Power actuator for lifting a vehicle lift gate

A power actuator for lifting a pivotal lift gate closing an access opening in a motor vehicle body, the actuator comprising:

• a motor assembly adapted to be fixedly secured to the motor vehicle body proximate the access opening and having an output;
• a lower tubular housing member adapted to be pivotally mounted at a lower end thereof to the motor vehicle body proximate the access opening but remote from the motor assembly output;
• a lead screw mounted for rotation in the lower housing member and including a lower head portion journaled in a lower portion of the lower housing member and an upper threaded shaft portion;
• a tubular extender rod telescopically and slidably positioned in the lower housing member in concentric surrounding relation to the lead screw shaft portion, the extender rod including a nut structure at a lower end thereof threadably receiving the lead screw shaft portion and adapted to be pivotally secured at an upper end thereof to the lift gate;
• and
• an elongated flexible cable mounted for rotation about a lengthwise axis of the cable and interconnecting the output of the motor assembly and the head portion of the lead screw, wherein actuation of the motor assembly rotates the cable to rotate the lead screw to extend the tubular extender rod.

An actuator for providing relative movement between first and second structures, the actuator comprising:

• a lower tubular housing;
• a lead screw having a lower head portion journaled in a lower portion of the tubular housing and a threaded shaft portion extending upwardly from the head portion within the tubular housing;
• a tubular extender rod positioned slidably and telescopically within the tubular housing in concentric surrounding relation to the shaft portion of the lead screw and including a nut structure proximate a lower end thereof threadably engaging the shaft portion of the lead screw;
• a mounting structure on the tubular housing for mounting the tubular housing on the first structure;
• a mounting structure on the tubular extender rod for mounting the tubular extender rod on the second structure;
• and
• a flexible elongated cable extending through an aperture in the lower portion of the lower tubular housing and directly drivingly engaging the head portion of the lead screw, wherein rotation of the cable rotates the lead screw relative to the tubular housing to extend the tubular extender rod axially relative to the tubular housing for providing relative movement between the first and second structures.