Mechanism for opening/closing an opening leaf with respect to a frame

Abstract

Mechanism for opening/closing an opening leaf with respect to a frame. The mechanism is configured to cause, upon opening, a lifting of the opening leaf from a closure plane to an opening plane parallel to the closure plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening leaf about a pivot axis orthogonal to the translational movement of the opening leaf, and vice versa upon closing. The mechanism comprises: a fixed frame; a movable frame mounted translationally on the fixed frame; a hinge part mounted in a pivoting manner on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism for attachment to the opening leaf; an actuator comprising an output member which can be actuated in a direction orthogonal to the pivot axis of the opening leaf; and a transmission that comprises a transmission link coupled in a pivoting manner to the output member, and to the hinge part.

Claims

1. A mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel with respect to a casing, the mechanism being configured to cause on opening a translation of the opening panel from a closing plane to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening panel about an axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, and conversely on closing, said mechanism including: a fixed frame that is immovably fixed to the casing, a movable frame mounted in translation on the fixed frame, a hinge part mounted pivotably on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism of fastening to the opening panel, an actuator comprising a screw driven by a motor to actuate an extension member actuatable in an actuation direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel, a transmission including a transmission rod comprising a first articulation coupled pivotably to the extension member, and a second articulation coupled pivotably to the hinge part, the fixed frame including a guiding arrangement configured to cooperate with the transmission such that a movement of the extension member, during the opening of the mechanism, causes an elevation of the movable frame with respect to the fixed frame, then a rotation of the hinge part by a desired angle in order to pass from a closed configuration to an opening configuration of the mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel, and wherein the transmission further includes a coupling rod coupled pivotably by one of its ends to the hinge part and to the transmission rod and including at another one of its ends a guiding member, the guiding arrangement further including a first and a second guiding rail arranged to cooperate with the guiding member.

2. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guiding arrangement includes a guiding path provided with a rectilinear portion followed by a semi-circular incurvated portion, said portions being intended to cooperate with one end of the transmission rod under a movement of the extension member in the actuation direction.

3. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second guiding rail are arranged facing one another and each successively include a rectilinear portion extending vertically, a convex portion and an incurvated portion, each portion including a first and a second surface located on either side of the guiding rail and each defining a guiding path.

4. The mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said guiding member includes a bearing arranged inside a circular opening of the coupling rod and two pairs of rollers each mounted on a roller support arranged on either side of the bearing such that the rollers of each support are maintained in contact on either side of the thickness of the respective guiding rail to be moved along their respective guiding paths during the opening and the closing of the mechanism in order to provide the pivoting of the opening panel along a precise trajectory without any play.

5. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mechanism of fastening to the opening panel is arranged to be rotationally actuated about the axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, which corresponds to a virtual axis of pivot located above the casing.

6. A mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel with respect to a casing, the mechanism being configured to cause on opening a translation of the opening panel from a closing plane to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening panel about an axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, and conversely on closing, said mechanism including: a fixed frame that is immovably fixed to the casing, a movable frame mounted in translation on the fixed frame, a hinge part mounted pivotably on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism of fastening to the opening panel, an actuator comprising a screw driven by a motor to actuate an extension member actuatable in an actuation direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel, a transmission including a transmission rod comprising a first articulation coupled pivotably to the extension member, and a second articulation coupled pivotably to the hinge part, the fixed frame including a guiding arrangement configured to cooperate with the transmission such that a movement of the extension member, during the opening of the mechanism, causes an elevation of the movable frame with respect to the fixed frame, then a rotation of the hinge part by a desired angle in order to pass from a closed configuration to an opening configuration of the mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel, wherein the mechanism of fastening to the opening panel-includes a link support forming a single part with the hinge part and several links coupled pivotably by one of their ends to the link support and by the other of their ends to a part of fastening to the opening panel, the mechanism of fastening forming an expandable and collapsible parallelogram.

7. The mechanism as claimed in claim 6, further including a member of actuation of the parallelogram comprising an actuating arm coupled pivotably to one of the links and coupled pivotably to an arm support, the arm support forming a single part with the movable frame.

