Vehicle

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle having a body, a first vehicle door, and a second vehicle door arranged behind the first vehicle door in a vehicle longitudinal direction. The first and second vehicle doors are each movably coupled to the body such that the first and second vehicle doors are movable between a closed position and an open position in a sliding-pivoting manner. The vehicle includes at least one passive locking device that interlockingly connects one of the first and second vehicle doors to the body of the vehicle when set at the closed position to form a vehicle pillar of the body of the vehicle.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle having a body and at least two vehicle doors arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction without a separating vehicle pillar, which can each be moved between a closed position and an open position.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles having at least two vehicle doors arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction without a separating vehicle pillar are known in numerous variations.

DE 10 2017 008 872 A1 discloses a motor vehicle having a door device which comprises a vehicle door, a guide link which at least partially delimits a guide path along which the vehicle door can be movably guided and which is arranged on the body of the motor vehicle, a first guide element movably coupled to the guide rail and coupled to a first door region of the vehicle door, and a second guide element rotatably coupled to the body of the motor vehicle and rotatably coupled to a second door region of the vehicle door. The first guide element has two element regions arranged at a distance from one another in the vehicle transverse direction of the motor vehicle, of which element regions a first element region is non-rotatably connected to the vehicle door and a second element region is movably coupled to the guide rail. The motor vehicle can be designed, for example, as a four-door convertible without B-pillars.

From DE 10 2018 108 378 A1, a vehicle having a center-opening door assembly mounted on a passenger compartment and an active latch mechanism for the center-opening door assembly is known. The center-opening door assembly includes a rear door panel mounted on a rear hinge and a front door panel mounted on a front hinge. This type of center-opening door assembly typically lacks a fixed hinge pillar by which the rear door panel mounted on a rear hinge could be supported in a closed configuration. Instead, the rear door panel mounted on a rear hinge is provided with an upper and a lower latch mechanism, each of which engaging in cooperating latches arranged on a vehicle roof frame and a sill. The front door panel mounted on a front hinge engages in a center-mounted latch arranged on the rear door panel mounted on a rear hinge. The upper latch mechanism is supported by a reinforcement plate and is mounted in an articulated manner to engage in a latch under the active control of an actuator, for example, a cable. For preventing vertical movements of the rear door panel mounted on the rear hinge relative to the front door panel mounted on a front hinge in a closed configuration during vehicle travel, a supplemental latch mechanism is used for the center-opening door assembly. The supplemental latch mechanism includes a pin associated with the front door panel mounted on the front hinge. The supplemental latch mechanism further includes a seat associated with the rear door panel mounted on the rear hinge. In this case, the pin and the interacting seat mesh to reduce or prevent a movement of the front door panel mounted on a front hinge perpendicular to the rear door panel mounted on a rear hinge.

SUMMARY

The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a vehicle having a body and at least two vehicle doors arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction, which in the closed state improve the rigidity and load distribution of the vehicle body.

This problem is solved by a vehicle having the features of the claimed embodiments. Advantageous embodiments of the invention with additional developments are specified in the dependent claims.

In order to provide a vehicle having a body and at least two vehicle doors arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction, which in the closed state improve rigidity and load distribution of the vehicle body, at least one of the vehicle doors is designed to form a vehicle pillar of the body in a closed position. In this case, at least one passive locking device is designed to interlockingly connect the integrated vehicle pillar to the body in the closed state of the corresponding vehicle door. In addition, the at least two vehicle doors arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction are movably coupled to the body in a sliding-pivoting manner, so that they can be moved between the closed position and an open position.

