DOOR HINGE

Abstract

A door hinge with at least one hinge axis, at least one holding arm that engages on the hinge axis and at least one contour, in which the at least one holding arm is supported on the contour with at least one section, retaining disks are arranged adjacent to the at least one holding arm and brake disks are arranged adjacent to the contour in order to generate a holding torque that is dependent on the opening angle, wherein the retaining disks and the brake disks engage into one another, and wherein at least the first holding arm, which is supported on the contour, is or can be stressed at least relative to the contour by a basic clamping force.

Claims

1. A door hinge for being connected to a door that can be pivoted relative to a column console, comprising: at least one hinge axis, at least one holding arm that engages on the hinge axis and at least one contour, wherein the at least one holding arm is supported on the contour with at least one section, wherein retaining disks are arranged adjacent to the at least one holding arm and brake disks are arranged adjacent to the contour in order to generate a holding torque that is dependent on the opening angle of the door, which is or can be connected to the door hinge, during a pivoting movement thereof, wherein the retaining disks and the brake disks engage into one another, the at least one contour is formed on an outer side of at least one contour element, the brake disks and the contour element have the shape of a circular arc and the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks are non-rotatably held on the hinge axis, wherein the assembly consisting of the contour element with its contour and the brake disks can be moved relative to the assembly consisting of the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks about the hinge axis, and wherein at least the first holding arm, which is supported on the contour, is or can be stressed at least relative to the contour by a basic clamping force in order to hold the assemblies consisting of the holding arms and the retaining disks and of the contour element and the brake disks on one another such that the holding arm follows the contour while it passes over this contour.

2. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the curvature of the contour element and the curvature of the brake disks correspond to one another.

3. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the brake disks and the contour element are arranged axially on top of one another and in alignment with one another and/or that the brake disks and/or the retaining disks are arranged radially with respect to the orientation of the hinge axis of the door hinge.

4. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contour element provided with the contour and the brake disks are or can be held on one another by pin elements, wherein the contour element and the brake disks are mounted such that they can be axially displaced along the pin elements.

5. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein disk springs are arranged between the brake disks in order to position the brake disks on top of one another free of play.

6. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks are non-rotatably mounted on the hinge axis.

7. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks are mounted such that they can be axially displaced along the hinge axis.

8. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein at least one spring assembly, particularly a disk spring assembly, is provided for exerting the basic clamping force of the at least one holding arm upon the contour.

9. The door hinge according to claim 8, wherein at least one adjusting device, particularly at least one set screw that acts upon the spring assembly, especially the disk spring assembly, is provided for adjusting the basic clamping force.

10. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein at least one pneumatic and/or hydraulic and/or electric device, particularly a pneumatic and/or hydraulic and/or electric drive, is provided for generating the basic clamping force.

11. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein at least the surfaces or surface sections of the holding arm or holding arms, the retaining disks, the brake disks and the contour of the contour element, which rest and/or slide on one another, are provided with at least one coating and/or heat-treated in order to influence their sliding properties and/or wear behavior.

12. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein multiple holding arms are provided and/or a star-shaped holding arm arrangement is provided.

13. The door hinge according to claim 1, wherein only one holding arm is provided and exerts pressure upon the retaining disks and the brake disks via the contour of the contour element, wherein the retaining disk or brake disk, which is spaced apart from the holding arm by the greatest distance, is supported on a lower part of a housing of the door hinge, in which these disks are accommodated.

14. A vehicle, particularly a motor vehicle, with at least one door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the door hinge is arranged in a region of a door console and a column console.

15. The door hinge according to claim 2, wherein the brake disks and the contour element are arranged axially on top of one another and in alignment with one another and/or that the brake disks and/or the retaining disks are arranged radially with respect to the orientation of the hinge axis of the door hinge, and wherein the at least one contour element provided with the contour and the brake disks are or can be held on one another by pin elements, wherein the contour element and the brake disks are mounted such that they can be axially displaced along the pin elements.

16. The door hinge according to claim 15, wherein disk springs are arranged between the brake disks in order to position the brake disks on top of one another free of play, and wherein the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks are non-rotatably mounted on the hinge axis.

17. The door hinge according to claim 16, wherein the at least one holding arm and the retaining disks are mounted such that they can be axially displaced along the hinge axis, and wherein at least one spring assembly, particularly a disk spring assembly, is provided for exerting the basic clamping force of the at least one holding arm upon the contour.

