Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-11
2001-12-18
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S146100, C049S483100, C049S394000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06331030
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the securing of vehicle doors in the closed position, and has particular reference to the securing of an irregularly shaped door for a vehicle such as a motor home or other recreational vehicle (herein referred to as an “RV”).
In many RV's, there is a side entry door near the front of the vehicle with a front or leading side of the door following the slope of the windshield. Such doors typically are hinged on the door frame along their leading sides, on the lower portion of the door that is straight, with the top of the hinge or hinges about midway between the top and bottom of the door. The trailing or free side of the door is latched to the frame in a conventional manner, usually by a handle-operated latch assembly, but the upper approximately one-half of the leading edge of the door is not supported, and thus is subject to fluttering while the vehicle is in motion at highway speeds.
Such fluttering can be the result of both vehicle vibration and external influences such as those caused by wind and varying air pressures which can produce substantial fluttering forces on the door. The hinges and the door latch hold the lower portion of the door securely in place, but the upper front portion does not lie along the hinge axis, is not directly hinged to the vehicle and therefore is essentially loose in the door frame so as to be particularly vulnerable to the fluttering forces.
Efforts that have been made by RV manufacturers to solve this problem include reinforcing the upper portions of such doors to make them stiffer so that the support of the hinged lower portions also will support the loose upper portions. This is relatively expensive and is a less than completely satisfactory solution, and many doors of this kind continue to be used, and continue to be subject to this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the foregoing fluttering problem in an effective manner that is simple and relatively inexpensive and does not interfere with or complicate the normal opening and closing of the vehicle door. To these ends, the invention utilizes a simple retention catch assembly and positions that assembly strategically between the upper portion of the door and the vehicle door opening, to be latched and unlatched automatically as an incident to normal closing and opening of the door and to hold the loose upper portion securely, but releasably, in place in the door opening during normal vehicle operation. The opening force required to overcome the holding force of the catch assembly is made great enough to withstand the fluttering forces that are encountered during normal vehicle operation, but not so great as to interfere with conventional opening of the door for access to the vehicle.
In the preferred embodiment shown herein, the catch assembly is mounted close to the upper end of the sloped upper edge of the door and comprises a catch spring member having a yieldable detent that is resiliently urged to a latching position, and a catch member having a ramp with a detent recess at the end of the ramp, positioned to cam the detent out of the latching position during closing and to permit the detent to become engaged with the catch member in the detent recess when the door is closed. The two members of the preferred catch assembly have surfaces that are opposed, when latched, and which provide a reverse ramp for camming the detent out of the recess in response to opening of the door in the normal manner, that is, by pulling on the door handle.
As will be described in more detail hereinafter, the preferred catch assembly comprises an elongated leaf spring fixed at one end, herein on the door edge, with an arcuate bend forming the detent at its free end, and a wedge-shaped ramp secured to the adjacent edge of the vehicle frame, in the path followed by the detent during closing. A shoulder at the inner end of the ramp forms one side of the detent opening in which the arcuate detent is engaged when the door is closed, and the arcuate bend cooperates with this shoulder in providing the reverse ramp for disengaging the catch as the door is opened.
The invention also resides in the method of preventing fluttering of a vehicle door of the type described above, including the correlation of the holding force of the catch and the maximum fluttering forces to be encountered during normal operation, as well as the strategic positioning of the catch assembly for optimum results.
Other detailed aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5951098 (1999-09-01), Waldeck et al.
patent: 6101853 (2000-08-01), Herr
patent: 6139081 (2000-10-01), Lemieux
patent: 6247744 (2001-06-01), Townsend et al.
Blankenship Greg
Gordon Stephen T.
Hehr International
LandOfFree
Vehicle door with anti-flutter catch assembly, and method of... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle door with anti-flutter catch assembly, and method of..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle door with anti-flutter catch assembly, and method of... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2597471