Abstract: An apparatus for opening and closing a vehicle door as a vehicle body is being conveyed through a paint booth and having a primary arm pivotally mounted on a carriage and supporting a secondary arm for seizing and releasing the vehicle door under the control of a link, the apparatus being characterized in that the pivotal connections interconnecting the primary arm and the link to the secondary arm and to the carriage are located in positions which allow the primary and secondary arms to be positioned in substantially parallel relationship adjacent the carriage when the apparatus assumes a stored position.

Abstract: An apparatus having a pivoted arm mounted on a base for seizing and releasing an article that is hinged at one end and which includes a control link that maintains a fixed length while the arm moves the article about its hinged end between preset positions, but changes its length and thereby provides a signal indicating that the arm has seized the article when the latter is moved in a direction opposite to the normal movement.

Abstract: A positioning device for selectively maintaining a vehicle closure member in an opened position and a closed position and including four pivotally interconnected link members which work in pairs for locking the closure member in the opened and closed positions.