System for preventing inadvertent locking of a vehicle door

摘要

A lock mechanism (20) for a door comprising: a door handle (110) manually movable from a rest position to an activated position; a first bias spring (170) biasing the door handle to automatically return to the rest position; a lock button (210) movable from an unlocked position to a locked position, wherein when the lock button is in the locked position an associated door lock is locked, thereby preventing the door from being opened and when the lock button is in an unlocked position the door lock is capable of being opened by the door handle when it is moved to the activated position, whereby a quick release of the door handle from its activated position initiates movement of the lock button from the unlocked position to the locked position; the lock mechanism further includes a lever assembly comprising: a programmed lever (300, 302) for blocking the lock button from moving to its locked position in response to the quick release of the door handle, wherein when the lock button is in the locked position an associated door lock mechanism is locked thereby preventing the door from being opened at least from the exterior of the vehicle and wherein the lock button is configured such that when it is in an unlocked position the lock button is capable of inadvertently being moved to its locked position by at least the operation of the door handle.