Retrofit Tailgate Damper
AssigneePolly B. Drinkwater
InventorsDimiter S. Zagoroff, Polly Drinkwater
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tailgate control mechanism used to exert a force on a pivot. The tailgate may include a pivoting main body and a pivot fixed to a truck bed, where the main body may move about the pivot. The tailgate may also include a piston element including a first end connected to the pivot and a second end connected to the main body. The second end may be positioned above the first end when the main body is in a closed position. The piston element may also be configured to provide a counter force to balance the weight of the tailgate. The piston element may also be retrofitted.
Claims26
A damper for a vehicle tailgate comprising:
- a crank firmly connected to a ferrule of a counterbalance of a vehicle tailgate, the counterbalance configured to at least partially offset the weight of the pivotable vehicle tailgate, the ferrule configured to removably couple to a bed of the vehicle at an axis about which the tailgate pivots and to remain in a fixed orientation to the bed over a range of pivoting motion of the vehicle tailgate;
- and
- a piston element having a first end coupled to the crank and a second end configured to be connected at a fixed location on the tailgate, with the second end being positioned above the first end when the tailgate is in a closed position, the piston element being configured to extend and to provide a torque about the pivot in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the pivotable tailgate, the piston element rotating with and in the same direction as the tailgate about its first end.
A tailgate of a vehicle comprising:
- a pivoting main body;
- a pivot about which the main body pivots, the pivot being at a fixed location relative to a truck bed;
- a counterbalance configured to at least partially offset the weight of the pivoting main body, the counterbalance having a ferrule at an end that is configured to removably couple to the truck bed at an axis about which the pivoting main body pivots and to remain in a fixed orientation to the truck bed over a range of pivoting motion of the pivoting main body;
- a crank firmly connected to the ferrule;
- and
- a piston element having a first end coupled to the crank and a second end configured to be connected at a fixed location on the tailgate, with the second end being positioned above the first end when the tailgate is in a closed position, the piston element being configured to extend and to provide a torque about the pivot in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the pivotable tailgate, the piston element rotating with and in the same direction as the tailgate about its first end.
A method for providing damping for a tailgate comprising:
- firmly mounting a crank to a ferrule of a counterbalance at an offset position above an axis of rotation of a pivot for a pivoting main body, the counterbalance configured to at least partially offset the weight of the pivoting main body, and the ferrule of the counterbalance configured to removably couple to a bed of the vehicle at an axis about which the tailgate pivots and to remain in a fixed orientation to the bed over a range of pivoting motion of the pivoting main body;
- mounting a first end of a piston element to the crank;
- mounting a second end of the piston element at a fixed location of the main body in a manner that the second end is positioned above the first end when the main body is in a closed position;
- and
- the piston element extending and providing a torque about the pivot in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the pivoting main body, the piston element rotating with and in the same direction as the main body about its first end.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.