Arrangement for guiding a swing-out sliding door on a vehicle body

• US 5,921,613 A
• Filed: 08/26/1997
• Issued: 07/13/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Daimler-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Klein, Berthold, Hasenoehrl, Oliver, Breunig, Steffen
• Primary Examiner(s): Dayoan, D. Glenn
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORROW, JASON S
• Application Number:
  US08/917,513
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 296/146.11, 296/146.12, 296/155, 49/212, 49/254, 49/255, 49/211, 49/129, 49/130, 49/156
• US Class Current: 296/155
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 5/06 slidable; foldable
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 15/101 specially adapted for vehicles E05D15/1007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 2015/1034 the carriage having means for preventing rotation of the wing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/531 Doors

Abstract

An arrangement guides a swing-out sliding door of a vehicle body without a center guide rail which is visibly disposed on the outside on the vehicle body side wall. One linearly constructed guide rail respectively is fixed within the door opening on its upper and lower edge on the vehicle body side. A roller carriage to which the sliding door is linked by way of a control arm parallelogram travels in each guide rail. One closing roller respectively guided in each guide rail travels at the end of the door closing sliding movement into a circular closing groove branching off the guide rail in the direction of the sliding door. The closing roller is fixed to one of the control arms of the control arm parallelogram. The closing groove is constructed such that its curvature center in the door closing position of the roller carriage coincides with the roller-carriage-side hinge axis of the control arm carrying the closing rollers.

Claims

1. Arrangement for guiding a swing-out sliding door on a vehicle body which door, in a closed position thereof covering a door opening rests largely flush in the vehicle body and, in an open position thereof completely exposing the door opening, is disposed parallel to the vehicle body, comprising supporting members connected with the sliding door in an articulated manner, a roller carriage configured to hold the supporting member and having rollers travelling in guide rails fixed on a side of the vehicle body, and closing rollers guided in the guide rails and which, at the end of door closing sliding movement, travels into a closing groove branching off the guide rails, wherein each guide rail with the closing groove is arranged within the door opening at an upper and lower edge thereof, the roller carriage travels in each of the guide rails, the supporting members between the sliding door and the roller carriage are configured as control arm parallelograms with respective control arms having vertically extending hinge axes and linked proximate an upper and lower end of the sliding door and to the roller carriage, the closing rollers are fixed on one of the control arms of the control arm parallelograms respectively, the guide rails have a rectilinear configuration, and the closing grooves are configured as a circular groove branching off from the guide rails toward the sliding door, the curvature center of the groove in the door closing end position of the roller carriage coinciding with a roller-carriage-side hinge axis of the control arms carrying the closing rollers.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the closing roller is arranged on an end of an extension arm projecting from the control arm.

4. The arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

5. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the rollers are operatively disposed on the roller carriage with horizontally aligned roller axes.

6. The arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

7. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the closing roller is arranged on an end of an extension arm projecting from the control arm.

8. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein one of the guide rails is an upper guide rail arranged in a roof area of the vehicle body and another of the guide rails is a lower guide rail disposed flush in a floor of the vehicle body.

9. The arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

10. The arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the closing roller is arranged on an end of an extension arm projecting from the control arm.

11. The arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the rollers are operatively disposed on the roller carriage with horizontally aligned roller axes.

12. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the control arms of each control arm parallelogram are bent approximately in a central region thereof at an obtuse angle to have opposed facing portions in the control parallelogram.

13. The arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the bent control arms in each control arm parallelogram are configured such that, in the closing position of the sliding door, a bent part linked to a sliding door side, of one of the control arms located rearwardly in a door closing sliding direction rests flatly against a bent part of another of the control arms located forwardly and linked to the roller carriage side.

14. The arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

15. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the closing roller is arranged on an end of an extension arm projecting from the control arm.

16. The arrangement according to claim 15, wherein the rollers are operatively disposed on the roller carriage with horizontally aligned roller axes.

17. The arrangement according to claim 16, wherein one of the guide rails is an upper guide rail arranged in a roof area of the vehicle body and another of the guide rail is a lower guide rail disposed flush in a floor of the vehicle body.

18. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the bent control arms in each control arm parallelogram are configured such that, in the closing position of the sliding door, a bent part linked to a sliding door side, of one of the control arms located rearwardly in a door closing sliding direction rests flatly against a bent part of another of the control arms located forwardly and linked to the roller carriage side.

19. The arrangement according to claim 18, wherein the closing roller is fastened on the control arm which is located forwardly in a door closing sliding direction.

20. The arrangement according to claim 19, wherein the closing roller is arranged on an end of an extension arm projecting from the control arm.