US2084069A

US2084069A - Vehicle door construction

Info

Publication number: US2084069A
Application number: US704813A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred J Westrope
Original assignee: Murray Corp
Current assignee: Murray Corp; Murray Corp of America
Priority date: 1934-01-02
Filing date: 1934-01-02
Publication date: 1937-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 1954-06-15

Description

June 15, 1937. F. J. WESTROPE VEHICLE DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 2. 1954 s Sheets Sheet 1 V JNVENTOR. Fred \Z" W255)" aye.

ATTORNEYS.

June 15, 1937. F. J. WESTROPE VEHICLE DOOR GON STRUCTI ON Filed Jan. 2, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

.,E. Fred J7 14/6 llllllllllllll ll fiww ATTORNEY-5.

June 15,1937. P s-1.1. wsT oPE; 2,084,069

VEHICLE D OOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 2, 1954 s Sheets- Sheet s I INVENTOR. Fred J. 14/65 ATTORNEYS Patented June 15, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,084,069 VEHICLE noon CONSTRUCTION Fred J. Westrope, Detroit, Mich assignor to The Murray Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application January 2, 1934, Serial No. 704,813 4 Claims. (01. 296-44) My invention relates to vehicle bodies and particularly to the door structure therefor and the method of mounting the doors on the body.

Heretofore it has always been the practice to employ pivotal hinges, that is to say hinges having wing portions pivoted together which extend outwardly from the body. Such hinges not only produce an unsightly appearance but also offer a certain degree of resistance to the air which is objectionable on the present day type of streamline body. Some effort has been made to eliminate the unsightly appearanceof the hinge by constructing a concealed hinge of the wing type made up from a plurality of links WhiCh,'Wh118 an improvement over the present construction, is not entirely satisfactory in view of the weight of the door and the ruggedness that must be built in such hinges.

In practicing my invention, I materially advance the art of supporting doors on'vehicle bodies by utilizing a pin and socket connection at the bottom, top or intermediate side edge of the door, in aligned relation and disposed within the thickness of the door to be invisible from the inside and outside of the body. I In some instances the hinge may be employed only at the bottom to take the support of the door so that only a single hinge near the belt line or top of the body need be employed which may or may not project outwardly from the side of the vehicle. As a further extension of the invention, I may employ a concealed type of hinge in the place of the standard type at the belt line or top above referred to, made up of a plurality of links. This hinge will only be employed to position the door and not to support its weight which is entirely supported by the pivot and socket connection at the bottom edge of the door.

As a further extension of the inventiona recess portion of the body adjacent to the door may be provided in which a hinge may extend along the sidesurface of the body to have the pivot thereof aligned with the pin and socket supporting the bottom portion of the door. Such a hinge will be visible from the side of the body but will be removed from the flow of air along the. body side. However, as a preferred form, I employ both the pin and socket connections at the top and bottom edges of the door so as to have the pivotal support for the door entirely invisi ble from the exterior of the body. In this construction when the door is tion extend over the wheel housing, I may align the pivots in offset relation from the door edges to have a portion of the door move inwardly formed to have a porwhile another portion'of the door moves outwardly. I

When, however, the doors are both pivoted at the central portion I may eliminate the pillars and mount both edges of the door on the pin and socket pivots. In this construction, either door or both will be swingable without interfering with the other and at the same time the pillars are eliminated at the junction of the two doors. As a still'further extension of my invention, I may employ a single door swung on pivots intermediate the forward and rear compartments so as to have the rear portion move in while the front portion moves out to have the front and rear compartments open to the egress or ingress of the occupants. Inany of these constructions the pin and socket connection materially adds to the strength of the support for the door, enhances the appearance of the vehicle and provides a smooth side to the stream of air flowing thereacross.

