Emergency opening system for vehicle door or window

Abstract

A system for emergency opening of a door or window (24) of a vehicle has an opening mechanism (11, 13) for forcing the door or window (24) to open by means of pressure of hydraulic fluid, and an unlocking mechanism (12, 14) which is configured to 5 unlock a lock of the door or window (24). The system includes a hydraulic resetting arrangement by which the opening mechanism (11, 13) can be restored to emergency mode after being activated in an emergency situation.

Description

[0001] EMERGENCY OPENING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE DOOR OR WINDOW

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates in general to emergency opening systems, and more particularly to a system enabling emergency opening of a door and / or window of a vehicle of the type described in WO2011 / 000884A1 and corresponding U.S. Patent No. 8,739,446 the contents of which being included herein in its entirety by reference.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In case of emergency of a vehicle, such as a fire, it is important that persons inside the vehicle can quickly get out of the same by opening - from the inside - a door or window which is normally locked. A situation in which such emergency opening is desired may be when the vehicle due to an accident has been turned over to a position in which vehicle access points are blocked. Doors or windows, which are normally openable, may be impossible to open by hand due to their heavy weight or due to deformations.

[0006] In the event persons inside the vehicle have turned unconscious due to an accident or an attack, it is also crucial to get access to these trapped people from the outside for rescue purposes. Rescue time is oftentimes scarce due to the risk of vehicle fire or explosions.

[0007] Systems dealing with both these issues - that is emergency opening from both inside and outside of vehicles - are described in the above-captioned publication WO201 1 / 000884A1. In general, these known systems are functional but there is still room for improvements when it comes to maintenance and regular testing of the systems as well as efficient training of staff of the vehicle and / or staff dedicated to rescue people trapped in a vehicle.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] Subject to the present invention is an emergency opening system having the features set forth in the appended independent claims, preferred embodiments being defined in the related dependent claims.

[0010] In a first aspect, the vehicle emergency system has an opening mechanism with hydraulic means configured to - upon activation in an emergency situation - open a window or the like by means of hydraulic fluid pressure, and an unlocking mechanism configured to - by hydraulic means - open a lock unit provided on the window for emergency opening of the same by means of the opening mechanism. The system is further provided with a resetting arrangement including a restoration valve connected or connectable to the hydraulic means of the opening mechanism. The restoration valve is configured to - when the opening mechanism has opened the window in an emergency situation - restore the opening mechanism into emergency mode. To this end, the restoration valve is connected or connectable to the hydraulic means of the opening mechanism by means of hydraulic conduits of the system.

[0011] In a second aspect, there is provided a vehicle equipped with an emergency opening system of the type set forth above; such as an armored vehicle.

[0012] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described as non-limiting examples, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 A is a side view of a vehicle window equipped with an opening mechanism and an unlocking mechanism of an emergency opening system;

[0014] Fig. IB is a top view of Fig. 1 A showing the window in open position;

[0015] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of hydraulics related to the emergency opening system of Figs 1A-1B;

[0016] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram similar to Fig. 2 showing slightly different hydraulics;

[0017] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram similar to Fig. 3 showing hydraulics of an improved emergency opening system; and

[0018] Fig. 5 is illustrates a vehicle incorporating the improved emergency opening system of Fig. 4.

[0019] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0020] With reference to Fig. 1A, a vehicle access point operating arrangement 11, 12 is shown which includes an opening mechanism 11 and an unlocking mechanism 12. Both these mechanisms 11, 12 are fastened to a window 24 of a vehicle 200 (see Fig. 5). The opening mechanism 11 may be placed at different locations of the window 24 depending on the type of window, the space available inside the vehicle, the desired position, etc. In Fig. 1 Athe opening mechanism 11 is mounted to the lower part of the hinged window 24, at a corner thereof such that it is not visible from the outside through a window pane 241. The opening mechanism 11 has first mounting means 21 mounted to a fastening plate 27 secured to a portion of the vehicle 200, in this example to a cabin post 31. Furthermore, the opening mechanism 11 has second mounting means 22 fastened to a U-shaped rail 26 mounted to the window 24. The rail 26 has an upper portion 261 and a lower portion 262 protruding from the window 24. The window opening mechanism 11 includes a hydraulic cylinder assembly having one end mounted to the first mounting means 21 and an opposite end mounted to the second mounting means 22. The hydraulic cylinder assembly includes a cylinder 23 and a piston 25 reciprocally slidable therein in response to hydraulic pressure.

