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A vehicle hinge and counterbalance assembly (34) for pivotally mounting a lateral end of a vehicle tailgate (26) at a lower extremity thereof for movement of the tailgate on an associated vehicle between an upper closed position and a lower opened position and for also providing counterbalancing of

A vehicle hinge and counterbalance assembly (34) for pivotally mounting a lateral end of a vehicle tailgate (26) at a lower extremity thereof for movement of the tailgate on an associated vehicle between an upper closed position and a lower opened position and for also providing counterbalancing of the tailgate.

대표청구항 ▼

A vehicle hinge and counterbalance assembly (34) for pivotally mounting a lateral end of a vehicle tailgate (26) at a lower extremity thereof for movement of the tailgate on an associated vehicle between an upper closed position and a lower opened position and for also providing counterbalancing of

A vehicle hinge and counterbalance assembly (34) for pivotally mounting a lateral end of a vehicle tailgate (26) at a lower extremity thereof for movement of the tailgate on an associated vehicle between an upper closed position and a lower opened position and for also providing counterbalancing of the tailgate. traveler so that said chuck jaws may be removably assembled with said traveler and disassembled for replacement and repair. 4. The device of claim 3 wherein jaw end fittings include narrow shanks which fit in said radial slots of said traveler. 5. The device of claim 4 including upper bearing surfaces formed on opposing sides of said radial slots on an upper side of said traveler; and said end fittings of said jaws include shoulders surrounding said narrow shank which bear against said upper bearing surfaces providing an increased area of force application from said traveler to said shoulder whereby an increased gripping torque is applied to said work tool at the jaw bites. 6. The device of claim 5 including lower bearing surfaces formed on opposing sides of said radial slots on a lower side of said traveler; and wherein said end fitting includes a widened flange carried by said narrow shaft against which said lower bearing surfaces bear when said chuck jaws are open. 7. The device of claim 5 including a bearing ledge formed adjacent closed ends of said radial slots for bearing against said shoulder of said jaw end fitting when said chuck jaws are closed. 8. The device of claim 1 wherein said operator includes an operator base press fitted with said rear sleeve, and said operator includes an operator barrel so that manual rotation of said rear sleeve causes said operator member to rotate whereby said traveler moves axially relative to said operator and said support body. 9. The device of claim 1 including a jaw release space defined between said support body and said operator; said operator having a jaw release position in which said operator moves axially relative to said support shaft into said release space beyond said traveler and engages said support body when said rear sleeve is rotated to open said chuck jaws so that a reaction force is created between said operator and support body engagement in said release position causing said traveler to move backwards to produce an initial release of said chuck jaws whereby further rotation of said rear sleeve causes said traveler to continue its backwards travel and open said chuck jaws more fully. 10. The device of claim 9 wherein operator includes a central operator barrel having external operator threads, said traveler includes internal traveler threads which mate with said operator threads on said operator barrel, and said operator barrel extends past said traveler threads to engage said support body in said jaw release position. 11. The device of claim 9 including a sleeve gap formed between said front and rear sleeves allowing relative axial movement between said front and rear sleeves, and including a biasing element disposed between said front and rear sleeves for biasing said sleeves apart. 12. The device of claim 11 wherein said biasing element includes an annular wavy spring carried between said front and rear sleeves. 13. The device of claim 11 wherein said sleeve gap decreases as said operator moves into said release space to engage said support body. 14. The device of claim 1 wherein said support body includes a support head affixed in said front sleeve and a support shaft extending from said support head and into said rear sleeve, said operator including a hollow operator barrel in which said support shaft is received so that said operator barrel rotates about said support shaft when said rear sleeve is rotated. 15. The device of claim 14 wherein said operator is fitted with said rear sleeve; and including a rear sleeve opening through which said a support shaft of said support body extends through said hollow operator barrel to provide a protruding shaft end, and a locking member engaging said protruding shaft end for locking said support shaft in place with respect to said rear sleeve. 16. The device of claim 15 wherein said shaft end includes a circumferential shaft groove, a press ring fitted around said shaft end having a complimentary circumferential groove, and said locking member including a locking ring received in said shaft and press ring grooves wherein said lock ring is loaded by rearward force as said rear sleeve is rotated and said chuck jaws are tightened about the work tool. 17. The device of claim 16 including a press ring groove lip allowing said locking ring to snap into said press ring groove to retain said locking ring therein. 18. The device of claim 16 including a ball bearing disposed between said press ring and said operator wherein surfaces of said press ring and operator provide lower and upper bearing races. 19. The device of claim 1 wherein said jaw bores formed in said support head have a bore axis with a prescribed inclination to said chuck axis; and wherein said traveler includes upper inclined bearing surfaces for engaging a first complimentary portion of said jaw end fitting for pushing said jaws through said inclined bores of said support body, and said upper bearing surfaces being inclined generally orthogonal to said bore axis for transferring and applying a full upward force from said operator to said jaws in the direction of said bore axis. 20. The device of claim 19 including lower inclined bearing surfaces formed on said traveler for bearing against a second complimentary portion of said remote jaw end when said traveler is moved to open said jaws; and said upper and lower inclined bearing surfaces being parallel to each other. 