Power sliding door-gear drive

Movable or removable closures – With operator for movably mounted closure – Operator drives closure along guide

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06256930

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention generally pertains to motor vehicles and more particularly to a vehicle sliding door device. 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 vehicle sliding door device having manual and fully automatic operational modes.
2. Discussion
In various types of motor vehicles, including minivans, delivery vans, and the like, it has become common practice to provide the vehicle body with a relatively large side openings that are located immediately behind the front doors which are opened and closed with a sliding door. The sliding door is typically mounted with hinges on horizontal tracks on the vehicle body for guided sliding movement between a closed position flush with the vehicle body closing the side opening and an open position located outward of and alongside the vehicle body rearward of the side opening. The sliding door may be operated manually as is most generally the case or with a power operated system to which the present invention is directed.
Commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 5,536,061, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, discloses a powered sliding side door for a motor vehicle. The door is operated with a power drive mechanism that is pivotally mounted on the door and extends through a side opening in the door. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the drive mechanism includes a reversible electric motor that drives a friction wheel which is spring biased to forcibly engage a drive/guide track located beneath the vehicle floor and attached to the vehicle body. The friction drive wheel rides on the drive/guide track to open and close the door and additionally guides and stabilizes its sliding movement.
While the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,061 provided certain improvements in the pertinent art, several drawbacks have been noted. These drawbacks included, for example, the appearance of the power sliding door, and the cost, reliability and performance of the drive apparatus.
Another type of power sliding side door utilizes a power drive mechanism having a reversible electric motor which is mounted in the vehicle body and connected to operate the door through a cable system. Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,301. Another type of power sliding door utilizing a rack and a pinion gear to effect the movement of the side door is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,729. Arrangements of both of these types requires considerable accommodating space and modifications to the body structure and are not readily installed in an upgrading manner to convert an existing manually operated sliding door to a power operated sliding door.
Consequently, there remains a need in the art for an improved power sliding door system for a motor vehicle having improved reliability and performance which is readily installed in an upgrading manner to convert an existing manually operated sliding door to a power
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved power drive mechanism for a vehicle sliding door.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a power drive mechanism for a vehicle sliding door which may be readily integrated into a vehicle.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a power drive mechanism for a vehicle sliding door having a rack and pinion door propulsion mechanism that is coupled to a door guide track having a plurality of guide surfaces for guiding the vehicle sliding door in both generally horizontal and generally vertical directions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a power drive mechanism for a vehicle sliding door having an improved rack and guide track system.
The power drive mechanism of the present invention includes a hinge member adapted for coupling to a vehicle sliding door, a guide member adapted for coupling to a vehicle body, a rack member adapted for coupling to a vehicle body, a drive pinion meshingly engaging the rack member, a drive motor producing a drive torque and a gear train coupling the drive motor and the drive pinion for transmitting drive torque therebetween. The hinge member and guide member cooperate to guide the vehicle sliding door in both generally horizontal and generally vertical directions. The gear train and drive pinion are preferably coupled to said hinge member to maintain meshing engagement of said drive pinion along the length of said rack member. The power drive mechanism also preferably includes a drive clutch for interrupting the transmission of drive torque from the drive motor to the drive pinion to permit the vehicle sliding door.
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.


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