Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – End gates
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-29
2001-03-06
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
End gates
C296S146110, C296S202000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196608
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains generally to motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention pertains to hinged closure panels for motor vehicles. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular embodiment and/or use which is shown and described for purposes of illustration, the present invention relates to a pick-up truck having a tailgate attached to the body for rotation about a horizontal pivot axis about a lower edge of the tailgate and a centrally located, concealed hinge mechanism for permitting the tailgate to articulate between a closed position and an open position.
2. Discussion
In pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, station wagons, minivans and other similar vehicles having a substantially vertical rear access opening, there is often provided a tailgate assembly that is pivotably coupled to the body of the vehicle through a plurality of hinges that permit the tailgate to pivot about a horizontal pivot axis between a closed position and an open position.
Conventional tailgate hinging methods typically rely on two or more independent hinge members having a pair of leaf-members one of which is fastened to the tailgate and the other of which is fastened to the vehicle body. The independent nature of these hinges permits their axes to become skewed relative to one another due to variances in the manufacture and assembly of the vehicle body and the tailgate assembly. The skewing of the hinge axes leads to a binding condition that impairs performance of the hinges. Under extreme circumstances, the skewing of the hinge axes may cause the hinges to bind so severely as to require realignment of the hinges.
Another drawback of the conventional tailgate hinging methods concerns the conventional use of a hinge pin of a relatively small diameter and the correspondingly small surface area of the pin. As the weight of the tailgate is distributed over a relatively small surface area, stress over the surface of the hinge pin is relatively high, causing increased wear and further impairing performance.
While these drawbacks may be overlooked in vehicles which have completely manual tailgates, the need for improved performance becomes more apparent when a drive unit for automatically closing the tailgate is incorporated into the vehicle. Improved performance from the hinge assembly not only provides more reliable operation but also permits the drive unit to be down-sized to enable substantial cost savings.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved hinge assembly for a tailgate which provides improved alignment along a central pin axis, increases the surface area over which the weight of the tailgate is distributed and provides an improved and consistent level of performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly for a vehicle tailgate which overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior known hinge arrangements.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly for a vehicle tailgate which offers simple construction that leads to improved performance and design flexibility.
Accordingly, a hinge assembly for a center mounted tailgate is provided. The hinge assembly of the present invention includes a pair of hinge members and a hinge pin structure having a pin member and a pair of mounting brackets. The pin member includes a pair of pin ends and a pin axis. Each of the mounting brackets are fixedly coupled to the pin member and include a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is spaced apart from and generally parallel to the pin axis and is adapted for mounting the hinge pin structure to a vehicle body. The second portion fixedly couples the first portion to the pin member. The hinge members include a first hinge portion and a second hinge portion. The first hinge portion has as generally hollow interior that is operable for engaging an end of the pin member to permit the first hinge portion to rotate about the pin axis. The first hinge portion may include a bearing for supporting the hinge member for rotation about the pin member. The second hinge portion is coupled to the first hinge portion and is adapted for coupling the closure member to the hinge member.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1139458 (1912-05-01), Ledwinka
patent: 3828476 (1974-08-01), Tenenbaum et al.
patent: 4010504 (1977-03-01), Griffin
patent: 4358150 (1982-11-01), Nash
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patent: 4913615 (1990-04-01), Ward
patent: 5393115 (1995-02-01), Hamilton
patent: 5448856 (1995-09-01), Moore et al.
patent: 5451089 (1995-09-01), Bender
patent: 5531498 (1996-07-01), Kowall
patent: 5806917 (1998-09-01), Townsend
patent: 1101183 (1961-03-01), None
Calcaterra Mark P.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Dayoan D. Glenn
Murray Mickki
LandOfFree
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