U.S. patent application number 09/726053 was filed with the patent office on 2001-06-21 for motor vehicle tailgate.
Invention is credited to Decker, Laurent, Delavalle, Dominique, Pommeret, Maelig.
Application Number | 20010004155 09/726053 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9553308 |
Filed Date | 2001-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010004155 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Decker, Laurent ; et
al. |
June 21, 2001 |
Motor vehicle tailgate
Abstract
The invention relates to a motor vehicle tailgate for mounting
pivotally to a vehicle about hinges situated close to one of the
edges of the tailgate. In the vicinity of its hinges, the tailgate
is constituted by a main panel secured to the hinges and by a
secondary panel which is movable relative to the main panel between
a closed position in which it is superposed on the main panel so as
to reconstitute a tailgate of full thickness, and an open position
in which it is separate from the main panel, the main panel then
forming a portion of the tailgate of reduced thickness.
Inventors: |
Decker, Laurent; (Boulogne
Billancourt, FR) ; Delavalle, Dominique; (Marchon,
FR) ; Pommeret, Maelig; (Oyonnax, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Oliff & Berridge PLC
P.O. Box 19928
Alexandria
VA
22320
US
|
Family ID: |
9553308 |
Appl. No.: |
09/726053 |
Filed: |
November 30, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
296/57.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60J 5/12 20130101; B60Q
1/305 20130101; B60J 5/103 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
296/57.1 |
International
Class: |
B62D 025/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 15, 1999 |
FR |
99 15846 |
Claims
1. A motor vehicle tailgate designed to be pivotally mounted to a
vehicle about hinges situated close to one of its edges, wherein,
in the vicinity of its hinges, the tailgate is constituted by a
main panel secured to the hinges and by a secondary panel which is
movable relative to the main panel between a closed position in
which it is superposed on the main panel so as to reconstitute a
tailgate of full thickness, and an open position in which it is
separated from the main panel, with the main panel then
constituting a portion of the tailgate of reduced thickness.
2. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein the secondary panel is
situated on the outside face of the tailgate.
3. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein the secondary panel is
mounted to pivot relative to the main panel about an axis which is
situated, relative to the secondary panel, remote from the hinges
of the tailgate.
4. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein the secondary panel can
extend perpendicularly to the tailgate in its open position.
5. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein the secondary panel can
be detached from the main panel.
6. A tailgate according to claim 5, wherein the secondary panel
when detached from the main panel can be fixed back on the tailgate
at some other point.
7. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein a latching mechanism
holds the secondary panel in its closed position against the main
panel.
8. A tailgate according to claim 7, wherein the latching mechanism
is coupled to the control of a lock for the tailgate so that the
secondary panel passes from its closed position to its open
position when the tailgate is opened.
9. A tailgate according to claim 1, including a synchronization
mechanism which tilts the secondary panel into its open position
while the tailgate is pivoting into its open position, and vice
versa.
10. A tailgate according to claim 1, wherein the secondary panel
constitutes a "fuse" zone of the tailgate.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a motor vehicle tailgate,
and more particularly to a tailgate for mounting on hinges situated
along its bottom horizontal edge so as to pivot about said
horizontal edge between a substantially vertical closed position
and a substantially horizontal open position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In the open position, the tailgate extends the floor at the
back of the vehicle to facilitate loading.
[0003] For such a tailgate to be able to pivot, it is necessary to
leave an empty space enabling it to move angularly at the back of
the vehicle.
[0004] In particular, unless the tailgate extends beyond the bumper
at the back of the vehicle, it is necessary for the bumper to be
positioned far enough below the closed tailgate to leave sufficient
free height between the bumper and the floor at the back to
accommodate substantially the thickness of the tailgate.
[0005] That constitutes a constraint on vehicle appearance that the
present invention seeks to eliminate.
[0006] Furthermore, given that the bumper must not be positioned
too low on account of its essential protective function, the floor
at the back of the vehicle is often artificially raised so as to
come up to the same level as the inside face of the tailgate when
open, and that leads to a loss of volume at the back.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides a motor vehicle tailgate
designed to be pivotally mounted to a vehicle about hinges situated
close to one of its edges, wherein, in the vicinity of its hinges,
the tailgate is constituted by a main panel secured to the hinges
and by a secondary panel which is movable relative to the main
panel between a closed position in which it is superposed on the
main panel so as to reconstitute a tailgate of full thickness, and
an open position in which it is separated from the main panel, with
the main panel then constituting a portion of the tailgate of
reduced thickness.
[0008] This "thinner" portion of the tailgate enables the tailgate
to be folded down while requiring smaller clearance than would be
necessary if the tailgate retained its initial thickness on being
opened.
[0009] The invention thus makes it possible to bring the floor at
the back of the vehicle closer to the back bumper when the tailgate
pivots about its bottom horizontal edge, since the minimum distance
between the floor at the back of the vehicle and the bumper is the
thickness of the main panel only and not the full thickness of the
entire tailgate.
[0010] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the secondary
panel is situated on the outside face of the tailgate.
[0011] In a particular embodiment, the secondary panel is mounted
to pivot relative to the main panel about an axis which is
situated, relative to the secondary panel, remote from the hinges
of the tailgate.
