GB2209713A - Opening roof for motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A glass panel 22 covering the rear part of an opening in a vehicle roof (14, Fig. 1) is moveable from a closed position to a fully open position by sliding it rearwardly either above or below the vehicle roof. Guide shoes 34, 36, 38, 40 are secured to the panel 22 at spaced locations adjacent to the panel sides. A flexible strip 50 has one end secured to the vehicle roof 14 at a location 52 extends through the guide shoes 34, 36, 38, 40 and has its other end secured to the vehicle roof at a location 54. The strip 50 has spaced apertures (56, Figs. 4 and 5) which receive projections 58 on the vehicle roof 14 to prevent movement of the strip at this location and the strip thus prevents skewing of the panel 22 during sliding. A pawl 64 associated with the panel handle 62 has a tip (72, Fig. 5) which engages in a strip aperture to retain the panel 22 in position. A front glass panel 20 is mounted for tilting (Figs. 6 to 11). <IMAGE>

Description

OPENING ROOF FOR MOTOR VEHICLE This invention relates to an opening roof for a motor vehicle of the type comprising a panel covering at least the rear part of an opening in a vehicle roof, the panel being moveable from a closed position to a fully open position by sliding it rearwardly either above or below the vehicle roof behind the opening.

If the length of the panel, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, is substantially less than its width, in the transverse direction of the vehicle, there is a risk of one side of the panel moving further than the other with the result of the panel skewing and becoming jammed. The present invention aims to provide means for guarding against this eventuality.

According to the invention, first and second guide means are secured to the panel at spaced locations adjacent to one side thereof, third and fourth guide means are secured to the panel at spaced locations adjacent to the other side thereof with the third guide means nearer to the front of the panel than the fourth guide means, and an elongate flexible member has one end secured to the vehicle roof at a location in front of the first guide means when the panel is in its closed position and extends through the first guide means, then through the third guide means then through the fourth guide means, then through the second guide means and has its other end secured to the vehicle roof at a location behind the second guide means when the panel is in its fully open position, the elongate member having a series of latching formations adapted to engage with a series of complementary formations fast with the vehicle roof between the third and fourth guide means so as to inhibit relative longitudinal movement between the vehicle roof and that part of the elongate member located between the third and fourth guide means.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective sectional view of a motor car fitted with an opening roof assembly in accordance with the invention, having a first rigid panel closing a front part of an opening in the vehicle roof and a second rigid panel closing a rear part such opening, the panels being shown in their closed positions in solid lines and in open positions in chain dotted lines; Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the roof opening shown in Figure 1, taken at the level of the bottom surface of the vehicle roof, with both panels closed; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Figure 2, but with the rear panel partially opened and broken away to show its operating mechanism;; Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 4 - 4 in Figure 2; Figure 5 is an elevational view of the front edge of the rear panel; Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 6 - 6 in Figure 2; Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 7 - 7 in Figure 2; Figures 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views, similar to Figures 6 and 7, but showing the front panel in a partially open position; Figures 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views similar to Figures 6 and 7 respectively but showing the front panel in its fully open position.

Figure 1 shows the upper part of the body of a saloon motor car domprising a bonnet 10, a windscreen 12, a roof 14, a rear window 16 and a boot 18. Front and rear moveable glass panels 20 and 22 are located in a frame 24 bounding an opening in the vehicle roof and including a drain tray 26 forming the bottom of the chamber behind the opening in the vehicle roof. Panel 20 can be opened by pivoting movement about an axis substantially coincident with its front edge. The rear panel can be opened by sliding into the chamber above the drain tray 26.

