FR2656259A1 - Translation device for a vehicle sliding door - Google Patents

Abstract

This device makes it possible to open and to close the opening of a vehicle door by moving a sliding door (2). It is composed of a fixed guide (20) located in line with the opening and which has an initial portion (26) which curves towards the inside of the vehicle, an arm (8) fixed obliquely so that it overhangs on an internal surface (9) of the door, and a support carriage (12) which slides in the guide and is mounted so that it can pivot on that end of the arm which is opposite the door.

Description

 The present invention relates to a translation device for moving a sliding door relative to a door opening of a vehicle, between a first position, in which the door closes the opening, and a second position in which the door is arranged laterally to the bay, leaving the latter open and accessible.

 Translation devices for sliding doors of the above type are well known; in particular, they are used to support the sliding side doors of vans and other similar commercial vehicles. They essentially consist of a fixed guide, mounted parallel to the door bay and integral with this bay, a lower door support arm, fixed internally and in cantilever to the sliding door, and a support carriage which is slidably engaged in the guide and is integrally mounted at one end of the door support arm; at its upper end, the door is retained in a known manner, for example by means of a small arm or a joint, which is slidably mounted in a groove in the opening, in order to prevent the door from beating .

 The known translation devices make use of carriages constituted by simple pads, so that there is a significant friction between the carriage and the guide, which, on the one hand makes maneuvering difficult and, on the other hand, leads to a risk of possible jamming during the sliding movement.

On the other hand, the attempt to overcome these drawbacks by using carriages provided with rolling elements has so far been unsuccessful because, during the opening / closing movement of the door, the latter must also move in translation transversely to the bay to exit and return there what is obtained, for example, using guides having a curved end. The rolling bodies of the carriage are then arranged, at least on part of the trajectory of the sliding door, with their rolling axis at an angle relative to the axis of the guide, which causes friction.

 The object of the invention is to provide a translation device for a sliding vehicle door which is able to ensure a smooth movement and without jamming of the door during the entire opening / closing trajectory of this door. Another object of the invention is to provide a translation device having a structure which allows the door to be retained in the open position.

 These objects are achieved by the invention which relates to a translation device making it possible to move a sliding door relative to a door opening of a vehicle between a first position in which the door closes the opening, and a second position in which the door is disposed laterally the bay, leaving the latter open, said device comprising a fixed rail disposed in line with the bay and having an initial portion curved towards the interior of the vehicle, an arm fixed door-to-door false on an interior surface of the door and a support carriage mounted sliding on the rail and which is carried integrally by the end of the arm which is opposite to said door, characterized in that said support carriage is mounted to pivot on said end of the arm and is provided with a drawbar carrying a shoe which is engaged inside a guide provided parallel to said rail.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in section of the sliding device according to the invention
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device of Figure 1
Figures 3 and 4 show on an enlarged scale two details of the device of Figures 1 and 2
Figures 5 and 6 show on an enlarged scale a third detail of the device according to the invention.

 In FIGS. 1 and 2, overall, 1 has designated a translation or sliding device able to allow the manual movement of a sliding door 2 relative to a door opening 3 of a vehicle of the any known type, of which only part of the body 4 has been shown (to simplify the drawing), the movement takes place between a first position, shown in solid line in FIG. 2, in which the door 2 is embedded in the bay 3 to close this bay, and a second position, shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, in which the door 2 is arranged laterally to the bay 3, outside this bay and adjacent to an upright 5 of this bay, in lateral overhang relative to the body 4, leaving the bay 3 open and accessible to allow the introduction of goods and / or passengers in the vehicle.

 The device 1 comprises a set of lower elements which have the function of supporting the weight of the door 2 and of guiding this door in its opening / closing movement, and of upper retention means, known and which have been omitted to represent to simplify the drawing (constituted for example by a simple articulation slidingly mounted on the body 4) which have the simple function of preventing the door 2 from oscillating, by maintaining it in a substantially vertical position. Said lower support elements of the door 2 comprise a rail 6 disposed fixed to the right of the opening 3 and having an initial portion or end 7 curved towards the interior of the vehicle, so as to move away from the opening 3 going towards the side of the body 2, an arm 8 fixed in overhang on an inner surface 9 of the door 2, for example using several screws 10, and a support carriage 12 slidably engaged in the rail 6 and port solidly joined by one end 13 of the arm 8, which is opposite the door 2 and is preferably constituted by an element distinct from the rest of the arm 8 and fixed to this arm, for example by screws 14.

 According to the main characteristic of the invention, the support carriage 12 is pivotally mounted on the end 13 and it is provided with a drawbar 16 which is engaged by a shoe 18 inside a guide 20 formed in parallel to the rail 6. This rail and the guide 20 are formed in one piece, in the sense that they are defined by different parts of the same profile 21 having substantially the shape of a U and fixed below the bay 3 of the door, with its concavity directed towards an external surface 22 of the vehicle. In particular, the rail 6 on which the carriage 12 slides is defined by a lower lateral portion 23 of the profile 21 while the guide 20 is defined by a groove 24 of rectangular section carried laterally by the profile 21, integral with this profile and, in particular, defined by a longitudinal recess obtained by deformation of an upper lateral portion 25 of the profile 21 which is opposite the port n 23. The guide 20 therefore has, on the same part of the curved end 7 of the rail 6, a curved end 26 having the same radius of curvature as the end 7.

