Dual Action Conical Door Hinge System

Abstract

A locking pawl cooperates with a projection on the door bracket to confine it during door opening movement, until the door reaches an intermediate open position, whereupon the pawl is unlocked, allowing the projection to move relative to the pawl through a predetermined arc, the extent of throwout of the hinging axis for the upper hinge being thereby accurately predetermined with both designs of the upper hinge, with a view to allowing adequate head room relative to the upper edge and rear corner of the glass on the door for convenient and safe entry and exit relative to either the front or rear door, the problem being usually more acute in the case of the rear door.

Description

This invention relates to a new and improved dual action conical door hinging system and is more particularly concerned with improvements on the single action conical door hinging system disclosed in Slattery U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,853, the hinging herein disclosed having been designed with the latest streamlined designs of cars in mind and giving the increased head room required for a person getting safely into or out of a car, by virtue of the dual action of the geared link hinge at the upper location, the ample head room avoiding any likelihood of a person bumping his head on the upper edge portion of a glass on the door and possibly sustaining cuts or bruises.

The need for relieving the cramped condition has become acute, especially on rear doors with the recent style changes, that make the radius of curvature of the glass on the door smaller and smaller, thereby increasing the so-called "tumble home" to the point where the glass on a rear door has its rear upper corner sufficiently inboard relative to the hinging axis so that it not only restricts entry and exit but gives rise to a serious danger of injury by a person striking his head on the corner or upper edge of the glass. The two designs of what we prefer to call "dual action conical planetary hinging" avoid these difficulties by hinging the door so that the upper portion thereof, instead of pivoting about a conventional upright axis, is given ample outward movement away from the body with both designs so that there is always adequate head room for easier and safer entrance and exit.

We are aware that others have also worked on a solution for this problem but, so far as we are aware, their constructions have not been adopted to date for one reason or another, doubtlessly due to the impracticability of their hinge constructions or their prohibitive cost due to their complicated and expensive constructions, or due to their failure to comply with the latest safety requirements and limitations, all of which objections are avoided in the constructions of our invention. "Dual action" is incorporated in both designs herein diclosed, the hinging axis of the door by virtue of the special construction of the upper hinge being swung outwardly appreciably in the initial opening movement, and in further opening movement being swung outwardly much futher, assuring ample head room for anyone leaving or entering the car, and, while the conical hinging action necessitates a universal ball and socket construction in the lower hinge, the lower hinge in accordance with the present invention is preferably of the novel construction herein disclosed in which a torsion bar is included, which in the opening movement is loaded so as to give the desired degree of better control on the door' s swinging movement so that it will not be so apt to bang into some object nearby, but be cushioned in the event of such contact and also have sufficient spring action stored therein to give appreciable assist action in the closing of the door.

The upper hinge in both forms can be described as of the dual action geared planetary link type. In the simpler one of the two designs a substantially horizontal link of arcuate form is pivotally connected at opposite ends to a body bracket and a door bracket, respectively, and a plurality of arcuately arranged gear teeth on the body bracket, having the pivotal connection as the center of the arc, have meshing engagement with other arcuately arranged gear teeth on the outer periphery of a gear segment pivoted on the door bracket pivot, this gear segment having a lateral projection near its outer end carrying a pivot for a locking pawl, which, in the closed position of the door, engages behind a projection on the link holding the keeper in closed position, maintaining a hold on a cylindrical projection on the door bracket but maintaining such hold on the projection only in the initial opening movement of the door, so that the hinged edge of the door cannot swing outwardly until after the projection on the keeper swings clear of the projection on the link, when the keeper allows the projection on the bracket to ride out of its first position to the second position in the outer end of the keeper, thereby limiting the outward swing of the door. A stop projection on the body bracket serves as a limiting stop that is engaged by the periphery of the segmental gear in a mid-position of opening of the door, after which the final outward movement of the hinged edge is made possible only by the riding of the cylindrical projection on the door bracket lengthwise of the keeper from the inner recess therein to the outer one.

