US3462881A - Slide-glide-plug door mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Aus. 26, 1969 RJ. LYNN UAL 3,462,881

SLIDE-GLIDE-PLUG DOOR MECHANISM v Filed vMarcizl'l 14, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet l KRISTU FAY DAUGIRDAS ATTORNEY n. J. LYNN ETAL SLIDE-GLIDB-PLUG DOOR MECHANISM Aug. 26, 1969 Filed March 14. 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 NOE INVENTORS ROBERT J. LYNN KRlSTUPAS DAUGIRDAS @Y mm ATTO RN EY AUS 26, 1969 l R. J. LYNN ETAL .3,462,881

SLIDE-GLIDEPLUG DOOR MECHANISM Filed March 14 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

M v i i DOOR OPENIN INVENTORS ROBERT J. LYNN KRISTUP AU IRDAS BY glue U' ATTORNEY Aug. y26, 1969 R, J, LYNN ETAL 3,462,881 SLIDE-GLIDEPLUG Doon MECHANISM Filed uarcn 14, 1968 4 sheets-sheet 4 FRIR ART DOOR OPENrNQ lNVENTORS ROBERT J. LYNN v /KFUST P s D UGIRDAS BYl/C l. 1 e

ATTORNEY United States Patent i 3,462,831 SLiDE-GMDE-PLUG DUR Robert I. Lynn, Morton Grove, and Kristupas Will-nette, ill., assignors to Vapor Corporation,

lll., a corporation of Delaware MECHANESM Daugirdas, Chicago,

Filed Mar. 14, 1968, Ser. No. 713,224 lut., Cl. Etif 17/00, 7/06 US. Cl. 49-111 7 `Clairrls ABSTRACT F THE DESCLUSURE Mechanism for driving a door through compound movement between open and closed positions including imparting to the door a slide-glide-plug action by actuation of a shaft and lever assembly and guidance from a track unit.

This invention relates in general to a door opening and closing mechanism especially useful for vehicles that transport passengers, and more particularly to a door operating mechanism capable of imparting a slide-glide-plug movement to a door of a vehicle.

Heretofore, mechanisms for controlling door operation in vehicles that transport passengers have taken many forms. These vehicles, which include buses and railway cars, are provided with openings to permit ingress and egress of passengers, which openings are normally provided with a plurality of door leaves. Generally a pair of door leaves are provided for each door opening. Doors having a swinging movement about hinges are objectionable in that when they are open they obstruct the passageway. Sliding doors are either outside hung and therefore project beyond the perimeter of the vehicle presenting a poor aesthetic appearance, or are inside hung thereby allowing a portion of the door opening to be exposed when the doors are closed. Further, sliding doors require pockets for receiving the doors when they are in open position. Also conventional sliding doors are difficult to seal. Doors mounted for a sliding and guiding movement have employed a straight track arrangement where the leading edge of the door in certain positions has a motion that is beyond the seal at the door closed position, thereby causing as the door moves to and into closed position the rubber edge of the door to bend and rub against the more solid seal of thc opening in the vehicle, and such rubbing action is injurious to the rubber parts thereby shortening their life.

The door operating mechanism of the present invention overcomes the objections of heretofore known mechanisms in that a slide-glide-plug action is imparted to the door which obtains a better sealing action relative to the door opening, and encounters rubbing action relative to the rubber sealing parts during plugging action to thereby extend the life of the rubber parts. Moreover, the door operating mechanism of the present invention enables the doors to be ush with the outer surface of the car when in closed position, thereby enabling the doors to be contoured or straight to match the outer car or vehicle walls. During operation of the door mechanism of the present invention, the door is moved through a compound movement laterally and longitudinally relative the car or vehicle wall swinging through 90 rotation and taking a position at right angles to the car wall in fully opened position. Engagement of the sealing members on the door is encountered only at the very end of the closing cycle during the plugging action of the door thereby eliminating the sliding and scraping action of the door seals when almost closed, and eliminating undue wear.

The mechanism of the present invention includes a shaft and lever assembly having a vertical shaft pivoted at oppo- 3,462,831 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 site ends to the frame of the car and attached to the door by means of levers that are fixed for rotation with the shaft but pivotally connected to the door. A roller is also mounted on the door and guided in a track unit that conditions the position of the door as it is swung by the shaft and lever assembly to obtain the slide-glide-plug action. This track includes a straight portion that is inclined relative to the door in closed position and a curved portion that provides the proper plugging action.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved door operating mechanism for vehicles that transport passengers to impart a slide-glide-plug movement to the door.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a door mechanism for operating a door between open and closed positions that employs rubber sealing members, wherein the door action is such as to virtually eliminate the sliding and scraping action of the seals in the closing cycle, thereby substantially eliminating undue wear of the Wheels.

Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a door operating mechanism for controlling the movement of doors in vehicles transporting passengers, whereby the mechanism causes the door to move through a lateral and longitudinal compound movement, and enables the door to be flush with the outer surface of the vehicle in closed position so that the outer surface of the door may be contoured or straight to match the outer vehicle walls.

A further object of this invention is in the provision of a door operating mechanism for vehicles that transport passengers that incorporates the features of a sliding door, a swinging door, and a plugging door, while eliminating many of the disadvantages of these doors.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheetsy o: drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likt parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical elevational view of a pair of doo leaves having the door operating mechanism of the presen invention, wherein this view is somewhat fragmentary ani broken away for purposes of clarity, and taken generali along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FlG. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of th door operating mechanism of the present invention, wit some parts fragmentary and other parts in dotted for pu poses of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a door movement diagram for the door opera ing mechanism according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a door movement diagram for a door opere ing mechanism of the prior art for illustrating the a vantages of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FI 1, a pair of door leaves 10 and 11 are illustrated for sel tively opening and closing 12 in a passen; vehicle or car. While the door opening 12 is illustrated being selectively opened or closed by a pair of door leav it should be appreciated that a single door leaf might employed. Normally it is preferred that a pair of d( leaves are used 1n view of the size of the door openi The door operating mechanism is generally designated the numeral 13, and includes lever and shaft assemb 14 and 14A, track guiding means 15 and 15A, and a d operator 16.

The lever and shaft assemblies 14 and 14A serve to s port the door leaves 10 and 11 and to drive the door le: between open and closed position as guided by the t1 guiding means 15 and 15A. Each lever and shaft ass bly includes a vertically extending shaft 17 pivotally ported at its upper and lower ends by suitable means,

upper and lower levers 18 and 19 secured to and rotatable with the shaft 17,

points of pivot connection and along a line that is parallel to the shaft 17.

The lever and shaft assemblies are driven by the door operator 16 which includes generally a reversible electric mounted door. Similarly, a driving link 34 may be pivotally mounted on the single acting crank arm 29 of the lever and shaft assembly 14A for further connection to a lever and shaft assembly of another door leaf.

The pivot point connection 20 for the door leaf 11 is 4o reverse position, a guide track 7A controls movement of the door leaf 11 during opera- `on of the lever and shaft assembly 14A which is synand shaft assemdoor leaves 10 and 11 in closed sinon substantially seal the opening 12, and accord- :ly llexible rubber strips 3S and 39 are provided on op- Similarly, rubber g tlexible strip may be suspended from the bottom of 75 the door leaves. The present invention avoids undue wear on the rubber strips by virtue of the closing action imparted to the door leaves which is guided by the guide tracks 37 and 37A.

door takes position 20a while the closed position of the door takes the position 201'. Intermediate the open and closed positions of the door, the pivot connection 20 takes straight run portion 37A extends angularly relative to the door in its closed position 11i, whereby the end of the straight run portion connecting to the arcuate run portion is spaced closer to the door leaf in closed position and also may be termed a plugging arcuate run portion 37B may portion of the track 37. The of the door leaf which would are not present here because of at a substantially uniform distance from the seal of the movement action commences at position 11d and follows through position 11f. At position 11g, it can be seen that the door leaf is almost closed in the longitudinal direction and motion has now started in the lateral, or plugging direction. The velacity of the door leaf as it plugs is slowed down considerably, in combination with conventional movement, which results in a ement of the door leaf before closing and seal- A comparison of the present invention relative to the heretofore known straight track arrangement may be position. Actually the rubber edge of the door bends and rubs against the more solid seal of the openinfY in the car structure at these points. This rubbing action is to the rubber parts, and shortens the life of them and especially the rubber cap at the top of the door.

In view of the foregoing, it can be readily appreciated that the slide-glide-plug action defined by the door closing mechanism 4according to the present invention, while incorporating the features of a sliding door, a swinging door and a plugging door, eliminates many of the disadvantages of the respective actions of these doors, and ultimately provides a door closing action that virtually eliminates the sliding and scraping action of the door seals when almost closed.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may he effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a vehicle having a door opening in the vehicle wall selectively opened and closed by at least one door leaf, a mechanism for opening and closing the door leaf relative thefdoor opening to cause the door leaf to be moved through a compound movement laterally and longitudinally of the vehicle wall swinging through 90 rotation .and becoming at right angles to the wall in the fully opened position, said mechanism including a lever and shaft assembly having a rotatively mounted vertical shaft and lever means extending therefrom and rotatable therewith, said lever means being pivotally connected to said door leaf, a roller mounted on said door leaf in spaced relation to said lever means pivot, a track mounted on the vehicle adjacent the door for guidably receiving the roller, said track being shaped to provide a slide-glide-plug action and including a long straight portion and a short curvate portion, the convex side of said curvate portion facing the door leaf in closed position, said straight portion being inclined relative the door leaf in closed position at an angle less than 90 wherein the end closest to the door leaf is the end closest to the edge of the door leaf leading during its closing cycle, a door operator having an output shaft, and linkage interconnecting said output shaft and vertical shaft to drive the door between open and closed positions as guided by said track.

2. The combination as dened in claim 1, wherein said lever means includes a pair of spaced levers secured to said shaft and pivotally to said door leaf at the upper and lower ends thereof.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said track is mounted Aabove said door.

4. In a vehicle having a door opening in a side wall and a pair of door leaves operable between closed positiony to close the opening and open position to open the opening, a mechanism for driving said door leaves between open and closed positions and through a compound movement laterally and longitudinally of the side wall swinging through rotation and the leaves becoming at right angles to the wall one at each of the upright edges of the opening in the fully opened position, said mechanism including a lever and shaft assembly for each door leaf having a pivotally mounted upright shaft and lever means secured thereto for rotation therewith extending toward said door leaf and pivotally connected thereto at its free end, guide means mounted on said vehicle adjacent each door leaf, follower means on each said door guidably coacting with each said guide means, each said guide means controlling each door leaf movement to provide a slideglide-plug action and including a long straight portion and a short curvate portion, the convex side of said curvate portion facing the door leaf in closed position, said straight portion being inclined relative the door leaf in closed position at an angle less than 90 wherein the end closest to the door leaf is the end closest to the edge of the door leaf leading during its closing cycle, a door operator having an output shaft, and linkage interconnecting said output shaft and the shafts of said lever and shaft assemblies.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said guide means is mounted above said door.

6. The combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said lever means for each door leaf includes a pair of levers secured to the respective shafts and pivotally to the respective door leaves at the upper and lower ends thereof.

7. The combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said guide means are arranged in opposed relation for the respective door leaves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1916 Hild et al. 49--252 X 4/ 1966 Catlett 49-252 X U.S. Cl. X.R. 4'9--252

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