US3002581A - Door operator - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 3, 1961 R. A. DEIBEL. r-:rAL 3,002,581

DOOR OPERATOR Filed May 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 oct. 3, 1961 Filed May 8, 1958 R. A. DEIBEL ET AL DOOR OPERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office,`

Fatented Oct. 3, i961 3,002,581 DOOR OPERATOR Raymond A. Deibel, Cheektowaga, Hobart V. Roberts, Jr., Elma, and William C. Riester, Williamsville, N.Y., assignors to Trico Products Corporation, Buffalo, N.Y.

Filed May 8, 1958, Ser. No. 733,998 7 Claims. (Cl. ISO-82) This invention relates to automotive appliances and more particularly to a remotely controlled motor operated door opening and closing arrangement.

Heretofore, certain safety hazards incident to the operation of motor actuated opening and closing arrangements for vehicle doors have pr-ecluded their wide-spread acceptance, thus depriving the consumer of a device which would have been of great convenience. More specifically, there has always been the possibility that the operator or passenger of a vehicle would inadvertently actuate a door opening control While a vehicle was in motion, wit-h the attendant possibility of injury to either the passengers or the vehicle. Another disadvantage of many motor operated vehicle door actuating arrangements is that they cause the door to move at an uncontrolled speed. However it is desirable that a vehicle door travel at a relatively slow controlled speed during the major portion of its travel in order to avoid injury to either the door or to an obstacle in its path. Furthermore, it is imperative from a safety viewpoint that a vehicle door travel at an increased velocity during the terminal portion of a door closing operation in order to assure proper closing, thereby preventing .the well known accidents whichmay occur due to improper closing. In addition to the foregoing, it is many times desirable to convert a manual door unlatching arrangement, which is standard equipment on most vehicles now in use, into one which is capable of being either motor or manually actuated, as desired. lHeretofore, this procedure was costly from both material and labor aspects. It is with overcoming 'the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is concerned. v

lt is accordingly one of the objects of the present invention to provide a simple and effective control for a remotely actuated vehicle door which will prevent the door from being opened or closed when the vehicle is being driven or is capable ofV motion. In accordance with this object, Vthe present invention relates to an arrangement for opening and closing a vehicle door cornprising a remotely actuated motor means for selectively opening or closing said door and interlock means coupled to said motor means to prevent opening of said `door when said vehicle is in motion or is capable of motion. In the specific embodiment disclosed, the interlock means is automatically actuated by the vehicle drive selector of an automatic transmission so that when the driveselector is in a drive position, the door operating motors cannot be actuated whether the vehicle is moving or is at a standstill. This arrangement obviates inadvertent door openings and thereby insures the safety of the passengers and prevents injury to the vehicle.

Another object of .the present invention is to provide a remotely actu-ated door opening and closing arrangement which not only causes the vehicle door to travel at a controlled, relatively slow speed during the major portions of a door opening and closing operation and thereby prevents injury to the door or any object which it may encounter in its path of travel; but also causes the door to travel 4at Yan increased speed during the terminal portion of a door closing operation in order to insure proper closing thereof, thereby preventing any of the Well known accidents which may occur when the door is improperly closed. p gf A further object of the prjeSent invention is to provide 2 an improved linkage for permitting the simple conversion of a manually operated vehicle door into one which can be actuated either by a motor from a remote control or manually in the conventional manner, as desired. In accordance with this object, a link made in accordance with the present invention replaces a conventional link which is a standard part of a vehicle door, the replacing link permitting the above mentioned type of operation.

The various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood and other objects will become readily apparent when the following portions of the speciication are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an automobile containing the remotely actuated door operating arrangement of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view, partly in cross section, of a safety interlock switch which is utilized to prevent operation of the door actuating control while the vehicle is capable of being driven;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FiG. 4 is a view, partly in cross section, of a fluid pressure switch for actuating the door operating motor;

FIG. 5 is a VView partly in cross section of a door unlatching arrangement which may be utilized to manually unlatch the door or for unlatching the door incidental to motor controlled door operation;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in cross section, of the motor operated door opening arrangement of the present -invention installed in the door of an automobile;

FIG. 7 is a detail view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 6;

FIG.' 8 is an additional detail view of a portion of the structureV of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in cross section, of a modification of the invention shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is a detail view, in cross section, of a portion of the structure of the modification of FIG. 9.