The other top hinge is also of the dual action geared planetary type and comprises a link of generally arcuate form pivoted at its opposite ends on a body bracket and a door bracket, and there again, there are actuately arranged gear teeth on the body bracket meshing with arcuately arranged gear teeth on the periphery of a segmental gear pivoted at its one end on the door bracket pivot in a manner analogous to what is contained in the first hinge just described. However, in this second hinge there is a locking pawl pivoted on the outer end of the gear segment and having on its one side edge a recess receiving a cylindrical projection mounted on the door bracket that is movable in an arc with the door pintle as a center, this projection moving an arcuate slot in the segmental gear concentric with the door pintle, the position of the projection in the slot determining the position of the locking pawl so that with the door in the closed position the locking pawl has a lug in locking engagement with a lug on the link. However, in the initial door opening movement, the locking pawl has its lug move clear of the lug on the link so as to free the projection on the segmental gear to permit further door opening movement to the extent permitted by the arcuate slot in the segmental gear, the locking pawl being free at this point to swing about its pivot on the segmental gear. In the initial closing movement of the door the pawl is swung around into a position where its lug will engage behind the lug on the link in the final door closing movement, and, here again, there is a stop on the body bracket, which, in the initial door closing movement, comes into engagement with a portion of the periphery of the segmental gear to hold the link in a position for swinging of the door about its inner end in the final door closing movement.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through the body of an automobile showing a ball and socket type lower hinge and indicating the converging door hinging axis lines on which are located the converging pintles on the upper hinge, one on the body bracket and the other on the door bracket with the geared planetary hinge of FIGS. 2 to 4 serving as the upper hinge;

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are top views of the upper hinge taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1, showing the door closed in FIG. 2, and in an intermediate open position in FIG. 3, and in fully opened position in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modified form of ball and socket hinge at the lower location, incorporating a torsion bar, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the geared planetary hinge of FIGS. 7 to 9 in the upper location;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the lower hinge, taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 5, and

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are top views of the upper hinge taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 5, showing in FIG. 7 the closed position of the door, in FIG. 8 an intermediate open position, and in FIG. 9 the fully opened position of the door.

