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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.:

US 9346345 B1

PDFFull Text
Date of Patent:
May. 24, 2016

Filed:

Jul. 10, 2014

Shape memory alloy active hatch vent

Applicants:

GM Global Technology Operations Llc, Detroit, MI (US);

Dynalloy, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA (US);

Inventors:

Paul W. Alexander, Ypsilanti, MI (US);

Xiujie Gao, Troy, MI (US);

Alan L. Browne, Grosse Pointe, MI (US);

Mark A. Voss, Richmond, MI (US);

Derek L. Patterson, Shelby Township, MI (US);

Lei Hao, Troy, MI (US);

Chandra S. Namuduri, Troy, MI (US);

James Holbrook Brown, Costa Mesa, CA (US);

Aragorn Zolno, Whittier, CA (US);

John N. Owens, Franklin, MI (US);

Alexander Millerman, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);

Kevin B. Rober, Washington, MI (US);

Suresh Gopalakrishnan, Farmington Hills, MI (US);

Sanjeev M. Naik, Troy, MI (US);

Assignee:

GM Global Technology Operations LLC, Detroit, MI (US);

Attorney:

Quinn Law Group, PLLC

Primary Examiner:

Steven B McAllister

Assistant Examiner:

Jonathan Cotov

Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B24D 13/00 (2006.01); B60H 1/00 (2006.01); B61D 27/00 (2006.01); B63J 2/00 (2006.01); B60J 9/04 (2006.01); B60H 1/24 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B60J 9/04 (2013.01); B60H 1/00735 (2013.01); B60H 1/241 (2013.01); B60H 1/249 (2013.01);
Abstract

A vent assembly is disposed within an interior space of a vehicle for opening and closing fluid communication between the interior space and an exterior of the vehicle. The vent assembly includes a housing defining a plurality of openings and a plurality of vanes disposed in the openings. An actuator mechanism moves the vanes between an open position and a closed position, and includes a shaped memory alloy (SMA) member for actuating the vanes between the open and closed positions. The SMA member is activated when a hatch of the vehicle is opened to move the vanes into the open position and thereby open fluid communication between the interior space and the exterior to alleviate excessive air pressure buildup during closure of the hatch.

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