US 6,634,449 B2Granted

Access hatch reinforcement module & method of installing an access hatch to an existing hood for a mobile vehicle

AssigneeInternational Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLC

InventorCraig L. Randolph

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Abstract

An access hatch reinforcement module and a method of assembling an access hatch to an existing engine compartment hood of a vehicle. The access hatch reinforcement module includes a wall engagement component for engagement to the hood outer wall of the engine compartment hood. The access hatch reinforcement module further includes a door engagement component for engagement to a hatch door of the access hatch. The wall engagement component and the door engagement component of the access hatch reinforcement module are directly fixedly engaged to one another by temporary fixed engagements. The wall engagement component and the door engagement component are also indirectly engaged to one another through operational door connecting components such as a hinge component. The wall engagement component and the door engagement component are engaged to the hood outer wall and the portion of the hood outer wall that is engaged to the door engagement component is separated from the portion of the hood outer wall that is engaged to the wall engagement component. Thereafter the hatch door, which is comprised of what was the portion of the hood outer wall that was engaged to the door engagement component, is supported in a properly aligned manner within a newly formed hatch opening.

Claims24

Dependent claims

An access hatch reinforcement module for assembly to a hatch door which has a hatch door periphery, and hatch opening perimeter structure which has an inner bound, and where the access hatch reinforcement module, the hatch door, and the hatch opening perimeter structure are to be included as parts of a wall assembly, comprising:

(a) a wall engagement component designed to be engaged to the hatch opening perimeter structure;
(b) a door engagement component designed to be engaged to the hatch door;
(c) one or more operational door connecting components;
(d) wherein temporary fixed engagements temporarily fixedly engage said wall engagement component to said door engagement component;
(e) wherein one or more of said one or more operational door connecting components are engaged to both said wall engagement component of said access hatch reinforcement module and said door engagement component of said access hatch reinforcement module;
(f) wherein said operational door connecting components that are engaged to both said wall engagement component and said door engagement component are constructed and engaged to said wall engagement component and said door engagement component in a manner such that said door engagement component would still be mounted to said wall engagement component by said operational door connecting components if said temporary fixed engagements, which temporarily fixedly engage said door engagement component to said wall engagement component were separated;
(g) wherein said wall engagement component and said door engagement component are positioned relative to one another in a same position as said wall engagement component and said door engagement component would be in relative to one another after assembly of the wall assembly is complete and if the hatch door were positioned in its closed position;
and
(h) wherein one or more of said one or more operational door connecting components are engaged to both said wall engagement component of said access hatch reinforcement module and said door engagement component of said access hatch reinforcement module;
and
(i) wherein one or more of said temporary fixed engagements of said door engagement component to said wall engagement component are effected as a result of one or more tabs extending between and being fixedly engaged to both said door engagement component and said wall engagement component in a temporary manner.

8 more elements

A method of constructing a wall assembly, comprising the steps of:

(a) fixedly engaging a hatch door to hatch opening perimeter structure in a temporary manner with temporary fixed engagements between the hatch door and the hatch opening perimeter structure;
(b) subsequently engaging one or more operational door connecting components to both the hatch door and the hatch opening perimeter structure in a manner such that, were the hatch door and the hatch opening perimeter structure not fixedly engaged to one another, the hatch door would be supported to the hatch opening perimeter structure by its engagement to the hatch opening perimeter structure through the one or more operational door connecting components;
and
(c) after the one or more operational door connecting components are engaged to both the hatch door and the hatch opening perimeter structure, separating the temporary fixed engagements of the hatch door to the hatch door perimeter structure.

1 more element

A method of assembling an engine compartment hood and installing the engine compartment hood to a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) performing the step of constructing an engine compartment hood, which comprises the sub-steps of creating a hood outer wall and simultaneously creating hatch opening perimeter structure and a hatch door integrally with said hood outer wall;
(b) constructing an access hatch reinforcement module comprising the steps of:
(i) fixedly engaging a wall engagement component to a door engagement component in a temporary manner with temporary fixed engagements;
and
(ii) subsequent to said step of fixedly engaging the wall engagement component to the door engagement component, engaging one or more operational door connecting components to the wall engagement component and the door engagement component in a manner such that if the door engagement component were not fixedly engaged to the wall engagement component by the temporary fixed engagements, the door engagement component would be supported to the wall engagement component by its engagement to the wall engagement component through the one or more operational door connecting components,
(c) subsequent to said step of constructing the access hatch reinforcement module, engaging the wall engagement component of the access hatch reinforcement module to the hatch opening perimeter structure;
(d) simultaneous to said step of engaging the wall engagement component to the hatch opening perimeter structure, engaging the door engagement component to the hatch door;
(e) subsequent to said step of engaging the wall engagement component to the hatch opening perimeter structure, and also subsequent to said step of engaging the door engagement component to the hatch door, separating the hatch door from the hatch opening perimeter structure;
(f) subsequent to said step of engaging the wall engagement component to the hatch opening perimeter structure, and also subsequent to said step of engaging the door engagement component to the hatch door, separating the temporary fixed engagements of the door engagement component to the wall engagement component;
and
(g) engaging the engine compartment hood to the vehicle.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.