 As can be seen by referring also to FIGS. 3 and 4, the support carriage 12 comprises a cylindrical support 28 provided at its lower part with a wheel 29 mounted idly, by means of a bearing 30, on a spindle 21 carried by the support 28, transversely to its axis, and an idler roller 32 mounted coaxially on the cylindrical support 28, on an upper end 33 of this support which has the shape of a pin and is located opposite roulette 29; in particular, the caster 29 is an integral part of the bearing 30 in that it constitutes the outer ring t the bearing 30 and the caster 29 which contains it are mounted in the lower end 34 of the support 28, which has the shape a fork, and which is opposite the end 33 forming a journal, which end 34 is traversed right through by the pin 31 whose axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the support 28 The idler roller 32 is on the contrary capable of turning exactly around the axis of symmetry of the cylindrical support 28, that is to say perpendicular to the roller 29, and it is retained on the end of the pin 33, for example by an elastic ring 36; while the caster 29 is supported on the rail 6 and, in particular, on the portion 23 of the profile 21 which constitutes a rolling track for this caster, the roller 32 is engaged in the guide 20 so as to cooperate with the side walls opposite of this guide, which are defined by respective side walls 37 of the groove 24.

 The support 28 is further provided, in a single piece and at its outer periphery, with a flange 40 coaxial with this support, and it is engaged idly and crossing through a sleeve 41 in the form of a bucket which in turn has come in one piece, for example from a foundry, with the end 40. In particular, the sleeve 41 is delimited at the top by a bottom wall 42 which is traversed by the upper part of the support 28, mounted loose and with seal impervious to fluids (for example thanks to the interposition of a sealing ring 43 - Figure 3), and from which emerges in overhang the end 33 in the form of a pin which carries the roller 32. A the lower part, at its outlet, the sleeve 41 is closed with fluid-tight seal by the collar 40 which carries on its peripheral edge another sealing ring 45 (FIG. 3). Between the wall 42 and the collar 40, there are interposed, according to the invention, rolling bodies 46 which are balls in the case shown but which can also be rollers, for which the flange 40 and the wall 42 are provided with respective rolling tracks. In this way, all of the elements 40, 42, 46 behave like a thrust bearing, which makes it possible to transmit the weight of the door 2 to the rail 6 via the support 26 and its caster 29 and which, at the same time, allows the free rotation with low friction, of the support 28 in the sleeve 41. To allow this free rotation without jamming, the drawbar 16 has the shape of a fork and it is carried integrally by the spindle 31, being mounted on the opposite ends of this spindle and blocked laterally by the sides of its lower end on the fork 34 of the support 28.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, and as can be seen with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the arm 8 is arranged obliquely with respect to the lower surface 9 of the door 2 and it is provided laterally in door-to-door -false of a finger 50 which is part of a stop device, generally designated by 52, intended to stop the door 2 in the second aforementioned position. In addition to the finger 50, which is preferably formed of a single piece with the end 13, and its sleeve 41, which is arranged so as to always remain substantially parallel to the opening 3 of the door and to the straight part of the rail 6, the device 52 further comprises a pair of idler rollers 53, 54 adapted to clamp together, snap-fit, the finger 50 which has for this purpose the shape of a hook, and which are arranged integrally on the upright 5, for example my tees on a plate 55, which is in turn fixed to the upright 5 in a suitable position rié, for example using screws 56. The roller 53 is disposed below the finger 50 and is supported directly by the plate 55 which is rigid. I1 is therefore mounted in a fixed position on the upright 5.For its part, the roller 54 is arranged on the upright 5 of the door in a position located immediately above the roller 53 and it is mounted integrally on a slide 60 (Figures 5, 6) mounted to slide on the wafer 55, in a housing 61 and against a helical spring 62. The roller 54 is therefore mounted on the upright 5 so as to be able to slide vertically relative to this upright. The spring 62 tends to hold the slider 60 normally extracted from the housing 61, so as to keep the roller 54 in abutment against the lower roller 53, which is fixed relative to the upright 5 and which therefore plays the role of an end stop stroke for the movable roller 54; when the finger 50 engages between the rollers 53, 54, the roller 54 moves away from the roller 53, causing the slide 60 to return to its housing 61, with resulting compression of the spring 62, which reacts elastically by exerting against the finger 50, via the roller 54, a thrust which then discharges against the roller 53.The value of this elastic reaction can be adjusted by varying the stiffness of the spring 62, or by fixing the preload of this spring by screwing a screw 70 provided with a base and mounted through the bottom of the housing 61, the spring 62 being pressed in abutment against this screw.

