FR2779996A1 - Guide for sliding vehicle door - Google Patents

Abstract

The vehicle door (1) moves from a position, where it closes off the opening (4), to an open position, in which the door is moved outwards and displaced towards the front or the rear of the vehicle. The front part of the door is guided along the length of the vehicle , by means of an arm (15), which is mounted to pivot (8c) on the door and to slide at two points (8a and 8b) along a primary (6) and secondary (7) guide rails, which present different trajectories to ensure the pivoting of the arm.

Description

GUIDE DEVICE FOR DOOR

  SLIDING MOTOR VEHICLES

  The present invention relates to a guide device for a sliding door of motor vehicles having a closed position in which the door closes an opening by substantially flush with the surrounding parts of the vehicle body and an open position in which the door is pushed outwards. and moved backwards

  or the front of the vehicle substantially away from the opening.

  Conventionally, in such sliding door movements, the front part of the door is guided using a guide rail having a curved end towards the interior of the vehicle interior, the rail guide being provided with a sliding carriage, attached to the front of the door to guide the door in alignment with the body when it closes and push the door towards the outside of the body

when opened.

  Such a device, with a curved rail penetrating into the passenger compartment, however has the drawback of having a large transverse size, the latter being at least equal to the lateral movement of the sliding door. However, the guide rail is generally mounted in a cavity of the bodywork which generates, due to the importance of the transverse size of the rail, an unsightly boss in the area of the passenger compartment facing the rail and a reduction in the section of the front leg of the sliding door. This boss is particularly troublesome when the guide rail is located in the upper part of the door frame.

  sliding, because it is then highly visible to the occupants of the vehicle.

2 2779996

  The present invention therefore aims to provide a sliding door guide device which provides a large sliding side door clearance and a reduced transverse size, in order to allow a discreet integration of the guide device, and which is simple and economical to produce. . The invention relates to a guide device for a sliding door of motor vehicles having a closed position in which the door closes an opening, and an open position in which the door is pushed outwards and moved backwards or forwards. before

  vehicle substantially away from the opening.

  According to the invention the guiding device is characterized in that the front part of the door is guided along the vehicle, in its upper or lower part, by means of an arm pivotally mounted on the door and slidably mounted in two distinct points respectively along a first and a second guide rail, the guide rails having different trajectories to ensure the pivoting of the arm so as to separate the door from the bodywork in the open position and to decrease

  the transverse dimensions of the arm in the closed position.

  According to another characteristic of the door guide device according to the invention, the arm is substantially L-shaped and has a first branch, of short length, one end of which is provided with a pin mounted sliding along the first rail. guide and a second branch, of greater length, making an angle slightly greater than 90 with the first branch and comprising, at its end common to the first branch, an axis provided with a roller mounted sliding along the second rail of guide, the other end of the second branch being

  fitted with a pin attached to the sliding door.

  According to another characteristic of the sliding door guide device, the second branch of the arm is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the vehicle when the door is in the open position and substantially

  parallel to the center line of the vehicle when the door is in the closed position.

3 2779996

  According to another characteristic of the door guide device, the first guide rail is rectilinear in the direction of opening of the door, the second guide rail having on its front part, a lateral offset towards the interior of the vehicle. According to another characteristic of the door guide device, the axis connecting the arm to the first rail is mounted on a mobile carriage provided with two rollers sliding freely along the first rail, the axis connecting the arm to the second rail being mounted sliding inside the second rail at

by means of a rotating roller.

  According to another characteristic of the sliding door guide device, the axis is attached to a plate fixed to the door near

its front edge.

  We will better understand the goals, aspects and advantages of

  present invention, from the description presented below of a mode of

  embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a top view of a sliding door guide device of the front part of a door as known from the prior art; - Figure 2 is a top view of the guide device according to the invention when the door is in the closed position; - Figure 3 is a view similar to the previous view showing the door in the open position; - Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the device

guidance according to the invention.

4 2779996

  Only the elements necessary for understanding the invention have been shown. To facilitate the reading of the drawings the same elements

  bear the same references from one figure to another.

  FIG. 1 represents a device for guiding the front part of a sliding door 1, in the open position and in the closed position, as known from the prior art. This device comprises a guide rail 3, disposed on the upper part of the frame of an opening 4, on which slides a carriage 2 with rollers attached by a fixed arm 5 to the door 1. The guide rail 3 has a curved front part towards the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a rear part running along the edge of the vehicle body so as to bring the front of door 1 flush with the vehicle body when it is closed and to separate the door 1 of the body when it is opened. As can be seen in this figure, such a device has the disadvantage of having a clearly transverse size.

  greater than the lateral clearance of the sliding door 1.

  Figures 2 to 4 show an embodiment of the device

  guide according to the invention intended to remedy this drawback.

  The guide device comprises a first straight guide rail 6 along the upper edge of the frame of the opening 4 and a second guide rail 7 having a straight rear part superimposed on the rear part of the first guide rail 6 and a curved front part towards the interior of the passenger compartment in order to be offset laterally from the

first guide rail 6.

