Vehicle hood safety prop
AssigneeDofasco Inc.
InventorsNicholas Schillaci, Ilija Tunjic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compact, closure panel prop assembly incorporating a spring activated locking pin which automatically engages a closure panel prop when the closure panel is elevated to a predetermined height. The prop assembly is designed to work in unison with a closure panel hinge, which is fixed to the closure panel and associated body in such a manner that it allows for the opening of the closure panel covering an opening in the body.
Claims39
A prop assembly for temporarily supporting a closure panel in an extended position removed from an opening, the closure panel and a body defining said opening being coupled by a closure hinge, the prop assembly having
- a rigid elongated prop having a hinged end for coupling to the closure panel and having a free end remote from said hinged end, movable during opening and closing of the opening, the free end having a passage,
- a locking pin adapted to be coupled to said body for sliding engagement into said passage,
- spring biasing means for urging the locking pin into engagement with the prop, and
- a retractor for withdrawing the locking pin away from the prop.
A prop assembly for temporarily supporting a closure panel in an extended position removed from an opening, the closure panel and a body defining said opening being coupled by a closure hinge, the prop assembly having
- a rigid elongated prop having a hinged end for coupling to the closure and having a free end remote from said hinged end, movable during opening and closing of the opening, the free end having a passage,
- a locking pin adapted to be coupled to said body for sliding engagement into said passage,
- spring biasing means for urging the locking pin into engagement with the prop,
- a retractor for withdrawing the locking pin away from the prop,
- the locking pin and retractor being defined by opposite ends of a rigid rod slidingly mountable to the body between a pair of spaced mounting flanges apertured to receive the rod therethrough, and the spring biasing means being in the form of a coiled spring slidingly disposed on said rod for location between one of said mounting flanges remote from the locking pin and a retainer coupled to the rod proximate to the locking pin.
A closure panel hinge and prop assembly for temporarily supporting a closure panel in an extended position removed from an opening,
- the closure panel hinge having a first hinge bracket for coupling to the closure panel and a second hinge bracket for coupling to a body defining said opening,
- the prop assembly having a rigid elongated prop hinged at one end to said first hinge bracket and having a free end remote from said hinged end, movable during opening and closing of the opening through respective cooperating apertures formed in said second hinge bracket and the body into a body cavity,
- the free end of the prop having a passage, the prop assembly further having a locking pin adapted to be coupled to said body for sliding engagement into said passage, spring biasing means for urging the locking pin into engagement with the prop, and a retractor for withdrawing the locking pin away from the prop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.