ADDITIONAL STEPS FOR VEHICLE LOCKING ELEMENTS

Abstract

Auxiliary steps are provided for use on motor vehicles during a stationary or non-moving state of the vehicle. Example auxiliary steps may include a step portion and a hook portion. The step portion may be configured to provide a step surface upon which a user can step to access an upper vehicle structure. The hook portion may be configured to engage a hinge assembly of a closure element system of a stationary motor vehicle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure relates to motor vehicles and, more particularly, to accessory stages that can be connected to a vehicle closure system to access cargo mounted on the roof while the vehicle is stationary.BACKGROUNDMotor vehicles typically include one or more closure elements. Exemplary closure elements are doors and swing flaps. Generally, closure members may be moved relative to a body structure of the vehicle between open and closed positions to provide vehicle input / output.SUMMARYAn auxiliary stage for an automobile according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a stage portion and a hook portion connected to the stage portion. The hook portion is configured to engage a hinge assembly of a stationary motor vehicle closure system.In a further non-limiting embodiment of the aforementioned auxiliary step, the hook portion is connected to the step portion by at least one weld. In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, the hook portion is configured to be hooked to a hinge bracket of the hinge assembly.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, the hook portion is received within a recess of an inner surface of the hinge bracket.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, a recess extends between a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate of the inner surface of the hinge bracket.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, the hook portion includes a cutout sized to receive the first mounting plate or the second mounting plate.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary stages, the hinge bracket is a door side hinge bracket of the hinge assembly.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, the hook portion is configured to engage the hinge assembly without the use of fasteners.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary steps, the step portion includes a top surface configured to provide a step surface.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary stages, the top surface includes a plurality of ridges and valleys.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing additional stages, the hook portion includes a first hook portion, a second hook portion, and a bridge portion connecting the first hook portion and the second hook portion.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing additional stages, the first hook portion is configured to interface with an outer surface of the hinge assembly, the second hook portion is configured to interface with an inner surface of the hinge assembly, and the bridge portion is configured to interface with an upper horizontal surface of the hinge assembly.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing auxiliary stages, a portion of each of the first hook portion, the second hook portion, and the bridge portion includes a protective trim.A vehicle closure system according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a closure member, a first hinge assembly mounted to the closure member, and an auxiliary step removably mountable to the first hinge assembly without using fasteners.In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing vehicle closure element system, the closure element is a rear swing flap.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle closure element systems, a first hinge assembly includes a body-side hinge mount mounted to a vehicle body and a door-side hinge mount mounted to the closure element.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle closure element systems, the auxiliary step is configured to hook into the door side hinge bracket.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle closure element systems, the auxiliary step includes a step portion and a hook portion connected to the step portion.In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle closure element systems, the hook portion is configured to engage a hinge bracket of the first hinge assembly.A method for providing an auxiliary step on a stationary motor vehicle according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, hooking an auxiliary step into a hinge bracket of a closure element system of the stationary motor vehicle.The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims or the following description and drawings, including their various aspects or respective individual features, can be used independently of one another or in any combination. Features described in connection with an embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings attached to the detailed description may be briefly described as follows.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 illustrates a motor vehicle equipped with a closure element system. The closure element system is shown in a closed position in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 illustrates an open position of the closure element system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating selected portions of a vehicle closure member system. One or more accessory steps may be removably mounted to the vehicle closure element system. FIG. 4 illustrates an auxiliary stage mounted on a vehicle closure element system. FIG. 5 is a rear view of selected portions of the closure element system of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken through section 5- 5 of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an auxiliary stage. FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of a hook portion of the auxiliary stage of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of a hook portion of the auxiliary stage of FIG. 7.