Operational arrangement for movable parts on vehicles

The invention relates to an operational arrangement for movable parts on vehicles, especially for hatches, movable roofs and the like. The invention provides for the automatic opening of the hatch or roof by a drive unit. The invention is characterized by placement of a drive mechanism within the vehicle, obviating the need for special coating of the drive mechanism, with transfer of forces from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle through a four joint hinge including a pivot pin which passes through the body of the vehicle and is operatively connected to the drive mechanism and the movable part.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The invention relates to an operational arrangement for movable parts on
 vehicles and, more particularly, to an arrangement for hingedly attaching
 rear hatches, movable roofs and the like to vehicles.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 Movable parts on a vehicle, especially rear hatches, are connected via
 hinges, and in many cases via hinges with four joints, to the body of the
 vehicle. In most cases, there is a spring on each hinge which supports
 some of the weight of the moving part and dampens the movement of the
 hatch. In automatically operated rear hatches, or similarly constructed
 parts, it is the state of the art to replace one of these springs with a
 drive unit for opening and closing of the hatch, preferably using a
 hydraulic cylinder. This arrangement is ill balanced and strains the
 hatch, and also has the significant disadvantage that the pressure
 conduits must pass through the rain gutter and that the cylinder itself
 needs protection for the surface thereof. Moreover, the hinge which
 includes the drive arrangement must be of a different design than the
 non-driven hinges. State of the art is also a construction in which one of
 the hinge levers is made to extend directly inward into the interior of
 the vehicle where a drive means is connected to it. This design has,
 however, the disadvantage that the passageway through which the hinge
 lever extends is difficult to insulate, since the insulation should occur
 throughout the large path of the lever over a large area. For this reason,
 this known solution has not been successful.
 Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to create an
 arrangement which combines optimal drive device protection with a simple
 design and good, problem-free operation of the part to be moved.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 This problem is solved using an operational arrangement, as mentioned
 above, characterized in that an inner lever of the hinge is connected to
 the outer lever of the hinge via a pivot pin, which pivot pin passes
 through the body of the vehicle. Such a pivot pin arrangement is very
 effective for the transfer of torque, and allows for good insulation and
 mechanical stabilization. The drive arrangement, as well as its junction
 point with the hinge is optimally protected from corrosive media when
 located in the interior of the vehicle and no longer in the rain gutter.
 This minimizes the danger of penetration of water, corrosive media, or
 dirt. Therefore, no special surface preparation is necessary. Also, no
 hydraulic lines need to pass through the rain gutter or through the body
 of the vehicle, which simplifies production. The design parameters of the
 drive arrangement, for example, stroke, diameter, working pressure, etc.,
 in a hydraulic cylinder, are no longer limited by geometric conditions in
 the outer area of the hinge. Also, hinge kinematics do not need to be
 changed. Instead, the drive can be freely adjusted to fit the system. Of
 course, when the drive device is turned off, a purely manual operation of
 the part to be moved can occur. Since the drive arrangement is not located
 in the outer area of the hinge, springs can be arranged on both sides to
 absorb the weight of the vehicle part on both sides, and in so doing,
 avoid one-sided strain.
 The hinge is a multi-jointed hinge, especially a four-jointed hinge in
 which one of the hinge joints near the vehicle, preferably the one located
 nearest to the center of the vehicle is connected via the pivot pin with
 an inner lever. This combination of characteristics offers good hinge
 kinematics with optimal opening of the rear hatch or of another vehicle
 part in combination with a connection of the drive device to the hinge
 that has a simple stable construction.
 The drive device is a working cylinder, preferably a hydraulic working
 cylinder. This choice of drive device allows for an exact operation of the
 rear hatch or the like using simple proven systems.
 To greatly simplify the system structurally, the working cylinder has its
 piston rod pivotally connected to the inner lever of the hinge, and the
 cylinder is pivotally connected with a part of the hinge closer to the
 vehicle. In so doing, a hinge joint is used for pivotally supporting the
 end of the working cylinder, and an additional junction point requiring
 additional construction can be avoided. It will often be advantageous to
 use the otherwise necessary pivot point of the hinge joint located near
 the vehicle also as a pivot point for the working cylinder, and thus
 further avoid construction and production efforts.
 In order to absorb the strong bending forces that occur on the pivot pin of
 the hinge or the drive device during the automatic operation of the
 vehicle part, a further characteristic of the invention provides, between
 the pivot pin and a further vehicle-tight point, preferably between the
 pivot pin and the vehicle-tight pivot point of the drive device, a
 pull-resistant, pressure-resistant, preferably also bend-resistant
 connection. In doing so, a mechanical over-exertion of the pivot pin can
 be prevented without hindering the turn and tilt motions of the hinge.
 With hinges having four joints, the vehicle-tight pivot point of the drive
 device coincides advantageously with a second hinge joint that allows for
 a very simple construction making use of available pivot points.
 Especially for rear hatch and movable roofs, in order to maintain optimal
 kinematics and to achieve the best possible protection of the drive
 device, the pivot pin of the hinge extends from the interior of the
 vehicle into the rain gutter of the rear hatch or of the movable roof, and
 the drive device and the inner lever are located in the trunk or storage
 area of the roof.
 In the following description, the invention will be described using, as an
 example, an embodiment illustrated in the attached figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
 In FIG. 2, it is illustrated schematically how, for example, a rear hatch
 or trunk cover 1 of a vehicle is connected to its body, preferably in the
 area of its rain gutter 2, via a four-joint hinge 12, 15, 24, and 25 as an
 example of a multi-joint hinge. In so doing, the rear hatch 1 is attached
 to the hinge top part 3 with its pivot points 24 and 25 distant from the
 vehicle. The hinge bottom part 6 and the pivot points 7, 12 near the
 vehicle are placed preferably (as is seen better in FIG. 4) at the side
 wall 2a of the rain gutter 2. The tilting motion for the opening and
 closing of the rear hatch 1 is caused by the difference in length of first
 and second outer hinge levers, 4 and 5 respectively, during their tilting
 (hinge lever 5 is longer in length that hinge lever 4).