Referring to Figures 2 to 4, the frame 24 is shaped to define a drain channel 28 extending round the front and side edges of the opening in the vehicle roof 14 and communicating with the drain tray 26. The rear panel 22 is supported on a pair of guide rails 30 and 32 which are secured to the inner edge of the drain channel 28 on the side members of the frame 24. The panel 22 is supported on the guide rail 30 by front and rear guide shoes 34 and 36, and on the guide rail 32 by front and rear guide shoes 38 and 40. Each of the guide rails 30 and 32 has an outer wall 42, by which it is attached to the frame 24, and inwardly projecting upper and lower flanges 42 and 44. between which the guide shoes are received.The overall cross-section of each of the shoes 34, 36, 38 and 40 is generally L-shaped, with the upper flange 44 of the corresponding guide rail engaging in the acute angle of the L-shape.

As can be seen from Figure 3, each of the shoes 38 and 40 engaging with the rail 32 has a semicylindrical face confronting the outer wall 42 of the corresponding guide rail, the front edge of the shoe 38 being approximately coincident with the front edge of the panel 22 and the rear edge of the shoe 40 being approximately coincident with the rear edge of the panel 22.

As can be seen from Figures 3 and 4, each of the shoes 34 and 36 engaging with the track 30 has a transversely extending slot 48 in its lower surface.

The front wall of the slot 42 in the front shoe 34 and the rear wall of the slot 42 in the rear shoe 36 are both of quarter-cylindrical shape. The shoes 34 and 36 are positioned so that the slots 48 therein are approximately aligned with the front and rear edges of the panel 22 respectively.

A tape 50 of flexible plastic strip material extends from an attachment point 52 on the rail 30 in front of the rear edge of the front panel 20, through the slot 48 in the front shoe 34, round the shoes 38 and 40 on the other side of the panel 44, through the slot 42 in the rear-shoe 36 to a second attachment point 54 near the rear end of the rail 30. The tape 50 has a row of uniformly spaced apertures 56 along its entire length.

The guide rail 32 has a row of similarly spaced and dimensioned inwardly facing projections 58 on its vertical portion. Between the guide shoes 38 and 40, the openings 56 in the tape 50 engage with these projections 58, thus preventing longitudinal movement of the tape 50 relative to the guide rail 32. Relative longitudinal movement between the tape 50 and the other guide rail 30 is, of course, impossible because the tape 50 is fixed thereto at its attachment points 52 and 54.

The effect of this is to ensure that the two sides of the panel 22 move along their respective guide rails 30 and 32 simultaneously and to prevent any tendency of the panel to skew about a vertical axis which could cause jamming.

A drain channel 60 (Figure 6) is secured to the front edge of the panel 22 so that it is overlapped by the rear edge of the panel 20 when both panels are in their closed positions and so that its ends discharge into the drain channel 28 of the frame 24. A handle 62 is mounted on the drain channel 60 in a central position adjacent to its front edge. The tape 50 passes through a slot formed between the handle 62 and a backing plate 64, mounted on the drain channel 60 immediately behind the handle 62. In order to secure the panel 22 in any desired position, a pawl 66 (Figure 5) is pivotally mounted on the handle 62 by means of a pivot pin 68 and biased by a compression spring 70 so that a pawl tip 72 thereon engages in one of the apertures 56 in the tape 50.The pawl 66 is positioned so that, when the handle 62 is gripped by a user, the pawl 66 is simultaneously moved, compressing the spring 70 and moving the pawl tip 72 out of engagement with the tape 50. The panel is then free to move but, when the user releases his grip on the handle 62, movement is restricted to the distance necessary to bring the pawl tip 72 into engagement with one of the openings 56.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the front panel 20 is provided with a central latch assembly 74 at a mid-point along its front edges and downwardly depending guide flanges 76 (Figure 3) and 78 which extend parallel to the outer faces of the guide rails 30 and 32 respectively.

The flange 78 carries three outwardly projecting pegs 80, 82 and 84 for engagement with respective slots 86, 88 and 90 in the flange 78. The slot 86, which serves to secure the panel 20 in its closed position, extends parallel to the panel 20. The slot 88 is generally Lshaped having a short straight limb and a longer arcuate limb. The slot 90, which serves to guide the panel 20 as it moves to its fully opened position, is open ended and of arcuate shape. Adjacent to the open end of the slot 90, the flange 78 has a cam surface 92 corresponding to the short limb of the slot 88. In front of the peg 82, the top edge of the guide rail 32 is cut away at 94 for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. The flange 76 is a mirror image of the flange 78.

