JPH0156002B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Application of the Invention The present invention enables easy conversion between a closed body and an open body by sliding the entire roof of a vehicle, particularly a passenger vehicle, back and forth to open and close it. This invention relates to an automobile body shape conversion device that can be used.

Prior Art and Problems In order to give the occupants a sense of openness in conventional automobiles, for example, a so-called sliding roof is provided, in which a part of the roof plate is cut out into a substantially rectangular shape and can be slid in the front and rear directions. has been done. This sliding roof can be opened and closed during normal driving and has the advantage of being highly weather resistant, but the roof panels around the sliding part are fixed and cover the upper part of the passenger compartment. It was difficult to get a sufficient sense of openness. In addition, in order to obtain a sufficient sense of openness, there are also models with removable roofs or foldable roofs made of canvas, etc., but in these cases, the roof can only be opened and closed while the vehicle is stationary. Most of the work was done manually. Note that some of the canvas roofs mentioned above can be opened and closed using power, but even in this case, they cannot be opened or closed unless the vehicle is stationary or traveling at relatively low speed, and the weather resistance is insufficient. It had the disadvantage of being.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by sliding the entire roof of the automobile back and forth to open and close it, it is possible to obtain a sufficient feeling of openness, and also to provide a comfortable feeling during normal driving. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile body shape conversion device that enables conversion between a closed type body and an open type body and has sufficient weather resistance.

Structure of the Invention According to the present invention, the roof of an automobile is formed separately from the front glass frame and the rear glass frame so that it can be opened and closed, and between the front glass frame and the rear glass frame there is a In addition to providing a front guide rail in the direction, a rear guide rail is provided on the upper surface of the rear trunk section that can be raised or lowered and is at the same height as the front guide rail when raised, and these front guide rails and rear guide rails Using the driving device as a guide, the roof is slid back and forth to open and close.
Provided is a car body shape conversion device for an automobile, characterized in that when the vehicle is opened, the roof is placed and stored on the upper surface of the rear trunk by lowering the rear guide rail to the upper surface of the rear trunk with the roof still on it. This is achieved by

Embodiments of the Invention Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, a roof 1 of an automobile according to the present invention is shown.
has a width and length that can cover the space between the front glass frame 2 and the rear glass frame 3, is formed separately from the front glass frame 2 and the rear glass frame 3, and can be opened and closed independently. It is said that and,
The roof 1 is opened and closed by sliding in the front and rear directions using a front guide rail 4 and a rear guide rail 5, which will be described later, as guides.

