Apparatus and method for providing a modular sliding door mechanism
First Claim
1. A modular drive assembly for a sliding door, comprising:
- a guide track having a hinge assembly slidably received therein;
a pair of pulleys disposed on either end of said guide track, said pair of guide pulleys being disposed adjacent to a path of travel of said hinge assembly within said guide track, said path of travel being defined by a closed door limit and an open door limit; and
a pair of cables each having an end that is secured to said hinge assembly and the other end is secured to a cable drum of a motor drive unit mounted to said guide track, said motor drive unit being configured to rotate said cable drum, wherein said cable drum is also capable of freely rotating within said motor drive unit when said motor drive unit is not rotating said cable drum, wherein rotation of said cable drum causes said hinge assembly to move in said guide track as one of said cables wraps onto said cable drum while the other one of said cables wraps off of said cable drum, wherein said hinge assembly passes a portion of one of said pair of pulleys when said hinge assembly is at said closed door limit and said hinge assembly passes a portion of the other one of said pair of pulleys when said hinge assembly is at said open door limit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A modular drive assembly for a sliding door, comprising: a guide track having a hinge slidably received therein; a pair of pulleys disposed on either end of the guide track; a pair of cables each having an end that is secured to the hinge and the other end is secured to a cable drum of a motor drive unit mounted to the guide track, the motor drive unit being configured to rotate the cable drum, wherein the cable drum is also capable of freely rotating within the motor drive unit when the motor drive unit is not rotating the cable drum, wherein rotation of the cable drum causes the hinge to move in the guide track as one of the cables wraps onto the cable drum while the other one of the cables wraps off of the cable drum.
127 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A modular drive assembly for a sliding door, comprising:
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a guide track having a hinge assembly slidably received therein;
a pair of pulleys disposed on either end of said guide track, said pair of guide pulleys being disposed adjacent to a path of travel of said hinge assembly within said guide track, said path of travel being defined by a closed door limit and an open door limit; and
a pair of cables each having an end that is secured to said hinge assembly and the other end is secured to a cable drum of a motor drive unit mounted to said guide track, said motor drive unit being configured to rotate said cable drum, wherein said cable drum is also capable of freely rotating within said motor drive unit when said motor drive unit is not rotating said cable drum, wherein rotation of said cable drum causes said hinge assembly to move in said guide track as one of said cables wraps onto said cable drum while the other one of said cables wraps off of said cable drum, wherein said hinge assembly passes a portion of one of said pair of pulleys when said hinge assembly is at said closed door limit and said hinge assembly passes a portion of the other one of said pair of pulleys when said hinge assembly is at said open door limit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A modular drive assembly for a sliding door of a vehicle, comprising:
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a guide track having a hinge assembly slidably received therein, said guide track being configured to provide a center track for the sliding door;
a front pulley disposed on a forward end of said guide track, said front pulley being configured such that said front pulley does not protrude in a door opening of the vehicle any more than a portion of said guide track said front pulley is rotatably mounted to;
a pair of cables each having an end that is secured to said hinge assembly and the other end is secured to a single cable drum of the drive assembly, said single cable drum being located a rear end of said guide track; and
a guide pulley disposed proximate to said cable drum, wherein rotation of said cable drum causes said hinge assembly to move in a path of travel defined by said guide track as one of said cables wraps onto said cable drum while the other one of said cables wraps off of said cable drum, wherein said pulley changes the direction of one of said pair of cables as they wrap off of said cable drum, said path of travel being defined by an open door limit and a closed door limit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for installing a drive assembly to a vehicle, the drive assembly providing an opening and a closing force to move a sliding door of the vehicle, the method comprising:
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providing a modular drive assembly comprising a lower guide track, said modular drive assembly providing the opening and the closing force for moving the sliding door, wherein said modular drive assembly comprises all of the necessary components for providing the opening and the closing force to the sliding door prior to the modular drive assembly being installed in the vehicle; and
installing said modular drive assembly into a mounting cavity of the vehicle by first sliding the modular drive assembly into the mounting cavity and then upwardly moving the modular drive assembly such that a plurality of mounting studs of the modular drive assembly are received within complimentary openings in a structural panel of the vehicle.
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Specification