Patent ID: 7866732

Claim:
A sliding door drive assembly for a motor vehicle with an electric energy source and a sliding door, said sliding door drive assembly comprising: a motor electrically connected to the electric energy source, said motor converting electric energy into a rotating force; a transmission operatively connected to said motor for transmitting said rotating force to an output shaft; a cable drum fixedly secured to said output shaft for rotating with said output shaft; first and second cables wound about said cable drum in opposite directions, said first cable extending from said cable drum forward along the sliding door, said second cable extending from said cable drum rearward along the sliding door; support guides extending tangentially out from said cable drum to guide said first and second cables outwardly and away from said cable drum along a path; and front and rear pulley assemblies mounted to the motor vehicle and operatively coupled to said first and second cables between said sliding door drive assembly and the sliding door wherein the front pulley assembly includes a front pulley that is biased towards a front of the motor vehicle and wherein the rear pulley assembly includes a rear pulley that is biased towards a rear of the motor vehicle.