GB2353771A

GB2353771A - A device for holding a door onto a vehicle in the event of a crash

Info

Publication number: GB2353771A
Application number: GB9920868A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gurbinder Singh Kalsi; Richard Watson; Nigel Victor Spurr; Axel Fauveau; Andrew Fairey; Gregory Keyes; Sydney Edward Fisher
Original assignee: Meritor Light Vehicle Systems UK Ltd
Current assignee: ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Systems UK Ltd
Priority date: 1999-09-04
Filing date: 1999-09-04
Publication date: 2001-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2019-09-04
Also published as: GB9920868D0; GB2353771B

Abstract

A vehicle (10 - see figure 3) has a door (12 - see figure 3) and sensing means, such as a paddle (50) which moves by deformation of an outside skin (36) of the door or a sensor for an airbag system, to sense when an accident such as an impact or crash takes place. Holding means, such as a bolt (18) are provided which are actuatable to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means (50).

Description

2353771 P182GB A VEHICLE, A DOOR AND A DEVICE The invention relates to a

vehicle, a door and a device.

It is known for a car to include a rigid passenger safety cell around the area in the car where the passengers will sit to protect the passengers in the case of an accident. A known cell takes the form of strong steel framework forming a cage around the passenger area. The car doors may be hung ftom the framework.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle including a passenger safety cell and a door into the cell, the vehicle further including sensing means to sense when an accident takes place, and holding means to hold the door closed, the holding means being actuated to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means.

In this way, if the vehicle should be in an accident, the holding means will be actuated to hold the door closed. Passengers will thus be kept safely within the protective cell, and the strength and rigidity of the cell will be increased by the door.

The sensing means may take any suitable form and thus may comprise an existing means for sensing when an accident takes place, for example, such as those used in the activation of air bags. The sensing means may be an impact sensor. In another embodiment, the sensing means is arranged to sense mechanical deformation of a part of the vehicle. Thus, the sensing means may include a part which is arranged to be 25 moved by mechanical deformation of part of the vehicle.

The holding means may take any suitable form and preferably is arranged to hold the door closed by mechanical means. In one embodiment then the holding means includes a member movable into a holding position to hold the door closed and shoot means 30 arranged to move the member into the holding position.

2 The shoot means may take any suitable form. In one embodiment, the shoot means comprises spring means. The shoot means is preferably arranged to move the member in a straight path. The shoot means may be arranged to provide an impulse to the member. The impulse may be provided in any suitable way. In one embodiment, the shoot means is arranged to move the member by pyrotechnic means. In another embodiment the shoot means comprises means for moving the member by fluid pressure, preferably by pneumatic pressure. In this case, where the vehicle includes air bags which are inflated by inflating means when an accident is sensed, the pneumatic pressure for the shoot means can be from the same inflating means as for the air bags and the air bags and the holding means may be actuated from the same sensing means.

The member may take any suitable form and may be a bolt. The member may be a straight bolt. In that case, it can simply be moved by the shoot means across to bridge the gap between the door and the door frame. In another embodiment, the member is in the shape of a hook to be moved by the shoot means so that the return end of the hook is received in a recess. While the member may be carried by the door or the door frame, preferably the member is carried by the door to be moved by the shoot means to inter-engage with the door frame.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the vehicle includes open means for operating on the holding means so that after an accident has taken place the holding means does not hold the door closed. In this way, the door is held closed while the accident takes place to strengthen the passenger safety cell and keep the passengers within the safety cell, but after the accident has taken place the holding means does not prevent the door from being opened to allow the passengers to get out or to allow access to the passengers within the safety cell. This may be particularly important if there is a risk of explosion, or where one or more of the passengers is injured. The open means may take any suitable form dependent on the nature of the holding means. In one embodiment the open means comprises spring means. Where the shoot means is arranged to provide an impulse to the member, the spring means is preferably arranged to be overcome by the impulse but to move the member back out of the holding position after the impulse. This simple system is unlikely to be damaged in the event of 3 an accident and can therefore be relied upon to return the member provided the member has not become trapped.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a door for a vehicle, the door including sensing means to sense when an accident takes place, and holding means to hold the door closed in use, the holding means being actuated to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a door for a vehicle, the door including holding means to hold the door closed in use, the holding means including a member movable into a holding position to hold the door closed, and shoot means to move the member into the holding position, the shoot means being arranged to provide an impulse to the member.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a device comprising a member, shoot means to shoot the member, and sensing means to sense when an accident has taken place, and a protective housing, the shoot means and at least part of the bolt being contained within the housing and the shoot means being arranged to shoot the bolt from the housing.

