GB2146296A

GB2146296A - Vehicle door arrangements

Info

Publication number: GB2146296A
Application number: GB08324634A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alice Dorothy Finnigan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-09-14
Filing date: 1983-09-14
Publication date: 1985-04-17
Also published as: GB8324634D0

Abstract

A vehicle includes at, at least one side, two side doors (1 and 2) closing front (3) and rear doorways (4) in the vehicle, the front door (1) opening outwards and being attached to the vehicle by hinges (6) on the front edge (5) of the front doorway (3) and the rear door (2) being capable, when the front door (1) is open, of being slid forward from a first closed position where it covers the rear doorway (4) to a second opened position where it occupies the position occupied by the front door (1) when it is closed covering the front doorway (3) whereby the rear doorway (4) is left open. The arrangement is suitable for use in passenger vehicles where it is desirable that the rear door should not be opened unless the front door is also opened eg those carrying children in the rear compartment. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in vehicle doors This invention relates to improvements in vehicle doors and in particular to rear vehicle doors and a vehicle including such improved doors.

To avoid accidents where children are seated in the rear of a car, many cars now include child safety locks which prevent the rear doors from being opened from the inside to prevent the children opening the doors when the car is moving. The problem of these child-proof locks is that they tend to jam and can either jam open so that the child may open them from the inside or they jam closed so that the rear door can not be opened even from the outside. Apart from this there is also the possibility that a child may manage to open the lock while playing with the door.

Also these doors can be very inconvenient since either the door has to be opened by someone outside the car or one of the front passengers has to get out of the car to open the rear door.

Of course, two-door cars do have the feature that children are very secure in the rear of the car. However, these suffer from the disadvantage that the front passenger has to get out of the car in order to allow passengers to get in or out of the rear of the car.

According to this present invention there is provided a vehicle including at, at least one side, two side doors closing front and rear doorways in the vehicle, the front door opening outwards and being attached to the vehicle by hinges on the front edge of the front doorway and the rear door being capable, when the front door is open, of being slid forward from a first closed position where it covers the rear doorway to a second opened position where it occupies the position occupied by the front door when it is closed, covering the front doorway whereby the rear doorway is left open.

According to a further aspect of this invention there is provided a rear door for a vehicle, which, when the front door of the vehicles is open it is capable of being slid forwards from a first closed position to a second open position where it occupies the position of the front door when closed, whereby the rear doorway is opened.

In such a vehicle the rear door cannot be opened unless the front door of the vehicle is opened. This provides a very effective childproof lock. When the front door is opened the rear door may be opened without disturbing the front passenger. There are no mechanisms which can stick and lock the door closed so that the rear door will open smoothly whenever the front ddor is open.

Preferably the vehicle is a passenger vehicle and more preferably the vehicle is a car.

The car may only include one rear door on one side of the vehicle but preferably includes a sliding rear door on each side of the vehicle for convenience.

Preferably there is a groove which runs along the top of the doorways which extends from the front edge of the front door to the rear edge of the rear doorway. This groove extends down the rear edge of the rear doorway and along the bottom edge of the front doorway. The rear door includes on its top, bottom and rear edge a tongue which fits within the groove so that the door may slide freely from the rear doorway to the front doorway.

An example of a vehicle in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view, showing the front and rear doors closed; and, Figure 2 is a schematic view, of the vehicle with the rear door open.

A vehicle includes at one side a front door 1 and a rear door 2 which close front doorway 3 and rear doorway 4.

Front door 1 is attached to the front edge 5 of the front doorway 3 by hinges 6.

Rear door 2 includes on its top, bottom and rear edges a tongue 7 which fits within groove 8 which extends along the top of both front and rear doorways 3 and 4 down the rear edge of rear doorway 4 and along the bottom edge of the doorways. When the rear doorway 4 is to be opened front door 1 is opened and rear door 2 is slid into front doorway 3 leaving rear doorway 4 open.

1. A vehicle including at, at least one side, two side doors closing front and rear doorways in the vehicle, the front door opening outwards and being attached to the vehicle by hinges on the front edge of the front doorway and the rear door being capable, when the front door is open, of being slid forward from a first closed position where it covers the rear doorway to a second opened position where it occupies the position occupied by the front door when it is closed, covering the front doorway whereby the rear doorway is left open.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, which is a passenger vehicle.

