WO1994013502A1

WO1994013502A1 - Device for moving movable body parts and accessories for enclosures, particularly vehicle compartments

Info

Publication number: WO1994013502A1
Application number: PCT/CH1993/000276
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henri Baumgartner
Original assignee: Henri Baumgartner
Priority date: 1992-12-10
Filing date: 1993-12-09
Publication date: 1994-06-23
Also published as: EP0625944A1; AU5558994A

Abstract

A device for moving movable body parts and accessories for enclosures having a shell, particularly for vehicles. The device comprises at least one assembly with three joints (2, 4, 6) with respective axes (A, B, C) converging on a point (D) located within the enclosure and defining with an identical second point (D') a virtual axis (DD') about which the movable part (1) is slidable along a circular path over the surface of an imaginary cylinder with an axis (DD') and a diameter comparable to at least one of the dimensions of the enclosed space.

Description

Device for moving mobile body parts and mobile accessories for enclosures, in particular for vehicles

Technical area

The present invention relates to a device for moving mobile bodywork elements and mobile accessories for enclosures, in particular for vehicles, in particular for opening and closing doors and trunks of vehicles. Prior art

Vehicles are enclosures whose interior volume is precious. As a result, access to the interior volume constituted by the doors should in principle not encroach on this volume when they are maneuvered. Car doors, for example, never open to the interior of the vehicle.

The vast majority of motor vehicles are fitted with doors mounted on hinges placed along a vertical or almost vertical axis.

When opening a car door, there must be sufficient lateral space to allow the door to pivot about an axis located on one of the edges of the door. Note that the longer the door, the larger the space required. Thus, for automobiles such as coupes, which must allow access to the rear seats through the driver's or passenger's door only, an even greater space is necessary, since the total opening angle of the door and its length lead to additional bulk.

The disadvantage of having to have sufficient space is particularly apparent when it comes to opening the door while the vehicle is parked in a parking lot, clamped between other vehicles. To overcome this drawback, various proposals have been made to provide automobiles with door opening devices along a horizontal or almost horizontal axis, generally disposed on or in the roof of the vehicle. Devices of this kind are illustrated in the patent document US Pat. No. 4,684,167, or also DE 33 04 660.

It will be observed that the doors provided with such devices open like wings which are deployed laterally. Another proposal, seeking the same objective by other means is illustrated in US patent 5,013,082.

The attempts to reduce the external bulk by opening the doors along a horizontal or almost horizontal axis all lead in reality to a transfer of the bulk. Indeed, the lateral congestion that these proposals are intended to combat is replaced by a vertical congestion insofar as the doors according to these proposals rise above the roof by a height comparable to that of the door itself . Because of this, such systems practically prohibit parking the vehicle in a low ceiling location such as an underground parking lot or a box.

On the other hand, vehicles very often have a domed body, which does not facilitate the installation of hinges, rectilinear by definition.

To solve the problem caused by the bending ,. various proposals have been made, in the automotive field as in the aeronautical field, to use hinges combining several groups of three articulations with converging axes making it possible to pivot a door around a virtual axis situated outside the bodywork . Examples of such solutions are given in documents US 2,085,616, GB 524,143 or EP 0 267 876. The hinges of this type make it possible to move the pivot axis of the door just outside the body and thus neutralize the bending of it. The adoption of hinges with a virtual axis does not, however, provide any solution with regard to the external bulk caused when the door is opened. On the contrary, this bulk is accentuated in this case because the pivot axis is moved outside the body.

None of the solutions proposed in the prior art make it possible to satisfactorily resolve the problem of the space created when the door is opened, the presence of a hinge, with a real or virtual axis, whatever its position ultimately, invariably leading to the creation of space, respectively to the unable to satisfactorily reduce it.

When the dimensions of the vehicle are suitable, another solution can be applied to reduce the external bulk caused by the opening of a door. These are sliding doors, as we know them on commercial vehicles, like vans for example. The slides allow the door to slide horizontally on rails, which implies that the shape of the vehicle allows the installation of horizontal rails over a sufficient distance and in general at least equal to the length of the door.

