GB2334009A

GB2334009A - Arrangement for a sliding tilting vehicle roof

Info

Publication number: GB2334009A
Application number: GB9902764A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kurt Kugler
Original assignee: Webasto Karosseriesysteme GmbH
Current assignee: Webasto Karosseriesysteme GmbH
Priority date: 1998-02-07
Filing date: 1999-02-08
Publication date: 1999-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-08
Also published as: GB9902764D0; GB2334009B; DE19805006C1

Abstract

An arrangement for swinging out the rear edge of the cover in a sliding tilting vehicle roof includes a lever (3A,4) swivel-mounted on a slide (3) which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in a lateral guide rail (2) and moreover hinged on to a support (5) connected to the cover. The slide (3) is displaceable between a passive position of the rear edge of the cover in which this edge is not swung out and an active position of the rear edge of the cover in which this edge is swung out. In order to prevent play of the movable elements of this arrangement causing rattling noises, locking means (23) is provided for releasably locking the slide (3) to the guide rail (2) in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover.

Description

ARRANGEMENT FOR A SLIDING TILTING VEHICLE ROOF The present invention relates to an arrangement for a sliding tilting vehicle roof.

There is known an arrangement for swinging out the rear edge of the cover in a sliding tilting vehicle roof, comprising a guide lever swivel-mounted directly or indirectly on a slide coupled to a drive cable and displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in a lateral guide rail, and moreover hinged onto a support connected to the cover, the slide being displaceable by means of the drive cable between a passive position of the rear edge of the cover in which this edge is not swung out and an active position of the rear edge of the cover in which this edge is swung out.

An arrangement of this kind is known from for example DE-C-44096151. Although this arrangement satisfies its purpose, it is still in need of improvement with respect to the play of the drive and transmission elements taking part in the swinging out of the rear edge of the cover in the sliding tilting roof in the passive position. These elements are principally the drive cable, the guide lever, the axle and the lateral guide of the slide. As a result of the relatively long path from the drive until the transfer of force to the slide determined by these elements, there is a risk of elastic deformation of these parts, meaning that the accumulation of tolerances as a result of the relatively large number of parts additionally increases the play even further when the slide is situated in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover. One consequence of play of this kind is unpleasant rattling noises and possibly premature wear as a result of frequent alternating stress.

According to the present invention, there is provided an arrangement for swinging out the rear edge of a cover in a sliding tilting vehicle roof, the arrangement comprising a lever swivel-mounted on a slide which is displaceable in a lateral guide rail in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use, the lever being hinged to a support which is connected to the cover, the slide being displaceable between a passive position of the rear edge of the cover in which said rear edge is not swung out and an active position of the rear edge of the cover in which said rear edge is swung out, and locking means for releasably locking the slide to the guide rail or other fixed part of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use in the passive position of he rear edge of the cover.

Noises caused by the slide situated in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover are prevented in a reliable manner. The slide is consequently blocked in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover, thereby reliably preventing the rattling problems encountered during travel in the prior art. According to the invention, the slide is blocked or locked in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover relative to the guide rail or other adjacent part of a vehicle roof in which the arrangement is mounted.

The lever may be mounted at least indirectly on said slide, i.e. directly, indirectly or both.

The slide may be coupled to a drive cable which is operable to displace the slide.

The locking means may be controlled by a drive cable.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking means has a locking block displaceably mounted in the slide which is displaced by means of the drive cable into a locking position in which it engages in a recess in the guide rail and returned to a rest position in which it is out of engagement with this recess. Achieving the locking position by means of the locking block ensures mechanically simple and reliable locking and release, optionally by means of inclined leading ramps.

So that as little space as possible is required for the locking measure according to the invention based on a locking block, according to the invention, the recess for the engagement of the locking block may be provided laterally in the guide rail or other part of the vehicle roof in which the arrangement is mounted and the locking block may be movably guided in the slide transversely to the direction of displacement of the slide.

So that the smallest possible quantity of force is required for locking and release, the drive cable may be provided with a control element for actuating the locking block and at least one of the control element and the locking block may be provided with at least one ramp in order to ensure that the locking block and the control element are brought into and out of engagement in a problem-free manner by means of longitudinal displacement thereof transversely to this connecting direction. The control element may be a plastics part moulded onto the drive cable.

