Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6591452
-
Patent Number
6,591,452
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, January 30, 200124 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 15, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Knight; Anthony
- Pickard; Alison K.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 016 332
- 016 334
- 016 86 C
- 016 366
- 296 14611
- 296 14612
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A hinge for a motor vehicle rear door (2) includes a fixed knuckle (20) mounted on the body (1) of the vehicle, a moving knuckle (30) mounted on the rear door (2), the door being movable between a closed position and an open position resting against the side of the body (1), and an intermediate knuckle (40) connected to each of the knuckles (20; 30) by a hinge pin (11; 15). The hinge also includes a device (60) for holding the rear door (2) in a wide-open position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle door hinge and particularly to a rear door hinge.
Certain motor vehicles, such as utility vehicles of the small van type, for example, are equipped with rear doors that can be moved between a closed position and an open position resting against the side of the body of the vehicle so as to completely uncover the loading platform and not protrude significantly from the width of this vehicle during the loading and unloading operations.
In order to allow the door to pivot between the two extreme positions, this door is equipped with a hinge which comprises a fixed knuckle mounted on the body of the vehicle, a moving knuckle mounted on the door, and an intermediate knuckle connected to each of the said knuckles via a hinge pin so as to allow the said door to pivot through about 250°.
The hinge comprises a blocking member cooperating with each of the pins to lock them in terms of rotation alternately and allow the successive pivoting of the moving knuckle about its pin through an angle of between 0 and 180°, then the pivoting of the assembly consisting of the intermediate knuckle and the moving knuckle about the pin of the fixed knuckle through an angle of between about 180 and 250°.
In the hinges hitherto used, the blocking member has been formed by a piece held on the intermediate knuckle by means of two screw-fastening elements which each pass through this piece via an oblong hole.
When the door is opened, the blocking member slides and successfully blocks the two pins by coming into contact with a flat formed on each of these pins so as, first of all, to allow the moving knuckle -to pivot by itself and then allow the assembly formed by the moving knuckle and the intermediate knuckle to pivot.
When the door is closed, the blocking member first of all blocks the pin of the moving knuckle so as to allow the assembly formed by the moving knuckle and the intermediate knuckle to pivot about the pin of the fixed knuckle and then blocks the pin of the fixed knuckle so as to allow only the moving knuckle to pivot about its pin.
Hitherto, rear doors have been equipped, in addition to hinges, with a stop system so as to hold them in the open position.
This independent stop system therefore leads to assembly operations which are in addition to those required for fitting the hinges and to an increase in the number of parts and thus in the cost.
The object of the invention is to avoid these drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the subject of the invention is a motor vehicle rear door hinge of the type comprising:
a fixed knuckle mounted on the body of the vehicle,
a moving knuckle mounted on the rear door, which door is movable between a closed position and an open position resting against the side of the body,
an intermediate knuckle connected to each of the said knuckles by a hinge pin,
characterized in that this hinge comprises means for holding the rear door in a wide-open position.
According to other features of the invention:
the holding means are formed by a cam, one end of which is mounted articulated on the intermediate knuckle and the other end of which, on one of its lateral edges, has a notch cooperating, when the rear door is in the wide-open position, with a stop member supported by the fixed knuckle,
the lateral edge of the cam bearing the notch is held against the stop member by a pressing element cooperating with the opposite lateral edge of the said cam to the one bearing the said notch,
the stop member is formed by a fixed roller mounted so that it is free to rotate on a pin supported by the fixed knuckle,
the pressing element is formed by a moving roller mounted so that it is free to rotate on a support borne by the fixed knuckle, the said support being mounted so that it can pivot on a leg of the fixed knuckle and the said moving roller being held against the lateral edge of the cam by a spring acting on the said support,
the lateral edge of the cam in contact with the moving roller comprises a catch for holding the intermediate knuckle while the moving knuckle is pivoting about its pin.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the description which will follow, which is given by way of example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a schematic view from above of a motor vehicle rear door hinge according to the invention,
FIG. 2
is a schematic perspective view of the hinge when the door is in the closed position,
FIG. 3
is a schematic perspective view of the hinge when the door is in the open position,
FIG. 4
is a view in cross section of the hinge when the door is the closed position,
FIG. 5
is a view in section on
5
—
5
of
FIG. 4
,
FIGS. 6
,
7
and
8
are views in cross section of the hinge when the door is, respectively, open at 90°, 180° and 250°.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The hinge depicted in the figures and denoted overall by the reference
10
is intended to be mounted between a body
1
of a motor vehicle and a rear door
2
that can be moved between a closed position and an open position in which this rear door
2
rests against the side of the said body
1
.
As depicted in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, the intermediate knuckle
40
is mounted between the cheeks
22
and
23
of the fixed knuckle
20
and the cheeks
32
and
33
of the moving knuckle
30
.
The fixed knuckle
20
is in the form of a clevis block comprising, on the one hand, a plate
21
intended to be fixed to the body
1
of the vehicle by means, for example, of screw-fastening elements, not depicted, and, on the other hand, two parallel cheeks
22
and
23
respectively, extending at right angles to the said plate
21
.
