SLIDING WINDOW AND SLIDING ROOF SYSTEMS
The present invention relates to sliding window and sliding roof systems applicable to exterior sliding assemblies of the universal type usable in the car, caravan, boat, building industries etc. and consists of :
- an integrated sliding roof for a motor vehicle without water drains - an exterior electric actuating system
- a compact locking system for the slidable panel
- an external finishing system for the guide rails
- a double sealing system against weather influences
- a compact passage-system of the drive shaft from outside to inside through the flange of the main frame
- a fastening system of the rails to the main frame by means of a click- system
- a suspension and guide system for the slidable panel
- a screening system against incidence of light - a ventilation system
- an interior finishing system for both frames
- a universal actuator system with push-and pullcables
- an integrated tiltroof system
- an adjustable integrated rear spoiler - an anti-vibration system of the slidable panel consisting of hollow circular rubbers
- a level control system for the rail and front stop feet
- an electric power transport system The term "sliding assembly" (further briefly called : assembly) implies all sliding windows and sliding roofs, whose sliding component (window panel, roof panel, slidable panel), which can be made of various materials (metal, synthetic, plastic, glass, etc.) moves in a guided way (rails) in order to create an opening in a certain object (car, boat, caravan, building, porch, greenhou- se, etc.) and to close said. opening again and belong to these types which are composed in accordance with the following concept : 1. outside main frame, 2. inside second frame, 3. exterior slidable panel, 4. exterior guide rails, 5. inside operating means, 6. exterior actuating mechanisms. Sliding assemblies currently on the market have :
- no specially provided groove in the main frame to fasten the rails
- no inside frame provided with a hook and fluke combination
- no plain slidable panel - no guide rails with locking possibilities for the slidable panel
- no external anti-light screen
- no inside finishing rubber with hook and fluke combination
- no finishing strip for the guide rails
- no locking unit for the slidable panel
- no push- and pullcable channel changer - no push- and pullcable sealing system
- no push- and pullcable housing, situated beside and at the same level of the slidable panel
- no bipartite push- and pullcable housing
- no independent, separate push and pull elements for each of both cables
- no main seal with an extra adjustable and exhangeable inner structure
- no main seal provided with a sliding coating
- no double sealing system
- no click-system for the fastening of the rails and the front stop to the main frame
- no securing system of the click-system
- no level control system for the rail feet and the front stop foot
- no independent, sliding elements, in which the slidable panel is suspended - no integrated tilt-unit
- no integrated adjustable rear spoiler
- no integrated rails, wind deflector and spoiler made up of the sur¬ rounding matter
Existing sliding assemblies on the market have as disadvantages that :
- the rails and front stop are welded to the main frame, which involves an expensive and difficult procedure
- the inside finishing rubber strips often come off in case of increased temperature or pressure
- slidable panels with fastening means such as holes, screws, projecting parts, level differences and suchlike take a lot of time to assemble and are expensive in production
- roller blinds inside are space consuming and expensive due to their complicated mechanisms and their often difficult integration
- the locking systems are situated in the interior, which is unaesthetic, space consuming and less safe
- the positioning of the push- and pullcable housing under the slidable panel decreases compactness, which affects the total height of the assembly in a negative way
- the main seals lack sliding comfort and flexibility in compressibility and expansibility
- the total concept (notably the fixed parts) does not dispose of suffi¬ cient flexibility in relation to the joint with the surrounding matter, often resulting in an unwanted slit
- there is a limitation of ventilation possibilities
- the passage of the actuating elements from outside to inside (and conversely) through the surrounding matter requires extra sealing and finishing
- inner guide rails made of rubber offer no locking possibilities - they don't permit the application of a bent one-piece rail-front stop- rail-combination containing the push- and pullcable housing
- one-piece inside finishing rubber strips give rise to installation diffi¬ culties caused by their width, especially in the corners because of the differences between inner and outer contours - synthetic finishing cases have no tear-off faces
- electric actuating motors situated inside are space consuming and difficult to install
- a visible rail end fastening is not aesthetic
- the stabilizing qualities for the slidable panel, as provided by conven- tional rubber inner guide rails, deteriorate with time
- rail and front stop feet have no clamping possibilities for the protecti¬ ve rubbers which are often glued to the rail
The present inventions as indicated in the claims have been developed with the intention to solve the disadvantages of existing systems and to introduce a certain number of complete innovations : - the fastening of the rails and the front stop to the main frame by means of a click-system is easy and permits removal or substitution of both rails and front stop at all times
- the inside finishing rubber strips, attached to the inside frame by means of a hook and fluke combination, have such anchoring and levelbridging properties that an increase of pressure on the rubber lip affects the fixing qualities of the hook and fluke combination in a positive way
- a plain slidable panel is the simplest and cheapest possible solution
- the screening system allows for alternative fixing of flat anti-light screens : either in the rails or in the panel edge profiles, either fixed to* or slidable independent of the panel
- a locking System situated outside the interior of the car saves space, creates fewer unsafe protruding parts inside and is more compact
