Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 323056
Thi~ invention relates to a final closing device
for a closure member on a vehicle body and, more
particularly, to a device for moving a vehicle-mounted
closure member (e.g., a sliding door, a hinged door, a trunk
lid, or the like) from a nearly closed position, at which a
latch bolt engages a striker, to a fully closed position, at
which the closure member is sealingly engaged with the
vehicle body.
Vehicle closure members, whether hingedly
10 connected to the vehicle body or slidingly mounted thereon,
typically reguire only small forces to move them through the
major extent of their opening and closing movement relative
to the vehicle body. It is generally only during the final
closing movement of the closure member, at which time the
closure member must compress a weather seal strip carried by
the vehicle body, that a large application of force must be
applied to the closure member. However, in order to
overcome the large resistance encountered in the final
closing movement, vehicle closure members which are manually
20 closed are typically moved with great momentum through their
closin~ movement in order to insure that they will fully
compress the weather seal strip at the end of such movement.
Such high momentum movement of the closure members presents
a significant safety problem with respect to vehicle
occupants, who may inadvertently have failed to remove
portions of their body from the path of movement of the
closure member.
Various attempts have been made to mechanize the
final closing movement of closure members. Such attempts
have been made with respect to closure members that are
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manually moved throu5h their initial, major range of
movement (to the start of their final closing movement) and
with respect to closure members which are automatically
moved by powered devices through their initial major range
of movement to that starting point.
The final closing systems employed in the
foregoing examples are generally costly, complicated
mechanisms which are difficult to install and are subject to
frequent breakdowns with attendant costly repairs.
Moreover, it would be difficult, at best, to retrofit such
mechanisms to vehicles not originally designed to receive
them.
Typical final closing systems include a final
closing device for a closure member of a vehicle. The
closure member, which may be swingably, slidably or
otherwise mounted for movement between open and closed
positions on a vehicle body member, generally includes a
latch bolt movable between latched and unlatched positions
and a latch-bolt-actuating handle or lock member movable
between open and closed positions. The final closing device
generally also includes a striker support plate mounted on
the body member and a striker carried by the striker support
plate and projecting outwardly therefrom.
Typical door latch and striker assemblies, must
comply with crash worthiness standards which are established
- by government agencies and automobile manufacturers. The
objective of these standards is to assure that the latch and
striker assembly will maintain the closure member in a
closed position if the closure member is impacted from the
inside. In accordance with these standards, the latch and
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striker assembly must be capable of withstanding a nominal
1135 kilograms side load and a 1360 kilograms axial load,
relative to the direction of the striker pin.
According to the present invention, there is
: provided a final closing device for a closure member, which
closure member is mounted for movement between open and
closed positions on a vehicle body member and includes a
latch bolt movable between latched and unlatched positions,
said device comprising a striker support plate mounted on
said body member for rotational movement about an axis
perpendicular to said plate, a striker carried by said
striker support plate and projecting therefrom at a position
eccentrically offset from said axis, and means carried by
said body member and connected to said stri~er support plate
for rotating said striker support plate, said striker being
movable between extended and retracted positions upon
rotation of said striker support plate so that when said
striker is in latching engagement with said latch bolt and
said striker support plate is rotated, said closure member
is moved between a partially open position, away from said
body member, and a fully closed position, in sealing
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engagement therewith. ;~
According to the present invention, there is
further provided a final closing device for a closure
member, which closure member is mounted for movement between
open and closed positions on a vehicle body member and
includes a latch bolt movable between latched and unlatched
positions, said device comprising a striker support plate
mounted on said body member for unidirectional rotational
movement about an axis perpendicular to said plate, a
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striker carried by said striker support plate and projecting
therefrom at a position eccentrically offset from said axis,
means carried by said body member and connected to said
striker support plate for rotating said striker support
plate, and means coupled to said rotating means and
constructed and arranged to preclude reverse rotation of
said striker plate for preventing unintended opening of the
closure member when high opening forces are applied thereto,
said striker being movable between extended and retracted
positions upon rotation of said striker support plate so
that when said striker is in latching engagement with said
latch bolt and said striker support plate is rotated, said
closure member is moved between a partially open position,
away from said body member, and a fully closed position, in
sealing engagement therewith.
