FR2781726A1 - Guide system for the sliding glass of vehicle door, consists of series of runners, with each runner formed with a central boss and two side bosses, with the central boss formed behind the side bosses. - Google Patents

Abstract

The guide system for the door window glass consists of a series of runners (1), or similar, each formed with at least one central boss (10) and at least one boss (11,12) at the extremities. The runners are separated along the slide trajectory of the glass (4). The central boss is formed behind the line of the extremity bosses, relative to the trajectory, such that only the extremity bosses are in contact with the glass.

Description

The invention relates to a system for guiding

  window glass for a motor vehicle door.

  A motor vehicle door is conventionally equipped with a window which can be moved from bottom to top by manual or electric control. This command causes the displacement of a support fixed to the lower edge of the glass. In addition, inside the door panel, the window is guided by an appropriate system. A guide system comprising pads or the like is for example described in document FR-2 643 858. This system consists of a profile which has a substantially U-shaped section whose side walls successively and alternately have two ramps inclined in opposite directions by delimiting a boss, as well as elastic tongues having a boss near their free end. These

  bosses are intended to come into contact with the glass.

  This guidance system has several

disadvantages.

  First, it does not provide progressive damping when the door is slammed, because the glass

  is supported on all the bosses of the system.

  In addition, this system does not allow the window to be held securely, in particular in the low position when the door is slammed, because the bosses are very widely spaced. Finally, the bosses in contact with the glass are of relatively large width, which hinders the sliding of the glass and can cause screeching. The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a window guide system for a motor vehicle door which ensures good guiding of the latter without hampering its sliding and progressive damping in the event of breakdown of the

  door to avoid unwanted noise.

  The invention therefore relates to a window guide system comprising pads or the like having at least one boss and distributed along the sliding path of said window, these pads or the like being intended to be at least partially supported on said window, characterized in that said pads each have a central boss and at least one end boss, said central boss being set back from the end bosses with respect to said path, so that only the end bosses can be in contact with the glass when

sliding it.

  Preferably, the width of the pads is narrower at the level of the end bosses than at the level

of the central boss.

  In a preferred embodiment of the guide system according to the invention, the pads are mounted on flexible tabs which extend substantially perpendicular to the sliding path of

the window.

  Furthermore, these tabs are themselves advantageously connected to a base which constitutes

the armature of the guidance system.

  Preferably, the pads are arranged in two rows defining between them a space for said window. The pads are advantageously arranged so

shifted from one row to another.

  In a preferred embodiment, the pads of the guidance system according to the invention are made in one

  flexible material, such as plastic.

  The invention also relates to a method for determining the optimum number and location of the pads of the guidance system according to the invention, below

called validation process.

  This method consists in removably fixing said pads on an appropriate support and varying the number and location of these pads up

  obtaining the desired characteristics.

  The invention also relates to a device for

  the implementation of the above process.

  This device comprises a support of general U-shape and of appropriate width, each shoe of the guide system according to the invention being mounted on a part which can slide on the branches of said U-shaped support, the device also comprising means for fixing in a manner each of said parts can be dismantled on one of said branches of the U. These fixing means are advantageously constituted by a needle screw placed in an orifice passing through said part on the side opposite the shoe relative to said branch of the U on which the part is placed. The invention will be better understood and other objects, advantages and characteristics thereof will appear

  more clearly on reading the description which follows

  and which is made with reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of the window guide system according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a partial top view of the guide system according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1 and - Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a device for implementing the

  validation method according to the invention.

  The elements common to the different figures

  will be designated by the same references.

  Reference is firstly made to FIGS. 1 and 2. The window guide system which is partially shown in these figures is conventionally fixed in the door panel of a motor vehicle (not shown). To this end, a fixing device is provided on the guide system which may in particular consist of a stirrup and a lug, as described in

document FR-2 643 858.

  The window guide system according to the invention comprises several pads 1 which are each fixed on a

  support 2 by means of a tongue 3.

  Thus, these pads are distributed along the sliding path of the window 4, the window

  being shown in thin lines in Figures 1 and 2.

  In its movement from bottom to top, the window 4 moves from left to right and vice versa in Figure 1. The trajectory of the window is referenced 5

in figure 2.

  The pads 1 are distributed in two rows 6 and 7. In the example illustrated in the figures, the pads of a row are offset relative to the pads of

the other row.

  The two rows are spaced to allow the passage of the window 4, on which the pads 1

come to support.

  As illustrated more precisely in FIG. 2, the pads 1 have a central boss 10 and two end bosses 11, 12. The central boss 10 is set back from the end bosses 11 and 12, relative to the window 4 and to its path 5. Thus, when the window 4 slides, only the bosses

  end 11 and 12 are supported on the window 4.

  Preferably, the width of a pad 1 is narrower at the level of the end bosses 11 and 12 than at the level of the central boss 10. This makes it possible to reduce the contact surface between the pads 1 and the window 4, while ensuring good guidance of the latter. The tongues 3 which connect the pads 1 to the support 2 extend substantially perpendicular to the

  support 2 and to the path 5 of the window 4.

  The pads 1 like the tongues 3 are preferably made of a flexible material, such as a

plastic material.

  The operation of the guidance system according to the invention will now be described. When the door is static, the pads 1 guide the window 4 by contact with it, during its

descent or ascent.

  The operation of the device when the door on which the guide system according to the invention is mounted is slammed will now be described in

reference to figure 2.

  This figure shows that the guide system, like the window 4, is slightly concave. This concavity is turned towards the interior of the vehicle. The reference 2a therefore designates the inner side of the support 2

  and reference 2b the outer side of this same support.

  Thus, when the door is slammed, the window 4 moves from the right to the left in FIG. 2 or again from the outside side 2b of the support towards the side

interior 2a.