8. A mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel with respect to a casing, the mechanism being configured to cause on opening a translation of the opening panel from a closing plane to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening panel about an axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, and conversely on closing, said mechanism including: a fixed frame that is immovably fixed to the casing, a movable frame mounted in translation on the fixed frame, a hinge part mounted pivotably on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism of fastening to the opening panel, an actuator comprising a screw driven by a motor to actuate an extension member actuatable in an actuation direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel, a transmission including a transmission rod comprising a first articulation coupled pivotably to the extension member, and a second articulation coupled pivotably to the hinge part, the fixed frame including a guiding arrangement configured to cooperate with the transmission such that a movement of the extension member, during the opening of the mechanism, causes an elevation of the movable frame with respect to the fixed frame, then a rotation of the hinge part by a desired angle in order to pass from a closed configuration to an opening configuration of the mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel, further including a coupling stem connected to one end of the transmission rod such that the axis of the stem is perpendicular to a plane wherein the transmission link moves, and in that the stem is moreover coupled pivotably to the hinge part.

9. The mechanism as claimed in claim 8, wherein the movable frame includes a window of elongated and incurvated form inside which the coupling stem passes through.

10. A mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel with respect to a casing, the mechanism being configured to cause on opening a translation of the opening panel from a closing plane to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening panel about an axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, and conversely on closing, said mechanism including: a fixed frame that is immovably fixed to the casing, a movable frame mounted in translation on the fixed frame, a hinge part mounted pivotably on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism of fastening to the opening panel, an actuator comprising a screw driven by a motor to actuate an extension member actuatable in an actuation direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel, a transmission including a transmission rod comprising a first articulation coupled pivotably to the extension member, and a second articulation coupled pivotably to the hinge part, the fixed frame including a guiding arrangement configured to cooperate with the transmission such that a movement of the extension member, during the opening of the mechanism, causes an elevation of the movable frame with respect to the fixed frame, then a rotation of the hinge part by a desired angle in order to pass from a closed configuration to an opening configuration of the mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel, wherein each end of the transmission rod is coupled pivotably to, respectively, the extension member and to the hinge part on either side of the movable frame.

11. A mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel with respect to a casing, the mechanism being configured to cause on opening a translation of the opening panel from a closing plane to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane, followed by a pivoting of the opening panel about an axis of pivot (V) orthogonal to the translation of the opening panel, and conversely on closing, said mechanism including: a fixed frame that is immovably fixed to the casing, a movable frame mounted in translation on the fixed frame, a hinge part mounted pivotably on the movable frame and coupled to a mechanism of fastening to the opening panel, an actuator comprising a screw driven by a motor to actuate an extension member actuatable in an actuation direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel, a transmission including a transmission rod comprising a first articulation coupled pivotably to the extension member, and a second articulation coupled pivotably to the hinge part, the fixed frame including a guiding arrangement configured to cooperate with the transmission such that a movement of the extension member, during the opening of the mechanism, causes an elevation of the movable frame with respect to the fixed frame, then a rotation of the hinge part by a desired angle in order to pass from a closed configuration to an opening configuration of the mechanism for the opening/closing of an opening panel, wherein the extension member is in the form of a carriage mounted in translation on a worm screw, one of the ends of the worm screw being coupled to a motor, the other end being mounted in a bearing such that the rotation of the motor drives the carriage along the rectilinear direction orthogonal to the axis of pivot (V) of the opening panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) Other features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, and the appended drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1a is a perspective view of a briefcase according to a preferred embodiment including the opening/closing mechanism, the briefcase being in an open configuration;

(3) FIG. 1b is a partial view of FIG. 1a showing the opening/closing mechanism in its location;

(4) FIG. 2 is a partial section view of a lateral side of the briefcase in a closed configuration;

(5) FIG. 3 is a partial section view of the other lateral side of the briefcase in a closed configuration;

(6) FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 when the briefcase is in an open configuration;

(7) FIG. 5 is a view in different section planes of the opening/closing mechanism;

(8) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a part of the opening/closing mechanism.

