FR2541716A1 - MEANS OF MAINTAINING A SLIDING MOTOR VEHICLE DOOR TO ITS OPEN BIG POSITION - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A MEANS FOR MAINTAINING A SLIDING DOOR IN A WIDE OPEN POSITION. ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION, IT INCLUDES A STOP 34 ATTACHED TO A GUIDE RAIL 18, A HOOK LEVER 44 PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A ROLLER ASSEMBLY 20 AND A SPRING 36; LEVER 44 SHOWS A FIRST PART OF ABUTMENT 44D FOR CONTACT WITH A CORRESPONDING PART 46C OF AN ANCHOR BRACKET 46 AND A SECOND PART OF ABUTMENT 44E FOR CONTACT WITH A CORRESPONDING PART 22A OF A ROLLER LEG 22 . THE INVENTION APPLIES IN PARTICULAR TO THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.

Description

The present invention relates to sliding door assemblies for

  motor vehicles, and in particular to a means for maintaining a door

  sliding to its wide open position.

  A sliding door of a motor vehicle is usually suspended in three points, that is to say at its front end at the top and bottom and at its rear end so that when it is closed it is flush with the side wall of the vehicle in which it is fixed and when it is open, it first protrudes towards the outside of the vehicle body and then slid parallel along the side wall of the vehicle for this purpose, a mounting of sliding door is provided with a roller assembly pivotally connected to the rear end of the sliding door and movable along a guide rail which

  extends along the side wall of the vehicle.

  The sliding door assembly is also provided with means for keeping the sliding door in its wide open position to prevent a passenger entering or exiting the vehicle from being stuck in the sliding door. The holding means mainly comprises a lever. hook mounted on the roller assembly, and an abutment secured to the guide rail for engagement

with the lever.

  The holding means according to the prior art has a drawback in that the hook lever can be pressed against the guide rail, which produces an unpleasant noise when the sliding door is open.

or closed.

  Under certain conditions, the holding means can not function well, that is to say it can not maintain the sliding door to its large position

  open, and this represents another disadvantage.

  Another disadvantage is that the hook lever is subject to form restrictions.

  may lead to insufficient resistance.

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  The present invention relates to a sliding door assembly having a better holding means,

  not having the disadvantages noted above.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a sliding door assembly for a motor vehicle, having a guide rail attached to the vehicle body, an anchor bracket attached to a sliding door, a

  roller assembly pivotally mounted on the leg of an-

  and capable of moving along the guide rail, the guide rail having a first section adapted to guide the sliding door substantially parallel along the outer surface of the vehicle body while maintaining it in a condition protruding towards the outside of the vehicle body and a second section that can guide the sliding door along a

  path turned laterally to the bodywork and allows him to

  thus to be pulled inward or outward relative to its fully closed position when it is flush with the outer surface of the bodywork; the roller assembly being forced to rotate relative to the sliding door when moving along the second section of the guide rail, and means for holding the sliding door in its wide open position, the holding means having an abutment fixed to the guide rail, a hook lever held pivotally on the roller assembly for engagement with the stopper when the sliding door is in its wide open position and a spring biasing the hook lever in a direction for engagement. with the stop, characterized in that the hook lever has a first abutment portion for contact with a corresponding portion of the anchor tab under the bias of the spring and a second abutment portion

  for contact with a corresponding part of the

  appears to be rolled under the bias of the spring, in that the first abutment portion is adapted to be kept in contact with the corresponding portion of the anchor tab at least when said roller assembly moves along said first section of the guide rail thereby to maintain the hook lever at a predetermined constant state suitable for engagement with the stop regardless of the rotation of the roller assembly and that the second abutment portion is adapted to come into contact with the corresponding part of the roller assembly when this assembly, which moves along the second section of the guide rail

  towards its extreme position where it keeps the door sliding

  in its fully closed position, moves to a predetermined position to force the hook lever to rotate with the roller assembly while at the same time allowing the first abutment portion to move away from the corresponding portion of the anchor tab. The invention will be better understood, and other purposes, features, details and advantages thereof

  will become clearer during the description

  explanatory text which will follow with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings given solely by way of example and illustrating an embodiment of the invention and in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a van-type vehicle having a sliding door; for

  close an opening in the side wall of the body

  serie of the vehicle; FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a sliding door assembly according to the art.

