CN111936332A

CN111936332A - Light electric four-wheel vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN111936332A
Application number: CN201980014682.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 路易吉·戈齐
Original assignee: Alfazero SpA
Current assignee: Alfazero SpA
Priority date: 2018-02-22
Filing date: 2019-02-20
Publication date: 2020-11-13
Also published as: IT201800002945A1; WO2019162845A1

Abstract

A door for a vehicle, comprising: a wall (2) movable between a closed condition, in which it closes an opening (a) defining an access area (Α') to the vehicle (100), and an open condition, in which it is at least partially moved away from said opening (a), said wall (2) having an upper portion (2a) arranged above a loading plane (101) of the vehicle (100) and a lower portion (2b) arranged below said loading plane (101); and a translation link (3) of the wall (2) for switching the wall (2) itself from the respective open and closed conditions; the translation link (3) is associated with a lower portion (2b) of the wall (2) below said loading plane (101).

Description

Light electric four-wheel vehicle

The present invention relates to a door for a vehicle.

In particular, the present invention relates to a door for accessing a passenger compartment of a vehicle, preferably a light quad.

Even more particularly, the invention is particularly applicable to light electric quadricycles.

It should be noted that the term "light four-wheeled vehicle" refers to a vehicle classified in class L6e or class L7e according to the european regulations in force at the time of filing of the present patent application.

In particular, the class L6e in question includes four-wheel vehicles capable of reaching maximum speeds of ≦ 45km/h, equipped running order mass ≦ 425kg, powered propulsion system ≦ 6kW and up to two seats (including the driver's seat).

Class L7e includes four-wheeled vehicles similar to class L6e, but with a maximum achievable speed of less than or equal to 90km/h, an allocated operating state mass of less than or equal to 450kg, a power propulsion system of less than or equal to 15kW and at most two seats (including the driver's seat).

This type of vehicle is attractive because of its small size and high efficiency, and is considered as a substitute for "city cars" and scooters (scooters), which are particularly practical in urban environments.

However, the improvement in comfort, particularly for the access doors to the passenger compartment, presents technical limits, precisely due to the small dimensions of this type of vehicle.

In particular, the light-duty four-wheeled vehicle has only a door that is classic front hinged and openable by folding. Doors of this type, although very common in vehicles, have an important drawback of being impractical in confined spaces, such as in parking conditions where the vehicle is laterally approaching. In fact, in this case, to fully open such a classic door, the space required outside the vehicle is substantially equal to the length of the door itself. Thus, in the confined space around the vehicle, the user must pass through a very limited area to gain access to the passenger compartment.

To overcome this drawback, larger vehicles are provided with sliding doors, which are considerably easier in reduced space with respect to conventional hinged doors. Sliding doors, such as those mounted on van vehicles, in fact allow the door to move completely from the access area to the passenger compartment, even in very confined space conditions around the vehicle.

In this case, the doors are slidingly guided by respective guides formed on the vehicle outer body at a rear position and close to the access opening to the passenger compartment.

The guide allows the door to slide outside the access area and be positioned near the side wall of the vehicle without having to protrude beyond the overall dimensions determined by the vehicle itself.

However, in order to support the entire door, the length of the guide must be at least equal to the length of the door.

For this reason, in the special case of light-duty four-wheeled vehicles, or in the general case of very small and undersized vehicles for producing the above-mentioned sliding guides, it is not possible to use doors of this type.

On this background, the technical task underlying the present invention is to propose a door for vehicles which allows to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art described above.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door that can be used in a light four-wheel vehicle and that can translate laterally without the need to provide external supporting guides that may be formed on the vehicle body.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a door for a light electric quadricycle which is structurally simple and lightweight, while being effectively and stably associated with the frame of the vehicle in the respective closed condition.

Another object of the invention is to propose a light-duty electric quadricycle equipped with an access system to the passenger compartment which is easy even in very narrow spaces.

The technical task mentioned and the aims specified are substantially achieved by a door for a vehicle comprising the technical specifications set out in one or more of the appended claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of an exemplary but not exclusive and thus non-limiting preferred embodiment of a door for a vehicle.

