Patent ID: 8234752

Claim:
A sliding and rotating hinge module comprising: at least one bracket adapted for fastening to a vehicle; a slider mounted within said bracket and supported for sliding movement relative to said bracket between a retracted position and an extended position; a drum rotationally supported by said bracket; a constant force spring attached to said drum at one end and said slider at another end, said constant force spring being biased to wrap around said drum, said constant force spring unwrapping from said drum as said slider moves toward said retracted position, and said constant force spring biasing said slider toward said extended position; a damping mechanism for damping rotational motion of said drum relative to said bracket; a support member pivotally attached to the slider, said support member being pivotally movable relative to said slider between a first position and a second position at least when said slider is in said extended position; a latch provided for selectively holding said slider in said retracted position; and a cover attached to said bracket and having an outer sleeve provided with an arc-shaped inside surface that at least in part surrounds an outermost coil of said constant force spring, such that when said slider is moving too fast for said drum to keep up with and results in the constant force spring expanding radially outward relative to the drum to engage said cover, said cover limits outward radial expansion of said constant force spring to slow down said sliding movement of said slider toward said extended position.