Similar reference numerals are used to designate corresponding parts throughout these views in the following specification.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4, illustrating what we have termed "conical hinging," the reference numerals 11 and 12 designate the upper and lower hinges, respectively, applied to a door 13 on a body 14, with a view to having the fixed door's hinging axis a-b define the center line of a cone described by the swinging hinging axis c-d, as indicated at 15 in FIG. 1, so that the upper portion of the door in opening swings away from the body 14 to the extent clearly indicated in FIG. 1, thereby causing the upper rear corner of the window to be swung away from the body sufficiently to give ample entrance and exit space and accordingly much reduced likelihood of anyone upon entering or leaving the car striking their hand on the upper rear corner or upper edge of the window and sustaining a cut or bruise. The lower edge of the door with this novel hinging is kept at a nearly uniform level throughout the door's movement, even though, as previously indicated, the main objective has been to insure more adequate head from for easier and safer entrance and exit.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 to 4, which illustrate the upper hinge 11 which, as previously indicated, is best described as a dual action geared planetary link hinge, the body bracket 16 includes a segmental gear 17 concentric with the pintle 18 that is inwardly inclined to the small extent seen in FIG. 1, the gear 17 meshing with arcuately arranged gear teeth 19 provided on the segmental gear 20 pivoted at its inner end on the pintle 21 on door bracket 22. The pintle 21, as seen in FIG. 1, is outwardly inclined on axis c-d. The axes a-b and c-d passing through the centers of the pintles 18 and 21, respectively, converge to the center of the ballhead 23 of the lower hinge 12. An arcuate substantially horizontal link 24 is pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the pintles 18 and 21. The gear segment 20 has a lateral projection 25 near its outer end carrying a pivot 26 for a locking pawl 27, which, in the closed position of the door shown in FIG. 2 has its radial lug 28 engaging behind a lug 29 on the link 24, while a cylindrical projection 30 on the bracket 22 is held between the edge of the gear segment 20 and an arcuate recess 31 provided on the inner edge of the pawl 27, holding the door 13 closed. However, when the door is opened partway to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 3, the lug 28 moves clear of the lug 29 and the cylindrical projection 30 is no longer locked between the pawl 27 and the edge of the segmental gear 20, so at that point the projection 30 is free to ride from the arcuate recess 31 at the inner end of the pawl 27 into the other arcuate recess 32 provided in the outer end of the pawl 27, and it is in this shifting of parts in the upper hinge 11 that the stop projection 33 on the outer end of the body bracket 16 comes into engagement with the corner portion 34 on the outer end of the gear segment 20, allowing the door bracket 22 to swing freely about the pintle 21, so that the cylindrical projection 30, previously mentioned, can ride from the inner arcuate recess 31 out into the outer arcuate recess 32 of the pawl 27, so the hinge 11 permits the door 13 to swing farther out and accordingly gives the desired added clearance between the glass on the door and the body to provide the additional head clearance for safer and easier entrance and exit. Obviously, in the closing of the door the series of movements just described are reversed, the projection 30 moving inwardly along the pawl 27 from the outer arcuate recess 32 into the inner arcuate recess 31, as seen in FIG. 3, and then in the further closing movement of the door the lug 28 on the pawl 27 rides behind the lug 29 on the link 24, and finally the hinge parts are all locked up firmly as they appear in FIG. 2 when the door is closed.

The lower hinge 12, which, as previously indicated, is of the ball and socket type, has the ballhead 23 received in a socket 35, a retaining plate 36 being secured to the socket to hold the ballhead therein while allowing operating clearance for the small amount of inclination of the door with respect to the body in the opening and closing of the door, the yoke 37 serving to limit the door opening movement positively.

The operation should be clear from the foregoing description. Upper and lower links 24 and 38 positively maintain the spaced and inclined relationship of the pintiles 18 and 21, and, in the opening of the door, due to the rolling of the gear teeth 19 on the gear teeth 17, the axis c-d on which pintle 21 on the door 13 lies, moves through an angle of approximately 40.degree. in the approximately 80.degree. opening movement of the door, with the result that the upper portion of the door 13 is swung outwardly away from the body 14, causing the window on the door to have its upper edge swung out much farther to provide the needed head room for convenience and safety in entering and leaving the car. The universal joint action of the lowering hinge 12 permits this angular displacement of the door in rotation to the body, while still supporting the door for steady hinging in the opening and closing movements. The lower edge of the door remains nearly parallel to the ground or sidewalk throughout the 80.degree. movements of the door, being only slightly higher at mid-open position due to inclination of the axis c-d.

Referring next to the other construction, shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the lower hinge 12' is of a modified ball and socket type so as to include a torsion bar 39 similar to that disclosed in Marchione U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,374 to give a hold-open action by virtue of the fact that the door 13', on which the plate 40 is mounted, turns relative to the ball 23' mounted on plates 41 carried on the body 14'. The torsion bar 39 has one of its radially extending arms 42 fixed, as at 43 at its outer upturned end to the plate 40, while the other radius arm 44 at the other end of the torsion bar has its downwardly extending end 45 movable in an arc about the vertical mid-portion 46 of the bar 39 for loading from a preload position at the outset or commencement of door opening movement, by deflection upon contact with strikers 47 and 48 mounted on and projecting from one of the plates 41 carried on the body, to increase the spring tension in the torsion bar above preload spring tension in the door opening movement of the plates 40 and 41 relative to one another for a hold-open action, as disclosed in the aforementioned Marchione patent. The strikers 47 and 48 are in the form of scalloped rollers which give a detent action as the end portion 45 of the torsion bar rides onto and past one or the other of the rollers, thus holding the door open and giving better assurance that in the event of wind pressure or by someone accidently brushing against the open door when it is not intended to close it, the detent acton prevents accidental closing of the door. The slot indicated at 49 in FIG. 6 in the upper flange of plate 40 allows for the arcuate swinging movement of the end portion 45 of arm 44 torsion bar 39.