- the positioning of the push- and pullcable housing beside and at the same level of the slidable panel permits the manufacturing of a very flat assembly, which is more favourable with regard to design
- the use of a main seal with sliding coating guarantees vastly improved sliding comfort especially for manually operated assemblies
- the use of an exchangeable seal core contributes to the compressibility and expansibility of the main seal, highly desirable for this kind of assembly because of possible level changes in the surrounding matter
- the joint between the surrounding matter and the window or roof is optimal because of the level adjustment possibilities of the rail and front stop feet
- the presence of an integrated tilt-unit and an extra ventilation system gives the assembly a multi-functional character and guarantees ventila¬ tion possibilities in any circumstances
- the passage of the drive shaft from outside to inside through the main frame flange results in extra compactness and less installation time
- the synthetic inner guide rail provided with locking ribs and recesses creates solid locking possibilities for a catch
- the push- and pullcable channel changer permits the application of a bent one-piece rail-frontstop-rail-combination - containing the push- and pullcable housing - in conjunction with a plain slidable panel
- a longitudinal two-piece finishing rubber is more favourable because of the fact that the inner contour of the main frame and the outer contour of the inside frame differ too much in length
- the concept of a synthetic finishing case with tear-off sections contri¬ butes to the universal character of the assembly
- rail-end fastening can be realized invisibly by using an endcap that covers and is wedged onto a steel fixing part
- the use of synthetic inner guide rails permits the application of stabilizing and suspension means for the slidable panel
- mushroom-shaped rail and front stop feet enable a protective rubber to be clamped onto them
Embodiments of the invention (subdivided into assemblies with and without locking-unit, with and without panel edge profiles, with and without push- and pullcables) are described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which :
FIGURE 1 is an exploded view in perspective of a sliding assembly, which illustrates the position between the main parts, like the sunblind (124), the slidable panel (11), the panel edge profiles (123), the locking unit (6), the front stop (77), the main frame (50), the main seal (81), the flange (60), the guide rails (76), the endcaps (108) and the inside frame (61) FIGURE 2 is a perspective view with additional cross-sections of an integrated sliding roof system for a motor vehicle illustrating : the vehicle roof (44), the lowered part of the vehicle roof (45), the integrated wind deflector (79), the integrated guide rails (78), the integrated rear spoiler (68), the slidable panel (11) and the push- and pullcable housing (71)
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a sliding assembly with an exterior electric
actuating system whose electric drive motor is either situated under the wind deflector or in the rear spoiler, illustrating : the wind deflector (153), the rear spoiler (145), the electric drive motors (141,149), the ventilation motor (142), the drive mechanism (148) for the slidable panel (11), the spoiler turning mechanism ( 147), the operating panel (150), etc.
FIGURE 4 is an exploded view in perspective of the locking unit, showing : the locking profile (6), the catch (7), the catch bar (8), the catch spring (9), the spring cartridge (10), the stabilizer (13), the inner guide rail (5), the slidable panel (11), etc.
FIGURE 5 is an exploded view in perspective of the handle of the compact locking system, which illustrates : the bottom plate (1) with several openings (14,21,17,19), the operating lever (3), the second lever (2) and the handle housing (4)
FIGURE 6 is an exploded sectional view in perspective of the rail end (76) fastening by means of a steel fixing part (109) and the rail end (76) finishing by means of a wedging endcap (108)
FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the wedging system of the endcap (108)and a sectional perspective view of the inner guide rail (5), illustrating the locking recesses (31), the locking ribs (41), the upper (47) and the lower (46) anti- vibration and guide elements
FIGURE 8 is a cross-section view (A-B fig.3) of the slidable panel (11), a panel edge profile (123), a guide rail (71), a main frame (50) and an inside frame (61), which illustrates their respective components and their correlation and position
FIGURE 9 is a cross-section view (C-D fig.3) of the slidable panel (11), the front stop (77), the main frame (50), the inside frame (61), the drive shaft (94) and the gearwheel (93), which illustrates their respective components and their correlation and position
FIGURE 10 is an exploded sectional view of the compact passage system of the main frame flange, which illustrates : the main frame (50), the flange (60), the inside frame (61), the flange passage (96), the inside frame passage (97), the drive shaft (94,95), the gearwheel (93) and the turning handle (99)
FIGURE 11 is a cross-section view of an example of a guide rail, which illustrates : the level control system (175,176,67,70) of the outer guide rail foot (180), the click-system (80,51,162,161,60) for fastening the guide rail (76) to the main frame (50), the external finishing strip (158), the sunblind groove (177) and an inside facing push- and pullcable housing (71)
FIGURE 12 A-B-C are cross-section views of the main seal, which illlustrate the different height levels (a,b,c), the sliding coating (207) and the exchangea¬ ble seal core (206) FIGURE 12 D is a survey of the positioning of the push- and pullcable channels (72), the push- and pullcable channel changer (208), the push- and pullcable sealing housing (209,210)
FIGURE 12 E is a perspective view of the push- and pullcable channel changer (208)
FIGURE 13 is a cross-section view of a panel edge profile, which illustrates the wiper (130), the dike section (131), the anti-vibration rubbers (132,133), the sunblind alternatives (124,126,127,128), the slidable panel (11), the ventilation operating ridge (129), the glueing distance tenon (134), the faste¬ ning groove (125) for the exterior anti-light screen (124), etc.
