The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 14, 1994
Filed:
Jan. 25, 1993
Howard W Kuhlman, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A van door slidable in tracks (16, 18 and 20). An operating module is mounted inside the van adjacent center track 18. A front cable attached to drive pulley (144) extends through guide assembly (54) to hinge and roller assemble (26). A rear cable attached to drive pulley (136) extends through guide assembly (56) to hinge and roller assembly (26). The drive pulleys (136 and 144) each have a large diameter spiral cable groove (164), a small diameter cable groove (208) and a transition cable groove (210). A motor rotates the drive pulleys. The small diameter cable grooves drive the door when the door is in the forward portion of the tracks. The large diameter spiral cable grooves drive the door when the door is in the center and rear portions of the track. Fixed idler rollers (226 and 254) are positioned relative to the cable drive pulleys to insure that the total cable in the continuous cable loop is substantially the same when the cable is driven by the small diameter cable grooves as when the cable is driven by the large diameter spiral cable grooves. A cable tension system (220) maintains cable tension. A slack cable take-up pulley (174) on the drive pulley (136) takes up slack cable to set cable tension and is then locked in position.