Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-06
2004-03-30
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S107070, C219S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06712420
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a zipper assembly with integrated electrical contact for a vehicle or the like, and more particularly, to a zipper assembly for removable components in which integrated electrical contacts or connections are provided for running electrical components.
Vehicles such as the Jeep® Wrangler are provided with soft tops, e.g., vinyl, cloth or fabric tops that cover the top, sides and rear of such vehicles. The soft top can also include a plastic rear window that is removable from the soft top and vehicle body by way of a zipper arrangement or snaps.
In a case where it is desirable to provide the rear window with an electrical defogger assembly, special terminal connections have to be provided in the vehicle frame and the rear window piece to allow the rear window to be removed from the top. In addition to detracting from the appearance of the vehicle, these special electrical connections introduce additional cost into the production of the soft top and further require that the vehicle operator reestablish the electrical connections when reattaching the rear window to the soft top. Such connections can be broken and also will not provide the desired defogging of the vehicle if the driver neglects to reestablish the connections.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a soft top arrangement which avoids the problem with rear window assemblies for soft tops.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which improves the overall appearance of the vehicle by eliminating external connections and packaging of those connections.
Another object is to provide a soft top arrangement which eliminates the need for special or separate electrical terminals on the vehicle frame and the rear window and allows an electrical connection to be automatically established upon reinstallation of the rear window as it is zipped to the soft top assembly and avoids the need to manually plug and unplug the defogger with the electrical harness.
Still another object is to provide a system that can be used with other electrical components such as an antenna by itself or with a defogger installed in a removable windshield or with connectors other than zippers such as snaps and buttons.
A yet further object is to provide a fastening system that solves in an elegant and controlled manner the passage of current through an electrically-operated component in the vehicle.
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Kargilis John S.
King E. Mackey
Lopick Frank M.
Pohill John W.
Coletta Lori L
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Dayoan D. Glenn
Smith Ralph E.
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