Door Stop with Indeterminate Retaining Positions

• US 20080066259A1
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andre Prieur
• Original Assignee: Andre Prieur
• Inventors: Prieur, Andre
• Granted Patent: US 7,578,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 16/85
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 17/203 concealed, e.g. for vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to a door check mechanism providing infinite stable positions with applications more specifically in the area of motor vehicles, comprising on the one hand an articulated guiding arm (1), mounted to the vehicle body or to the door, and on the other hand a mechanism (9), mounted to the other part, either the door or the vehicle body, in such a way that guiding arm (1) penetrates through mechanism (9) with a relative displacement between these two parts, the wedging function resulting from a blocking of guiding arm (1) by mechanism (9). (FIG. 1)

Mechanism (9) comprises a carriage device (2), including 2 braking-rollers (21) and (22), held against each other as well as against guiding arm (1), in order to ensure the wedging function. When a force, greater than a predefined load is exerted on the door, rollers (21) and (22) are such that: either one of them is pulled aside from guiding arm (1), allowing a free rotation and the release of the mechanism, or both rollers are moved aside from each other, allowing them to roll along guiding arm (1), leading to release the mechanism. The re-locking is automatically done by the spring device (3), as soon as the opening or closing load disappears.

Claims

1. / Door check mechanism providing an infinite number of stable positions between full opening and closing, this said mechanism comprising on the one hand a guiding arm (1) linked to a steady part, as for example a vehicle body, or linked to a moving part, as for example a passenger door, and on the other hand a mechanism (9), linked to the opposite part, respectively the passenger door or the vehicle body, in such a way that the guiding arm (1) penetrates through the mechanism (9) with a relative displacement between those two parts, the wedge function being provided by a relative blocking of guiding arm (1) through mechanism (9), the system being characterized by:

on the one hand, the guiding arm (1) provides a rolling and relative blocking path (11) between the said guiding arm and mechanism (9), whereas the surface of rolling path (11) will provide appropriate roughness to ensure the adherence of rollers (21) and (22), the said rollers being intended to wedge the guiding arm (1), which may therefore enclose any type of notches that will match the exterior shape of rollers (21) and (22), the said rollers being made of a more or less soft material, in order to provide a good adherence with guiding arm (1);

on the other hand, mechanism (9) includes a carriage device (2), which comprises 2 juxtaposed braking rollers (21) and (22), both in contact with guiding arm (1) and respectively mounted on their axles (23) and (24), the said axles can move along lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28), which are provided on the sides of carriage device (2), whereas a spring device (3), acting directly or indirectly on axles (23) and (24), is intended to hold and bring back rollers (21) and (22) to the locked position, in which rollers (21) and (22) are both in contact with guiding arm (1) and held in compression against each other, which leads to block rollers (21) and (22) on guiding arm (1), while the force exerted on the guiding arm by rollers (21) and (22) is counterbalanced by a roller (4), mounted on the opposite of rollers (21) and (22), which leads to hold the guiding arm (1) during its relative displacement through mechanism (9), the said mechanism ensuring three functions hereafter;

a) blocking of the rotation of rollers (21) and (22) against guiding arm (1), in any un-predefined position,

b) release of the rotation of rollers (21) and (22), whenever an opening or closing force greater than a predefined release threshold is exerted on the door, this release taking place within a limited clearance between mechanism (9) and guiding arm (1),

c) automatic re-locking, in any un-predifined position of the door, when the opening or closing force disappears;

the lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28), comprising bosses and notches, intended to resist to the displacement of axles (23) and (24), and intended to provide stable positions, during respectively locked phase and opening or closing maneuvers, the said bosses and notches being designed in a way that the displacements of axles (23) and (24), lead to put rollers (21) and (22) in one of the 2 configurations hereafter, allowing the un-locking;

a) rollers (21) and (22) are held permanently in contact with each other, by the means of a tie device (5), the un-locking being reached as soon as one of the two rollers is set aside from guiding arm (1), allowing a rotation of the other roller along the guiding arm, therefore leading to a relative displacement between carriage device (2) and guiding arm (1);

b) rollers (21) and (22) are not linked to each other, but are kept permanently in contact with guiding arm (1) as a result from the shape and location of the lateral guiding slots, the un-locking appearing as soon as the 2 rollers are moved aside from each other, in a way that they may freely roll along the guiding arm, allowing a relative displacement between carriage device (2) and guiding arm (1);

whereas spring device (3), exerts a compression force on the axles (23) and (24), tending to bring them back towards each other in the central locked position, and whereas spring device (3) tends to resist to the lateral displacement of axles (23) and (24) along the lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28), in a way that when the opening or closing maneuver is stopped, axles (23) and (24) spontaneously reach their stable rest positions, rollers (21) and (22) blocked against each other in contact with guiding arm (1), the clearance of the door during this re-locking phase being limited by the size of lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28);

when a tie device (5) is provided to hold rollers (21) and (22), spring device (3) may act directly on this tie device (5).

2. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that tie device (5), intended to hold axles (23) and (24), is directly linked to the door or to the vehicle body, provided the said tie device is realized in a material having elastic properties, allowing a limited bending, or provided the said tie device is otherwise linked by the means of an elastic part—

flexible bracket (6) or elastic block (7)—

, allowing to bend the assembly formed by rollers (21) and (22) and tie device (5), whenever an opening or closing force is exerted on the door, leading therefore to pull one of the rollers (21) or (22) aside from guiding arm (1), which results in a relative displacement of rollers (21)-(22) along guiding arm (1), whereas if the opening or closing force stops, flexible bracket (6) or elastic block (7), automatically bring rollers (21)-(22) back into contact with guiding arm (1), in order to obtain a blocking between rollers (21)-(22) and guiding arm (1).

3. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the bracket (42) of roller (4) is part of carriage device (2), to form a single part.

4. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that parts with magnetic properties are placed near the lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28), or are placed on the axles (23) and (24), in order to improve the stability of axles (23) and (24) when positioned in their notches during the opening or closing of the door.

5. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the cross section of the peripheral surface of rollers (21) and (22) may have various shapes, for example U, V or railroad type or any other, in order to improve the guiding of the said rollers (21) and (22), the rolling path (11) from guiding arm (1) being therefore shaped accordingly.

6. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that guiding arm (1) comprises two branches (13) and (14) or only one branch (13), in such a way that rollers (21) and (22) encounter a portion of the guiding arm where they have no possible contact with the rolling track (11), whereas branches (13) and (14) may therefore be guided by sliding blocks (91) and (92).

7. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that guiding arm (1) is realized with a rigid plate linked to the vehicle body—

or to the door, with which the rollers (21) and (22) will be in contact, and whereas the said rollers will move along an approximate circular path centered on the axis of the door hinges, during the door maneuvers, in opening or closing.

8. / Door check mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the lateral guiding slots (25), (26), (27) and (28) are located at a different place from the ends of axles (23) and (24), the rollers (21) and (22) being held by a tie device (5), the said tie device being fitted with sliding blocks moving inside the said lateral guiding slots.