Abstract:
A door is pivotally mounted to a vehicle by an infinite position hold open hinge including conventional male and female hinge members pivotally interconnected. The female hinge member pivotally mounts one end of a lever about an axis inboard from the hinge axis with the other end of the lever having a depending flange with a center arcuate surface generated about and facing away from the hinge axis. The male hinge member mounts a plastic brake having an arcuate surface generated about and facing the hinge axis for engagement with the arcuate surface of the lever. A spring extending between the female hinge member and the other end of the lever biases the arcuate surface of the lever into frictional engagement with the arcuate surface of the brake. The depending flange also has lead in surfaces providing a smooth transition to the center arcuate surface the female hinge member includes and a stop preventing engagement of the lever the and brake when the door is in closed position to prevent the brake from taking a permanent set. Moving the door from closed position to open position moves the arcuate surface of the lever along the arcuate surface of the brake to produce a frictional drag which wedges the surfaces apart against the action of the spring to decrease the effort of opening the door. Moving the door from open position to closed position moves the arcuate surface of the lever oppositely along the arcuate surface of the brake to produce a frictional drag which wedges the surfaces together aiding the action of the spring to increase the effort of closing the door. When the door is in an intermediate position between the open and closed positions, the engagement between the arcuate surfaces of the lever and brake prevents movement of the door toward either the open or closed positions until a predetermined force is applied to the door.
Abstract:
An integral vehicle electric drive motor and wheel includes an annular permanent magnet field arrangement which produces an axial airgap field. A disc armature includes layers of flat conductors mounted on both sides of nonconductive discs. The motor shaft is journaled in a support sleeve carried by a vehicle suspension system. The disc armature and a driving flange are rotated by the shaft to drive a conventional vehicle wheel mounted to the driving flange. The motor housing includes a cylindrical casting which supports the field and brush assemblies and aids cooling by radiating heat from integral fins. The ends of the motor are enclosed by annular plates which provide end paths for the axial magnetic field.