WO2019132804A2

WO2019132804A2 - A sliding door mechanism with increased safety

Info

Publication number: WO2019132804A2
Application number: PCT/TR2018/050427
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fabio STRATICO
Original assignee: Celikform Gestamp Otomotiv Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2017-12-29
Filing date: 2018-08-10
Publication date: 2019-07-04
Also published as: EP3732070A4; EP3732070A2; WO2019132804A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sliding door (10) mechanism with increased safety in order to provide opening and closing of sliding doors (10) in vehicles.

Description

A SLIDING DOOR MECHANISM WITH INCREASED SAFETY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sliding door mechanism with increased safety in order to provide opening and closing of sliding doors in vehicles.

PRIOR ART

In vehicles, particularly in commercial vehicles, sliding doors are used for providing opening of side doors in narrow areas and for preventing delimiting the movement area in the medium when said side doors are opened. Sliding doors are connected to the lower, intermediate and upper rails, provided on the vehicle body, in a sliding manner. The height of the inlet part of the door is reduced because of the lower rail and the upper rail. On the other hand, the intermediate rail deteriorates the outer appearance of the vehicle since said intermediate rail remains outside of the vehicle. Moreover, since the intermediate rail remains on the outer part, it easily becomes dirty, and foreign substances which enter therein affect the operation performance of the door in an unfavorable manner.

One of the problems which may occur in sliding doors is that there is no structure which prevents unintentional movement of the door when the door is in closed position. Again in the opening position of the door, there is derailing risk of the roller which advances in the rail in case the secondary rail, which approaches the primary rail so as to be in the same plane, moves in an unintentional manner. Moreover, the rail positioned at the inner surface of the vehicle door may lead to bad appearance for the passenger.

In order to provide an invention which will be a solution to the abovementioned problems, the applicant has filed a patent application with number 2017/22987. In this application, at least one rail carrier mechanism is provided which is configured such that a primary rail, fixed onto the door, provides connection of a secondary rail to the door and such that a secondary rail moves between an open position where a secondary rail is connected to an end of the primary rail and a closed position where a secondary rail partially enters into a rail input opening provided on the door; and at least one roller carrier mechanism is provided which is configured to connect to the vehicle body from one side and to connect to a roller which can move in the primary rail and the secondary rail from the other side and configured to provide movement of the roller in a compliant manner to the movement of the secondary rail between the closed position and the open position. By means of this, an intermediate rail mechanism is provided which is connected to the inner surface of the door and the external appearance of the vehicle is prevented from deteriorating and the rail structure which remains on the inner surface is prevented from becoming dirty and entry of foreign substances therein is prevented.

As a result, in order to make the novel mechanism more effective, which brings pluralities of advantages to the art, additional improvements are required in the related technical field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sliding door mechanism with increased safety, for eliminating the above mentioned disadvantages and for bringing new advantages to the related technical field.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sliding door structure with safety which prevents unintentional movement of the door in the closed position and which prevents falling of the roller, provided in the rail, from the rail when the door passes to open position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an aesthetic appearance to the rail, positioned on the inner surface of the vehicle door, for the passenger.