Likewise, the moving knuckle
30
is in the form of a clevis block comprising, on the one hand, a plate
31
intended to be fixed to the rear door
2
using, for example, screw-fastening elements, not depicted, and, on the other hand, two parallel cheeks
32
and
33
respectively, extending at right angles to the said plate
31
.
As depicted in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, the intermediate knuckle
40
is mounted between the cheeks
22
and
23
of the fixed knuckle
21
and the cheeks
32
and
33
of the moving knuckle
31
.
This intermediate knuckle
40
comprises a plate
41
comprising two parallel cheeks
42
and
43
respectively, perpendicular to the said plate
41
as depicted in
FIGS. 3 and 5
.
The intermediate knuckle
40
is connected, on the one hand, to the fixed knuckle
20
by a pin
11
which passes through the cheeks
22
and
23
of this fixed knuckle
20
and the cheeks
42
and
43
of the intermediate knuckle
40
and, on the other hand, to the moving knuckle
30
by a pin
15
which passes through the cheeks
32
and
33
of the moving knuckle
30
and the cheeks
42
and
43
of the said intermediate knuckle
40
.
As depicted in
FIG. 4
, the pin
11
fitted between the fixed knuckle
20
and the intermediate knuckle
40
is placed in a bushing
12
secured to the said fixed knuckle
20
. This bushing
12
has a flat
13
on its external face.
Likewise, the pin
15
is placed in a bushing
16
which rotates as one with the mobile knuckle
30
. This bushing
16
comprises, on its external face, a flat
17
.
As depicted in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the hinge
10
is also provided with a blocking member
50
cooperating alternately with one of the flats
13
and
17
of the said bushings
12
and
16
to successively allow the moving knuckle
30
to pivot about the pin
15
, then the assembly consisting of the intermediate knuckle
40
and the mobile knuckle
30
to pivot about the pin
11
of the fixed knuckle
20
when the rear door
2
is being opened and vice versa when this rear door
2
is being closed, as will be seen later.
The blocking member
50
is formed a link rod
51
which, as depicted in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, presses against the upper cheek
42
of the intermediate knuckle
40
and is located between the bushings
12
and
16
.
At its end facing the bushing
12
of the pin
11
, the link rod
51
has a fork
52
for positioning it on the said bushing
12
and, at its end facing the bushing
16
of the pin
15
, the link rod has a fork
53
for positioning it on the said bushing
16
.
The link rod
51
is thus held in position, on the one hand, via the upper cheek
42
of the intermediate knuckle
40
and the cheeks
22
and
32
respectively of the fixed knuckle
20
and of the moving knuckle
30
and, on the other hand, via the respective bushings
12
and
16
of the pins
11
and
15
.
In an alternative form, the link rod
51
may be arranged below the lower cheek
43
of the intermediate knuckle
40
. In this case, the link rod
51
is held by the cheek
23
of the fixed knuckle
20
and the cheek
33
of the moving knuckle
30
.
As depicted in
FIG. 4
, the width between the internal faces of the two prongs of each fork
52
and
53
is roughly equal to the outside diameter of the bushings
12
and
16
and the length of the link rod
51
between the bottoms of the two forks
52
and
53
is roughly equal to the distance separating a flat of one of the bushings from a cylindrical portion of the other of the said bushings.
Furthermore, the hinge is also fitted with means
60
for holding the rear door
2
in the wide-open position.
As depicted in particular in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, these means
60
are formed by a cam
61
, one end
61
a
of which is mounted articulated on the intermediate knuckle
40
by means of a pin
62
located between the cheeks
42
and
43
of the said intermediate knuckle
40
.
The opposite end
61
b
of this cam
61
to the one articulated to the intermediate knuckle
40
comprises a notch
64
on its lateral edge
63
a.
As will be seen later, this notch
64
is intended to cooperate, when the rear door
2
is in the wide-open position, with a stop member
65
.
This stop member
65
is formed by a fixed roller
65
a
mounted so that it is free to rotate on a pin
65
b
supported by the fixed knuckle
20
via a leg
23
a
extending the lower cheek
23
a
of the said fixed knuckle
20
.
The lateral edge
63
a
of the cam
61
is kept pressed against the fixed roller
65
a
by a pressing element denoted overall by the reference
70
.
The pressing element
70
is formed by a moving roller
71
mounted so that it is free to rotate on a support
72
by means of a pin
73
. The support
72
has the shape of an angle bracket comprising a horizontal part
72
a
and a vertical part
72
b
and is mounted to pivot on the leg
23
a
of the fixed knuckle
20
via a pin
74
connecting the said leg
23
a
to the horizontal part
72
a
of the said support
72
.
The moving roller
71
is kept pressed against the lateral edge
63
b
of the cam
61
by a spring
75
inserted between the plate
21
of the fixed knuckle
20
and the vertical part
72
b
of the support
72
.
Finally, the lateral edge
63
b
of the cam
61
in contact with the moving roller
71
comprises a catch
76
allowing the intermediate knuckle
40
to be held while the moving knuckle
30
is pivoting about its pin
15
.
