Vehicle door hinge with which a vehicle door can be opened in both horizontal and vertical directions

Abstract

A vehicle door hinge 1 has a first attachment element 3 for attachment to the body of a vehicle, a second attachment element 5 for attachment to the vehicle door, and a pivot arm 7 which is connected to the first attachment element 3 at a first end in a pivotable manner about a first vertical pivot axis 9 and is connected to the second attachment element 5 at a second end in a pivotable manner about a second vertical pivot axis 11. The vehicle door hinge also has a transmission 15, a first transmission element of which is rigidly connected to the second end of the pivot arm 7 and a second transmission element of which is rigidly connected to the second attachment element 5. When the pivot arm 7 and the second attachment element 5 rotate relative to each other about the second vertical pivot axis 11, the second attachment element 5 rotates about a horizontal pivot axis 13 relative to the swing arm 7.

Description

[0001] Vehicle door hinge with which a vehicle door can be opened in both horizontal and vertical directions

[0002] DESCRIPTION:

[0003] Technical field of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to a vehicle door hinge with which a vehicle door can be opened in both horizontal and vertical directions, comprising: a first attachment element for attachment to the body of a vehicle, a second attachment element for attachment to the door of the vehicle, and a swivel arm which is connected to the first attachment element with a first end in a pivotable manner about a first vertical pivot axis, wherein the second attachment element is connected to a second end of the swivel arm in a pivotable manner about a second vertical pivot axis, wherein the second attachment element is rotatable about a horizontal pivot axis relative to the swivel arm.

[0005] Background of the invention

[0006] A vehicle door hinge according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from DE 10 2005 059 413 Al. In this known door hinge, the second end of the swivel arm is pivotally connected to a further arm to which a vehicle door can be attached so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. Adjustment motors are located on all hinge and rotation axes.

[0007] Summary of the invention

[0008] An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle door hinge of the type described in the preamble with which, during use, a vehicle door can be moved in a smooth and controlled movement from a closed position to a vertically opened and horizontally opened position. To this end, the vehicle door hinge according to the invention is characterised in that it further comprises: a transmission, a first transmission element of which is rigidly connected to the second end of the swivel arm and a second transmission element of which is rigidly connected to the second attachment element, the two transmission elements being directly or indirectly connected to each other and the transmission being configured in such a way that when the swivel arm and the second attachment element rotate relative to each other about the second vertical pivot axis, the second attachment element rotates relative to the swivel arm about a horizontal pivot axis, and first fixing means for fixing the second attachment element relative to the swivel arm, an extendable auxiliary arm which is rotatably connected with a first end to the second attachment element at a distance from the second vertical pivot axis and is rotatably connected with a second end to the first attachment element at a distance from the first vertical pivot axis, and second fixing means which can fix two arm parts of the auxiliary arm relative to each other which arm parts are slidable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction, whereby there is a dead blow or play in the auxiliary arm and / or in the connections between the auxiliary arm and the first and second attachment element and / or between the swivel arm and the first and second attachment element.

[0009] When moving the door of a vehicle from a closed position to a vertically open position, the swivel arm is rotated about the first vertical pivot axis and the second attachment element rotates in the opposite direction about the second vertical pivot axis because the rotation of the second attachment element relative to the chassis of the vehicle is stopped by the auxiliary arm. As a result, a vehicle door attached to the second attachment element remains virtually parallel to the position of the door in the closed position and, due to the relative rotation of the second attachment element relative to the swivel arm, the door will rotate about the horizontal axis to the vertically open position as a result of the transmission present between the swivel arm and the second attachment element. The rotation of the door will take place in a smooth movement. The presence of the first and second fixing means controls the movement of the vehicle door hinge so that only the movement selected is performed. In order for the transmission elements to work together properly, the vehicle door hinge preferably has a housing that is rotatably connected to the swivel arm and rotatable about the second vertical pivot axis, whereby the horizontal pivot axis is attached to the second attachment element with one end and is mounted in the housing, and whereby the transmission is at least partly present in the housing. One of the or both transmission elements and / or one or more coupling elements present between the two transmission elements are also present in the housing so that the transmission can be protected against dirt from the environment.

[0010] Preferably, the transmission is a right-angle transmission with two shafts at right angles to each other, one of which is the second vertical pivot axis and the other is the horizontal pivot axis.

[0011] An embodiment of the transmission is characterised in that the transmission elements are formed by gears that mesh directly with each other and whose centre lines are at right angles to each other.

[0012] Another embodiment of the transmission is characterised in that the transmission elements are each provided with at least three holes that are present at the corners of a polygon, whereby the transmission further comprises at least three right- angled coupling rods, each of which is inserted with one end through a hole in one of the transmission elements and with the other end through a hole in the other transmission element.