In FIG. 1 a portion of an automobile i0 is shown having a compressed air container 11, or any other suitable source of iluid pressure, which is suitably coupled to a compressor or the like (not shown) by hose 12. A safety interlock switch 13 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) is coupled to compressed air cylinder 11 by conduit 14. A bracket l5 is adapted to mount interlock switch 13 on the steering column 16 of the automobile in such a manner that valve stem 17 of switch 13 is adapted to be depressed when the automobile automatic transmission drive selector or gear shift lever 18 is in a neutral position, as shown in FIG. 2. It can readily be seen that when the drive selector 18 is in a drive position shown in FIG. 3, and in FIG. 2 dotted line showing, valve 19 will be seated against its seat 20 and therefore prevent communication between conduit 14, which is attached to compressed air container 11, and conduit 21 which couples interlock switch 13 to door opening switch 2v2 (FIGS. l and 4). Thus when the vehicle is being driven or is capable of being driven, compressed air cannot be supplied by switch 22 to the appropriate fluid pressure door yactuating apparatus.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, safety interlock switch 13 consists of a body portion 23: having an upper neck portion 24 of reduced diameter. The mounting bracket 15 is apertured to t over the neck portion 24 of the switch body. A nut 25 is adapted to be threaded onto reduced neck portion 24'to securely fasten mounting bracket 15 to the body of interlock switch 13. Apertures 26 and 27 are provided in mounting bracket 15 for receiving sheet metal screws (not shown), or the like,

Y for fastening switch 13 to steering column 16. Valve stem. 17 in addition to mounting valve 19 also mounts O-ring 28 which prevents compressed air from leaking out of the valve. Furthermore, a spring 29 is provided for normally biasing valve A19 to a closed position when the drive selector 18 is in a drive position. When starting the vehicle, shift lever 18 is lifted from its neutral position, full line showing of FIG. 2, to the dotted position from which it is shifted laterally for driving, This permits spring 29 to function.

The safety interlock switch 13 is opened, as shown by full lines in FIG. 2, when the automobile drive selector is in a neutral position, and compressed air may flow to door operating switch 22 (FIG. 4) through conduit 21. When the automobile operator desires to open the automobile door, he merely pivots knob 30 to the left (FIG. 4), knob 3i) being attached to flange 31 Which is, in turn, pivotally mounted, as by pin 32, to upstanding fiange 33 which is affixed to the housing 34 of switch 22. This movement will cause valve stem 35 to be depressed. Valve stem 35 has a counter-bored portion 36 which ts loosely over hollow valve stem 37, a space 38 provided therebetween, for reasons to be explained hereafter. As valve stem 35 moves downwardly, valve 39 will move against the bias of spring 40 until it engages valve seat 41. Continued movement will cause hollow valve stern 37 to move downwardly against the bias of spring 42 to cause valve 43 to be moved away from its seat 44. When the latter occurs, the compressed air, which exists in conduit 2li and chamber 45, which is in communciation with conduit 21 through aperture 46, will pass through apertures 43 in hollow stem 37 and into conduit 47 (FIGS. l and 4) for actuating the door opening mechanism. An `O-ring 49 is suitably mounted on hollow valve 37 to prevent compressed air from leaking from the valve housing 34.

The door opening arrangement consists of an unlatching mechanism or motor Sil (FIGS. l and 5), a double acting fluid pressure motor 51 having a pistou and cylinder (FiGS. 1 and 6), and a door dampener 52, which may be integral with fluid pressure motor 51 or may be separate therefrom.

