Digital door
AssigneeBraun GmbH
InventorsEric Sajed Dosenbach, Michael R. Pugh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic door opening apparatus for a vehicle. Two and three hinge joint embodiments with motors at each hinge joint to control motion of the door opening apparatus relative to the vehicle at that hinge joint. The motors are individually programmable to customize the door opening apparatus and movement to different vehicles. The motors can be in alignment or out-of-alignment with the hinge joints, but in either case the motor controls motion of the hinged components at the associated hinge joint. When a motor is out-of-alignment with the hinge joint it controls, then pulley wheels and belts can be used to connect the motor to the hinge joint. The door opening apparatus can also include a floor track, and a door arm that connects the door to the floor track.
Claims20
An automatic door opening apparatus for a vehicle having a door with a front end and a rear end, the automatic door opening apparatus comprising:
- at least a first motor and a second motor, wherein the first motor is configured to move the door in a first direction and the second motor is configured to move the door in a second direction, the first direction being different from the second direction;
- and,
- at least one controller programmed to independently operate the first motor and the second motor to control a location of the front end along a first path and a location of the rear end along a second path during a door opening sequence.
An automatic door opening apparatus for a vehicle having a chassis, a door with a front end and a rear end, and a door frame with a forward edge and a rearward edge, the automatic door opening apparatus comprising:
- a body bracket fixedly attached to the chassis;
- a cross member hingedly coupled to the body bracket at a rear hinge joint and hingedly coupled to the door at a front hinge joint;
- a front motor configured to control motion of the cross member relative to the door at the front hinge joint;
- and
- a rear motor configured to control motion of the cross member relative to the body bracket at the rear hinge joint.
The automatic door opening apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first motor and the second motor are configured to control movement of the door between a closed position where the door fills the door frame, and a fully-open position where the front end of the door is positioned rearward of the rearward edge of the door frame.
An automatic door opening apparatus for a vehicle having a chassis, a door with a front end and a rear end, and a door frame with a forward edge and a rearward edge, the automatic door opening apparatus comprising:
- a body bracket fixedly attached to the chassis;
- a cross member hingedly coupled to the body bracket at a rear hinge joint;
- an extension arm hingedly coupled to the cross member at a middle hinge joint, and hingedly coupled to the door at a front hinge joint;
- a front motor configured to control motion of the extension arm relative to the door at the front hinge joint;
- a middle motor configured to control motion of the cross member relative to the extension arm at the middle hinge joint;
- and
- a rear motor configured to control motion of the cross member relative to the body bracket at the rear hinge joint.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.