Patent Publication Number: US-6668422-B2

Title: Safety device to prevent the unintentional closing of a vehicle&#39;s trunk or hood lid

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 References Cited 
               
               
                 U.S. Patent Documents 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 2671355 
                 March, 1954 
                 Hawkins 
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                 2685353 
                 August, 1954 
                 Caskie 
                 403/108. 
               
               
                   
                 4070050 
                 January, 1978 
                 Glock et al. 
                 292/339. 
               
               
                   
                 4667993 
                 May, 1987 
                 Hannesson et al. 
                 292/339. 
               
               
                   
                 5238213 
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                 248/352. 
               
               
                   
                 6029941 
                 Feb. 29, 2000 
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                 248/352. 
               
               
                   
                 5647619 
                 July, 1997 
                 DeLisio 
                 292/288 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a restraint for vehicle trunks or hoods, hereafter called lid or lids, and in particular for restraints that serve as safety back-up systems. This invention is to hold a lid open in order to prevent their unintentional closing by unanticipated forces, such as: winds, parking a vehicle on an excessive grade, aging hood or trunk retention assemblies or accidents often associated with children. 
     2. Discussion of Background 
     Vehicle lids have long been a cause of injury, sometimes death, by their unintentional closings at inopportune times. These random closing&#39;s, seemingly on their own volition, are often caused by unanticipated forces such as: winds, parking a vehicle on an excessive grade, aging hood/trunk retention assemblies or accidents often associated with children. Previously the automotive industry has addressed this problem by having a physical rod, manually placed into position, prop the lid assembly into an open position. Today automobile manufacturers utilize pistons or spring retention assemblies to keep lids into an open position. The inherent problems associated with these systems is that they are highly susceptible to failure owing to aging of the retention assemblies, such as pistons leaking, springs losing their energy storage capabilities, or unexpected forces being exerted upon them or inadvertent closings. 
     Additionally the current lid mechanisms used today are designed to perform a duality of functions, i.e. closing and opening, whereas earlier lid retention devices, rods, were designed with one goal in mind—to keep the lid open. This duality of function results in a paradox such that neither function, opening or closing, is designed for optimum performance due to conflicting functions. 
     Furthermore, owing to costs and the number of vehicles manufactured each year, somewhere around 500,000 per manufacturer, the automobile industry is unlikely, at best hesitant, to have a lid retention system uniquely designed for every manufacturers&#39; make and model. And finally, probably the most important issue owing to the possibility of a national recall, manufacturers do not want a solution that cannot cost-effectively retrofit a variety of previously manufactured vehicles. 
     Therefore as exemplified, the most important considerations in developing a safety device to minimize the probability that a lid will not inadvertently close are: cost, its capability of providing a universal solution, its ability to retrofit existing vehicles and the simplicity of operation—all of which this present invention uniquely satisfies. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly with its major aspects already briefly recited, the present invention is a back-up safety device for holding a vehicle&#39;s trunk or hood, hereafter called lid or lids, in an open position. The device comprises a ␣ formed fork, which is housed in a vehicle&#39;s lid support arm, and swung into contact with an extension-damper assembly whenever it is desired to keep the lid open. One end of the ␣ formed fork is inserted into friction fittings on both sides of the support arm and the other end bent such that the ␣ formed fork now has one leg of the fork on each side of the support arm assembly. Both ends of the ␣ formed fork are fitted with force distribution boots such that when the ␣ formed fork is manually swung down they come in contact with the extension-damper assembly that is mounted to the lids interior well. When this happens the ␣ formed fork ends force distribution boots come in contact with the extension-damper which in turn is connected to the vehicles body assembly and does not allow the lid to move towards the closed position. Two important, related features of the present invention are as follows: When the ␣ formed fork is in the up, storage position, it is kept there by the frictional forces exerted by the two friction fittings, and does not inhibit the opening or closing of the vehicle&#39;s lid. Secondly the function of the extension-damper is two fold. Because when swung down the ␣ formed fork must clear the vehicles body assembly it could, without the extension-damper, allow the lid to move in the downward direction some distance before making contact with the vehicles body assembly. Although the ␣ formed fork, without the extension-damper, would not allow the lid to fully close the displacement, that is a function of a particular vehicle, could be sufficient to hit a person&#39;s head before stopping the movement. Therefore, one function of the extension damper is to in-effect lengthen each length of the ␣ formed fork such that there is minimal movement of the lid before the ␣ formed fork&#39;s force distribution boots make contact with it and stop movement. The second function of the extension-damper is to dampen and absorb the energy of the lid&#39;s movement when inadvertently tying to close when the safety device is enabled in the down position. Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of lid supports from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments accompanied by the following drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, 
     FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a portion of a vehicle showing the lid area with the lid open and the device in place to secure the lid in that open position, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a front view of the device after being swung into position and just before it contacts the extension-damper housed on the sill of the lid that will inhibit any further movement of the lid, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 3 shows an expanded view of FIG. 2 showing the friction bushings and holes of the support arm assembly 
     FIG. 4 shows a front view of the device in the storage position on the vehicles support arm. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a device for use in securing a lid in an open position. Most lids use either springs or pistons as dual-purpose devices to keep the lids open and secondarily as an aid in closing. One part of the lid assembly is connected to the lid by one end of a support arm and the other part, the body of the vehicle, is connected to the other end of the lid support arm. When a lid is opened the springs or pistons supply the energy to keep the lid from closing and when the lid is to be closed the energy in the springs or pistons releases this energy aiding the closing. For simplicity in this description, however, it will be assumed that lid is synonymous with hood or trunk and the present device would operate in the same fashion as described. 
     FIG. 1 shows the rear portion of a vehicle generally indicated with reference number  10  vehicle  10  has a body  12  and a lid  14 , here shown in an open position. The rear, or front, of the vehicle is indicated by reference number  16  and lid sill by reference number  25  and the lids support arm  28 . Device  20  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown holding lid  14  in the open position. Device  20  comprises a ␣ formed rod  26  having, in this embodiment, one section threaded through holes in the lids support arm assembly, a damper-extension  18 , two force distribution boots  29 , and two friction fittings  27 . To keep the lid in an open position the ␣ formed rod  26  is swung down into contact with damper-extension  18  which is secured in the lids sill  25 . 
     When it is desired to close the lid the ␣ formed rod  26  is swung up into a storage position adjacent to the lids support arm as indicated in FIG.  4  and secured there by frictional forces supplied by two friction fittings  27 . 
     There are, of course, numerous ways of implementing the ␣ formed rod and associated components. These include springs, cams, detent mechanisms, locks, nuts, various other forms of rods, and numerous other devices. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown, but includes any mechanism for fixing the position of a rod, tube, or likeable member from a support arm assembly to any part vehicle that would constrain the movement of a lid. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates details of device  20 , namely, a ␣ formed rod  26  having, in this embodiment, one section threaded through holes in the lids support arm assembly, a damper-extension  18 , two force distribution boots  29 , and two friction fittings  27 . When the ␣ formed rod  26 , as shown, has been swung down into position it makes contact with damper-extension  18 , that is secured to the vehicles body sill  25 , via two force distribution boots  29  thereby constraining any further movement of the lid. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates another detail of device  20 , namely, a ␣ formed rod  26  having, in this embodiment, one section threaded through holes in the lids support arm assembly, the second being two friction fittings  27  that provide the isolation of the ␣ formed rod  26  from the holes in the support arm assembly  28  and provide the frictional forces to keep the ␣ formed rod  26  in the up position for storage as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates details of device  20 , namely, a ␣ formed rod  26  having, in this embodiment, one section threaded through holes in the lids support arm assembly, a damper-extension  18 , two force distribution boots  29 , and two friction fittings  27 . When the ␣ formed rod  26 , as shown, has been swung up into storage position it is secured in this position by two friction fittings  27 . 
     To use device  20  as a safety protection device to prevent the inadvertent closing of a lid swing down ␣ formed rod  26  as shown in FIG. 2 into position where it makes contact with damper-extension  18 , that is secured to the vehicles body sill  25 , via two force distribution boots  29  and thereby constrains any further movement of the lid. 
     Device  20 &#39;s ␣ formed rod  26  is preferably made of metal, but for most vehicles, any reasonably rigid material will do, including some plastics such as nylon and composites such as graphite or fiberglass impregnated polymers. Additionally, device  20 &#39;s damper-extension  18 , force distribution boots  29 , and friction fittings  27  are preferably made of rubber but for most vehicles, any reasonably resilient material will do, including some plastics such as nylon and composites such as graphite or fiberglass impregnated polymers. It is readily apparent to those skilled in the art of lid supports from reading the foregoing that many substitutions and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.