  with a means for keeping the door sliding

  in its wide open position, the assembly being illustrated in the left part of the figure in a condition in which it is when the sliding door is in its fully closed position and in the right part of the figure, in a condition in which it is when the sliding door is in its wide open position; Figure 3 is a view along the arrow III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a roller lug employed in mounting the sliding door of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a schematic view showing a pivoting of the mounting of the sliding door of Figure 2 and the resulting movement of the holding means; Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the holding means according to the present invention; Figure 7A is a partial sectional view of the holding means according to the invention in an operating condition; Figure 7B is a view similar to Figure 7A but showing the holding means according to the invention in another operating condition; Figure 8 is a schematic top plan view of a hook lever employed in the holding means according to the invention; Figure 9 is a view along the arrow IX of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a top plan view partially broken away from an anchor tab used in the sliding door assembly according to the invention; Figure 11 is a view along the arrow XI of Figure 10; Figure 12 is a schematic view of the holding means according to the invention with a sliding door to its fully closed position; Figure 13 is a schematic view of the holding means according to the invention and a sliding door to its wide open position; and FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a pivoting of the mounting of the sliding door of FIG. 6 and of the holding means according to the invention which

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  is held stationary despite pivoting.

  With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the holding means according to the prior art will first be described in order to analyze the aforementioned drawbacks that may be encountered therein. In Figure 1, a sliding door 10 of a truck or van-type vehicle is illustrated in its fully closed position o it is flush with

  a side wall 12 of a body 14 of the vehicle.

  The sliding door 10 is suspended at three points, that is to say at its front end at the top A and at the bottom B

  and at its rear end C so that when opening

  ture, it first protrudes outwardly of the bodywork 14 of the vehicle then slides parallel along the side wall 12 of the vehicle, towards its

wide open position.

  FIG. 2 shows a sliding door mounting 16 for the rear end suspension C O The mounting 16 comprises a track or a guide rail 18 fixed to the bodywork 14 of the vehicle and a set

  rollers 20 in articulated or pivotable connection at the end

  The assembly 20 comprises a tab 22 configured as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of first rollers 24 which are spaced apart from one another in the direction of the width of the sliding door 10 and a second roller 26 located between the first rollers 24 The lug 22 is pivotally connected by a pivot 28 to an anchor tab 30 which, in turn, is fixed to a internal panel 10a of the sliding door 10 The first rollers 24 are arranged horizontally and are rotatable in a horizontal plane or rotatable about vertical axes, while the second roller 26 is arranged vertically and rotatable in a vertical or rotary plane around a horizontal axis The first and second rollers 24 and 26 are rotatably carried on the lug 22 and are guided by the guide rail 18 having a throat-shaped cross-section as shown in FIG. 18 has a first section 18a which extends along the outer surface of the side wall 12 of the vehicle and a second section 18b which extends from the front end of the first section 18a, to The first guide section 18a is adapted to guide the sliding door 10 in parallel along the outer surface of the side wall 12 of the vehicle while maintaining it in a state of the art.

  projecting outwardly from this side wall 12.

  The second section 18b is adapted to guide the sliding door 10 along a path turned laterally to the bodywork 14 of the vehicle so as to allow it to move inwardly or outwardly of the vehicle.

  bodywork 14, that is to say to allow the door to

  smoothing 10 to be pulled inward or outward from a closed position where it is

  flower with the sidewall 12 of the vehicle.

  When the sliding door 10 is in the closed position, the roller assembly 20 is in the condition shown in the left-hand part of FIG. 2, that is to say it is received in the space between the second section 18b of the guide rail and the inner panel 10a of the sliding door 10 When the sliding door 10 is in the wide open position, the roller assembly 20 is in the condition shown in the right part of the

figure 2.