In order that the present invention may be fully
understood it will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, elevation view of a
vehicle, in this case a van, in which the present invention
is used to accomplish the final closing movement of a
closure member comprising a sliding door:
FIG 2. is an enlarged, exploded view, with parts
cut away for clarity, of the sliding door of FIG. 1, showing
the manner in which the door is mounted for sliding movement
relative to the vehicle body:
FIG. 3 is an elevation view, taken along the line
3-3 of F~G. 1, showing the striker and striker plate of the
final closing device;
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FIG. 4 is a partly diagrammatic sectional view,
taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, showing inteirnal
details of the final closing device, and showing the
relationship of the door edge to a weather seal strip on the
vehicle body, under various conditions of closure of the
door;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view, with parts cut away
for clarity, taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;
FIGS. 6-8 are enlarged sectional views, taken
along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, of a mechanism for precluding
reverse rotation of the striker plate and showing the
relationship of a pawl to a single tooth ratchet wheel
thereof when the striker pin is in its extended position,
its retracted position, and en route from its retracted
position to its extended position, respectively;
FIGS. 9-11 are diagrammatic elevation views,
taken along the line lO-10 o~ FIG. 4, showing the
relationship of the latch bolt and striker to the weather
seal strip on the vehicle body, during various stages of
closing of the sliding door: and,
FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of an electrical
circuit that may be employed in controlling the operation of
the final closing device.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the invention
has been illustrated on a ~vann type of vehicle lO and is
: employed to accomplish the final closing movement of a
closure member that in this instance comprises a sliding
door 12, the arrangement of the sliding door 12 relative to
the van lO will first be briefly described.
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The sliding door 12 is supported on the body of
van 10 at three points. The first point of support
comprices an upper roller 14 carried by an arm 16 that is
fastened to the door 12. Roller 14 engages an upper guide
rail 18 that is attached to the upper end of an open portion
of the vehicle body that receives the door. The second
point of attachment comprise~ a lower roller 20 carried by
an arm 22 that is fastened to door 12. Roller 20 engages a
lower guide rail 24 that is attached to the lower end of the
open portion of the vehicle body. The third point of
attachment comprise a mid-level roller 26 carried by an arm
28 that is fastened to the door 12 and engages a mid-level
guide rail 30 attached to an outer body panel of the
vehicle. The foregoing arrangement allows the slide door ~2
to be slidably moved to and fro along the guide rails 18, 24
and 30.
The door 12 is provided with conventional inner
(not shown~ and outer handles 32 which are connected via a
linkage arrangement including arm 34, cross link 36 and arm
38 to a conventional latch mechanism, shown generally at 40.
A suitable internal locking arrangement, shown generally at
42 and an external key locking arrangement (not shown~ are
provided to prevent unauthorized entry into the vehicle
Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 10 in conjunction with
FIG. 1, the door 12 is illustrated therein in its partially
open position, ready for final closing. Latch mechanism 40
includes a latch bolt 44 which is at this time fully engaged
with and latched on to a striker or striker pin 46 having an
enlarged head 47 thereon capable of preventing the latch
bolt 44 from axially pulling off o~ the striker pin during
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high impact axial loads of at least 1360 kilograms that
might occur in an automobile accident. The striker pin 46
is carried by and projects outwardly from a rotatable
striker plate 48. The striker 46, striker head 47 and
striker plate 48 form parts of a final closing device, shown
generally at 50. Device 50 i~ fixedly mounted upon a body
member 52 of vehicle 10 with its rotatable striker plate 48
positioned within an aperture 54 in body member 52 so that
striker 46 is positioned in the path of mo~ement of the
latch member 44 on door 12.
The body member 52 forms part of the frame of the
opening for the door 12 and has Pastened to it a panel
member 56 which carries an elastomeric weather seal strip 58
on a flange 60 formed thereon. The weather seal strip 58 is
adapted to be compressed by a marginal portion 62 of the
door 12 when the door is finally closed. The marginal
portion 62 of door 12 has been illustrated at 62a in FIGS. 4
and 11 to show the door in its finally closed position with
the seal strip 58 compressed. The compressed condition of
seal strip S8 has been illustrated by broken lines at 58a in
FIG. 4. As illustrated at 62 in FIGS. 4 and 10, the door 12
is in its partially closed position, with the latch member
44 engaged and latched to the striker 46, and with the
striker 46 at its extended position. The retracted position
of striker 46 has been shown in broken lines at 46a in FIG.
