A tailgate of a motor vehicle has an opening apparatus configured to avoid overshooting during opening of the tailgate. The opening apparatus is connected to a silicone damper to bring about a damping action in the opening direction and a freewheeling action in the closing direction. Additionally, the opening apparatus is configured so that closing of the tailgate and lock actuation are not impeded.

An opening/closing body control device for a vehicle is provided with a drive section configured to drive an opening/closing body of a vehicle, and a controller configured to control the drive section. In response to detection of an external force input intended to accelerate the opening/closing body in operation, the controller controls the drive section to increase the operating speed of the opening/closing element. The drive section determines that the external force intended to accelerate the opening/closing body has been input if, as one example, the acceleration of the opening/closing body in an operation direction reaches a predetermined value or higher.

An electrically powered vehicle tailgate operator for pivoting a tailgate of a pickup truck about a horizontal tailgate axis near a bottom edge of the tailgate. The vehicle tailgate operator comprises a cable spool for spooling a cable and a drive gear for transmitting torque from the drive shaft to the cable spool. The vehicle tailgate operator also has a retention system. The cable spool, the drive actuator, the drive shaft, the drive gear, and the retention system are arranged inside of a housing, wherein the spool axis is oriented in parallel to the drive shaft axis and the spool axis is arranged on the same height or above the drive shaft axis.

A latch assembly for mounting in an opening of a door and for releasably latching the door to a door frame. The latch assembly includes a housing that is mountable to the opening of the door. A lever is rotatably coupled to the housing between a deployed position and a retracted position. A lock plug is rotatably mounted within the housing, the lock plug having one end for receiving either a tool or key, and an opposite end having an engagement surface. A latching member is movably coupled to the housing, and is engaged with both the rotatable lock plug and the lever in the retracted position of the lever. A torsion spring biases the lock plug back to a starting position after the lock plug is rotated from the starting position using the tool or the key.

A latch assembly for mounting in an opening of a door and for releasably latching the door to a door frame. The latch assembly includes a housing that is mountable to the opening of the door. A lever is rotatably coupled to the housing between a deployed position and a retracted position. A lock plug is rotatably mounted within the housing, the lock plug having one end for receiving either a tool or key, and an opposite end having an engagement surface. A latching member is movably coupled to the housing, and is engaged with both the rotatable lock plug and the lever in the retracted position of the lever. A torsion spring biases the lock plug back to a starting position after the lock plug is rotated from the starting position using the tool or the key.

A sliding cover assembly for a vehicle, in particular a waterborne vehicle, the sliding cover assembly having a cover element displaceable between a closed position, in which a roof opening is closed, and an open position, in which the roof opening is at least partially open, and a displacement mechanism for the cover element, the displacement mechanism having a slider on either side of a longitudinal center plane of the cover element, each slider being guided in a sliding manner in a respective guide rail attached to the roof, and a raising lever connected to the cover element being hinged to each slider. The sliders each have a slider body and a control element which is mounted on the slider body in such a manner that it can rotate about an axis of rotation and to which the respective raising lever is hinged eccentrically relative to the axis of rotation.

An actuating assembly for a door element displaceably accommodated in a motor vehicle includes a door lock, a door holding lock and a handle, wherein the door lock can be unlocked by actuating the handle in a first direction, and the door holding lock can be unlocked by actuating the handle in an opposite direction, and wherein the handle of the actuating assembly can be held for electrically actuating the door element.

A drivetrain for the motorized movement of a motor vehicle closure including at least one friction lock mechanism to provide a friction torque, the friction lock mechanism being part of a coupling mechanism of the drivetrain for coupling two drive components of the drivetrain for conjoint rotation, including a coupling piece on the motor side to a drive component on the motor side and via a coupling piece remote from the motor to a drive component remote from the motor, and including multiple friction lock elements which can be rotated about a drive axis, are situated coaxially to one another and form the friction lock mechanism, a middle one of the friction lock elements being concentric to one another and in frictional engagement with two others of the friction lock elements.

A powered truck bed tonneau cover includes a handle operating a clutch to engage and disengage an electric motor from the tonneau cover. The handle is operable whenever the tonneau cover is open. A Hall sensor measures the position of the cover and a user may select closed and open positions for powered operation. A drive assembly of the powered truck bed tonneau cover resides just behind the cab and urges the cover into a spiral to avoid binding.

An emergency opening device for a lifting door as well as a lifting door with such an emergency opening device and a method for operating such an emergency opening device are provided. The emergency opening device has a driver, a movement element, an elongate drive member and a locking element. The driver is rotatably mountable on a rotationally fixed inner shaft of a drive device of the lifting door and is configured to be selectively connected to the drive device. The elongate drive member is connected to the movement element and is configured to transmit a movement caused by the movement element to the driver. The movement element is, for example, an elastic element which is pretensioned in a standby position and is configured to relax and to drive the elongate drive member by the released tension energy when the locking element is released.