In fact, an ideal solution would consist in being able to open a car door according to the principle of the sliding door, not horizontally, but from bottom up so that the door moves above the roof following the profile of that -this. Unfortunately, such a solution can only be achieved with great difficulty by means of slides. In addition, the aesthetic and functional result would be questionable to say the least. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for moving mobile body elements and mobile accessories for enclosures, in particular for vehicles, which makes it possible to move the mobile element, without rail or hinge, so that the path traveled by the movable element and the position thereof during this path substantially match the general shape of the vehicle body and its bending, thus preventing the movable part from creating a large external bulk and without creating any internal space. To this end, the invention relates to a device for moving mobile body elements and mobile accessories for enclosures comprising a body, in particular for vehicles, the device comprising at least one member comprising three joints whose respective axes converge at a point, one of the joints being fixed on the one hand to the body and on the other hand to one of the ends of a guide arm whose other end cooperates with a first end of a pendulum arm by means of the second articulation, the pendulum arm cooperating at its other end with the movable element by means of the third articulation, the assembly being shaped so that the point of convergence is at inside the enclosure.

Brief description of the drawings

The description which follows, given by way of example, is based on the drawing in which:

- Figure 1 schematically illustrates the shape of an automobile door intended to cooperate with the device according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a front view of a vehicle equipped with the device according to the invention and more particularly illustrates the path and the position of a door in its opening movement;

- Figure 3 illustrates the layout of the organs of the device according to the invention in the door of Figure 1 in the closed position;

- Figure 4 shows the configuration of the device according to the invention both in a closed position and in an open position;

- Figure 5 shows a motor car having a door equipped with the device according to the invention in the open position; - Figure 6 shows a vehicle comprising a luggage rack gallery fitted with the device according to the invention in the loading position; and

- Figure 7 shows a vehicle comprising a luggage rack gallery equipped with the device according to the invention in the use position. Best way to realize the invention

In Figure 1, we recognize a door 1, which we immediately observe that it is in one piece while we would expect to find two separate doors in such a configuration.

It can also be noted in FIG. 1 that no element of the device according to the invention is visible from the outside. In FIG. 2, the various successive positions that the door takes during its continuous opening path are illustrated. This path is a circular sliding which takes place around a virtual axis DD 'which will be described in detail below. We can already notice that the door describes a movement which corresponds to a sliding on the surface of an imaginary cylinder with axis DD '. It should be noted now that none of the means used to carry out the movement of the door encroaches on the interior of the cylinder. In other words, all the means used are located inside the door or in the part of the bodywork which constitutes the extension of the door forwards or backwards. Thus, no element or part of the device is at any time inside the useful volume of the vehicle, of the passenger compartment.

In Figure 3, there is, as in Figure 1, the door 1 through which we can see 1 * implantation of the organs constituting the device according to the invention. It should be emphasized that, in the following description, the illustrated device shows the cooperation of two bodies having the same properties. However, it is perfectly possible to associate a single member according to the invention with a connecting rod or a lever.

Each of the two bodies has the same elements so that the description of one of the bodies applies equally to the other.

There is a first articulation 2, which is fixed on the one hand to the body of the car and on the other hand to a guide arm 3, which can, if necessary, be bent one or more times so as to fit perfectly in the door profile. Guide arm 3 ends with a articulation 4 allowing it to cooperate with a pendulum arm 5 terminated by a third articulation 6 fixed in the body of the door. It should be noted that the second articulation 4 is not directly secured to the door and that it is therefore movable relative to the door. It can be noted that the axes A, B and C of the three joints 2, 4 and 6 form a pyramid whose apex is represented by point D. The axes A ', B' and C of the second member also converge on a point D '. The axis DD 'constitutes the virtual axis around which the door performs a circular sliding. It can be noted that this virtual axis DD 'is located inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle and, in the illustrated arrangement, passes approximately above the driver's right shoulder. The position of the axis DD 'in space can be chosen with a certain margin of freedom. In the various figures to which the description refers, a virtual axis DD 'is shown which is both horizontal and parallel to the general axis of the vehicle, corresponding to the direction of travel of the vehicle. It is however perfectly conceivable to give the virtual axis DD ′ an inclination apart from the horizontal or an inclination relative to the longitudinal vertical plane of symmetry of the vehicle or a combination of these two inclinations. It should be emphasized that the exact location of the three joints 2, 4 and 6 (2 *, 4 'and 6' respectively) can be freely chosen, provided that the axes A, B, and C (respectively A ', B 'and C) joints converge at the same vertex D (respectively D'). We can thus place the joints 2 and 2 ', fixed on the body, more or less high and more or less spaced from each other, just as we can place the joints 6 and 6', integral with doors, more or less high in the door and more or less close to each other. The precise location where each of the virtual points D and D 'is situated can be chosen quite freely. However, it should be emphasized that the further apart the points D and D ′ are, the greater the stability of the door. If the points D and D 'formed a single point, the device would behave like a ball joint.