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThis disclosure describes example accessory stages for use with closure element systems of a motor vehicle during a stationary or non-moving state of the vehicle. Exemplary auxiliary steps may include a step portion and a hook portion. The step portion may be configured to provide a step surface that a user can step on to access an upper vehicle structure of the stationary motor vehicle. The hook portion may be configured to engage a hinge assembly of a closure member system of the stationary motor vehicle. These and other features of this disclosure are described in more detail below. FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically illustrate selected portions of a motor vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to simply as a "vehicle"). The vehicle 10 may be a car, truck, van, sport utility vehicle, semi-trailer, or any other type of vehicle. The vehicle 10 could also be a conventional motor vehicle, a hybrid or electric traction battery-powered vehicle, or an autonomous vehicle (i.e., a keyless vehicle).Although a specific relationship of the components is illustrated in the figures of this disclosure, the illustrations are not intended to limit this disclosure. In other words, the placement and orientation of the various components of the vehicle 10 are shown schematically and could vary within the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, the various figures attached to this disclosure are not necessarily drawn to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to emphasize certain details of a particular component, assembly, or system.The vehicle 10 may include one or more closure members 12 mounted relative to a vehicle body 14 and configured to move between closed and open positions to access a vehicle interior (e.g., a cargo compartment, a passenger compartment, etc.). In the illustrated embodiment, the closure member 12 is mounted to a rear side 16 of the vehicle 10 and is configured as a swing flap. In other implementations, the closure member 12 may be part of a dual outwardly swinging door system that may be provided on the rear side 16 of the vehicle 10 to gain access to the vehicle interior, such as for cargo loading and / or unloading. However, the teachings of this disclosure are not limited to swing flaps and rear outwardly swinging doors, and could be applied to various other types of closure elements including, but not limited to, side doors, tailgates, etc.The closure member 12 may be movably mounted to the vehicle body 14 by a first hinge assembly 18 and a second hinge assembly 20. The first and second hinge assemblies 18, 20 may movably support the closure member 12 relative to the vehicle body 14. Together, the closure member 12, the first hinge assembly 18, and the second hinge assembly 20 may form a closure member system 22 of the vehicle 10. Although two hinge assemblies are illustrated in the exemplary embodiment, the closure element system 22 could include a greater number or lesser number of hinge assemblies.The first hinge assembly 18 may be mounted at a location of the closure member 12 that is vertically above the second hinge assembly 20. However, other configurations could be possible within the scope of this disclosure. Vertical and horizontal for purposes of this disclosure refer to the ground in a usual orientation of the vehicle 10 during operation.In one embodiment, the first hinge assembly 18 and the second hinge assembly 20 are visible when the closure member 12 is closed. The first and second hinge assemblies 18, 20 may therefore be considered exposed or "class-A" hinge assemblies.The configuration of the second hinge assembly 20 may be substantially identical to that of the first hinge assembly 18. Therefore, for purposes of this disclosure, details described herein with respect to the first hinge assembly 18 should be understood to apply equally to the second hinge assembly 20.The closure element 12 is shown in a closed position P 1 in FIG. 1 and in an open position P 2 in FIG. 2. When moved to the open position P 2, the closure member 12 allows users to gain access to the vehicle interior. When closed, the closure member 12 provides a barrier between the interior and the exterior of the vehicle 10. Although not specifically shown, the shutter member 12 may be moved to various angular positions between the closed position P 1 and the open position P 2.In one embodiment, the closure member 12 is angularly offset relative to the vehicle body 14 by about 100° or more when moved to the open position P 2 of FIG. 2. In this disclosure, the term "about" means that the amounts or ranges expressed need not be accurate, but may be approximated and / or greater or less, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, measurement errors, etc. A total range of movement of the closure element 12 can vary and is dependent on different design criteria.A user of the vehicle 10 may wish to secure one or more objects 24 to a roof 26 of the vehicle 10. The object(s) 24 could include cargo (e.g., long goods (e.g., wood), boats, kajaks, lawn tools, etc.) that the owner of the vehicle 10 wishes to transport on the roof 26, or could include a tent or other equipment