18. The door hinge according to claim 17, wherein at least one adjusting device, particularly at least one set screw that acts upon the spring assembly, especially the disk spring assembly, is provided for adjusting the basic clamping force, and wherein at least one pneumatic and/or hydraulic and/or electric device, particularly a pneumatic and/or hydraulic and/or electric drive, is provided for generating the basic clamping force.

19. The door hinge according to claim 18, wherein at least the surfaces or surface sections of the holding arm or holding arms, the retaining disks, the brake disks and the contour of the contour element, which rest and/or slide on one another, are provided with at least one coating and/or heat-treated in order to influence their sliding properties and/or wear behavior, wherein multiple holding arms are provided and/or a star-shaped holding arm arrangement is provided, and wherein only one holding arm is provided and exerts pressure upon the retaining disks and the brake disks via the contour of the contour element, wherein the retaining disk or brake disk, which is spaced apart from the holding arm by the greatest distance, is supported on a lower part of a housing of the door hinge, in which these disks are accommodated.

20. A vehicle, particularly a motor vehicle, with at least one door hinge according to claim 19, wherein the door hinge is arranged in a region of a door console and a column console.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in greater detail below with reference to the drawings. In these drawings:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of an inventive door hinge, which is accommodated between a column console for being mounted on a vehicle body and a door console for being mounted on a vehicle door, and

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of only the door hinge according to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] FIG. 1 shows an installed state of a door hinge 100 that is accommodated in a housing 101. A door console 110 for being mounted on a not-shown door is arranged adjacent to one side of the housing 101. In order to mount the door on the door console 110, the latter features at least one mounting opening 111, into which a bolt, a screw or another fastening means can engage.

[0033] A mounting arm 121 of a column console 120 engages underneath the door hinge 100, which in the installed state according to FIG. 1 is arranged approximately vertical (in space), and supports this door hinge. The column console 120 serves for mounting the door hinge 100 on a vehicle body that is not illustrated in FIG. 1. The column console 120 features at least one mounting opening 122, into which a bolt, a screw or another fastening mean can engage, in order to be mounted on the vehicle body. The mounting arm 121 protrudes approximately perpendicular from the column console 120 and features an opening or a bearing for supporting a hinge axis 1 of the door hinge 100. A bearing pin 11 arranged on the lower end 10 of the hinge axis 1 (see FIG. 2) serves for supporting the mounting arm 121 of the column console 120 in the opening or the bearing provided at this location. The hinge axis 1 of the door hinge 100 is therefore rotatably supported on the mounting arm 121 of the column console 120.

[0034] According to FIGS. 1 and 2, the door hinge 100 furthermore comprises two holding arms 2, 3 that are arranged on top of one another along the hinge axis 1. Retaining disks 4 are arranged between these holding arms. The two holding arms 2, 3, as well as the retaining disks 4, are connected to the hinge axis 1 by means of respective openings 20, 30 and 40 arranged on their ends. The openings 20, 30 and 40 are respectively shaped unevenly in order to prevent the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks 4 from inadvertently turning about a hinge axis 1. The hinge axis 1 likewise has an uneven profile. According to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hinge axis 1 is flattened on one side in this case, i.e. it features a flattened section 12. In this way, the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks 4 are non-rotatably held on the hinge axis 1. These components therefore form one hinge part. In order to optimally position the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks on the hinge axis 1, they are furthermore arranged on and connected to the hinge axis 2 in an axially displaceable fashion.