The front guide rail 4 is provided in the front-rear direction between the front glass frame 2 and the rear glass frame 3, and the first
As shown in the figure, the left and right rear side windows 6, 6
Consisting of a first front guide rail 4a provided on the upper edge and a second front guide rail 4b provided on both upper edges of the rear glass frame 3, the rear side glass 6 is in the highest raised state. and the first front guide rail 4a is continuous with the second front guide rail 4b,
A straight front guide rail 4 is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the first front guide rail 4a has a groove 8 along the inner surface of a rail member 7 provided in the front-rear direction on the upper edge of the rear side glass 6 along its longitudinal direction. It is formed by drilling. This groove 8 guides the sliding of the roof 1 in the front-rear direction, and ridges 9 that continuously protrude along the longitudinal direction of the roof 1 are fitted on both left and right sides of the roof 1. Hook-shaped pieces 10 facing each other inwardly are formed on the inner side surface where the protrusion 9 fits, and engage with the protrusion 9 to guide the sliding of the roof 1 in the front-rear direction. do. As shown in FIG. 3, the second front guide rail 4b has the same cross section as the groove 8 of the first front guide rail 4a on the inside surface of both upper edges of the rear glass frame 3. It is formed by drilling a shaped groove 8' in the front-rear direction. When the aforementioned rear side glass 6 is in the highest raised state, the grooves 8 and 8' continuously engage with the protrusions 9 of the roof 1 to guide the sliding of the roof 1 in the front-rear direction. . In addition, Figures 2 and 3
In the figure, reference numeral 11 indicates seals provided on both sides of the roof 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, a rear guide rail 5 is attached to the rear end of the front guide rail 4.
It will rise to the same height and be connected. This rear guide rail 5 guides the roof 1 together with the front guide rail 4 and slides in the front and back direction to open and close, and when the roof 1 is opened, it is placed and stored on the upper surface of the rear trunk section 12. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a rail member having grooves 8'' having the same cross-sectional shape as the grooves 8, 8' of the front guide rail 4 is inserted into the rear trunk section 12. It is supported so as to be able to rise or fall via front links 14, 14 and rear links 15, 15 which rotate in the vertical direction on the upper surface of the lid 13. That is, the front link 14
is rotatably pivoted around a pin 17 of a mounting lug 16 provided at the front of the lid 13, and the rear link 15 is rotatably attached to a mounting lug 18 provided at the rear of the lid 13.
These front links 14 and rear links 15 are
The rear guide rails 5, 5 are attached to the pins 20, 21 at the upper end.
furthermore, the front link 14,
14 are integrally connected by a torque tube 22, and an arm 25 is attached to the approximate center of the torque tube 22, which is connected to the tip of the rod 24 of the screw jack actuator 23. The above screwdriver/
A base end portion of the actuator 23 is connected to a mounting lug 26 provided on the lid 13 with a pin 27. Therefore, when the screw jack actuator 23 is driven, the rod 24 expands and contracts in the directions of arrows A and B, and the front links 14, 14
is rotated around pin 17 in the directions of arrows C and D. When the rod 24 is shortened in the direction of arrow B, the front links 14, 14 rotate in the direction of arrow D, and the rear guide rails 5, 5 are raised as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the front ends of the rear guide rails 5, 5 are connected to the rear ends of the second front guide rails 4b, 4b, and are continuous with the front guide rails 4, 4. form a rail. Conversely, when the rod 24 extends in the direction of arrow A,
The front links 14, 14 rotate in the direction of arrow C, and the rear guide rails 5, 5 are in a lowered state as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown by the broken line in Figure 4,
The roof 1 is placed and stored on the upper surface of the rear trunk section 12. In addition, in this case, the rear link 15,
15 rotates with the rotation of the front links 14, 14, and raises or lowers the rear guide rails 5, 5 while keeping them in a horizontal state.

The roof 1, which opens and closes using the front guide rail 4 and the rear guide rail 5 as guides, has a rack gear 28 (see FIG. and FIG. 8), and is slid in the front and rear directions by a drive device 29 provided in the rear glass frame 3 using this rack gear 28. This drive device 29
consists of a motor 30, a worm 31 fixed to the tip of its rotating shaft, a worm wheel 32 that meshes with the worm 31, and a pinion 34 provided on a shaft 33 of the worm wheel 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 33 of the worm wheel 32 is inserted into a passage 35 formed in the horizontal portion 3' of the rear glass frame 3 and reaches the rear glass frame 3 on the opposite side (not shown). Pinions 34 are provided at both ends of the shaft 33 at positions that match the rack gears 28 of the ridges 9 of the roof 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the gear 34' of this pinion 34 meshes with the rack gear 28 of the protrusion 9 of the roof 1, and the pinion 34 is rotated by the forward or reverse rotational operation of the motor 30. Then, roof 1
Slide forward or backward.

Here, when the rear guide rail 5 is in the raised position and the front guide rail 4 and the rear guide rail 5 are guiding the sliding of the roof 1 in the front and back direction, the roof 1 is at the rearmost position. At this time, the front links 14, 14 shown in FIG. 5 rotate in the direction of arrow C from this position, and the rear guide rail 5 descends. In order to disengage without hitting the gear 34' of the pinion 34, it is positioned so as to descend along a trajectory as shown by arrow N in FIG.
By adopting such a positional relationship, the roof 1 can be smoothly lowered to the side of the rear trunk section 12 while being placed on the rear guide rail 5 during the opening stroke of the roof 1.