3. A vehicle according to claim 2, which is a car.

4. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims which includes a sliding rear door on each side of the vehicle.

5. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a groove runs along the top of the doorways which extends from the front edge of the front door to the rear of the rear doorway, down the rear edge of the rear doorway and along the bottom

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improvements in vehicle doors This invention relates to improvements in vehicle doors and in particular to rear vehicle doors and a vehicle including such improved doors. To avoid accidents where children are seated in the rear of a car, many cars now include child safety locks which prevent the rear doors from being opened from the inside to prevent the children opening the doors when the car is moving. The problem of these child-proof locks is that they tend to jam and can either jam open so that the child may open them from the inside or they jam closed so that the rear door can not be opened even from the outside. Apart from this there is also the possibility that a child may manage to open the lock while playing with the door. Also these doors can be very inconvenient since either the door has to be opened by someone outside the car or one of the front passengers has to get out of the car to open the rear door. Of course, two-door cars do have the feature that children are very secure in the rear of the car. However, these suffer from the disadvantage that the front passenger has to get out of the car in order to allow passengers to get in or out of the rear of the car. According to this present invention there is provided a vehicle including at, at least one side, two side doors closing front and rear doorways in the vehicle, the front door opening outwards and being attached to the vehicle by hinges on the front edge of the front doorway and the rear door being capable, when the front door is open, of being slid forward from a first closed position where it covers the rear doorway to a second opened position where it occupies the position occupied by the front door when it is closed, covering the front doorway whereby the rear doorway is left open. According to a further aspect of this invention there is provided a rear door for a vehicle, which, when the front door of the vehicles is open it is capable of being slid forwards from a first closed position to a second open position where it occupies the position of the front door when closed, whereby the rear doorway is opened. In such a vehicle the rear door cannot be opened unless the front door of the vehicle is opened. This provides a very effective childproof lock. When the front door is opened the rear door may be opened without disturbing the front passenger. There are no mechanisms which can stick and lock the door closed so that the rear door will open smoothly whenever the front ddor is open. Preferably the vehicle is a passenger vehicle and more preferably the vehicle is a car. The car may only include one rear door on one side of the vehicle but preferably includes a sliding rear door on each side of the vehicle for convenience. Preferably there is a groove which runs along the top of the doorways which extends from the front edge of the front door to the rear edge of the rear doorway. This groove extends down the rear edge of the rear doorway and along the bottom edge of the front doorway. The rear door includes on its top, bottom and rear edge a tongue which fits within the groove so that the door may slide freely from the rear doorway to the front doorway. An example of a vehicle in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view, showing the front and rear doors closed; and, Figure 2 is a schematic view, of the vehicle with the rear door open. A vehicle includes at one side a front door 1 and a rear door 2 which close front doorway 3 and rear doorway 4. Front door 1 is attached to the front edge 5 of the front doorway 3 by hinges 6. Rear door 2 includes on its top, bottom and rear edges a tongue 7 which fits within groove 8 which extends along the top of both front and rear doorways 3 and 4 down the rear edge of rear doorway 4 and along the bottom edge of the doorways. When the rear doorway 4 is to be opened front door 1 is opened and rear door 2 is slid into front doorway 3 leaving rear doorway 4 open. CLAIMS

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, which is a passenger vehicle.

3. A vehicle according to claim 2, which is a car.

5. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a groove runs along the top of the doorways which extends from the front edge of the front door to the rear of the rear doorway, down the rear edge of the rear doorway and along the bottom edge of the front and rear doorway to the front edge of the front doorway, and in which the rear door includes on its top, bottom and rear edge a tongue which fits within the groove so that the door may slide freely from the rear doorway to the front doorway.

6. A rear door for a vehicle, which, when the front door of the vehicles is open is capable of being slid forwards from a first closed position to a second open position where it occupies the position of the front door when closed, whereby the rear doorway is opened.

7. A vehicle according to claim 1 and substantially as described herein.

8. A vehicle arranged substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.