FIGURE 14 is a cross-section view of the main frame (50) and the inside frame (61), which illustrates the two-piece finishing rubber (86, 121) and the main seal level control system (122,66) belonging to the main frame (50)
FIGURE 15 is a cross-section view of the main frame (50) and the inside frame (61), which illustrates the second seal (116) and the use of a synthetic finishing case (64) with the recesses (118) indicating the tear-off faces (117)
FIGURE 16 consists of easy-reference cross-section views, which illustrate the fixing of the guide rail (76) to the main frame (50) by means of the so-called click-system and the securing system (67,178) of said click-system with the multi-functional groove (51) engagement point for the inner guide rail foot (rail hook) (80) and the extra flange ridge (52) engagement point for the flexible section hook (162)
FIGURE 17 are cross-section views of the different positioning possibilities of the push- and pullcable channel openings (73) in relation to the rail bottom (69) and the external part of the panel edge profile (123)
FIGURE 18 contains perspective sectional views of the two-piece push- and pullcable housings (74), which illustrate the basic housing part (71) with the second slide-in or click-in housing part (75) in unassembled (left) and asse - bled (right) positions
FIGURE 19 is a cross-section view of the combination inside frame, which illustates the stiff aluminium part with the hook (106) and fluke (102) combi¬ nation for engagement of the hook (90) and fluke (89) combination of the flexible rubber strip
FIGURE 20 consists of some cross-section views, which illustrate the flexibility of the lip section (88) of the plug-in rubber strip in relation to different thicknesses of the roof lining (63) or surrounding inside finishing material (63) FIGURE 21 shows some cross-section views, illustrating an alternative way of fastening the guide rail (76) to the main frame (50) by means of a press-system (21A-21B) or a variation on the click-system (21C-21D)
FIGURE 22 is a sectional view in perspective of the various components and the working of the ventilation system
FIGURE 23 is an exploded view in perspective of a sliding assembly with push- and pullcables, which illustrates the positioning of the wind deflector (153), the plain slidable panel (11), the front stop (77), the turning handle (99), the rails (76), the main frame (50), the inside frame (61) and the endcaps (108)
FIGURE 24 is a perspective view of the integrated tilt-unit, which illustrates the slide- and tiltable panel (11), the one-piece bent rail-frontstop-rail co bi- nation (76,77,76), the main frame (50), the main seal (81), the endcaps (108), the rail finishing strips (158), the protective rail rubber (173) and the tilting mechanism (213)
FIGURE 25 includes a sectional perspective view (25 A), which illustrates the eccentric fitting of the main seal (81) in relation to the main frame (50) and the slidable panel (11), and cross-section views of variants of the main seal - with tear-off points (25B) - and of the seal core (206)
FIGURE 26 - 27 are sectional perspective views of a variation of the combina- tion inside frame (61,167), which illustrate the use of an adjustable second vertical leg (169) with tear-off sections (171) for adjustment to the surrounding finishing material (63)
FIGURE 28 is an overhead view, which illustrates the principle of the actua- ting system of the slidable. panel when push- and pullcables are used, showing both cables (190,198), the gearwheel (93), the gearwheel housing (196), the push- and pullcable channels (191), both push elements (194), both pull elements (193), the front slide elements (194), the rear slide elements (195), the slidable panel (11) and the front stop (77)
FIGURE 29 is a cross-section view of a rail (76), which illustrates the faste¬ ning of the protective rubber (173) to the rail feet (80,180) by means of clamping and the working of the rail seal (200) situated in a rail seal channel (199) that permits the seal to hinge in its housing
The drawings show embodiments of universal sliding assemblies with the following described systems :
- a sliding roof system (fig.2) integrated in the vehicle roof in such a way that the upper surface (179) of the slidable panel (11) never rises above the (uppermost) level of the vehicle roof (44) : neither in closed, nor in open position. The actuating mechanism (71,72,73) is located at the same level as the slidable panel (11) in the vehicle-roof-integrated rails (78). The slidable panel (11) slides over the lowered rear part of the roof (45) and consequently stays completely outside the car. Also the wind deflector (79) and the rear spoiler (68) are integrated in the vehicle roof (44)