 According to the invention, one of the hinge levers 4, 5, preferably hinge
 lever 4 which is closer to the longitudinal center of the vehicle, is
 connected via a pivot pin 15 to an inner lever 8 located in an interior
 space 19a of the vehicle onto which inner lever 8 the piston rod 9 of a
 hydraulic cylinder 10 also located in the interior space 19a, used as a
 driver device is pivotally connected. To open the rear hatch, the piston
 rod 9 is extended and the inner lever 8 is tilted in the a
 counter-clockwise direction. The torque is transferred via the pivot pin
 15 to the hinge lever 4, and also via the hinge connection to hinge lever
 5. In so doing, the hinge top part 3 is tilted in a clockwise direction
 and, at the same time, slightly lifted so that the rear hatch 1 is brought
 into a open position. The closing motion is caused by inward movement of
 the piston rod 9 into the working cylinder 10 to move the components in
 the opposite direction. For manual operation of the rear hatch 1 or the
 like, the drive device, which here is the working cylinder 10, is
 depressurized.
 In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the working cylinder 10 is
 pivotally connected to the second pivot point 12, close to the vehicle. It
 is also possible, however, to pivotally connect the cylinder 10, via an
 axis parallel to the axes of the four-joint hinge 12, 15, 24 and 25 a
 vehicle-tight point 13 outside of the area of the four-joint hinge 12, 15,
 24 and 25 as shown schematically in FIG. 3. In any case, the cylinder 10
 can be protected from corrosive media, humidity and dirt by being located
 in the interior of the vehicle, as in the trunk. Also, no pressure
 conduits have to pass through the rain gutter 2 for the pressure device.
 Consequently, these gutters can be made smaller.
 Since the weight of the rear hatch 1 is not unsubstantial and the pivot pin
 15, the cylinder 10 and the piston rod 9 are therefore, during the opening
 at the beginning of the motion and during closing at the end of the
 motion, subjected to strong bending forces, one embodiment includes a
 pull-resistant and pressure-resistant connection 14, preferably also
 bend-resistant, which serves as a stabilizer as shown in FIG. 4. The
 connection 14 is, for example, a rectangular profile bar that is inserted
 between pivot joints 7 and 12 of the four-joint hinge. Connection 14 is
 connected to the side of the pivot pins 15, 16, forming the pivot axes,
 which is disposed within the body of the vehicle. Advantageously, the
 connection 14 is inserted between the pivot point of the working cylinder
 10 at the body of the vehicle and pivot point 7, irrespective of where the
 said pivot point of the working cylinder is located (at pivot point 12 as
 shown, or at a part of the hinge that is near the vehicle, directly on the
 body of the vehicle outside of the hinge, etc.).
 FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section through the arrangement in the area
 where a shaft 15b of the pivot pin 15, whose head 15a is located in the
 rain gutter 2, passes through the body of the vehicle. The inner edge of
 the rain gutter 2 is closed off using a rubber seal 17 located at the top
 of side wall 2b and the side 18 of the rain gutter 2, through which the
 pin 15 passes, joins with the curvature 19 of the fender. On the far left
 or inner end of the pivot pin 15 as seen in FIG. 1, the inner lever 8 is
 torsionally fixed to the pivot pin. Beyond inner lever 8, a spacer sleeve,
 the connection 14, and at least one stop element may be provided. Directly
 at the side 18 of the rain gutter 2 is a spacer and sealing element 20 to
 which the hinge bottom part 6 is attached. There is another spacer disc 21
 between hinge bottom part 6 and the hinge lever 4 which is torsionally
 fixed to the outer end of pivot pin 15. This transfer of the torque from
 the inner lever 8 to the outer hinge lever 4 via the pivot pin 15 is
 especially effective and structurally simple to realize. The torsionally
 fixed connections of the inner lever 8 and the hinge lever 4 with opposite
 ends of the pivot pin 15 can be realized via a frictional or form-fit
 connection.
 The vehicle includes a body including portions 19, 2a, 2b which define a
 vehicle interior and a vehicle exterior in a conventional manner. The
 four-joint hinge includes an inner lever 8 disposed within the vehicle
 interior 9a (see FIG. 5) and outer levers 4, 5 and 6 which are disposed at
 the vehicle exterior, lever 3 of the hinge being connected to the rear
 hatch of the vehicle. The working cylinder or drive device 10 is disposed
 within the vehicle interior and is pivotally supported at pivot point 12
 by pin 16, while the piston rod 9 is pivotally connected to one end of
 inner lever 8. The opposite end of lever 8 is torsionally fixed to the
 inner end of pivot pin 15, while the outer end of pivot pin 15 is
 torsionally fixed to outer lever 4 for transmitting torque from lever 8 to
 lever 4 through pivot pin 15. Stabilizer bar 14 is connected between pivot
 pins 15 and 16. The drive device 10 may be disposed within the trunk or
 roof storage area of the vehicle.
 FIG. 5 shows the hydraulic operational arrangement of the invention
 attached to a trunk cover 1 so as open or close a trunk area 1a of a
 vehicle V.
 The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment.
 Obviously, various modifications, alterations, and other embodiments will
 occur to others upon reading and understanding this specification. It is
 our intention to include all such modifications, alterations, and
 alternate embodiments insofar as they come within the scope of the
 appended claims, or the equivalent thereof.