DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicles and more particularly to a stay rod assembly for supporting hood of vehicles.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
A hood is hinged to a vehicle body for closing an engine compartment of the vehicle. A stay rod assembly is latched to the hood to keep the hood open in order to access the engine compartment. One end of the stay rod assembly is hinged to the vehicle body by means of a slide fit or a clip lock. The other end of the stay rod assembly includes a hasp that is configured to be clasped in an aperture formed at a corresponding location on the hood.
However, conventional stay rod assemblies consist of a large number of loose parts. Manufacturing these loose parts, and assembling them to form the stay rod assembly results in increased manufacturing cost and assembling time. Further, the usage of large number of loose parts increases the chance of accidental disengagement of the conventional stay rod assembly thereby, unlatching the hood which causes the hood to collapse and put the user to a risk of an injury.
There is therefore, felt a need of a stay rod assembly for a hood of a vehicle that alleviates the drawbacks of a conventional stay rod assembly.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure are described herein below:
One object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly for a hood of a vehicle.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly that has less weight.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly that has small number of loose parts.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly that is quick to assemble.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly that has a good error proofing factor.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a stay rod assembly that has low manufacturing cost.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicles and more particularly to a stay rod assembly for supporting hood of vehicles. The present disclosure discloses a stay rod assembly comprising a stay rod with a first operative end having a bent portion and a second operative end, a hinge assembly configured to be pivotably secured to the first operative end of the stay rod relative to the vehicle body. The hinge assembly further includes a mounting bracket configured to hold the bent portion fixedly against the vehicle body and a locking sleeve inserted over the bent portion between the mounting bracket and the bent portion. Further, the locking sleeve is configured to facilitate securing the bracket over the stay rod as well as to restrict any lateral movement between the mounting bracket and the stay rod.
The locking sleeve has snap elements to facilitate locking of the mounting bracket over the sleeve by a snapping action.
The stay rod assembly further includes a locking mold is provided on the second operative end of the stay rod and configured to be detachably engaged with the hood of the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A stay rod assembly, of the present disclosure, for supporting a hood of a vehicle will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of the vehicle body with the stay rod assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a schematic view of the stay rod assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 3A and Figure 3B illustrate different isometric views of a hinge assembly of the stay rod assembly of Figure 2.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
1000 – vehicle body
100 – Stay rod assembly
105 – Stay rod
105A – Bent portion of first operative end 110A
110A – Operative first end
110B – Operative second end
115 – Hinge assembly
120 – Mounting bracket
125 – Locking sleeve
125A – Snap element
130 – Locking mold
135 – Foam sleeve
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms "a,” "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being "mounted on," “engaged to,” "connected to," or "coupled to" another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner,” “outer,” "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
A preferred embodiment of a stay rod assembly (100) for a hood of a vehicle body (1000), of the present disclosure, will now be described in detail with reference to Figure 1 -3B. The preferred embodiment does not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure.
The stay rod assembly (100) (hereinafter referred to as “assembly 100”) is configured to be mounted within a vehicle body (1000). The assembly (100) includes a stay rod (105), a hinge assembly (115) and a locking mold (130).
The hinge assembly (115) is coupled to a riveted head configured on a first operative end (110A) of the stay rod (105) having a bent portion 105A. The hinge assembly (115) includes a mounting bracket (120) and a locking sleeve (125). The mounting bracket (120) is configured to secure the stay rod (105) to the vehicle body (1000) by means of fasteners. In an embodiment, the mounting bracket (120) is a hat bracket configured with fastening holes at each of the operative ends 110A, 110B for facilitating disposal of the fasteners therein. The locking sleeve (125) includes a pair of snap elements (125A) configured to snap fit the mounting bracket (120) on the stay rod (105) and form an interlock. As a result, a smooth rotational movement of the stay rod (105) is obtained, thus restricting any unwanted mode of movement of the stay rod (105) in the hinge assembly (115).
The locking mold (130) is coupled to an operative second end (110B) of the stay rod (105). In an alternative embodiment, the locking mold (130) is a molded component that includes a retaining element (not specifically shown in figures). The retaining element is configured to detachably engage with a locking arrangement (not specifically shown in figures) provided in the hood of the vehicle body (1000). The retaining element is manually engageable with the locking arrangement of the hood to hold the hood in a raised configuration. In another embodiment, the locking arrangement is a slot provided in the hood of the vehicle body (1000).
The stay rod (105) assembly includes a foam sleeve (135). The foam sleeve (135) is configured to act as an insulator to avoid direct contact of a user with the stay rod (105) that gets heated by absorbing the heat released from the engine compartment.
The stay rod (105) of the stay rod assembly (100), as disclosed in the present disclosure, requires only a hinge assembly (115) at one operative end and a locking mold (130) at the other operative end of the stay rod (105), thereby resulting in an assembly (100) with small number of loose parts. Therefore, weight, cost and time required for manufacturing and assembling the assembly (100) is reduced. Further, a good factor of error proofing is achieved, since there is no part other than the stay rod (105) that requires handling.
In another embodiment, the assembly (100) is positively mounted onto the vehicle body (1000) to eliminate the chances of accidental disengagement of the assembly (100). As a result, collapsing of the hood and the consequent chances of injury to the user is prevented.
In an embodiment, the stay rod (105) has a diametrical dimension of 7 mm. The stay rod (105) is preferably made of low carbon allow steel of grade AISI-C-1010.
The mounting bracket (120) is made of low carbon cold rolled steel sheets.
The locking sleeve (125) and the locking mold (130) are made of a thermoplastic having high stiffness, low friction and excellent dimensional stability. More specifically, the locking sleeve (125) and the locking mold (130) are preferably made of Delrin.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a stay rod assembly for a hood of a vehicle that:
• has less weight;
• has small number of loose parts;
• is quick to assemble;
• has a good error proofing factor; and
• has low manufacturing cost.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveals the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element or group of elements.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, apparatus, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A stay rod assembly 100 for supporting a hood of a vehicle in a raised position, said stay rod assembly 100 comprising:
a. a stay rod 105 with a first operative end 110A and a second operative end 110B, said first operative end 110A having a bent portion 105A;
b. a hinge assembly 115 configured to pivotably secure said first operative end 110A of said stay rod 105 relative to said vehicle body, said hinge assembly 115 comprising:
i. a mounting bracket 120 configured to hold said bent portion 105A fixedly against said vehicle body; and
ii. a locking sleeve 125 inserted over said bent portion 105A between said mounting bracket 120 and said bent portion 105A, said locking sleeve 125 configured to facilitate securing said mounting bracket 120 over said stay rod 105 and to restrict any lateral movement between said mounting bracket 120 and said stay rod 105.
2. The stay rod assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking sleeve 125 have snap elements 125A to facilitate locking of said mounting bracket 120 over said sleeve 125 by a snapping action.
3. The stay rod assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein a locking mould 130 is provided on said second operative end 110B of said stay rod 105 and configured to be detachably engaged with said hood of said vehicle.
4. The stay rod assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein a foam sleeve 135 is provided between said first operative end 110A and said second operative end 110B of said stay rod 105 to facilitate a firm grip.

5. The stay rod assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking sleeves 125 and said locking mold 130 are made of a thermoplastic.