GB509256A - Improvements relating to slidable roofs on motor vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

509,256. Vehicle opening-tops ; fastenings. VAUXHALL MOTORS, Ltd., and DREW, H. Jan. 12, 1938, Nos. 1015 and 3910. [Class 108 (i)] [Also in Group XXV] A lock mechanism on a slidable roof panel b of a motor vehicle comprises a pivoted handle adapted to turn a transverse rod d having at its ends cams m or the like which can engage a fixed part of the vehicle to lock the slidable panel, the rod being under torsional stress in the locked position. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 a bracket c is secured in the centre of a U- section member a fixed to the underside of the panel b, and within the bracket a crank e which co-operates with a handle f is formed in the rod d which extends through the bracket and across the panel. The handle f pivots about a pin h on a bracket g fixed to the member a and carries a second pin i on which pivots a curved link j having a hooked end engaging the crank e. The rod d at each end passes through a bracket k fixed to the member a and carrying one or more fibre or like buttons l, and the adjacent part of the rod carries a cam m preferably formed by cranking the rod. On turning the handle f about the fixed pin h into the horizontal position shown in broken lines in Fig. 4, the rod d is turned and presses the cam m against the guideway n for the sliding panel, clamping the panel between the cam and the buttons l. After initial contact between the cam and guideway, further movement of the handle twists the rod so that as the handle is pushed over dead-centre, i.e. when the centre of the pin i crosses a line passing through the centres of the pin h and crank e, the rod is subjected to torsional strain. The fitting of the panel b and its locking mechanism to the guideways n is facilitated by the removal of screws q which secure the brackets k to the member a, the brackets being then slidable outwardly along the rod. In a modification, Fig. 7, the handle s is pivoted about a vertical axis on the member a and the central crank e in the rod d is connected by a link or links v to a pin u on a disc t fixed to the stem of the handle, the disc having lugs adapted to engage fixed parts of the mechanism to limit the movement of the handle.