In this way the shoot means will be protected by the housing and the device fonns a compact unit.

The sensing means may comprise a part which extends out of the housing to sense when an accident takes place by movement of the part, the remainder of the sensing means being contained within the housing. The sensing means may be arranged to actuate the shoot means by movement of an element within the housing which is connected to the part. The shoot means may comprise a spring. Preferably, the element retains the member against the bias of the spring and movement of the part moves the element to release the member so it can be moved by the spring.

4 Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. I is a top-plan view in partial cross-section of a device in a door of a vehicle in a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view in partial cross-section of a holding means in a door of a vehicle in a second embodiment of the invention; and, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of vehicle in the first embodiment of the invention.

A first embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 3. The vehicle 10 includes a door 12 and a passenger safety cell 14 shown in phantom. It is seen that the door 12 is hung on the passenger safety cell 14 to fill an aperture 16 in the cell 14.

In the first embodiment, a bolt 18 is mounted horizontally on the door 12 midway along the edge of the door 12 opposite the hinges of the door 12.

The bolt 18 has a wide cylindrical central part 20 which is slidingly received in a cylindrical bore 22 in a housing body 24. The bolt 18 includes a relatively narrow co-axial cylindrical extension 26 with a chamfer 28 at its front end. The bolt 18 also includes a rear extension 30 from its opposite end which is also co-axial with the central part 20 and cylindrical having the same diameter as the front extension 26. The inner surface 22 of the body 24 includes a shoulder 32 to define a narrower diameter section 34 which slidingly receives the rear extension 30. The rear extension 30 is cut away to its side adjacent the outer door skin 36 to form a recessed land 38. The land 38 includes a notch 40 adjacent the end of the rear extension 30. The reduced diameter section 34 of the bore 22 terminates in a stepped shoulder 42 such that the narrow diameter section 34 terminates at a position midway along the land 38 to the side of the bore 22 adjacent the outer door skin 36, while the narrower diameter section 34 extends to adjacent the notch 3 0 on the opposite side.

An arm 44 is pivoted on a pivot 46 which extends vertically spanning the bore 22 to the rear of the bolt 18. The arm 44 extends forwards and outwards towards the outer door skin 36 past the end of the bolt 18, and the end 48 of the arm 44 is received in the notch in the bolt 18. An integrally formed paddle 50 extends rearwardly of the ann 44 from the pivot 46 out of the end of the bore 22 in the housing body 24 and parallel with the axis of the bore 22. The paddle 50 is generally in the form of a plate in the vertical plane.

A helical coil spring 52 is arranged around the rearwards extension 30 of the bolt 18 and bears against the shoulder 32 and the shoulder 54 between the relatively wide central section 18 and the relatively narrow rearwards extension 30 of the bolt 18.

A recess 56 is provided in the door frame 58, forming part of the passenger cell 14, the recess 56 being provided opposite the front extension 26 when the door 12 is closed and the recess 56 being of a complementary shape to the front extension 26. In use, if the outer skin 36 of the door 12 is pushed inwards, the outer door skin 36 will 15 eventually contact the paddle 50 which will be moved in the direction of arrow A. Pivoting of the paddle 50 about the pivot 46 will bring the end 48 of the arm 44 out of the notch 40 in the rear extension 30 of the bolt 18 by pivoting of the arm 44 in the direction of arrow B. The bolt 18 will then be shot forwards under the force of the spring 52 in the direction of arrow C so that the front extension 26 of the bolt 18 will be 20 received in the recess 56 in the door frame 58. This will prevent the door 12 from opening which lessens the risk of passengers being thrown out of the safety cell 14 during an accident. As the door 12 fills the aperture 16 in the cell 14, the passenger safety cell 14 will be strengthened by the presence of the door 12, as the door 12 will resist forces acting to deform the part of the cell 14 defining the aperture 16 and so 25 passenger safety will be increased. It is seen that the mechanism to trigger shooting of the bolt 18 is protected within the body 24 with only the paddle 50 extending outwards of the body or housing 24 to sense when an accident takes place and act to trigger shooting of the bolt 18 which will hold 30 the door 12 in place.