that the user wishes to use while utilizing the roof 26 for camping activities. Some users may find it difficult to access the roof 26 without the use of a ladder or similar height assist device. Ladders, however, can be large and awkward to carry and maneuver. This disclosure is therefore directed to additional stages that may be used in combination with the closure system 22 to facilitate access to the roof 26 and / or other upper vehicle structures while the vehicle 10 is standing or not moving.With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate details associated with an auxiliary step 28 that may be removably mounted to the closure member system 22 to facilitate access to the roof 26 while the vehicle 10 is in a stationary non-moving state. In particular, the auxiliary stage(s) 28 may be mounted to the closure element system 22 without the use of fasteners (i.e., bolts, screws, etc.). Although two auxiliary steps 28 are shown in the example figures, it should be appreciated that one or more auxiliary steps 28 may be mounted to the closure element system 22 to facilitate access to the roof 26.The auxiliary step 28 may be configured to engage the first hinge assembly 18 or the second hinge assembly 20 to mount the auxiliary step to the closure member system 22. The first hinge assembly 18 and the second hinge assembly 20 of the closure member system 22 may each include a body-side hinge bracket 30 and a door-side hinge bracket 32. The door side hinge bracket 32 may be pivotally connected to the body side hinge bracket 30 by a pivot pin 34 (see FIG. 4 ).The body-side hinge mount 30 may be mounted relative to the vehicle body 14 by one or more mechanical fasteners 36 (see FIGS. 4-5 ). In one embodiment, the mechanical fasteners 36 secure the body-side hinge bracket 30 to a hinge mount bracket 38. the hinge mount bracket 38 may be secured to the vehicle body 14 by one or more additional mechanical fasteners 40 (see FIG. 4 ) for securing the body-side hinge bracket 30 relative to the vehicle body 14.The door side hinge mount 32 may be mounted to an outer surface 42 of the closure member 12 by one or more mechanical fasteners 44 (best shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 ). The outer surface 42 may be referred to as a "class-A surface" of the closure member 12.As best shown in FIGS. 5-6, the door-side hinge mount 32 may include an inner surface 46 facing in a direction toward the outer surface 42 of the closure member 12 and an outer surface 48 facing in a direction away from the outer surface 42 of the closure member 12 when mounted to the closure member 12.The inner surface 46 may include a plurality of attachment plates 50 configured to interface with the outer surface 42 of the closure member 12. An opening 52 may be formed through at least a portion of the mounting plate 50. The openings 52 are sized to receive one of the mechanical fasteners 44 for mounting the door side hinge mount 32 to the closure member 12.Recesses 54 may be formed in the inner surface 46 of the door side hinge bracket 32. The recesses 54 may extend from the inner surface 46 in a direction toward the outer surface 48 of the door side hinge bracket 32. One or more of the recesses 54 may be disposed between adjacent pairs of the mounting plates 50. The recesses 54 create open spaces between the door side hinge mount 32 and the exterior surface 42 of the closure member 12 to allow the auxiliary step 28 to be hooked or retained on the door side hinge mount 32 without additional fasteners.The inner surface 46 of the door side hinge mount 32 may additionally include one or more stiffening ribs 56 to increase the strength and stiffness of the door side hinge mount 32. One or more of the stiffening ribs 56 may extend within each recess 54 between adjacent pairs of the mounting plates 50. However, the specific configuration of the stiffening ribs 56 is not intended to limit this disclosure.Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, and with continued reference to FIGS. 3-6, the auxiliary step 28 may include a step portion 58 and a hook portion 60 connected to the step portion 58. In one embodiment, the hook portion 60 is joined to the step portion 58 by one or more welds 62 to form an integral integrated structure of the auxiliary step 28.The step portion 58 of the auxiliary step 28 may include a top surface 64 configured to provide a step surface that a user may step on to gain access to the roof 26 when the vehicle 10 is stationary and the auxiliary step 28 has been connected to the door side hinge bracket 32. The top surface 64 of the step portion 58 may include a plurality of ridges separated by valleys or another textured surface for providing tread traction.The hook portion 60 of the auxiliary step 28 is configured to engage the door side hinge bracket 32 and may include a first hook portion 66, a second hook portion 68, and a bridge portion 70 connected between the first hook portion 66 and the second hook portion 68. When the auxiliary step 28 is secured to the door side hinge mount 32, the first hook portion 66 may interface with the outer surface 48, the second hook portion 68 may interface with the inner surface 46, and the bridge portion 70 may interface with an upper horizontal surface 76 (see FIG. 6 ) of the door side hinge mount 32. When a vertical step load L is applied to the step portion 58, the load may be transferred to both the upper horizontal surface 76 and the outer surface 48 of the door side hinge bracket 32, thereby better distributing the load across the door side hinge bracket 32.The second hook portion 68 may be housed within the recesses 54 of the inner surface 46 to allow the