The flow of compressed air through conduit 47, when switch 22 is actuated, causes compressed air to flow through T 53. A hose 54 has one end thereof coupled to T 53 and the other end thereof coupled to inlet connection 54 which is mounted on housing 55 of unlatching mechanism Si) (FIG. 5). The admission of compressed air into chamber 56 of housing 55 will cause relative movement between housing 55 and piston 57 against the bias of spring 59. Threaded into one end of housing 55 is an elongated rod 60 having a hook portion 61 at one end thereof. Threaded into piston 57 is another elongated rod 62 having a hook portion 63 at one end thereof. A seal 64 is suitably affixed in housing 55 surrounding rod 62 to prevent leakage of compressed air from chamber 56 while permitting the rod to move axially. From FIG. 1 it can be seenk that the hooked end 63 of rod 62 is adapted to engage a portion 0f the manual door unlatching mechanism 65 which is suitably mounted within the door of the automobile and has manual door opening handle 66 suitably coupled thereto. The rod 60 has its hooked end 61 attached to suitable mechanism 67 which actuates latch 68 which, in turn, is suitably mounted in the door in any well known manner. Since the length of rod 62 is xed, the admission of compressed air into chamber 56 of door unlatching mechanism will cause housing 55 to move to the right in FIG. 5. This, in turn, will pull rod 60 to the right also and exert the necessary force on unlatching mechanism 67 to cause latch 68 to be released. It will also be noted that in the event it is desired to manually open the automobile door, handle 66 is moved in the conventional manner which will, in turn, cause the entire assembly consisting of rods 60 and 62 and housing to move to the right in FIG. 5 .to release the latch 68 through the latching arrangement 67.

Substantially simultaneously with the actuation of unlatching mechanism 50, in the above described manner, compressed air will be admitted from conduit 47 (FIG. 6) to one end of double acting fluid pressure motor 51 which is mounted in the door of the vehicle. Motor 51 has a clevis 69 which is pivotally attached by pin 70 to a rigid bracket 71 aixed to the inside of door 72. A piston 73 consisting of suitable packings 74 is mounted between washers (not numbered) which are, in turn, positioned on a portion 75 of reduced diameter of hollow shaft 76. A nut 77 securely holds the above described piston assembly on shaft 76. The end of hollow shaft 76 which is remote from nut 77 is atiixed to link 73 by pin 79. Link 78 is, in turn, pivotally connected to door jamb 80 at point 81. The admission of compressed air from hose 47 into chamber 87 will cause the housing of fluid pressure motor 51 to move to the right in FIG. 6. Since the iluid pressure motor 51 is pivotally mounted between the door jamb and the door by pins 81 and 70 respectively, the door will be pushed to an open position since it has already been unlatched in the manner described above.

Mounted within hollow shaft 76 is a differential dampening piston 82, which is affixed to one end of shaft S3, as by a threaded connection, the other end of shaft 83 extending through bushing 84 and nut 77 and being threaded into cylinder end plate 85 at 86. The rate of door movement is controlled by this differential dampening assembly. Hollow shaft 76, which forms a dampening cylinder, is filled with a suitable incompressible hydraulic tluid which occupies the chambers to either side of the piston. As the door moves outwardly and upwardly in FIG. 6, the hydraulic fluid will tend to move past piston 82 from the right hand chamber to the left hand chamber. Piston assembly 32 consists of piston elements 88 and 89. As can be seen from the enlarged view in FIG. 7, a small clearance 90 is provided between piston element 88 and the inside wall of hollow shaft 76. The inside face of piston element 88 has a spiral groove 91 therein (FIG. 8), and piston element `82 has a conduit 92 therein. Since shaft 83, which mounts piston elements 89 and S8, is aflixed to cylinder end plate 85 at 86, the piston elements will move to the right within hollow shaft 76 as the door opens. The hydraulic fluid which is trapped in the chamber to the right of piston element 88 is therefore forced to move through space 90, spiral groove 91, and conduit 92 in order to pass to the chamber to the left of piston element 89. Depending on the size of these openings, the rate of hydraulic uid flow can be predetermined and lthus the differential dampening arrangement will control the speed of door opening when compressed airis admitted into chamber 87 through hose 47.

