Door handle apparatus for vehicles

US9103143B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Tesla Motors, Inc. · US

Inventors

• David Wheeler · Redwood City, US
• Adam Scott Kilgore · San Rafael, US
• Scott P Cromwell · Mountain View, US
• Daryl Zalan · San Francisco, US
• Robert E. Mooney · Mountain View, US
• Peter Dore Rawlinson · Worcester, GB
• Alan Paul Clarke · Signal Hill, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 25, 2012
• Grant date: Aug 11, 2015
• Expiry date: Nov 12, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T292/57
• WIPO field: Civil engineering
• WIPO sector: Other fields

Abstract

A door handle assembly extends a door handle in parallel from an outer surface of a vehicle door and retracts the door handle until it is flush with the outer surface. The door handle assembly includes a door handle formed from a planar handle member and a handle base member. The planar handle member is coupled to the handle base member and a swing arm coupled to the backside of the handle base member extends and retracts the door handle. A first upper fork is rotably coupled to a backside of the handle base member near the distal portion of a first post portion and a second upper fork is rotably coupled to the backside of the handle base member near the distal portion of a second post portion. The lower dual fork portion of the swing arm pivots about a shaft mounted to an inner door surface.