Vehicle door prop button

Details Vehicle door prop button Vehicle door prop button

1999-12-20

2001-12-25

Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3629)

Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,

Hinge

Including means to hold or retard hinged members against...

C016S374000, C016S082000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06332243

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a button for positioning and holding a vehicle door in an open position.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Generally, in the process of manufacturing a vehicle, the vehicle body and doors are painted simultaneously. This is required to ensure color match between the body and the doors, which could not otherwise be guaranteed if the doors were painted separately. In this manner, the door assemblies are fitted onto the door hinges and positioned in proper vehicle orientation. Subsequently, during the painting process, the door assemblies are repeatedly opened and closed to permit access to all of the surfaces to be painted by the painting equipment. During some of these operations, the vehicle doors must be positioned and retained in the open position. Alternately, other operations require that the vehicle doors be positioned and retained in the closed position. Accordingly, the door assemblies must be equipped with means for releasably positioning and retaining the doors in the open or closed position.
Heretofore, difficulties have been encountered in equipping the door assemblies with a suitable detent mechanism, especially those with separate checks. More particularly, due to the overspray of the paint and other adverse environmental conditions, the production check strap assemblies cannot be utilized. Accordingly, temporary check strap fixtures have been utilized. More particularly, a multiple piece check strap assembly is secured to the door assembly and operably coupled to the vehicle body. The temporary check strap fixture provides a detent for the door assembly between an open and closed position. Upon completion of the painting process, the temporary check strap fixture is uncoupled from the body, the door assemblies are removed from the vehicle body and then the temporary check strap fixture is removed from the door assembly. Since each temporary check strap fixture is fairly costly, they are reconditioned by removing excess paint from the fixture and recycled for use again on other vehicle bodies. Thus, these temporary check strap fixtures are costly in design, in installation, and in maintenance
Additionally, detent mechanisms have been proposed for particular types of hinges which requires the mechanism to be screwed or fastened to the hinge which has a removable hinge pin as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,295, entitled “Three Diameter Hinge Pin”. The screw on type detent mechanism adds considerable cost to the door painting process due to fastener cost and additional labor costs for drilling and tapping a receiving hole in the bracket body and the cost of removal. The use of the screw on type mechanism is thus limited to applications which employ this particular hinge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a vehicle door prop button which is easily installed without a fastener and is easily removed.
In a major aspect, the invention comprises a temporary vehicle door checking mechanism comprising a hinge comprising door side and body side portions and an intermediate bridge portion, the intermediate bridge portion of the hinge being rotatably connected to the door side and body side portions of the hinge at a common axis of rotation: a flexible prop button mounted to one of the door side or body side portions of the hinge and adapted to releasably contact the intermediate bridge portion of the hinge as the door is rotated about the hinge from a closed position to an open position, said contact compressing the button and generating sufficient frictional resistance to releasably hold the door in a partially or fully open position.
In a further aspect of the invention, the intermediate bridge portion of the hinge comprises a concave arcuate surface between first and second convex lobes adapted, as the door is rotated, to sequentially contact the prop button to compress it against the first convex lobe, release the prop button to lie adjacent the concave arcuate surface between the first and second convex lobes, and then to compress the prop button against the second convex lobe.
In a further aspect of the invention, the prop button extends inwardly of the hinge to minimize unwanted extraneous impediments to painting of the vehicle.
In a further aspect, the prop button is easily removable following painting of the vehicle.
In a further aspect, the body side portion of the hinge comprises formed protrusions comprising rotational stop limits for the intermediate bridge portion.
In a further aspect of the invention, the prop button comprises a stem portion and a hollow cap portion.
In a further aspect of the invention, the prop button comprises a flexible thermoplastic material which may be reinforced nylon resin.


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