When it is desired to close the door, knob 30 of switch 22 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is pivoted to the right. This will cause the under surface 93 of knob 30 to depress valve stem 94. Valve 95 which is mounted in the counterbore 96 of valve stem 94 will therefore seat itself on valve seat 97 of hollow valve stem 98 against the bias of spring 99 which tends to maintain the valve and seat separated. Continued movement of stem 94 will cause hollow valve stem y98 to move downwardly to cause valve 190 to move away from its seat '101 against the bias of spring 102. When this occurs compressed air will be caused to pass from hose 21 (FIGS. 1 and 4) and chamber 103 into hose 104 (FIGS. l, 4 and 6) through aperture 105. Thus, compressed air will be caused to pass into chamber 106 of uid pressure motor 51 (FIG. 6) and therefore cause the cylinder to move to the left in FIG. 6 thereby causing the door to approach its closed position.

However, it will readily be appreciated that the compressed air in chamber 87 must be vented to the atmosphere in order to permit the closing of the door. To this end, a venting arrangement is provided within control valve 22 (FIG. 4). It can readily be seen that when knob 30 is moved to the door closing position, the springs 42 and 40 will cause valve 43 to engage seat 44 and cause valve 39 to move away from its seat 41, respectively. The compressed air in chamber 87 may therefore pass back through conduit 47 (FIGS. 4 and 6) through ports 48 of hollow valve stern 37, thro-ugh the hollow portion of valve stem 37 in which spring 40 is located, through the space 3S between counterbore 36 and the outside of valve stem 37, and then through aperture 107 to the atmosphere. Aperture 107 may be filled with a suitable loose packing, such as matted hair ller, `which will permit the air to pass through aperture 37 without causing objectionable Whistling. It will also be appreciated that valve stems 94 and 9S which control the closing of the door, in the above described manner, have similar structure for venting chamber 106 to the atmosphere to permit the compressed air therein to discharge when the door is opened. This structure operates in the same manner described above relative to valve stems 35 and 37, and detailed description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

As the door closes, the dampening piston consisting of elements 88 and 89 mounted on shaft 83 will move to the left toward the positionrshown in FIG. 6. This will cause hydraulic uid which is trapped to the left of the piston element 89 to pass through the above described devious route in the piston and into the chamber to the right of piston element 88, the metering of the hydraulic iiuid through the piston assembly controlling the rate of door closing.

It is desirable to impart increased speed to the door at the terminal portion of the door closing operation in order to insure proper latching thereof. This is accomplished in the present invention by rendering the dampening effect caused by piston elements 88 and 89 ineffective during this terminal portion of door travel. As can be seen from FIG. 7, a portion of the inside wall 103 of hollow shaft 76 is of larger diameter than the remainder of the inside portion 109. When the door reaches a predetermined distance from its closed position, piston elements 88 and 89 will enter the portion of hollow shaft 76 which has enlarged diameter 108. When this occurs, the hydraulic fluid will no longer be metered through the above described devious path in piston elements 88 and 89, but will be permitted to communicate directly between the chambers on either side of the piston assembly through the space between the piston elements and the enlarged portion 108 of the hollow shaft. This will permit the compressed air which is supplied to chamber 106 to cause an increased relative movement between piston 73 and the cylinder of the fluid pressure motor S1. In this manner an increased speed is imparted to door 72 prior to closing to insure that it has sufcient impetus to close properly.

It is to be noted at this point that a snubber spring 110 is positioned within hollow shaft 76 (FIG. 6) between the end of piston element 89 and end plate 111. This spring serves a dual function. Firstly, on door opening it tends to force piston assembly 88-89 to the right to overcome the inertia thereof. Secondly, on door closing it prevents the door from moving erratically when the dampening piston 88-89 is rendered ineffective inthe above described manner. Y

A modified arrangement for practicing the present invention is disclosed in FIGS. 9 and 10. In this modication the dampening arrangement is separate from the door opening and closing arrangement described above in FIG. 6. The advantage of this modification is that the dampening cylinder 76 may be installed in a remotely actuated door opening and closing arrangement which is already in use. It can readily be seen from FIG. 9 that a uid pressure motor 51' is provided having hoses 47' and 104 coupled thereto to conduct compressed air to either end of cylinder 112 for causing relative movement between piston 73 4and the cylinder to open or close a door. One

end of shaft 113 mounts piston 73, the other end of shaft 113 being pivoted to door jamb 114 by piu 115 and clevis 116. The end of cylinder 112 which is remote from pin 1,15 is pivotally coupled, as by clevis 117 and pin 119 to door strut 1.18. It can readily be seen that the admission of compressed air through hose 47 will cause cylinder 112 to move to the right in FIG. 9 to cause `door 120 to assume its dotted line position. Likewise, the admission of compressed air through hose 104 will cause cylinder 112 to move to the left relative to piston 73 and therefore cause closing of door 120 in manner similar to that described above relative to FIG. 6.