  As can be seen more precisely in FIG. 4, a carriage 2 with rollers is slidably mounted along the first guide rail 7 and is attached, by means of an axis 8a, to a pivoting arm 15 in the shape of an L. The pivoting arm 15 comprises a first branch 15a of short length at the end of which is fixed the axis 8a and a second branch 15b of greater length making an angle slightly greater than 90 by

  compared to the first branch 1 5a.

2779996

  The common end of the first and second branches 15a and 1 5b comprises an axis 8b provided with a roller 9 sliding inside the second guide rail 7. The free end of the second branch 15b comprises an axis 8c making a pivot link with a plate 14, not shown in FIG. 4, fixed to the front part of the door 1. The operation of the guide device according to the invention will

now be described.

  The door 1 being in the closed position, the roller carriage 2 is in the advanced position on the first guide rail 6 and the second branch of the arm 15 is substantially parallel to the first guide rail 6 due to the position spaced apart from the sliding roller 9 inside the second guide rail 7. When the door 1 opens, the roller carriage 2 slides along the first guide rail 6 towards the rear of the vehicle, causing the roller to slide. 9 inside the second guide rail 7 and the approaching of the latter relative to the axis of the first guide rail 6. This movement of movement of the roller 9 relative to the first guide rail 6 then causes the pivoting in the clockwise direction of the arm 15 relative to the axis 8a carried by the roller carriage 2 and the spacing of the door 1 relative to the vehicle body. When the carriage 2 arrives in the superposition zone of the first and second guide rails 6 and 7, as shown in FIG. 3, the arm 15 is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the vehicle and

  keeps this position until door 1 is fully opened.

  The closing movement of the door 1 causes, conversely, the sliding and the rotation of the arm 15 until the closing of the

  door and the alignment of the arm 15 along the axis of the vehicle.

6 2779996

  Such a guide device makes it possible to obtain a reduced transverse size and independent of the lateral offset necessary for the opening of the door. Indeed, in the door guide device according to the invention, the offset of the door is a function of the length of the second branch 1 5b and not of the advancement of the second guide rail through the passenger compartment. This device therefore allows with a small transverse offset of the guide rails, and therefore a small transverse size, to obtain a large

lateral clearance of the door.

  This small transverse size of the guide device makes it possible to produce a cavity for receiving the guide rails of shallow depth and therefore not very visible from inside the passenger compartment. The small size of the device also makes it possible to keep a front foot of large section offering good resistance in the event of an impact. This impact resistance can also be easily reinforced by the use of a very deep door casing enabled by the large lateral clearance

  offered by the guide device according to the invention.

  The guiding device according to the invention also has the advantage of making it possible to easily change the path of the door.

  by changing the path of the second guide rail.

  Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the mode of

  described and illustrated embodiment which has been given only by way of example.

  On the contrary, the invention includes all the technical equivalents of the means described as well as their combinations if these are

carried out according to his spirit.

7 2779996

Claims (5)

  1) Guide device for a sliding door (1) of motor vehicles having a closed position in which the door (1) closes an opening (4), and an open position in which the door (1) is pushed outwards and moved towards the rear or the front of the vehicle substantially away from the opening (4), characterized in that the front part of the door (1) is guided along the vehicle, in its upper or lower part , by means of an arm (15) pivotally mounted on the door (1) and slidingly mounted at two distinct points (8a, 8b) respectively along a first (6) and a second (7) guide rail, said guide rails (6,7) having different trajectories ensuring the pivoting of the arm (15) so as to move the door (1) away from the bodywork in the open position and to reduce the bulk   transverse of the arm (15) in the closed position.   2) guide device for sliding door according to claim 1, characterized in that said arm (15) is substantially L-shaped and comprises a first branch (15a), of short length, one end of which is provided with a pin (8a) slidably mounted along the first guide rail (6) and a second branch (15b), of greater length, making an angle slightly greater than 90 with the first branch (15a), said second branch (15b) comprising , at its end common to the first branch (15a) an axis (8b) provided with a roller (9) slidably mounted along the second guide rail (7), the other end of the second branch (15b) being fitted with a pin (8c) attached to the door sliding (1).   3) Guide device for sliding door according to claim 2, characterized in that said second branch (15b) of the arm (15) is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the vehicle when the door (1) is in the open position and substantially parallel to the center line of the vehicle when   the door (1) is in the closed position. 8 2779996   4) Guide device for sliding door according to any one   claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first guide rail   (6) is rectilinear in the direction of opening of the door (1), the second guide rail (7) having on its front part, a lateral offset towards the interior of the vehicle,) Guide device for sliding door according to any one   of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the axis (8a) connecting the arm   (15) to the first rail (6) is mounted on a mobile carriage (2) provided with two rollers to slide freely along the first rail (6), the axis (8b) connecting the arm (15) to the second rail being sliding mounted inside the   second rail (7) by means of a rotary roller (9).   6) Guide device for sliding door according to any one   of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the axis (8c) is attached to   a plate (14) fixed on the door (1) near its front edge.