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:
Sep. 24, 2002
Filed:
May. 03, 2001
Lloyd Walker Rogers, Jr., Shelby Township, MI (US);
Howard Warren Kuhlman, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Douglas Dombrowski, Troy, MI (US);
Delphi Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A power operating system for opening and closing a vehicle liftgate has a pair of drive units supported on the respective vehicle pillars at the sides of the liftgate opening. Each drive unit includes a vertically oriented channel and a rack member that moves in the channel. The rack member comprises a rack bar and a plurality of rack links that are pivotally connected end-to-end. A transfer link is universally attached to the rack bar at one end and universally attached to the liftgate at the opposite end. The rack member is raised and lowered by a power unit that has a motor driven pinion gear that meshes with teeth of the rack bar and the rack links in succession. Raising and lowering the rack member opens and closes the liftgate via the transfer link.