6 Fig. 2 shows the second embodiment which may be used in the vehicle 10 in place of the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, a bolt 60 has a main part 62 which is slidably received in a cylindrical chamber 64. A helical spring 66 acts between the rear end of the main part 62 and the rear wall 68 of the chamber 64 to urge the bolt 60 forwards so that the front wall of the main part 62 is urged against the front wall 70 of the chamber 64. A front extension 72 extends co-axially from the main part 62 at a narrower diameter than the main part 62 through a bore 73 co-axial with the chamber 64. The extension 72 includes a part 74 which is turned inwards and a part 76 at the end of the part 74 which is turned rearwards so that the extension 72 is generally in the form of a hook with the first part 75 of the extension 72 and the end part 76 being parallel. The door frame 78 includes a recess 80 to receive the extension 72 and defines a lip 82 which extends parallel to the end part 76 but outwards of it so that it is directed towards the second 15 part 74 to define a forwards facing undercut or sub- recess 83. A pipe 84 extends from an air bag system 86 of the car 10 and communicates with the chamber 64 being connected thereto through the front wall 70 thereof. 20 In use, in the case of an accident, the accident will be sensed by sensing means in the air bag system, commonly an impact sensor, and the air bags of the air bag system 86 will be inflated with air. Some of the air from the air bag system 86 passes down the pipe 84 and provides an impulse to the main part 62 of the bolt 60 pushing the main part 62 rearwards against the bias of the spring 66 so that the end 78 of the extension 72 is 25 received in the undercut 83 beneath the lip 82 to thereby prevent the door 12 from opening. In most accidents there is a single powerful impact which is the main danger to the passengers. Air bags are very rapidly inflated by a burst of pressurised air, but the air is allowed to escape from the system at a controlled rate so that the bags do not remain at full inflation after the system is initially triggered. Thus, the air pressure 30 through the pipe 84 provides an impulse to the bolt 60 which overcomes the bias of the spring 66. However, as the air pressure drops through controlled leakage the force of the compressed spring 66 will act to return the bolt 60 to its original position. Once the 7 end of the extension 72 has moved past the end of the lip 82, the door 12 can be opened. It is thus ensured that the door 12 will be held closed during the impact, but the bolt 60 will no longer act to hold the door 12 closed after the impact so that passengers can escape or rescue services can access passengers within the car safety cell 14.

In further embodiments valving can be arranged such that the controlled release of air from the air bag occurs at a different speed to the controlled release of air from the chamber 64 eg. the air bag could deflate either faster or slower than the release of air from chamber 64.

Clearly there may be more than one bolt 18,60 in the or each door 12 of a car. While the bolts 18,60 have been shown arranged horizontally at the edge opposite the hinges, the bolts could equally be provided at the hinged edge as an alternative or further bolts 18,60 could be provided there in addition, and bolts may also or alternatively be provided at the upper or at lower edges of the door 12.

The air to the pipe 84 may come from a side impact air bag system or may equally come from a steering wheel-mounted or dashboard-mounted front impact air bag system.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the pipe 84 to the air bag system 86 may be omitted and in that case a squib or other pyrotechnic device may be positioned to fire into the front of the chamber 64 to provide an impulse to drive the bolt 60 rearwards against the spring 66 in the event of an accident. The squib may again be activated by the same sensing means as used in the air bag system or alternatively a separate sensing means can be provided, preferably adjacent the squib, most preferably in the housing body 24.

While the bolts 18,60 have been shown mounted within a door 12, in an alternative embodiment the bolts and associated mechanisms could be mounted in the door frame 58,78 in which case the recess 56,80 would be provided in the door 12.

Claims

8 Claims

1 A vehicle including a door and a door frame, the vehicle further including sensing means to sense when an accident takes place, and holding means to hold the door closed, the holding means being actuated to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means.

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing means is arranged to sense mechanical deformation of part of the vehicle.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sensing means includes a part which is arranged to be moved by mechanical deformation of a part of the vehicle.

4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing means is an impact sensor.

5. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the holding means is arranged to hold the door closed by mechanical means.

6. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the holding means includes a member movable into a holding position to hold the door closed, and shoot means to move the member into the holding position. 7. A vehicle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the shoot means is arranged to move 25 the member in a straight path. 8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the shoot means is arranged to provide an impulse to the member. 9. A vehicle as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the shoot means is arranged to 30 move the member by pyrotechnic means.

9 10. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the shoot means comprises means for moving the member by fluid pressure. 11. A vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the shoot means comprises means 5 for moving the member by pneumatic pressure.

12. A vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein, where the vehicle includes air bags which are inflated by inflating means when an accident is sensed, the pneumatic pressure for the shoot means is from the same inflating means.

13. A vehicle as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the shoot means comprises spring means.

14. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 6 to 13, wherein the member is a bolt. 15 15. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 6 to 14, wherein the member is in the shape of a hook to be moved by the shoot means so that. the return end of the hook is received in a recess.

16. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 6 to 15, wherein the member is carried by the door to be moved by the shoot means into interengagement with the door frame. 17. A vehicle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the door frame is part of a safety cell. 25 18. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the vehicle includes open means for operating on the holding means so that after an accident has taken place, the holding means does not hold the door closed. 30 19. A vehicle as claimed in claim 18, wherein the open means comprises spring means.

20. A vehicle as claimed in claim 19, wherein, where the shoot means provides an impulse to the member, the spring means is arranged to be overcome by the impulse but is arranged to move the member back out of the holding position after the impulse.

21. A door for a vehicle, the door including sensing means to sense when an accident takes place, and holding means to hold the door closed in use, the holding means being actuated to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means.

22, A door as claimed in claim 21, wherein the holding means is arranged to hold the door closed by mechanical means.

23. A door as claimed in claim 22, wherein the holding means includes a member movable into a holding position to hold the door closed in use, and shoot means to move the member into the holding position.

24. A door as claimed in claim 23, wherein the shoot means comprises spring means.

25. A door as claimed in claim 23, wherein the shoot means is arranged to provide an impulse to the member.

26. A door for a vehicle, the door including holding means to hold the door closed in use, the holding means including a member movable into a holding position to hold the door closed, and shoot means to move the member into the holding position, the shoot means being arranged to provide an impulse to the member.

27. A door as claimed in claim 26, wherein the door further includes sensing means to sense when an accident takes place, the holding means being actuated to hold the door closed as a result of the sensing of an accident by the sensing means.

11 28. A door as claimed in claim 25, 26 or 27, wherein the shoot means is arranged to move the member by pyrotechnic means.

29. A door as claimed in claim 25, 26 or 27, wherein the shoot means comprises means for moving the member by fluid pressure.

30. A door as claimed in claim 29, wherein the shoot means comprises means for moving the member by pneumatic pressure.

31. A door as claimed in claim 30, wherein, where the vehicle includes air bags which are inflated by inflating means when an accident is sensed, the pneumatic pressure for the shoot means is from the same inflating means. 32. A door as claimed in any of claims 23 to 3 1, wherein the shoot means is 15 arranged to move the member in a straight path. 33. A door as claimed in any of claims 23 to 32, wherein the member is a bolt. 34. A door as claimed in any of claims 23 to 33, wherein the member is in the 20 shape of a hook to be moved by the shoot means so that the return end of the hook can be received in a recess. 35. A door as claimed in any of claims 21 to 34, wherein the door includes open means for operating on the holding means so that after an accident has taken place, the 25 holding means does not hold the door closed.

36. A door as claimed in claim 35, wherein the open means comprises spring means.

37. A door as claimed in claim 36, wherein, where shoot means is provided which provides an impulse to the member, the spring means is arranged to be overcome by the 12 impulse but is arranged to move the member back out of the holding position after the impulse.

38. A door as claimed in claim 21 or claim 27 or any claim when dependent on claim 21 or claim 27, wherein the sensing means senses mechanical deformation of part of the vehicle.

39. A door as claimed in claim 38, wherein the sensing means includes a part which is arranged to be moved by mechanical deformation of a part of the door.

40. A door as claimed in claim 21 or claim 27 or in any claim when dependent on claim 21 or claim 27, wherein the sensing means is an impact sensor.

41. A door substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

42. A device comprising a member, shoot means to shoot the member, sensing means to sense when an accident has taken place, and a protective housing, the shoot means and at least part of the member being contained within the housing and the shoot means being arranged to shoot the member from the housing.

43. A device as claimed in claim 42, wherein the sensing means comprises a part which extends out of the housing to sense when an accident takes place by movement of the part, the remainder of the sensing means being contained within the housing.

44. A device as claimed in claim 43, wherein the sensing means is arranged to actuate the shoot means by movement of an element within the housing which is connected to the part.

45. A device as claimed in any of claims 41 to 44, wherein the shoot means comprises a spring.

13 46. A device as claimed in claim 45 when dependent on claim 44, wherein the element retains the member against the bias of the spring and movement of the part moves the element to release the member so it can be moved by the spring.

47. A device substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

48. A door including a device as claimed in any of claims 42 to 47.

49. A vehicle including a door as claimed in any of claims 21 to 41 or claim 48.

50. A vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

51. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 1 to 20 in which the door is a passenger door.

52. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 1 to 20 or 51 in which the door closes an apperture of a passenger safety cell. 20