Abstract:
A linkage mechanism operably associated with the front and rear doors of an automotive vehicle that pivots a bumper device into an interfering position with respect to the closing of the front door against the B-pillar of the vehicle when the rear door remains opened. The linkage mechanism includes a spring-loaded actuation lever that moves in response to the opening of the rear door to cause through connecting links the pivotal movement of the bumper device from a retracted position to an interfering position to interfere with the closing of the front door. The closing of the rear door causes the retraction of the pivoted bumper device to enable the closing of the front door. A manually activated stop lever is pivotally movable against the bumper device to prevent the pivotal movement thereof out of the retracted position even when the rear door is opened.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a mechanism for preventing injury to fingers from closing automotive doors and, more particularly, to a linkage associated with a sliding rear door that prevents the front door from closing when the rear door is opened. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Automotive vehicle are manufactured with an exposed B-pillar between the front and rear seats, or the front and second row of seats for those vehicles having more than two rows of seats. In some automobiles, such as vans and mini-vans, the front door is pivoted at the front A-pillar and the rear door is supported in a track for sliding movement between a closed position in which the sliding rear door is closed against the B-pillar, and an open position in which the sliding rear door is moved rearwardly from the B-pillar. 
     Passengers sitting in the second row of seats often desire to grip a portion of the vehicle to gain leverage or assistance in exiting the vehicle from the second row of seats. The B-pillar is the typical structure grabbed by such passengers. When the passenger grasps the B-pillar for support, both the pivoted front door and the sliding rear door are customarily opened. If the front door is inadvertently closed while the passenger in the rear seat is grasping the B-pillar for support, the fingers of the passenger can be caught between the B-pillar and the closing front door. Such interference between the passenger&#39;s fingers and the B-pillar will typically result in injury to the passenger. 
     Door closure protection devices are known in the art, but are associated with the closing of the sliding door when the pivoted front door is opened. Other finger protection devices are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,871, granted to John Himka on Oct. 11, 1960, in which a finger guard apparatus is associated with the pivoting of front and rear car doors. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,751, granted to Regis Renaud on Dec. 3, 2002, a swinging safety device is loaded on the vehicle door to prevent the door from being fully closed until the extended lever has been manually retracted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,223, issued to James Iati on Feb. 14, 1989, discloses first and second flexible strips cooperate to seal the front pivoted door while providing clearance to prevent damage to interfering fingers. 
     An adjustable bumper assembly in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,089, issued to Rajinder Singh on Apr. 20, 1999, is mounted perpendicularly to the vehicle body surface to prevent movement of the door once contact has been made, thus preventing injury to fingers due to an unwanted closing of the sliding rear door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,246, granted to Tatsuo Minami on Mar. 5, 1985, is directed to a catch lever with a stopper plate and a spring which biases the free end of a hooker portion into engagement with the catch member positioned on the bottom wall of the vehicle to also avoid injuries due to the unwanted closing of a sliding rear door. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0085578, published on May 8, 2003, teaches a pair of interrelated members used in conjunction with a latch mechanism such that when the first lever is in a rest position, the second lever is held in a retracted position, and when the first lever is in an actuated position, the second lever is moved into a deployed position. 
     None of the known prior art teaches a mechanism that prevents the closing of a sliding rear door when the corresponding front door has been opened. Such a mechanism would be desirable to prevent fingers of passengers in the second row of seating from placing their fingers into an interfering position on the B-pillar when the front door has been opened. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a mechanism that interferes with the closing of the front door whenever the sliding rear door has been opened. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus that can prevent damage to the fingers of passengers using the B-pillar for support in exiting a vehicle due to the closing of the front door. 
     It is a feature of this invention that a bumper is pivoted into an interfering position to prevent the front door from closing against the B-pillar of the vehicle. 
     It is another feature of this invention that the opening of the rear door actuates the mechanism for pivoting a bumper into an interfering position with the front door. 
     It is an advantage of this invention that the actuation of an interfering bumper requires the opening of both the front and rear doors. 
     It is another advantage of this invention that the bumper is not pivoted into an interfering position if only the front door is opened. 
     It is still another feature of this invention that the mechanism can be adapted for utilization for both a sliding rear door and a pivoting rear door. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that a stop lever is incorporated into the mechanism to prevent the pivoting of the bumper if utilization of the mechanism is not desired. 
     It is yet another feature of this invention that the rear door must be closed before the front door in order to retract the bumper mechanism to enable the front door to close. 
     It is still another advantage of this invention that the requirement of closing the rear door before permitting the front door to be closed reflects the discontinuing of the need for the passenger in the second row of seating to need the use of the B-pillar for support in exiting the vehicle once the rear door has been closed. 
     It is a further feature of this invention that the mechanism is spring biased into an interfering position. 
     It is still a further feature of this invention that the spring bias to pivot the bumper into an interfering position is overcome with the engagement of the rear door with the actuation lever of the mechanism. 
     It is an aspect of this invention to provide a bumper mechanism operatively engaged with the rear door of an automotive vehicle to affect the pivoting of a bumper into an interfering position with respect to the front door of the vehicle so that the front door cannot be closed against the B-pillar of the vehicle as long as the rear door is opened. 