This description will be set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting, and in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a door according to the invention, in a closed condition;

figures 2, 3 and 4 are perspective views of a vehicle equipped with a door according to the invention, with the door in a respective open position;

figures 5, 6 and 7 are top plan views of the vehicle equipped with a door according to the invention, in respective open conditions, of figures 2-4; and

figure 8 shows a schematic top plan view of a pair of doors according to the invention, which can be mounted on a respective vehicle.

With reference to the above figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a door for a vehicle 100 according to the invention.

It should be noted that the invention can be used in any type of motor vehicle equipped with an internal cab and at least one access area to the cab.

It should be noted, however, that the invention finds advantageous application in the light-duty electric quadricycles of the type indicated above and identified in the categories L6e and L7e according to the european law in force on the filing date of the present patent application.

In particular, the door 1 comprises a wall 2, which wall 2 is movable between a closed condition (fig. 1), in which it closes the opening a of the vehicle 100, and an open condition (fig. 2-4), in which it is at least partially moved away from the opening a.

Referring to fig. 4, in which the door 1 is shown in a state of being completely removed from the opening a, it is noted that the opening a includes an access area a' to the vehicle 100, which allows a user to get on/off the vehicle 100. The access area a' is preferably defined above a loading plane 101, the loading plane 101 being adapted to support a user within the vehicle 100.

It should be noted that the term loading plane 101 refers to a floor surface for supporting vehicle seats and supporting a user. The surface is spaced from the lower cross member 102 of the vehicle, the lower cross member 102 constituting the lowermost and ground-proximate portion (fig. 1-4).

In more detail, the vehicle 100 comprises a support frame 103, the support frame 103 defining a passenger compartment 104 of the vehicle and said access opening a to the passenger compartment 104.

The frame 103 also includes a lower cross member 102 and an upper cross member 105, the upper cross member 105 being opposite the lower cross member 102 and defining a top portion that is further from the ground.

In addition, the frame 103 comprises two

side posts

106, 107 spaced apart from each other and each connected to the

cross members

102, 105, to respective ends.

In this case, the opening a is included between the two

posts

106, 107 and the two

cross members

102, 105.

Below the loading plane 102 arranged in the passenger compartment 104, a further compartment 108 extends, which is comprised between the loading plane 101 itself and the lower cross member 102. The lower compartment 108 is adapted to house the mechanical parts and electrical wiring of the vehicle to avoid their being housed in the passenger compartment 104.

The wall 2 preferably has a panel structure which, together with the rest of the body of the vehicle, defines a respective side body (side body).

In particular, the peripheral development (circumferential development) of the wall 2 coincides with that of the opening a, and the wall 2 has an upper portion 2a and a lower portion 2b, the upper portion 2a being arranged above said loading plane 101 and the lower portion 2b being arranged below said loading plane 101.

In other words, the wall 2 preferably has a substantially rectangular configuration and is defined by two

adjacent portions

2a, 2b, wherein in the respective closed condition the upper portion 2a is adapted to close the access area a' of the passenger compartment 104, while the lower portion 2b is arranged at said lower compartment 108.

The door 1 also comprises a translation link 3 of the wall 2 to switch the door 2 itself between said open and closed conditions.

Advantageously, as better shown in fig. 3 and 4, the translation link 3 is associated with the lower portion 2b of the wall 2 below the loading plane 101, and is in particular contained in the space defined by the compartment 108.

More specifically, the translation link 3 is connected to the wall 2 only at the lower portion 2 b.

In this case, the translating link 3 is arranged at a position of the vehicle 100 which does not affect the access area a' of the passenger compartment 104 dedicated only to the passage of the user.

In other words, the access area a 'is free of any mechanical parts of the vehicle 100 or the door 1 in order to utilize the full width of the area a' in the respective up/down operation from the passenger compartment 104.

