DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a field of automotive engineering. Particularly but not exclusively present disclosure relates to a mechanism for supporting closures in vehicles. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose the support mechanism for supporting the closure such as hood in open position.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In most of the vehicles such as but not limiting to passenger vehicles including but not limiting to cars, sport utility vehicles, multi utility vehicles, Tempo Travellers, goods carrying vehicles including but not liming to lorries, trucks, agricultural machineries including but not limiting to tractors, and road paving there is a provision of one or more closures to enclose various components. In general, such closures are used to enclose engine bay, boot space, luggage space, sunroof and the like.

As an example, one such use of closures which is found virtually in all automotive vehicles is closure which is called as hood for enclosing the engine bay. The hood sometimes is also referred as bonnet, and is usually provided in front portion of the vehicle in between the front windshield and a front bumper portion of the vehicle. In such hoods, one end is hinged to a vehicle body near to the front windshield region, and is allowed to move from a closed position to an open position. Further, at least one latch is provisioned in other end of the hood for locking the hood with the vehicle body when the hood is in closed position. Since, the engine and other accessories are placed below such hood the mechanic or user needs to open the hood for checking oil level, air filter cleaning, coolant level checking etc. Further, in some vehicles such as rear engine vehicles fuel filling port will be provided under hood. Hence, there will be high frequency of opening the hood for filling the fuel.

Conventionally, the hood is supported to on the vehicle through one or more hinges and is maintained in open position by means of a support rod which is provided in a vehicle body, which can be arranged in between the open edge of the hood, and the body of the vehicle. The support rod will act as arrestor for movement of hood from open position to closed position. However, since the rod is supported by a self-weight of the hood there are high chances of sliding of the support rod which leads to accidental fall of the hood from open position. Accidental fall of such hood is very dangerous to a mechanic or user who is working under the hood for example, while the mechanic is leaned over the engine compartment, and hampers safety in the vehicle. In order to avoid such accidental fall of the hood, the hood usually comprises a seat to engage the end portion of the support rod. So that the mechanic can arrange end of the support rod in the seta, and prevent the hood from closing. The engagement between the support rod and the hood is maintained by the self-weight of the hood. In such vehicles the mechanic or the user need to remove the support rod from its lock on the vehicle body, and then search the seat in which the support rod to be locked. Hence, it is quite time consuming task and fatigue task to the user or mechanic. Most of the times the user or mechanic also finds difficulty in locating the seat in which the hood support rod should be locked, which results in time consuming process. In addition, if the user or mechanic misses to arrange end of the stay rod properly in the seat, then there are chances of accidental fall of the hood. Also when the mechanic or the user is working under the hood there is possibility that they may accidentally touch or move the support rod which may result in falling of the hood on them.

In light of the foregoing discussion, it is necessary to develop an improved supporting mechanism for supporting the closure is open position with respect to vehicle body to overcome the one or more problems stated above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by a mechanism as claimed and additional advantages are provided through the provision of mechanism as claimed in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure there is provided a mechanism for supporting closure of a vehicle in an open position, wherein one end of the closure is pivoted to a vehicle body. The mechanism comprises a first bracket having a first end and a second end connectable to the vehicle body. A second bracket having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion is pivoted to the second end of the first bracket, and the second portion is connectable to the closure. The mechanism comprises a third bracket having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the third bracket is pivoted to the first end of the first bracket, and the second end of the third bracket is configured to slide on the second bracket to reside in a provision provided on the second bracket for supporting the closure in open position. Further, at least one resilient member is provided in the mechanism wherein one end of the at least one resilient member is connected to the first bracket and the other end of the at least one resilient member is connected to the third bracket. The at least one resilient member is adapted to urge the third bracket towards the second bracket.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one resilient member is a compression spring, and is configured to be in expanded state when the closure is in closed position.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second bracket is at least one of “L” shaped and “V” shaped bracket.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the mechanism comprises a handle provisioned on the third bracket. The handle is adapted to be operated by a user to pull-out the second end of the third bracket from the at least one provision.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

OBJECTIVE OF THE DISCLOSURE

One object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for supporting a closure of the vehicle, which can automatically arrest/lock the hood when the closure is lifted by the user to the open position.

One object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for supporting a closure of the vehicle, which is simple in construction, economical, user friendly, and retro-fittable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates exploded view of a mechanism for supporting a closure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates assembled view of a mechanism for supporting a closure of with in the vehicle according to some embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates schematic view of the closure of the vehicle in the open position, supported by the mechanism of FIG. 1 according to some embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematic view of the closure of the vehicle in the closed position, showing position of the third bracket according to some embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

To overcome one or more drawbacks mentioned in the background, the present disclosure provides a support mechanism for supporting the closure including but not limiting to hood of the vehicle in open position with respect the vehicle body. The support mechanism of the present disclosure supports closure in the vehicles which are hinged to the vehicle body at one end, and are configured to move from closed position to open position. The support mechanism is adapted to automatically move, and act as stopper for arresting the downward movement of the closure. If the user or mechanic needs to close the closure after performing necessary action, the user can manually disengage the support mechanism from closure which allows the movement of closure form open position to lower position.