4. The marginal portion 62 of door 12 is also shown in FIG.
4, in broken lines at 62b, to represent the position the
maxginal portion of the door would be in just prior to the
engagement of latch 44 with striker 46. This condition of
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the door 12 and its marginal portion 62b has also been
illustrated in FIG. 9.
Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the final closing
device 50 will now be considered in qreater detail. Final
closing device 50 includes a housing 64 which is bolted or
otherwise fastened to body member 52. Housing 64 rotatably
supports a shaft 66 in bearings 68, 70 carried in aligned
openings 71, 71a of the housing 64. Shaft 66 has fixed to
one of its ends striker plate 48 and carries an actuating
arm 72 adjacent the other of its ends so that when shaft 66
rotates, striker plate 48 and actuating arm 72 rotate alon~
with it. A shoulder 73 is provided in the opening 71 of
housing 64 to prevent the bearing 70 from being pulled out
of its opening 71 under the aforementioned high impact axial
loads that might occur in an automobila accident. Shaft 66
has a pinion gear 74 keyed thereto. The pinion gear is
driven by a worm gear 76 carried on the shaft 78 of a motor
80. Shaft 78 is supported in housing 64 by bearings 82, 84,
and the motor 80 is fastened by brackets 86, 88 to housing
64.
It will thus be seen that when motor 80 is
actuated to rotate pinion gear 74, shaft 66 and striker
plate 48 are correspondingly rotated, carrying striker pin
46 from its solid line, extended, position shown at 46 in
FIGS. 3 and 4 to its broken line, retracted, position shown
at 46a in those figures. This, in turn, moves the marginal
portion 62 of door 12 from its position shown at 62 in FIGS.
4 and 10 to its position shown at 62a in FIGS. 4 and 11.
- As the striker pin moves from its extended
position at 46 to its retracted position at 46a upon counter
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clockwise rotation (as viewed in FIG. 3) of the striker
support plate 48, the striker pin makes a slight vertical
motion relative to the vehicle frame. Thi vertical motion
has no detrimental effect on the operation of door 12
because there is sufficient vertical play between the door
and the frame and sufficient vertical clearance within the
latch member 44 to accomodate this motion.
The extended and retracted positions of striker 46
are sensed by corresponding limit switches lLS and 2LS,
shown in Fig. 7. Limit switch lLS includes a normally
closed contact therein which is opened and held open by
actuating arm 72 when the arm actuates limit switch lLS,
signifying that striker 46 has reached and is at its
extended position. When striker 46 is moved to its -
retracted position, actuating arm 72 is moved away from
limit switch lLS and into actuating contact with limit
switch 2LS. Limit switch 2LS includes a normally closed
contact therein which is opened and held open by actuating
arm 72 when the striker 46 reaches and is at its fully
retracted position, at which position the door 12 is in its
finally closed position compressing seal strip 58.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6-8, in order to prevent
reverse rotation or back-driving of the striker plate when
the fully closed door is impacted from the inside under high
loads, for example the 1135 kilograms striker pin crash
worthiness side load established by governmental agencies
and automobile manufacturer's, a unidirectional lock, shown
generally at 90, is coupled to the shaft 66 of the striker
plate. The lock 90 includes a bracket 91 which is b~ted by
bolts 92 to the housing 64 and has an opening 93 therein
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through which one end of shaft 66 passes. Shaft 66 is
machined at the portion thereof within the opening 93 so
that a ratchet tooth 94 having a radially extending face 95
thereon is formed. The radially inner and outer ends of the
face 95 are connected by a smooth spiral cam surface 96. A
pawl 97, which is radially movable in an opening 98 formed
in bracket 91, is biased against cam surface 96 by a spring
99. A threaded lock bolt 100, which threads into
corresponding threads formed in the upper end of opening 98,
preloads spring 99. The lower end of pawl 97, as viewed in
FIGS. 6-9, rides on the spiral surface 96 of shaft 66,
allowing the shaft to rotate counterclockwise as viewed in
those figures. When the striker pin 46 is in its retracted
positisn, as shown at 46a in FIG. 7, the pawl 97 moves into
position abutting the radial face 95 of tooth 94 to
positively lock the shaft 66 from reverse rotation. Thus,
when the door of the vehicle has been finally closed, as
signified by striker pin 46 being in its retracted position,
shaft 66, striker plate 48 and striker pin 46 are locked
against reverse rotation or back driving by the engagement
of the pawl 97 with the radial face 95 of tooth 94.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 9, and 10, the limit
switches associated with sliding door 12 and latch bolt 44
will now be considered. As shown in FIG. 2, sliding door 12
may be manually moved along guide rails 18, 24 and 30,
between a nearly closed position and a fully open position.
