Importance

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Abstract

A door handle assembly for a motor vehicle which acts to preclude inadvertent unlatching of the door in response to a side impact. Several embodiments of the inventions are disclosed. Each embodiment includes a damper in the form of a vane/piston assembly positioned within a cylinder with fluid trapped between the vane assembly and the cylinder. In response to a side impact scenario generating inertial forces tending to inadvertently move the door handle in an unlatching direction, the vanes or piston coact with the cylinder and with the trapped fluid to resist such opening movement of the handle. In each of the several disclosed embodiments the axis of relative movement of the damper elements is incongruent with respect to the axis of movement of the handle whereby to address packaging problems that are peculiar to certain vehicle door environments.

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First Claim