GB1597175A

GB1597175A - Sliding flush closing door for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB1597175A
Application number: GB51284/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1976-12-14
Filing date: 1977-12-09
Publication date: 1981-09-03
Also published as: DE2656495C2; BE861689A; DE2656495A1; FR2374495A1; ATA885777A; FR2374495B1; AT353833B

Description

(54) A SLIDING FLUSH CLOSING DOOR FOR VEHICLES (71) We, ARN K1EKERT SOHNE, of Kettwiger Strasse 16-20, 5628 Heiligenhaus, Federal Republic of Germany, a German body corporate, 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 state ment :- The invention relates to a sliding flushclosing door for vehicles the door member itself of which has support rollers at two points and a guide roller at least at a third point, which run in fixed supports forming an acute angle with the plane of the door.

From German Offenlegungsschrift No: 23 05 006.8 a sliding flush closing door of the above-mentioned type has become known which has several U-shaped support-guide tracks offset downwards with the opening. In these support-guide tracks engage various support and guide rollers, the axes of rotation of which are offset preferably by 90" with respect to each other.

The invention seeks to simplify still further the support-guide system of the door by reducing the number of components and more particularly by reducing their susceptibility to faults.

According to the invention there is provided a sliding flush closing door for vehicles comprising a door member, an upper support member on which two rollers, mounted on the door member at an angle to each other, run, a lower guide member in the form of a straight track for guiding the door and a lower support member in the form of a curved tube on which a concave roller mounted on the door member for rotation about a vertical axis runs.

In a preferred refinement of the invention the angled rollers may be fixed to the door member in such a manner that on outward pivoting of the door they run at a slightly canted angle.

A particularly easily mounted unit may be obtained if the upper support tube carries a drive cylinder of means of brackets and a cable retaining rod and if these brackets lie symmetrically between the tracks of the angled rollers.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the upper suspension of a door in accordance with the invention with its drive system; Figure 2 shows the lower support and guide profiles; Figure 3 shows the centre part of the door; Figure 4 shows the section A-A in Figure 2; Figure 5 shows the section B-B in Figure 3; Figure 6 shows the section C-C in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 7 shows the view X in Figure 3, and Figure 8 shows the plan view on to the door.

Corresponding parts are provided with the same reference numerals.

In Figure 1 the door member itself is designated 1, having a window pane 2. The window pane is retained by an elastic profile 3.

A metal fastening 4 is fixed to the upper left corner of the door member, said fastening carrying a pair of rollers 5 mounted at an angle to each other. This roller pair runs on a straight support tube 6 which is suspended via bolts 7, 8. A front suspension member 9 has an elongated fixing hole 11 crosswise to the direction of travel and a rear suspension member 10 has an elongated fixing hole 12 in the direction of travel. Brackets 13, 14 are welded on to the support tube 6 and carry the drive system. A pneumatic cylinder casing 15 is fixed to the bracket 14, its piston rod 16 merging into a rack 17. This rack drives a small pinion 18 which is connected to a substantially larger cable pulley 19. The pinion and the cable pulley are mounted on the bracket 13. The cable 20 is guided via a further fixed deflection roller 21. A rod for providing electrical cable retention is designated 22. The cable which it carries passes from the door into the bodywork and may be used for transmitting signals to and from the door. This retaining rod is also connected to the support tube. By the upgearing between the pinion and the cable pulley, which amounts to approximately 3:1, the compressed air drive can be kept so short that it does not exceed the width of the door and can be comfortably built-in as a result.

In order to ensure exact inward pivoting of the rear door edge, a rolling pivot lever 23 known per se is mounted on the right-hand upper door corner, its rollers running in a track 43.

A permanent magnet 35 is connected to the rack 17, which magnet acts on two fixed reed contacts 36, 37. These known parts act as limit contacts which trigger signals and control related operations.

Figure 2 shows the lower door suspension and guide. A straight U-section track 24 which is open below is arranged below the door opening and in this track runs a guide roller 25.

This guide roller is connected to the lefthand lower corner of the door member itself via a tongue 26.

A roller with a concave surface is suspended via a further tongue 27 on the lower righthand corner of the door member, which rolls on a curved support tube 29. In order that the roller 28 can be matched to the curve and thus to the change of direction of the tube 29, it is pivotally mounted about a perpendicular axis 30. The tube 29 is mounted on the bodywork via bolts 31, 32 whereby a similar oblong hole combination is used again here as in the upper support tube 6.

