Vehicle unguided four-bar rear door articulating and sliding mechanism

A vehicle door articulating and sliding mechanism comprising:

• at least one articulating hinge assembly including:
• at least one hinge arm pivotally mounted to a vehicle body structure at one end thereof;
• a vehicle door pivotally and slidably mounted to said hinge arm at an opposite end of said hinge arm;
• at least one guide track mounted to the vehicle door;
• and
• at least one slide block pivotally mounted to said hinge arm and slidably attached to said guide track,
• wherein said hinge arm is disposed at first and second angular positions relative to said guide track when the vehicle door is respectively disposed in closed and opened positions, and said slide block is disposed at first and second positions along a length of said guide track when the vehicle door is respectively disposed in the closed and opened positions, whereby, said vehicle door articulating and sliding mechanism provides articulating movement of the vehicle door during initial opening thereof and further provides sliding movement of the vehicle door relative to the vehicle body during continued opening thereof, wherein said slide block is pivotally mounted to said opposite end of said hinge arm, and wherein said opposite end of said hinge arm further includes a fixedly mounted curved finger engageable with a complementary curved lockout tab provided on the vehicle door for preventing sliding movement of the vehicle door during articulating movement of the vehicle door, and wherein said curved finger is rotated about the curved lockout tab to a location below the curved lockout tab such that the curved finger is disengageable from said complementary curved lockout tab for allowing sliding movement of the vehicle door and preventing articulating movement of the vehicle door.

A vehicle compartment closure articulating and sliding mechanism comprising:

• at least one articulating hinge assembly including:
• at least one hinge arm pivotally mounted to a vehicle body structure at one end thereof;
• a compartment closure pivotally and slidably mounted to said hinge arm at an opposite end of said hinge arm;
• at least one guide track mounted to the compartment closure;
• and
• at least one slide block pivotally mounted to said hinge arm and slidably attached to said guide track,
• wherein said hinge arm is disposed at first and second angular positions relative to said guide track when the compartment closure is respectively disposed in closed and opened positions, and said slide block is disposed at first and second positions along a length of said guide track when the compartment closure is respectively disposed in the closed and opened positions, whereby, said compartment closure articulating and sliding mechanism provides articulating movement of the compartment closure during initial opening thereof and further provides sliding movement of the compartment closure relative to a vehicle body structure during continued opening thereof, wherein said slide block is pivotally mounted to said opposite end of said hinge arm, and wherein said opposite end of said hinge arm further includes a fixedly mounted curved finger engageable with a complementary curved lockout tab provided on the compartment closure for preventing sliding movement of the compartment closure during articulating movement of the compartment closure, and wherein said curved finger is rotated about the curved lockout tab to a location below the curved lockout tab such that the curved finger is disengageable from said complementary curved lockout tab for allowing sliding movement of the compartment closure and preventing articulating movement of the compartment closure.

A door mechanism comprising:

• a hinge assembly including a hinge arm pivotally and slidably mounted to a door;
• and
• a slide block mounted to the hinge arm and slidably attached to a guide track,
• wherein the hinge arm comprises a curved finger engageable with a complementary curved lockout tab for preventing sliding movement of the door during articulating movement and rotatable about the curved lockout tab to a location below the curved lockout tab such that the curved finger is disengageable from the lockout tab for preventing articulating movement of the door during sliding movement.