In an advantageous embodiment of the vehicle, the at least one passive locking device can be designed to interlockingly connect the integrated vehicle pillar to a structural component of the body in the closed position. In this case, for example, a first passive locking device can be designed to interlockingly connect the integrated vehicle pillar to a first structural component designed as a roof frame in the closed position. A second passive locking device can be designed, for example, to interlockingly connect the integrated vehicle pillar to a second structural component designed as a sill in the closed position. With the vehicle pillar integrated in the vehicle door, the rigidity of the body in the region of the door cutout can be increased during driving when the vehicle doors are in the closed position and a corresponding load path can be provided between the roof frame and the sill, analogous to an existing B-pillar. However, in the open position of the vehicle doors, the space available for boarding and exiting can be significantly increased, since no B-pillar impedes boarding and exiting.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle, at least one first reinforcement element on a vertical frame portion of a first vehicle door and/or at least one second reinforcement element on a vertical frame portion of a second vehicle door can form the integrated vehicle pillar. The first vehicle door can be arranged behind the second vehicle door in the direction of travel. In this case, a first sliding-pivoting kinematics can movably mount the first vehicle door on a C-pillar of the body in a sliding-pivoting manner, and a second sliding-pivoting kinematics can movably mount the second vehicle door on an A-pillar of the body in a sliding-pivoting manner. For example, a front vertical frame portion of the first vehicle door facing the second vehicle door can be reinforced by the at least one first reinforcement element and form the vehicle pillar integrated into the first vehicle door. Alternatively, for example, a rear vertical frame portion of the second vehicle door facing the first vehicle door can be reinforced by the at least one second reinforcement element and form the vehicle pillar integrated into the second vehicle door. In a preferred embodiment, at least one first reinforcement element on the front vertical frame portion of the first vehicle door and at least one second reinforcement element on the rear vertical frame portion of the second vehicle door can jointly form the integrated vehicle pillar. As a result, the additional weight of the reinforcement elements can be distributed over the vehicle doors.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle, the at least one passive locking device can comprise a body-side receiving element and a door-side locking element. In this case, the door-side locking element can be designed to be inserted into the body-side receiving element by a pivoting movement of the corresponding vehicle door and interlockingly locked in the body-side receiving element by a locking sliding movement of the corresponding vehicle door. This allows for a particularly simple and cost-effective realization of the automatic interlocking locking of the integrated vehicle pillar to the body by the closing movement of the corresponding vehicle door.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle, the body-side receiving element can comprise a receiving opening and a locking opening. The body-side receiving element can be designed, for example, as a keyhole bore or as a link guide. The door-side locking element can be designed, for example, as a locking bolt. The locking bolt can be designed to be, for example, cylindrical or mushroom-shaped or dovetail-shaped. The receiving opening and the locking opening of the body-side receiving element can be adapted to the shape of the locking bolt such that, in the closed position, the locking bolt can mesh with the body-side receiving element in a bayonet-like manner.

The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or shown only in the figures, can be used not only in the respectively specified combination but also in other combinations or in isolation without departing from the scope of the invention. Embodiments of the invention, which are not explicitly shown or explained in the figures but derive therefrom and can be produced by separated combinations of features from the embodiments explained, are thus to be regarded as included and disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As can be seen fromFIGS.1to3, a vehicle1according to an illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a body1A and at least two vehicle doors3,3A,3B arranged one behind the other in the vehicle longitudinal direction x, which can each be moved between a closed position and an open position and are movably coupled to the body1A in a sliding-pivoting manner, and at least one passive locking device10,10A,10B,10C,10D. At least one of the vehicle doors3,3A,3B forms a vehicle pillar9of the body1A in the closed position, wherein the at least one passive locking device10,10A,10B,10C,10D interlockingly connects the integrated vehicle pillar9of the corresponding vehicle door3,3A,3B to the body1A in the closed position.

As can also be seen fromFIG.1, a vehicle door3A is arranged behind a second vehicle door3B in the direction of travel. In this case, the first vehicle door3A comprises a continuous door frame4A having a front vertical frame portion4.1which is reinforced by a ribbon-shaped first reinforcement element5A. In addition, a first sliding-pivoting kinematics6A movably mounts the first vehicle door3A in a sliding-pivoting manner on a C-pillar9C of the body1A of the vehicle1. The second vehicle door3B is arranged in front of the first vehicle door3A in the direction of travel and comprises a continuous door frame4B having a rear vertical frame portion4.2which is reinforced by a ribbon-shaped second reinforcement element5B. Furthermore, a second sliding-pivoting kinematics6B movably mounts the second vehicle door3B in a sliding-pivoting manner on an A-pillar9A of the body1A of the vehicle1. As can also be seen fromFIG.1, the two vehicle doors3A,3B each comprise an electric door lock7A,7B. A first electric door lock7A thus secures the first vehicle door3A against unauthorized opening. A second electric door lock7B secures the second vehicle door3B against unauthorized opening.

As can also be seen fromFIG.1, in the depicted embodiment of the vehicle1, the first reinforcement element5A of the first vehicle door3A and the second reinforcement element5B of the second vehicle door3B jointly form the integrated vehicle pillar9which in this case corresponds to a B-pillar9B.