A roof holding mechanism 36 is provided at the rear end of the rear guide rail 5, as shown in FIG. This roof holding mechanism 36 holds and fixes the roof 1 on the rear guide rail 5 during the opening stroke of the roof 1 and in the state of being placed and stored on the trunk section 12, and also holds and fixes the roof 1 on the rear guide rail 5 during the closing stroke of the roof 1. The rear guide rail 5 is pushed out toward the rear guide rail 4 and engaged with the pinion 34 of the drive device 29.
solenoid actuator 3 attached to
7, a link 38, a roof holding hook 39,
It includes a spring 40 and a plunger 41. The roof holding hook 39 is rotatably pivoted to the rear guide rail 5 by a pin 42, and its front end is rotated as shown by arrow G by a spring 40 wound around the pin 42. The solenoid actuator 37 is constantly urged downward and its rear end engages the link 38.
When activated, it is pulled down as shown by arrow I. The plunger 41 is slidable in the front-rear direction using guides 43, 43 provided on the rear guide rail 5 as a guide, and the spring 40
It is always urged forward (in the direction of arrow F) by the other end. Here, in the opening stroke of the roof 1, when the protrusion 9 of the roof 1 retreats in the direction of arrow E within the groove 8'' of the rear guide rail 5 and the roof 1 reaches the rearmost position, the protrusion 9 Hook portion 44 at the rear end of
pushes up the front end of the roof holding hook 39 in the direction of arrow H against the spring 40 and retreats, and then the groove 4 provided in front of the hook 44
5, the front end of the roof holding hook 39 is engaged as shown by arrow G by the biasing force of the spring 40, thereby locking the roof 1 in the holding position. At this time, the plunger 41 is pushed by the rear end of the protrusion 9 and retreats in the direction of arrow J, and the cam 46 provided at the rear end pushes up the arm 48 of the limit switch 47 in the direction of arrow L, thereby causing the limit switch to 47 outputs a roof 1 holding signal. Next, in the closing stroke of the roof 1, when the rear guide rail 5 rises and connects to the rear end of the front guide rail 4 as shown in FIG. 4, current is applied to the solenoid actuator 37 shown in FIG. Flow link 3
8 in the direction of arrow I. Then, the front end of the roof holding hook 39 rotates about the pin 42 in the direction of arrow H, disengaging the protrusion 9 from the groove 45 and releasing the holding and fixing of the roof 1. , the plunger 41 pushes the rear end of the protrusion 9 by the biasing force of the spring 40 and moves it forward in the direction of arrow F. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the rack gear 28 at the front end of the protrusion 9 meshes smoothly with the gear 34' of the pinion 34, and the drive device 29
The roof 1 is moved by the operation of the motor 30 (see Fig. 3).
is advanced and closed. In addition, the plunger 4 mentioned above
At the same time as the protrusion 9 is pushed out by the roof 1, the cam 46 provided at the rear end moves forward in the direction of the arrow K. As a result, the arm 48 of the limit switch 47 is lowered in the direction of the arrow M, and the limit switch 47 receives the release signal for the roof 1. Output.

As shown in FIG. 9, a recess 49 is formed in the front end surface of the roof 1, which is moved forward and closed as described above, and a recess 49 is formed in the rear surface of the front glass frame 2, which fits into the recess 49. A projecting portion 50 is provided, and by engaging these two parts 49 and 50, the front end of the roof 1 is prevented from rising when the roof 1 is closed. In addition, in FIG. 9, reference numeral 51 is a seal between the front end of the roof 1 and the front glass frame 2, reference numeral 52 is a seal between the front glass, and reference numeral 53 is a seal between the front glass 53 and the front glass frame 2. be. Also, the 10th
The figure is a sectional view of the front side glass 54 when the roof 1 is advanced and closed. Seals 11 are provided on both sides of the roof 1 to seal the space between the roof 1 and the front side glass 54. It's getting old.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a system for operating the vehicle body shape converting device according to the present invention. Roof opening/closing switch 55, rear guide rail position switch 5
6. Signals from the roof hold release limit switch 47, the rear side glass position switch 57, the roof close limit switch 58, etc. are input to a logic circuit 59, which processes each of the above signals in a predetermined sequence. This actuates the screw jack actuator 23 that raises or lowers the rear guide rail 5, the motor 30 of the drive device 29 that opens and closes the roof 1, the solenoid actuator 37 of the roof holding mechanism 36, and the actuator 60 that raises and lowers the rear side glass 6. Outputs current. In addition, in FIG. 11, the reference numeral 61 is
This is its power source.

