Power window

Power windows are windows which can be raised and lowered by depressing a button or switch of some sort, as opposed to using a hand-turned crank. Power windows in an automobile are usually inoperable when the car is not running. Power windows in modern cars are driven by a small electric motor, in some earlier cars they were driven by hydraulics or off the engine vacuum.

Related Topics:
Window - Switch - Crank - Automobile - Electric motor - Engine vacuum

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The first power windows were introduced around 1946. http://www.sae.org/sae100/history/timeline/timeline.htm

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Power windows have come under some scrutiny after several fatal accidents in which children's necks have become trapped, leading to suffocation. Some designs place the switch in a location on a handrest where it can be accidentally triggered by a child climbing to place his or her head out of the window.

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To this end, many newer vehicles with power windows have a driver-controlled lockout switch, preventing rear seat passengers (usually smaller children) from accidentally triggering the switches.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims to be working on power window safety regulations, but has not established a date for their introduction.

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