(9) FIGS. 7a to 7e each show a view similar to FIG. 2 when the briefcase is found in the following configurations: cover raised with pivoting of the lid of respectively 0, 2.4, 4.8, 50 and >90 with respect to the case;

(10) FIG. 8a is a perspective view of the actuator and the movable frame coupled to the hinge which is connected to the arrangement of parallelogram type;

(11) FIG. 8b is an exploded view of the movable frame of FIG. 8a, and

(12) FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the opening/closing mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(13) As illustrated by FIGS. 1a to 9, an opening/closing mechanism 10 (FIG. 1b) according to the invention is incorporated into a briefcase and is coupled to an actuator 17 with the aim of moving an opening panel 12 with respect to a casing 14. The opening panel forms the lid of the briefcase while the casing forms the case of the briefcase.

(14) The opening/closing mechanism 10 of the briefcase includes a fastening mechanism 13 including a fastening part 13a connected to the lid 12. The fastening mechanism 13 is designed to cause the opening of the briefcase by a translation of the fastening part 13a from a closing plane of the case 14 as illustrated by FIGS. 2 and 3 to an opening plane parallel to the closing plane as illustrated by FIG. 7a. The fastening part 13a of the lid 12 is translated in elevation with respect to the case 14 from a position from which the lid is at least partly fitted into the case 14 to a position wherein it is disengaged from the case.

(15) Upon the opening of the briefcase, this translation movement is followed by a pivoting of the fastening part 13a, and therefore of the lid 12, about a virtual axis of pivot V orthogonal to the direction of translation as illustrated by FIGS. 7a to 7e, with an angle of pivot that can vary substantially within a range of 90 for example, or even beyond. Of course, upon closing, the order of the movements and of the movements in themselves of the lid-fastening mechanism 13 are reversed. Thus, starting from the open configuration of the briefcase as illustrated by FIG. 7e, the lid-fastening part 13a is first folded pivotably to be brought into a plane parallel to that of the case 14 (FIG. 7a). The fastening part 13a is then translated such that the lid of the briefcase is fitted, at least partially, into the case 14 in a closing position.

(16) For reasons of clarity, a detailed description of the different elements of the opening/closing mechanism incorporated into the briefcase will be given first, followed by a description of the kinematics of these elements during the opening of the lid 12 in translation then in rotation about the virtual axis of pivot V with reference to the different sequences of opening with respect to the case 14 as illustrated by FIGS. 7a to 7e.

(17) Description of the Elements of the Opening/Closing Mechanism

(18) With reference in particular to FIG. 9, the actuator 17 includes a motor 18, supported by a base frame 20, as well as a worm screw 21, one end of which is coupled to the motor 18 while the other of its ends is arranged in a bearing 22 mounted on the base frame 20. The actuator 17 further includes an extension member 25 in the form of a carriage gripping the worm screw 21 such that a rotation of the worm screw 21 actuates the carriage 25 in a rectilinear direction transversal to the translation of the opening panel 12 and orthogonal to the virtual axis of pivot V. The guiding of the carriage 25 is performed by two rails and two ball pads (not illustrated) attached to the base frame 20.

(19) The carriage 25 also includes a cylindrical opening receiving a stem 26a of a linear sensor 26 arranged to give the electronic system the position of the carriage 25. Such a design makes it possible to optimize the guiding and precision of the drive, also contributing to the reliability of the mechanism and to its resistance over time. Moreover, according to this preferred method of execution, the worm screw is driven directly by the motor, i.e. without a reduction gear, in order to have only a very low resistive torque of rotation of the screw implying a notable reduction in the noise generated by the actuator, and ease of use in the context of a manual actuation. In this way, reversibility is obtained regarding the use of the mechanism. In other words, the mechanism operates either by way of the motorization of the mechanism, or by manual driving which, of course, can be carried out without any effect on, or degradation of the subsequent motorized operation. It should be noted that the use of a worm screw of greater pitch and of a reduction gear providing an identical ratio may also be envisioned according to a variant of execution. For example, a worm screw with a pitch of 1 mm with a motor in direct contact is equivalent to a worm screw with a pitch of 3 mm coupled to a gear motor with a reduction ratio of 3. The important thing is to provide a constant ratio between the speed of the motor and the linear speed of the carriage 25 while also selecting a ratio, particularly with regard to the criteria of noise, electrical power consumption, weight and reversibility of the mechanism.