The support mechanism of the present disclosure broadly comprise of a first bracket, second bracket, a third bracket and a resilient member. The first bracket comprises of a first end and a second end, and connectable to the vehicle body. The second bracket has a first portion and a second portion is provided in the mechanism. The first portion of the second bracket is pivoted to the second end of the first bracket, and the second portion of the second bracket is connectable to the closure. Further, the mechanism comprises the third bracket having a first end and a second end. The first end of the third bracket is pivoted to the first end of the first bracket and the second end of the third bracket is configured to reside in an at least one provision provided in first portion of the second bracket for supporting the closure in open position. Further, the mechanism comprises at least one resilient member connected in between the first bracket and the third bracket. The at least one resilient member is adapted to urge the third bracket towards the first portion of the second bracket for receiving the at least one provision, when the closure is moved to the open position. The arrangement of the at least one resilient member facilitates automatic movement of the third bracket towards the second bracket for locking the closure in the open position.

The term open position used herein above and below refers to raised position of the hood, which is inclined at an angle with respect to transverse direction of the vehicle. Further the term closed position used herein above and below refers to lowered position of the hood, in which the hood encloses the components of the vehicle.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an assembly, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.

In the following description the words such as open, closed, raised, lowered, front are used with respect to particular orientation of the mechanism as illustrated in drawings of the present disclosure. The words are used to explain the aspects of the present disclosure and for better understanding. However, one should not construe such terms as limitation to the present disclosure, since the terms may interchange based on the orientation of the mechanism.

Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of figures of a mechanism for supporting a hood in open position with respect to vehicle body which is one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art can envisage various such embodiments without deviating from scope of the present disclosure. Further, it is to be noted that the support mechanism can be used for supporting closures in the vehicle. However for the purpose of simplicity the vehicle is not illustrated in the figures of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure which illustrates exploded view of a mechanism (100) for supporting closure such as but not limiting to a hood (12) of the vehicle (not shown). As shown in the FIG. 1 the mechanism (100) comprises a first bracket (3) connectable to the body (13) of the vehicle (not shown). In an embodiment, the first bracket (3) is configured as base of the assembly (100), and can be mounted in any desired locations on the body part (13) of the vehicle such as but not limiting to at least one side or at centre of the grill in the engine compartment of the vehicle. The first bracket (3) comprises a first end (3a) and a second end (3b) with at least one pivoting provision in each of the first end (3a) and the second end (3b). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the first bracket (3) is “L” shaped bracket. A second bracket (10) of predetermined shape having a first portion (10a) and a second portion (10b) is provided in the mechanism (100). The first portion (10a) of the second bracket (10) is pivotally attached to second end (3b) of the first bracket (3), and it extends vertically from a pivot point. The second portion (10b) of the second bracket (10) extends horizontally from end of first portion (10a), and is adapted to support hood (12) of the vehicle. The second portion (10b) of the second bracket (10) is connected to hood (12), and is configured to carry the hood (12) when the user/mechanic opens the hood (12). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first bracket (3) is attached to the vehicle body (13), and second bracket (10) is attached on hood using at least one of temporary joining mechanism such as fastening through fasteners such as but not limiting to bolts, nut and bolt, screw, and rivet, and permanent joining including but not liming to welding.

The mechanism (100) also includes a third bracket (2) also referred as locking bracket configured to automatically lock the hood when the user/mechanic move the hood (12) from closed position (CP) to open position. The third bracket (2) maintains the hood in open position (OP) till the user or mechanic manually disengages the third bracket (2). In one exemplary embodiment the locking bracket (2) comprises a first end (2a) and a second end (2b). The first end (2a) of the locking bracket (2) is pivotally connected to first end (3a) of the first bracket (3). Further, the second end (2b) of the locking bracket (2) is configured as a locking portion, and is adapted to slide on the first portion (10a) of the second bracket to reside in at least one provision (5) provided in the first portion (10a). This results in locking of the downward movement of hood (12). Further, the mechanism (100) comprises a resilient member (1) provisioned in between the third bracket (2) and the first bracket (3). The resilient member (1) is configured to lift the locking bracket (2) at the time of opening the hood (12), and hold the locking bracket (2) firmly to lock into the at least one provision (5). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the resilient member (1) is a compression spring (1). The locking bracket (2) and the bracket (3) comprises provisions (6) for holding ends of the spring (1). In alternative embodiment, one end (1a) of the resilient member (1) is connected to any other desired location inside the vehicle apart from the first bracket (3). In an embodiment of the disclosure, any other resilient member which is known in the art can be used to perform the function of urging the bracket (2) apart from the compression spring. Further, the locking bracket (2) is provided with a handle (11). The handle (11) is adapted to be operated by the user or mechanic to unlock the locking bracket (2) from the provision (5) at the time of closing the hood (12) i.e. movement of hood from open position (OP) to the closed position.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure illustrating assembled view of the support hinge assembly (100) for a hood (12) of the vehicle (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2 the first bracket (3) is removably fixed to the body (13), and the second bracket (10) is removably attached to the hood (12). Normally, when the hood (12) is in closed position (CP) as shown in FIG. 4 the resilient member (1) will be in expanded state due to weight of the hood (12). Whenever user/operator/mechanic lifts the hood (12) for doing any check-ups or fuel filling into the engine bay the locking bracket (2) the resilient member (1) will pull the locking bracket (2). In one embodiment the resilient member (1) will pull the bracket (2) until resilient member (1) is fully compressed from its expanded state. The locking bracket (2) has a protruded portion in the second (2a) which will slide on the second bracket (10), and resides in the provision (5) provided on the second bracket (10), when said locking second bracket (2) is lifted by the resilient member (1) [best shown in FIG. 3]. Once the locking bracket (2) resides in the provision (5), the entire load of the hood (12) will be transferred onto the locking bracket (2) which is so configured that it will carry the hood (12) at a desired height.