     It is another aspect of this invention to provide a spring loaded linkage mechanism that has an actuation lever pivotally supported for engagement with the rear door of an automotive vehicle. The actuation lever moves into an actuation position when the rear door is opened to cause a pivotal movement of a bumper from a retracted position to an interfering position preventing the closing of the front door against the B-pillar. The closing of the rear door returns the actuation lever to an inoperative position causing the pivotal movement of the bumper into the retracted position to permit the front door to be closed. 
     It is still another aspect of this invention that the spring-loaded linkage mechanism is provided with a pivoted lever that can be placed into a stop position to prevent the pivotal movement of the bumper device into the interfering position even when the rear door is opened. 
     It is yet another object of this invention to provide a linkage mechanism operatively associated with the front and rear doors of an automotive vehicle that can prevent the closing of the front door when the rear door is opened that is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a linkage mechanism operably associated with the front and rear doors of an automotive vehicle that pivots a bumper device into an interfering position with respect to the closing of the front door against the B-pillar of the vehicle when the rear door remains opened. The linkage mechanism includes a spring-loaded actuation lever that moves in response to the opening of the rear door to cause through connecting links the pivotal movement of the bumper device from a retracted position to an interfering position to interfere with the closing of the front door. The closing of the rear door causes the retraction of the pivoted bumper device to enable the closing of the front door. A manually activated stop lever is pivotally movable against the bumper device to prevent the pivotal movement thereof out of the retracted position even when the rear door is opened. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective partial view of the lower portion of the B-pillar of an automotive vehicle having a linkage mechanism, incorporating the principles of the instant invention, mounted thereon; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom plan view of the linkage mechanism in the interfering position, the support bracket for the mounting of the rear door on a slide mechanism being shown in engagement with the actuation lever of the linkage mechanism; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the linkage mechanism in the retracted position, the support bracket for the mounting of the rear door on a slide mechanism being shown in engagement with the actuation lever of the linkage mechanism; 
         FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the linkage mechanism shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  with the bumper device located in the retracted position, the pivotal movement of the stop lever being shown in phantom, and the rear door actuation member also being shown in phantom; 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom plan view of the linkage mechanism shown in  FIG. 4  but with the stop lever activated to prevent pivotal movement of the bumper device into the interfering position; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic rear side elevational view of the linkage mechanism with the pivotable bumper device in the retracted position and the front door being closed; and 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic rear side elevational view similar to that of  FIG. 6 , but with the bumper member pivoted into the interfering position to prevent the front door from closing against the B-pillar. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, a linkage mechanism for preventing the closure of the front door of an automotive vehicle when the rear door is opened can best be seen. The linkage mechanism  10  can be utilized on either side of the vehicle, but is preferably mounted on the B-pillar  5  of the vehicle frame so as to be operatively associated with both the front and rear doors F, R of the vehicle. The linkage mechanism  10  depicted in the drawings is the preferred embodiment associated with a sliding rear door R, but one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the movement of the actuation lever ** of the linkage mechanism  10  can be accomplished with a pivoted rear door as well as with a sliding rear door R. 
     In exiting the second row of seating in the vehicle, which is often the rear seats of the vehicle, people have a tendency to grasp the B-pillar  5  against which the front pivoted door F, and the rear sliding door R, close. If the passenger is attempting to exit the second row of seating, the rear door R will have been opened. If the front door F has also been opened, the passenger is then capable of placing his/her fingers into a position that will be between the front door F and the B-pillar  5  if the front door is closed while the passenger is grasping the B-pillar  5 . Accordingly, if the front door F is closed while the passenger is grasping the B-pillar for support while exiting the vehicle, injury to the passenger&#39;s fingers is a possibility. 
     The linkage mechanism  10  is designed to interfere with the closing of the front door F when the rear door R is opened. The linkage mechanism  10  includes a bracket  12  defining the frame for the linkage mechanism  10 . The bracket  12  is preferably attached to the bottom of the B-pillar  5  with fasteners  13  to locate the linkage mechanism  10  in an ideal location for operative engagement with both the front and rear doors F, R of the vehicle, as will be described in greater detail below. The rear door R is preferably of the sliding variety, such as is typically found on vans and mini-vans, which close upon forward movement of the rear door R toward and against the B-pillar  5 . The rear door R includes a support bracket  7  that has mounted thereon an actuation member  9 , which has been added to the support bracket  7  according to the principles of the instant invention. 
     The linkage mechanism  10  includes an actuation lever  15  preferably having a roller  16  supported on the distal end thereof for engagement with the actuation member  9  on the sliding rear door R. The actuation lever  15  is pivotally movable about a pivot  17  on which is mounted a torsion spring  19  engagable between a stop  18  on the actuation lever and a stop  14  on the bracket to bias the pivotal movement of the actuation lever  15  into an operative position, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The actuation lever  15  is restrained in an inoperative position, shown in  FIG. 3 , by the actuation member  9  engaged therewith when the rear door R is closed, thereby overcoming the biasing force exerted by the torsion spring  19 . When the rear door R is opened, the actuation member  9  moves rearwardly allowing the biasing force exerted by the torsion spring  19  to pivot the actuation lever  15  into the operative position. The actuation lever  15  is pivotally connected to a first end of a connecting link  20  which has pivotally connected at the distal second end to a control link  25  that is pivotally mounted on the bracket  12  by the pivot  26 . 
