GB2471004A

GB2471004A - Motor vehicle having an adjustable roof and a deployable rollover protection element

Info

Publication number: GB2471004A
Application number: GB1009442A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hans-Jurgen Schmitt; Josip Vlahovic; Felix Hermann; Dominik Beieri
Original assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Current assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Priority date: 2009-06-10
Filing date: 2010-06-04
Publication date: 2010-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2030-06-04
Also published as: GB2471004A8; GB201009442D0; DE102009025446A1; GB2471004B; GB2471004B8

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor vehicle (1, figure 1) having an adjustable roof (5) with a roof skin 13, a rollover protection element 21 which can be deployed into a protective position and, in the protective position, protrudes beyond the roof skin penetrating the latter if the roof is in the closed position (ST), and which rollover protection element has a penetration element 25 at its upper end 24, the roof skin extending obliquely with respect to an imaginary horizontal line (HO) at least in an impact region 41 above the rollover protection element, said impact region possibly lying on a rear window of the roof. For optimized contact of the penetration element in the impact region, the penetration element is arranged on the rollover protection element inclined at an angle y with respect to the upper end of the rollover protection element. The rollover protection element may extend substantially parallel with an imaginary vertical axis (VE), or at an angle thereto. The penetration element may be a conical spike 26 screwed into a tubular cross-member 33 located at the top of the protection element.

Description

Motor vehicle having an adjustable roof and a deployable rollover protection element The invention relates to a motor vehicle having an adjustable roof and a deployable rollover protection element.

A motor vehicle of this type having a rollover protection element is known from EP 1 510 412 Al. It has a cabriolet top as an adjustable roof with a roof skin which spans the passenger compartment in the closed position. Furthermore, the motor vehicle has a deployable rollover protection element which can be moved from a retracted rest position into a deployed protective position when a rollover event of the motor vehicle is detected. The deployable rollover protection element is equipped with a device which allows the roof skin to be penetrated when the rollover protection element is moved into the protective position. A rear window is fitted into the roof skin, with which rear window the deploying rollover protection element comes into contact and destroys the rear window as a result. The rollover protection element can therefore assume the same deployed height both in the open or stored position and in the closed position of the top.

According to EP 1 510 412 Al, the deployable rollover protection element is arranged at an angle which is not equal to 90° with regard to an imaginary vertical line. Moreover, the rear window which has the contact region f or the rollover protection element is also arranged at an angle with respect to an imaginary horizontal line. The contact region therefore extends obliquely with respect to this imaginary horizontal line.

DE 10 2004 062 999 Al has disclosed a similar motor vehicle having an adjustable roof and a deployable rollover protection element. In this motor vehicle, the rear pane is likewise arranged obliquely with respect to an imaginary horizontal line. However, the rollover protection element is oriented parallel with respect to a vertical line, with the result that it comes into contact with the rear pane during deployment at a different angle.

The invention seeks to overcome or ameliorate a problem associated with the prior art. Aspects of the invention seek to specify a motor vehicle of the type mentioned in the introduction, the rollover protection element of which has io high reliability for penetrating the roof skin independently of its arrangement.

This may be achieved by way of a motor vehicle which has the features mentioned in Claim 1. Advantageous refinements of the is invention are the subject matter of the subclaims.

Advantages which may be achieved with the invention according to Patent Claim 1 are as follows: as a result of the fact that the penetration element can be arranged on the rollover protection element inclined at an angle with respect to the upper end of the rollover protection element, the rollover protection element can be arranged in any desired position on the body of the motor vehicle. In many motor vehicles, the inclined arrangement of the entire rollover protection element, as described by EP 1 510 412 Al, is not possible, since a vertical arrangement of the rollover protection element is necessary f or space reasons. However, optimum contact of the penetration element with the impact region can be realized by way of the penetration element which is arranged according to the invention, even in vehicles with a vertical arrangement of the rollover protection element.

