The invention relates to an arrangement in a hatch structure which is adapted to be installed in a vehicle body for roof hatches, particularly of coaches and the like, which roof hatches are used especially to assist ventilation.
From publication DE 1 240 424 is known a widely-used roof hatch, the operating mechanism of which is, however, prone to break if the hatch is struck on route by a branch or other object. Hatch structures as described in publications GB 1 397 251 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,334 have very many large parts, as a result of which their structures are rather expensive to manufacture. The structure described in publication GB 1 350 844 requires fairly many joints and levers, which are very expensive and time-consuming to manufacture from metal and install as articulated structures. From publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,917 is known a hatch structure, whose locking arrangement is based on the locking effect of a ball pushed into a socket by means of spring power, the operation of which is to some extent uncertain unless the hatch position is carefully locked every time the hatch is operated.
The object of the invention is to present a hatch structure that is cheap to manufacture and easy to install in an opening arranged in the body of a vehicle. A particular object of the invention is to present a roof hatch, with a structure that is mechanically durable, should a branch or other object that comes into contact with the hatch be located in the line of travel. One object of the invention is also to present a hatch structure that can be used for servicing and as an emergency exit. It is clear that the hatch should be easy to operate since the person operating the hatch is often operating it for the first time. One object of the invention is that the parts of the operating mechanism are mainly of plastic for reasons of both corrosion resistance and issues relating to manufacture.
The object of the invention is achieved through an arrangement described in the characterising part of claim 1. An arrangement concerning a hatch structure to be installed in the body of a vehicle comprises a hatch with edges that are bent downwards, which hatch when in the closed position is mainly horizontal, an opening smaller than the said hatch in the body of a vehicle, packing for sealing the hatch and opening in relation to one another when the hatch is closed, and a hatch operating mechanism. The latter comprises at least one body part, which incorporates the sliding faces of a slide that are parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal axis and support the slide, a lever connected to the slide by means of a first joint and supported via another joint at a point close to the edge of the opening in the vehicle's body, and a compression spring in the slide bed that constantly exerts force on the slide in such a manner as to push it. If the said body part is supported on the lower surface of the hatch and if the compression spring presses the slide towards the edge of the hatch that is at the location of the said body part, an arrangement incorporating a structure of this kind provides a system that it is very small in size with only a few structural parts. This kind of structure is also highly durable, provided that the material chosen is a plastic that is strong and durable.
If the said first joint is positioned eccentrically to the sliding faces, and if the length of the lever is selected so that the so-called dead centre of the mechanism is near half way between the closed position and the open position of the hatch, the said compression spring holds the hatch reliably in the extreme position in which it has been left, that is open or closed.
If there is a stop arrangement in connection with the first joint with the aid of which arrangement the said lever limits the movement of the slide so that the slide is prevented from coming out of the sliding faces of the body part, the stop arrangement prevents the spring from pushing the slide too far in the slide bed. This also makes the hatch more stable when the hatch is in the open position.
If the opening in the body of the vehicle has a front edge and a rear edge that are transverse to the driving direction, and both edges have at least two support points for the operating mechanism, the mounting of the hatch structure on the said opening is very simple and easy.
If the said support points are located at a distance of 25 cm-90 cm, preferably 35 cm-60 cm from each other on the same edge, the hatch mounting will be sufficiently strong and stable.
If means for operating the hatch have been arranged under the lower surface of the hatch, by which means the front edge and correspondingly the rear edge of the hatch in relation to the driving direction can be opened and correspondingly closed mainly by pushing upwards or correspondingly mainly by pulling downwards on the operating means, it is easy for the vehicle personnel or passengers to operate the hatch structure according to the arrangement when opening or closing the hatch.
If by pushing or correspondingly pulling on the said operating means, it is possible to choose whether the front edge of the hatch or correspondingly the rear edge of the hatch in the driving direction is in the open position, the operator can choose the desired position in a simple manner.
If the operating means is rod-like and the operating means is positioned mainly horizontally close to the operating mechanisms on the same side of the hatch, it is possible to get a strong grip of the operating means, because the operation of the hatch however does require a certain amount of power.
If the rod-like operating means are located at both the front edge and the rear edge of the hatch in relation to the driving direction, the operator is able to choose the position of the hatch.
If no part of the operating means is closer than 5 cm to the edge of the opening in the vehicle's body, the arrangement is very safe to operate, provided that the operator holds on to the operating means, and thus there is no risk that the operator's hand could in any way be caught and crushed in the hatch structure.
If at least the major part of the hatch structure is of plastic, problems relating to corrosion are avoided and the parts need not be coated, since the colour of the object is determined according to the chosen raw material.
In the following, the invention is described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which
The reference number 1 in
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The structure according to the invention may be manufactured for the most part from plastic by injection moulding. This avoids problems relating to corrosion and the parts do not need to be coated, because the colour of a part is determined by material choice. The parts can be manufactured to very accurate dimensions and manufacture even of complex shapes is not difficult. Also, freer design of visible parts is possible, if the parts are manufactured by injection moulding, which is also a very fast method of manufacture suitable for mass production. Conventional methods of fastening for example with screws or rivets are not described here, since it is part of the known prior art.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but several variations are conceivable within the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20010600 | Mar 2001 | FI | national |
This application is the US national phase of international application PCT/FI02/00248 filed Mar. 22, 2002 which designated the U.S.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCTFI02/00248 | 3/22/2002 | WO | 00 | 9/22/2003 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO0207677 | 10/3/2002 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2226824 | Larson | Dec 1940 | A |
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3952790 | Leitch | Apr 1976 | A |
4021073 | Manning | May 1977 | A |
4329917 | Fisher et al. | May 1982 | A |
4372603 | Stanczak et al. | Feb 1983 | A |
4412404 | Manning | Nov 1983 | A |
4523785 | Draper et al. | Jun 1985 | A |
4679841 | Taunay | Jul 1987 | A |
4747630 | Isomine et al. | May 1988 | A |
4773126 | Voss | Sep 1988 | A |
4928441 | Daley | May 1990 | A |
5613728 | Smith et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
5768834 | Pinder | Jun 1998 | A |
5788406 | Hernandez | Aug 1998 | A |
6120080 | Hori et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6283535 | Yuge | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6341809 | Chapman | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6439655 | Lenhardt et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6572182 | Lamparter et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
6609750 | Cauduro | Aug 2003 | B1 |
6719357 | Pfertner et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 240 424 | May 1967 | DE |
199 46 500 | Nov 2000 | DE |
0 054 741 | Jun 1982 | EP |
940318 | Oct 1963 | GB |
1 268 179 | Mar 1972 | GB |
1350844 | Apr 1974 | GB |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040094994 A1 | May 2004 | US |