| 摘要 |
An active hinge with a reset mechanism that disables an additional degree of freedom in the hinge's movement to permit the trailing edge of a vehicle hood to lift is disclosed. The active hinge includes a deployment bracket on which a reset clip is mounted, a hood bracket for attachment to the vehicle's hood, and a body bracket for attachment to the vehicle's body. To re-lock movement between the deployment bracket and the hood bracket, an engagement tab on the reset clip enters a notch in the hood bracket whereby the reset clip rotates until a locking tab on the clip engages a hole in the deployment bracket. Curved surfaces mounted on the engagement and locking tabs provide surface-to-surface contact between the reset clip and the deployment bracket, whereby the deployment bracket is not scratched when the reset clip is rotated, thereby precluding rust from developing on the deployment bracket. |
| 主权项 |
1. An active hinge comprising:
a hood bracket for attachment to a vehicle hood, a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body, and a deployment bracket rotatably attached to the body bracket, the hood bracket being rotatably attached to the deployment bracket at an one end of the deployment bracket so that the hood bracket can rotate from a pre-deployed position to a deployed position, a reset clip rotatably mounted on the deployment bracket, the reset clip being comprised of an engagement tab and a locking tab located a predetermined angular distance away from the engagement tab around the circumference of the reset clip, the reset clip rotating, when the hood bracket is rotated relative to the deployment bracket from the deployed position towards a reset position, until the engagement tab on the reset clip enters a notch in the hood bracket and the locking tab engages a hole in the deployment bracket, to thereby prevent further rotation of the hood bracket and maintain the active hinge in a hinge reset position, and one or more curved surface(s) mounted on the reset clip to provide surface-to-surface contact between the one or more curved surface(s) of the reset clip and the deployment bracket, rather than an edge-to-surface contact between the reset clip and the deployment bracket, respectively, whereby the deployment bracket is not scratched when the reset clip is rotated, thereby precluding rust from developing on the deployment bracket. |
