Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-21
2001-07-17
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S181700, C296S183100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260907
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a door structure for a vehicle and more particularly to a door structure for a vehicle which is adapted to be opened upward by sliding and swinging as well as used as a large advertising plate or a sun-shade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a review of a modern vehicle, most of the doors of the vehicle are either opened by a horizontal sliding or an outward horizontal swing . However, in the case of swinging, a sufficient space is necessary or else access through the door is difficult. In the case of sliding, a sufficiently large area for access is not available. Moreover, most of the doors for vehicles are simply used as access for people or articles, rather than for other purposes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,267, a back door structure for a motor vehicle is disclosed, in which the back door is mounted on a vehicle roof with hinges for movement between an open and closed position. Moreover, a stay damper is connected with the back door at one end and connected with a rear pillar at the other end, which biases the back door to a raised open position and is disposed between the rear pillar and the back door when closed. However, such a door structure in that patent is still necessary for a sufficient swinging space.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,123, an upwardly-acting door structure is disclosed, which comprises an upper panel and a lower panel moving at twice the speed of the former. The upper and lower panels may be raised to uncover an access opening, or lowered to cover the access opening. However, the door structure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,123 is not suitable for a space which has a height limitation preventing the door from being opened completely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide a door structure which can be opened in accommodation with the periphery space and thus can be opened with minor limitations.
Another object of this invention is to provide a door structure which can be used as a large advertising plate and a sun-shade or rain-shade and thus increase the utility of the door structure.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a door structure which can be used to illuminate the periphery place as well as the advertising data on the door panel.
To achieve the above objects, a door structure according to this invention is mounted in a vehicle having a body member formed with an access opening and comprises: a door panel having a top end, a bottom end opposite to the top end, and two opposite side ends to comply with the lateral and longitudinal sides of the access opening to securely cover the access opening, the door panel having at least one longitudinal guiding slot formed on at least one of the side ends thereof; a pair of sliding means, each having a stationary track mounted onto the body member along the longitudinal side of the access opening, and a movable post slidably mounted in the stationary track; each of the movable posts having a top end which pivots on an upper portion of the side end of the door panel; and at least one retractable supporting means each having a fixed end and a telescopic end, the fixed end being pivoted on the body member and the telescopic end being able to slide along the guiding slot.
By means of the above door structure, the door panel could be opened by an upward sliding or/and an outward swing in accommodation with the peripheral environment and thus any limitation for opening is minimized.
By means of the above door structure, the door panel could be slid upward by the sliding means to the top, so as to serve as an advertising plate in a highly visible way. Moreover, the bottom end of the door panel could be pulled outward and upward substantially around the top end of the door panel to a horizontal position so as to serve as a sun-shade or rain-shade.
In accordance with a further embodiment, the door structure further comprises an illuminating device installed between a space formed between an outer surface plate and an inner surface plate in the door panel. At least one of the surface plates is transparent. Thus, either the advertising data is presented on the outer surface plate, or the space under the door panel of a horizontal position could be illuminated.
The advantages and features of this invention can be easily comprehended by persons skilled in the art through the drawings and detailed explanations.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3997123 (1976-12-01), Clay, Jr. et al.
patent: 4688976 (1987-08-01), Rowley et al.
patent: 4880267 (1989-11-01), Ohya
patent: 5238283 (1993-08-01), Teigen
patent: 5997072 (1999-12-01), Parkinson
patent: 6022067 (2000-02-01), Hargett et al.
Coletta Lori L.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Dougherty & Troxell
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