Moreover, with the arrangement according to the invention of the penetration element, recourse can be made to rollover protection elements which are arranged at different inclinations, since only that angle has to be varied, by which the penetration element is arranged at the upper end. The penetration element can therefore be arranged by way of the invention at an optimum angle for a very wide variety of motor vehicles. In particular, there is provision here for the longitudinal axis of the penetration element to be oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to the impact region during contact of the penetration element with the impact region. This reduces sliding off of the penetration element and/or yielding of the impact region, as a result of which the roof skin, in particular the rear window, can be destroyed reliably.

According to one particularly preferred exemplary embodiment, the rollover protection element with the penetration element arranged according to the invention can therefore be attached is to the motor vehicle approximately parallel with regard to an imaginary vertical line. This is advantageous, in particular, in vehicles which have two or more rows of seats. In vehicles of this type, the rollover protection element is arranged behind the rearmost row of seats. Very narrow space conditions usually prevail there, as a result of which the entire rollover protection element cannot always be arranged in the optimum position. However, this disadvantage can be eliminated by the penetration element which is arranged according to the invention.

According to one preferred exemplary embodiment, the rollover protection element has, as upper end, a crossmember, to which the penetration element is fastened. Rollover protection elements of this type are usually realized as U-shaped bent hoops or as U-shaped assembled hoops. In order that the penetration element comes into contact with the impact region reliably, it is therefore preferably attached to the base or crossmember of the rollover bar.

According to one particularly preferred embodiment, the crossmember is configured with a cross-sectional profile which has a mounting profile wall which extends obliquely with respect to the imaginary horizontal line. The penetration element is fastened to this mounting profile wall. The angle of the penetration element with regard to the imaginary horizontal line is defined by the mounting profile wall which extends obliquely with respect to the horizontal line and to which the penetration element is fastened.

The crossmember is particularly preferably configured as a hollow profile, which, with sufficient rigidity, serves to reduce the weight and to provide the deformabilit.y in the case of the vehicle rolling over.

For secure mounting of the penetration element on the mounting profile wall, the latter is preferably configured with a greater wall thickness than the remaining wall of the profile.

This is advantageous, in particular, if the penetration element is to be screwed into the mounting profile wall.

One exemplary embodiment is particularly preferred, in which the rollover protection element has a trim part adjacent to the penetration element. In the protective position, the rollover protection element protrudes beyond the belt line of the motor vehicle. It is therefore advantageous to equip the hard rollover protection element with a trim part which is configured as a cushion or deformation element. In order that the trim part does not impair the function of the penetration element, the penetration element protrudes beyond the trim part at least in one plane parallel to the rear window.

In one particularly preferred exemplary embodiment, the impact region of the penetration element lies on a rear window. The roof skin is therefore formed by the rear window in this region.

In the following text, the invention will be explained in greater detail using one exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which: Figs. 1 to 3 show different views of a motor vehicle having an adjustable roof and a deployable rollover

protection element according to the prior art, and

Figs. 4 to 6 show different views of a rollover protection element with a penetration element which is arranged according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 shows, partially and in a side view, a motor vehicle 1 which is configured as a cabriolet. It has a belt line 2 on the body 3 which is supported by a chassis with wheels, of which only one wheel 4 is shown. An adjustable roof 5 is arranged above the belt line 2 in a closed position ST, which adjustable roof 5 arcuately spans a passenger compartment 6 from a rear region 7 as far as an upper windscreen panel 8, and which adjustable roof S in a storage position (not shown) can be stored in the rear region 7 in a receiving space 9' The receiving space 9' can be provided with a lid 9. Laterally above the belt line 2, the passenger compartment 6 is also delimited by movable side windows 10 and 11 which reach up to a lateral roof rail 12 of the roof 5 in their raised position.

The roof 5 has an outer roof skin 13 which comprises a first transparent or non-transparent section 14 and, in particular near the rear region 7, a second, transparent section 15. The second section 15 is formed, in particular, by a rear window 16 of the roof skin 13 and is configured as a rigid pane which is inserted, for example, into a cut-out 17 in the roof skin.