The latch 74 consists of a U-shaped member 96 mounted on the inner edge of the drain channel 28 on the front member of the frame 24. A corresponding U-shaped member 100 is secured to the panel 20 with its side limbs projecting downwardly between the limbs 98 of the member 96. The U-shaped member 100 carries two pegs 102 and 104 which project laterally through its side limbs and into respective L-shaped slots 106 and 108 in the side limbs 98 of the U-shaped member 96. One limb of each of the slots 106 and 108 is of arcuate shape. The U-shaped member 100 also has a third peg 110 which extends between its side limbs parallel to the peg 102 and 104 but does not project as far as the side limbs 98 of the U-shaped member 96.A link 112 has one end pivotally mounted on the peg 110 and the other end connected by a pivot pin 114 to a slider 116 which is slidable along a slot in the base of the U-shaped member 96.

Figures 6 and 7 show the front panel 20 in its fully closed position, with its front edge abutting a resilient seal 118 on the frame 24, and with the slider 116 at the rear end of the slot in the base of the Ushaped member 96. The link 112 holds the pegs 102 and 104 at the upper ends of the slots 106 and 108 respectively. At each side of the panel 20, the peg 80 engages in its slot 86, the peg 82 is held at the bottom of the short limb of the slot 88 and the peg 84 abuts against the cam surface 92.

When it is desired to open the front panel 20, the slider 116 is moved forwardly, initially to the position shown in Figure 8. The link 112 allows the pegs 102 and 104 to move to the bottoms of the short limbs of, the slots 106 and 108 respectively. At each side of the panel 20, the peg 80 moves clear of the slot 86, the peg 82 moves to the top of the slot 88 and the peg 84 moves clear of the cam surface 92 into alignment with the slot 90, as can be seen in Figure 9. The front edge of the panel 20 is now below the seal 118, but still in contact therewith. The rear edge of the panel 20 is still above the drain channel 60 on the front edge of the rear panel 22.

rear panel 22.

Further forward movement of the slider 116 causes the peg 84 to move along the slot 90 and the pegs 82, 102 and 104 to move along the arcuate limbs of the slots 88, 106 and 108 respectively as the panel 20 moves to the position shown in Figures 10 and 11, the top surface of the panel 20 remaining in contact with the seal 118.

The panel can be closed by moving the slider 116 rearwardly.

Claims (4)

1. An opening roof for a motor vehicle comprising a panel covering at least the rear part of an opening in a vehicle roof, the panel being moveable from a closed position to a fully open position by sliding it rearwardly either above or below the vehicle roof behind the opening, wherein first and second guide means are secured to the panel at spaced locations adjacent to one side thereof, third and fourth guide means are secured to the panel at spaced locations adjacent to the other side thereof with the third guide means nearer to the front of the panel than the fourth guide means, and an elongate flexible member has one end secured to the vehicle roof at a location in front of the first guide means when the panel is in its closed position and extends through the first guide means, then through the third guide means then through the fourth guide means, then through the second guide means and has its other end secured to the vehicle roof at a location behind the second guide means when the panel is in its fully open position, the elongate member having a series of latching formations adapted to engage with a series of complementary formations fast with the vehicle roof between the third and fourth guide means so as to inhibit relative longitudinal movement between the vehicle roof and that part of the elongate member located between the third and fourth guide means.

2. An opening roof for a motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member is formed of flexible strip material and the latching formations comprise uniformly spaced openings therein.

3. An opening roof for a motor vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a manually operable latch mounted on the panel and having a detent adapted to be engageable with the latchingh formations on the flexible member.

4. An opening roof for a motor vehicle according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.