GB1563429A - Door restraint - Google Patents

Description

(54) DOOR RESTRAINT (71) We, REGIE NATIONALE DES USINES RENAULT, a company incorporated according to the laws of the Republic of France, of 92109 Boulogne-Billancourt, France, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention concerns a door stop or restraint, for example for a motor vehicle side door.

Existing door stops or restraints for motor vehicle doors may be integrated into the pivot hinges of the door, or may be installed in the rabbet or gap between the door and the adjacent bodywork member. In the latter case, the door stop may comprise a check stay or bar which is generally pivoted on the vehicle bodywork member which, when the door is closed, extends into a casing fixed in the body of the door. To provide a sufficient restraint force and to hold the door effectively in the open position, or in an intermediate position when such is provided, it is necessary for the check stay to be disposed as far away as possible from the pivot axis of the door hinge. However this is difficult to achieve when the door is of small thickness and when the bodywork member which partially engages into the body of the door is wide and thin.In addition, when the door is closed, the pivot point of the check stay is so close to the casing on the door that the slightest degree of maladiustment of the door can cause a substantial sweep movement of the opposite end of the check stay, due to the lever effect of the various pivots, and the stay may then interfere with the inside walls of the door.

Another form of door stop or restraint is of a knuckle joint type and comprises two links which are pivotally connected together in the rabbet of the door, one link also being pivoted on the vehicle body and the other link being pivoted on the door. One of the links is extended beyond the common pivot to form a member for retaining the door in the open position. When the door is closed and the links are folded together, the slightest maladjustment of the door relative to the body causes a demultiplied movement of the retaining member, by a lever effect, and in this case also can cause the retaining member to interfere with the adjacent metalwork of the rabbet; this may also generate parasitic rattling noise.In addition, in door stops of this kind, there is generally no intermediate position in which the door is in a stable open position; such a position is very useful when the door is of substantial dimensions and/or complete opening of the door is prevented by an obstacle.

According to the present invention, there is provided a door restraint comprising a first link, means for pivotally connecting the first link to a door, a second link, means for pivotally connecting the second link to a mounting member adjacent the door, the links being pivotally interconnected by a common pivot at a spacing from their respective connecting means, the second link providing at the pivotal interconnection of the links an arm portion which extends at an angle to the said link outwardly of the angle of opening of the two links and which, in use of the door restraint, extends into said mounting member when said door is closed, and a roller which is urged resiliently against a ramp surface of the arm, substantially perpendicularly, at least in the fully open position of said door, to the three pivot connections of the links, the - ramp surface of the arm providing at least two successive recesses into which the roller may be received for holding said door in different open positions.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a door stop or restraint according to the invention, when folded into the rabbet of a closed motor vehicle door, Figure 2 is a view, taken along arrow F in Figure 1, of the support of the stop member, which is fixed on the bodywork upright of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a view of the resilient return member of the restraint roller of the Figure 1 structure, in cross-section taken along line III--III in Figure 2, Figures 4 and 5 show the mode of operation of the door stop and illustrate the door successively in an intermediate open position and in a completely open position.

Figure 1 shows a knuckle joint type door stop or restraint 1 in the folded condition it assumes when the door on which it is used is closed. The door stop is received in a door rabbet 2 which is defined at its outward side by the side door 3 which is of small thickness, in alignment with a fixed bodywork panel 4, and at its inward side by a wide but thin bodywork upright member 5 which is of folded sheet metal and which engages partly into the thickness or the body of the closed door 3, as shown.

The door 3 may be for example a front side door of a vehicle, adjacent to the front wing panel 4, and the member 5 may be a front upright member bordering the driving cab. The pivot axis of the door is illustrated at 6, being the axis of pivotal movement of the door hinges (not shown).

As will be seen, although the overall thickness d of the bodywork is very small, the door stop as described hereinafter can be housed within the dimension d.

The door stop 1 comprises first and second links 8 and 7, respectively which are pivotally connected together at a common pivot 9. In addition the links 8 and 7 are pivotally connected to the door 3 and to the member 5 respectively, for pivotal movement about spindles 10 and 11. Each spindle 10 and 11 is mounted in a respective mounting fork arrangement 12 and 13 which are disposed generally one opposite the other.

One arrangement 12 is fixed directly to the door 3, for example by welding. while the other arrangement 13 is mounted on a support plate 14 which itself is secured to the member 5 by means of bolts 15. As can be seen more clearlv from Figure 2. the second arrangement 13 comprises two rightangle bent members which are arranged facing each other and which are welded on the plate 14. to carry the pivot spindle 11 of the link 7.