In order to ensure that the locking block is brought smoothly into and out of engagement, it is preferably supported resiliently against the control element on the drive cable. The spring action can be obtained, for example, by a plastics clip moulded onto the locking block and/or by a spring preferably integrated into a recess in the locking block.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a complete sliding tilting roof without a cover; Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the slide of the arrangement of Fig. 1 provided with a locking block, the locking block being situated in its out-of-engagement position; Fig. 3 is a similar view to that of Fig. 2, but with the locking block displaced into its locking position by the control element on the drive cable; Fig. 4 is a sectional view long the line A-A of Fig.

2, with a cross section of the guide rail in which the slide is guided; and, Fig. 5 is a detail of the guide rail in the region of the recess formed therein in which the locking block can be engaged in order to lock the slide.

Referring to Fig. 1, a sliding roof frame 1 is provided on both longitudinal sides with guide rails 2. A plurality of slides 3 are displaceably mounted in these guide rails 2 on either side. A control lever 4 is swivel mounted on each rear slide 3 and is also swivel-mounted at the other end on a support 5 to which is connected a cover (not shown in Fig. 1) for closing or opening a motor vehicle roof opening.

Each control lever 4 is secured to the support 5 by means of an axle 6, together with a guide lever 3A to which is hinged another of the slides 3. To this end, each axle 6 is provided at one end with a flattened plate 7 into which a screw 9 penetrating through a bore in the support 5 is screwed. For the axial fixing of the support 5 relative to the control levers 4, each control lever 4 is provided at one end with a fixing part in the form of a plastics moulding 10 shown only in diagrammatic form in Fig. 1. The axles 6 penetrate in this region into a bearing lug 11 provided in the respective control levers 4. Each control lever 4 is moreover provided approximately in its central region towards one side with a control pin 12 which engages a link 13 fixed to the frame 1 in order to force the swingout movement of the cover and at the other side with a flange bolt 14 with which a recess 15 in a water channel 16 engages for the swivel mounting thereof.

Figures 2 and 3 are detailed views of one of the slides 3 with its underside facing upwards, parts of the slide 3 that are not relevant to the present invention not being shown. The slide 3 is in the form of an elongate, substantially rectangular plate and forks at one end to support a shaft 20 forming part of a swivel bearing at the lower end of the guide lever 3A. The slide 3 is guided in a profiled part of the guide rail 2 having a U-shape cross section with a bottom or base 17 and arms 18,19, as shown in Fig. 4. In particular, the slide 3 engages via its longitudinal edges in longitudinal grooves 21,22 which are formed in the arms 18,19 of the U-shape guide rail 2.

A locking block 23 with a generally flat square shape is situated on the underside of the slide 3, supported and guided on the slide 3. This locking block 23 is slidably mounted on the inner face of the base 17 of the guide rail 2. A further longitudinal groove 24 in the profile of the guide rail 2 is situated laterally alongside the locking block 23 and below the slide 3 or the longitudinal groove 22. The further longitudinal groove 24 has a generally circular cross-sectional shape and a guide cable 25 having a generally circular cross-sectional shape is guided therein, the path of motion of the guide cable 25 along the guide rail 2 being shown by dash-dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3.

A plastics control element 26 in the form of a web 26 which projects laterally and which serves to control the locking block 23 is moulded onto the drive cable 25. The control element 26 is formed so that it slopes at both longitudinal ends to provide two control element ramps 27,28 in the plane of the control element 26 which are connected together by means of a longitudinal edge 29 extending parallel to the path of motion of the drive cable 25 and the slide 3.

For slidable guiding of the locking block 23 transversely to the direction of movement of the slide 3, parallel guide webs 30,31 are provided on either side of the locking block 23 and are rigidly connected to the slide 3 or are formed in one piece therewith. As a result of these guide webs 30,31, the longitudinal edges of which are directed towards one another and which are slidably engaged with the side edges of the locking block 23, the locking block 23 can move transversely to the direction of movement of the slide 3.

