Tailgate lift-assist assembly
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsJoel Romig, Danny Cheung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tailgate lift-assist assembly is provided for a tailgate mounted to a vehicle body. The tailgate is movable between a closed position and an open position. The tailgate lift-assist assembly includes a spring having a first spring end and a second spring end. The spring is attached to the tailgate at the first spring end. A stationary member is rotatably connected to the tailgate and nonrotatably connected to the vehicle body. A cable has a first cable end and a second cable end. The cable is attached to the spring second end at the first cable end and attached to the stationary member at a cable second end. The cable passes over a pulley that is rotatably mounted to the tailgate and applies a tension on the spring when the tailgate is moved toward the open position.
Claims28
A tailgate lift-assist assembly for a tailgate mounted to a vehicle body, the tailgate movable between a closed position and an open position, said tailgate lift-assist assembly comprising:
- a spring having a first spring end and a second spring end, said spring attached to the tailgate at said first spring end;
- a stationary member rotatably connected to the tailgate and nonrotatably connected to the vehicle body;
- and
- a cable having a first cable end and a second cable end, said cable attached to said spring second end at said first cable end and attached to said stationary member at a cable second end, said cable passing over a pulley rotatably mounted to the tailgate and applying a tension on said spring when the tailgate is moved toward said open position.
A load-assisting assembly, comprising:
- a spring having a first spring end attached to an associated tailgate;
- a stationary member rotatably connected to said associated tailgate and nonrotatably connected to an associated vehicle body onto which the tailgate is mounted;
- a cable having a first cable end attached to a second spring end of said spring and a second cable end attached to said stationary member;
- and
- a pulley rotatably mounted to said associated tailgate and carrying said cable, said cable applying a tension to said spring when said associated tailgate is moved relative to said associated body and said pulley increasing the amount of said tension when said tailgate is moved.
A load-assisting assembly for assisting with movement of a first body relative to a second body, said load-assisting assembly comprising:
- a spring having a spring first end connected to the first body;
- a stationary member rotatably connected to the first body and nonrotatably connected to the second body;
- a cable having a first cable end connected to a spring second end of said spring and a second cable end connected to the stationary member, said cable passing over a pulley rotatably mounted to the first body and applying a tension to said spring when the first body is moved in a first direction relative to the second body for assisting in movement of the first body in a second, opposite direction relative to the second body.
A tailgate lift-assist assembly, comprising:
- a stationary member rotatably connected to a tailgate that is mounted to a vehicle body;
- a cable having a first cable end connected to the tailgate and a second cable end connected to said stationary member;
- and
- a spring disposed one of along said cable, adjacent said first cable end and adjacent said second cable end, said spring tensioned when the tailgate is moved from a closed position toward an open position and thereby applying a closing force to the tailgate through said cable when the tailgate is moved between said closed position and said open position.
A tailgate lift-assist assembly, comprising:
- a spring having a first spring end attached to a tailgate and a second spring end;
- a cable having a first cable end connected to said second spring end and a second cable end removably connected to a vehicle body to which the tailgate is mounted, said spring tensioned when said tailgate is moved from a closed position toward an open position to thereby apply a closing force to said tailgate through said cable when the tailgate is moved between said closed position and said open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.