[0013] Preferably, each transmission element is provided with three holes that are present at the corners of a triangle, whereby the transmission further comprises three right-angled coupling rods, each of which is inserted with one end through a hole in one of the transmission elements and with the other end through a hole in the other transmission element. The vehicle door hinge preferably also has an operating element that is pivotally connected to the swivel arm at one end for opening and closing the door or supporting the opening and closing of the door. When used in a vehicle, the operating element is preferably connected to the body of the vehicle at the other end. This operating element can be designed as a gas spring that supports the opening movement of the vehicle door so that less force is required, in particular for vertically opening the door. The operating element can also be connected to an actuator that moves the arm and thus opens or closes the door.

[0014] The first mounting element is preferably provided with a stop that limits the angle through which the swivel arm can rotate about the first vertical pivot axis. This prevents the swivel arm and thus the door from rotating too far about the first vertical pivot axis when opening in horizontal and vertical directions and also to prevent the swivel arm from hitting the body when opening too far and thereby pushing the first mounting element loose from the body.

[0015] Brief description of the drawings

[0016] The invention will be explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment of the vehicle door hinge according to the invention shown in the drawings. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 shows the vehicle door hinge in perspective with the door closed;

[0018] Figure 2 shows the vehicle door hinge in cut-away view;

[0019] Figure 3 shows the vehicle door hinge seen from the other side;

[0020] Figure 4 shows the vehicle door hinge seen in side view;

[0021] Figure 5 shows the vehicle door hinge seen in rear view;

[0022] Figure 6 shows a cross-section of the front part of the vehicle door hinge along line D-D in figure 5;

[0023] Figure 7 shows the transmission of the vehicle door hinge seen in perspective;

[0024] Figure 8 shows the transmission partly cut-away;

[0025] Figure 9 shows the vehicle door hinge in horizontally opened position of the door;

[0026] Figure 10 shows the vehicle door hinge in vertically opened position of the door;

[0027] Figure 11 shows the vehicle door hinge in various positions during horizontal opening; and

[0028] Figure 12 shows the vehicle door hinge in different positions during vertical opening,

[0029] Detailed description of the drawings

[0030] Figures 1-4 show an embodiment of the vehicle door hinge in various views when the door is closed. The vehicle door hinge 1 has a first attachment element 3 for attaching to the body of a vehicle. This first attachment element 3 is provided with a mounting surface 3 a that extends parallel to the direction of travel after mounting to the body. The vehicle door hinge 1 also has a second attachment element 5 for attaching to the door of the vehicle. This second attachment element 5 is provided with three mounting surfaces 5 a that extend transversely to the direction of travel after mounting to the door. The second attachment element 5 is further provided with a main surface 5b that is parallel to the door and that, in the closed position of the door, is parallel to the mounting surface 3 a of the first attachment element 3.

[0031] Furthermore, the vehicle door hinge 1 has a pivot arm 7 that is connected to the first attachment element 3 at a first end in a pivotable manner about a first vertical pivot axis 9 and that is connected to the second attachment element 5 at a second end via a transmission 15 in a pivotable manner about a second vertical pivot axis 11. The second attachment element 5 is connected to the pivot arm 7 via the transmission 15 and is pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 13 relative to the pivot arm 7.

[0032] With this vehicle door hinge 1, a vehicle door can be opened in a smooth movement both horizontally and vertically by simply pushing the door outwards as is customary when opening a conventional horizontally opening door. When opening the door vertically, the vehicle door hinge 1 must first be brought into a state via an operating button that it opens the door vertically. This will be explained in more detail later. Then, when pushing the door open, it will rotate around the horizontal pivot axis 13.

[0033] The opening and closing of the door can be supported or even carried out entirely by means of an operating element 17. This operating element 17 can be designed as a spring, for example a compression spring, such as a gas spring, or a tension spring, to support the opening of the door by exerting a supporting force when opening the door manually. The operating element 17 can also be designed as an electric actuator or a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder to take over the opening and closing of the door entirely or to support the manual operation. The operating element is connected to the swivel arm 7 at one end via a ball joint and is also provided with a ball joint at the other end that must be attached to the body of the vehicle.

[0034] In figures 5-8 the transmission between the swivel axis and the second attachment element is shown in various views and sections. The transmission 15 is a right-angled transmission and has two transmission elements 19 and 21 that are rigidly connected to the swivel arm 7 and the second attachment element 5 respectively. Each transmission element is provided with three holes that are present at the corners of an imaginary equilateral triangle. The second vertical pivot axis 11 and the horizontal pivot axis 13 form imaginary rotation axes of the transmission and pass through the centre of the three holes and are parallel to the axial direction of these three holes. The transmission elements 19 and 21 are coupled to each other by three angled coupling rods 23, each of which is inserted with one end through a hole in one of the transmission elements 19 and with the other end through a hole in the other transmission element 21. Instead of three holes in each transmission element and three angled coupling rods, there may also be more or fewer than three.

