Braun Gmbh

Paul D Crawford

Ronald W Goodrich

An apparatus for attaching a vehicle sliding door to a vehicle side wall includes a plate, an arm member and a roller assembly. The plate is attached to the vehicle side wall and has a guide slot and an insert and release hole formed therein. The insert and release hole has a diameter greater than the width of the guide slot and intersects the guide slot at a chord of the hole. The arm member includes a first end pivotally attached to the door and a second end. The roller assembly is attached to the second end of the arm member and includes a roller having a neck dimensioned to fit in and roll along the guide slot and two disc portions disposed above and below the neck of the roller. The disc portions have a diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the insert and release hole and is larger than the width of the guide slot. The roller is attached to the plate by inserting the roller into the insert and release hole and pushing the neck of the roller through the cord into the guide slot. Once in the guide slot, the two disc portions prevent the roller from separating therefrom. The roller is detached from the plate by pushing the neck of the roller through the cord into the insert and release hole and removing the roller from the hole.

Apparatus for mounting a sliding door to a vehicle having a slotted door track and an insert and release hole

A method of mounting and dismounting a sliding door to and from a door track structure having a slot and mounted adjacent a vehicle roof. The door having an arm member having a roller assembly mounted adjacent an end of the arm member. The roller assembly having an upper and a lower disc portion and an intermediate necked portion. The track structure having an insert and release hole intersecting the slot at a cord of the hole and the slot having a width smaller than the diameter of the hole. The method of mounting the door to the track structure comprising the steps of inserting the roller assembly into the insert and release hole in the track structure and pressing the intermediate necked portion of the roller assembly through the intersection to cause the roller assembly to move from the hole into the slot to engage the slot. The method of dismounting the door from the track structure comprising the steps of pressing the intermediate necked portion of the roller assembly through the intersection to cause the roller assembly to move from the slot into the hole and removing the roller assembly from the hole.

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Minamac, IN, United States of America

Paul D Crawford