In order to realize all of the abovementioned objects and the objects which are to be deducted from the detailed description below, the present invention relates to a sliding door mechanism with increased safety comprising a primary rail fixed onto the door in order to provide connection of a door to a vehicle body, at least one rail carrier mechanism configured to provide connection of a secondary rail to the door and at the same time, to provide movement between an open position where a secondary rail is connected to an end of the primary rail and a closed position where said secondary rail partially enters into a rail input opening provided on the door, at least one roller carrier mechanism connected to the vehicle body from one side and connected to a roller which can move in the primary rail and the secondary rail from the other side and configured to provide movement of the roller in a compliant manner to the movement realized by the secondary rail between the closed position and the open position. Accordingly, the subject matter sliding door mechanism is characterized by comprising at least one first lock mechanism having at least one lock latch holder connected to said roller carrier mechanism by means of at least one holder hinge and which can realize rotational movement in said holder hinge axis in order to prevent movement of said roller in a closed position, at least one holder housing provided on said lock latch holder, and at least one lock latch connected to said rail carrier mechanism and which engages to said holder housing and which provides fixation of the roller carrier mechanism. Thus, at a position where the door is closed, the secondary rail and the roller provided in the secondary rail are locked.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said secondary rail, connected to an end of said primary rail in an open position, comprises at least one second lock connected to the rear surface of said secondary rail in a manner engaging and seating to the rear surface of the primary rail for providing fixation thereof and having at least one lock end at the final part where said roller is rested while said roller advances inside said secondary rail. Thus, at an open position of the door, the secondary rail is locked to the primary rail and the roller advances inside the secondary rail and the primary rail in a safe manner.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said roller carrier mechanism comprises at least one first arm connected to an intermediate surface where said roller is connected by means of at least one first hinge and at least one second arm connected to said intermediate surface by means of a second hinge from the end thereof having at least one delimiting wall. Thus, the connection of the roller to the vehicle body is provided.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent rotation of said lock latch holder in the axis of said holder hinge in a closed position, at least one delimiting housing is provided which is positioned on said lock latch holder rested to the delimiting wall provided on said second arm. Thus, while the door is in closed position, the rotation of the lock latch holder is prevented.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, in order to stop rotation of said lock latch holder in the axis of said holder hinge in an open position, at least one second stopper is provided which is positioned on said lock latch holder rested to the delimiting wall provided on said second arm. Thus, the lock latch holder position is fixed at an open position, and the lock latch is easily engaged into the lock housing in the passage to the closed position.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said roller comprises at least one dampening element connected to said lock end in the part where said roller finally rests inside the secondary rail. Thus, as the roller tightens the lock end in order for the second lock to be drawn back while the door passes to closed position and as the roller begins advancing inside the second rail while the door passes to open position, the second lock is seated to the behind of the first rail as the lock end is pushed by means of the dampening element.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said dampening element is a rubber spring.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said rail carrier mechanism comprises a fixed part connected to the door, a movable part connected to said fixed part and which can realize rotational movement in a connection pin axis, at least one cocking spring which provides movement to the movable part in order to change the position in a manner providing partial entry and removal of said secondary rail into/from the rail input opening. Thus, the passage of the secondary rail to the open position and to the closed position is provided easily.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent viewing of said primary rail, provided on the door, by the passenger, at least one cover is provided which covers said primary rail.

In a possible embodiment of the present invention, said cover is movable forwardly towards the vehicle and movable backwardly towards outside of the vehicle when the door passes to closed position in order to provide easily advancing of the roller inside the primary rail when the door passes to open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 is a representative isometric view of the condition on the door while the door is in closed position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 2 is a representative isometric view of the condition on the door while the door is in open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 3 is a representative detailed view of the condition on the door while the door is in open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 4 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the rail carrier mechanism while the door is in open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety. Figure 5 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety on the door while the door is in closed condition.

Figure 6 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the first lock mechanism condition while the door is in closed position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 7 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the first lock mechanism condition while the door is in partially open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 8 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the first lock mechanism condition while the door is in open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 9 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the second lock condition while the door is in partially open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 10 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the second lock condition while the door is in completely open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 1 1 is a representative upper cross sectional view of the second lock condition of the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety on the door while the door passes to closed position.

Figure 12a is a representative isometric view of the cover which covers onto the primary rail while the door is in closed position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 12b is a representative detailed view of the cover which covers onto the primary rail while the door is in closed position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety. Figure 13a is a representative isometric view of the cover, which covers onto the primary rail, on the door while the door is in open position for the door in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

Figure 13b is a representative detailed view of the cover which covers onto the primary rail while the door is in open position in the subject matter sliding door mechanism with increased safety.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the subject matter sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety is explained with references to examples without forming any restrictive effect only in order to make the subject more understandable.

