Abstract:
A tailgate pull handle of automobile adapted to lower a pull handle formed at a tailgate when the tailgate is opened, thereby allowing a short person to have an easy access to the pull handle for closing same, the pull handle comprising an actuating device mounted at an inner lower side or a lower end of the tailgate for moving same toward the ground when the tailgate is opened.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a pull handle mounted on a tailgate of on automobile, and more particularly to a tailgate pull handle of an automobile adapted for a short person&#39;s easier use in holding the pull handle to close the tailgate. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Generally, an automobile in equipped with openable and closeable doors for loading and unloading and particularly a one-box car such as jeep, van, five-door vehicle and the like is arranged with a tailgate for loading and unloading cargoes, luggage and the like. A tailgate  50  is rotably mounted via a hinge  51  to an upper end of roof panel (R) which is a rear side of a body (B) as illustrated in FIG. 8, and when the tailgate  50  is opened and closed, luggage can be loaded into or unloaded through the rear side of the automobile. 
     At this time, the tailgate  50  is mounted at an inner side thereof with a pull handle  52  for closing the tailgate  50 , and in other words, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a recessed pull handle  52  is formed at a trim panel  54  fixedly provided at an inner side of a tailgate inner panel  53 . 
     When the tailgate  50  is opened, it rises relatively high up, such that the recessed pull handle  52  is formed at a lower part of the tailgate trim panel  54  in order to close the tailgate  50 . 
     However, there is a problem in that recessed pull handle thus formed at the tailgate trim panel in that it is difficult for a relatively short person to hold the pull handle and to pull the tailgate, resulting in inconvenience in closing the tailgate. In other words, the pull handle positioned high at the opened tailgate provides no convenience to a relatively short person in holding same and closing the tailgate. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is disclosed to solve the aforementioned problem and it is an object of the present invention to provide a tailgate pull handle of automobile adapted to lower a pull handle formed at a tailgate when the tailgate is opened, thereby allowing a short person to have an easy access to the pull handle for closing same. 
     In accordance with the object of the present invention, there is provided a tailgate pull handle of an automobile, the pull handle comprising: 
     a handle coupled to hinge means at an inner lower side of a trim panel and protruded at one side thereof into the trim panel; 
     a slider formed with a hitching groove for interlocking with an inner lateral end of the trim panel at the handle and supported by guide means for elevation; 
     resilient means for applying resilience to lower the slider; and 
     a piston coupled to a lower end of the slider and protruded to a lower surface of the trim panel for contact with a body. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic lateral view for illustrating a rear part of automobile to show an opened tailgate applied with a first embodiment of a pull handle according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view for illustrating a partially enlarged tailgate mounted with a pull handle of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view for illustrating a connected state of a slider and a piston of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic lateral view for illustrating a rear part of automobile where a tailgate is opened in application of a second embodiment of a pull handle according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view for illustrating a partially enlarged tailgate mounted with the pull handle of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic lateral view for illustrating a rear part of automobile where a tailgate is opened in application of a third embodiment of a pull handle according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view for illustrating a partially enlarged tailgate where the pull handle of FIG. 6 is mounted; 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic view for illustrating a mounted state of pull handle at a tailgate according to the prior art; and 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view for illustrating a partially enlarged pull handle according to the prior art of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The tailgate pull handle according to the present invention includes a handle  3 A coupled to hinge means at an inner lower side of a trim panel  54  and protruded at one side thereof into the trim panel  54 , a slider  5  formed with a hitching groove  4  for interlocking with an inner lateral end of the trim panel  54  at the handle  3 A and supported by guide means for elevation, resilient means for applying resilience to lower the slider  5 , and a piston  6  coupled to a lower end of the slider  5  and protruded to a lower surface of the trim panel  54  for contact with a body (B). 
     The pull handle according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a first bezel  2  coupled to a lower inner side of a trim panel  54  and formed with a first through hole  1 , a handle  3   a  coupled via hinge means for rotation while one end thereof pierces the first through hole  1  to protrude into the trim panel  54 , a slider  5  formed with a hitching groove  4  for interlocking with an inner end of the trim panel  54  at the handle  3 A and supported by guide means for elevation, resilient means for applying resilience for the slider  5  to descend, and a piston  6  coupled to a lower end of the slider  5  and protruded into a lower surface of the trim panel  54  for elevation. 
