BACKGROUND OF THE ART Closure hinges for vehicles, cabinets and the like involve mounting one end of the hinge to a body and another end to a hood, door or similar moveable panel.

The invention will be herein described in respect of a vehicle trunk hood as an example, however it will be understood that the invention is applicable to any number of hinge applications too numerous to specifically mention.

In respect of motor vehicles, due to the costs of tooling, it is preferable to standardize as many parts as possible. Mass production of identical parts that can be utilized in a large number of different vehicles is definitely the most cost effective way in which to manufacture car parts.

On the other hand, especially in respect of the exterior body of a passenger vehicle, major styling modifications are made to the vehicle bodies annually as a norm. To accommodate styling changes to a hinged portion of the car body, such as the trunk hood area, it is often necessary to modify the geometry of the hinge.

Hinge redesign results in the need for retooling and the attendant increase in manufacturing costs.

As well, the complex shapes of hoods and the need for clearance to avoid interference damage often dictate that hoods rotate about an axis or point remote from the vehicle body. In such cases, complex multiaxis closure hinges may be used; however, to date, the manufacturing and assembly costs involved in production of such multiaxis hinges is often prohibitive.

Commonly used hinges for vehicle trunk hoods include gooseneck hinges and multiple bar hinges. A significant disadvantage of the gooseneck hinge is that portions of the hinge extend into the cargo area, reducing available space and exposing the cargo and hinge to damage. Interference with the cargo can easily tip the trunk hood and disturb the weatherseal. The multibar hinge is more complex and relatively expensive to produce, however the intrusion into the cargo area is improved over the gooseneck hinge.

Lateral stability of prior art hinges is also a concern, and is usually dealt with by providing rigid connection to the body and to the hood, and by increasing the lateral structural resistance of the hinge. However, such measures also increase the material used and labour involved in installation.

Ideally, a hinge which does not intrude into the cargo space is desirable.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a multiaxis closure hinge for pivotally mounting a closure panel adjacent to an opening in a body to rotate about a point remote from the hinge between a closed position over the opening and an open position disposed apart from the opening.

The hinge includes a body pintle, having an inner and an outer end, with body mount means at the outer end thereof for pivotally mounting the body pintle to the body for rotation about a first axis; a panel pintle, having an inner and an outer end, with panel mount means at the outer end thereof for pivotally mounting the panel pintle to the panel for rotation about a second axis; and coupling means for rotably coupling the inner ends of the body pintle and panel pintle together to rotate about a third axis; wherein the first, second and third axes intersect at said point during rotation between the open and closed positions.

In a preferred embodiment the body pintle and panel pintle comprise elongate rods the inner end having an axis disposed at a predetermined angle relative to an axis of the outer end. The pintles include retainer means for axially

securing the pintle ends to the mount and coupling means, such as press fit retainer bushings.

The mount means preferably comprise a flanged bearing mount, and the coupling means preferably comprise a coupling block having means for coupling the inner end axes at an acute angle, and for fixing one said pintle to the coupling block to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

Preferably, each component of the hinge, (i. e.: body pintle, body mount means, panel pintle, panel mount means and coupling means) has a plane of symmetry enabling the hinge to be used for left and right installation. Therefore, it is not necessary to fabricate and stock left and right versions of the same component, thereby reducing costs and production time.

As a result of the novel structure, standard components can be mass produced to reduce costs and any modifications required to suit a particular application can be accomplished merely by redesigning the bent cylindrical pintle rods. Significant retooling costs can thus be avoided.

The panel and body mounts, and coupler can remain standard despite changes in the hinge geometry required for a particular application. To change the hinge geometry, the designer need merely redesign the geometry of the pintle rods.

Since the pintles are constructed of solid cylindrical metal stock, different lengths and bends are easily made with relatively inexpensive tooling. Compared to retooling for stamped sheet metal hinge components of the prior art, the retooling required to fabricate a bent solid rod is significantly lower in cost and skill level.

The lateral stability of the hinge in all positions is far superior to the prior art gooseneck and multibar hinges since the angular orientation of the pintles result in a diagonal strut or scissor-like bracing structure. The hinge cooperates with means to maintain the trunk hood in an open position, such as pneumatic cylinders or torsion bars, as is well-known in the art, and for this reason not shown in the drawings.

