Patent ID: 8484804

Claim:
A hood hinge assembly for operatively attaching a hood to a vehicle comprising: a base link configured to be coupled to the vehicle; a deploy link coupled to the base link; a hood link coupled to the deploy link and configured to be coupled to the hood, wherein, in a first transition from a first position into a second position, the hood link and the deploy link pivot with one another relative to the base link, and wherein, in a second transition from the first position into a third position, the hood link pivots relative to the deploy link; a first intermediate link coupling the base link to the deploy link such that the first intermediate link forms a first pivot point with the base link and a second pivot point with the deploy link; a second intermediate link coupling the base link to the deploy link such that the second intermediate link forms a third pivot point with the base link and a fourth pivot point with the deploy link, wherein the hood link and deploy link are coupled together at a fifth pivot point, wherein, in the first transition, the base link and the first intermediate link pivot about the first pivot point, the base link and the second intermediate link pivot about the third pivot point, the deploy link and the first intermediate link pivot about the second pivot point, and the deploy link and the second intermediate link pivot about the fourth pivot point, and wherein, in the second transition, the hood link and the deploy link pivot about the fifth pivot point in a first direction, and wherein, in a third transition from the third position into a fourth position, the hood link and deploy link pivot about the fifth pivot point in a second direction; and a latch assembly configured to couple the hood link to the deploy link in the fourth position, wherein the hood link includes a first post and a second post, and wherein the deploy link includes an aperture that receives the first post in the first position and a spring with an end that biases against the first post in the first position.