Patent ID: 7204544

Claim:
Apparatus for opening and closing a door which is arranged on a vehicle so that it can slide in a door opening in the vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a) an engaging element connected to the door, b) a drive wheel designed to act upon the engaging element, c) a transmission operatively connected to the drive wheel, the transmission being designed to transmit power to the drive wheel via at least a first gear and a second gear so that the drive wheel can be driven in a first gear and a second gear, the first gear being a higher gear and the second gear being a lower gear, d) a position sensor connected to the sliding door or arranged in the door opening of the vehicle and designed to detect when the sliding door has reached a predetermined position in the door opening, said sensor being operatively connected to the transmission, so that the transmission changes gear from the first gear to the second gear when the door, in moving towards a closed position, reaches the predetermined position, wherein the engaging element comprises a cable designed to run around pulleys arranged on the vehicle and around the drive wheel, that the transmission is arranged in a housing and that the drive wheel is arranged outside the housing of the transmission.