(20) As can be made out, in particular for example in FIGS. 3 and 4, the actuator is coupled to a transmission, particularly including a transmission rod 30 arranged such as to connect the carriage 25 to a hinge part 61 rotationally actuatable about an axis of pivot A and forming an integral part of the hinge 60 (which will be described in detail below) linking the lid 12 to the case 14 of the briefcase. The transmission rod is similar to an angled rod 30 including a first and a second rectilinear portion 30a, 30b joined by an angled portion in order to form an angle between the two rectilinear portions preferably located between 120 and 140 (FIG. 3). The transmission rod 30 includes a first articulation 31a, at one of its ends, coupled pivotably to the carriage, 25, and a second articulation 31b, at its other end, coupled pivotably to the hinge part 61. The coupling of the transmission rod 30 at the level of the hinge part 61 is achieved by way of a coupling stem 32 (FIG. 6) connected to an end of the rod 30 such that the axis of the stem 32 is perpendicular to a plane wherein the rod 30 moves. This stem 32 includes on a segment an engagement surface 33 which can for example take the form of a roller rotationally actuatable about the stem 32. The specific form of the transmission rod 30 has been determined in order to reduce the bulk of the actuator while conserving the necessary track for the movement of the carriage 25.

(21) Particularly with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6, the opening/closing mechanism includes a system for guiding in translation and in rotation. This device comprises a fixed frame 50 on which is mounted a movable frame 55 such as to be able to be moved translationally with respect to the fixed frame 50 (FIG. 9). For this purpose, two slide rails 54a, 54b are arranged on either side of the fixed frame 50 and are oriented at 90 with respect to one another in a plane perpendicular to a closing plane of the briefcase. The movable frame 55, meanwhile, has at each of its lateral sides two sliders 57a, 57a, 57b, 57b (FIG. 8b) also oriented at 90 with respect to one another in the same plane. These four sliders are mounted translationally movable on the two slide rails 54a, 54b of the fixed frame 50.

(22) The latter includes a guiding arrangement comprising a guiding path 52 as well as a first and a second guiding rail 80, 80 arranged facing one another (FIG. 6). The guiding rails 80, 80 have a profile virtually identical to the guiding path 52 and are in fact strictly identical in their function except that the rails 80, 80 contribute two additional functions, namely: i) the perfect control of the position of the lid 12 along a precise trajectory during the passing between the linear movement of the lid (in elevation) and the rotation thereof and ii) the perfect control of the position of the movable frame 55 during the opening of the lid which is in addition not affected by any external stress whatsoever that might be exerted on the lid 12 of the briefcase.

(23) The guiding path 52 includes a rectilinear portion 52a extending perpendicularly to a plane of closing of the briefcase followed by an incurvated portion 52b in the form of a semi-circle concentric with the axis of pivot A. This guiding track is intended to impose on the roller 33 of the coupling stem 32, which is coupled to the transmission rod 30 and to the hinge piece 61, a translational movement followed by a movement in a semi-circle during the opening of the fastening part 13a of the lid 12 of the briefcase and conversely on closing. Like the guiding track 52, each guiding rail 80, 80 includes a vertical rectilinear portion 81, 81 as well as a semi-circular incurvated portion 87, 87, in which the tangent of the lower part of the semi-circle is essentially perpendicular to the rectilinear portion 81, 81. Moreover, the radius of curvature of the incurvated portion 87, 87 is identical to the radius of curvature of the incurvated portion 52b of the guiding track 52 of the fixed frame 50. On the other hand, unlike the guiding track 52, each guiding rail 80, 80 includes a convex rounded portion 84, 84 linking the rectilinear portion 81, 81 to the incurvated portion 87, 87.