[0012] In this embodiment, the secondary panel can extend
perpendicularly to the tailgate in its open position.
[0013] Given that the open tailgate is generally horizontal, the
panel that has pivoted to be perpendicular to the open tailgate is
vertical.
[0014] The secondary panel can then be used to support a device
carrying signaling lights and/or a license or number plate possibly
with license plate lighting, thus enabling the vehicle to be used
with its tailgate open and still comply with regulations.
[0015] In another embodiment, that the secondary panel can be
detached from the main panel.
[0016] In an advantageous variant, the secondary panel when
detached from the main panel can be fixed back on the tailgate at
some other point.
[0017] For example, the secondary panel can be fixed
perpendicularly to the tailgate at its point situated furthest back
relative to the vehicle, so as to serve as a support for signaling
lights or a license plate, while also marking the rear end of the
vehicle as constituted by the end edge of the tailgate remote from
its hinges.
[0018] The secondary panel fixed in this way at the rearmost point
of the vehicle also serves as a bumper for low energy impacts,
thereby protecting the edge of the tailgate remote from its hinges,
which is particularly vulnerable if the vehicle is used with its
tailgate open.
[0019] In a particular embodiment of the invention, a latching
mechanism holds the secondary panel in its closed position against
the main panel.
[0020] In an advantageous variant, the latching mechanism is
coupled to the control of a lock for the tailgate so that the
secondary panel passes from its closed position to its open
position when the tailgate is opened.
[0021] In another embodiment, the tailgate includes a
synchronization mechanism which tilts the secondary panel into its
open position while the tailgate is pivoting into its open
position, and vice versa.
[0022] Advantageously, the secondary panel constitutes a "fuse"
zone of the tailgate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] In order to make the invention better understood, there
follows a description given by way of non-limiting example and with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section on a vertical plane through
the rear end of a vehicle;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a view analogous to FIG. 1 after the tailgate has
been folded down;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a view analogous to FIG. 2 showing a variant
secondary panel;
[0027] FIG. 4 is a three-quarter rear perspective view of the
vehicle;
[0028] FIGS. 5a and 5b are diagrammatic views on a larger scale of
a mechanism for controlling the secondary panel when opening the
tailgate, before and after pivoting of the tailgate;
[0029] FIGS. 6a and 6b are views analogous to FIGS. 5a and 5b for
another control mechanism;
[0030] FIGS. 7a and 7b are views analogous to FIGS. 5a and 5b for
another control mechanism; and
[0031] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the rear of the vehicle using
the control mechanism of FIG. 5.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show the rear left wheel 1 of a vehicle
and also its rear bumper 2 and the floor 3 at the back of the
vehicle, e.g. in its luggage compartment.
[0033] The back of the vehicle is closed by a tailgate 4 mounted to
pivot on the vehicle about hinges 5 situated along the bottom
horizontal edge 6 of the tailgate.
[0034] The tailgate 4 is shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 1 to 3.
Its outside shape is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4.
[0035] The tailgate is constituted by an inside panel 7 which, in
the terminology of this specification, constitutes the "main" panel
of the tailgate.
[0036] This inside panel 7 extends over the entire surface area of
the tailgate from its hinges to its top horizontal edge remote from
the hinges. It forms the entire inside face of the tailgate.
[0037] The main panel 7 has a portion 7a close to the hinges that
is of reduced thickness and an additional portion 7b remote from
the hinges of thickness that corresponds to the total thickness of
the tailgate. In this second portion, the tailgate 4 is constituted
by this main panel 7 on its own.
[0038] In the first portion 7a of smaller thickness, the main panel
constitutes only half of the tailgate, and the other half is formed
by a secondary panel 8 which occupies the recess left empty in the
main panel because of the smaller thickness of its portion 7a
adjacent to the hinges compared with its portion 7b remote from the
hinges.
[0039] The secondary panel 8 is mounted to pivot on the main panel
7 about an axis 9 that is parallel to the axis defined by the
hinges 5.
[0040] As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the tailgate 4 is in the open
position, the secondary panel 8 has pivoted into an open position
in which it extends perpendicularly to the tailgate, i.e.
vertically.
[0041] This pivoting of the secondary panel 8 moves it away from
the main panel 7 so that in the vicinity of its hinges 5 the
tailgate is of reduced thickness corresponding to the thickness of
the main panel 7 alone, and the empty space thus released enables
the tailgate to move angularly without touching the bumper 2 which
is at a level below the hinges 5.
[0042] This makes it possible to position the bumper in quite a
high position at the back of the vehicle. Conversely, for a given
height of bumper, it is possible to lower the floor at the back of
the vehicle while keeping the inside face of the tailgate in its
open position at the same height, thus increasing the space
available in the back of the vehicle.
[0043] The secondary panel 8 is connected to the hinges 5 of the
tailgate 4 by a synchronizing or control mechanism which applies
torque to the secondary panel so as to keep it in a vertical
position while the tailgate is passing from its closed vertical
position to its open horizontal position.