[0021] The window 24 can thus be opened by the opening mechanism 11 upon action of the hydraulic cylinder assembly 23, 25 as is shown in Fig. IB. A lock unit 41 mounted to an edge portion of the window 24 is configured to be engaged with matching locking means (not shown) at position 12 in the locked position. The lock unit 41 can for instance be a type of ball lock.

[0022] In Fig. 2 there is shown a system 10 for emergency opening of the window 24 shown in Figs 1A-1B. The system 10 includes the opening mechanism 11 of Figs 1A- 1B which acts to force the window 24 to open by means of hydraulic pressure built up in the hydraulics schematically illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0023] The system 10 of Fig. 2 includes a first opening valve 15 which is physically located on the inside of the vehicle 200, such that it may be reached by a person trapped inside the same. The first opening valve 15 is normally set to a closed position in which no hydraulic fluid can pass through this valve 15 to the opening mechanism 11 and the unlocking mechanism 12. However, when the first opening valve 15 is set to its open position, hydraulic fluid can pass through this valve 15 and further on to the opening mechanism 11 and the unlocking mechanism 12, thereby activating the emergency opening of the window 24 shown in Figs 1 A-1B.

[0024] The first opening valve 15 may for instance be a ball valve whose open or closed position may be set manually by a person located inside the vehicle.

[0025] The system 10 further includes a second opening valve 16 which is located on the outside of the vehicle 200, and is used for enabling a person on the outside of the vehicle to open a door or window of a vehicle in case of an emergency.

[0026] The first opening valve 15 and the second opening valve 16 are connected in parallel. In this way, the second opening valve 16 may be activated from outside the vehicle in case the hydraulic conduit system adjacent the first opening valve 15 has been blocked when the vehicle has been demolished. The second opening valve 16, which can be externally mounted to the vehicle at a hidden position, has the same functionality as the first opening valve 15, i.e. when in its closed position it hinders hydraulic fluid to pass there through onto the opening mechanism 11 and the unlocking mechanism 12. In its open position, hydraulic fluid can flow through the second opening valve 16, thereby enabling activation of the opening mechanism 11 and the unlocking mechanism 12.

[0027] The system 10 further includes a blocking valve 17 having basically the same functionality as the first and second opening valves 15, 16, i.e. when set to its open position hydraulic fluid is allowed to pass there through, and when set to its closed position no hydraulic fluid is allowed to pass there through. The blocking valve 17 enables the driver or personnel of the vehicle to disable emergency opening of doors and / or windows with the second opening device 16. Hence, when the blocking valve 17 is closed no hydraulic fluid is let through to the second opening valve 16. In such a case it does not matter whether the second opening valve 16 is opened or closed, since no hydraulic fluid is available to activate the first opening mechanism 11 and first unlocking mechanism 12.

[0028] In addition, the system 10 shown in Fig. 2 includes a restoration valve 18 which - when in its open position - is configured to enable emptying the conduit system from hydraulic fluid. The restoration valve 18 is connected after and in parallel with the first 15 and second opening valves 16 in the conduit system. Normally, the restoration valve 18 is closed, whereby hydraulic fluid is not allowed to pass there through to a drain. In its closed position, hydraulic fluid originating from the first or second opening valves 15 or 16 continues in the conduit system towards the first opening mechanism 11 and the first unlocking mechanism 12. The system 10 also includes a quick coupling 19 to be described further in the following.

[0029] With reference to Fig. 3, there is shown a further developed system 10’ incorporating the opening mechanism 11 and the unlocking mechanism 12 shown in Figs 1 A-1B, as well as a further opening mechanism 13 and a further unlocking mechanism 14 provided on doors 24’ of the vehicle 200 (see Fig. 5). The further opening mechanism 13 may be of the same type as the opening mechanism 11 previously described.

[0030] The first opening mechanism 11 and the first unlocking mechanism 12 may be coupled in parallel to the second opening mechanism 13 and the second unlocking mechanism 14. In this way, the probability of one of the door and the window being openable is increased. The emergency opening system may only comprise a first 12 or second 14 unlocking mechanism, and thus not a first 11 or second 13 opening mechanism. In this way, in case of an emergency, it is possible to unlock a jammed door or window which facilitates for subsequent opening of the door or window by hand.