As door 12 approaches its nearly closed position (just
before latch member 44 reaches striker pin 46) the front end
surface of door 12 engages with and actuates a limit switch
3LS that is carried on the front end surface o~ the body
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opening for door 12. Limit switch 3LS is provided with a
set of nornally closed contacts which open when the limit
switch is actuated as the door 12 approache~ its nearly
closed position.
The purpose of limit switch 3LS is to verify that
the latch bolt 44 is in its fully unlatched position, as
shown in FIG. 9. When latch bolt 44 is fully unlatched, the
striker pin can be moved from its retracted position at 46a,
shown in FIG. 11, to its extended position at 46, shown in
FIG. 9, without obstruction from latch bolt 44. It is known
from observing the operation of door 12 that the latch bolt
44 must be fully unlatched for the front end surface of the
door to disengage from the front end surface of the body
opening for the door. Thus, a closed contact in limit
switch 3LS is used to inform the electrical control system
that the latch bolt 44 is fully unlatched and that the
striker can be moved from the retracted position to the
extended position without obstruction.
Latch bolt 44, which moves between its unlatched
20or open position, shown in FIG. 9, and its latched or closed
position, shown in FIG. lO, actuates the contacts of a limit
switch 4LS when it arrives at its latched position. Limit
switch 4LS is provided with a set of normally open contacts
which close when the latch bolt moves to its latched
position, shown in FIG. 10, engaging and latching on to
~: striker 46. These contacts open when latch bolt 44 is moved
to its unlatched posi~ion, shown in FIG. 9. Latch bolt 44
is moved to its unlatched position when the door handle 32
is moved from its closed to its open position. This is
accomplished by the linkage assembly, shown in FIG. 1,
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comprising arm 34, cross link 36 and arm 38 t which connects
to the latch mechanism 40 in a conventional manner. The
door handle 32 can, of course, be replaced by a key lock or
other actuating mechanism (not shown) when the final closing
device 50 is used in conjunction with another type of
closure member (e.g. a trunk lid or a hingedly mounted
door), rather than a sliding door.
Ref rring to FIG. 2, a plurality of spring-loaded
movable contacts, shown generally at 101, are disposed on
the front end surface of sliding door 12 and a plurality of
corresponding fixed contacts, shown generally at 102, are
disposed on the front end surface of the body opening for
door 12. Contacts 101 and 102 interconnect the limit switch
4LS mounted on door 12 with the remainder of the electrical
circuits which contxol final closing device 50. These
contacts are closed when door 12 is being manually closed
and nears its nearly closed position, at which the latch
bolt 44 latches onto striker 46 and the final closing device
50 actuates to finally close the door. Contacts 101 and 102
remain closed during the time that door 12 is fully closed,
and durin~ the initial opening movement of door 12.
Referring now to FIG. 12, which comprises a
circuit diagram of an electrical system that may be employed
in controlling the final closing device S0, a line numbering
system has been employed to facilitate the description of
the electrical system. The line numbers have been listed on
the le~t side of FIGo 11 and they run consecutively from
line number 111 through line number 116. The line numbers
on which the contacts of relays appear have been listed
above and to the right of the relays they refer to and
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- underlining is employed to indicate normally closed
contact~. Thus, referrring to FIG. 12, relay lCR (line 113?
is provided with a set of normally open contacts positioned
in line 115 and with a set of normally closed contacts
positioned in line 116 (as indicated by these numbers being
placed above and to the right of control relay lCR).
The electrical control system for final closing
device 50 includes a battery, shown generally at 120, one
terminal of which is connected to ground at 122 and the
10 other terminal of which is connected through a fuse 124
(line 112) to a conductor 126 which feeds power to the
various components of the electrical control system. The
component~ of the electrical control system have been
illustrated in FIG. 12 in the conditions they assume when
the sliding door 12 is in its fully closed condition. Thus,
the normally closed contacts of limit switch lLS in line 113
are closed (signifying that striker 46 is in a position
other than its extended position); the normally closed
contacts of limit switch 2LS in line 114 are open
20 (signifying that striker 46 is ful-ly retracted): the
normally closed contacts of limit switch 3LS in line 113 are
open, and, the normally open contacts of limit switch 4LS in
line 114 are closed (signifying that the latch bolt 44 is in
its latched position in ~ngagement with striker 46~.