hook portion 60 to be hooked or retained to the door side hinge bracket 32. The second hook portion 68 may include one or more cut-outs 72 for receiving one or more of the attachment plates 50 of the door side hinge bracket 32.A protective trim 74 may be provided at selected portions of the hook portion 60 to protect the respective surfaces of the door side hinge bracket 32 and the closure member 12 by eliminating the contact between metal and metal. The protective trim 74 may be provided on an inner surface of the first hook portion 66, an inner surface of the bridge portion 70, and both an inner surface and an outer surface of the second hook portion 68. In one embodiment, the protective liner 74 is a layer of rubber (e.g., ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) adhered to the hook portion 60. However, other configurations are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure.When not needed, the auxiliary step 28 may be separated from the door side hinge mount 32 of the first hinge assembly 18 or the second hinge assembly 20 and then stored within the vehicle 10. The auxiliary stage 28 may be stored in any suitable location within the vehicle 10, including, for example, within any suitable storage bin of the passenger cabin or cargo area.The additional stages described herein facilitate increased access to and utilization of vehicle roofs and / or other upper vehicle structures. The proposed stages can therefore obviate the need for large, cumbersome conductors for accessing upper vehicle structures. The proposed auxiliary steps can be easily hooked or retained on closure element hinges without the need for additional fastening elements, thereby enabling rapid and convenient use.Although the various non-limiting embodiments are illustrated as having specific components or steps, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to these specific combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non-limiting embodiments.It should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views. It should be understood that while a particular component arrangement is disclosed and illustrated in these example embodiments, other arrangements could also benefit from the teachings of this disclosure.The foregoing description is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could be covered by the scope of the present disclosure. For these reasons, the following claims should be read in detail to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure.

Claims

An auxiliary step for a motor vehicle, comprising: a step portion; and a hook portion connected to the step portion, wherein the hook portion is configured to engage a hinge assembly of a closure element system of a stationary motor vehicle.The auxiliary step of claim 1, wherein the hook portion is connected to the step portion by at least one weld.The accessory of claim 1 or 2, wherein the hook portion is configured to be hooked to a hinge mount of the hinge assembly, and optionally wherein the hook portion is received in a recess of an inner surface of the hinge mount.The accessory of claim 3, wherein the recess extends between a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate of the inner surface of the hinge bracket, and further wherein the hook portion includes a cutout sized to receive the first mounting plate or the second mounting plate.The accessory of claim 3, wherein the hinge mount is a door side hinge mount of the hinge assembly.The accessory step of any preceding claim, wherein the hook portion is configured to engage the hinge assembly without the use of fasteners.The auxiliary step of any preceding claim, wherein the step portion includes a top surface configured to provide a step surface, and optionally wherein the top surface includes a plurality of ridges and valleys.The auxiliary stage of any preceding claim, wherein the hook portion includes a first hook portion, a second hook portion, and a bridge portion connecting the first hook portion and the second hook portion.The accessory of claim 8, wherein the first hook portion is configured to interface with an outer surface of the hinge assembly, the second hook portion is configured to interface with an inner surface of the hinge assembly, and the bridge portion is configured to interface with an upper horizontal surface of the hinge assembly.The auxiliary stage of claim 8, wherein a portion of each of the first hook portion, the second hook portion, and the bridge portion includes a protective trim.A vehicle closure element system comprising: a closure element; a first hinge assembly mounted to the closure element; and an auxiliary step removably mountable to the first hinge assembly without the use of fasteners.The vehicle closure element system of claim 11, wherein the closure element is a rear swing flap.The vehicle closure element system of claim 11 or 12, wherein the first hinge assembly includes a body-side hinge mount mounted to a vehicle body and a door-side hinge mount mounted to the closure element, and optionally wherein the auxiliary step is configured to be hooked to the door-side hinge mount.The vehicle closure element system of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the auxiliary step includes a step portion and a hook portion connected to the step portion, and optionally wherein the hook portion is configured to engage a hinge bracket of the first hinge assembly.A method for providing an auxiliary step on a stationary motor vehicle, comprising: hooking the auxiliary step according to claim 1 to a hinge bracket of a closure element system of the stationary motor vehicle.

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