Slide hatch assembly
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsKenichi Kitayama, Michael A Schrader, Matthew Weyand Schmitt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A slide hatch assembly for selectively closing a rear cargo opening on a vehicle includes a hatch frame slidably mounted to a vehicle body of the vehicle. The hatch assembly further includes at least one front rail mounted to the vehicle body and at least one rear rail mounted to the vehicle body. At least one front roller assembly slidably connects the hatch frame to the at least one front rail and at least one rear roller assembly slidably connects the hatch frame to the at least one rear rail.
Claims20
A slide hatch assembly for selectively closing a rear cargo opening on a vehicle, comprising:
- a hatch frame slidably mounted to a vehicle body of the vehicle;
- at least one front rail mounted to the vehicle body;
- at least one rear rail mounted to the vehicle body;
- at least one front roller assembly slidably connecting the hatch frame to the at least one front rail;
- and
- at least one rear roller assembly slidably connecting the hatch frame to the at least one rear rail,
- wherein a front end portion of the at least one rear rail longitudinally overlaps a rear end portion of the at least one front rail such that the front end portion is elevated relative to the rear end portion.
A slide hatch assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a hatch frame having a pair of front roller assemblies and a pair of rear roller assemblies;
- a pair of laterally spaced apart front rails each having an adjacent front roller from the pair of front roller assemblies received therein;
- and
- a pair of laterally spaced apart rear rails each having an adjacent rear roller from the pair of rear roller assemblies received therein, the pair of laterally spaced apart rear rails flank the pair of laterally spaced apart front rails and the pair of laterally spaced apart front rails disposed inside the vehicle below a roof panel disposed forward of a rear opening selectively covered by the hatch frame.
A vehicle having a rear opening selectively closed by a sliding hatch, comprising:
- a vehicle body defining the rear opening;
- rear rails fixedly mounted to the vehicle body along lateral edges defining the rear opening;
- front rails fixedly mounted to the vehicle body forward of the rear opening;
- roller assemblies slidably mounting the sliding hatch to the rear rails and the front rails for sliding movement therealong, wherein each of the pair of rear rails has a C-shape with an open end inwardly facing and each of the pair of front rails has a C-shape with an open end outwardly facing, the pair of front rails arranged inside the vehicle body forward of the rear opening for receiving the sliding hatch inside the vehicle below a roof panel disposed forward of the rear opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.