Patent ID: 7950719

Claim:
A vehicle rear door articulating and sliding mechanism comprising: at least one articulating hinge assembly including: at least one hinge arm pivotally mounted to a vehicle C-pillar at one end thereof; a vehicle rear door pivotally and slidably mounted to said hinge arm at an opposite end of said hinge arm; at least one door mounted guide track mounted to the vehicle rear door; and at least one slide block pivotally mounted to said hinge arm and slidably attached to said door mounted guide track; and a guide assembly including at least one of a vehicle roof mounted guide track and a vehicle floor mounted guide track and a guide arm mounted to the vehicle rear door and having a follower slidable relative to said at least one of the vehicle roof mounted guide track and the vehicle floor mounted guide track for facilitating guided movement of the vehicle rear door, wherein said hinge arm is disposed at first and second angular positions relative to said door mounted guide track when the vehicle rear door is respectively disposed in closed and opened positions, and said slide block is disposed at first and second positions along a length of said door mounted guide track when the vehicle rear door is respectively disposed in the closed and opened positions, whereby, said vehicle rear door articulating and sliding mechanism provides articulating movement of the vehicle rear door, independent of a vehicle front door, during initial opening thereof and further provides sliding movement of the vehicle rear door relative to the vehicle body during continued opening thereof, wherein said slide block is pivotally mounted to said opposite end of said hinge arm, and wherein the at least one of the vehicle roof mounted guide track and the vehicle floor mounted guide track angles outward such that rotation of the hinge arm and movement of the guide arm in the at least one of the vehicle roof mounted guide track and the vehicle floor mounted guide track causes the rear door to rotate outward about one end and move further into a position parallel to the body of the vehicle.