Measuring and testing – Testing of apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-16
2001-02-13
Williams, Hezron (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
Testing of apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186013
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Scope of the Invention
The closure system testing apparatus described herein provides full vehicle testing of all body hardware closures. As explained in more detail below, the full vehicle test system according to the present invention simultaneously operates all handles and body closures in a manner that simulates human use of those handles and closures. In that regard, the system according to the present invention assures that no extraneous loads or added mass are imparted or added to the closures and handles.
The closure system testing apparatus can be configured to open and close the doors of any of a variety of vehicles thereby eliminating the need to customize a system for any particular vehicle. The apparatus incorporates modular and adjustable fixturing of various handle and closure actuators and cyclers attachable to various main and base frames. The ability to configure the apparatus, in turn, affords the system the ability to accommodate a wide range of vehicle sizes from compact vehicles to full size vans including pick-up trucks, avoiding the need to customize the apparatus to work with a particular vehicle.
2. Prior Art
It has been known to provide a vehicle closure testing apparatus for opening and closing particular vehicle doors having a particular axis of rotation of a particular vehicle under test having a supporting structure providing support for the vehicle closure testing apparatus. These known supporting structures have been configured to be positioned either on the outside of the vehicle under test or within the interior of the vehicle under test. The known outside supporting structures have also been configured to allow a particular, fully-operational vehicle under test to be driven onto the outside supporting structure and to support the particular, fully-operational vehicle under test including the vehicle's wheels and suspension. The outside and inside supporting structures are positioned relative to the particular vehicle under test such that the supporting structure is in a spaced relationship to either the exterior surface or the interior surface of the particular vehicle door, respectively.
Such known closure systems testing apparatuses also include a door moving mechanism disposed on the supporting structure that engages the vehicle door and rotates the vehicle door in an opening direction or a closing direction when the door moving mechanism is activated. It has been known to use an outside door moving mechanism to both open and close the particular vehicle door, an inside door moving mechanism to both open and close the particular vehicle door, and both inside and outside door moving mechanisms to open and close the particular vehicle door.
These known door moving mechanisms are movably disposed on the supporting structure at a position that enables the door moving mechanisms to engage an area of contact on the particular vehicle door and are designed to move in a first direction and a second direction counter to the first direction. The door moving mechanisms engage the area of contact on the particular vehicle door and move the door in either (or both) the opening direction and the closing direction such that the area of contact remains fixed while the door moving mechanism open and close the door.
The known vehicle closure testing apparatuses also include electric actuators operatively associated with the door moving mechanisms and cause the door moving mechanisms to engage and move the particular vehicle door in either (or both) the opening direction or the closing direction. The electric actuators are controlled by an electric actuator controller communicating with the electric actuators so as to transfer control signals to the electric actuators and to receive feedback signals indicative of door movements. The electric actuator controller can control the electric actuators to obtain a desired velocity profile in the movement of the particular vehicle door.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As most will recognize, vehicles come in many sizes and configurations, including sub-compact through full-size vehicles, vans and pick-up trucks. Each particular door of the many of variety of vehicles has a particular axis of rotation about which the particular door rotates. The degree of inclination and position of an axis of rotation of one particular vehicle door is typically quite different from the inclination and position of another vehicle door. Thus, to test any particular door, a door moving mechanism must be designed and customized to move the particular door about the particular door axis. Yet with the variety of door configurations and the corresponding need to customize a test system for each particular door, it becomes expensive to be able to test all of the variety of vehicles.
Unfortunately, prior art vehicle closure testing apparatuses fail to address this limitation. Each prior art testing apparatus was customized to move a particular vehicle door. Each time a different door needed to be tested, a new testing apparatus had to be designed and customized to work with the different door.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art closure system testing apparatuses. In accordance with this object, a vehicle closure system testing apparatus capable of being selectably configured to move any of a variety of vehicle doors from a position outside of a vehicle under test and being capable of being re-configured to test a different vehicle door having a different axis of rotation is provided. In that regard, the present invention is a vehicle closure testing apparatus for opening and closing a vehicle door of a vehicle under test wherein the vehicle door has an exterior surface and an axis of rotation. The apparatus comprises a supporting structure positioned outside of the vehicle under test such that the supporting structure is in a spaced relationship to the exterior surface of the vehicle door and is disposed in an operative position relative to the vehicle under test during a testing of the vehicle door.
The apparatus also includes a door moving mechanism movably disposed on the supporting structure at a position on the supporting structure that enables the door moving mechanism to engage the exterior surface of the vehicle door having the axis of rotation when the supporting structure is in the operative position. The door moving mechanism is designed to move in a first direction and in a second direction counter to the first direction such that the door moving mechanism can engage the exterior surface of the vehicle door and move the vehicle door in an opening and closing direction.
The apparatus also includes an assembly disposed on the supporting structure capable of being selectably configured to position the door moving mechanism in functional positions relative to exterior surfaces of a variety of vehicle doors having different axes of rotation so that the door moving mechanism can engage and move any of the variety of vehicle doors. The door moving mechanism is movably mounted on the assembly.
The assembly is configured to enable the door moving mechanism to be movably positioned into a functional position relative to a specific exterior surface of a specific vehicle door having a specific axis of rotation such that when the specific vehicle door is under test, the door moving mechanism pivots about either an axis parallel to the specific vehicle door axis or an axis aligned and coextensive with the specific vehicle door axis. The assembly also can be selectably re-configured to re-position the door moving mechanism in a similar functional position relative to a different exterior surface of a different vehicle door having a different axis of rotation such that when the different vehicle door is under test, the door moving mechanism pivots about either an axis parallel to the different vehicle door axis or an axis aligned and coextensive with the different vehicle door axis.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vehicle closure system te
Braeuner Guenther T.
Chelaidite Galus
Gabiniewicz Joseph V.
Yik Haydn W. C.
Atoma International Inc.
Fayyaz Nashmiya
Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP
Williams Hezron
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