The location of this catch
76
on the cam
61
is determined so that it corresponds to the folded-back position of the intermediate knuckle
40
.
When the rear door
2
is in the closed position as depicted in
FIG. 4
, the flat
13
of the bushing
12
of the fixed knuckle
20
is in contact with the bottom of the fork
52
of the link rod
51
and the flat
17
of the bushing
16
of the moving knuckle
30
is on the outside of the fork
53
of the said link rod
51
and lies parallel to the flat
13
of the bushing
12
of the said fixed knuckle
20
.
In this position, the bushing
12
and the intermediate knuckle
20
are blocked by the fork
52
of the link rod
51
which presses against the flat
13
of the said bushing
12
and also by the cam
61
.
Specifically, the moving roller
71
is held in the catch
76
by the spring
75
which exerts pressure on the support
72
.
As a result of this, the cam
61
is trapped between the fixed roller
65
a
and the moving roller
71
.
While the rear door
2
is being opened, the moving knuckle
30
pivots about the pin
15
taking with it the bushing
16
which rotates inside the fork
53
of the link rod
51
as depicted in FIG.
6
.
The rear door
2
and the moving knuckle
30
pivot between a first position in which this rear door
2
is closed and a second position in which this rear door is open by an angle of about 180°, as depicted in FIG.
7
.
In this 180°—open position, the flat
17
of the bushing
16
secured to the moving knuckle
30
comes into contact with the bottom of the fork
53
of the link rod
51
.
The two flats
13
and
17
therefore face in opposite directions and the distance separating these two flats is greater than the distance separating the bottoms of the two forks
52
and
53
of this link rod
51
so that a clearance is thus created between these two flats
13
and
17
and the two bottoms of the forks
52
and
53
of this link rod
51
.
The moving roller
71
is still kept in the catch
76
of the cam
61
.
The moving knuckle
20
is now in abutment against the intermediate knuckle
40
so that as the rear door
2
pivots from this 180°-open position to the wide-open position against the side of the body of the motor vehicle as depicted in
FIG. 8
, the assembly consisting of this moving knuckle
30
and this fixed knuckle
40
pivots about the pin
11
because of the clearance created between the flats
13
and
17
of the bushings
12
and
16
and the bottoms of the forks
52
and
53
of the link rod
51
.
During the pivoting of the rear door
2
between the 180°-open position and the wide-open position as depicted in
FIG. 8
, the cam
61
pivots about the pin
62
and slides between the fixed roller
65
a
and the mobile roller
71
until such time as this fixed roller
65
a
becomes lodged in the notch
64
of the cam
61
, which corresponds to the wide-open position of the rear door
2
.
This cam
61
is held in this position by the thrust exerted by the spring
75
on the support
72
and the moving roller
71
.
While the rear door
2
is being closed, the user pulls on the rear door
2
so as, via the moving knuckle
30
and the intermediate knuckle
40
, to exert pressure on the cam
61
.
While this pressure is being applied, the support
72
pivots about the pin
74
against the force exerted by the spring
75
and the notch
64
of the cam
61
disengages from the fixed roller
65
a
and this cam
61
slides between this fixed roller
65
a
and the moving roller
71
.
As soon as the intermediate knuckle
40
has reverted to its initial position, the moving roller
71
positions itself in the catch
76
and the user closes the rear door
2
.
The hinge according to the invention has the advantage of having a built-in door stop, thus limiting the number of parts and avoiding additional assembly operations by comparison with the hinges hitherto used which are associated with independent door-stop systems.
Claims
- 1. A motor vehicle rear door hinge comprising:a fixed knuckle (20) mounted on a body (1) of the vehicle; a moving knuckle (30) mounted on a rear door (2) of the vehicle, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position resting against a side of the body (1); an intermediate knuckle (40) connected to each of said fixed and moving knuckles (20; 30) by respective hinge pins (11; 15); means (60) for holding the rear door (2) in the open position, said means including a cam (61), one end (61a) of which is mounted articulated on said intermediate knuckle (40) and the other end (61b) of which has a notch (64) on a first lateral edge of said cam cooperating, when the rear door (2) is in the open position, with a stop member (65) supported by said fixed knuckle (20); said first lateral edge (63a) of said cam (61) being held against said stop member (65) by a pressing element (70) cooperating with a second lateral edge (63b) of said cam (61) opposite said first lateral edge, said pressing element (70) comprising a moving roller (71) rotatably mounted on a support (72) borne by said fixed knuckle, said support (72) being pivotally mounted a leg (23a) of said fixed knuckle (20), and said moving roller (71) being held against said second lateral edge (63b) by a spring (75) acting on said support (72).
- 2. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein said stop member (65) comprises a fixed roller (65a) rotatably mounted on a pin (65b) supported by said fixed knuckle (20).
- 3. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein said second lateral edge (63b) comprises a catch (76) for holding said intermediate knuckle (40) while said moving knuckle (30) is pivoting about the respective one of said hinge pins (15).
US Referenced Citations (14)
