Vehicle with an impact damping arrangement between the vehicle body and a vehicle door or vehicle panel

• US 10,450,786 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Koestler, Ulrich, Kieferl, Anton, Knechtel, Marcus, Springsklee, Markus, Widl, Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelly, Catherine A
• Application Number:
  US15/330,773
• Publication Number:
  US 20170067279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 5/022 specially adapted for vehicles, e.g. for hoods or trunks
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 5/025 specially adapted for vehicle doors
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 5/10 with piston brakes
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/536 Hoods
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/54 Arrangements for attachment grommet-type rubber mounting springs per se F16F1/3732; construction of cylinder ends F16F9/3242; attachments to vehicles B60G13/001, B60G15/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/56 Means for adjusting the length of, or for locking, the spring or damper, e.g. at the end of the stroke F16F9/50 takes precedence; for telescopic gas springs or dampers F16F9/0245; vehicle suspension locking arrangements B60G17/005

Abstract

A vehicle includes at least one vehicle door or vehicle flap which forms a first body, a vehicle bodyshell which forms a second body, and an impact damper arrangement. The impact damper arrangement is configured such that, when the vehicle door or vehicle flap moves toward the vehicle bodyshell, a first movement section is passed through first, and then a second movement section is passed through. The first movement section is arranged such that movement along the first movement section comes to an end when a lock and closing element come into contact with one another.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

at least one vehicle door or vehicle flap which forms a first body; and

a vehicle bodyshell which forms a second body, wherein

the vehicle door or vehicle flap is attached pivotably to the vehicle bodyshell and, in a closed state, is fixable to the vehicle bodyshell via at least one lock that interacts with a closing element, and having an impact damper arrangement that dampens impacts between the vehicle bodyshell and the vehicle door or vehicle flap during closing of the vehicle door or vehicle flap,

the impact damper arrangement has a damping device that is arranged so as to act between the vehicle bodyshell and the vehicle door or vehicle flap, impact damper arrangement having elements that are movable relative to one another along a movement travel, the movement travel of which elements has a first movement section, in which damping is performed, and a second movement section, in which no damping is performed,

the impact damper arrangement is configured such that, when the vehicle door or vehicle flap moves toward the vehicle bodyshell, the first movement section is passed through first, and then the second movement section is passed through, and

the first movement section is arranged such that the movement along the first movement section comes to an end when the lock and the closing element come into contact with one another.

2. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the damping device of the impact damper arrangement comprises a cylinder and a piston which is movable in the cylinder, and a movement travel of the piston in the cylinder comprises at least the first movement section.

3. The vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the impact damper arrangement comprises a contact element which is arrangeable on the first body,

the damping device is arrangeable on the second body, and

the damping device is designed such that, in the event that the contact element strikes the piston, the first movement section is passed through first, and then the second movement section is passed through.

4. The vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein

the impact damper arrangement comprises a receiving device for the damping device,

the damping device is movable in the receiving device, and

the movement travel of the piston in the cylinder comprises the first movement section and a movement travel of the damping device in the receiving device comprises the second movement section.

5. The vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the impact damper arrangement comprises a holding device which is designed to hold the damping device in the receiving device in a first position while the first movement section is being passed through and which is designed to release the damping device such that, while the second movement section is being passed through, the damping device is movable in the receiving device.

6. The vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the impact damper arrangement comprises a spring element which is designed to move the damping device in the receiving device into the first position, or to hold the damping device there, when no force acts on the damping device.

7. The vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the holding device is a bracket.

8. The vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one depression is provided on an inner side of the cylinder of the damping, device portion of the impact damping arrangement in the second movement section.

9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one depression is a groove.

10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the damping device of the impact damper arrangement comprises at least one duct which is arranged on an outer side of the cylinder and which connects a first end section of the second movement section to a second end section of the second movement section.

11. The vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the damping device of the impact damper arrangement is a hydraulic or pneumatic damping device.

12. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the damping device of the impact damper arrangement comprises:

a rotatable damping means with at least one first engagement element,

a second engagement element,

in the first movement section, the second engagement element engages into the first engagement element of the rotatable damping means, and

in the second movement section, the second engagement element does not engage into the first engagement element of the rotatable damping means.

13. The vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the rotatable damping means of the impact damper arrangement provides, in the first movement section, a restoring force which effects the damping in the first movement section.

14. The vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the rotatable damping means of the impact damper arrangement can be arranged on the second body, and the second engagement element can be arranged on the first body.

15. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second movement section corresponds to a movement section at least during the engagement, such that substantially no damping is performed during the engagement.

16. The vehicle as claimed in claim 15, further comprising adjustment means for the adjustment of a damping intensity of the damping device in the first movement section.

17. A method for damping impacts between a vehicle bodyshell and a vehicle door or vehicle flap during the closing of the vehicle door or vehicle flap in a vehicle as claimed in one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the acts of:

passing through a first movement section of the damping device, in which damping is performed, until the lock and the closing element come into contact with one another, and subsequently passing through a second movement section of the damping device, in which no damping is performed.