  The mounting 16 of the sliding door further comprises a holding means 30 for holding the door 10 in its wide open position. The holding means 30

  comprises a hook lever 32 which is mounted on the

  it appears to have rollers 20 pivoting about the pivot 28, a stop 34 fixed to the guide rail 18 for engagement with the hook lever 32, and a spring 36 placed around the pivot 28 to bias the lever 32 into the counterclockwise in the drawing,

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  that is to say in one direction for engagement with the stop 32 As can be seen better on the right side of FIG. 2 (with the part partially torn off), the hook lever 32 is adapted to abut at 32 a, on a corresponding vertical wall portion 22 a of the pivoting tab 22 under the bias of the spring 36 When the lever 32 passes over the stop 34, it is rotated clockwise in the drawing against the bias of the spring 36 while at the same time allowing the abutment portion 32 a

  away from the corresponding vertical wall portion

  The hook lever 32 is held stationary relative to the pivoting tab 22 or is held movable with it except when it is driven by the stop 34 to rotate.

  clockwise in the drawing.

  With such a holding means 30, when the sliding door 10 is moved to the wide open position, the hooked end 32b of the lever 32 is forced to pass over the stop 34 to engage with it under the solicitation of the spring 36, thus keeping the sliding door 10 in its fully open position. The hook lever 32 can be disengaged from the stop 34 by rotating a release lever 38 clockwise in the drawing, which is connected by a rod 40, to an external handle of the door which is not shown, and it

  can push, at its end 38a, a release finger

  32 c of the hook lever 32, and thus force the

  lever 32 to turn in the corresponding direction.

  In the above structure, small gaps are provided between the guide rail 18 and the rollers 24 and 26 and the guide rail 18 itself is not

  flat but has some irregularity

  This may allow the roller assembly 20 to oscillate as shown in FIG. 5 even when guided by the first section 18a of the guide rail. Because of this, the hook end 32b of lever 32 may possibly be pressed against the guide rail 18, thereby producing an unpleasant noise or when passing beyond the stop 34, the hook end may be subjected to significant pressure producing an unpleasant noise, or well the hook end 32a may eventually take a position too far from the stop 34 to allow the first of

  come in engagement with the latter.

  In addition, when closing the sliding door

  10, the roller assembly 20 is forced to rotate about the pivot 28 in a clockwise direction in the drawing. With the roller assembly 20, the hook lever 32 is also forced to rotate in the direction The lever 32 is thus subject to a design restriction resulting not only from the limited space between the second section 18b of the guide rail and the inner panel 10a of the sliding door, but also from the angle of rotation of the the roller assembly 20 when closing the sliding door Because of this design restriction it is indeed impossible to increase the width of the end to

  32 b hook 32 lever to reduce the pressure above

  to which it is subjected when passing over the stop 34 or to increase the width of the lever to

  32 hook to increase its resistance.

  The foregoing disadvantages that are encountered in the holding means according to the prior art can be avoided or overcome by the holding means according to the invention which will be described below with reference to the

Figures 6 to 14, in particular.

  In FIGS. 6 to 14, parts and parts identical and corresponding to the arrangement according to the prior art previously described, are designated by identical reference numerals and will not be

  again described for brevity.

  The holding means according to the invention is

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  generally designated 42 and includes a hook lever 44 having, as best seen in Figures 8 and 9, a hook end 44 for engagement with a stop 34, a bearing portion 44 bse adjacent to an end opposite the hook end 44a for a pivotal mounting on a pivot 28 and a release finger 44c can be pushed by an end 38a of a release lever 38 The hook lever 44 also has a first abutting portion 44d at the end opposite the hook end 44a and a second abutting portion 44e between the hook end

  44 a and the support part 44 b The first part of

  44 d is adapted to abut against an anchor tab 46, as best seen in Figure 7 A, under the bias of a spring 36 when the sliding door 10 is in its wide open position shown in FIG. the right part of FIG. 6 or that a roller assembly 20 is guided by a first section

18a of a guide rail 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the anchor tab 46 is in the form of a groove and has two horizontal walls 46a between which the pivot 28 extends and a vertical wall 46b having an abutment portion 46c. for an abutment with the first abutment portion 44 d of the hook lever 44 The anchor tab 46 is provided with a number of nuts 46 d, although only one is shown, for attachment to an inner panel By the anchoring tab 46 and the pivot 28, a roller assembly 20 is hingedly connected to the rear end of the sliding door 10 as in the arrangement according to the prior art

preceding preceding.

