Patent ID: 11952053
Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC B  E | IPC B  E

Claim 10:
11. A vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body including:
an outer body panel;
a strut tower located inwardly of the outer body panel, the strut tower defining an inner lateral surface and a rear surface extending transversely in relation to the inner lateral surface;
a first bolster extending transversely in relation to the strut tower; and
a second bolster positioned within the first bolster such that the first bolster is located between the strut tower and the second bolster;
a tailgate movably supported in relation to the vehicle body;

a tailgate actuation system connected to the tailgate and including:
an actuator; and
a hinge assembly extending between the actuator and the tailgate to convert linear movement of the actuator into rotational movement of the tailgate to open and close the tailgate; and

a bracket including:
a main body portion connected to the inner lateral surface of the strut tower; and
an appendage extending from the main body portion and connected to the rear surface of the strut tower, the hinge assembly extending through the bracket to thereby reduce torsional displacement of the hinge assembly and lateral flexure of the outer body panel during operation of the tailgate actuation system.