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. 23, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 26, 1996
Geoffrey John Cooper, Canton, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, Inc., Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
An interlock mechanism for a vehicle having a sliding door and a fuel filler door on the same side of the vehicle has three positions: a first, neutral position in which either the sliding door or the filler door can be opened, a second position in which the sliding door is open and the filler door is prevented from opening, and a third position in which the filler door is open and the sliding is prevented from opening. The interlock mechanism has a sliding door latch, a filler door latch, and a cable between the two. The sliding door latch has a striker on a rear edge of the sliding door to interact with a cam which locks the filler door closed when the sliding door is moved to an open position and allows the filler door to open when the sliding door is in a closed position. The cable is connected to the filler door latch and is prevented from movement by the cam when the sliding door is open, but is allowed to moves when the sliding door is shut. When the filler door is opened, the filler door latch pulls the cable which move a pin to a position preventing the cam from rotating and thus stopping the sliding door from opening.