     The hinge means is composed of a bracket  7  mounted at a lateral surface of the first through hole  1  at the first bezel  2  and a rotary axle  8  installed through the bracket  7  and coupled to the handle  3 A for allowing the handle  3 A to rotate. 
     The guide means is installed with a guide bracket  9  protrusively formed at the first bezel  2 , a guide axle  10  mounted at the guide bracket  9  and a guide slot  11  vertically and rectangularly formed at the slider  5  for the guide axle  10  to get inserted thereinto. 
     The resilient means is arranged with a fixation bracket  12  protrusively formed at the first bezel  2 , and a first spring  13  coupled at one end thereof to the slider  5  while fixed at the other end thereof to the fixation bracket  12  for applying resilience for the slider  5  to descend. 
     Particularly, the piston  6  is coupled to the trim panel  54  to pierce a second through hole  14  of a second bezel  15 , and is provided with stopping means between the piston  6  and the second bezel  15  for controlling a protruded height and accommodated degree of the piston  6 . 
     The stopping means is protrusively formed in two prongs from the piston  6  to get hitched at the second through hole  14 . In other words the stopping means is formed with hitching protruders  16  by which the piston  6  can protrude at a predetermined height. 
     Furthermore, between the second bezel  15  and the piston  6 , there is disposed a second spring  17  to apply resilience to the piston  6  when the piston  6  descends, thereby making it easy for the slider  5  to go down. The piston  6  and the slider  5  include, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a cut part  18  formed at an upper end thereof, a protruder  19  formed at a predetermined height oppositely from an inner surface of the cut part  18  and a hitching slot  20  formed at a longitudinal end of the slider  5  for the protruder  19  to be inserted thereinto, such that it is easy to fit the slider  5  and the piston  6 . 
     When the tailgate  50  is opened under this construction, the tailgate  50  is opened against the body (B) at a right angle or more, such that the piston  6  is protrusively descended by the resilience of the first and second spring  13  and  17  because there is no part (body) to restrain the piston  6  when the tailgate  50  is opened. 
     When the piston  6  is protruded downward, the slider  5  connected to the hitching slot  20  and the protruder  19  is in turn lowered, where the handle ( 3 A) interlocked through the hitching groove  4  is rotated to a dotted position in the drawing simultaneously with the lowering slider  5 . 
     When the handle ( 3 A) is rotated to the dotted position, the handle ( 3 A) actually becomes positioned at a lower height than that of the tailgate  50 . 
     When the handle ( 3 A) gets lower in height than that of the tailgate  50 , it becomes easier for a relatively short person to shut the tailgate  50  when he or she holds the handle ( 3 A) to close the tailgate  50 . 
     When the handle ( 3 A) is pulled to close the tailgate  50  under this condition, the piston  6  is pressed by the body (B) to lift the slider  5 , whereby the handle ( 3 A) is rotated to the trim panel direction to be accommodated into the first bezel  2 . 
     As mentioned above, the pull handle  52  according to the prior art is formed at the inner trim panel  54  of the tailgate  50 , such that in order to close the tailgate  50 , a person should be taller than the opened height of the tailgate  50 . However, the handle ( 3 A) according to the first embodiment is positioned below the tailgate  50  such that even a shorter person can easily close the tailgate  50 . 
     Now, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, where a tailgate pull handle of an automobile comprises a first bezel  2  coupled at a lower inner side of the trim panel  54  and formed with a first through hole  1 , a handle ( 3 B) for piercing the first through hole  1  for sliding motion, a piston  6  for cooperatively moving along the handle ( 3 B) and for going up and down through a second through hole  14  at a second bezel  15  coupled to a lower side of the trim panel  54 , link means for transmitting a horizontal movement of the handle ( 3 B) to the piston  6  for elevation and resilient means for applying resilience such that the handle ( 3 B) can be protruded to the trim panel  54 . 
     The link means includes a bracket  21  installed at an inner panel  53  of the tailgate  50 , a first link  23  rotably mounted at the bracket  21  via a first rotary axle  22  and formed in “L” shape, a second link  26  connected at one end thereof to the first link  23  via a second rotary axle  24  and connected at the other end thereof to a longitudinal end of the handle ( 3 B) through a third rotary axle  25 , and a third link  29  connected to the other end of the first link  23  via a fourth rotary axle  27  and connected to an upper end of the piston  6  via a fifth rotary axle  28 . 
     Furthermore, between the bracket  21  and the first link  23  there is mounted a spring  30  to allow the first link  23  to rotate clockwise. 