     The linkage mechanism  10  also includes a bumper device  30  formed of a support member  32  and an elastomeric bumper head  35 . The bumper device  30  is pivotally connected to the connecting link  20  and to an orientation control link  36  which is pivotally supported on the bracket  12  by the pivot  38 . The connecting link  20  carries a driving pin  22  which is pivotally connected to the support member  32  of the bumper device  30  to transfer movement of the actuation lever  15  through the connecting link  20  to affect movement of the support member  32 . Since the support member  32  is connected to both the connecting link  20  and the orientation control link  36 , the forwardly moving connecting link  20  causes the support member to pivot about the drive pin  22  and the pivotal connection  38  with the orientation control link  36 . 
     The orientation control link  36  controls the orientation of the support member  32 . By rotating about the pivot  37  and by allowing the support member  32  to rotate about the pivot  38 , the drive pin  22  pushes the support member  32  through an angular displacement of approximately ninety degrees from a retracted position, as shown in  FIG. 3  oriented generally parallel to the front door F, to an interfering position, as shown in  FIG. 2  oriented generally perpendicularly to the front door F. In this interfering position, the bumper head  35  projects outwardly beyond the B-pillar and prevents the front door F from closing against the B-pillar and latching into a closed position. Thus, if a rear passenger&#39;s fingers were wrapped around the B-pillar, the front door F wouldn&#39;t be able to close on them. 
     The orientation control link  36  is free to pivot forwardly about the pivot  38  until the support member  32  abuts a stop  39  affixed to the bracket  12  adjacent the control link  25  which is operable to keep the connecting link  20  moving in a general fore-and-aft direction in response to the pivotal movement of the actuation lever  15 . When the support member  32  abuts the stop  39 , the support member  32  has undergone the angular displacement of about ninety degrees into the interfering position. The return of the support member  32  into the retracted position is just the opposite of the above description. The actuation member  9 , upon the closing of the rear door R, engages the roller  16  and pushes the actuation member against the biasing force exerted by the spring  19 , driving the connecting link  20  rearwardly and affecting the angular displacement of the support member  32  into the retracted position. 
     As is best seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the linkage mechanism  10  is also provided with a stop lever  40  that is pivotally mounted on the support bracket  12  by one of the fasteners  13 . A tensioning device  42 , such as a spring, may be necessary to restrict the pivot movement of the stop lever  40  except as is intentionally manually accomplished. The stop lever  40  is movable from the operating position depicted in solid lines in  FIG. 4  to a stop position depicted in phantom lines in  FIG. 4 . Once manually positioned into the stop position, the stop lever  40  interferes with the pivotal movement of the support member  32  to undergo the angular displacement needed to move from the retracted position into the interfering position. 
     Once in the stop position, the stop lever  40  prevents the entire linkage mechanism  10  from operating, as is depicted in  FIG. 5 . Thus, when the actuation member  9  moves rearwardly with the opening of the sliding rear door R, the actuation lever  15  cannot substantially move about its pivot  17  as its interconnected connecting link  20  and support member  32  are not free to move in response to the movement of the actuation lever  15 . 
     Furthermore, if the front door F remains in the closed position while the sliding rear door R is opened, the support member  32  bumps into the closed front door F, and is unable to move through the required angular displacement because of a lack of clearance. In essence, the closed front door F acts as a temporary stop lever  40  preventing the linkage mechanism  10  from operating. Thus, if the front door remains closed, the actuation lever  15  remains in the inoperative position. After the rear door R has been opened, the biasing force exerted by the torsion spring  19  will activate the linkage mechanism  10  as soon as the front door is opened, thus providing clearance for the movement of the support member  32 . 
     If the front door F is opened without the rear door R being opened, the linkage mechanism  10  will not be activated because the actuation member  9  retains the actuation lever  15  in the inoperative position against the force exerted by the torsion spring  19 . Once the front door F has been opened, however, a subsequent opening of the rear door R will activate the linkage mechanism  10  to pivot the support member  32  into the interfering position. Once the support member has been deployed into the interfering position, the rear door R will have to be closed before the front door F so that the support member  32  will be re-oriented into its retracted position, permitting the front door to close against the B-pillar. 
     The operation of the linkage mechanism  10  is automatic with the opening of the front and rear doors, unless the stop lever  40  has been moved into its stop position. If only one of the front and rear doors is opened, the linkage mechanism  10  will not deploy the bumper device  30  into the interfering position. 
     One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the preferred embodiment described above is designed for utilization with a sliding rear door R. A slight modification to the actuation member  9  and the deployment with the actuation lever  15  will enable the linkage mechanism  10  to be utilized with a pivoted rear door R. The key operative factor is that the movement of the rear door R from a closed position to an opened position needs to activate the deployment of the linkage mechanism  10 , whether the front door F is opened before or after the opening of the rear door R. 
     It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.