Claims
- 1. A liftglass assembly for closing an opening in a body of a motor vehicle for use on a road surface, wherein the vehicle body includes features defining a vehicle beltline that intersects the opening, the vehicle body having a cargo area for transporting cargo, the cargo area being adapted to be loaded with cargo from a portable cart of predetermined height, the liftglass assembly comprising:a glass panel adapted to be pivotally mounted proximate to the opening whereby the glass panel is movable between a closed position overlying the opening and an open position allowing access to the cargo area through the opening, the glass panel having an upper portion defining a window, and a lower portion positioned beneath the window when the glass panel is in the closed position; the lower portion of the glass panel having a lower margin with a height from the road surface not substantially greater than the predetermined height of the portable cart.
- 2. A liftglass assembly for closing an opening in a body of a motor vehicle for use on a road surface, wherein the vehicle body includes features defining a vehicle beltline that intersects the opening, the vehicle body having a cargo area for transporting cargo, the cargo area being adapted to be loaded with cargo from a portable cart of predetermined height, the liftglass assembly comprising:a glass panel adapted to be pivotally mounted proximate to the opening whereby the glass panel is movable between a closed position overlying the opening and an open position allowing access to the cargo area through the opening, the glass panel having an upper portion defining a window, and a lower portion positioned beneath the window when the glass panel is in the closed position; the lower portion of the glass panel having a lower margin with a height from the road surface not substantially greater than the predetermined height of the portable cart, whereby the cargo area can be loaded and unloaded manually with reduced effort; the lower portion of the glass panel having a surface feature secured thereto, the surface feature substantially traversing the lower portion of the glass panel in substantial alignment with the vehicle beltline when the glass panel is in the closed position.
- 3. The liftglass assembly of claim 2 wherein the glass panel includes a lowermost edge, and wherein the surface feature is raised to define a step in generally parallel spaced relationship with respect to at least a portion of the lowermost edge of the glass panel.
- 4. A liftgate assembly for closing a rear opening in a body of a vehicle for use on a road surface, wherein the vehicle body includes a plurality of side features defining a vehicle beltline, the vehicle body having a cargo area for transporting cargo, the cargo area being adapted to be loaded with cargo from a portable cart of predetermined height, the liftgate assembly comprising:a first closure panel adapted to be pivotally mounted on the vehicle body proximate to the rear body opening whereby the first closure panel is movable between a closed position overlying the rear body opening and an open position allowing access to the cargo area through the rear body opening, the first closure panel defining a secondary opening in the motor vehicle body when the first closure panel is in the closed position; and a second closure panel pivotally mounted on the first closure panel proximate to the secondary opening whereby the second closure panel is movable between a closed position overlying the secondary opening and an open position allowing access to the cargo area through the secondary opening when the first closure panel is in the closed position, the secondary opening including a lower edge with a height from the road surface not substantially greater than the predetermined height of the portable cart, whereby the cargo area can be loaded and unloaded manually with reduced effort.
- 5. The liftgate assembly of claim 4 wherein the second closure panel has an upper portion defining a window and a lower portion, including a raised surface feature, in substantial alignment with the vehicle beltline when the first and second closure panels are in their respective closed positions.
- 6. The liftgate assembly of claim 5, wherein the raised surface feature is an injection molded polymer.
- 7. In a passenger vehicle, a rear liftgate assembly that facilitates the loading of an item from a conventional shopping cart into the vehicle, the vehicle having a body with side features defining a beltline, the vehicle body having a rear opening with an upper margin and a lower margin, the liftgate assembly comprising:a first liftgate section defined by a main closure panel pivotally connected to the upper margin of the rear opening of the vehicle body; a second liftgate section defined by a liftglass assembly pivotally mounted whereby the first liftgate section and the second liftgate section cooperate to close the rear opening when the first and second liftgate sections are in their respective closed positions; and the second liftgate section having a window and a panel, the panel being mounted below the window, the window and the panel acting together to provide a load opening that extends below the beltline of the vehicle body when the first liftgate section is in its closed position to facilitate the loading of items from the shopping cart.
- 8. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the second liftgate section is pivotally mounted on the first liftgate section, and both of the first and second liftgate sections define the liftgate assembly, the second liftgate section having a lower margin between the window and the lower margin of the rear opening.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/910,741, filed Jul. 23, 2001, entitled “LIFTGATE WITH LOW-LIFTOVER LIFTGLASS”, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
US Referenced Citations (22)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 440 649 |
Jan 1982 |
EP |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/910741 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
10/354478 |
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US |