[0035] The vehicle door hinge 1 has a housing 25 via which the pivot arm 7 and the second attachment element 5 are connected to each other so as to be rotatable about the second vertical pivot axis 11 and the horizontal pivot axis 13. The housing 25 has a cylindrical main part 27, the centre line of which coincides with the horizontal pivot axis 13, and two cylindrical auxiliary parts 29, which are in line with the cylindrical main part and are at right angles to it, and which are attached to the cylinder wall of the main part 27 at two radially opposite locations and whose centre line coincides with the second vertical pivot axis 11.

[0036] The horizontal pivot axis is formed by a hollow shaft 31, which is supported at the ends in the main part 27 of the housing via ball bearings 33. This hollow shaft 31 is attached to the second transmission element 21 with one end. Between the bearings, the wall of this hollow shaft 31 is removed over a part of the circumference (for example 180 degrees) in order to provide the angled coupling rods 23 access to the two transmission elements 19 and 21. The wall of this shaft can also be present over only a part of the circumference over the entire length (for example 180 degrees).

[0037] When the swivel arm 7 rotates relative to the second attachment element 5, the three coupling rods 23 will rotate with one of their legs about the horizontal pivot axis 13 as a result of this relative rotational movement and shift in the transmission elements 19 and 21, causing the second attachment element 5 to rotate about the horizontal pivot axis 13.

[0038] Figure 9 shows the vehicle door hinge 1 in the horizontally opened position of the door. During the horizontal opening of the door, the second attachment element 5 is fixed relative to the swivel arm 7 by first fixing means 35 which block the rotation of the second attachment element 5 about the second vertical pivot axis 11. These fixing means 35 are formed by a blocking element 37 which is present on a spindle which can be rotated by an electric motor 39. The blocking element is in contact with a part 41 which is fixed to the housing 25 so that the housing and thus also the second attachment element 5 cannot rotate about the second vertical pivot axis 11.

[0039] The vehicle door hinge 1 is further provided with an extendable auxiliary arm 43 which is indirectly rotatably connected with a first end to the second attachment element 5 at a distance from the second vertical pivot axis 11, whereby the final connection is established because the extendable auxiliary arm 43 is rotatably connected with a first end to a swivel arm 45 which is attached to the lower auxiliary part 29 of the housing 25 in which the shaft attached to the second attachment element 5 is mounted. The extendable auxiliary arm 43 is directly rotatably connected with a second end to the first attachment element 3 at a distance from the first vertical pivot axis 9. The extendable auxiliary arm 43, the swivel arm 45, the swivel arm 7 and the first attachment element 3 form a linkage which can influence the orientation of the housing 25 when the swivel arm 7 is rotated. The auxiliary arm 43 has two arm parts 47 and 49 that can slide relative to each other and that can be fixed relative to each other by second fixing means 51.

[0040] When the door is opened horizontally, the arm parts 47 and 49 of the auxiliary arm 43 are not fixed relative to each other, but the second fixing element 5 is fixed relative to the swivel arm 7. When the door is opened vertically, the second fixing element 5 is not fixed relative to the swivel arm 7 and the arm parts 47 and 49 of the auxiliary arm 43 are fixed relative to each other.

[0041] The first fixing element 3 is provided with two stops 53, which limit the angle through which the swivel arm 7 can rotate about the first vertical pivot axis 9. This prevents the swivel arm and thus the door from rotating too far around the first vertical pivot axis 9 when opening in the horizontal and vertical direction and also prevents the swivel arm from hitting the bodywork when opening too far and thereby pushing the first attachment element 3 loose from the bodywork.

[0042] Figure 10 shows the vehicle door hinge 1 in the vertically opened position of the door. The blocking element 37 is present in a retracted position and therefore no longer blocks the rotation of the housing 25. The second fixing means 51 have fixed the arm parts 47 and 49 of the auxiliary arm 43 relative to each other by moving one or more blocking pawls. The rod mechanism of which the auxiliary arm 43 forms part ensures that the housing 25 and thus the second attachment element 5 and the swivel arm 7 rotate relative to each other about the second vertical pivot axis 11, whereby the orientation of the housing 25 and thus also of the second attachment element 5 changes only slightly. During the relative rotation of the housing 25 and the swivel arm 7 relative to each other, the presence of the transmission 15 will cause the second attachment element 5 to rotate about the horizontal pivot axis 13 and therefore rotate it to the vertical position when the door is pushed open. The extreme positions of the second attachment element 5 relative to the housing 25 are defined by stops present on the housing 25 and cams attached to the second attachment element 5 (not visible in the figures).