The choice of the location of the floating articulation 4, respectively 4 ′, is also free insofar as the convergence of the three axes at a point is respected.

The two articulations 6 and 6 ′ integral with the doors, as well as the pendulum arms 5 and 5 ′ are entirely arranged inside the door, that is to say in its thickness. In the variant shown, the axes C and C of the articulations 6 and 6 'are perpendicular to the axis DD' and located in a horizontal plane passing through the axis DD ', plane in which also lies the axes A and A' joints 2 and 2 '. In this arrangement, the angle formed between the axes of the joints 2 and 6, respectively 2 'and 6', is 50 degrees. This arrangement of the virtual axis DD 'and the joints is really given as a pure example because, it must be repeated, the positioning of the virtual axis and the joints is free and in fact excludes only manifestly absurd locations .

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, we describe the particular movement of the joints 4 during the opening operation of the door. When the door is in the locked / closed position, the joints 4 and 4 ′ are separated by their maximum spacing distance. At the start of the opening maneuver, the joints 4 and 4 ′ start by approaching one another while the door deviates slightly from the bodywork and begins its ascent. In other words, the angle between the arms 3 and 5, respectively 3 'and 5', begins by closing and then opens again by deploying the door above the roof of the vehicle. In the closed position, the articulation 4 is positioned in front of the vertical plane passing through the axis C of the articulation 6 while the articulation 4 'is located behind the vertical plane passing through the axis C of the articulation 6 '. This arrangement is retained so that the two joints 4 and 4 ′ are in the vertical planes passing respectively through the axes C and C of joints 6 and 6 ', halfway along their pendulum path.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 in particular, the two members according to the invention alone make it possible to carry out both the entire sliding movement comprising the lifting of the door and its tilting d 'a generally vertical position when closed to a generally horizontal position when open, while ensuring minimum space between the extreme positions.

As seen in Figure 4, the door includes two internal housings 7 and 7 • intended to accommodate the pendulum arms 5 and 5 '. The shape of the said housings is chosen so as to allow the full amplitude of the pendulum movement that the pendulum arms 5 and 5 ′ and the joints 4 and 4 ′ will follow during the opening or closing operation of the door, respectively. We can distinguish by transparency the shape of the housings 7 and 7 •, as well as their openings 8 and 8 'at the bottom of the door. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the door comprises an external camber extension 9 which makes it possible to cover and hide the guide arm 3, when the door is in the closed locking position.

In the space between the body 10 and the extension 9 of the door body, space in which is housed the guide arm 3 when the door is closed, one can also have a spring, such as for example a gas spring 11, intended to make easier the operation of opening and closing the door, as well as its maintenance in the open position. It is also planned to motorize the door, for example by an electric motor located near the joint 2 and actuating the latter.

It can also be seen in FIG. 5 that no part of the opening of the passenger compartment is masked by any element and that access to the seats cannot be better.

To make the drawing easier to read, the guide arm 3 is shown in FIG. 5 higher and clearer than it is in reality. We can refer to figure 2 to have a more precise idea of its location in the open position. In the open position, the guide arm 3 can serve as a grip that the user can grasp with the hand as a handle to get out of the vehicle or enter it. Returning to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the simultaneous opening of the two doors must take account of the fact that the windows must share the same space. This problem is solved in at least two ways. A first solution consists in associating the electric control of the window-lifters with the unlocking mechanism of the door. In this way, as soon as one begins to open a door, the window goes down to be housed quite normally in the door. Thus, the windows are not in the raised position when the door is open. A second solution consists in placing the axes DD 'of each of the doors in a non-symmetrical manner so that the panes, which can then be left in the raised position, overlap without touching.