In Figure 1 , a representative isometric view of the assembled form of the subject matter sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety onto the door (10) is given. In the sliding door mechanism (100); on the surface of the door (10) facing into the vehicle, there is a primary rail (20) which extends in the door (10) width direction. At least one secondary rail (30) is provided in the vicinity of the primary rail (20). Said secondary rail (30) is connected to the door (10) by means of a rail carrier mechanism (40). At least one rail input opening (1 1 ) is provided on the door (10). As can be seen in Figure 4, said rail carrier mechanism (40) comprises a fixed part (41 ) connected to the door (10), a movable part (42) connected to said fixed part (41 ) and which can realize rotational movement in a connection pin (43) axis, at least one cocking spring (44) which provides movement to the movable part (42) in order to change the position in a manner providing partial entering and exiting of the secondary rail (30) into/out of the rail input opening (1 1 ).

As can be seen in Figure 3, in a closed position (I) where the door (10) is closed, the secondary rail (30) is at least partially positioned in the rail input opening (1 1 ). As can be seen in Figure 2, in an open position (II) where the door (10) is open, the secondary rail (30) approaches the primary rail (20) and it is positioned in the same direction as the primary rail (20). In this case, the secondary rail (30) is essentially added to the primary rail (20) end to end.

There is at least one roller (53) connected to the vehicle body. Said roller (53) is embodied to move inside the primary rail (20) and the secondary rail (30). At least one roller (53) which provides connection of the roller (53) to the vehicle body is connected to the roller carrier mechanism (50). As can be seen in Figure 6, in said roller carrier mechanism (50), there is an intermediate surface (54) where said roller is connected and there is a first arm (51 ) connected to said intermediate surface (54) by means of a first hinge (51 1 ) from one end thereof. In the roller carrier mechanism (50), again there is at least one second arm (52) connected by means a second hinge (521 ) from the end, having a delimiting wall (522), onto said intermediate surface (54).

When the door (10) is in closed position, the roller (53) is positioned in the secondary rail (30). When the door (10) is drawn in a manner diverging from the vehicle body in order to be opened, the roller (53) partially displaces inside the secondary rail (30) and meanwhile, the roller carrier mechanism (50) provides the secondary rail (30) to displace in a compliant manner with the movement of the secondary rail (30) between closed position (I) and open position (II).

In Figure 5, the upper cross sectional view of the assembled form of the subject matter sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety onto the door (10) is given. In said sliding door mechanism (100), there is a first lock mechanism (60) in order to provide fixation and prevention of falling of the roller (53), positioned in said secondary rail (30), from the secondary rail (30) in a closed position (I) of the door (10). Again as can be seen in Figure 6, in said first lock mechanism (60), there is a lock latch holder (62) connected to the roller carrier mechanism (50) by means of a holder hinge (624) and which can realize rotational movement in said holder hinge (624) axis. On said lock latch holder (62), there is at least one holder housing (621 ), at least one delimiting housing (622) and at least one second stopper (623). Moreover, in said first lock mechanism (60), there is a lock latch (61 ) connected to the rail carrier mechanism (40) provided on the door (10). While the door (10) is in closed position, said lock latch (61 ) engages into said holder housing (621 ) provided on said lock latch holder (62). While it is in this position, in order to prevent rotation of said lock latch holder (62) in said holder hinge (624) axis, the delimiting housing (622), provided on said lock latch holder (62), is rested to the delimiting wall (522) provided on said second arm (52).

As can be seen in Figure 7 and 8, when the door (10) is begun to be drawn in order to be opened, said second arm (52) rotates in the second hinge (521 ) axis and said first arm (51 ) rotates in the first hinge (51 1 ) axis. As said secondary rail (30) approaches said first rail (20) and as it is in the same direction, and as said lock latch holder (62) rotates in the holder hinge (624) axis, said lock latch (61 ) is released from said lock latch holder (62). Meanwhile, in order to prevent further rotation of the lock latch holder (62) and in order to fix its position, the second stopper (623), provided on said lock latch holder (62), is rested onto the delimiting wall (522) provided on the second arm (52). Thus, the roller carrier mechanism (50) passes to free position and it provides said roller (53) to advance from the secondary rail (30) to the primary rail (20). In the step of passing the door (10) again to the closed position, said lock latch (61 ) engages into the holder housing (621 ) again and it provides the lock latch holder (62) to rotate in inverse direction in the holder hinge (624) axis. As said delimiting housing (622) is rested to said delimiting wall (522), the lock latch holder (62) is fixed.