The roof 5 is preferably configured as a cabriolet top 18 and has a flexible top covering 19 or rigid plates as first section 14 of the roof skin 13. The roof skin 13 can be supported by a top linkage which is shown here only partially.

At least one rollover protection element 21 is arranged in the passenger compartment behind vehicle seats (not shown here) and in front of the receiving space 9', which rollover protection element 21 can be displaced from a retracted rest position (not shown) into a deployed protective position ZT, in which it protrudes beyond the belt line 2. The rest position can lie below, above or near the belt line 2. In the protective position ZT, the rollover protection element 21 has penetrated the roof skin 13 and therefore protrudes beyond the latter, as is shown in the different views in Figs. 1 to 3. In particular, the rollover protection element 21 is arranged below the transparent section 15 in the rest position and, during deployment, penetrates its plane 22 in order to reach the protective position ZT, in which plane 22 the rear window 16 lies. In order for it to be possible to assume the protective position ZT, the rollover protection element 21 penetrates the roof skin 13, in particular the rear window 16, by at least partial destruction of the roof skin 13, in particular of the rear window 16, which is therefore detached from the first section 14 of the roof skin 13. In order to facilitate the penetration or breakthrough of the rear window, it can have a predetermined break point 23 which is formed by a material weakness in the window glass (preferably tempered safety glass). However, the predetermined break point 23 is not necessarily provided. For the destruction of the rear window 16, in general for penetrating the roof skin 13, the rollover protection element 21 has a punctiform, locally attached penetration element 25 which is configured with a tip as spike 26, at its upper end 24 which faces the roof skin 13.

The spike can therefore have the shape of an acute cone.

As can be seen from Figs. 2, 3 and 6, two rollover protection elements 21 which are arranged next to one another can be inserted into the motor vehicle 1. Each of the elements 21 is configured as a cassette 27 with a fastening and guide frame s 28 and a rollover bar 29 which is guided thereon such that its height can be adjusted (arrow PF), with a base 30 and two limbs 31 and 32, the base 30 having the upper end 24. The rollover bars 29 are therefore inserted into the cassette in such a way that their base 30 points to the top. In order that the rollover bar 29 can move into the protective position ZT, a sensor (not shown) is provided with a corresponding control unit for triggering control of the rollover bar 29 which is held in the rest position. The sensor and the control unit detect the start of a rollover event of the motor vehicle 1 and release the rollover bar 29 via a triggering mechanism, which rollover bar 29 is preferably prestressed in the direction of the protective position ZT. A pyrotechnical element, generally an increasing volume, can be provided for the deployment instead of a rollover bar 29 which is prestressed in the deployment direction via a spring.

When the roof 5 is open and when the roof 5 is in the closed position ST, the rollover protection element 21 is displaced into the same protective position ZT, that is to say is moved to an identical deployment height. Independently of the end position (open or closed position ST) of the roof 5, a protective region can therefore be provided for the occupant/occupants of the motor vehicle below an imaginary tangent between the windscreen panel 8 and the upper end 24 of the rollover protection element 21.

In Fig. 1, an imaginary horizontal line HO is illustrated which can coincide with a vehicle longitudinal axis FL or which extends parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis FL. In Fig. 1, furthermore, an imaginary vertical line VE is illustrated which coincides with the vehicle vertical axis FH or extends in parallel at a spacing from the latter. It can be seen that the rear window 16 extends at an angle a with respect to the horizontal line HO. The roof skin 13 therefore also extends in the region of the rear window 16 at this angle a with respect to the horizontal line HO or obliquely with respect to this imaginary horizontal line HO. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the rollover protection element 21 is oriented perpendicularly with respect to the horizontal line HO and parallel with respect to the vertical line yE. However, it can also be arranged such that it is inclined with respect to the vertical line yE. During the deployment from the rest position into the protective position ZT, the rollover protective element 21 comes into contact with the roof skin 13 or the rear window 16 at an angle 3.