Figure 3 shows the centre part of the door with the door handle 33 and a catch mechanism 34, shown in enlarged view in Figure 5.

Figure 4 represents the cross-section A-A of Figure 2. Initially it can be seen that the straight U-section track 24 forms an acute angle with respect to the door member 1.

The support tube 29, is curved heavily at its left-hand end in order to initiate the steep outward pivoting of the rear door edge during the opening process.

The catch mechanism 34 shown in Figure 5 has a pin 38 which locks into a latch lock 39 when the door is closed and prevents the door member 1 from rattling as a result of wind forces.

Figure 6 shows a shortened longitudinal section through the door. The roller pair 5 can be seen, and the cable pulley 19, 21, the pinion 18 and the rack 17. The bracket 13 does not prevent movement of the roller pair 5 because the roller tracks are offset laterally. As can be seen from Figures 1 and 6 the cable rod 22 is arranged at the height of the drive and well above the support tube 6. However it may be advisable to mount the cable rod lower i.e. at the level of the support tube 6.

Figure 7 shows the view X in Figure 3.

The catch pin 38 is held fast by a latch 40 which is pivotally mounted about an axis 41 The latch 40 is secured by a detent 42. On opening the door, the detent 42 is unlocked and the latch 40 rotates anti-clockwise until the pin 38 is free and the door can pivot out.

Figure 8 shows a plan view on to the door, shown in shortened form. The door member 1 is guided in the left-hand upper corner via the metal fastening 4 and the angled roller pair 5 on the support tube 6. The pivoting lever 23 of the roller is arranged at the righthand upper corner of the door.

The compressed air drive cylinder 15, 16 is connected to the support tube 6 via the bracket 14. The movement of the rack 17 is upgeared on to the cable pulley 19, so that the drive force is transmitted via the cable 20 and the deflection roller 21 to the metal fastening 4 and the door member 1.

A cable holder 44 serves as a connection element between the metal fastening 4 and the cable 20, the holder 44 being constructed simultaneously as a cable tensioner.

The outwardly pivoted door is indicated in Figure 8 as it is in Figure 4 by chain lines. The cable 20 is also shown in chain lines in this figure.

The operation of the door will now be described: When the door is to be opened, a command is issued and the piston rod 16 of the drive cylinder 15 moves to the left so that the door panel 1 is moved to the right by means of the gearing 17, 18, the roller 19 and the drive cable 20, the cable holder 44 (Fig. 8) and the fastening 4. In the first phase of this movement the right-hand edge of the door panel pivots steeply outwards because (according to Fig. 4) the roller 28 passes along the highly curved part of the tube 29. This movement is assisted by the pivoting roller 23 (Figs. 1 and 8) which is arranged in the upper right-hand corner of the door.

Since the tube 6 and the track 24 (Figs. 8 and 4) form an acute angle with respect to the plane of the door, the left-hand edge of the door is only guided outwardly very gradually.

At the end of the opening movement (chain line position in Figs. 8 and 4) the door panel 1 is again in parallel with its starting position but is offset laterally therefrom to a large extent.

The piston rod 16 is extended completely at the end of the opening movement.

In order to close the door the piston is actuated from the other side. The piston rod 16 slides to the right and the door to the left.

At the end of its movement the right-hand edge of the door pivots steeply because this movement is enforced by parts 23, 28, 29.

During this inward pivoting movement (in accordance with Fig. 5) the catch bolt 38 locks in a latch lock 39 so as to secure the door member additionally. In addition care is taken that the roller 5 (top left) and the roller 28 (bottom right) support the door member, i.e. take its weight, while roller 25 (bottom left) and pivoting roller lever 23 (top right) only act as guides and stabilize the position of the door member spatially.

In certain applications of the described sliding flush fitting door, it may be necessary to connect to the drive unit, in addition, a remote control element for actuation of a step to provide better access to the door opening. For this purpose a freewheeling crank is fixed to the piston rod and drives the step via a follower lever and the remote control element. The freewheel causes the step to be entrained only when the door has been pivoted out. In this way the loading peaks are better distributed over the period of operation. Since the two load-bearing profiles of the door system are constructed as tubes these tubes 6 and 29 can be a part of a heating system fed by steam or some other medium at the same time. The tubes with their smooth outer surfaces are not only much less likely to become dirty than for example the U-shaped tracks, but they can also be kept free of snow and ice with a minimum of effort. This is particularly important for the lower support tube 29 since it must be arranged relatively unprotected below the vehicle floor, where it is subject to snow and dirt being sprayed up on to it.