(24) The translational and rotational guiding system moreover includes a coupling rod 70 pivotably coupled by one of its ends to the hinge part 61 and to the transmission rod 30 about a pivot point C by way of the coupling stem 32. The coupling rod 70 is also coupled to the movable frame 55 by way of a rod support 72, one end of which is mounted pivotably on the coupling rod 70 about a pivot point G. The coupling rod 70 further includes at its other end a circular opening inside which is arranged a guiding member intended to cooperate with the first and the second guiding rail 80, 80 during the opening and the closing of the briefcase.

(25) As illustrated in particular in FIG. 8b, the guiding member includes a bearing 71 mounted inside the circular opening of the coupling rod 70 and two pairs of rollers 73, 74, 73, 74 each mounted on a roller support 75, 75 arranged on either side of the bearing. The roller supports 75, 75 are connected together by a connecting stem 76 passing inside the internal cage of the bearing. It should be noted that anti-friction means other than ball or roller bearings may be envisioned. By referring to FIG. 6 in particular, the coupling rod 70 is arranged between the first and the second guiding rail 80, 80 such that each pair of rollers 73, 74, 73, 74 of the guiding member cooperate with their respective guiding rail during the opening and the closing of the briefcase in order to ensure the pivoting of the lid 12 (FIG. 1a) along a precise trajectory without any play.

(26) Given that the two guiding rails 80, 80 are identical and that the rollers disposed on either side of the bearing 71 are arranged to cooperate in the same way with their respective rail, only the bearing surfaces of the guiding rail 80 and the interaction of the rollers 73, 74 with the latter will be described below for the sake of brevity.

(27) The guiding rail 80 includes a first and a second surface each defining a guiding track against which the respective rollers of the guiding member of the coupling rod 70 come into contact. More specifically, as per FIG. 2, the rectilinear portion includes a rectilinear bearing surface 82 and an opposing rectilinear bearing surface 83, the rounded portion includes a convex bearing surface 85 and an opposing concave bearing surface 86 and the incurvated portion includes an upper bearing surface 88 and a lower bearing surface 89.

(28) The interaxial length between the pairs of rollers 73, 74, 73, 74 (FIG. 8b) is determined such that the rollers of each support 75, 75 are in contact on either side of the thickness of the respective guiding rail. Moreover, each roller support includes an elastically deformable area in order to vary the interaxial length of the rollers, on the one hand, to take up the play between the guiding rail and the rollers during the movement of the latter along the rail, and on the other hand, to avoid any seizing of the mechanism. The roller supports are preferably made of steel including a series of recesses extending transversally in the direction linking the interaxial lengths of the rollers. Thus, the metal portion acts as a spring between the axes of the rollers.

(29) As can be seen more specifically in FIGS. 6 and 8b, the movable frame 55 has an incurvated window having a curve identical to the semi-circle 52b of the guiding path 52 of the fixed frame 50. The coupling stem 32 connects the transmission rod 30 to the hinge piece 61 through this window 56.

(30) As per FIGS. 8a and 8b, the hinge 60 therefore includes the hinge piece 61 as well as an actuating arm 63 of an expandable and collapsible parallelogram which will be described later. The hinge part 61 is provided with a central cut-out 61a located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of pivot A. The actuating arm 63 is mounted pivotably about a pivot point E (FIG. 2) on an arm support 64 forming a single part with the movable frame 55. The arm 63 and the support 64 pass through the central cut-out 61a of the hinge part 61 while avoiding any friction with this part 61 when the latter pivots about its axis of pivot A. The hinge part 61 also has a cylindrical opening 61b crossed by a pivot 62, the ends of which are arranged in two pivot supports 58a, 58b located respectively on the movable frame 55 and on a cover 59, which forms with the movable frame 55 a housing for the various elements of the hinge 60.

(31) As illustrated particularly in FIG. 6, the fastening mechanism 13 includes a link support 15, which forms a single part with the hinge part 61, and several links 16a, 16b, 16c coupled pivotably by one of their ends to the link support 15 and by the other of their ends to the fastening part 13a of the lid 12. One of the three links, in this case the link 16a, is moreover coupled pivotably to the actuating arm 63 about a pivot point D.

