch when a keyless entry code is entered a by selecting the keys with the finger in a predetermined sequence. When the latch is unlocked, the latch can be operated to open the entry door, such as with a door handle. The keyless entry system can be integrated with the door handle.

An apparatus and method for sanitizing door handles includes dispensing a germicide, such as a disinfectant, antibacterial solution or cleansing agent, onto a door handle at controlled intervals. The door handle sanitizer further includes a source of liquid or gaseous disinfectant, a spray nozzle configured to convey liquid or gaseous disinfectant from the source to the nozzle and for dispensing the liquid or gaseous disinfectant onto the handle, and a controller for causing the liquid or gaseous disinfectant to be conveyed to the handle in intervals, wherein the intervals are responsive to an external condition and the controller if free of any manual activation.

The invention relates to an external door handle for the side door, rear door or boot of a motor vehicle, said door handle being fitted with a flap (1) that retracts automatically when the handle is used. The flap is fitted with a sensor (5) which detects the presence of a hand opposite said flap. When the flap is not in use, it is closed in such a way as to be perfectly flush with the external surface (2) of the door and it is held in position by a spring recall system. An actuation device, which is controlled by a computer, is designed to retract the flap at the appropriate moment in order to provide access to the door opening control (8). Said flap system can be connected to an electric-or mechanical-type-opening control. The inventive handle affords the advantage of being very practical to use and having a value-enhancing style and appearance.

A passive entry system for an vehicle door requires no active operator input to gain entrance to the vehicle. A door module recognizes the signal transmitted by an authorized key fob to identify the operator of the vehicle. The authentication of the operator coupled with the operator touching a sensor on the door to be opened actuates a release actuator that unlatches the selected door. The spring-load provided by the door seal will pop the door open from the closed position. A key cylinder, which can be located substantially anywhere on the door, is coupled mechanically to the release latch for use if the battery is weak and cannot activate the release actuator. An LED signals the state of the opening sequence for the door. The fixed door handle can incorporate a membrane switch or a capacitive sensor to indicate the selection of the door by the operator when touched.

A door handle assembly which is compact in size for space-efficient packaging in a door of an automotive vehicle. The assembly includes a safety system for preventing inadvertent movement of the handle to an unlatched position during a side impact collision. A counterweight is mounted in the handle assembly which, during relative motions of parts induced by acceleration from a side impact, resists unlatching the handle. The counterweight is rotatably mounted on an axis different from an axis of the handle latch control mechanism, and is not fixedly attached to the handle mechanism.

A vehicle door handle assembly for opening a door of a vehicle includes a base which is mountable at the door of the vehicle and a handle portion which is operable to open the door via movement of the handle portion relative to the base. The handle portion includes a first portion having a first material hardness and a second portion having a second material hardness. The first material hardness is greater than the second material hardness, such that the second portion provides a softer feel to a user of the door handle assembly when opening the door of the vehicle. The door handle assembly may further include an illumination source for illuminating the handle portion and / or a heating element for heating the handle portion.

Motor vehicle door lock comprising: a latch (1); a pawl (3) which can adopt an "escapement" position; an operating member which, on the one hand, can adopt either an active position in which it acts, during its actuating movement, on the pawl to place it in the "escapement" position, or an inhibited position in which it has no effect on the pawl and, on the other hand, may experience an actuating movement in response to actuation of the door handle; and an electric device (15-24) which responds at least to an unlock signal by moving the operating member from its inhibited position as far as its active position, characterized in that the operating member consists of a set of two links (7, 11) articulated together by a hinge joint (10), of which one (11) of the links comprises a thrust surface (11a) which is positioned in such a way that, in the active position, the thrust surface comes up against and carries along a peg (25) on the pawl (3), during the actuating movement, until the said pawl has been placed in the "escapement" position, and that in the inhibited position, the thrust surface at most comes into contact with the said peg, during the actuating movement so that the operating member has no action on the pawl, and of which the other link (7) is articulated to an opening lever (5), the electric device comprising a lock / unlock lever (15) co-operating with the hinge joint (10) to make it pivot about the articulation (8).