In this connection moreover the concave roller 28, which can be rotated about the axis 30, is to be regarded as very advantageous and tends to exhibit far fewer faults than a known roller arrangement, the guide and support rollers of which cooperate with a U-shaped profile.

As a result of the few and uncomplicated separate parts, the new type of door construction is outstandingly suitable for use in climatically unfavourable regions since it is in precisely these regions that there are poor prerequisites for regular maintenance of the vehicles.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A sliding flush closing door for vehicles, comprising a door member, an upper support member on which two rollers, mounted on the door member at an angle to each other, run, a lower guide member in the form of a straight track for guiding the door and a lower support member in the form of a curved tube on which a concave roller, mounted on the door member for rotation about a vertical axis runs.

2. A door according to Claim 1, wherein the angled rollers are fixed rigidly to the door member via a metal fastening.

3. A door according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper support tube carries a drive cylinder and a cable retaining rod via brackets and these brackets lie symmetrically between the tracks of the angled rollers.

4. A door according to Claim 3, wherein the movement of the drive cylinder is upgeared via a rack and a pinion to a cable pulley acting as a deflection roller; and both the cable roller and the related second deflection pulley is fixed to the upper support tube.

5. A door according to Claim 4, wherein the previously mounted unit comprising the support tube, the drive system and deflection rollers has bolts at its ends, which bolts are inserted into an oblong fixing hole at the front crosswise to the direction of travel and into an oblong fixing hole at the back in the direction of travel.

6. A door according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the lower support tube which lies in the bodywork adjacent the door opening, has perpendicular screw pins at its ends, these being inserted so as to be adjustable in oblong holes in the bodywork.

7. A door according to Claim 4, wherein a cable holder is fixed at the level of the upper edge of the door member to the metal fasten- ing this holder being combined with a cable tensioner.

8. A door according to Claim 4, wherein a remote control element for actuation of a step is additionally fixed to the drive unit.

9. A door according to Claim 8 wherein the actuation of the step takes place via a freewheel crank and a follower lever so that the step is moved only when the door is pivoted outwards.

10. A door according to Claim 1 wherein that the rear upper corner of the door is provided with a pivoting lever for a roller which brings about exact inward pivoting of the rear edge of the door.

11. A door according to Claim 2, wherein the cable retaining rod, which carries a helically wound cable required for signal purposes, is suspended via the upper support tube.

12. A door according to Claim 2, wherein the cable retaining rod is suspended below or near the upper support tube.

13. A door according to Claim 1, wherein the support members are part of a heating system acted upon by steam or some other medium so that the disruptive accumulation of ice or snow can be safely prevented.

14. A sliding flush closing door for vehicles substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. i.e. take its weight, while roller 25 (bottom left) and pivoting roller lever 23 (top right) only act as guides and stabilize the position of the door member spatially. In certain applications of the described sliding flush fitting door, it may be necessary to connect to the drive unit, in addition, a remote control element for actuation of a step to provide better access to the door opening. For this purpose a freewheeling crank is fixed to the piston rod and drives the step via a follower lever and the remote control element. The freewheel causes the step to be entrained only when the door has been pivoted out. In this way the loading peaks are better distributed over the period of operation. Since the two load-bearing profiles of the door system are constructed as tubes these tubes 6 and 29 can be a part of a heating system fed by steam or some other medium at the same time. The tubes with their smooth outer surfaces are not only much less likely to become dirty than for example the U-shaped tracks, but they can also be kept free of snow and ice with a minimum of effort. This is particularly important for the lower support tube 29 since it must be arranged relatively unprotected below the vehicle floor, where it is subject to snow and dirt being sprayed up on to it. In this connection moreover the concave roller 28, which can be rotated about the axis 30, is to be regarded as very advantageous and tends to exhibit far fewer faults than a known roller arrangement, the guide and support rollers of which cooperate with a U-shaped profile. As a result of the few and uncomplicated separate parts, the new type of door construction is outstandingly suitable for use in climatically unfavourable regions since it is in precisely these regions that there are poor prerequisites for regular maintenance of the vehicles. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A sliding flush closing door for vehicles, comprising a door member, an upper support member on which two rollers, mounted on the door member at an angle to each other, run, a lower guide member in the form of a straight track for guiding the door and a lower support member in the form of a curved tube on which a concave roller, mounted on the door member for rotation about a vertical axis runs.