Importance

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Abstract

An exterior handle assembly for a motor vehicle door including an escutcheon, a handle including a horizontal hand grip and a pair of vertical arms supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement about a horizontal first axis, and a multiplier lever supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement about a horizontal second axis. The multiplier lever surrounds one of the vertical arms of the handle for concurrent pivotal movement therewith and is linked by a push rod to a release lever of a door lock such that pivotal movement of the handle to an extended position of the hand grip releases a fork bolt to release the door. The separation between the horizontal first and second axes amplifies the pivotal movement of the multiplier lever. The exterior handle assembly further includes a blocking lever supported on the escutcheon for pivotal movement from an inactive position remote from the multiplier lever to an active position facing a shoulder on the multiplier lever and a spring biasing the blocking lever to its inactive position. The blocking lever has less inertia than the handle and pivots from its inactive position to its active position at the onset of a side impact on the vehicle body to immobilize the multiplier lever and the handle before the hand grip attains its extended position.

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First Claim