Patent GB-906400-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to apparatus for opening and closing motor vehicle doors
IPC: F15B13/04
Filed: 1959-09-24
Abstract: 906,400. Remotely-operated fastenings; door operating appliances; door stops. OKADA, M. Sept. 24, 1959 [Nov. 1, 1958 ; Nov. 4 1958 (3) ; May 15, 1959; July 20, 1959], No. 32543/59. Classes 44 and 65 (1). [Also in Groups XXVI, XXVIII and XXIX] A vehicle door 3 is opened and closed by a piston-and-cylinder 4, 5, one of which is attached to the door and the other of which is pivoted directly or through a linkage system to the vehicle body, one or other end of the cylinder being placed in communication with the intake manifold of the vehicle engine by means of a manual control switch 6 (see Group XXIX) which also connects the intake manifold to an expansible and contractible member 7 (see Group XXVIII) which operates the lock 21 of the door through a flexible wire 19. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the cylinder 4 is secured within the door at 4a and the pistonrod 5a is pivoted to one end of a pivoted link 13 to which are pivoted two plates 17 slidable relative to a bar 16 and connected thereto by a shock-absorbing spring 17a. The bar 16 passes through an opening in the door and is pivoted to a member 3a of the vehicle body. When the door is to be opened the switch 6 is set to connect the pipe 10 leading from the left-hand end of the cylinder 4 to the pipe 8 connected with the intake manifold and to open the pipe 9 leading from the right-hand end of the cylinder to the atmosphere, so that the piston 5 is moved to the left-hand end of the cylinder and the door opens. Simultaneously the member 7 is connected to the intake manifold through a pipe 11 branching from the pipe 10 and collapses so that the lock 21 is withdrawn. When the door is to be closed the switch 6 is set to connect the pipe 9 to the intake manifold and the pipe 10 to the atmosphere so that the piston returns to the right-hand end of the cylinder and the member 7 expands and returns the lock to the engaging position. A modified arrangement is shown in Figs. 5A, 5B, 6A, which enables the door to be opened and closed manually independently of the piston and cylinder. The piston-rod 5a is formed with a circular concave slot 23 which projects into a block member 28 slidable in a sheath 24 attached to the cylinder and having a transverse hole 29a containing balls 26 which enter the slot and lock the piston-rod to the - block. A pivoted link 30 is pivotally connected to the block at 29b and has a transverse pin 30b slidable in a slot 31a in a holder 31 connected to a bar 16 pivoted to the vehicle body. The link 30 floats between springs 17a, 17b contained by a member 16c fixed to the holder and a rubber block 16b attached to the bar 16. The sheath 24 has an expanded shoulder-portion 25 which permits the balls 26 to move outwardly in the hole 29a and disengage from the slot 23 when the piston is in the extreme right-hand position corresponding to the closed position of the door, thus disconnecting the door and permitting free manual operation thereof. To permit the door to be opened and closed several times even after the vehicle engine has stopped, a vacuum tank may be inserted in the pipe 8 between the intake manifold and the switch 6, a non-return valve being inserted between the tank and the manifold. The cylinder 4 and piston 5 are preferably of circular section but may be elliptical if the door is thin.