  Firstly, the window pane 4 compresses the end bosses 11 and 12 of the pads 1 located on the inner row 6, while the end bosses

  11 and 12 located on the outer row 7 relax.

  Thus, the window pane 4 and the end bosses 11 and 12 of the internal runners travel the distance between the points designated dl and d2 in FIG. 2, while the end bosses of the external runners deploy in the direction of the arrow F. In a second step, the window 4 comes into contact with the central boss 10 of the pads 1 located

on the inner row 6.

  As the window continues to move in the direction indicated by the arrow F, that is to say from the outside side 2b to the inside side 2a, the window 4

  flex the flexible tabs 3 of the inner pads.

  This deflection is proportional to the speed of

door closing.

  The inner pads 1 then carry out an additional movement along the arrow F. Thus, when the door fitted with the guide system according to the invention is slammed, damping is first ensured by the end bosses 11 and 12 of each skate, then by the whole skate. In addition, flexible tabs provide cushioning

progressive.

  The guidance system according to the invention therefore makes it possible to ensure good maintenance of the window and reduced noise when the door is slammed. In addition, it allows to realize gains in production price compared

to known guidance systems.

  The invention is of course not limited to pads having the shape illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In particular, the pads could include only a central boss and a boss

end.

  Furthermore, the arrangement of the pads along the path 5 of the window 4 may also be different from that illustrated in the figures. In particular, the number and the arrangement of the pads within the same row or from one row to another, can be modified according to the desired characteristics. It can also be noted that the guidance system according to the invention is reversible, that is to say that it can be mounted indifferently on a right door or a left door of a motor vehicle. This of course assumes that the fixing points of the

guidance are symmetrical.

  The invention also relates to a method for determining the optimum number and location of the pads of the guidance system which comes

to be described.

  Conventionally, the validation of a guidance system of this type requires the creation of prototype molds. These molds are expensive and also allow only one configuration. Consequently, it is often necessary to make several molds to

  determine the optimal configuration.

  The validation method according to the invention makes it possible to carry out an unlimited number of skate configurations, this in order to test them, the costs thus being

considerably reduced.

  The method consists in using a form support

  general in U and appropriate width.

  On this support, the pads are fixed so

removable.

  To go from one configuration to another, it suffices to vary the number and the location of the pads on the U-shaped support. The tests carried out for each of these configurations make it possible to determine the configuration making it possible to obtain the

desired characteristics.

  The support on which the pads are detachably fixed may in particular be constituted by the

  slide guide of a conventional guide system.

  We now refer to Figure 3 which schematically illustrates a device for setting

  implements the validation method according to the invention.

  The reference 30 designates a U-shaped support, in particular

consisting of a slide guide.

  A shoe 1 of the guide system according to the invention is mounted on a part 31 which can slide on a

  branches 32, 33 of the slide guide.

  In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, this part 31 has the general shape of two U

  inverted, having a common branch.

  The shoe 1 is removably attached to the branch 32 of the runner guide 30, by means of a needle screw 34 which penetrates into an orifice 35

crossing room 31.

  This orifice is provided on the side opposite to the pad 1.

  It is thus accessible from the outside of the slide guide 30 and makes it possible to pinch the support piece 31 on the

branch 32 of the slide guide 30.

  Figure 3 shows only one shoe 1, the other shoes are also removably attached to the slide guide 30, in order to vary the

  guidance system configurations.

  Other systems than the needle screw 34 could of course be provided for fixing

  removable from the shoe 1 on the slide guide 30.

  The invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described but includes all the technical equivalents which fall within the scope of

claims that follow.

  Finally, the reference signs appearing after the technical characteristics set out in the

  claims are intended only to facilitate the

  understanding of these and cannot

limit the scope.

Claims (10)

RESENDCATIQNS   1. Glass guide system comprising pads (1) or the like having at least one boss (10, 11, 12), distributed along the sliding path (5) of said glass (4) and intended to be at least partially resting on said window, characterized in that said pads each comprise a central boss (10) and at least one end boss (11, 12), said central boss (10) being set back from the end bosses (11 , 12) with respect to said path, so that only the end bosses can be in contact with the   window when sliding it.   2. Guide system according to claim 1, characterized in that the width of the pads (1) is smaller at the end bosses (11, 12) than central boss level (10).   3. Guidance system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pads (1) are mounted on flexible tongues (3) which extend substantially perpendicular to the sliding path of the window.   4. Guidance system according to claim 3, characterized in that said tongues (3) are themselves connected to a base (2) which constitutes the armature of the guidance system.   5. Guidance system according to one of   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the pads   are arranged in two rows (6, 7) defining between them a space corresponding substantially to the thickness of the window (4).   6. Guidance system according to claim 5, characterized in that the pads (1) are arranged   offset from one row to another.   7. Guidance system according to one of   claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said   pads (1) are made of a flexible material, such than plastic.   8. Method for determining the optimum number and location of the skids (1) of the   guide according to one of claims 1 & 7, consisting   to detachably fix said pads (1) on a suitable support (30) and to vary the number and location of said pads until the desired characteristics.   9. Device for implementing the method according to claim 8, comprising a support (30) of general U-shape and of appropriate width, each shoe (1) of the guide system according to one of   claims 1 to 7 being mounted on a part (31)   slidable on the branches (32, 33) of said U-shaped support, the device also comprising means (34, 35) for detachably fixing each of said parts (31) on one of said branches (32, 33) of the U. 10. Device according to claim 9, in which said fixing means consist of a needle screw (34) placed in an orifice (35) passing through said part (31) on the side opposite the shoe (1) relative to the branch of the U on which the part is placed.