Accordingly, the main objects of my invention are: to provide a pin and socket pivot support for a door which is mounted within the door structure so as to be invisible from the interior or exterior of the'vehicle; ing for the hinges of a door by mounting them intermediate the front and rear edges to have a portion of the door move inwardly whileanother portion moves outwardly; to provide a pin and socket pivot in the body portion of the door and a single small hinge near the belt line or top of the body to position the door, the weight of which is supported by the pin and socket pivot; to provide two doors pivoted in adjacent relation so as to eliminate the central pillar thereof by having the doors mounted at the top and bottom edges on pin and socket pivots to permit either one to swing relative to the other and to be sealed relative to each other when the doors are in closed position: to provide a single door for closing the front and rear compartmentsof a body pivoted intermediate its ends at the top and bottom of the door to have one portion swing inwardly while another portion swings outwardly and, in general, to materially strengthen the pivotal support 'for the door of a body in such manner as to enhance the appearance of the vehicle, to provide a more durable construction and to eliminate-resistance to wind along the side of the vehicle.-

Other objects and features of-novelty of my inventionwill be either specifically-pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for abetter understanding of my invention,to the fol- '10 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line H thereof,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 5-5 thereof, I

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 8-6 thereof,

Fig. 7 is a view of a body, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, showing a modified form of my invention,

. Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. -7, taken on the line 8-8 thereof,-

Flg. 9 is a view of a body, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, showing a modified form thereof, Fig. 10 is a view of a body, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 9, showing a modified form thereof, Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 10, taken on the line |l-ll thereof,

Fig. 12 is a view of a body, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, showing a modified form thereof.

and

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view. of the structure illustrated in Fig. 12, taken on the line l3 l3 thereof. The vehicle body illustrated in Fig. 1. comprises a body portion lI, a front door I and a rear door II. The front door is constructed to have a pivot l3 and a hinge l3 mounted on a central pillar 2| of the body. The lower pivot I3 is illustrated enlarged in Fig. 3 as comprising a pin 22 and a socket 23 which substantially support the entire weight 'of the door, the pivot formed thereby being aligned with a pivot 2| on the hinge II. This hinge is of conventional form except that it is much smaller than a standard hinge and only one hinge is employed in view of the pin and socket I door which substantially supports the door. In the construction herein shown the door is flanged outwardly at 25 to extend over the.proiecting floor portion 26 supported/on the bracket 21.

The pin 22 is provided with a bracket 23 which lssecuredtothesidesillportionofthebodyhaving an apertured extension 29 in which the pin 22 is screwed. The pin is provided with a e co 3| for the P p se of lubrication. Suitable means (not shown)- retains the socket 23 supported on thepanelingofthebodyin-arigidmanner. In this construction the eight of the door is substantially supported at the bottom by the concealed pin and socket connection and a material reduction in strength is le in the hinge I! which positions the door, rather than adds materially to its support. p

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated a further extension of the invention wherein a pin and socket hinge 33 similar to the .pivot ll described in relation to the front door "is mounted inwardly of the edge of'the rear door i1. .-Directly aligned with the pivot formed thereby is a hinge 32 oi the concealed type. The hinge 32 is made, p 0! a pi lconnection at the bottom of the rality of links and, since material strength is not required at this portion of the door, the concealed type of hinge can successfully be employed at this point. The rear portion of the door rearwardly of the aligned pivots 30 and 32 moves in- 5 wardly as the front portion of the door moves outwardly'in a manner which will be described more fully hereinafter.

The junction of the door at the pillar 2| is illustrated enlarged in Fig. 4, wherein the hinge 10 i8 is illustrated as being entirely concealed from view and so located as to permit the door to freely pass by the edge of the pillar when the outer edge of the door is swung open. In Fig. 5, I have illustrated asection through the rear pivot 30 where- 15 I in a pin 33 is supported by the bracket which is secured to the lower and side portion of the vehicle door by screws 35. The pin 33 rests within a socket 36 which is secured to the reinforcing elements 31 above the wheel housing, by 20 screws 38. As pointed out hereinabove, in view ofthe offset relation of the pivot inwardly of the side edges of the door a portion of the door moves inwardly as illustrated in Fig. 6. The Jamb face of the body 39 in which the door abuts is curved 25 on an arc struck from the center of the pivot 30 to permit all parts ofthe doorto pass thereby.

