Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-30
2004-05-11
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S146700, C296S039100, C296S182100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06733066
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This application pertains to a device to be used primarily by short people to aid them in the opening of a vehicle door, and especially the front door of a two door car. The device is intended primarily for use on two-door vehicles due to the relatively heavier weight and larger size of the front door of two-door cars or trucks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Applicant is a woman of short stature and with arms and legs appropriate for her just over five feet height. As a successful business woman, she finds herself driving an imported sporty low to the road 4-door vehicle. Being an upscale car, it has very heavy doors, and she being of proportioned size but short in stature, finds it difficult to push the door open far enough to exit the vehicle with grace. She has discussed this problem with other friends and has determined that their respective arms are too short to push the door open wide enough to be able to easily exit. Therefore, applicant discovered the need for an aid in opening the car door. An aid, that could be easily attached to the vehicle, but which would not detract from the potential resale value of the vehicle; and which would be easily installed, preferably without tools.
Her research revealed that others share her difficulty and that there were no products on the market that would serve to help people with short arms and short legs to easily open the car or truck door such that they could exit the vehicle. She also discovered that in certain cars, where the person is seated low to the ground, exiting of the vehicle is even more difficult. Thus is seen the necessity of this invention even more. This apparent fact was confirmed by a search carried out on this subject matter.
The following patents turned up, none of which anticipates and none of which in combination renders the invention of this application obvious.
5,542,736
KONDO
5,529,370
VEIT
5,076,870
SUNBORN
3,610,684
RICHTER
1,486,566
CRECELIUS
4,819,984
WYLIE
The invention of this application accordingly comprises the device possessing the features, properties, the selection of components which are amplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention of this application is a device which mounts either directly to a door panel of a vehicle, or if the vehicle has an inwardly projecting pocket for the storage of miscellaneous vehicle related items, the device mounts within and on the pocket of the vehicle door. The device includes a main body which receives a pad adapted to receive the impact of one's foot. The main body is attached to the vehicle door by way of a loop and pile closure, such as Velcro®, pad having an adhesive layer thereon, when no door pocket is available in the vehicle. In this first embodiment, the Velcro® on the rear wall of the main body engages a Velcro® segment pre-applied to the door panel, in order to attach the unit directly to the door panel.
For more expensive and/or more recent vehicles that do have a door pocket, the main body is attached with a pair of brackets that are attached to and which mount within the pocket of the door panel.
The Velcro® sheet used for attachment directly to the door panel is not required, as the main body is retained in position by the brackets The impact pad is the same used in both embodiments.
It is a first object of this invention to provide a device in two separate versions, one of which mounts directly to a door panel and the other which mounts to a pocket of a vehicle door to aid the driver or passenger to open the door.
It is another object to provide a device that attaches to a vehicle door and which is used in combination with foot action to open the vehicle door to the extent desired.
It is a third object of this invention to provide a device which aids in the opening of the door and which is installed in a nonpermanent fashion.
It is a fourth object to provide a device to aid short drivers in opening a car door and which will not damage the pocket or panel of the vehicle to which it is attached.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4310193 (1982-01-01), Kolleas
patent: 4819984 (1989-04-01), Wylie
patent: 5180089 (1993-01-01), Suman et al.
patent: 5205606 (1993-04-01), Cassese
patent: 5261716 (1993-11-01), Phelps
patent: 5340189 (1994-08-01), Goodman
patent: 5446999 (1995-09-01), Inaba et al.
patent: 5533778 (1996-07-01), Sheridan
patent: 5910077 (1999-06-01), Aumiller et al.
patent: 6101765 (2000-08-01), Hashimoto et al.
Blankenship Greg
Jacobs Mark C.
Pape Joseph D.
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