Top-Hinged Door Asymmetric Hinge Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing top-hinged door structures with hinges at the upper side of a vehicle body face challenges in properly assembling and maintaining a door in a fully open posture when a damper or similar mechanism is provided at only one end, leading to issues with fitting and stability.
Innovation Solution
A top-hinged door structure with a pair of hinges positioned apart horizontally at the upper side of the vehicle body, a door holding mechanism that generates resistance against the door's self-weight to maintain the fully open posture, and a supporting structure that ensures the hinge at the door holding mechanism side is positioned further upward, providing a greater supporting reaction force to suppress rotation and tilting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a door holding mechanism is provided at only one end side in the horizontal direction, then device complexity is reduced and cost is lowered, but the door tends to rotate with respect to the vehicle body causing poor fitting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by positioning the hinge shafts at different heights vertically. Specifically, the hinge shaft of the hinge on the door holding mechanism side is positioned higher than the hinge shaft of the other hinge. This asymmetric configuration compensates for the rotational force generated by the single-door holding mechanism, preventing door rotation and ensuring proper fitting without requiring symmetric dual-door holding mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If the hinge shaft on the door holding mechanism side is positioned higher, then door rotation is suppressed and fitting is improved, but the supporting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the mounting surface on the door holding mechanism side extend further in the vehicle vertical direction compared to the other side. This localized structural difference creates the necessary height differential for the hinge shafts, providing the required asymmetric configuration only where needed while keeping the rest of the structure simple and easy to manufacture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The structure effectively maintains the door in a fully open posture and prevents excessive rotation or tilting, ensuring proper assembly and reduced positional offset, while also reducing costs by allowing common use of hinges and shims.
Implementation Method 1
produces resistance force against self-weight of the door and maintains a posture in which the door fully opens the opening portion
Implementation Method 2
opens and closes the opening portion by rotating with hinge shafts of the hinges being fulcra
Data Source
AI summary
At a back door structure, a back door, that is rotatably supported at a rear roof header via a pair of door hinges, rotates around hinge shafts and opens and closes a rear opening portion. The back door is held in a fully open posture that opens the rear opening portion, by a single damper that is provided only at a right side with respect to the rear opening portion. In the back door structure, a fit posture of the back door is corrected due to a vertical position of a mounting surface of the door hinge at the right side being set at an upper side with respect to a mounting surface of the door hinge at a left side in a state of not supporting the back door.