Abstract:
A passenger door having a self engaging latch for latching the door in a closed position, the door further including a plurality of fixing bolts positioned about the periphery of the door to further secure the door in a closed position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a vehicle including a door, and in particular to cars including doors.  
           [0002]    Car passenger doors are currently provided with a latch situated midway up the rear side of the door. When the door is closed, the latch engages with a striker positioned on the door post (such as an A post, a B post or a C post) such that the door is fixed in a closed position. The latch can be released from the striker by operation of an inside door handle or an outside door handle.  
           [0003]    Moreover cars are known which have a specifically designed front and rear crumpled zones to absorb a substantial amount of an impact to the car body. A passenger, which term is to be understood as including a driver, in the car is protected from the accident by a rigid safety cell formed by the passenger compartment. The strength of the safety cell is very much dependant on the doors remaining in their closed position when an impact occurs, either to the side or to either end of the car.  
           [0004]    During road traffic accidents the doors of vehicles have been known to open or at least partially open thereby reducing the strength of the safety cell and endangering the safety of the passengers.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An object of the present invention is to provide a passenger door which is less likely to open or partially open during an impact.  
           [0006]    Thus according to the present invention there is provided a vehicle including a passenger door for substantially closing a door aperture of the vehicle, the vehicle including a self engaging latch assembly comprising a latch mounted on one of the door or door aperture and a striker mounted on the other of the door or door aperture for latching the door in a closed position, the vehicle further including a plurality of fixings bolts positioned around the periphery of one of the door or door aperture to engage respective abutments positioned around the periphery of the other of the door or door aperture to further secure the door in a closed position. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a partial schematic side view of a vehicle according to the present invention incorporating a passenger door according to the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a view of a latch assembly of FIG. 1 taken in the direction of arrow A.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a view of bolt arrangement of FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0011]    With reference to the figures there is shown a vehicle  10  having a door aperture  12  which is substantially closed by a door  14 . Door aperture  12  is defined by fixed structure of the vehicle, in this case an A post, a door sill, a B post, a roof edge and a windscreen pillar. Door  14  is pivotally mounted at a front portion by hinges  16  to the vehicle  10  the door includes a substantially vertical opening edge  18  (in this case a rear edge) a substantially horizontal lower edge  20 , a hinged edge  22  (in this case a front hinged edge), a substantially horizontal upper edge  24 , and an angled edge  26 , the angle of which is substantially determined by the angle of a windscreen (not shown) of the vehicle.  
         [0012]    The door further includes a window aperture  28  being bounded at a lower edge by a body portion  15  of door  14  and at a front upper and rear portion by a front window rim  30 , and upper window rim  32 , and a rear window rim  34  respectively. The door includes a self engaging latch  36  having a rotating claw of conventional type engagable with a door mounted striker also of known type to secure the door in a closed position.  
         [0013]    Inside handle  38  and outside handle  40  are manually actuatable to open the latch  36 .  
         [0014]    In this case outside handle  40  operates via rod  41  to rotate the release lever  42  of latch  36  in an anticlockwise direction as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore inside handle  38  acts via rod  44  and crank lever  46  (which is pivotable about axis B) to also rotate the release lever  42  in an anticlockwise direction when viewing FIG. 2.  
         [0015]    The door further includes a plurality of bolt assemblies  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  and  55  each positioned around the periphery of the door. The bolt assemblies  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  and  55  are connected to the release lever  42  by bowden cables  56 ,  57 ,  58 ,  59 ,  60  and  61 .  
         [0016]    With reference to FIG. 3 there is shown bolt assembly  51  and bowden cables  56  and  57 . Bolt assembly  51  comprises a housing  62  mounted on the door  14  and having a recess  64  in which is mounted spring  66  and bolt  68 . Bolt  68  includes a stem portion  70  being bent at 90 degrees and having an end  78  for engagement with bowden cables  56  and  57 . Stem  70  is slidable within housing  62 .  
         [0017]    Attached to end  70 B of stem  70  is an engagement portion  72  having engagement face  74  and a camming surface  76 .  
         [0018]    The door aperture  12  includes a striker  78  having an engagement surface  80  and a camming surface  82 .  
         [0019]    With the door in the position as shown in FIG. 3 operation of the inside or outside door handle causes the release lever  42  to rotate in an anticlockwise direction when viewing FIG. 2 thus pulling on bowden cable  58 . Bowden cable  58  is connected to bowden cable  57  at the bolt assembly  52 . Thus bowden cable  57  is caused to move in the direction of arrow C of FIG. 3, causing the bolt  68  to also move in the direction of arrow C of FIG. 3. Such action disengages the engagement faces  74  and  80  thus allowing the door to open.  
         [0020]    Release of the inside or outside door handle allows the bolt to return to the position as shown as FIG. 3 (albeit with the door in an open position).  
         [0021]    When the door is closed the camming surfaces  82  and  76  cause the bolt  68  to move in the direction of arrow C until such time as engagement portion  72  moves past engagement surface  80  whereupon spring  66  biases the bolt  68  in the direction of arrow D of FIG. 3 causing the engagement surfaces  74  and  80  and re-engage.  
         [0022]    All bolt assemblies are substantially similar.  
         [0023]    It will be appreciated that bolt assemblies  50  and  55  are only connected to a single bowden cable since they are at the terminus of a series of bowden cables.  
         [0024]    It will be appreciated that bolt assemblies  50 ,  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  and  55  are all self engaging bolt assemblies. In further embodiments it is possible to have bolts which do not self engage but which can for example engage upon actuation of locking of the door.  
         [0025]    It will also be appreciated that in further embodiment bowden cables  56 ,  57  and  58  can be replaced by a single bowden cable with appropriate connections being made to this cable by the bolts. Similarly bowden cables  59 ,  60  and  61  can be replaced by a single bowden cable.  
         [0026]    It will apparent that whilst the bolts have been described has being mounted on the door and engaging strikers mounted on an associated door aperture, it is also possible to mount the self engaging latch and bolts on the door aperture and provide appropriate strikers for the self engaging latch and bolts on the door, with each striker being adjacent its corresponding latch/bolt when the door is in a closed position.  
         [0027]    The foregoing description is only exemplary of the principles of the invention. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specially described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.