[0035] The holding arm 2 features a spherical section 22 on its end 21 that lies opposite of the end with the opening 20. The holding arm 2 rests against a contour 5 formed on the outer side of a contour element 50 with this spherical section. The contour element 50 has the shape of a circular arc. The contour 5 comprises planar surfaces 51, an elevation 52 (referred to the plane of the planar surfaces 51) and a depression 53 (referred to the plane of the planar surfaces 51). Brake disks 7 are provided adjacent to and in alignment with the circular arc-shaped contour element 50. These brake disks likewise have the shape of a circular arc. In this arrangement of the door hinge 100 in space or in the installed state of the door hinge 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, these brake disks are arranged underneath the contour element 50 on its side 55 that lies opposite of the contour 5. The brake disks 6 and the contour element 54 form a second hinge part. They are fixed in their position relative to one another on their ends by means of two pin elements 9 and supported on these pin elements 9. The contour element 50 and the brake disks 6 respectively feature openings on their ends in order to be supported on the pin elements 9, but only the openings 54 and 56 in the contour element 50 are visible in FIG. 2. Disk springs 60 are provided between the brake disks 6 and between the brake disks 6 and the contour element 50, as well as on the upper side thereof, in order to realize an axial compensation along the pin elements 9 and to thereby position the individual brake disks 6 along the pin elements 9 free of play or essentially free of play. In this way, annoying noises during the operation can also be prevented and the thickness of the brake disks 6 can be compensated for the wear occurring over their service life. The contour element 50 and the brake disks 6 are mounted in the housing 101 of the door hinge 100 by means of the pin elements 9 as shown in FIG. 1. The two pin elements 9 are supported in corresponding bearing openings 102 in a lower part 103 of the housing 101. The door console 110 for being mounted on a not-shown door is arranged adjacent to one side of the housing 101 as already mentioned above. The hinge part or the assembly consisting of the contour element 50 with its contour 5 and the brake disks 6 can be moved relative to the hinge part or assembly consisting of the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks 4 about the hinge axis 1.

[0036] The retaining disks 4 and the brake disks 7 respectively engage into one another or mesh with one another as illustrated particularly well in FIG. 2. The spherical section 22 of the first holding arm 22 is supported on the contour 5 and the second holding arm 3 engages underneath the bottom brake disk 6, i.e. the brake disk 6 that is spaced apart from the contour element 50 by the greatest distance, adjacent to the second holding arm 3. A device for generating a basic clamping force, in this example a disk spring assembly 7, is provided in order to ensure that the assemblies consisting of the holding arms 2, 3 and retaining disks 4 arranged in between on the one hand and of the contour element 50 and brake disks 6 arranged adjacent thereto on the other hand are held on one another by a clamping force. Alternatively, it would also be possible to provide a different type of spring assembly or another device, e.g. a pneumatic device, which is likewise capable of exerting a basic clamping force upon the first holding arm 2, the contour element 50, the retaining disks 4, the brake disks 6 and the second holding arm 3.

[0037] A set screw 8 is provided for adjusting the basic clamping force of the disk spring assembly 7. A different device for adjusting the basic clamping force can be used if another device for generating the basic clamping force is provided. According to FIG. 2, in particular, the disk spring assembly 7 with the set screw 8 arranged on top thereof is positioned on the end of the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks 4, on which they engage on the contour 5 of the contour element 50 and the brake disks 6, i.e. near the contact region between the holding arm 2, the contour 5, the retaining disks 4, the brake disks 6 and the holding arm 3, in order to optimally exert the basic clamping force upon these components of the door hinge 100.

[0038] A holding torque of the door or the door hinge 100 is generated by respectively clamping the holding arms 2, 3 and the retaining disks 4 on or against the contour 5 of the contour element 50 and the brake disks 6, wherein the spherical section 22 of the holding arm 2 resting on the contour 5, as well as the disk spring assembly 7, are respectively arranged distant from the hinge axis 1 on the respective end of the holding arm 2 or the retaining disks 4, which lie opposite of the connection to the hinge axis 1.

[0039] When the door connected to the door console 110 is moved, i.e. opened or closed, the spherical section 22 of the first holding arm 22 moves or passes over the contour 5 and accordingly its planar surfaces 51, elevation(s) 52 and, if applicable, depression(s) 53. During this process, the holding torque changes in dependence on the opening angle of the door because the disk spring assembly 7 is compressed to different degrees by the first holding arm 2 due to the different height levels of the contour 5. This also changes the resulting clamping force, by means of which the retaining disks 4 and the brake disks 6 are pressed on or against one another. Different regions of the door hinge can thereby be defined. For example, a free-running region, which serves for closing the door, can be generated when a low clamping force or no clamping force is generated. A high clamping force may be generated in a retaining region such that the door can also be securely held on a hill. An average clamping force may be generated in a comfort region and serve for holding the door on level ground. In a damping region, a continuously increasing clamping force may be generated prior to reaching a final position (with high clamping force), wherein this is realized by providing a ramp on the contour 5 before the elevation 52 is reached.