The dampening assembly 76 consists of a cylinder 121 (FIGS. 9 and l0) which houses a piston assembly 122 consisting of piston elements .88' and 89 which are similar in construction to pistons 88 and 89 described above relative to FIG. 6, and which operate in the same manner to meter hydraulic uid from chamber 123 to chamber 124 and vice versa, depending on the direction of door movement. Shaft 125, on which piston elements 88 and 89 are threaded, extends through suitably packed end plate 126 of cylinder 121 and the end of this shaft is pivotally mounted by pin 126' to a ilange 127 which extends from door jamb 114. A clevis 128 which is connected between the end of shaft 12S `and pin 126 forms the pivoted mounting. Another shaft 129 is threaded into piston element 89' (FIG. 10) and extends through suitably packed end plate 130 mounted in cylinder 121. The threading of shafts 129 and 125 into piston element 89 causes piston elements S8 and 89 to be securely locked in position. Furthermore, shaft 129 provides an additional support for piston elements 8S and 89 to cause them to move in ta desirable rectilinear path. A clevis 128', which is mounted on the door jamb 114, pivotally supports cylinder 5121 through pin 129.

The dampening assembly 76', as shown in FIGS. 9 and l0, is in the position which it assumes when the door is in its fully closed position. It Will be noted that a cutaway portion 131 is provided in cylinder 121 to permit free communication between the hydraulic fluid in chambers 123 and 124 when piston assembly 122 is in the position shown in FIG. l0. As the door is opened, piston assembly 122 will move to the left relative to cylinder 121. For the first short period of door opening the door will travel at a relatively high speed to insure that it is completely disengaged from both its latching arrangement and the door jamb with which it is in contact in the closed position. When the piston assembly 122 reaches the point at which it is no longer in the vicinity of cutaway portion 131, a metering action will occur between the hydraulic uid in chambers 123 and 124 through the devious path such as described above in piston elements 88 and 89. This metering will cause the door movement to be dampened in order to provide a controlled rate of door opening. Likewise, when it is desired to close the door by admitting compressed air through hose 104 into cylinder 112 (FIG. 9), the hydraulic fluid will be metered through piston assembly 122 to provide a controlled rate of door closing. When the point is reached where piston assembly 122 (FIG. 10)V is in the vicinity of cutaway portion 131 of cylinder 121, a bypass will be provided around piston assembly 122 for the hydraulic fluid passing from chamber 124 to chamber 123, and the uid pressure motor 51 will therefore impart increased speed to the door to Iinsure proper closing thereof.

While certain of the appended claims refer to closing and opening of the vehicle door, it is to be understood that this terminology may comprehend the latching and unlatching of the door also.

It can thus be seen that we have provided a unique fluid pressure door closing and opening arrangement for an automotive vehicle which prevents actuation of the door while the vehicle is being driven or is capable of being driven, and in which the speed of door movement is controlled during the major portions of a door opening and closing operation to prevent injury to either the vehicle or to a foreign object, and which provides an increased closing speed at the terminal portion of a closing operation in order to insure proper closing of the door. Furthermore, we have provided a linkage which permits conversion of a manually operated door into one which can be either motor or manually operated, as desired.

While we have described preferred embodiments of our invention we desire it to be understood that it is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims:

We claim:

1. A fiuid pressure door actuating arrangement comprising a cylinder, a first piston movable in either direction relative to said cylinder, conduit connections to said cylinder for causing the portion of the cylinder to either side of said first piston to communicate with a pneumatic pressure source, and a differential speed dampener in said cylinder comprising a hollow shaft carrying said first piston, hydraulic fluid in said hollow shaft, a second piston mounted within said hollow shaft for movement relative to said hollow shaft during a door opening and closing operation, throttling means for permitting hydraulic fluid to bypass said second piston at a relatively slow rate during the initial portion of the travel of said second piston, and means for permitting relatively free hydraulic fluid flow in relation to said second piston at the terminal portion of a door closing operation whereby said pneumatic pressure acting on said first piston and cylinder may impart an increased speed to said door to insure proper closing thereof.