[0031] Any combinations of the opening mechanisms and the unlocking mechanisms may be utilized where suitable on a door, latch, window, cover, etc. Hence, the embodiments herein referring to either a door or window should only be interpreted for exemplary reasons, since the further unlocking mechanism 14 could also be incorporated in a window or the unlocking mechanism 12 could be incorporated in a door of the vehicle, etc.

[0032] With reference to Fig. 4, a modified system 100 is shown which includes a resetting or recovery functionality or arrangement including a hydraulic conduit 30 extending from the quick coupling 19 to the first opening mechanism 11 via a hydraulic conduit 31, and to the second opening mechanism 13 via a hydraulic conduit 32.

[0033] Thanks to these additional hydraulic conduits 30-32, an efficient resetting of the system 100 can be achieved after a situation where an emergency opening has taken place, for instance for training purposes. The resetting is carried out in the following way. The conduit 30 is connected to the quick coupling 19, and the restoration valve 18 is opened such that the hydraulic cylinders of the first opening mechanism 11 and the second opening mechanism 13 return to their emergency mode without any need for manual intervention by staff involved in the training session. Once the resetting operation is terminated, the conduit 30 is disconnected from the quick coupling 19 and connected to a reservoir (not shown) through a further quick coupling 33. The restoration valve 18 is then closed, whereby the system 100 is reset and ready for emergency situations.

[0034] It should be mentioned that the hydraulic conduits 30-32 can either be premounted to the vehicle 200 or be in the shape of detachable conduits or hoses which are connected to the relevant couplings and connections when resetting of the system is to be carried out.

[0035] Thanks to this efficient restoring arrangement, it is easy to reset the system after an emergency opening of a window or door when staff is trained. Hereby, time and money can be saved. The same goes for testing and maintenance of the system.

[0036] A particular advantage of the emergency opening system described herein is that it does not require electronics or software for its function. Rather, the system is operated by means of hydraulics provided on the vehicle. Finally, it should be mentioned that the invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described above and many modifications are feasible within the scope of the appended claims. The first opening valve, the second opening valve, the blocking valve, and the restoration valve may be any valve normally used for performing the involved tasks, e.g. a ball valve. The inventive concept is not limited to specific kinds of valves. Any valve being suitable for enabling the involved tasks may be used.

[0037] Moreover, the inventive concept is not limited to the type of locking devices provided at the vehicle access points, but is applicable to different kinds of doors and windows.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for emergency opening of at least one window (24), door or the like of a vehicle, said system comprising an opening mechanism (11, 13) including hydraulic means configured to - upon activation in an emergency situation - open said window (24) by means of hydraulic fluid pressure; and an unlocking mechanism (12, 14) configured to - by hydraulic means - open a lock unit (41) provided on said window (24) for emergency opening of the same by means of the opening mechanism (11, 13); wherein said system further comprises a resetting arrangement with a restoration valve (18) connected or connectable to said hydraulic means of the opening mechanism (11, 13); wherein the restoration valve (18) - when the opening mechanism (11, 13) has opened the window in an emergency situation - is configured to restore said opening mechanism (11, 13) into emergency mode; and wherein the restoration valve (18) is connected or connectable to said hydraulic means of the opening mechanism (11, 13) by means of hydraulic conduits (30-32) of the system.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a quick coupling (19) to which one conduit (30) of said hydraulic conduits (30-32) is connected or connectable when the resetting arrangement is to be used for said restoration of the system.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising an additional quick coupling (33) to which said conduit (30) is connected or connectable upon terminated restoration.

4. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said hydraulic means of the opening mechanism (11, 13) comprise hydraulic cylinders.

5. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the opening mechanism (11, 13) comprises first mounting means (21) for mounting on a portion (31) of the vehicle, a second mounting means (22) for mounting on said window (24) of the vehicle, wherein a hydraulic cylinder (23) is configured to force the window (24) open when a pressure of hydraulic fluid is provided therein.

6. A vehicle comprising an emergency opening system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in particular an armored vehicle.

Images