Door system for e.g. vehicle, has spring of shape memory alloy or polymer which biases door to open position relative to structural member e.g. vehicle body, when door is in its closed position

摘要

A spring (400), mounted with respect to a structural member e.g. a vehicle body (310), or a door (318), biases the door towards its open position relative to the hinge pillar (314) of the structural member, when the door is in its closed position. The spring is made from shape memory alloy or polymer, and may be selectively compressed by an active material e.g. a shape memory alloy wire, which changes in attribute e.g. modulus, in response to a thermal activation signal. An independent claim is also included for a vehicle.