Referring now to FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, which illustrate the upper hinge 11', there is a general similarity in this geared link-type hinge to that shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, but with this more sophisticated design of the upper hinge, the throwout of the upper portion of the door is increased appeciably and yet the relatively movable parts of the hinge are just as securely interlocked to insure smooth swinging movement of the door first from closed position shown in FIG. 7 to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 8, and finally to the fully open position shown in FIG. 9. The body bracket 16', similarly as in the other construction, includes a segmental gear 17' concentric with the pintle 18' that is inclined inwardly to the small extent seen in FIG. 5, the gear 17' meshing with arcuately arranged gear teeth 19' concentric with the pintle 21' provided on the segmental gear 20' that is pivoted at its inner end on the pintle 21' on door bracket 22'. The pintle 21', as seen in FIG. 5, is outwardly inclined. The axes a-b and c- d passing through the centers of the pintles 18' and 21', respectively, converge to the center of the ball 23' in the lower hinge 12'. An arcuate, substantially horizontal, link 24' is pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the pintles 18' and 21', and there is a corresponding link 38'on the bottom of the hinge 11' connecting the lower ends of the pintles 18' and 21' to maintain their fixed spaced and inclined relationship, similarly as in the upper hinge 11, first described. So far, the similarity in hinges 11 and 11' is evident. However, in this second hinge 1' there is a locking pawl 27' that is quite different from the locking pawl 27 of hinge 11, the pawl 27' being pivoted at 26' on the outer end of the gear segment 19' and having on its inner side a single arcuate recess 31' receiving a cylindrical projection 30' mounted on the door bracket 22'. The projection 30' is arranged to move in an arc with the pintle 21' as the center from one end to the other of an elongated arcuate slot 50 provided in a lateral projection 51 on one side of the gear segment 20', the position of the projection 30' in the slot being determined by the position of the locking pawl 27'. With the door in the closed position, pawl 27' has a lug 52 in locking position behind a lug 53 on the link 20'. However, in the initial door opening movement, the locking pawl 27' has its lug 52 move clear of the lug 53 on the link so as to free the projection 30' on the segmental gear to permit further door opening movement to the extent permitted by the length of the arcuate slot 50, the locking pawl 27' at this point being free to swing about its pivot 26' relative to the gear segment 20'. It is at the intermediate position of the door, shown in FIG. 8, that pawl 27' is unlocked at 52-53. Hence, as seen in FIG. 9, the door swings farther open as the projection 30' moves outwardly to the outer end of slot 50. In the initial closing movement of the door, pawl 27' is swung around its pivot 26' into a position, as shown in FIG. 8, where its lug 52 is ready to engage behind the lug 53 on link 24', and hence, in the final closing movement of the door, the hinge parts are interlocked as seen in FIG. 7. Here, again, there is a stop 33' on the outer end of the body bracket 16' which, in the closed position of the door, shown in FIG. 7, is spaced from the outer corner portion 34' on gear segment 20'. However, in the initial door opening movement the stop 33' on the body bracket 36' comes into engagement with the corner portion 34' on the periphery of the segmental gear 20' so as to hold the link 24' in a position for swinging of the door about its inner end in the final door opening movement.