With particular reference to the schematic view of fig. 5, the translating link 3 comprises a first arm 4, the first arm 4 having a first end 4a and a second end 4b, the first end 4a being rotatably engaged within said lower compartment 108 and the second end 4b being rotatably engaged in the lower portion 2b of the wall 2.

The rotary joint connecting the first arm 4 is not described and illustrated in detail since it is of a known type.

Preferably, the first end 4a of the first arm 4 is associated with the side pillar 107 closest to the rear region of the vehicle 100.

The first arm 4 also has at least one arched portion 4c interposed between the first end 4a and the second end 4b, the arched portion 4c having a projection directed towards the outside of the passenger compartment 104 in the above-mentioned closed condition.

In more detail, in the closed condition of the door 1, the first arm 4 is completely housed inside the lower compartment 108, while in the open condition, the first arm 4 projects outside the lower compartment 108 and at least partially surrounds the rear jamb 107.

In fact, it should be noted from fig. 7 that, in the open condition, the arched portion 4c extends at least partially around the post 107, so as to avoid as much as possible a projection towards the outside of the vehicle 100.

The translating link 3 further comprises a second arm 5, the second arm 5 having a first end 5a and a second end 5b, the first end 5a being rotatably engaged within the lower compartment 108, the second end 5b being rotatably engaged to the lower portion 2b of the door 1.

The second arm 5 is adjacent to and offset relative to the first arm 6. In this way, the

arms

5, 6 lie in respective parallel planes so as to overlap one another in movement without interfering with one another.

With reference to fig. 5-7, advantageously, the connecting rod 3 moves the wall 2 along a roto-translational path.

The path is defined by a straight portion T1 (fig. 5) and an arcuate portion T2 (fig. 6, 7).

In the first straight portion T1, the wall 2 is distanced from/close to the opening a according to a direction transverse to the plane of the opening a itself. In the second arched portion T2, the wall 2 translates toward/from the side area and close to the vehicle 100. In particular, in the arched portion T2, the wall 2 performs an arched path around the rear pillar 107 to slide and translate towards the rear region of the vehicle 100.

It should be noted that during the travel of the wall 2, the wall 2 always remains on a plane parallel to the plane of the side wall of the vehicle. Thus, one end of the door does not protrude beyond the overall dimensions of the vehicle 1 and remains always against the overall dimensions of the side of the vehicle itself.

As described above, the straight line portion T1 is perpendicular to the plane in which the opening a is located. This allows the door 1 to be associated/detached with the vehicle 100 by simultaneously resting the edges of the door 1 against the

cross members

102, 105 and the

posts

106, 107.

In particular, the wall 2 has a pair of

lateral edges

6, 7, the

lateral edges

6, 7 being able to engage/disengage the respective

lateral posts

106, 107 simultaneously. The

edges

6, 7 are preferably equipped with locks (not shown in detail) which close and secure the door 1 to the vehicle in the respective closed state of the wall 2. The presence of a double lock on the side of the wall 2 allows greater stability and security of the door 1 against any intrusion attempt.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned wall 2 is supported in the open state only by the link 3 and by the two arms 4, 5.

Thus, the door 1 has a very simple and light and particularly low-cost structure, in addition to not defining any overall dimensions of the access area a'.

Preferably, as shown in the figures, the vehicle 100 is equipped with two doors 1, the two doors 1 being arranged on opposite sides and being made according to the above-described manner.

It should also be noted that the presence of the link 3 allows the sliding of the wall 2, with advantages in terms of overall dimensions during the opening step of the door 1.

The possibility of using the sliding wall 2 even for light vehicles 100 and therefore reduced in size is determined by the structure of the link 3, which is located below the plane 101 and is able to support the entire wall 2.

The presence of the two arms 4, 5 enables, in the open condition, the support of the wall 2, forcing the wall 2 to perform a very limited roto-translational movement, and comparable to that of a sliding door.

Furthermore, positioning the two arms 4, 5 allows avoiding interference into the area a' to allow easier up/down manoeuvres from the cab 104.

However, as described above, the movement of the wall 2 in the rectilinear portion T1 allows constraining the entire wall to the frame 103 at the same time.