In the part where the secondary rail (30) reaches the completely open position for opening the door (10) and in the part where the secondary rail (30) is added to the end of the primary rail (20), in order to provide fixation of the secondary rail (30) to the primary rail (20) and in order to provide the roller (53) to pass in a safe manner from the secondary rail (30) to the primary rail (20), there is a second lock (70). As can be seen in Figure 9, said second lock (70) is positioned on the rear surface of the secondary rail (30) on the door side which is close to the primary rail (20). Said second lock (70) extends in the width of the rear surface of the secondary rail (30) on the door (10) side and it has a lock end (71 ) at the part where the roller (53) is finally rested in the secondary rail (30). There is at least one dampening element (72) at the part where said lock end (71 ) is provided. Said dampening element (72) can be a rubber spring. Again as can be seen in Figure 9 and 10, during passage of the secondary rail (30) to open position, as the roller (53) exerts pressure to the lock end (71 ) provided at the end of the secondary rail (30), the second lock (70) exceeds the primary rail (20), the secondary rail (30) may be aligned with the primary rail (20). During advancing of the roller (53) towards the primary rail (20) in the secondary rail (30), the lock end (71 ) is pushed in the direction of the primary rail (20) by the dampening element (72), said second lock (70) seats to the rear surface of the primary rail (20), and it prevents movement of the secondary rail (30). Thus, the roller (53) can advance from the secondary rail (30) to the primary rail (20) in a safe manner.

As can be seen in Figure 1 1 , in order for the door (10) to pass to closed position, the roller (53) advances in the secondary rail (30) and it pushes the lock end (71 ) provided at the final part of the secondary rail (30). As the lock end (71 ) is pushed, the dampening element (72) is tightened and thus, the second lock (70) advances in the pushing direction of the roller (53). As the second lock (70) advances in the pushing direction of the roller (53), the secondary rail (30) is separated from the primary rail (20) and the door (10) passes to closed position.

Moreover, in the sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety, in order to prevent viewing of the primary rail (20), provided on the door (10), by the passenger, the primary rail (20) is covered by means of a cover (80). As can be seen in Figure 12a and 12b, said cover (80) moves at a predetermined distance in the forward direction inwards the vehicle in order to provide easily advancing of the roller (53) inside the primary rail (20) when the door (10) passes to open position. Thus, the roller (53) easily advances inside the primary rail (20). As can be seen in Figure 13a and 13b, when the door (10) passes to closed position, the cover (80) again moves back in a manner seating onto the primary rail (20) in the direction outwardly from the vehicle.

Thanks to said embodiment, the rails, which are needed for the movement of the sliding door (10), are provided to stay inside the vehicle body, the unintentional movement of the vehicle door in the closed position is prevented, and the roller, provided in the rail, is prevented from falling from the rail when the door passes to open position, and a safe sliding door structure is provided.

The protection scope of the present invention is set forth in the annexed claims and cannot be restricted to the illustrative disclosures given above, under the detailed description. It is because a person skilled in the relevant art can obviously produce similar embodiments under the light of the foregoing disclosures, without departing from the main principles of the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

