US Patent 7100245 Hinge for a motor-vehicle door

The invention proposes a hinge to be exchanged for the hinges on a motor-vehicle door. The hinge contains a hinge section that is attached to the bodywork and a hinge section that is attached to the door. A linking device having a pair of linkages is situated between the two hinge sections. The first linkage allows opening the door in the factory-standard manner until the door is clear of the door frame. The second linkage then allows pivoting the door upward about a horizontal axis, which will allow configuring automobile doors such that they may be opened in the same manner as “gull-wing” doors. The motions about both axes may be constrained such that contact between the door and the bodywork will be avoided.