A second variant of the device according to the invention is shown in Figures 6 and 7. It is no longer the application of the device to a door, but to a luggage rack gallery. We know that it is often difficult to load the gallery of a vehicle and to properly fix objects, luggage and other bicycles. In Figure 6, which shows the device in the loading position, we can distinguish the silhouette of the vehicle 12. We also find the joints 2 and 2 • (fixed to the body in the first variant) and the other elements or the guide arms 3 and 3 ^• , the floating joints 4 and 4 ', the pendulum arms 5 and 5' and finally the joints 6 and 6 'linked to the movable body part here represented by a rectangular frame 13.

Figure 7 shows the vehicle in the road use position of the device. The joints 2 and 2 'which fix the device to the vehicle can obviously be integrated into the roof of the vehicle by its manufacturer. It is also possible that the manufacturer provides solid anchor points on the roof, as there are elsewhere in the vehicle.

However, as shown in FIG. 6, the device requires an intermediate support to be fixed to it, failing which it can be fixed directly to the roof. This intermediate support may consist of a conventional gallery fixed to the vehicle by the usual means provided for the model concerned. In order not to overload the drawing, the intermediate support has not been shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The intermediate support must have fixing points in order to be able to fix the joints 2 and 2 ′ there, as well as stops and a mechanism for locking the frame 13 on the intermediate support.

As can be seen, the virtual axis DD 'is again determined horizontally and inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

It can be noted that, having greater freedom as to the location of the two organs of the device, the two organs are arranged parallel rather than symmetrical. The advantages of the device according to the invention are firstly to allow, by mechanical means, the movement of movable bodywork elements and accessories without generating significant bulk, neither laterally, nor in height. In addition, applied to a door, the device according to the invention makes it possible to offer ideal access to the seats and also allows easy passage of the power supply torches of the electrical devices located in the doors such as window regulator, loudspeaker. , locking etc.

Claims

claims

1. Device for moving mobile body elements and mobile accessories for enclosures comprising a body, in particular for vehicles, the device comprising at least one member comprising three articulations (2, 4 and 6) whose respective axes ( A, B and C) converge at a point (D), one of the articulations (2) being fixed on the one hand to the body and on the other hand to one of the ends of a guide arm (3 ) whose other end cooperates with a first end of a pendulum arm (5) by means of the second articulation (4), the pendulum arm (5) cooperating at its other end with the movable element (1) by means of the third articulation (6), characterized in that the assembly is shaped so that the point of convergence (D) is inside the enclosure.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a second member similar to the first and in that the point of convergence (D ") of the axes (A ', B' and C) of the articulations of the second member determines , with the first point of convergence (D), a virtual axis (DD '), inside the enclosure, around which the mobile element (1) describes a circular sliding movement.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that 1 • assembly is arranged so that the circular sliding movement of the movable element (1) around the virtual axis (DD ') takes place following the surface d 'an imaginary cylinder of axis (DD') whose diameter is comparable to at least one of the dimensions of the volume of the enclosure.

Device according to claim 3, characterized in that none of the joints (2, 2 ', 4,

4 ', 6, 6') or none of the arms (3, 3 ', 5, 5') penetrate at any time, at all or part, inside the imaginary axis cylinder (DD ').

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the third articulation (6, 6 ') and the pendulum arm (5, 5') are entirely included in the thickness of the mobile element (1).

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the second articulation (4, 4 ') is entirely included in the thickness of the movable element (1).

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the mobile element (1) comprises an external camber extension (9) which makes it possible to cover and hide the guide arm 3, when the mobile element is in the closed position of the enclosure.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arms (3, 3 ', 5, 5') are shaped so as to substantially match the shape of the movable part (1) and to register in she.

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the assembly is arranged so that, during each circular sliding movement of the movable element (1), the second articulation (4, 4 ') describes a pendulum movement.

ιo. Device according to one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the movable element (1) comprises, in its thickness, a housing (7, 7 ') intended to allow the pendulum movement of the second articulation (4, 4 ') and the pendulum arm (5, 5').

11. Device according to one of claims 2 to 10, characterized in that the enclosure comprises more than one movable element and in that the axes (DD ¹ ) relating to each of the movable elements is not symmetrical if the movable elements are symmetrical.

12. Device according to one of claims 2 to 10, characterized in that the enclosure comprises more than one movable element (1) and in that the movable elements (1) comprise retractable glazing whose control is actuated during initiating the movement of the movable elements (1) so that the glazing is retracted into the movable elements when the latter are set in motion simultaneously.