Next, the operation of the vehicle body shape converting device according to the present invention will be explained. First, in a normal case, as shown in FIG. 12, the left and right rear side glasses 6 are at their highest positions, and the roof 1 is completely closed at its most advanced position, forming a closed body.
In order to slide the roof 1 rearward from this state and open it to create an open body as shown in FIG.
to the "open" position. Then, the screw jack actuator 23 shown in FIG. 5 is actuated and its rod 24 is shortened in the direction of arrow B, the front links 14, 14 are rotated in the direction of arrow D, and the rear guide rails 5, 5 are raised. As shown in FIG. 13, the front ends of the rear guide rails 5, 5 are connected to the rear end of the second front guide rail 4b. Therefore, the front guide rail 4 and the rear guide rail 5 are continuous in a straight line to form a guide rail for the retreat of the roof 1. At this time, the rear guide rail position switch 56 shown in FIG. 11 outputs a signal indicating the raised position of the rear guide rail 5, and in response to this signal, the motor 30 of the drive device 29 shown in FIG. 3 rotates forward, for example. The roof 1 is moved backward along the front guide rail 4 and the rear guide rail 5 by the engagement of the pinions 34 provided at both ends of the shaft 33 and the rack gears 28 on the left and right ridges 9 of the roof 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, when the roof 1 retreats to the rearmost end of the rear guide rail 5 and completely rests on it, the roof 1
The rear end of the protrusion 9 is the roof holding mechanism 36 shown in FIG.
is engaged with the roof retaining hook 39 of the roof retaining hook 39 to be locked in the retaining position. At this time, the limit switch 47 for releasing the roof holding (see FIGS. 8 and 11) outputs a holding signal for the roof 1, and upon receiving this signal, the limit switch 47 (see FIGS. 8 and 11)
Screw jack actuator 2 shown in the figure
3 is activated, its rod 24 extends in the direction of arrow A, the front links 14, 14 rotate in the direction of arrow C, and the rear guide rails 5, 5 descend. At this time,
The rear guide rails 5, 5 descend toward the rear trunk section 12 with the roof 1 placed thereon, and in the lowest position, as shown in FIG. ) is placed and stored on the top surface of the Here, the rear guide rail position switch 56 shown in FIG. 11 outputs a signal indicating the lowered position of the rear guide rail 5. In this way, the first
It is converted into an open type body as shown in Figure 5. In this state, the rear side glass actuator 60 shown in FIG. 11 becomes operable, and the left and right rear side glasses 6 can be freely moved up and down to open and close.

Next, in order to convert from the open type body shown in FIG. 15 to the closed type body shown in FIG. 12, the above procedure is generally reversed. That is, first, the roof opening/closing switch 55 is operated to the "closed" position. Then,
As shown in FIG. 14, the rear guide rail 5 rises with the roof 1 placed thereon, and its front end connects to the rear end of the second front guide rail 4b. At this time, the first
The rear guide rail position switch 56 shown in FIG. 1 outputs a signal indicating the raised position of the rear guide rail 5, and in response to this signal, the rear side glass actuator 60 shown in FIG. 11 is activated to raise the rear side glass 6. . Therefore, the first front guide rail 4a, the second front guide rail 4b, and the rear guide rail 5 are continuous in a straight line to form a guide rail for the forward movement of the roof 1. Then, when the rear side glass 6 reaches its highest position,
The rear side glass position switch 57 shown in FIG.
For example, the motor 30 of 9 rotates in reverse, and the roof 1 moves forward along the rear guide rail 5 and the front guide rail 4, as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the roof 1 moves forward the most and completely closes the vehicle interior, the roof closing limit switch 58 shown in FIG. 11 outputs a roof closing signal, and upon receiving this signal, The screw jack actuator 23 shown in FIG. 6 is operated, and the rear guide rail 5 is lowered and stored on the upper surface of the lid 13 of the rear trunk section 12, as shown in FIG. In this way,
It is converted into a closed body as shown in FIG. In this state, the rear side glass actuator 60 shown in FIG. 11 is inoperable, and the left and right rear side glasses 6 cannot be moved up or down.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first front guide rail 4
a' is provided inside the upper edge of the rear half of the side glass 6, and the middle part of the protrusion 9 provided on both left and right sides of the roof 1 is cut out by the length of the first front guide rail 4a'. The position of this notch 9' is made to coincide with the position of the first front guide rail 4a' when the roof 1 is completely closed. The side glass 6 can be moved up and down and the door can be opened and closed.
In this case, the rack gear 28 (see FIG. 7) is not formed on the lower surface of the protrusion 9.
A pinion 34 is formed on the lower surface of both sides of the roof 1.
(see FIG. 7) are provided at positions that engage with rack gears 28 (not shown) formed on the lower surface of both sides of the roof 1. Further, the logic circuit 59 shown in FIG. 11 is configured so that the roof 1 can move forward and backward only when the side glass 6 is in the raised position.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a first front guide rail 4a'' made of a channel material having a C-shaped cross section is stretched in the longitudinal direction along the vehicle body center axis between a front glass frame 2 and a rear glass frame 3. The first front guide rail 4a'' and the second front guide rail 4b form a front guide rail 4, and the first front guide rail 4a'' is formed in the center of the roof 1. Concave strips 63, 63 into which both side folded portions 62, 62 can fit
is formed, and rollers 64, 64 are provided at the front end of the grooved strip 63. Then, the roof 1 is fixed to the roller 6 as shown in FIG.
4 and 64 are fitted to both side folded portions 62 and 62 of the first front guide rail 4a'', thereby guiding the slide in the front and rear direction.