21. The device of claim 20 wherein said traveler includes slots; said remote jaw end fittings including narrow shanks which fit within said traveler slots; said upper bearing surfaces being formed on opposing sides of said slots on an upper side of said slots; and said lower bearing surfaces being formed on opposing sides of said slots on a lower side of said traveler. 22. The device of claim 21 wherein said first complimentary portion of said jaw ends includes an enlarged shoulder surrounding said narrow shank engaging said upper bearing surfaces; and said second complimentary portion includes an enlarged flange extending beyond said narrow shank engaging said lower bearing surfaces. 23. The device of claim 1 wherein said operator includes a central operator barrel extending along the chuck axis, external threads formed on said operator barrel, said operator barrel being fitted with said rear sleeve for rotation with said rear sleeve, and said traveler including a central threaded passage which is threaded on said threaded barrel of said operator so that said traveler reciprocates along said chuck axis without rotation in accordance with the rotation of said rear sleeve to push and pull said threaded jaws through said bores of said support body to close and open the jaw bites respectively. 24. A power tool chuck for a power tool having a plurality of chuck jaws which grip a work tool, said chuck comprising: a front sleeve and a rear sleeve having a central chuck axis wherein said front and rear sleeves are mounted to rotate relative to each other during opening and closing of the jaws; a plurality of non-threaded chuck jaws having nose ends with bites for gripping the work tool and remote ends; a unitary support body including a support head affixed in said front sleeve and a support shaft extending from said support head into said rear sleeve, said support head having a plurality of closed cylindrical bores receiving said chuck jaws, and said operator base and said rear sleeve are press fitted together so that manual rotation of said rear sleeve causes said operator barrel to rotate about said support shaft whereby said traveler reciprocates relative to said operator barrel and said support body, and said support shaft being adapted for a driving attachment to the power tool; a traveler carried within said rear sleeve for reciprocation along said chuck axis; said remote ends of said chuck jaws being carried by said traveler with said jaws being slidably carried and constrained in said support body; an operator f or reciprocating said traveler along said chuck axis and said operator being rotated by rotation of said rear sleeve relative to said front sleeve. 25. The device of claim 24 wherein said traveler includes internal traveler threads and said operator includes external operator threads which mate with said traveler threads for reciprocating said traveler. 26. The device of claim 25 wherein said operator includes an operator base and a central operator barrel on which said operator threads are formed; and said operator base and said rear sleeve are press fitted together so that manual rotation of said rear sleeve causes said operator barrel to rotate about said support shaft whereby said traveler reciprocates relative to said operator barrel and said support body. 27. The device of claim 24 wherein said rear sleeve includes a rear opening through which said support shaft of said support body extends through said hollow operator barrel to form a protruding shaft end, a locking member engaging said protruding shaft end for locking said support shaft in place with respect to said rear sleeve, and a rear-loaded bearing surface disposed between said rear sleeve and said locking member which is loaded by a rearward reactive force exerted on said bearing surface during rotation of said rear sleeve to tighten said chuck jaws about the work tool. 28. The device of claim 26 including a jaw release space defined between said support body and said operator barrel; said operator having a jaw release position in which said operator barrel moves into said release space beyond said traveler and engages said support body when said rear sleeve is rotated to open said chuck jaws so that a reaction force is created between said operator and support body in said release position causing said traveler to move backwards to produce an initial release of said chuck jaws whereby further rotation of said rear sleeve causes said traveler to continue its backwards travel and open said chuck jaws more fully. 29. The device of claim 24 wherein said jaw bores formed in said support head have a bore axis with a prescribed inclination to said chuck axis; and wherein said traveler includes upper inclined bearing surfaces for engaging a first complimentary portion of said jaw end fitting for pushing said jaws through said inclined bores of said support body, and upper bearing surfaces being inclined generally orthogonal to said bore axis for transferring and applying a full upward force from said operator to said jaws in the direction of said bore axis. 30. The device of claim 29 including lower inclined bearing surfaces formed on said traveler for bearing against a second complimentary portion of said remote jaw end when said traveler is moved to open said jaws; and said upper and lower inclined bearing surfaces being parallel to each other. 31. A chuck for a power tool having a plurality of chuck jaws which grip a work tool in said chuck comprising: a front sleeve and a rear sleeve having a central chuck axis; a non-rotating traveler carried within said sleeve for reciprocation along said chuck axis; a plurality of non-threaded chuck jaws having tool gripping ends and remote ends and said remote ends being carried by said traveler; an operator operatively connected to said traveler for reciprocating said traveler so that said chuck jaws are caused to open and close as said operator is rotated in one direction and then another; and said operator including an operator base fitted with said rear sleeve having a hollow interior; and said operator base including a rear sleeve opening through which a support shaft of said support body extends from said operator base to form a protruding shaft end, and a rear-loaded locking member engaging said protruding shaft end for locking said support shaft in place with respect to said rear sleeve, said locking member being loaded by a rearward reactive force produced by rotating said rear sleeve causing said jaws to gri