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:
Mar. 06, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 14, 1998
John A. Townsend, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Mohamed El-Sayed, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Joalto Design, Inc., Southfield, MI (US);
Abstract
A vehicle closure panel includes an outer frame that is connected to a central beam portion to provide a primary structure that resists deformation and efficiently distributes impact forces during a collision. The present invention can be used with or without structural key members and mating recesses to integrate the closure panel with the rest of the vehicle body, depending on design criteria. Also, primary structure of the present invention provides a structural modularity for closure panels that simplifies design by reducing the number of overall parts and uses the primary structure alone to meet the demands for crash testing. Thus, a basic structure is relied on for crash strength while accompanying secondary structures provide cosmetic differences. The inventive intrusion frame can be used with conventionally hinged passenger doors (both front and rear), vertically sliding doors, rear minivan doors, utility vehicle lift-gates, tailgates, and cargo doors, trunks, sliding van doors, or any vehicle door opening where it is desired to limit intrusion into the vehicle during a collision.