Systems and methods for staged retention of a vehicle door handle
AssigneeHuf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsJeff Hansen, Ayushi Srivastava
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system includes a bracket secured to a door panel of a vehicle, a counterweight pivotally attached to the bracket, a handle pivotally attached to the counterweight, the handle operable between a recessed position flush with the door panel and a deployed position extending away from the door panel, and a retention system including a retainer and a slider, the slider operable between an unsecured position and a secured position, and the handle being prevented from disengaging from the counterweight when the slider is in the secured position.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a bracket secured to a door panel of a vehicle;
- a counterweight pivotally attached to the bracket;
- a handle pivotally attached to the counterweight, the handle operable between a recessed position flush with the door panel and a deployed position extending away from the door panel;
- and
- a retention system including a retainer and a slider, the slider operable between an unsecured position and a secured position, and the handle being prevented from disengaging from the counterweight when the slider is in the secured position.
A handle assembly for a door of a vehicle comprising:
- a bracket secured to the door;
- a counterweight pivotally attached to the bracket;
- a handle pivotally attached to the counterweight, the handle operable between a recessed position flush with the door and a deployed position extending away from the door whereby the handle facilitates opening of the door to permit a user to access an interior of the vehicle;
- and
- a retention system including a retainer and a slider, the slider operable between an unsecured position and a secured position, and the handle being prevented from disengaging from the counterweight when the slider is in the secured position.
A method for securing a handle to a handle assembly, the method comprising:
- securing a bracket to a door panel of a vehicle;
- pivotally attaching a counterweight to the bracket;
- securing a retention system to the bracket, the retention system including a retainer and a slider operable between an unsecured position and a secured position relative to the retainer;
- moving the slider to the unsecured position;
- pivotally attaching a handle to the counterweight, the handle operable between a recessed position flush with the door panel and a deployed position extending away from the door panel;
- and
- moving the slider to the secured position to secure the handle to the counterweight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.