Vehicle infinite door check

An infinite door check mechanism for enabling a door to be moved from a closed position in a door frame to any one of a plurality of different open positions, comprising

• a door check housing adapted to be mounted on the door,
• a support member adapted to be mounted to the frame, said support member including a hinge pin defining a rotational axis about which said support member is rotatable,
• a hinge member arranged around said hinge pin,
• a movable locking cam arranged in said housing to engage said hinge member, and
• biasing means arranged in said housing for selectively pressing said cam against said hinge member to force said cam against said hinge member and thereby retain said hinge member and thus the door in a fixed position and releasing pressure of said cam against said hinge member and thereby enable rotation of said hinge member and thus the door.

An infinite door check mechanism for enabling a door to be moved from a closed position in a door frame to any one of a plurality of different open positions, comprising

• a door check housing adapted to be mounted on the frame,
• a support member adapted to be mounted to the door, said support member including a hinge pin defining a rotational axis about which said support member is rotatable,
• a hinge member arranged around said hinge pin and being adapted to be connected to the door to enable the door to rotate about said axis,
• a movable locking member arranged in said housing to engage said hinge member, and
• biasing means arranged in said housing for selectively pressing said locking member against said hinge member to force said locking member against said hinge member and thereby retain said hinge member and thus the door in a fixed position and releasing pressure of said locking member against said hinge member and thereby enable rotation of said hinge member and thus the door.

An infinite door check mechanism for enabling a door to be moved from a closed position in a door frame to any one of a plurality of different open positions, comprising

• a door check housing adapted to be mounted on the door,
• a support member arranged in said housing,
• an elongate strip member adapted to be mounted to and extend outward from the frame, said strip member extending at least partially through said housing, and
• a flexible U-shaped element fixedly mounted in said housing and having a section in constant contact with said strip member to urge said strip member against said support member.

A method for making an infinite door check device for holding a door of a particular vehicle model at an arbitrary position between an open position and a closed position, comprising the steps of:

• determining the checking torque required to hold the door against the expected forces tending to further open or to close the door;
• determining the minimum design coefficient of friction for a door check mechanism including a strip member and a loading member;
• selecting materials for the strip member and the loading member of the door check mechanism such that the coefficient of friction between the strip member and the loading member will not be less than the designed minimum coefficient of friction;
• selecting a support member design and load to be applied by the loading member to achieve the checking torque;
• and
• providing a means for exerting an additional force by the loading member onto the strip member to prevent the loading member from slipping on the strip member when the coefficient of friction is at the minimum value and when the check device is operating to check the motion of the door.