Tailgate assembly having a removeable door

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11643151-B2
Application number	US-202017103517-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2020
Priority date	Nov 24, 2020
Publication date	May 9, 2023
Grant date	May 9, 2023

Abstract

A tailgate assembly includes, among other things, a frame sub-assembly that includes a driver side section, a passenger side section, and a sill coupling the driver side section to the passenger side section. A door sub-assembly is disposed between the driver side section and the passenger side section. The door sub-assembly and the frame sub-assembly are pivotable together about a first axis between a tailgate closed position and a tailgate open position. The door sub-assembly is pivotable relative to the frame sub-assembly about a first door axis between a door closed position and a door open position. The door sub-assembly is pivotable relative to the frame sub-assembly about a second door axis that is different than the first door axis.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tailgate assembly for a vehicle comprising:
a frame sub-assembly that includes a driver side section, a passenger side section, and a sill coupling the driver side section to the passenger side section; and
a door sub-assembly disposed between the driver side section and the passenger side section,
the door sub-assembly and the frame sub-assembly pivotable together about a first axis between a tailgate closed position and a tailgate open position;
the door sub-assembly pivotable relative to the frame sub-assembly about a first door axis between a door closed position and a door open position; and
the door sub-assembly pivotable relative to the frame sub-assembly about a second door axis that is different than the first door axis.

2. The tailgate assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first door axis and the second door axis are vertically extending and are parallel to each other.

3. The tailgate assembly of claim 1 , further comprising at least one hinge assembly that pivotably couples the door sub-assembly to the frame sub-assembly, the at least one hinge assembly including a frame bracket directly connected to the frame sub-assembly, a door bracket directly connected to the door sub-assembly, and a connection member coupled to the frame bracket and the door bracket.

4. The tailgate assembly of claim 3 , wherein the connection member is pivotably coupled to the frame bracket to permit pivoting of the connection member relative to the frame bracket about the first door axis, wherein the connection member is pivotably coupled to the door bracket to permit pivoting of the door bracket relative to the connection member about the second door axis.

5. The tailgate assembly of claim 4 , further comprising at least one fastener that secures the connection member to the door bracket to block pivoting of the door bracket relative to the connection member about the second door axis.

6. The tailgate assembly of claim 5 , wherein the at least one fastener is a threaded fastener that extends through an aperture in the connection member to threadably engage the door bracket when the at least one fastener is blocking pivoting of the door bracket relative to the connection member.

7. The tailgate assembly of claim 3 , further comprising at least one hinge support configured to engaged with at least a portion of the at least one hinge assembly to support the door sub-assembly when the door sub-assembly is decoupled from the frame sub-assembly and in a stowed position.

8. The tailgate assembly of claim 7 , wherein the at least one hinge support is configured to receive a pin of the door sub-assembly.

9. The tailgate assembly of claim 7 , wherein the door sub-assembly is adjacent a front wall of a cargo bed of a vehicle when the door sub-assembly is in the stowed position.

10. The tailgate assembly of claim 7 , further comprising at least one latch connector configured to engage at least one latch of the door sub-assembly when the door sub-assembly is decoupled from the frame sub-assembly and in the stowed position.

11. The tailgate assembly of claim 10 , wherein the at least one hinge support and the at least one latch connector are disposed adjacent a front wall of a cargo bed of a vehicle.

12. The tailgate assembly of claim 7 , further comprising an electrical connector of the door sub-assembly, the electrical connector configured to electrically connect to a vehicle when the door sub-assembly is decoupled from the frame sub-assembly and in the stowed position.

13. A hinge assembly for a tailgate assembly of a vehicle, comprising:
a frame bracket directly connected to a frame sub-assembly of a tailgate assembly;
a door bracket directly connected to a door sub-assembly of the tailgate assembly; and
a connection member coupled to the frame bracket and the door bracket,
the hinge assembly configured to pivotably couple the door sub-assembly of the tailgate assembly to the frame sub-assembly of the tailgate assembly, the hinge assembly permitting the door sub-assembly to pivot relative to the frame sub-assembly about a first door axis between a door closed position and a door open position, the hinge assembly permitting the door sub-assembly to pivot relative to the frame sub-assembly about a second door axis that is different than the first door axis.

14. The hinge assembly of claim 13 , wherein the connection member is pivotably coupled to the frame bracket to permit pivoting of the connection member relative to the frame bracket about the first door axis, wherein the connection member is pivotably coupled to the door bracket to permit pivoting of the door bracket relative to the connection member about the second door axis.

15. The hinge assembly of claim 13 , wherein the first and second door axes are each vertically extending and are parallel to each other.

16. The hinge assembly of claim 13 , further comprising at least one fastener that secures the connection member to the door bracket to block pivoting of the door bracket relative to the connection member about the second door axis.

17. A tailgate door sub-assembly pivoting method, comprising:
pivoting a door sub-assembly and a connection member of a hinge assembly about a first pivot axis relative to a frame sub-assembly to transition the door sub-assembly back and forth between a door open position and a door closed position; and
pivoting the door sub-assembly relative to the connection member about a second pivot axis, the first pivot axis and the second pivot axis are both vertically extending pivot axes.

18. The tailgate door sub-assembly pivoting method of claim 17 , further comprising decoupling the door sub-assembly from the frame sub-assembly after pivoting the door sub-assembly about the second pivot axis.

19. The tailgate door sub-assembly pivoting method of claim 18 , further comprising, after the decoupling, storing the door sub-assembly in a stowed position on a vehicle after the decoupling, the door sub-assembly operatively coupled to the vehicle when in the stowed position.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Nania Adrian

Classifications

• B62D33/033

  removable {(B62D33/0273 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B60R3/02 Primary

  Retractable steps {or ladders, e.g. movable under shock (B60R3/005 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B62D33/0273 Primary

  Movable tailboards for vehicles comprising non-movable sideboards, e.g. pick-up trucks (B62D33/037 takes precedence) · CPC title