(32) The fastening mechanism 13 of the cover forms the expandable and collapsible parallelogram. This is configured such as to modify the position of the fastening part 13a of the lid 12 with respect to the case 14 of the briefcase when the lid starts to be rotated so that the movement of opening of the lid can be done in a rotation about the virtual axis of pivot V located as near as possible to the case 14 while avoiding any friction with it.

(33) Functional Description of the Opening/Closing Mechanism

(34) When the briefcase is found in a closed configuration as illustrated by FIGS. 2 and 3, one of the sides of the carriage 25 is found near to the bearing 22 of the worm screw 21. The first portion 30a of the transmission rod 30 is aligned along an axis perpendicular to the closing plane of the briefcase while the parallelogram is in an expanded configuration. As per FIG. 3, the roller 33 of the coupling stem 32 is found in abutment against the rectilinear portion 52a of the guiding track 52. Moreover, the coupling rod 70 is found against the bottom of the case 14 with the rollers 73, 74 of the guiding member located on either side of the rectilinear portion 81 of the guiding rail 80 bearing against the rectilinear surface 82, 83 such as to provide coupling without any play. Finally, the actuating arm 63 and the link 16a actuating the collapsing of the parallelogram are retracted.

(35) In order to open the briefcase, the motor 18 is actuated such that the rotation of the worm screw 21 moves the carriage 25 in the direction of the motor 18 according to the opening sequence illustrated by FIG. 7a. The movement of the carriage 25, during this sequence, has the effect of drawing the movable frame 55 in elevation along the slide rails 57a, 57b by way of the transmission rod 30, which pivots rotationally about the pivot point B. The translation of the movable frame 55 continues as the rod 30 is drawn by the carriage 25 until the roller 33 arrives at the top of the rectilinear portion 52a of the guiding track 52. During this sequence of elevation of the frame 55, the guiding stem 32 as well as the rod support 72 drive the coupling rod 70 upward. The rollers 73, 74 therefore move along their respective rectilinear surfaces 82, 83 until they are found at the top of the rectilinear portion 81 in order to provide perfect control of the position of the movable frame 55 during its elevation with respect to the fixed frame. Moreover, the hinge part 61 being coupled pivotably to the movable frame 55, the elevation of the latter also causes the elevation of the link support 15.

(36) With reference to FIGS. 7b and 7c, the carriage 25 continues to move in the direction of the motor 18, drawing the coupling rod 70 and the hinge part 61 in a direction essentially along its longitudinal axis by way of the coupling stem 32 coupled to the transmission rod (FIG. 6). During this opening sequence, the traction movement applied to the hinge part 61 begins its rotation about the axis of pivot A, which has the effect of inclining the link support 15. Moreover, the movement of the coupling rod 70 tends to make the roller support 75 pivot such that the roller 73 moves in elevation along the convex surface 85 of the rounded portion 84 while the roller 74 is bearing against the concave surface 86. This is accompanied by a movement in elevation of one end of the coupling rod 70, which, by the effect of cooperation with the support 72 will also manifest as an elevation of the other end of the coupling rod 70 coupled in a rotary manner to the transmission rod 30 by way of the coupling stem. This makes it possible to ensure the perfect control of the position of the fastening part 13a of the lid (and consequently the lid) when the fastening part 13a passes from a translational movement to a rotational movement. During this critical phase, the roller 33 is forced to pass from the rectilinear portion 52a to the semi-circular incurvated portion 52b of the guiding path 52 (FIG. 5).