[0040] The surfaces of the components of the door hinge 100 that rest and slide on one another, i.e. the spherical section 22 of the holding arm 2, the contour 5, the retaining disks 4, the brake disks 6 and the holding arm 3, can be better protected against wear and their sliding properties can be improved if at least these surfaces or surface sections or these complete components are coated with a corresponding material and/or heat-treated. A suitable material may be sufficiently hard for preventing wear on the one hand and simplify a sliding movement on the other hand. A wear protection and an improvement of the sliding properties can both be realized with a heat treatment of the components or at least their active surfaces.

[0041] Due to the utilization of a plurality of retaining disks 4 and brake disks 6 that respectively engage into one another or mesh with one another, the clamping force required for generating a predefined holding torque can be significantly lowered in comparison with the solutions known from the prior art. The wear between the first holding arm 2 and the contour 5 can also be substantially reduced due to the reduced stress on the retaining disks 4 and the brake disks 6 resulting from the comparatively lower clamping force such that the service life of the door hinge 100 can be significantly prolonged in comparison with known door hinges.

[0042] The haptics of the door hinge 100, which are dependent on the opening angle, can be varied depending on the design of the contour 5, i.e. the arrangement and configuration of the planar surfaces 51, the elevations 52 and the depressions 53. The properties of the door hinge 100 and the above-described regions with a low up to a high clamping force or a free-running region, a retaining region, a comfort region and a damping region, can be varied by changing the contour 5, i.e. by replacing the contour element with another contour element 50 that has a different contour 5, and/or by changing the number of retaining disks 4 and brake disks 6. Such a variation is simplified due to the modular design of the door hinge 100, in which all components, particularly the retaining disks 4, the brake disks 6 and the contour element 50 with the contour 5, but also the at least two holding arms 2, 3, can be easily replaced with other components and their number and arrangement can be varied.

[0043] Instead of the axial arrangement of the retaining disks 4 and brake disks 6 (on top of one another) illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, these disks may also be arranged radially. Instead of using one pair of holding arms with the holding arms 2, 3, it is also possible to provide multiple pairs of holding arms and/or the pair of holding arms may in contrast to FIGS. 1 and 2 be arranged in a star-shaped fashion.

[0044] The available structural space in the region of the door console 110 and the column console 120 can be optimally utilized due to the circular arc-shaped design of the contour element 50 in the form of a circular arc element and the brake disks 6. FIG. 1, in particular, shows that a clearance remains between the hinge axis 1 and the column console 120 such that the distance between the door axis and the outer shell of the vehicle can be very small.

[0045] In addition to the above-described and illustrated embodiments of door hinges for connecting and pivoting a door relative to a column console, which comprise at least one hinge axis, at least one holding arm that engages on the hinge axis and at least one contour and in which the at least one holding arm is supported on the contour with at least one section, it is furthermore possible to implement numerous other embodiments, particularly also any combinations of the described characteristics, in which retaining disks are respectively provided adjacent to the at least one holding arm and brake disks are provided adjacent to the contour in order to generate a holding torque that is dependent on the opening angle of the door, which is or can be connected to the door hinge, during a pivoting movement thereof, wherein the retaining disks and the brake disks engage into one another and at least the first holding arm, which is supported on the contour, is stressed at least relative to the contour by means of a basic clamping force, and wherein said basic clamping force holds the assemblies consisting of the holding arms and retaining disks and of the contour element and the brake disks on one another such that the holding arm follows the contour while it passes over this contour.

REFERENCE LIST

[0046] 1 Hinge axis [0047] 2 Holding arm [0048] 3 Holding arm [0049] 4 Retaining disk [0050] 5 Contour [0051] 6 Brake disk [0052] 7 Disk spring assembly [0053] 8 Set screw [0054] 9 Pin element [0055] 10 Lower end of 1 [0056] 11 Bearing pin [0057] 12 Flattened section [0058] 20 Opening [0059] 21 End [0060] 22 Spherical section [0061] 30 Opening [0062] 40 Opening [0063] 50 Contour element [0064] 51 Planar surface [0065] 52 Elevation [0066] 53 Depression [0067] 54 Opening [0068] 55 Side of 50 [0069] 56 Opening [0070] 60 Disk spring [0071] 100 Door hinge [0072] 101 Housing [0073] 102 Bearing opening [0074] 103 Lower part of 101 [0075] 110 Door console [0076] 111 Mounting opening [0077] 120 Column console [0078] 121 Mounting arm [0079] 122 Mounting opening