Active hinge with reset mechanism

An active hinge comprising:

• a hood bracket for attachment to a vehicle hood,
• a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body, and
• a deployment bracket rotatably attached to the hood bracket at an one end of the deployment bracket so that the hood bracket rotates from a pre-deployed position to a deployed position when the vehicle hood is opened,
• a pivot bracket rotatably mounted between the deployment bracket and the body bracket, the pivot bracket effecting a rotational motion of the deployment bracket and the hood bracket attached to the deployment bracket that allows the vehicle hood to be rotatable around a virtual pivot point from a closed position to an open position,
• a reset clip rotatably mounted on the deployment bracket, the reset clip being comprised of an engagement tab and a locking tab located a predetermined angular distance around the circumference of the reset clip away from the engagement tab,
• the reset clip rotating, when the hood bracket is rotated relative to the deployment bracket from the deployed position towards a reset position, until the engagement tab on the reset clip enters a notch in the hood bracket and the locking tab engages a hole in the deployment bracket, to thereby prevent further rotation of the hood bracket and maintain the active hinge in a hinge reset position,
• a pivot pin mounted on the deployment bracket and a first guide slot formed in the hood bracket, the pivot pin movable within the first guide slot, and
• a guide pin mounted on the deployment bracket and a first guide slot formed in the hood bracket, the guide pin movable within the second guide slot,
• wherein the pivot pin and first guide slot and the guide pin and second guide slot forms a slider joint arrangement between the hood bracket and the deployment bracket, which allows rotation of the vehicle hood about a striker attached to the vehicle hood and a latch attached to the vehicle that engages the striker.

An active hinge comprising:

• a hood bracket for attachment to a vehicle hood,
• a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body, and
• a deployment bracket rotatably attached to the hood bracket at an one end of the deployment bracket so that the hood bracket rotates from a pre-deployed position to a deployed position when the vehicle hood is opened,
• a pivot bracket rotatably mounted between the deployment bracket and the body bracket, the pivot bracket effecting a rotational motion of the deployment bracket and the hood bracket attached to the deployment bracket that allows the vehicle hood to be rotatable around a virtual pivot point from a closed position to an open position,
• a reset clip rotatably mounted on the deployment bracket, the reset clip being comprised of an engagement tab, and
• an extension spring mechanism that engages the reset clip, the extension spring mechanism providing a tunable and high clamp load device,
• the reset clip being caused to rotate by a spring force exerted on the reset clip by the extension spring mechanism, when the hood bracket is rotated relative to the deployment bracket from the deployed position towards a reset position, until the engagement tab on the reset clip enters a notch in the hood bracket,
• wherein the engagement tab engaging the notch in the hood bracket in conjunction with the spring force exerted on reset clip by the extension spring mechanism thereby prevents further rotation of the hood bracket and maintains the active hinge in a hinge reset position.

A reset mechanism for an active hinge comprising a first movable bracket for attachment to a first movable member, a second bracket for attachment to a second member about which the first movable member rotates, and a third bracket rotatably attached to the second bracket, the first movable bracket also being rotatably attached to the third bracket at one end so that the first movable bracket rotates from a pre-deployed position to a deployed position when the first movable member is opened, the reset mechanism comprising:

• a reset clip rotatably mounted on the third bracket, the reset clip being comprised of an engagement tab and a locking tab located a predetermined angular distance away from the engagement tab around the circumference of the reset clip,
• the reset clip rotating, when the first movable bracket is rotated relative to the third bracket from the deployed position towards a reset position, until the engagement tab on the reset clip enters a notch in the first movable bracket and the locking tab engages a hole in the third bracket, to thereby prevent further rotation of the first movable bracket and maintain the active hinge in a hinge reset position, and
• one or more curved surface(s) mounted on the reset clip to provide surface-to-surface contact between the one or more curved surfaces of the reset clip and the third bracket, edge-to-surface contact between the reset clip and the third bracket, respectively, whereby the third bracket is not scratched when the reset clip is rotated, thereby precluding rust from developing in the third bracket.