Active hinge with deployed position latch

An active hinge comprising:

• a hood bracket for attachment to a vehicle hood;
• a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body;
• a deploy bracket pivotably attached to said hood bracket and said body bracket, said hood bracket being pivotable relative to said deploy bracket between a non-deployed position and a deployed position, wherein said hood bracket is generally disposed in alignment with said deploy bracket in said non-deployed position, and wherein said hood bracket is pivoted relative to said deploy bracket in said deployed position;
• an upstop pin fixed to and extending from said deploy bracket;
• a primary latch pivotably attached to said deploy bracket and moveable between a latched position and a released position, wherein said primary latch engages said hood bracket when said primary latch is in said latched position to secure said hood bracket in said non-deployed position, and wherein said primary latch is spaced from said hood bracket when said primary latch is in said released position to permit said hood bracket to pivot relative to said deploy bracket into said deployed position;
• a secondary latch pivotably connected to said hood bracket and moveable between a latched position and a released position, wherein said secondary latch engages said upstop pin in said latched position to retain said hood bracket in said deployed position, and wherein said secondary latch is spaced from said upstop pin in said released position to permit movement of said hood bracket out of said deployed position;
• and
• an actuator for releasing said primary latch and permitting movement of said hood bracket to its deployed position.

A method for operating an active hinge, said method comprising:

• providing a hood bracket for attachment to a vehicle hood;
• providing a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body;
• providing a deploy bracket pivotably attached to the hood bracket and the body bracket and having an upstop pin extending therefrom;
• providing a primary latch being pivotably attached to the deploy bracket;
• providing a secondary latch being pivotably attached to the hood bracket and defining a capture slot;
• pivoting the primary latch relative to the deploy bracket from a latched position to a released positon, wherein the primary latch engages the hood bracket in the latched position to secure the hood bracket to the deploy bracket in a non-deployed position of the hood bracket, and wherein the primary latch is spaced from the hood bracket in the released position to allow the hood bracket to pivot relative to the deploy bracket into a deployed position of the hood bracket;
• and
• pivoting the hood bracket relative to the deploy bracket in a first direction from the non-deployed position into the deployed position and receiving the upstop pin in the capture slot of the secondary latch to retain the hood bracket in the deployed position.