(37) With reference to FIG. 7d, the carriage 25 continues to move in the direction of the motor 18, which causes the movement of the roller 33 of the transmission rod 30 along the semi-circular portion 52b of the guiding path 52 (FIGS. 3 and 4). During this sequence, the coupling rod 70 and the hinge part 61 are further drawn by the coupling stem 32 in the same direction as the carriage 25. The hinge part 61 continues its rotation about the axis of pivot A, also increasing the angle of inclination of the link support 15 with respect to the case 14 of the briefcase. The movement of the roller 33 along the semi-circular portion 52b is done coincidentally with the movement of the rollers 73, 74 along the incurvated portion 87 respectively against the corresponding upper and lower bearing surfaces 88, 89 of the guiding rail 80 in order to insure the fluid pivoting of the lid along a precise trajectory while avoiding any undesirable movement of the lid.

(38) Once the carriage 25 is found at the track end and the lid of the briefcase is entirely open, i.e. the fastening part 13a of the lid is inclined by over 90 with respect to the case 14 as illustrated in FIG. 7e, the rollers 73, 74 of the guiding member is found at the other end of the incurvated portion 87 while the roller 33 is itself found at the other end of the incurvated portion 52b of the guiding path 52 (FIG. 4). The second rectilinear portion 30b of the transmission rod 30 is arranged at this instant along an axis parallel to the bottom of the case 14.

(39) The gradual opening of the fastening mechanism 13 of the lid with respect to the case 14 of the briefcase from a closed position wherein the lid is fitted into the case, to an open position wherein the lid forms an angle of at least 90 with the case 14, is made possible owing to the expandable and collapsible parallelogram. The actuating arm 23 of the parallelogram makes it possible to bring it into a collapsed configuration in the open position of the briefcase.

(40) With reference to FIG. 7a, the actuating arm 63, the arm support 64 and the actuating link 16a are retracted and will gradually unfold during the opening of the briefcase by their rotation with respect to one another about their respective pivot point D, E until a fully unfolded position is reached as illustrated in FIG. 7e. The actuating link 16a is arranged such as to fold against the link support 15 and the fastening part 13a of the lid when the lid is approaching an angle of 90 with respect to the case 14, at the same time driving the folding of the two other links 16b, 16c.

(41) It is self-evident that the mechanism that has just been described is completely reversible and hence the functional description of the mechanism during the closing of the lid of the briefcase is not described herein for reasons of brevity.

(42) Moreover the opening/closing mechanism that has been described is not exclusively adapted to a briefcase but to any other item including an opening panel and a casing.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(43) Opening/closing mechanism 10 Opening part 12 Mechanism 13 of fastening to the opening panel Fastening part 13a Virtual axis of pivot V Link support 15 Links 16a, 16b, 16c Actuating link 16a Casing 14 Case Actuator 17 Motor 18 Base frame 20 Worm screw 21 Bearing 22 Extension member 25 Carriage Linear sensor 26 Stem 26a Transmission Transmission rod 30 Angled rod First rectilinear portion 30a Second rectilinear portion 30b Angled portion First articulation 31a Pivot B Second articulation 31b Pivot C Coupling stem 32 Engagement portion Roller 33 Coupling rod 70 Circular opening 70a Bearing 71 Ball bearing Rod support 72 Pivot point F Pivot point G Guiding member First pair of rollers 73, 74 First roller support 75 Second pair of rollers 73, 74 Second roller support 75 Linking stem 76 of the roller supports Translational and rotational guiding system Fixed frame 50 Slide rails 54a, 54b Guiding arrangement Guiding path 52 Rectilinear portion 52a Incurvated portion 52b Semi-circular portion First guiding rail 80 Rectilinear portion 81 Rectilinear bearing surface 82 Opposing rectilinear bearing surface 83 Rounded portion 84 Convex bearing surface 85 Concave bearing surface 86 Incurvated portion 87 Upper bearing surface 88 Lower bearing surface 89 Second guiding rail 80 Rectilinear portion 81 Rounded portion 84 Incurvated portion 87 Movable frame 55 Guiding window 56 Incurvated Semi-circle Sliders 57a, 57a, 57b, 57b Pivot supports 58a, 58b Cover 59 Hinge 60 Hinge part 61 Central cut-out 61a Cylindrical opening 61b Axis of pivot A Pivot 62 Parallelogram-actuating member Actuating arm 63 Pivot point D Pivot point E Arm support 64