Advantageously, locking can be achieved in two opposite regions of the wall 2, in order to make the closed state more stable.

Finally, the invention proves to be particularly versatile, since it can be used in any type of vehicle, preferably a light vehicle of the type described above.

Claims

1. A vehicle, including a light-duty electric quadricycle, the vehicle having:

-at least one support frame (103) defining a passenger compartment (104) of the vehicle (100), the passenger compartment (104) having an opening (a) between two side pillars (106, 107), a lower and an upper cross member (102, 105);

-a loading platform (101) arranged within the passenger compartment (104) and defining a supporting surface for a user, the opening (a) having an access area (Α ') to the passenger compartment (104), the access area (Α') being comprised between the loading plane (101) and the upper cross member (105);

-a lower compartment (108) interposed between the loading plane (101) and the lower cross member (102); and

-a door (1) having a wall (2), said wall (2) being movable between a closed condition, in which said wall (2) closes an opening (a) defining an access area (Α') of said vehicle (100), and an open condition, in which said wall (2) is at least partially moved away from said opening (a), said wall (2) having an upper portion (2a) arranged above a loading plane (101) of said vehicle (100) and a lower portion (2b) arranged below said loading plane (101); the door (1) further comprises a translation link (3) of the wall (2) for switching the same wall (2) between respective open and closed conditions;

characterized in that said translation link (3) is associated below said loading plane (101) only at said lower portion (2b) of said wall (2), and in that said wall (2) in the respective open condition is engaged with said vehicle (100) only through said translation link (3).

2. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the peripheral development of said wall (2) coincides with that of said opening (a) and in that in said closed condition the respective upper portion (2a) coincides with said access area (Α') and said lower portion (2b) coincides with a lower compartment (108) of said vehicle (100), said lower compartment (108) being comprised between said loading plane (101) and a lower transverse member (102) of said vehicle (100) close to the ground.

3. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said translating link (3) comprises a first arm (4) having a first end (4a) and a second end (4b), said first end (4a) being rotatably engaged in said lower compartment (108) and said second end (4b) being rotatably engaged in said lower portion (2b) of said wall (2).

4. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said first arm (4) has at least one arched portion (4c) interposed between said first end (4a) and said second end (4 b); the arched portion (4c) is completely receivable in the lower compartment (108) in the closed condition and projects outside the lower compartment (108) in the open condition and at least partially surrounds a post (107) of the vehicle (100).

5. Vehicle according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said translating link (3) further comprises a second arm (5), said second arm (5) having a first end (5a) and a second end (5b), said first end (5a) of said second arm (5) being rotatably engaged in said lower compartment (108), said second end (5b) of said second arm (5) being rotatably engaged in said lower portion (2b) of said wall (2).

6. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said second arm (5) is placed adjacent to said first arm (4) and in that said arms (4, 5) lie on respective parallel planes and develop below said loading plane (101).

7. Vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said link (3) moves said wall (2) between the respective open/closed conditions along a rectilinear portion (T1), in which said wall (2) is moved away from/closer to said opening (A), and an arched portion (T2), in which said wall (2) is translated to/from a lateral region and placed against said vehicle (100).

8. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said rectilinear portion (T1) is perpendicular to the plane of said opening (a); the wall (2) has a pair of lateral edges (6, 7), in the closed/open condition, the lateral edges (6, 7) being able to engage/disengage simultaneously with respective posts (106, 107) of the vehicle (100).

9. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said wall (2) comprises an upper edge and a lower edge opposite each other and defining, with said side edges (6, 7), the perimeter of said wall (2); the edge is simultaneously engageable/disengageable with the cross member (102, 105) and the post (106, 107) of the vehicle (100) defining the opening (A).

10. Vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said frame (103) further comprises side walls placed adjacent to respective side posts close to the rear region of the vehicle; the movable wall (2) at least partially overlaps the side wall of the frame (103) in the open state.

11. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a lock for locking the movable wall in the respective closed condition; the lock is arranged between each side post (106, 107) of the frame and the respective side edge (6, 7) of the wall (2).