Overtravel hinge
AssigneeBraun GmbH
InventorsRobert E. Bettcher, III, Russell Meyer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle includes a chassis, a door track, a door operatively connected to the door track and adapted to move between a closed position and an open position, and a hinge assembly coupled to the door. The hinge assembly is movably coupled to the door track and includes a first bracket coupled to the door, a second bracket coupled to the first bracket, and a transport assembly coupled to the second bracket and adapted to move along the door track as the door moves between the open and closed positions. The transport assembly includes a coupling member for releasably coupling the second bracket to the transport assembly. Upon movement of the second bracket from the first position to the second position, the door moves to an extended open position with respect to the door track.
Claims20
A vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a door track coupled to the chassis;
- a door operatively connected to the door track and adapted to move between a closed position and an open position;
- and
- a hinge assembly coupled to the door and movably coupled to the door track, the hinge assembly comprising a first bracket coupled to the door, a second bracket pivotably coupled to the first bracket at a hinge, a transport assembly coupled to the second bracket and adapted to move along the door track as the door moves between the open and closed positions and a coupling member releasably coupled between the second bracket and the transport assembly;
- wherein the second bracket is fixed relative to the transport assembly when the coupling member is coupled and can move independently from the transport assembly from a first position to a second position when the coupling member is decoupled;
- wherein, upon movement of the second bracket from the first position to the second position, the door moves to an extended open position with respect to the door track.
An overtravel hinge assembly for a vehicle door operatively coupled to a door track of a passenger vehicle, the overtravel hinge assembly comprising:
- a first bracket adapted to be mounted to the vehicle door;
- a second bracket pivotally coupled to the first bracket via a hinge;
- a transport assembly pivotally coupled to the second bracket;
- and
- a coupling member releasably coupled between the second bracket and the transport assembly;
- wherein, the transport assembly comprises a movable member adapted to contact and move along the door track as the vehicle door moves between an open and closed positions;
- wherein, the second bracket is fixed relative to the transport assembly when the coupling member is coupled and can move independently from the transport assembly from a first position to a second position when the coupling member is decoupled.
A hinge assembly for movably coupling a vehicle door to a vehicle between an open position and a closed position, the vehicle having a chassis and a track coupled to the chassis, the hinge assembly comprising:
- a first bracket adapted to be mounted to the vehicle door and a second bracket pivotably coupled to the first bracket at a hinge;
- and
- a transport assembly coupled to the second bracket and adapted to move in contact with the track;
- a coupling member releasably coupled between the second bracket and the transport assembly;
- a biasing member coupled to the transport assembly, the biasing member adapted to bias the hinge assembly to a first configuration;
- wherein, the hinge assembly is configured to move between at least the first configuration, a second configuration, and a third configuration;
- wherein, in the first and second configurations, the second bracket extends outwardly at a first angle relative to the transport assembly;
- wherein, in the third configuration, the second bracket extends outwardly at a second angle relative to the transport assembly, where the second angle is greater than the first angle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.