Vehicle door hinge having vertically separable pivotal connections

Claim 1

A lift-off hinge assembly for mounting a vehicle door to a vehicle body comprising: a body mounting plate adapted to be secured to the vehicle body; a door mounting plate adapted to be secured to the vehicle door; a first pivot pin member fixedly secured to an upper portion of one of the body mounting plate or the door mounting plate and extending downwardly therefrom; a second pivot pin member fixedly secured to a lower portion of the other of the body mounting plate or the door mounting plate and extending upwardly therefrom; bearing means fixedly secured to facing portions of said mounting plates in registration with the pivot pins for permitting insertion of the pivot pins into the bearing means to surround and support the pivot pins for pivotal movement of the mounting plates between positions corresponding to open and closed positions of the vehicle door with respect to the vehicle body; and abutment means formed integrally with one of the body mounting plate or the door mounting plate to prevent separation of the mounting plates by vertical displacement when the plates are in the vehicle door closed position; the body mounting plate and the door mounting plate are formed as stampings; the body mounting plate is integrally formed to include a base portion shaped to abuttingly engaged a portion of the vehicle body and a pair of vertically spaced upstanding trunnion portions extending perpendicularly from the base portion away from the vehicle body, one of said trunnion portions carrying one of the pivot pins and one carrying one of the bearing means; and the door mounting plate is integrally formed to include a pair of vertically spaced mounting ears shaped to abuttingly engage a portion of the vehicle door and a bridge portion spanning the ears and including upstanding vertically spaced leg portions, one of said leg portions carrying one of the pivot pins and one carrying one of the bearing means, the bridge portion being configured to interleafingly engage the body mounting plate between the trunnion portions; the base portion including spaced flat mounting feet, a upstruct abutment tab extending from the lower one of the mounting feet, an aperture formed in the tab, a separate frangible push pin being snuggly received in the aperture, and extendingly upwardly therefrom, an aperture in one of the leg portions being aligned with the tab aperture, the separate frangible push pin also being received in the leg portion aperture when the mounting plates are in the closed position of the vehicle door with respect to the body, the upstruck abutment tab engaging the lower surface of the lower trunnion, and the frangible pin resisting relative vertical pivotal movement between the door and the body mounting plate until the frangible pin is broken movement of the door from the closed toward the open position.