Drive arrangement for a movable vehicle panel
US4162805A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 1977 |
| Grant date | Jul 31, 1979 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 20, 1997 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/20864
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A drive arrangement for a movable panel member of a vehicle includes a rotatable driving member such as a drive pinion, which member is supported upon a shaft that is drivingly connected to a crank member so as to enable rotational movement of the crank to be transmitted to the pinion. To enable rotation of the crank to a stowage position in any panel member location, a lost motion device is provided for permitting substantially 360.degree. of relative rotation between the crank and the pinion without rotation of the pinion. According to preferred embodiments of the invention the lost motion device is formed by a free travelling member being disposed between either the crank and the shaft or between the shaft and the pinion in the form of a ball contained in a pair of grooves, one of which is helical and the other of which is straight.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.