  In the case where the first abutment portion 44

  is in contact with the corresponding vertical wall portion

  46 c of the anchoring tab 46 under the bias of the spring 36, the second abutment portion 44 e is out of contact with a vertical wall portion

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  corresponding 22 has a pivoting leg 22 and is-

  spaced a predetermined distance from it as best seen in Fig. 7A When the roller assembly 20 moves along a second section 18b of the guide rail, it is forced to rotate clockwise in the drawings with respect to the lever 44, allowing the vertical wall portion 22a of the pivoting tab 22 to approach the second abutting portion 44e and possibly abutting with it as can best be seen in Figure 7BB This abutment can occur when the roller assembly 20 moves to a predetermined position to its extreme position where it holds the sliding door 10 to its fully closed position, it is that is, when the roller assembly 20 is forced by the second section of the guide rail 18b to rotate at a predetermined angle O The lever 44 is therefore forced to turn clockwise on the drawing with ave c the second abutment portion 44 e kept in contact with the vertical wall portion 22 a of the tab 22 while at the same time allowing the first abutment portion 44 d to move further and further away from the portion vertical wall 46 b of the anchor 46

  by turning with the roller assembly 20.

  In Figures 12 and 13 is illustrated an external handle 48 connected by a rod 40 to the release lever 380 The operation of the holding means 42 according to

the invention will be described below.

  In FIG. 13 and in the left-hand part of FIG. 6, the sliding door 10 is illustrated in its wide-open position. If it is desired to close the sliding door 10, the external handle 48 is manipulated to pull the rod 40 to the left. in the drawing and thereby turn the lever 38 clockwise in the drawing. As a result, the hook lever 44 is rotated clockwise in a direction of rotation.

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  shows on the drawing to disengage the stop 34 because it is adapted to be pushed to its release finger 44c by the end 38a of the release lever 38 After release of the hook lever 44 and the stop 34, the sliding door 10 is moved from its wide open position to its fully closed position During the movement of the sliding door 10 to its fully closed position, the roller assembly 20 is first guided by the first section 18a of the guide rail The second section 18b then urges the roller assembly 20 to turn clockwise in the drawing. From this point of view, the roller assembly 20 starts to rotate while it begins to be guided by the second section 18b of the guide rail and it turns more and more approaching

  from its extreme position where it keeps the door sliding

  In this rotation of the roller assembly 20, the second abutting portion 44e of the hook lever 44 engages the corresponding vertical wall portion 22a of the tab 22 when the assembly 20 moves to a predetermined position toward its end position or when the roller assembly 20 is rotated at a predetermined angle which is

  lower than a maximum angle on which it can turn.

  From this moment, the lever 44 rotates with the tab 22 and consequently the roller assembly 20 until the assembly 20 has reached its extreme position. In this way, the sliding door 10 is moved to its position. fully closed position as can be seen in Figure 12

  and also on the left side of Figure 6.

  In the foregoing, as soon as the second abutment portion 44 e comes into contact with the corresponding vertical wall portion 22 a of the tab 22, the first abutment portion 44 d is still in contact with the vertical wall portion. However, from this moment, the first abutment portion 44 d moves further away from the corresponding vertical wall portion 46c while

  the lever 44 rotates with the roller assembly 20.

  In the opening movement of the sliding door 10 from its fully closed position, the assembly 20 is turned counterclockwise as it passes along the second section of the guide rail 18 b to the first

  section 18 a In this rotation of the roller assembly-

  in counter-clockwise direction, the first abutment portion 44 d of the lever 44 engages the corresponding vertical wall portion 46c of the anchor tab 46 as the assembly 20 moves to the position By this moment, the lever 44 is held stationary relative to the anchor tab 46 and only the roller assembly 20 still turns away from the end position. The roller assembly 20 is then guided by the first section 18a of the guide rail, allowing the sliding door 10 to move parallel along the side wall 12 of the body -14 to its wide open position When the door 10 is near its wide open position, the hook end 44a of the lever 44 is forced to pass over the stop 34 and is turned clockwise in the drawing against the bias of the spring 36 When the door 10 is wide open, the hook end 44a of the lever 44 is forced to pass over the stop 34 to come into engagement therewith

  under the solicitation of the spring 36.

  In this movement of the roller assembly 20 along the first section 18a of the guide rail, the first abutment portion 44d of the hook lever 44 is held in contact with the vertical wall portion 46c of the anchoring tab 46, while the second abutting portion 44 e is held out of contact with the vertical wall portion 22 a of the tab 22.