A suitable sealing element ll is provided on the door for engaging the arcuate surface at the edge of the door opening of the body to completely 3 seal the door against ingress of moisture and which is further sealed in a conventional manner I by the inner bead 4 In Fig. 7, I have shown a further extension of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the 5 hinge 32 thereof has a hinge l2 substituted therefor which is recessed in the side of the body to provide .a streamline effect thereto. As illus- 'trated more clearly in the enlarged view of Fig. 8,

a recess 43 is provided in the body in which an 40 inner wing 44 is secured while a movable wing 45 is likewise disposed in the recess .and is flanged inwardly at 43 and secured to the door in a conventional manner. The pivot 41 of the hinge is aligned with the pivot of the hinge 30 and, while 45 the hinge 42 is visibl it does not protrude from the side of the body and thereby provides a streamline eifect thereto. In Fig. 7. I have illustrated a hinge 32 employed at the belt line or top of the door l6 similar to the hinge 32 employed on 50 door I] illustrated in Fig. 1. The hinge is invisible and is aligned with the socket hinge l3 1 employed at the bottom of the door which takes substantially all the weight of the door. The entire surface of the door is devoid of visible 55 hinges and a complete Provided.

the pivot33alignedsothattherearportionl3ofthe door moves inwardly while the front portion 4 moves outwardly, ina manner as above.

'the front portion Ii of the door moves in moves outwardly. A complete seal is provided about the door in the manner above specified and illustrated more particularly in Fig. 6 for the portions moving in while the conventional sealing for the portions moving outwardly is employed.

In Fig. 10, I have illustrated the pairs of hinges l8 and 3B of the pin and socket type for securing the doors l5 and H to the body at their adjacent ends. The pillar 2| is entirely eliminated since the doors are supported on the top rail and bottom sill of the body. The edges of the door can be disposed closely adjacent to each other, as illustrated more particularly in Fig. 11. The adjacent rails of the door have a curved surface 53 to permit the edges 49 and 52 to readily pass by the opposite doors when either one is opened. In the same manner,- both doors may be opened at the same time without conflicting with each other. A sealing strip 54 is carried by each of the doors which mate with each other to form a seal for the space between the doors. A conventional head 42 is provided on one of the doors to seal the crack therebetween on the inside of the vehicle. I

As a further extension of my invention, I have illustrated in Fig. 12 a vehicle body having a front and a rear compartment wherein a single door 55 is pivoted onsupports I8 made up-of a pin and socket connection and secured to the top rail and bottom sill immediately behind the front seat 56. The door will swing on the pivots Hi to have the rear portion 5'! moved inwardly while the front portion158 moves outwardly, as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 13. In view of the change in design of the body, this construction is becoming more practical and has certain advantages in that the control of the opening of the rear doors is wholly retained by the occupant of the vehicle or at least those occupying the front seat.

While I have illustrated two types of pin and socket hinges l8 and 30, it is to be understood that either or both may be employed on either type of door or in combination on a single door. It is to be also understood that other types of pin and socket elements may be utilized depending upon the shape of the door and body. The supporting of the door on the sill and top rail adds material strength to the pivot elements for the door and at the same time relieves the door jambs and pillars from the stress which they were subject to heretofore. The particular disposition of the pin and socket connection within the thickness of the door completely hides the pivotal elements from sight and 4 streamlines the body. The application of thls type of hinge interjacent the front and rear edges of the door tends to more evenly balance the weight of the door and permits a portion of the door to move inwardly while other portions of the door move outwardly. The sealing of the door edges is reversed at the inwardly moving portion while the standard method of sealing is retained,

on the portions moving outwardly. When the pin and socket hinges are employed at the abutted edges of the door the pillar is entirely eliminated and the edges are closely disposed to each other and effectively sealed and so arranged that either or both doors may be opened independently of the other or at the same time without interference.

While I have described and illustrated several embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes,

omissions, additions and substitutions may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of myinvention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A door for a vehicle body having top and bottom edges disposed substantially horizontal, and

one edge substantially inclined to the vertical, a

hinge-element on one of said horizontal edges, and a second hinge element aligned with said first hinge element and disposed interjacent said top and bottom edges on said inclined edge.

2. A door for a vehicle body having a sloping side edge, a pin and socket connection at the bot tom of the door inwardly of said edge, a concealed hinge in the sloping side edge of the door having a pintle aligned with said pin, whereby the pivotal support for the door is entirely invisible and the portion on either side of the aligned hinged pin and pintle is moved in opposite directions when the door is opened.

3. A door for a vehicle body having a sloping edge, pin and socket pivots disposed at the bottom of the door and the side edge, said pivots being in aligned relation, the portions of the door on either side of said alignment being movable in the opposite direction.

4. A door for a vehicle body having a sloping edge, pin and socket pivots disposed at the bottom of the door and at a side edge, said pivots being in aligned relation, the portions of the door on either side of said alignment being movable in the opposite direction, and sealing means for both portions of the door.

FRED J. WESTROPEL