Aisin Technical Center of America, Inc.

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoji Nagashima

Kevin Chauvin

Yusuke Kokubo

Nobuhiro Mizoguchi

Yoshitaka Ide

Kazushige Kawamura

Shinichi Hiramatsu

Ryan Heins

Nicholas Ozog

Takashi Nishio

Jun Maruyama

Tomohiro Shiraishi

Stefan Chlapecka

A hinge assembly includes a tailgate bracket securable to a vehicular tailgate, a support bracket securable to a vehicular bed, a torque shaft, and a crank. The tailgate bracket includes a socket. The support bracket includes a support. The torque shaft is supported by the support for axial rotation. The torque shaft includes a tailgate-side head and a crank-side head. The tailgate-side head and the socket are configured to make a head-and-socket connection with one another. The crank-side head includes an external profile. The crank includes a shaft-side base and an actuator-side base, a load arm extending therebetween, and at least one of a dogleg along the shaft-side base, the load arm and the actuator-side base, and an embossed rib extending along the load arm. The shaft-side base includes an internal profile. The external profile and the internal profile are configured to make a shaft-and-hub connection with one another.

Hinge assembly for a power tailgate system

A restricting device includes: a movable member that is capable of changing a posture with respect to a support member; and a buffer member that is fixed to the movable member, comes into contact with the support member in accordance with a posture change of the movable member, and restricts the posture of the movable member, wherein in the movable member, a mounting recess portion, an outlet port, a slip-off preventing piece, and a fitting piece are formed, and the buffer member has a fixing portion, an elastic portion, and a connecting portion, and in the elastic portion, a fitting recess portion is fitted is formed.

Restricting device

A sunshade device includes guide rails slidably supporting a shade panel so as to open and close an opening formed on a vehicle roof; and a shade stopper attached to each guide rail, regulating an opening action by allowing the shade panel to abut on the shade stopper, wherein the guide rail includes a rail-side flange or flanges arranged side by side in a height direction which extend toward an inner side in a width direction, the shade stopper includes retaining pieces extending toward an outer side in the width direction and sandwiching the rail-side flange in the height direction, and rail-side and retaining-piece side engaging projections projecting in the height direction to face each other and regulating a movement of the retaining piece in the inner side in the width direction are respectively formed in the rail-side flange and the retaining piece in one side.

Sunshade device

A sunroof device comprising: a drive cable having driving teeth arranged in a longitudinal direction and being driven to move in the vehicle front-rear direction along a guiderail; and a sliding member that controls the posture of a functional bracket together with a movable panel, in conjunction with movement in the vehicle front-rear direction. The sunroof device also comprises: driven teeth formed on the sliding member, that are meshed with the driving teeth and restrict relative movement of the drive cable and the sliding member in the vehicle front-rear direction; and a mounted portion formed on the guiderail. The drive cable and the sliding member, in which the driving teeth are meshed with the driven teeth, are mounted on the mounted portion, and the mounted portion holds these in the vehicle lateral and vertical directions.

Sunroof device

A vehicle sunroof device has a contact portion between a panel bracket and a guide bracket, an insertion portion, a first member, and a second member. The contact portion contacts a first bracket, which is one of the panel bracket and the guide bracket. The insertion portion protrudes at the contact portion and is inserted into an attachment hole formed in a second bracket, which is the other of the panel bracket and the guide bracket. The first member has a retainer portion that permits a set range of motion of the second bracket. The second member is fastened to the first member. The first and second members permit relative motion of the first and second brackets in the non-fastened state, and restrict relative motion of the first and second brackets in the fastened state.

Vehicle sunroof device

A sunroof apparatus includes a supporting bracket configured to support a movable panel, the movable panel opening and closing an opening portion, a guide rail extending in a vehicle front/rear direction, a sliding member connected to the supporting bracket and driven to be movable along the guide rail, a driving member driving the sliding member and causing the movable panel to move upwardly and downwardly and to perform a sliding movement in the vehicle rear direction, a gutter member which extends in the vehicle width direction and is movable along the guide rail and an engaging/disengaging portion provided at the movable panel or at the supporting bracket and being disconnected from the gutter member in a fully-closed state and being connected to the gutter member in a tilt-down state.

Sunroof apparatus

Dual panel weather strip for a sunroof

A vehicle sun roof device includes a panel for covering an opening in a roof of the vehicle. The panel can be moved horizontally to uncover the opening or tilted to raise its rear end section to a venting position. A drive system for tilting the panel includes front and rear shoes. The rear shoe tilts the panel by applying a force to the rear end section of the panel. The front shoe includes an upwardly facing support surface and a downwardly facing support surface. A bracket fixed to the panel and extending in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle includes an upwardly facing bearing surface and a downwardly facing bearing surface arranged to slidably engage the downwardly facing support surface and the upwardly facing support surface, respectively, of the front shoe. The support surfaces and the bearing surfaces are configured to define a virtual pivot axis for the panel as the panel tilts.

Tiltable sun roof for vehicles

A dual panel sunroof is provided. The sunroof includes a front glass guide that supports a front glass panel and a rear glass guide that supports a rear glass panel. The rear glass panel is disposed rearward of the front glass panel when the dual panel sunroof is in a fully closed position. A front link is rotatably mounted to a front portion of the front glass guide such that the front link drives a front end of the front glass in an upward direction away from a vehicle body when the front link is driven in a rearward direction.

Growing community of inventors

Kariya, Japan

Yoji Nagashima