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  arrangement, the hook end 44a of the lever 44 can always take a suitable position for engagement with the stop 34 regardless of the oscillation of

  the roller assembly 20 as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, the hook end 44a can not be pressed against the guide rail 18 even if the assembly 20 is forced to oscillate as shown in FIG. 140. On reading the above, it can be understood that the retaining means 42 according to the invention does not have the disadvantage of producing an unpleasant noise

  when a sliding door is opened or closed.

  It will be further understood that the holding means 42 according to the invention makes it possible to perform an assured and reliable operation to maintain a sliding door by

wide open position.

  It will further be understood that the lever 44 does not have the design restriction encountered in the prior art and that it can be designed relatively freely because the angle at which the lever 44 rotates with the roller assembly 20 during the moving along the second

  section 18b of the guide rail may be weak.

Claims (6)

R E V E N D I C A T IO N S   1. Sliding door assembly for a motor vehicle, having a guide rail attached to the vehicle body, an anchor bracket attached to the sliding door, a roller assembly pivotally mounted on the anchor bracket and capable of moving along the guide rail, the guide rail having a first section capable of guiding the sliding door substantially parallel along the outer surface of the bodywork while maintaining it in a condition outwardly projecting from the bodywork and a second section adapted to guide the sliding door along a path laterally rotated relative to the vehicle body, thereby enabling it to be pulled in or out of its fully closed position or is flush with the outer surface of the body, the roller assembly being forced to rotate relative to the sliding door as it moves along the second section of the guide rail, and means for holding the sliding door in its wide open position, the holding means having a stop fixed to the guide rail, a hook lever pivotally mounted on the roller assembly for engagement with the stop when the sliding door is in its wide open position and a spring biasing the hook lever in the direction of engagement with the stop, characterized in that said hook lever (44) has a first abutting portion (44 d ) for contact with a corresponding portion (46c) of the anchor tab (46) under the bias of the spring (36) and a second abutting portion (44e) for contact with a corresponding portion (22a) ) of the roller assembly (20) under the bias of the spring (36), in that said first abutment portion (44d) can be held in contact with the corresponding portion (46c) of the anchoring (46) at least when the assembly rollers (20) moves along the first section (18a) thereby to maintain the hook lever (44) at a predetermined constant condition suitable for engagement with the stop (34) regardless of rotation of the assembly with the roller (20) and that the second abutment portion (44e) can engage the corresponding portion (22a) of the roller assembly (20) when said roller assembly (20), which moves along the second section (18b) of the guide rail towards the end where it   maintains the sliding door (10) at its total position-   closed to a predetermined position thereby forcing the hook lever (44) to rotate with the roller assembly (20) while at the same time allowing the first abutting portion (44d) to move away of the   corresponding portion (46c) of the anchor tab (46).   2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the first abutment portion (44 g) can   also be kept in touch with the corresponding party.   (46c) of the anchor (46) when the roller assembly (20) is moving along an area in the second section (18b) of the guide rail other than   zone between the extreme position and the predetermined position.   3. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the second abutment portion (44 e) can be   spaced a predetermined distance from the corre-   (22a) of the roller assembly (20) at least when the roller assembly (20) moves along   of the first section (18 a) of the guide rail.   4 Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the hook lever (44) also has a hook end (44 a) for engagement with the stop (34) and a bearing portion (44 b) at near an end opposite the hook end (44a) for pivotal mounting on the roller assembly (20), the first abutting portion (44d) being at an end opposite the end with hook (44 a) 16 2541716   and the second abutting part (44 e) lying between   the hook end (44a) and the support portion (44b).   An assembly according to claim 4, wherein the anchor tab is attached to the rear end of the sliding door and is throat-shaped to have two horizontal walls and a vertical wall, the roller assembly being pivotable about a pivot stretched between the horizontal walls, characterized in that the corresponding portion of the anchoring tab (46) comprises an abutment portion (46c) formed in the vertical wall (46b).   An assembly according to claim 5, wherein the roller assembly has a tab pivotable about the pivot, two horizontal rollers spaced apart from one another in the width direction of the sliding door and a vertical roller between the rolls   horizontal, characterized in that the corresponding part   of the roller assembly (20) comprises a portion   vertical wall (22 a) of the tab (22).