Cargo securing mechanism for a trunk door of a vehicle
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsReid Worthen, Victoria Leigh Schein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle trunk door includes a door panel. A hinge is coupled to the door panel for rotating the door panel between a plurality of rotational positions. A motor is coupled to the hinge, wherein the motor applies a rotational force to the hinge, wherein the rotational force biases the door panel toward a closed position. When cargo is disposed within a trunk aperture, the door panel is biased against the cargo to at least partially secure the cargo within the trunk aperture.
Claims20
A vehicle trunk door comprising:
- a door panel;
- a hinge coupled to the door panel for rotating the door panel between a plurality of rotational positions;
- a motor coupled to the hinge, wherein the motor applies a rotational force to the hinge, wherein the rotational force biases the door panel toward a closed position;
- and
- wherein when cargo is disposed within a trunk aperture, the door panel is biased against the cargo to at least partially secure the cargo within the trunk aperture.
A vehicle comprising:
- a trunk door having a hinge;
- a motor that operates the trunk door toward a closed position to define an intermediate rotational position that is distal from the closed position;
- and
- a braking mechanism that selectively secures the trunk door in the intermediate rotational position.
A method for securing shifted cargo with in a vehicle trunk, the method comprising steps of:
- operating a motor to move a trunk door into engagement with an obstructing cargo placed within an aperture for the trunk door;
- activating a braking mechanism to secure the trunk door in an intermediate rotational position, wherein the intermediate rotational position defines a consistent biasing force exerted by the trunk door against the obstructing cargo;
- maintaining the consistent biasing force as the obstructing cargo defines a shifted position, wherein the motor activates to redefine the intermediate rotational position based upon the shifted position of the obstructing cargo;
- deactivating the motor and the braking mechanism to remove the consistent biasing force;
- and
- operating the trunk door to a fully-open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.