Automotive door with repositionable immobilizer

Abstract

An automotive vehicle includes one or more swinging doors which may be immobilized in a number of positions, so as to allow the door to be used, for example, to assist passengers in entering and leaving the vehicle.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional application having Ser. No. 60 / 944,339 filed on Jun. 15, 2007.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to a hinged vehicle door which may be selectively immobilized in a number of locations ranging from fully open to fully closed.[0004]2. Related Art[0005]Hinged doors are frequently used by vehicle occupants to assist during ingress and egress of the vehicle. In essence, the vehicle door is utilized as a steady rest to enable the vehicle occupant to move himself or herself either into or out of a vehicular space, such as a seat. The present inventors have determined that usage of a vehicular door in this manner would be enhanced by the ability to immobilize the door in mid-swing. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,444, it is known to provide an apparatus which allows the door to be checked in any one of a number of positions, from...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]Yet another embodiment according to an aspect of the present invention includes a strap having an elastomeric cover and a structural core, which could be formed from various metallic and nonmetallic materials known to those skilled in the art and suggested by this disclosure. In a preferred embodiment, a composite strap has an ovoid section, which matches an ovoid section of a rotatable nut, which is itself attached to, for example, an A-pillar, or a B-pillar, or a door, so that as the door moves from its open to closed position and vice versa, the strap passes through the nut. The nut is partially threaded so that its rotational position with respect to the strap causes the strap to either be inhibited by the threads or to move freely as the door swings. With this arrangement, the nut may be positioned so as to lock the movement of the strap, thereby immobilizing the door.

[0013]According to another aspect of the present invention, a pair of cams is attached to the door so that the position of the cams, as determined by a tension spring and a linear actuator, allow a strap, or a rod functioning as a strap, to either move freely through the cams so as to thereby allow the door to move, or to tightly grip the rod, so as to lock, or immobilize, the door in a selected position.

[0014]It is an advantage of a system according to the present invention that a vehicle door may be selectively immobilized at the discretion of the vehicle's driver merely by triggering a switch mounted to the door trim panel or upon a key fob or upon an outside surface or mechanism of the vehicle, such as a lock cylinder.

[0015]It is yet another advantage of a system according to the present invention that a vehicle door may be immobilized without the need for extensive additional hardware, and without the need for repackaging the door hinge assemblies.

Problems solved by technology

This renders the system of the '444 patent inapposite to solution of the present problem, because a door which swings free after the application of an indeterminate amount of force could inhibit the ingress / egress process by starting to swing at an inopportune time.

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