2. A fiuid pressure door actuating arrangement comprising a first cylinder, a first piston mounted in said first cylinder, conduit connections to said first cylinder adapted to be coupled to a pneumatic source for causing relative movement between said first piston and said first cylinder for opening or closing a door, and a differential speed hydraulic dampener associated with said first piston and first cylinder comprising a second cylinder, a second piston movable relative to said second cylinder, hydraulic fiuid in said second cylinder, throttling means for permitting hydraulic fiuid to bypass said second piston at a predetermined relatively slow rate during the initial portion of travel of said second piston to thereby limit the speed of door movement, and means associated with said dampener for permitting relatively free hydraulic fluid ow past said second piston at the terminal portion of a door closing operation whereby said first piston and cylinder may impart an increased speed to said door to insure proper closing thereof.

3. An arrangement as set forth in claim 2 wherein said second cylinder comprises a hollow shaft which carries said first piston and wherein said shaft is located within said first cylinder.

4. An arrangement as set forth in claim 2 wherein said last-mentioned means comprises an apertured portion in said second cylinder operative at a position where said door is proximate its closed position to permit relatively free hydraulic fluid flow in relation to said second piston at the terminal portion of a door closing operation whereby said first piston and cylinder may impart sufficient speed to said door to insure proper closing thereof.

5. An arrangement for opening and closing a vehicle door comprising a source of fiuid pressure, a door jamb, a first piston and cylinder arrangement mounted between said door and door jamb, a door latch, a second piston and cylinder arrangement for actuating said door latch, conduits coupled between said fluid pressure source and said piston and cylinder arrangements, valve means associated with said conduits for causing communication between said fluid pressure source and said second piston and cylinder for releasing said door latch and for causing communication between a portion of said first piston and cylinder arrangement and said fluid pressure source to open said door and for selectively causing communication between another portion of said first piston and cylinder arrangement and said fluid pressure source for closing said door, dampening means associated with said first piston and cylinder arrangement for limiting the speed of door travel during the initial portion of a door closing operation, means associated with said dampening means for lessening the effect of said dampening means at the terminal portion of a door closing operation to permit said first piston and cylinder means to impart sufficient momentum to said door to insure proper closing thereof, and interlock means coupled to said conduits for preventing communication between said fluid pressure source and said piston and cylinder arrangements when said vehicle can be driven.

6. A combination manual-fluid pressure door latch linkage comprising a door latch, manual means for actuating said door latch, a link coupling said manual means to said door latch to permit manual actuation of said door latch, a fluid pressure source, a fiuid pressure motor forming a part of said link and located between said manual means and said door latch, and means coupling said fluid pressure motor to said fluid pressure source for permitting the actuation of said latch by fluid pressure.

7. A link for permitting either manual or remote controlled actuation of a door latch comprising a door latch, manual means for actuating said door latch, a link coupling said manual means to said door latch to permit manual actuation of said door latch, motor means forming a part of said link and located between said manual means and said door latch, an energy source, and switch means coupling said motor means to said energy source for selectively causing said motor means to actuate said latch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,601,174 Hukill Sept. 28, 1926 1,639,747 Nelson Aug. 23, 1927 1,756,307 Rowntree Apr. 29, 1930 1,909,377 Neveu May 16, 1933 1,938,502 Steindler et al. Dec. 5, 1933 2,116,446 Nishimura May 3,V 1938 2,132,767 Toren Oct. ll, 1938 2,194,782 Baade Mar. 26, 1940 2,234,426 Cooley Mar. 11, 1941 2,628,091 Rappl Feb. 10, 1953 2,647,536 Lunde Aug. 4, 1953 2,726,893 Zucker Dec. 13, 1955 2,781,781 Hruska Feb. 19, 1957 2,823,755 Hall Feb. 18, 1958

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