Figs. 4 and S show the rollover protection element 21 in detail, Fig. 4 showing a perspective and Fig. 5 showing a section through the rollover protection element 21 along the line V-V in Fig. 4. Parts which are identical or act identically as in Figs. 1 to 3 are provided with the same reference signs in Figs. 4 and 5. Reference is made to their description to this extent. According to Fig. 4, the deployable rollover protection element 21 is composed of a plurality of parts. It can have the shape of an upside-down U, that is to say a hoop shape, or can be configured as a T- shaped element or as a box shape. A box shape with a multiple-chamber profile is preferably selected, the multiple-chamber profile being equipped with an upper base 30 which forms a crossmember 33. Upright limbs 31 and 32 stand under the base 30 and can be realized as separate parts or as a contiguous or single-piece component, optionally as an extruded profile. The crossmember 33 is oriented in the vehicle transverse direction FQ (see Fig. 2). As is apparent, in particular, from Fig. 5, the penetration element 25 is arranged at the upper end 24 of the crossmember 33 of the rollover protection element 21, to be precise inclined with respect to the vertical line VE by an angle y. In the optimum embodiment, the angle y is equal to the angle a which the rear window 16 or the roof skin 13 encloses with the horizontal line HO. The longitudinal axis LA of the penetration element 25 is therefore oriented approximately at right angles to the plane 22, in which the roof skin 13 and the rear window 16 lie. As a result, the penetration element makes contact with the roof skin 13 and the rear window 16 in an optimum manner.

The penetration element 25 is fastened to the upper side 24 of the crossmember 33. In particular, the penetration element 25 is equipped with an engagement element 34 as fastening element which engages into the crossmember 33. In particular, a screw is connection is provided between the penetration element 25 and the crossmember 33. The engagement element 34 and the crossmember 33 therefore have a corresponding thread.

According to Figs. 4 and 5, the crossrnember 33 is configured as a cross-sectional profile with a circumferential, closed wall 35. Here, the cross-sectional profile of the crossmember 33 is configured to be approximately semicircular, a flat section 36 of the wall 35 facing the limbs 31 and 32. The section 36 of the wall 35 is spanned by a second section 37 of the wall 35, the second section 37 having a flat mounting profile wall 38 adjacent to the upper end 24. The penetration element 25 is fastened to the mounting profile wall 38. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the mounting profile wall 38 extends at an angle to the horizontal line HO, which angle preferably corresponds approximately to the angle a between the roof skin 13 and the horizontal line HO. The mounting profile wall 38 can therefore extend approximately parallel to the plane 22. Accordingly, the angle of the penetration element 25 with respect to the upper side 24 is set by a corresponding selection of the angle of the mounting profile wall 38 with respect to the horizontal line HO. It is therefore clear that the angle y can be set as desired by the inclination of the mounting profile wall 38 with respect to the horizontal line HO, but adapted to the angle a. If Fig. 5 is considered, the upper side 24 lies approximately parallel to the horizontal line HO. In any case, the penetration element 25 is attached to the upper side 24 of the crossmember 33 in such a way that it encloses the angle y with a centre longitudinal axis MA of the rollover protection element 21 or the rollover bar 29, that is to say is inclined with respect to this centre longitudinal axis MA, the centre longitudinal axis MA in the exemplary embodiment coinciding with the vertical line yE.

It can also be seen from Figs. 4 and 5 that the crossmember 33 is manufactured as a hollow profile, f or example an extruded profile made from a lightweight metal, with at least one inner chamber, which chamber is surrounded by the wall 35. The mounting profile wall 38 has a greater wall thickness than the wall 35 in the remaining sections 36 and 37. This achieves a sufficient insertion depth or screw-in depth of the penetration element 25.

