초록 ▼

An ingress/egress handle assembly for a vehicle is pivoted between a stowed position and an assist position. The handle assembly is mounted to first and second brackets by way of first and second cams and first and second leaf springs. The cams and leaf springs function to selectively lock the handl

An ingress/egress handle assembly for a vehicle is pivoted between a stowed position and an assist position. The handle assembly is mounted to first and second brackets by way of first and second cams and first and second leaf springs. The cams and leaf springs function to selectively lock the handle into either its stowed position or its assist position. The leaf springs rotate about the cams such that whenever the leaf spring is partially rotated toward its stowed position, the leaf spring snaps the handle to the stowed position. A detent is formed as an offset on a distal end of a leaf portion of the leaf spring. The handle, brackets and leaf springs are secured together by a pin about which the handle rotates.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [7.] A handle assembly mounted on a headliner of a vehicle for assisting persons during ingress and egress from the vehicle, comprising:a handle having a grip section disposed between first and second legs, said first and second legs defining first and second pockets;first and

[ What is claimed is:] [7.] A handle assembly mounted on a headliner of a vehicle for assisting persons during ingress and egress from the vehicle, comprising:a handle having a grip section disposed between first and second legs, said first and second legs defining first and second pockets;first and second mounting brackets adapted to be secured to the vehicle through the headliner, said first and second mounting brackets each having a cam member;first and second leaf springs assembled to said first and second pockets, respectively, said first and second leaf springs each having a back portion that is secured to within one of said pockets and a leaf portion that engages one of the cam members;a pin connecting the handle, first and second mounting brackets, and first and second leaf springs together to allow the handle to pivot between a stowed position with the handle up against the headliner and an assist position with the handle in a lowered, easy to grasp orientation;a detent element releasably locks onto the cam member to hold the handle in the assist position until a threshold level of force is applied in the direction the handle pivots to be placed in the stowed position, whereby upon application of at least the threshold level of force, the first and second leaf springs snap the handle into the stowed position.