Now referring to FIG. 4 which is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure which illustrates assembled view of a support hinge assembly (100), showing the position of the locking bracket (2) when the hood (12) is closed. As shown in FIG. 4 when the user/mechanic intends to close the hood (12), the user needs to pull the protruded portion of the locking bracket (2) out of the provision (5) provided on the second bracket (10). This can be done by pulling the locking bracket (2) using handle (11). Once the protruded portion of the locking bracket (2) out of the provision (5) provided on the second bracket (10) the user can release the hood (12), and due to weight of the hood (12) it will come to its closed condition, and will be locked into a latch mechanism [not shown]. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as an additional safety requirement, the user or mechanic may ensure that locking bracket (2) is properly engaged in the provision (5) by pulling the hood (12) downwards by 20 to 30mm, and then allow the hood (12) to its locking condition.

It is to be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations provided they come within the ambit of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Advantage:
The present disclosure provides a mechanism for supporting a closure of the vehicle, which can automatically arrest/lock the closure when the closure is lifted by the user/operator. This improves customer convenience, and no special skill required. This also improves safety of the user/mechanic.

The present disclosure provides a mechanism for supporting a closure of the vehicle, which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture, economical user friendly, and retro-fittable.

Industrial applicability:
The support mechanism as described can be used to support any closures in the vehicles not limiting to hood used for enclosing engine bay. For example the mounting assembly can be used for supporting any other closures such as hatch door, sunroof, and the like.

Equivalents:

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Support mechanism
1 Resilient member
1a and 1b Ends of the resilient member
2 Third/locking bracket
2a and 2b First and second end of the locking bracket
3 First bracket
3a and 3b First and second ends of the first bracket
5 Provision in the second bracket
6 Provision
10 Second bracket
10a First portion of the second bracket
10b Second portion of the second bracket
11 Handle
12 Closure/Hood
13 Vehicle body
OP Open position
CP Closed position

,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A mechanism (100) for supporting closure (12) of a vehicle in an open position, wherein one end (12a) of the closure (12) is pivoted to a vehicle body, the mechanism (100) comprising:
a first bracket (3) having a first end (3a) and a second end (3b) connectable to the vehicle body;
a second bracket (10) having a first portion (10a) and a second portion (10b), wherein the first portion (10a) is pivoted to the second end (3b) of the first bracket (3), and the second portion (10b) is connectable to the closure (12);
a third bracket (2) having a first end (2a) and a second end (2b), wherein the first end (2a) of the third bracket (2) is pivoted to the first end (3a) of the first bracket (3), and the second end (2b) of the third bracket (2) is configured to slide on the second bracket to reside in a provision (5) provided on the second bracket (10) for supporting the closure (12) in open position; and
at least one resilient member (1), wherein one end (1a) of the at least one resilient member (1) is connected to the first bracket (3) and the other end (1b) of the at least one resilient member (1) is connected to the third bracket (2);
wherein, the at least one resilient member (1) is adapted to urge the third bracket (2) towards the second bracket (10).

2. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one resilient member (1) is configured to be in expanded state when the closure is in closed position.

3. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one resilient member (1) is a compression spring.

4. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second bracket (10) is at least one of “L” shaped and “V” shaped bracket.

5. The mechanism as claimed in claim 1 comprises a handle (11) provisioned on the third bracket (2).

6. The mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the handle (11) is adapted to be operated by a user to pull-out the second end (2b) of the third bracket (2) from the at least one provision (5).

7. A vehicle comprising a mechanism (100) for supporting a closure in open position with respect to the vehicle as claimed in claim 1.

Dated this 16th Day of March, 2015 GOPINATH A.S.
IN/PA 1852
OF K&S PARTNERS
AGENT FOR THE APPLICANT