A locking doorknob which recognizes a fingerprint, in which the detecting sensor of a fingerprint is installed on the spot of the doorknob that a thumb or other fingers are placed naturally as the door is being opened. The locking doorknob is an electromechanical device which can be powered by a remote electrical power system, specifically by electromagnetic induction through the door latch and strike plate. During operation, as soon as a user grasps the doorknob, a fingerprint is measured and searched and, if the fingerprint corresponds to a fingerprint previously input, the door is unlocked and the doorknob can be turned to open the door. An image capture device may also be combined with the doorknob to facilitate recognition of persons using or attempting to use the doorknob. In this way, fingerprint recognition, continuous real time security and opening of the door are performed at the same time.

A light-emitting device indicating a location of an outside door handle comprising a lamp, detecting part, and control part, wherein the lamp is disposed inside a pushbutton. The detecting part detects whether the engine is activated or deactivated and whether the door is opened or closed. The control part turns the lamp on when the detecting part senses that the engine has stopped running and the door has opened. The light-emitting device provides illumination to the pushbutton at the outside door handle in order for the driver, after having exited the vehicle, to easily locate the pushbutton for locking the door in the dark.

A handle assembly for a vehicle door and a method of operating the handle assembly is disclosed. The door handle assembly may include a pivot bracket mounted in the vehicle door, a handle arm pivotally mounted to the pivot bracket, a handle alignable flush with a door handle cutout, and a motor assembly operatively engaging the handle arm to selectively cause pivoting of the handle arm relative to the pivot bracket. The door handle assembly may also include a handle depression limit switch, a handle flush button, or a handle extension limit switch in communication with a control module that controls the motor.

A vehicle key-less entry system includes a locking mechanism to lock or unlock vehicle doors; a door-handle detector to detect whether a door handle is manipulated and a manipulation mode when the door handle is detected as manipulated; a mobile device to record identification (ID) information and conduct non-contact communications using the ID information; an authenticator to perform an authentication procedure using the ID information through the non-contact communications with the mobile device when the door handle is detected as manipulated; and a locking controller to control the locking mechanism for locking or unlocking the vehicle door based on the manipulation mode detected by the door-handle detector when a result of the authentication procedure is positive. The door-handle detector may detect whether a door handle is manipulated only. The locking controller controls the locking mechanism for locking or unlocking the vehicle door when the vehicle door is detected as unlocked or locked by the locking-state detector when a result of the authentication procedure is positive.

A keyless entry system has a handle housing and a grip cover defining a door handle grip, a keyless entry pad defining a plurality of keys, each identified with a corresponding symbol, a plurality of sensors in proximity to the keys for detecting an object in the vicinity of the keys, an illumination source to selectively backlight the sensors and symbols, and a light-controlling membrane extending over the keyless entry pad. Entering a keyless entry code into the keyless entry pad by selecting keys in a predetermined sequence enables a latch to be selectively disposed in either a locked condition or an unlocked condition. In ambient light, the light-controlling membrane renders the symbol invisible. When the illumination source backlights the sensor and the symbol, the light-controlling membrane renders the symbol visible.

An illuminated door handle (16) for a vehicle door (12,14) includes a mounting frame (22), a handle arm (24), an LED (26), an LED light guide (28), and a back plate (30). The handle arm (24) is pivotally attached to the mounting frame (22). The handle arm (24) includes one or more window portions (32) and a cavity (34), with the LED light guide (28) extending into the cavity (34) and emitting light through the window portion (32). The back plate (30) is attached to the handle arm (24) and extends across the cavity (34). The LED (26) is attached to the LED light guide (28) and transmits light through the LED light guide (28).

A door handle apparatus having a door handle 12 which is provided on a back door of an automobile in such a manner as to oscillate freely and a cover member 20 for covering the door handle 12, wherein a detection sensor 30 for detecting the approach of an operator toward the door handle 12 is provided between the door handle 12 and the cover member 20.