Furthermore, it can be seen from Figs. 4 and 5 that the rollover protection element 21 can also be equipped, in particular in the region of the crossmember 33, with a trim part 39 which is configured as a cushion and reaches beyond the crossmember 33 at least partially at the upper end 24.

However, the trim part 39 is configured in such a way that the tip 40 of the penetration element 25 protrudes beyond the trim part 39, or the tip 40, during the deployment of the rollover protection element 21 into the protective position ZT, comes into contact with an impact region 41 on the roof skin 13 or the rear window 16 before the trim part 39 comes into contact --11 with the roof skin 13 or the rear window 16. Adjacent to the penetration element 25, the trim part 39 has a projection 42 which is oriented in the direction of the said penetration element 25 and shields the penetration element 25 in the s direction of the passenger compartment 6. The penetration element 25 also protrudes beyond this projection 42, but not with regard to a horizontal plane, but rather with regard to the plane which extends parallel to the rear window 16 or in which the rear window 16 lies.

As a result of the inclined arrangement (angle y) of the penetration element 25, in the ideal case it comes into contact approximately perpendicularly with the roof skin 13 or the rear window 16 in the impact region 41, in relation to its is longitudinal axis LA. Small angular deviations even outside usual manufacturing tolerances are possible. In particular, a combination of a rollover protection element 21 arranged an inclined manner on the motor vehicle 1 and a penetration element 21 arranged in an inclined manner on the upper side 24 would also be possible, in order for it to be possible to set the desired contact angle y. It is therefore clear that the angle y can be adapted to a roof skin 13 which is arranged at almost any desired angle a.

As Fig. 6 which illustrates a section along the line VI-VI in Fig. 1 shows, the rollover protection elements 21 are arranged at an angle E with regard to the vehicle vertical axis FH, with the result that they deploy obliquely upwards. In relation to the vehicle transverse direction FQ, the penetration element 25 is attached approximately centrally to the crossmember 33. The rear window 16 has a curvature. As a result of the arrangement of the rollover protection elements 21 at the angle c, the penetration elements 25 come into contact with the curved rear window 16 approximately at right angles, as a result of which an optimized contact angle is produced. Fig. 6 shows the curvature of the rear window 16 and the angle � on an exaggerated scale. The angle � is typically approximately 5°, but can also assume a lower or higher value.

Claims

* -13 Patent Claims 1. Motor vehicle having an adjustable roof with a roof skin, a rollover protection element which can be deployed into a protective position and, in the protective position, protrudes beyond the roof skin penetrating the latter if the roof is in the closed position, and which rollover protection element has a penetration element at its upper end, the roof skin extending obliquely with respect to an imaginary horizontal line at least in an impact region above the rollover protection element, wherein the penetration element is arranged on the rollover protection element inclined at an angle with respect to the upper end of the rollover protection element.
2. Motor vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the rollover protection element is attached to the motor vehicle approximately parallel with regard to an imaginary vertical line.
3. Motor vehicle according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the rollover protection element has, as upper end, a crossmember, to which the penetration element is fastened.
4. Motor vehicle according to Claim 3, wherein the crossmember is configured with a cross-sectional profile which has a mounting profile wall which extends obliquely with respect to the imaginary horizontal line, and in that the penetration element is fastened to the mounting profile wall.
5. Motor vehicle according to Claim 3 or 4, wherein the crossmember is configured as a hollow profile.
6. Motor vehicle according to Claim 5, wherein the mounting profile wall with the penetration element has a greater wall thickness than the remaining wall of the profile.
7. Motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a trim part is fastened to the rollover protection element adjacently to the penetration element, the penetration element protruding beyond the trim part.io
8. Motor vehicle according to any preceding Claim, wherein the impact region of the penetration element lies on a rear window of the roof skin.
9. Motor vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the rollover is protection element is arranged at an angle with respect to a vehicle vertical axis.
1O.Motor vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the penetration element is attached to the crossmember approximately centrally.
ll.Motor vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.