Fluid actuator for hinged vehicle safety devices

Abstract

A fluid actuator attaches a hinged safety device to a vehicle and pivots the hinged safety device between retracted and extended positions. The housing of the actuator has a base and a removable cover. A sub-assembly is attached to the base. The subassembly includes a generally planar base member with integral right cylinder, lever arm pivot support and stop posts. A piston slides in the right cylinder and forms a fluid chamber between the piston and a closed end of the right cylinder that is fed through a passage through the closed end of the cylinder. A lever arm is pivotally attached to the lever arm pivot support at one end for pivotal movement between retracted and extended positions, the lever arm extending over the cylinder and having a lip at an opposite end that is spaced from the right cylinder. A pivot arm engages the top of the piston at one end and the lever arm at an opposite end to transfer motion from the piston to the lever arm. The lever arm transfers motion to a rotor that is rotationally mounted in the housing for movement between retracted and extended positions. The rotor has a spool at each end and an eccentric arm between the spools at the respective ends of the rotor that engages the lip of the lever arm. A torsion spring encircles each spool with one end engaging the rotor and an opposite end engaging a stop post so that the eccentric arm is biased against the lip of the lever arm and the rotor and the lever arm are biased to their respective retracted positions.