- an actuating system for the slidable panel, situated outside the interior (fig.3), with push- and pullcables (148), located in the rails (76) and with electric actuating motors (141,149), located either under the wind deflector (153) or in the rear spoiler (145), which must in this case be connected to the rails - a compact locking system (fig.4) for the slidable panel (11) mounted as a unit (6) which is fixed to, in front of and at the same level of said slidable panel. The unit (6) consists of a one-piece locking profile (35,36,37,38,39,42), housing two catch combinations (7,8,9,10,29,30,48- ,49) and of synthetic inner guide rails (5) which have locking ribs (41) and recesses (31) in which the catches (30) are automatically fixed when the handle (1,2,3,4) is released or not operated : the catch springs (9) pushing the catches (7) into the rail recesses (31). The catch units are connected with the operating handle (see fig.5) by means of the shaft heads (see fig.4,29), which engage with the shaft head recesses (23,25) in the levers of said handle. By pushing the operating lever (3) of the handle, which automatically actuates the second lever (2), the shaft head actuating recesses (23,25) pull at both catch shafts (8), which in turn pull the catches (7) out of the locking recesses (31), enabling the slidable panel (11) to be moved.
- an external finishing system for the guide rails (fig.6-7-8-9-11-29); with slide-in or click-in finishing strips (158) that may differ in material and colour according to the desired design ; with an endcap (108) without visible fastening means, which is fixed by wedging it onto an adapted steel fixing part (109) ; with a protective rail rubber (173) provided with a mushroom-shaped hollow for the fixing on the mush¬ room-shaped rail feet (80,180) by clamping. For the fastening of both rail ends (76) a steel fixing part is used (109), which is slid into the rail (76) (see fig.6) and is fixed to the surrounding matter by means of rivets or screws (111). Said steel fixing part (109) has a fluked pin (112) onto which the endcap (108) is wedged. The protective rail rubber (see
fig.29-173) is pushed onto the rail feet (80,180) and engages because of the natural elasticity of the rubber and the inverse taper of said feet, which permits clamping. - a dual sealing system (fig.8-9-12-14-15-22-25) comprising two separate sealing rubbers : the adjustable main seal (81) and the second seal (116). The second seal (fig.15-116) is fixed into the multi-functional groove (51). The adjustble main seal (fig.14-81) rests on a floating bottom (122), which is regulable in heightly by means of regulating screws (66). The main seal (fig.25) is always installed eccentrically and can be either open (fig.25 A-25C) or closed (fig.25B). A closed main seal (81) always has tear-off points (85), by which -if desired- the seal can be transformed to an open one by tearing off one or more sections. The necessity of bridging different levels (fig.l2A-B-C) can be solved by using seal cores (206) of different sizes and/or shapes (a-b or c). The closed seal can be opened across a certain length to insert a seal core (206) in order to increase the height (a-b-c-) if required. The main seal is provided with a sliding coating (207), which may be attached by glueing or vulcanizing and is meant to increase sliding comfort. The sliding coating can be made of any material that guarantees very little frictional resistance, like polytetrafluorethylene and similar products.
- a compact passage system of the drive shaft (fig.9 and 10), which uses the main frame flange (60) and the parallel inside frame section (76) to realize the passage and the connection between the gearwheel outside and the turning handle inside. This way, more compactness, a quicker installation and a dual bearing possibility (96,97) are achieved.
- a fastening system (fig.8-9-11-16-21) of the guide rails (76) to the main frame (50), which uses either a pressing process (fig.21) by which one side of the rail (76) is hooked into the multi-functional groove (51) by means of the guide rail hook-in foot (80) and the other is pressed behind and around the flange ridge (52), or a click-proces (fig.16) by which the guide rail hook-in foot (80) is also hooked (6) into the multi- functional groove (51) and the flexible vertical guide rail section (161) is * clicked (B) behind the flange ridge (52) by the application of pressure (fig.16 arrow A). The click-system can -if necessary- be additionally secured by securing screws (67,178 as shown in fig. 16B) by which the vertical section is completely fixed.