100. Sliding door mechanism

10. Door

1 1. Rail input opening

20. Primary rail

30. Secondary rail

40. Rail carrier mechanism

41. Fixed part

42. Movable part

43. Connection pin

44. Cocking spring 50. Roller carrier mechanism

51. First arm

51 1. First hinge

52. Second arm

521. Second hinge

522. Delimiting wall

53. Roller

54. Intermediate surface

(I) Closed position

(II) Open position

60. First lock mechanism

61. Lock latch

62. Lock latch holder

621. Holder housing

622. Delimiting housing

623. Second stopper

624. Holder hinge 70. Second lock

71. Lock end

72. Dampening element 80. Cover

Claims

1. A sliding door mechanism with increased safety comprising:

a primary rail (20) fixed onto the door (10) in order to provide connection of a door (10) to a vehicle body,

at least one rail carrier mechanism (40) configured to provide connection of a secondary rail (30) to the door (10) and at the same time, to provide movement between an open position (II) where a secondary rail (30) is connected to an end of the primary rail (20) and a closed position (I) where said secondary rail (30) partially enters into a rail input opening (1 1 ) provided on the door (10),

at least one roller carrier mechanism (50) connected to the vehicle body from one side and connected to a roller (53) which can move in the primary rail (20) and the secondary rail (30) from the other side and configured to provide movement of the roller (53) in a compliant manner to the movement realized by the secondary rail (30) between the closed position (I) and the open position (II), characterized by comprising at least one first lock mechanism (60) having at least one lock latch holder (62) connected to said roller carrier mechanism (50) by means of at least one holder hinge (624) and which can realize rotational movement in said holder hinge (624) axis in order to prevent movement of said roller (53) in a closed position (I), at least one holder housing (621 ) provided on said lock latch holder (62), and at least one lock latch (61 ) connected to said rail carrier mechanism (40) and which engages to said holder housing (621 ) and which provides fixation of the roller carrier mechanism (50).

2. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 , wherein said secondary rail (30), connected to an end of said primary rail (20) in an open position (II), comprises at least one second lock (70) connected to the rear surface of said secondary rail (30) in a manner engaging and seating to the rear surface of the primary rail (20) for providing fixation thereof and having at least one lock end (71 ) at the final part where said roller (53) is rested while said roller (53) advances inside said secondary rail (30).

3. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 , wherein said roller carrier mechanism (50) comprises at least one first arm (51 ) connected to an intermediate surface (54) where said roller (53) is connected by means of at least one first hinge (51 1 ) and at least one second arm (52) connected to said intermediate surface (54) by means of a second hinge (521 ) from the end thereof having at least one delimiting wall (522).

4. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 and 3, wherein in order to prevent rotation of said lock latch holder (62) in the axis of said holder hinge (624) in a closed position (I), at least one delimiting housing (622) is provided which is positioned on said lock latch holder (62) rested to the delimiting wall (522) provided on said second arm (52).

5. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 and 3, wherein in order to stop rotation of said lock latch holder (62) in the axis of said holder hinge (624) in an open position (II), at least one second stopper (623) is provided which is positioned on said lock latch holder (62) rested to the delimiting wall (522) provided on said second arm (52).

6. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said roller (53) comprises at least one dampening element (72) connected to said lock end (71 ) in the part where said roller (53) finally rests inside the secondary rail (30).

7. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 6, wherein said dampening element (72) is a rubber spring.

8. A sliding door mechanism (100) with increased safety according to claim 1 , wherein said rail carrier mechanism (40) comprises a fixed part (41 ) connected to the door (10), a movable part (42) connected to said fixed part (41 ) and which can realize rotational movement in a connection pin (43) axis, at least one cocking spring (44) which provides movement to the movable part (42) in order to change the position in a manner providing partial entry and removal of said secondary rail (30) into/from the rail input opening (1 1 ).

9. A sliding door mechanism (100) with safety according to claim 1 , wherein in order to prevent viewing of said primary rail (20), provided on the door (10), by the passenger, at least one cover (80) is provided which covers said primary rail (20).

10. A sliding door mechanism (100) with safety according to claim 1 and 9, wherein said cover (80) is movable forwardly towards the vehicle and movable backwardly towards outside of the vehicle when the door (10) passes to closed position in order to provide easily advancing of the roller (53) inside the primary rail (20) when the door passes to open position.