     The resilient means is a first spring  31  coupled at one end thereof to the first bezel  2  and coupled at the other end thereof to a longitudinal end of the handle ( 3 B) to pull the handle ( 3 B) to the trim panel  54  direction, where, between the second bezel  15  and the piston  6 , there is installed a second spring  7  for applying resilience to the piston  6  in its protrusion. 
     Now, operational effect of the second embodiment thus constructed will be described. 
     When the tailgate  50  is closed, the piston  6  is pressed to the body (B) and while the piston  6  is lifted, the first, second and third links  23 ,  26  and  29  connected to the piston  6  are rotated to cause the handle ( 3 B) to move to the right on the drawing. 
     When the tailgate  50  is opened, the part (body) which has pressed the piston  6  is removed to protrude the piston  6  downward according to the resilience of the springs  30 ,  31  and  17 . When the piston  6  is protruded, the first link  23  connected to the third link  29  thereby is rotated counterclockwise about the first rotary axle  22  while the second link  26  connected to the first link  23  via the second rotary axle  24  is moved to the left on the drawing. 
     When the second link  26  is moved to the left, the handle ( 3 B) connected to the second link  26  via the third rotary axle  25  is moved to the left to protrude from the trim panel  54  at a predetermined distance. 
     When the handle ( 3 B) is distanced from the trim panel  54 , the tailgate  50  is vertically opened and the handle ( 3 B) is protruded downward to allow the tailgate  50  to be positioned at a height graspable by a user. 
     In other words, when the tailgate  50  is opened, it is opened upto a vertical level, where the handle ( 3 B) is protruded from a trim panel part (a lower part) of the tailgate  50 , such that the tailgate  50  is actually lowered in height thereof for the user to easily hold the handle ( 3 B) and close the tailgate  50 . When the tailgate  50  is closed, the piston  6  is again pressed by the body (B) to go up and to return to an initial state. 
     As mentioned in the second embodiment of the present invention, the handle ( 3 B) is made to be positioned below the tailgate  50  to allow a short person to easily close the tailgate  50 . 
     Now, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, where the tailgate pull handle of an automobile includes a through hole  32  formed underneath the trim panel  54  of the tailgate and for creating a gap at a tailgate inner panel  53 , a bracket  33  mounted inside the through hole  32  and fixed to the inner panel  53 , a handle ( 3 C) coupled to the bracket  33  via a rotary axle  34  and protruded through the through hole  32 , a spring  35  installed between the bracket  33  and the handle ( 3 C) in order to apply resilience to a direction where the handle ( 3 C) is distanced from the inner panel  53 , and a recess  36  formed at the inner panel  53  to receive the handle ( 3 C) when the tailgate  50  is closed. 
     In other words, when the tailgate  50  is opened, the spring  35  causes the handle ( 3 C) to widen, where the handle ( 3 C) is positioned to a place lower than the tailgate  50 , such that a user can holds the handle ( 3 C) to close the tailgate  50 . The recess  36  is so constructed as to receive the handle ( 3 C) where the handle ( 3 C) is not interfered by the body (B) and the tailgate  50  when the tailgate  50  is closed. 
     Now, operational effect of the third embodiment of the present invention thus constructed will be described. 
     When the tailgate  50  is closed, the handle ( 3 C) is placed between the body (B) and the recess  36  of the tailgate  50 , where the handle ( 3 C) is rotated about the rotary axle  34  to of be folded. 
     Under this state, when a user opens the tailgate  50 , the tailgate  50  is opened at beyond the right angle against the body (B), and the handle ( 3 C) is widened by the resilience of the spring  35  as per the dotted line in FIG.  7 . 
     When the handle ( 3 C) is widened from the tailgate  50 , the handle ( 3 C) becomes lower than the tailgate  50 . When the handle ( 3 C) is positioned at a lower lever than that of the tailgate  50 , a relatively short person can hold and pull the handle ( 3 C) for closing the tailgate  50 , making it a lot easier for the use to close the tailgate  50 . In other words, the handle ( 3 C) according to the third embodiment of the present invention is situated at a height lower than that of the tailgate  50  allowing a relatively short person to easily close the tailgate. 
     As apparent from the foregoing, there is an advantage in the tailgate pull handle of an automobile according to the present invention in that a handle is made to position at a lower height than a tailgate such that a relatively short person can easily close the tailgate.