- a suspension system (fig.4;7), in which the slidable panel (11) moves in a synthetic inner guide rail (5) provided with either anti-vibration lips (see fig.4; 181), or anti-vibration elements (see fig.7;46,47) to prevent vibration of the panel (11).
-a guide system involving little bridges (64,47) which guarantee a
considerable reduction of the frictional resistance for the panel (11).
- a screening system (fig.11-13) - against incidence of light in case a glass panel is used as slidable panel - which makes use of : - either a small interior (127) or exterior (126) sunblind fastened directly to and against the slidable panel (11) (see fig.13)
- or a large exterior sunblind (124), clicked into the specially provided panel edge profile groove (125), moving together with the panel, but not touching it, thus creating an insulating layer of air (182)(see fig.13)
- or still a large exterior sunblind, moving independently of the slidable panel and fixed in the specially provided sunblind groove (177) of the guide rails (see fig.11). - a ventilation system (fig.22), in which the space (a) between main fra¬ me (50) and slidable panel (11) is used as a ventilation channel (a). A ventilation operating ridge (129) on the panel edge profile (123) opera¬ tes the ventilation lever (165), which pushes the lip of the main seal (81) downwards, by which the ventilation opening (a) is created between panel (11) and main frame (50).
- an interior finishing system (fig.8-9-14-15-20-26-27) comprised of three variants :
1. a one-part synthetic finishing case (see fig.l5;64) with tear-off sections (117), enabling the height of the inner case contour and of the outer case contour to be adjusted separately in function of the surroun¬ ding matter (63),
2. a combination inside frame (fig.26-27) provided with a second vertical peel-off section (169), plug-in rubber (167) and sock (168), 3. an inside frame with hook and fluke combination (fig.19-20) and a finishing rubber with matching plug-in section (86). The plug-in section (86) is pushed manually into the frame groove (107) as a result of which the rubber hook (90) engages with the frame hook (106) and the rubber fluke (89) engages with the frame fluke (102). This way the rubber (86) is very firmly fixed in the inside frame groove (107) so that the rubber lip (88) achieves a considerable bridging-effect and bears substantial downward pressures.
Figure 14 illustrates the situation in which a two-part finishing rubber (86 and 121) is used : this system is more favourable than a one-piece rubber because of the fact that the main frame inner contour (185 - 50) is a lot shorter than the inside frame outer contour (186 -76).
- an actuating system (fig.2-3-8-9-12-17-18-23-24-28) whose positioning of the push- and pullcable housing (71) is extremely important : namely beside and at the same level of the slidable panel (11). The
orientation of the push- and pullcable channel opening (73), however, may differ (see fig.17 for the possibilities) without harming the com¬ pactness of the assembly. The use of a two-part push- and pullcable housing (see fig.18), involving a second housing part (75) which is slid or clicked into the basic housing (74), is both favourable and important when a one-part bent rail-frontstop-rail-combination is used (see fig.12- D) since it allows critical stretches (both curves) of the combination to be closed. Moreover, a one-part bent rail-frontstop-rail-combination (fig.l2-D and 24), involving a plain slidable panel needs a push- and pullcable channel changer (208) because of the positioning of the cables
(190,198) directly beside and close to the slidable panel edge.
-an integrated tilt system (fig.24) which requires an additional tilting mechanism (213) that is operated by the push- and pullcables before the sliding operation of the slidable panel (11) takes effect. The tilting operation can be realized by turning the handle in the same or in the opposite direction as effected for the sliding operation, depending on preference. - an adjustable integrated rear spoiler (fig.3), operated by means of a switch (150) in the interior and activated by the turning mechanism (146) which changes the position of the spoiler surface (145) as desired.
- an anti- vibration system (fig.13-8) that makes use of flocked hollow circular rubbers (132 and 133) to prevent vertical as well as horizontal vibrations of the panel (11). This system is integrated in the panel edge profile (123).
- a level-regulating system (fig.8-9-11) for the extreme outer part of the guide rail (76) and the front stop (77). By tightening or loosening the regulating screw (70), the horizontal flexible sections (175 and 187) of said rail (76) and said front stop (77) are respectivily lowered or raised in relation to the stiff unmovable steelplate (176) in such a way that the protective rubber (173) respectivily tightens or loosens against the surrounding matter. (62).
- a transfer system of electric current provided in the guide rail profile and the panel edge profile with conductors and wipers in case a slidable panel is used with solar cells as an electric energy source.
- a push- and pullcable sealing system consisting of two sealing housings (209,210) through which the cables pass and by which the penetration of water and dust into the push- and pullcable channels is prevented.