SUPPORT ARM FOR THE TRUNK LID AND/OR THE HOOD OF A MOTOR CAR

Abstract: Arm (10) for supporting the trunk lid (11) or the hood (11) of a motor car, wherein to the same trunk lid (11) or hood (11) at least one arm (10) is fastened, which is hinged onto the bodywork of the same motor car, the said arm (10) being characterized in that it is accomplished in two parts, constrained to each other by linking means (18) of the hinge type, and by manually disengageable lock means (29).

Description: The present invention relates to a device for hingedly supporting a the trunk lid or hood of a motor car. In some motor car types, especially of the three-volume type, the trunk lid, or the hood too, is mounted on the bodywork with its inner edge being adjacent to the lower edge of the rear windshield or of the windshield, and in some cases, being even superimposed to the windshield gasket. Of course, the hinging system of the trunk lid or of the hood is so accomplished that the lifting and sinking strokes can be performed without that interferences may occur with the adjacent walls of the bodywork; but, if the trunk lid or hood is hinged onto the bodywork at its inner edge, it may happen that its moving apart from the frame of the rear windshield or of the windshield occurs along a very small distance, also in the position of complete opening. This fact may create problems during the step of assemblage of the car, because, should the trunk lid or hood be hinged onto the bodywork before the painting and should it hinder the mounting of the glasses of the rear windshield or of the windshield inside their related frame, subsequently dismantling of the trunk lid or hood would become necessary. Such a duplication of operations has a negative effect on the assemblage times and costs, besides increasing the possibilities of assemblage mistakes or of damaging of the parts. To overcome this drawback DE-A-3 315 129 provides a hinging device having the features of the preamble of claim 1. In this device, the protruding flange portion has the purpose of engaging a portion of a stationary base body when the arm part secured to the trunk lid is in its position disengaged from the other arm part hinged to the bodywork of the motor car, so as to define a shifted-out position of the trunk lid facilitating mounting of the rear windshield. Purpose of the present invention is to provide a hinging device which while rendering simpler and easier the assemblage operations of the windshields, is also constructively simpler than the known device. Such a purpose is achieved by a device having the features claimed in claim 1. Particular embodiments of the invention are set out in dependent claim 2. Characteristics and advantages of the present invention are now illustrated with reference to the hereto attached drawings, wherein a preferred practical embodiment of the same invention is shown. In the figures: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a supporting device for the trunk lid or the hood of a motor car; Fig. 2 is a partly sectional front view of the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation view of the device of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a partly sectional top view of the device of Fig. 1. The device comprises an arm generally indicated at 10, which supports on one end the lid 11 (shown in Fig. 3) of the trunk 12 of a motor car by means of a bracket 13, which is rigid with the arm 10 and is provided with holes 14 and 15, which allow the same arm to be fastened by bolts onto the framework of the trunk lid 11. A specular arm (not shown) supports the trunk lid 11 at the other side of the motor car. In Fig. 1, there are furthermore shown a lower crosspiece 17 and an upright 17', which bound the frame of the rear windshield of the motor car. The arm 10 comprises two parts. One thereof is constituted by a shaped tubular rod 16, which, as it results from Figs. 2 and 4, has welded thereto a protruding flange portion 18 which is provided with holes 19, 20, 21, of which the second one only is threaded. The flange portion 18 is also provided with a stop tooth 22. The second part of the arm 10 is constituted by a plate 23, provided with holes 24, 25 and 26 (visible in Figs. 2, 3, 4), the third one of which is threaded; the plate 23 is furthermore provided with a stop hollow 27 cooperating with the stop tooth 22. The rod 16 and the plate 23 are steadily hinged to each other by a pin 28, which is provided with a threaded stem 30, screwed inside the hole 20 of the flange portion 18. A screw 29 is screwed down inside the hole 26 of the plate 23 passing through the hole 19, as shown in Fig. 4. To the plate 23 a pin 31 is welded, which is rotatably supported inside a sleeve 32 rigid with a reinforcing disc 33, in its turn welded to a sheet 34 of a side wall of the trunk 12, as it results from Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, so that the plate 23 is hinged onto the bodywork of the motor car. The pin 31 is provided with a threaded stem 35, onto which a nut 36 is screwed down, with the interposition of a washer 37, said nut 36 performing the task of locking the same pin 31 in its axial direction. Elastic means in form of a spring (not shown), are hooked to the hole 21 of the flange portion 18 and to the side wall of the trunk 12, so acting on the flange portion 18 to urge the arm 10 into opening position of the trunk lid 11. The arm parts respectively formed by the rod 16 with the flange portion 18 and by the plate 23 are locked in a mutually rigid position when the screw 29 is inserted inside the hole 19 of the flange portion 18 and is screwed down inside the hole 26 of the plate 23. Thus, during the step of the assemblage of the motor car, after the painting of the complete bodywork and the trunk lid 11, the glass and the gasket can be assembled in the rear windshield frame, with the same trunk lid getting spaced apart, without being dismantled, because, after that the screw 29 has been unscrewed, the arm 16 with the flange portion 18 remains only hinged onto the plate 23 and is hence free to rotate around the axis of pin 28 under the action of the spring acting on the flange portion 18, allowing the trunk lid 11 to assume a shifted-out position, as shown by chain lines, and indicated with 16', 18', 23', 27' in Fig. 3, in which the trunk lid 11 remains without any additional elements. After the assemblage of the glass and of the gasket of the rear windshield, by a relative rotation between the plate 23 and the flange portion 18, until the tooth 22 comes to stop against the stop hollow 27, the axes of the holes 19 and 26 are lined up again, and the screw 29 can be screwed down again inside the hole 26, so that the plate 23 and the flange portions 18 are made again rigid with each other, and the arm 10 becomes formed again by one single piece.

Claims: Device for hingedly supporting a trunk lid (11) or hood of a motor car, comprising an arm (10) having one end hinged onto the bodywork of the motor car and another end fastened to the trunk lid (11) or hood, and elastic means urging said arm (10) into opening position of the trunk lid or hood, said arm (10) comprising two parts (16, 23) being connected to each other by a steady hinge (20, 24, 28,30) and being also lockable in a mutually rigid position by disengageable locking means (19, 26, 29), the arm part (16) fastened to the trunk lid (11) or hood having a protruding flange portion (18) rigid therewith, at said steady hinge (20, 24,28, 30), characterized in that said flange portion (18) is lockable by said locking means (19,26,29) and in that said elastic means act on said flange portion (18). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said flange portion (18) has a stop tooth (22) engaging a stop hollow (27) of the arm part (23) hinged to the bodywork.

Inventors: BRAGA, RENZO, MENDICINO, FRANCO, PASQUALI, RENATO
Applicants: ALFA LANCIA S.P.A.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E05D5
IPC codes: E05D3, E05D11, E05D5