[0043] For the sake of clarity, figure 11 shows the vehicle door hinge in various positions during horizontal opening and figure 12 shows the vehicle door hinge in various positions during vertical opening. There is play in the auxiliary arm 43 and in the connections between the auxiliary arm and the first and second attachment elements 3 and 5 and between the swivel arm 7 and the first and second attachment elements 3 and 5, so that during vertical opening of the door it does not immediately start to rotate about the horizontal pivot axis 13 but first rotates horizontally through a small angle and only after all play has been pressed out in one direction the auxiliary arm 43 will prevent the housing 25 from rotating relative to the first attachment means 3 and thus cause the swivel arm 7 to rotate relative to the housing 25.

[0044] Although the invention has been explained above with reference to the drawings, it should be noted that the invention is by no means limited to the embodiment shown in the drawings. The invention also extends to all embodiments deviating from the embodiment shown in the drawings within the framework defined by the claims. For example, for opening the door in the vertical direction, instead of or in addition to the play, a dead stroke can also be present in the auxiliary arm or in the transmission. Furthermore, instead of the transmission shown with perpendicularly bent rods, the transmission can also be formed by a right-angled gear transmission in which the transmission elements are formed by gears that mesh directly with each other and whose centre lines are perpendicular to each other.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Vehicle door hinge (1) with which a door of a vehicle can be opened in both horizontal and vertical directions, comprising: a first attachment element (3) for attaching to the body of a vehicle, a second attachment element (5) for attaching to the door of the vehicle, and a swivel arm (7) that with a first end is pivotally connected to the first attachment element (3) about a first vertical pivot axis (9), wherein the second attachment element (5) is pivotally connected to a second end of the swivel arm (7) about a second vertical pivot axis (11), wherein the second attachment element (5) is rotatable about a horizontal pivot axis (13) relative to the swivel arm (7), characterized in that the vehicle door hinge further comprises: a transmission (15) of which a first transmission element (19) is rigidly connected to the second end of the swivel arm (7) and of which a second transmission element (21) is rigidly connected to the second attachment element (5), wherein the two transmission elements (19, 21) are directly or indirectly connected to each other and wherein the transmission (15) is configured such that upon relative rotation about the second vertical pivot axis (11) of the swivel arm (7) and the second attachment element (5) with respect to each other, the second attachment element (5) rotates about a horizontal pivot axis (13) with respect to the swivel arm (7), and first fixing means (35) for fixing the second attachment element (5) with respect to the swivel arm (7), an extendable auxiliary arm (43) which is rotatably connected with a first end to the second attachment element (5) at a distance from the second vertical pivot axis (11) and is rotatably connected with a second end to the first attachment element (3) at a distance from the first vertical pivot axis (9), and second fixing means (51) which can fix two arm parts (47, 49) of the auxiliary arm (43) relative to each other, which arm parts (47, 49) are slidable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction, wherein in the auxiliary arm (43) and / or in the connections between the auxiliary arm (43) and the first and second attachment elements (3, 5) and / or between the swivel arm (7) and the first and second attachment element (3, 5) a dead blow or play is present.

2. Vehicle door hinge according to claim 1, characterised in that the vehicle door hinge (1) comprises a housing (25) which is rotatably connected to the swivel arm (7) and is rotatable about the second vertical pivot axis (11), whereby the horizontal pivot axis (13) is attached with one end to the second attachment element (5) and is mounted in the housing (25), and whereby the transmission (15) is present at least partly in the housing (25).

3. Vehicle door hinge according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the transmission (15) is a right-angle transmission with two shafts at right angles to each other, of which one shaft is the second vertical pivot axis (11) and the other shaft is the horizontal pivot axis (13).

4. Vehicle door hinge according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the transmission elements are formed by gears that mesh directly with each other and whose centre lines are at right angles to each other.

5. Vehicle door hinge according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the transmission elements (19, 21) are each provided with at least three holes that are present at the corner points of a polygon, whereby the transmission (15) further comprises at least three right angle bent coupling rods (23), each of which is inserted with one end through a hole in one of the transmission elements (19) and with the other end through a hole in the other transmission element (21).

6. Vehicle door hinge according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it further comprises an operating element (17) which is pivotally connected at one end to the pivot arm (7) for opening and closing the door or supporting the opening and closing of the door.

7. Vehicle door hinge according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first attachment element (3) is provided with a stop (53) which limits the angle through which the pivot arm (7) can rotate about the first vertical pivot axis (9).

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