In the above explanation, the case of a front engine vehicle has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the case of a rear engine vehicle or a midship vehicle, the rear guide rail 5 is connected to the upper surface of the rear engine compartment. It can be similarly applied by providing it in

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention provides an automobile roof 1
The roof 1 can be opened and closed, and the roof 1 is opened and closed by sliding back and forth using the drive device 29 using the front guide rail 4 and the rear guide rail 5 as guides, and when opened, the roof 1 is moved to the rear trunk by the rear guide rail 5. Since it is placed and stored on the top surface of the section 12, it is possible to easily convert between a closed type body and an open type body even during normal driving with a single switch operation in response to changes in weather etc. can. Further, since the entire roof 1 is opened to the rear, the occupant can feel a sufficient sense of openness. Furthermore, since the roof 1 can be made of ordinary metal, sufficient weather resistance can be ensured.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automobile body shape converting device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the state of engagement between the first front guide rail and the roof, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the engagement state of the first front guide rail and the roof. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the state in which the rear guide rail is raised and connected to the front guide rail; FIGS. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the rear guide rail and its operating mechanism when rising and falling, respectively; FIG. Figure 8 is a side view showing the roof holding mechanism provided at the rear end of the rear guide rail, Figure 9 is a sectional view showing the fitted state of the front glass frame and the front end of the roof, and Figure 10 is the roof. 11 is a block diagram of the operating system, FIGS. 12 to 15 are side views showing the operating state, and FIG. 16 is a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the third embodiment, and FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing the state of engagement between the first front guide rail and the roof. 1... Roof, 2... Front glass frame, 3... Rear glass frame, 4... Front guide rail, 4a... First front guide rail, 4b... Second front guide rail, 5... Rear guide rail, 6 ...Rear side glass, 8, 8',
8″... Concave groove of the rail, 9... Projection provided on both sides of the roof, 12... Rear trunk section, 14... Front link, 15... Rear link, 22... Torque tube, 23... Screw jack actuator, 25... Arm, 28... Rack gear, 29... Drive device, 30... Motor, 33... Shaft, 34...
Pinion, 34'... Pinion gear, 36... Roof holding mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The roof of the automobile is formed separately from the front glass frame and the rear glass frame so that it can be opened and closed, and a front guide rail in the longitudinal direction is provided between the front glass frame and the rear glass frame, and a rear trunk section is provided. A rear guide rail is provided on the top surface that can be raised or lowered and is at the same height as the front guide rail when raised.
Using these front guide rails and rear guide rails as guides, the drive device slides the roof back and forth to open and close it. When opening, the roof is lowered to the upper surface of the rear trunk with the roof still on it, and the roof is opened. A vehicle body shape conversion device for an automobile, characterized in that it is placed and stored on the upper surface of a rear trunk section.