 In use, the weight of the door 2 rests on the rail 6 via the bearing 30, the idler 29 and the set of elements 40, 42 and 46 which define a thrust bearing whose axis is perpendicular to that of the bearing 30. Consequently, the translation of the door 2 is carried out with great softness and ease, because this door is supported by the caster 29, which can move freely on the rail 6; the presence of the rolling bodies 46 prevents possible jamming of the caster 29 in the curved segment 27 of the rail 6; these bodies in effect allow the caster 29 to orient itself so as to keep the rolling axis of the bearing 30 aligned with the longitudinal axis of the rail 6 t this orientation of the caster 29 is controlled by the drawbar 16 which is always maintained substantially tangent to the rolling track 23 of the caster 29 on the rail 6 by means of the shoe 18 which slides in the guide 20 thanks to the fact that the guide 20 is arranged tangent to the rail 26 and has the same curvature that the latter; the sliding of the door 2 produces, in addition to the rolling of the caster 29, also the sliding of the shoe 18 which continuously orient the drawbar 16, causing the rotation of the support 28 and the consecutive orientation of the caster 29 at an angle which is conforms to the curvature of the rail 6 on which it rolls. On the other hand, the weight of the door 2 hangs entirely on the rolling bodies 46 and on the caster 29, so that the shoe 18, which slides in the guide 20 , produces a very reduced friction and runs no risk of being trapped; moreover, any lateral loads are absorbed by the roller 32 which is guided by the lateral walls 37 of the guide 20, so that it keeps the caster 29 engaged on the rail 6, and that it however works with low friction, thanks to the fact that it can rotate freely on the pin-shaped end 33, so that it rotates in the guide 20 instead of rubbing in the latter, as occurs in the carriages of the translation devices already known. When the door 2 reaches the opening end-of-travel position (position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2), the device 52 intervenes to block it in this position. In fact, the sliding of the door 2 and of the arm 8 integral with this door causes the finger 50 to cooperate with the rollers 53, 54, causing the spacing of these rollers as described above. The hook-shaped end of the finger 50 can therefore be inserted behind the roller 54 which, pushed by the spring 62, then clamps the finger 50 against the fixed roller 53, ensuring that the door 2 is retained in position.

 The advantages linked to the invention are evident from what has been described above. On the one hand, the movement of door 2 is always gentle and free of jamming; on the other hand, the door 2 can be effectively retained in its open position, all with a very small footprint and with the possibility of adjusting the retaining force, using the screw 70.

 Of course, various modifications and variants may be made by those skilled in the art to the device which has just been described solely by way of nonlimiting example without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

 1. Translation device for moving a sliding door (2) relative to a door opening (3) of a vehicle, between a first position, in which the door closes the opening, and a second position, in which the door is disposed laterally to the opening, leaving the latter open, said device comprising a fixed rail (6), placed in line with the opening and having an initial portion (7) curved towards the interior of the vehicle, an arm (8 ) fixed in cantilever on an inner surface (9) of the door, and a support carriage (12) slidingly mounted on the rail and carried integrally by the end of the arm (8) which is opposite the door, characterized in that said support carriage (12) is pivotally mounted on said end of the arm and is provided with a drawbar (16) carrying a shoe (18) which is engaged inside a guide (20 ) provided parallel to said rail.  2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said rail (6) and the guide t20) parallel to this rail are defined respectively by a profile in U (21) fixed below the door opening, with its concavity directed towards an exterior surface of the vehicle, and by a groove (24) carried laterally and integrally by the profile, the rail and the guide both having a same end (26, 7) curved towards the inside of the vehicle.  3. Device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said support carriage (12) comprises a cylindrical support (28) provided at its lower part with a wheel (29) mounted idle, via of a bearing (30), on a spindle (31) carried by the support transversely to the axis of the latter, said roller bearing on said rail (6), and an idler roller (32) mounted coaxially on the support , on an upper end of this support which is opposite to said caster, said idler roller (32) being engaged inside said guide (20) so as to cooperate with the respective opposite side walls (37, 37) of the latter.  4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said support (28) is provided coaxially with a flange (40) and is mounted through right through a sleeve (41) come in one piece with said end of said arm (8) which is opposite to said door, said sleeve (41) being closed at its lower part by said flange (40) while a plurality of rolling bodies (46) are interposed between this flange and an opposite upper wall or bottom wall (42) of the sleeve, which is traversed by said support.  5. Device according to one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said drawbar (16) is carried integrally by said transverse pin (31) for supporting the caster.  6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said arm (8) carries said support carriage (12) pivotally movable and is disposed obliquely relative to the interior surface (9) of the sliding door (2) .  7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a stop device (52) for the door serving to stop this door in said second position, said stop device comprising a finger (50) formed integrally with said arm (8), and carried by this arm so as to always remain substantially parallel to the door opening, and a pair of idle rollers (53, 54) capable of clamping said finger between them with snap-fastening and carried by upright (5) of the door opening, which is adjacent to said sliding door (2) when the latter is in said second position; ; a first idler roller (53) disposed below said finger (50), mounted in a fixed position on said upright (5), and a second idler roller (54) disposed on the door jamb (5) directly above said first roller and being mounted on the upright so that it can slide vertically against elastic means (62).  8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that said stop device (52) further comprises means (70) which make it possible to adjust the stiffness of said elastic means (62).