[0044] As can be seen in FIG. 5a, this synchronization mechanism
can be constituted by a link 10 which, on the deformable
parallelogram principle, keeps a point 11 of the secondary panel at
a distance from its axis that is equal to the distance of a point
12 from the hinge remote from its axis.
[0045] The various parts of this mechanism can also be seen in FIG.
8 which also shows the outside panel 4a of the tailgate.
[0046] In a variant (not shown), the synchronization mechanism can
be constituted by an unlocking system that releases the secondary
panel which, under drive from a spring, immediately takes up its
open position after the tailgate has begun to pivot.
[0047] In the variant of FIG. 6a, the synchronization mechanism has
a cog belt 13 connecting a fixed cog wheel 14 that is secured to
the vehicle in the vicinity of the hinges but that does not pivot
with the tailgate, to a cog wheel 15 situated on the axis 9 of the
secondary panel and secured to said secondary panel.
[0048] It will be understood that when the tailgate pivots, the cog
belt 13 prevents the cog wheel 15 from changing its orientation so
the secondary panel remains vertical.
[0049] It therefore takes up the position shown in FIG. 6b when the
tailgate has reached its open position.
[0050] In the variant of FIGS. 7a and 7b, there is a belt 16
connecting a fixed wheel 17 secured to the vehicle in the vicinity
of the hinges to a wheel 18 secured to the secondary panel via
deflectors 16a which keep the belt inside the main panel 7.
[0051] As explained above, the belt 16 keeps the secondary panel in
its initial vertical orientation.
[0052] Belt tensioners 19 are housed on either side thereof so as
to enable it to accommodate an increase in the distance between the
two wheels 17 and 18.
[0053] The shaft on the axis 9 of the secondary panel
(corresponding to the wheel 18 in the figure) is mounted on the
main panel 7 in a slot 20 in which said shaft can move.
[0054] One of the longitudinal edges of the slot 20 forms a rack 21
while the wheel 18 secured to the secondary panel has a toothed
sector 22 which meshes with said rack.
[0055] The synchronization mechanism operates as follows.
[0056] When the tailgate moves into its open position, it pivots
about its hinges 5.
[0057] Because of the presence of the belt 16, the secondary panel
remains vertical, as in the variant of FIG. 6, thus moving it away
from the main panel.
[0058] Simultaneously, the toothed sector 22 which retains its
initial orientation pivots relative to the rack 21 which turns with
the tailgate.
[0059] As a result, the shaft of the panel on the axis 9 moves
along the slot 20 under drive from the rack.
[0060] The shape of the slot 20 (oblique when the tailgate is
closed, as can be seen in FIG. 7a) has the effect of moving the
shaft away from the hinges 5.
[0061] This has the effect of raising the secondary panel relative
to the tailgate at the beginning of pivoting, thus compensating for
the downward movement of the tailgate due to it being opened.
[0062] The travel followed by the lowest point of the secondary
panel is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7a.
[0063] It can be seen that the secondary panel can remain at a
substantially constant height during an initial stage of the
tailgate pivoting, until it has gone beyond the rear end of the
bumper, after which it can move down beyond the bumper, as shown in
FIG. 7b.
[0064] This variant of the synchronization mechanism thus makes it
possible to maintain a relatively high bumper that projects
rearwards relative to the tailgate.
[0065] By choosing a suitable shape for the slot 20, it would even
be possible to cause the secondary panel to rise when the tailgate
begins to pivot, thus enabling it to get round a bumper that is
raised, e.g. as a spoiler.
[0066] It can be seen, in particular in FIG. 2, that the secondary
panel is connected to its hinge axis on the main panel via U-shaped
arms 23 which serve to go round a visor 24 masking the hinge axis 9
of the secondary panel when the tailgate is in its closed
position.
[0067] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a latch 25 can hold the secondary
panel 8 against the main panel 7 in the closed position so as to
relieve the synchronization mechanism which comes into operation
only when the tailgate pivots, without being called on to hold the
two panels against each other when the tailgate is closed.
[0068] On passing into the open position, the latch 25 opens when
the tailgate begins to pivot, e.g. as a result of unlocking the
tailgate.
[0069] In the variant shown in FIG. 3, the secondary panel 8 can be
separated from its U-shaped arms 23 so as to enable it to be fixed
to the rear end of the tailgate in the open position, i.e. to its
edge 25 which is remote from its hinges, thus marking the rear end
of the vehicle.
[0070] In this way, the vehicle can be used with its tailgate open
in order to transport long objects.
[0071] The secondary panel 8 can carry the vehicle license plate,
and also a light 26 for lighting the license plate.
[0072] When the secondary panel 8 is fixed at the rear end of the
tailgate, the fixing preferably lies at the highest point of the
tailgate so as to increase the ground clearance at the back of the
vehicle.
[0073] It should be observed that the tailgate of the invention
performs its conventional function of closing the back of the
vehicle properly because in the closed position it presents
thickness that is constant and corresponds to the normal thickness
of a tailgate.
[0074] In addition, the secondary panel constitutes a "fuse" zone
for the tailgate which, in the event of a minor impact, can be the
only portion that is damaged, and thus the only portion that needs
to be replaced, and that is economically advantageous.
* * * * *