In order further to reduce the closed angle of, and thus the space occupied by, the links 7 and 8 in the folded nosition. the arrangements 12 and 13 are slightly offset relative to each other in the lonqitudinal direction of the links (see Figure 1) in such a way that the top or crest of the arrangement 13 matches and fits partly into a Vshape recess formed in the link 8.

At the common pivot 9, the link 7 has an arm 16 which is elbow-bent outwardly of the angle of opening of the links, and more precisely inwardly of the member 5.

When the door 3 is closed and the links 7 and 8 are folded together in the position shown in Figure 1, the arm 16 extends virtually perpendicularly into the member 5 through an opening 17 in the plate 14 and a corresponding opening in the member 5.

However, the length of the arm 16 is such that it cannot come into contact with the sheet metal side wall 18 of the member 5, which is opposite to the above-mentioned opening.

The side edge of the arm 16 which faces towards the vehicle bodywork panel 4 has two successive recesses 19 and 20 spaced along the length thereof, the second recess 20 forming a hook-like configuration at the end of the arm 16. The recesses 19 and 20 are intended to co-operate with a rotatable roller 21 which is urged resiliently against the arm 16, generally perpendicularly to the pivot axis 9, 10 and 11 at least when the door is open (Figures 4 and 5), to hold the door 3 in two open positions.

As can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, the roller 21 is movably arranged in a casing 22 secured to the support plate 14 and can be pushed back into the casing 22 against the action of two coil compression springs 23.

The casing 22 is provided with a slot 24 into which the arm 16 partially extends, to permit the sweep movement of the arm 16. The side edge of the arm 16 forms a rolling ramp or cam portion 25 for the roller 21, between the two recesses 19 and 20, and a further cam portion 26 (Figure 4) between the recesses 19 and pivot 9. The casing 22 can advantageously be secured to the plate 14 by the same bolts 15 as those which secure the plate 14 to the member 5.

Figure 4 shows the door 3 in a half-open position, the door being held in this position by the thrust force of the roller 21 in the first recess 19 of the arm 16, after rolling over the first ramp portion 26.

Figure 5 shows the door 3 in a fully open position, in which the door is held by the thrust force of the roller 21 in the end hook-like recess 20 which at the same time forms a stop abutment. It is therefore impossible to open the door further, and to cause the common pivot 9 to go overcentre, i.e. to pivot beyond the imaginary line connecting the pivots 10 and 11 together.

A curve 27 in dash-dotted lines shows the path of movement of the pivot 10 which is fixed on the door 3, relative to the fixed bodywork 4 and 5.

It will be seen that the above-described door restraint is capable of being mounted in a rabbet of a door of very small thick ness, without interfering with the surrounding metalwork, even in the event of maladjustment of the door, while ensuring that the door may also be held in an intermediate open position.

Various modifications may be made without thereby departing from the invention as defined by the appended claims, for example it is possible to provide more than than two successive recesses on the arm 16, to increase the number of intermediate opening positions of the door.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A door restraint comprising a first link, means for pivotally connecting the first link to a door, a second link, means for pivotally connecting the second link to a mounting member adjacent the door, the links being pivotally interconnected by a comman pivot at a spacing from their respective connecting means, the second link providing at the pivotal interconnection of the links an arm portion which extends at an angle to the said link outwardly of the angle of opening of the two links and which, in use of the door restraint, extends into said mounting member when said door is closed, and a roller which is urged resiliently against a ramp surface of the arm, substantially perpendicularly, at least in the fully open position of said door, to the three pivot connections of the links, the ramp surface of the arm providing at least two successive recesses into which the roller may be received for holding said door in different open positionS.

2. A door restraint according to claim 1, wherein the free end of the arm portion has a hook-like configuration forming the recess for holding said door in a fully open position.

3. A door restraint according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the resilient loading of the roller comprises at least one spring disposed within a casing mounted on a support plate at one end thereof, the plate at its other end carrying a mounting arrangement providing the pivotal mounting of the second link.

4. A door restraint according to claim 3, wherein said means for pivotally connecting the links to the door and to said mounting member comprise respective mounting arrangements which are offset relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of links when the links are folded together in a door-closed condition, the crest of the mounting arrangement of one link engaging partially into a recess in the other link in said foolded-together condition.

5. A door restraint substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. On a motor vehicle, a door restraint according to any one of the preceding

Claims (1)

1. claims.