When the door handle 32 (FIG. 1) is opened,
opening latch bolt 44, limit switch 4LS deactuates and its
contacts in line 114 open, preconditioning lin 114 to
prevent energization of control relay lCR (line 113) via
line 114. When the door 12 is manually moved away from its
nearly closed position toward its open position, the
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contacts of limit switch 3LS in line 113 close, thus
indicating that the latch bolt 44 is fully unlatched.
Accordingly, control relay lCR (line 113) ~nergizes via the
closed contacts of limit switches lLS and 3LS in line 113,
closing its contacts lCR in line 115 and opening its
c~ntacts lCR in line 116. When contacts lCR in line 116
open, they remove ground potential from the input side of
motor 80, which potential had previously been applied
thereto from ground connection 122 via a conductor 128 and
the normally closed contacts lCR in line 116. In addition,
the aforementioned closing of contacts lCR in line 115
energizes motor 80 to rotate striker plate 48 in a counter-
clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 3). This moves the
striker from its retracted position at 46a to its extended
position at 46.
When striker 46 starts rotating from its retracted
position toward its extended position, limit switch 2LS
deactuates, causing its contacts in line 114 to close,
preconditioning control relay lCR for subsequent
energization via that line. When the striker 46 has been
rotated by motor 80 to the extended position shown in full
lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, actuating arm 72 actuates limit
switch lLS, causing contacts lLS in line 113 to open and
preconditioning line 113 to prevent subsequent energization
of control relay lCR via that line. Thus, control relay lCR
(line 113) is de-energized at this point. Contacts lCR in
line 115 thus open, de-energizing motor 80, and contacts lCR
in line 116 close, grounding the input to motor 80 and
dynamically braking it. At this point, the striker 46 is in
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position to be engaged by the latch bolt 44 when the door is
subsequently closed.
When the door 12 is subsequently moved toward and
into its nearly closed position, shown in FIG. 10, in
connection with closing the door, limit switch 3LS initially
actuates, opening its contacts in line 113 without effect,
and then when the latch bolt 44 moves to its latched
position in engagement with striker 46, limit switch 4LS
actuates and its contacts in line 114 close, energizing
control relay lCR (line 113) via the closed contacts of
limit switches 2LS and 4LS in line 114.
Accordingly, contacts lCR in line 116 open and
contacts lCR in line 115 close, energizing motor 80 for
rotation in the same direction as in its previous rotation
and causing striker 46 to be rotated from its extended
position 46, shown in solid lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, to its
retracted position 46a, shown in broken lines in FIGS. 3 and
4. As a result, door 12 is moved from its nearly closed
position to its finally closed position, at which the
marginal portion 62 compresses the seal 58, as shown at 62a
and 58a in FIGS. 4 and 11. The initial movement of striker
46 ~oward its retracted position results in the deactuation
of limit switch lLS and the closing of its contacts in line
113, without further effect. When striker 46 arri~es at its
retracted position, limit switch 2LS (FIG. 5~ is actuated
and its contacts in line 114 open, de-energizing control
relay lCR in line 113. Contacts lCR in line 115 thus open,
de-energizing motor 80, and contacts lCR in line 116 close,
grounding the input to motor 80 and dynamically braking it.
At this point, the components of the electrical control
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system have been returned to the conditions they were in at
the start of this discussion of the electrical circuits of
FIG. 12. The electrical control system is thus awaiting
subsequent opening of the door handle 32 and opening
movement of the door to initiate another operating cycle of
the system.
From the foregoing description, it can be seen
that the present invention provides an improved final
closing device for vehicle closure members, which device can
reliably survive typical crash worthiness testing and in
which device an eccentrically mounted, motor driven striker,
carried on the vehicle body member, is e~ployed to finally
close the closure member with high force against the
resistance of the weather seal strip carried by the vehicle
body. The resulting final closing device is safe to use,
economical, sturdy in construction, reliable in operation,
and can be retrofitted onto vehicles that were not
originally designed to receive such a device.
While there has been shown and described what is
presently considered to be the pre~erred embodiment of this
invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art
that various changes and modifications may be made without
departing from the broader aspects of this invention. It
is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all
such changes and modifications as fall within the true
spirit and scope of this invention.
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