As can also be seen fromFIG.1, in the closed position, a first passive locking device10A interlockingly connects a part of the integrated vehicle pillar9integrated into the first vehicle door3A or the first reinforcement element5A to a first structural component2designed as a roof frame2A. In the closed position, a second passive locking device10B interlockingly connects the part of the integrated vehicle pillar9integrated into the first vehicle door3A or the first reinforcement element5A to a second structural component8designed as a sill8A. In addition, in the closed position, a third passive locking device10C interlockingly connects a part of the integrated vehicle pillar9integrated into the second vehicle door3B or the second reinforcement element5B to the first structural component2designed as a roof frame2A. In the closed position, a fourth passive locking device10D interlockingly connects the part of the integrated vehicle pillar9integrated into the second vehicle door3B or the second reinforcement element5B to the second structural component8designed as a sill8A.

In an alternative embodiment of the vehicle1(not depicted), only the first reinforcement element5A of the first vehicle door3A forms the integrated vehicle pillar9. In this alternative embodiment, in the closed position, only the first reinforcement element5A of the first vehicle door3A is interlockingly connected to the roof frame2A via the first passive locking device10A and interlockingly connected to the sill8A via the second passive locking device10B.

In a further alternative embodiment of the vehicle1(not shown), only the second reinforcement element5B of the second vehicle door3B forms the integrated vehicle pillar9. In this alternative embodiment, only the second reinforcement element5B of the second vehicle door3B is interlockingly connected to the roof frame2A via the third passive locking device10C and interlockingly connected to the sill8A via the fourth passive locking device10D in the closed position.

As can also be seen fromFIGS.1to3, the passive locking devices10,10A,10B,10C,10D each comprise a body-side receiving element12and a door-side locking element14. In this case, the door-side locking element14is inserted into the body-side receiving element12by a pivoting movement of the corresponding vehicle door3and interlockingly locked in the body-side receiving element12by a locking sliding movement of the corresponding vehicle door3. For this purpose, the body-side receiving element12comprises a receiving opening12.1and a locking opening12.2.

As can also be seen fromFIG.2, the body-side receiving element12in the depicted embodiment of the first passive locking device10A is designed as a keyhole bore12A having a larger receiving opening12.1and a smaller locking opening12.2and is arranged on the roof frame2A. The door-side locking element14is designed as a mushroom-shaped locking bolt14A having a wider bolt head14.1and a narrower bolt shaft14.2which is arranged on a base plate14.3. The mushroom-shaped locking bolt14A in the embodiment shown is inserted into the receiving opening12.1by a combined pivoting movement in the vehicle longitudinal direction x and the vehicle transverse direction y and locked in the locking opening12.2by the subsequent sliding movement in the vehicle longitudinal direction x. In contrast to the first passive locking device10A, the body-side receiving element12of the second passive locking device10B is arranged on the sill8A. The third passive locking device10C is designed mirrored to the first passive locking device10A, and the fourth passive locking device10D is designed mirrored to the second passive locking device10B.

As can also be seen fromFIG.3, the body-side receiving element12in the depicted fifth embodiment of the passive locking device10E is designed as a link guide12B with a receiving opening12.1and a locking opening12.2. The door-side locking element14is designed as a mushroom-shaped locking bolt14A having a wider bolt head14.1and a narrower bolt shaft14.2which is arranged on a base plate14.3.

In the embodiment shown, the mushroom-shaped locking bolt14A is inserted into the receiving opening12.1by a combined pivoting movement in the vehicle longitudinal direction x and the vehicle transverse direction y in a predetermined insertion direction EFR and rotated about an axis of rotation by a subsequent sliding movement in the vehicle transverse direction y corresponding to a locking direction VRR and thus locked in the locking opening12.2, as shown by the dashed representation of the locking bolt14A. Since the receiving opening12.1and the locking opening12.2of the body-side receiving element12are adapted to the shape of the locking bolt14A, the locking bolt14A meshes in a bayonet-like manner with the body-side receiving element12in the closed position. When the corresponding vehicle door3is opened, the locking bolt14A in the locking opening is first rotated in an opposite unlocking direction ERR and then guided out of the receiving opening12.1in an opposite retraction direction AFR.

Alternatively, the locking bolt14A can be designed to be cylindrical or dovetail-shaped.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS