Rear door assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12005764-B2
Application number	US-202217586671-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 27, 2022
Priority date	Jan 27, 2022
Publication date	Jun 11, 2024
Grant date	Jun 11, 2024

Abstract

A rear door assembly having a bracket, a rear door, a first movement mechanism and a second movement mechanism. The rear door has a lateral side with a slot formed therein. The first movement mechanism is attached to a rearward area of a vehicle body structure and is configured to move the bracket and the rear door from a closed orientation covering a rear opening in the vehicle body structure to at least an intermediate orientation partially uncovering the rear opening. The bracket has a pair of support pins extending in that extend into the slot with the support pins being supported on rollers within the slot. The second movement mechanism is disposed within the rear door to move the rear door relative to the support pins of the bracket along the slot.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rear door assembly, comprising:
a vehicle body structure having a rear area with a side rear window;
a first motor attached to the rear area of the vehicle body structure above the side rear window;
a bracket having a first end and a second end, the first end being fixed to the first motor via a shaft having an axis of rotation, the first motor being operable to pivot the bracket about the axis of rotation, the second end having a pair of support pins, distances between the axis of rotation and each of the support pins remaining fixed during pivotal movement of the bracket via operation of the first motor, the pair of support pins extending in an inboard direction of the vehicle body structure and being spaced apart from one another;
a rear door having at least one lateral side with a slot formed therein with the support pins extending into the slot, the support pins being retained within the slot for sliding movement of the rear door with respect to the support pins;
the first motor being configured to pivot the bracket and the rear door from a closed orientation where the rear door covers a rear opening in the vehicle body structure to at least an intermediate orientation where the rear door partially uncovers the rear opening;
a second motor installed within the rear door such that with the rear door moved to at least the intermediate orientation by the first motor, the second motor urges the rear door to move relative to the support pins along the slot from at least the intermediate orientation with the support pins being located proximate a first end of the slot to a fully open orientation where a majority of the rear door is located above the vehicle body structure thereby fully exposing the rear opening with the support pins moved to proximate a second end of the slot; and
an electronic controller electronically connected to the first motor for controlling the first motor to pivot the bracket and the rear door from the closed orientation to at least the intermediate orientation and the electronic controller being further electronically connected to the second motor to move the rear door from the intermediate orientation to the fully open orientation.

2. The rear door assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the slot in the rear door has a straight portion and a curved portion.

3. A rear door assembly, comprising:
a bracket having a first end and a second end, the first end being fixed to a shaft pivotally supported by a rearward area of a vehicle body structure, the second end having a pair of support pins, distances between the shaft and each of the support pins remaining fixed relative to one another during pivotal movement of the bracket, the pair of support pins extending in an inboard direction of the vehicle body structure and being spaced apart from one another;
a rear door having at least one lateral side with a slot formed therein with the support pins extending into the slot, the support pins being retained within the slot for sliding movement of the rear door relative to the support pins;
a linear motor having a first end fixed to a lower area of the rearward area of the vehicle body structure and an upper end attached to the rear door, the linear motor being configured to extend from a first overall length to a second overall length greater than the first overall length thereby moving the rear door from a closed orientation covering a rear opening of the vehicle body structure to an intermediate orientation partially uncovering the rear opening;
a motor disposed within the rear door and fixed to the rear door, the motor disposed within the rear door being configured to move the rear door relative to the support pins of the bracket such that the support pins are moved within the slot from a first end of the slot to a second end of the slot thereby moving the rear door from the intermediate orientation to a fully open orientation where a majority of the rear door is located above the vehicle body structure and the rear opening is fully exposed; and
an electronic controller electronically connected to the linear motor for controlling the linear motor to move the rear door from the closed orientation to the intermediate orientation and the electronic controller being further electronically connected to the motor disposed within the rear door to move the rear door from the intermediate orientation to the fully open orientation.

4. The rear door assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the linear motor is a pneumatic cylinder and piston device.

Assignees

• Nissan North America Inc

Inventors

• Herrala Christopher
• Kovie David

Classifications

• E05F15/611

  for swinging wings · CPC title

• E05D15/583

  specially adapted for overhead wings · CPC title

• B60J5/106

  comprising door or part of door being moveable by a linkage system to open/close position · CPC title

• E05Y2400/354

  End positions · CPC title

• E05Y2400/324

  Switches · CPC title