The hinge is compact since it folds upon, itself and is small enough to be accommodated in the gutter of a vehicle body adjacent the trunk hood. Therefore, the hinge does not intrude into the luggage area, avoiding the problems associated with the prior art.

The geometry of the hinge is preferably maintained, such that the three axes of rotation intersect at a virtual hinge point, but do not define a single plane in operation. In other words, the hinge remains in a flexed orientation to avoid dead head instability or toggling action, which would result if all three axes were allowed to move to a coplanar position.

Further details of the invention and of its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings included below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be readily understood, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a multiaxis hinge in an open position according to the invention showing a lower body mount and an upper panel mount with a central coupling joining the body and panel pintles to rotate about three axes which intersect at a point remote from the hinge; Figure 2 is a like perspective view in the closed position showing the compact collapsing feature of the hinge, such that it can be accommodated within the gutter of a vehicle trunk hood so as to produce minimal interference with the luggage area; and Figure 3 is an exploded view showing the symmetrical components of the hinge which can be utilized for left and right hinges interchangeably.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Fig. 1, the drawing shows a multiaxis closure hinge assembled form standard modular components as follows: body pintle 1; body mount 2; panel mount 3; panel pintle 4; and a coupling means in the form of coupler 5.

The body pintle 1 has an inner and an outer end, with the body mount 2 at the outer end for pivotally mounting the body pintle 1 to the body (not shown) for rotation about a first axis 10.

The panel pintle 4 also has an inner and an outer end, with panel mount 3 at the outer end for pivotally mounting the panel pintle 4 to the panel (not shown) for rotation about a second axis 11.

Coupler 5 is provided for rotably coupling the inner ends of the body pintle 1 and panel pintle 4 together to rotate about a third axis 12.

The first axis 10, second axis 11 and third axis 12 intersect at a point 13 remote from the hinge during rotation between the open and closed positions.

For simplicity of manufacture, preferably the body pintle 1 and panel pintle 4 comprise elongate rods that are bent such that the inner end has an axis disposed at a predetermined angle relative to the axis of the outer end, as best shown in Figure 3.

Significant geometry modifications can be made to the hinge merely by bending the pintles 1,4 to different orientations. In combination with varying the length of the pintles 1,4, the designer can modify the hinge significantly without altering the design of standard components 2,3, and 5.

A simple retainer bushing 6 can be press fit onto the pintles 1,4 during assembly for axially securing the pintle ends to the body mount 2, panel mount 3 and coupling 5.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the body mount 2 comprises a standard flanged bearing mount, whereas the panel mount 3 takes the shape of a

symmetric hinge wing to enable easy connection to a standard passenger vehicle trunk hood bracket 7.

The coupling 5 in the preferred embodiment illustrated comprises a solid coupling block having two through bores for coupling the inner end axes of the pintles 1,4 at an acute angle, and for fixing the body pintle 1 to the coupling block 5 to prevent relative rotation therebetween. The inner end of the body pintle 1 may be knurled or press fit, for example, to achieve such fixation of the body pintle 1 to the coupling block 5.

As best seen in Figure 3, each component of the hinge, including the body pintle 1, body mount 2, panel pintle 4, panel mount 3 and coupling 5, has a plane of symmetry to enable standard components to be used for both left and right hinges. In general, as illustrated the plane of symmetry is coplanar with the respective axis of rotation 10,11, or 12.

Although the above description and accompanying drawings relate to a specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents of the elements described and illustrated. For example, pintles of various cross-sections can be used in place of the cylindrical cross-section pintles shown in the figures. Moreover, to lessen production costs, such pintles may have a generally flat profile, so as to be capable of production from flat metal stock, utilizing conventional stamping techniques in widespread use in the auto parts industry. In such instance, it may also be desirable to form one or more of the ends of the pintles with stamped ear flanges shaped and dimensioned to operatively interfit with mating ear flanges on adjacent components of the hinge, in which case a separate hinge pin would be required to pivotally connect the two adjacent components, in the same general manner as a conventional door hinge