The front edge of the locking block 23 directed towards the control element 26 is resilient, for example by having a plastics clip 39 moulded onto or with the locking block 23, and has a similar contour to the front edge of the control element 26, i.e. a longitudinal edge 32 extending parallel to the path of motion of the slide 3 or that of the drive cable 25, to which ramps 33,34 are provided on either side. The locking block 23 is provided in its centre with a T-shape opening or recess 35 in which a spring 36 in the form of a helical spring is arranged.

The spring 36 is supported at one end against the inner face of the plastics clip 39 delimited on the outside by the longitudinal edge 32, while the other end of the return spring 36 is supported, in a manner not shown, on the slide 3 or on a projection rigidly connected thereto, thereby supporting the spring action of the plastics clip 39. The released position of the locking block 23 and the control element 26 on the drive cable 25 out of engagement therewith is shown in Fig. 2. In this position of the locking block 23, the slide 3 can be adjusted as prescribed in order to raise or lower the rear edge of the cover of the sliding tilting roof.

Fig. 3 shows the other end position of the locking block 23, in which the longitudinal edge 32 of the locking block 23 is in engagement with the longitudinal edge 29 of the control element 26 on the drive cable 25. As a result of this arrangement, the locking block 23 is moved against the spring pre-tension of the spring 36 into a transversely deflected position in which it projects beyond the rear faces of the guide webs 30,31 and engages in a recess 38 in the guide rail 2 (shown in Fig. 5) and thus blocks or locks the slide 3, as a result of which the slide 3 and the components connected thereto are locked. In this position of the slide 3, the rear edge of the cover is situated in its lowered passive position, i.e. the cover is situated in its closed position.

As a result of the ramps 27,28 on the control element 26 and as a result of the ramps 33,34 on the locking block 23, the control element 26 and the locking block 23 can be brought into or out of engagement with one another in a problem-free manner, i.e. without interlocking, in the event of longitudinal displacement of the drive cable 25.

Inclined ramps 38A,38B on the recess 38, in association with inclined ramps 37A on the face of the locking block 23 directed towards the recess 38, similarly ensure that the locking block 23 is pressed out of the recess 38 as soon as the drive cable 25 and the control element 26 move out of the position shown in Fig. 3 a little in the direction of the position shown in Fig. 2. As a result of the displacement of the slide 3 along the guide rail 2, the ramp 38B on the recess 38, in association with a ramp (not shown) opposite the ramp 37A, presses the locking block 23 into its out-of-engagement position after release by the control element 26.

A different locking mechanism can be provided for blocking the slide 3 in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover instead of the locking block 23 and the mating control element 26 for problem-free engagement. For example, a spring-loaded ball may be provided for example on the side of the slide 23, which can engage in a correspondingly shaped recess, acted upon by a suitable control element 26 of the guide rail 2.

An embodiment of the present invention has been described with particular reference to the example illustrated. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made to the examples described within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An arrangement for swinging out the rear edge of a cover in a sliding tilting vehicle roof, the arrangement comprising a lever swivel-mounted on a slide which is displaceable in a lateral guide rail in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use, the lever being hinged to a support which is connected to the cover, the slide being displaceable between a passive position of the rear edge of the cover in which said rear edge is not swung out and an active position of the rear edge of the cover in which said rear edge is swung out, and locking means for releasably locking the slide to the guide rail or other fixed part of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use in the passive position of the rear edge of the cover.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the slide is coupled to a drive cable which is operable to displace the slide.
3. An arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the locking means is controlled by a drive cable.
4. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locking means comprises a locking block displaceably mounted on the slide which can be displaced by means of a drive cable into a locking position in which it engages in a recess in the guide rail or other fixed part of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use and returned to a rest position in which it is out of engagement with said recess.
5. An arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the recess is provided laterally on the guide rail or other fixed part of a vehicle in which the arrangement is mounted in use and the locking block is mounted in or on the slide in such a manner that it can be displaced transversely to direction of displacement thereof.
6. An arrangement according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the drive cable is provided with a control element for actuating the locking block, at least one of the control element and the locking block being provided with at least one inclined ramp by means of which the control element and the locking block can be brought into or out of engagement with each other.
7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the control element is a plastics part moulded onto the drive cable.
8. An arrangement according to any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the locking block has means for biasing the locking block to said rest position.
9. An arrangement for swinging out the rear edge of the cover in a sliding tilting vehicle roof substantially in accordance with the example as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.