The operation of this form is closely similar to the operation of the form first described insofar as the upper hinge 11' is concerned, so that the only additional comments necessary are in regard to how the inclusion of the torsion bar 39 in the lower hinge 12' affects the operation. Obviously, in the winding up of the torsion bar 39 in the opening movement of the door, the operator is aware of the spring restraint on the door's movement, which is not enough to present any difficulty, of course, although it does reduce the likelihood of the door being swung open too violently, and that is, of course, desirable. Then, near the limit of door opening movement the hold-open action takes place as the end 45 of the torsion bar rides over first one and then the other of the detent rollers 47 and 48. Then, in closing the door, the spring action of the torsion bar 39 obviously gives an assist action, but there, again, not enough to make the door closing movement too violent. The line e-f in FIG. 7 is the center line of the counterbalancing tension spring stretched between pintle 21' and stop projection 33' that is given a certain preload tension so as to be stretched further as the door swings toward closed position from the intermediate open position of the parts shown in FIG. 8 to the fully closed position of the parts shown in FIG. 7, thereby avoiding slamming of the door by reason of its being on a descent in this portion of its travel. Obviously, this spring assists in the opening movement to an equal extent. A further advantage is that it helps to eliminate rattle and a feeling of looseness of the door when the hinge parts are in the part-way open position of FIG. 8.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

Claims

We claim:

1. In a door hinging construction for pivotal mounting of a door on a vehicle body, a pair of vertically spaced hinges in coaxial relationship, the upper one of said hinges comprising a first fixed member mounted on the vehicle body and a second movable member mounted on the door, each of said members having thereon a substantially horizontal segmental planetary gear portion, the teeth of which are in rolling meshing engagement, upright pintles on said members at the centers of the arcs of the respective segmental planetary gears, these pintles being inclined relative to one another on axes converging downwardly toward the lower hinge, and links pivoted to the opposite ends of said pintles serving to keep the segmental planetary gear teeth in mesh, the lower one of said hinges comprising a first fixed member mounted on a vehicle body, and a small movable member mounted on the door, these two members having a universal joint connection pivotally connecting the members for universal pivotal movement about the point of convergance of the aforesaid axes, and door throwout control means on the upper one of said hinges whicn in part-way opening of the door prevents throwout of the door relative to said hinge but which in further opening of the door allows a predetermined extent of the door throwout relative to said hinge, said door throwout control means in the closing of the door reversing its functioning.

2. In a door hinging construction for pivotal mounting of a door on a vehicle body, a pair of vertically spaced hinges in coaxial relationship, the upper one of said hinges comprising a first fixed member mounted on the vehicle body and a second movable member mounted on the door, each of said members having thereon a substantially horizontal segmental planetary gear portion, the teeth of which are in rolling meshing engagement, upright pintles on said members at the centers of the arcs of the respective segmental planetary gears, these pintles being inclined relative to one another on axes coverging downwardly toward the lower hinge, and links pivoted to the opposite ends of said pintles serving to keep the segmental planetary gear teeth in mesh, the lower one of said hinges comprising a first fixed member mounted on the vehicle body, and a second movable mounted on the door, these two members having a universal joint connection pivotally connecting the members for universal pivotal movement about the point of convergance of the aforesaid axes, and door hold-open mean on the lower hinge comprising a torsion bar mounted in prestressed condition on one of the two members of said lower hinge and having a resilient deflectable bar portion which in the opening of the door engages and is deflected by a striker detent carried on the other of said hinge members as the deflectable bar portion moves past the same, the striker detent and deflectable bar portion remaining in a predetermined operative relation to one another regardless of inclination of the door relative to the universal joint in the lower hinge.

3. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1, and further comprising door hold-open means on the lower hinge comprising a torsion bar mounted in prestressed condition on one of the two members of said lower hinge and having a resilient deflectable bar portion which in the opening of the door engages and is deflected by a striked detent carried on the other of said hinge members as the deflectable bar portion moves past the same, the striker detent and deflectable bar portion remaining in a predetermined operative relationship to one another regardless of inclination of the door relative to the universal joint in the lower hinge.

4. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein the door throwout control means comprises a bracket on the hinged edge of the door extending toward the upper hinge and pivotally connected with one end of one of said links and having a projection in spaced relation to said pivot spaced from an intermediate portion of the aforesaid link, the door throwout control means including a pawl, which in the first portion of opening movement of the door retains said projection so as to allow only a certain amount of throwout of the door for a first stage of thrwout up to an intermediate open position of the door when the pawl previously locked in the projection retaining position is automatically released to allow pivotal movement of the bracket relative to the end of the link to allow further throwout of the door up to the fully opened position of the door.

5. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the door has a bracket on its hinged edge projecting toward the upper hinge and pivotally connected with one end of one of said links and the throwout control means comprises a pawl pivoted on one of the substantially horizontal segmental planetary gears and having a tooth which in the closed position of the door engages behind a projection on the link, the pawl having an arm extending in the other direction from the pivot in spaced relation to one end of the segmental gear so that a projection on the bracket is held between the arm and the segmental gear in a predetermined spaced relation to the pivot between the arm and segmental gear between closed position of the door and an intermediate open position after which in further opening of the door, the tooth on the pawl unlocks from the projection on the link allowing the projection on the bracket to move further away from the pivot, the arm on said pawl having first depression in the inner edge thereof wherein to confine the projection on the bracket in the first stage of door opening movement and a second depression in the inner edge thereof farther removed from the pivot wherein to confine the projection on the bracket in the later stage of door opening movement.

6. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the door has a bracket on its hinged edge projecting toward the upper hinge and pivotally connected with one end of one of said links and the throwout control means comprises a pawl pivoted on one of the segmental gears and having a tooth whicn in the first portion of door opening movement is engaged behind a projection on the link holding a generally U-shaped portion of the pawl in straddling relation to a projection on the bracket retaining it in one end of an arcuate slot provided in said bracket, said releasing said projection to move to the other end of the arcuate slot when the tooth on the pawl becomes disengaged relative to the projection on the link at an intermediate open position of the door to permit the second stage of throwout of the door, the projection on the second movable member returning to the first mentioned end of the arcuate slot at the intermediate open position of the door in closing, whereupon the tooth on the pawl reengages the projection on the link to confine the projection in its first position in the final closing movement of the door.

7. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 5 wherein the fixed member on the vehicle body has a stop projection thereon spaced from the planetary gear teeth on said member, said stop projection being engaged by a projection on the segmental gear spaced from the gear teeth thereon, whereby to limit the rolling meshing engagement when the door reaches a part-way open position, all further relative movement of the rest of the parts occurring in the further door opening movement to the fully open position of the door as the second movable member swings relative to the pivot at one end of said links.

8. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 6 wherein the fixed member on the vehicle body has a stop projection thereon spaced from the planetary gear teeth on said member, said stop projection being engaged by a projection on the segmental gear spaced from the gear teeth thereon, whereby to limit the rolling meshing engagement when the door reaches a part-way open position, all further relative movement of the rest of the parts occurring in the further door opening movement to the fully open position of the door as the second movable member swings relative to the pivot at one end of said links.

9. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein the door in swinging open has a predetermined rise to mid-open position, the construction including tension spring means in the upper hinge which is stretched in the closing of the door from approximately mid-open position on closed position to offset the gravity effect and thereby avoid slamming of the door.

10. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 2 including tension spring means in the upper hinge which is stretched in the closing of the door from approximately mid-open position to closed position to counterbalance the assist action of the torsion bar and thereby avoid slamming of the door.

11. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein the door in swinging open has a predetermined rise to mid-open position, the construction including tension spring means in one of the hinges which is stretched in the closing of the door from approximately mid-open position to closed position to offset the gravity effect and thereby avoid slamming of the door.

12. A door hinging construction as set forth in claim 2 including tension spring means in one of the hinges which is stretched in the closing of the door from approximately mid-open position to closed position to counterbalance the assist action of the torsion bar and thereby avoid slamming of the door.