JPH0241442B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle sunroof, and more particularly to a vehicle sunroof that can be tilted to a partially open position or removed from the vehicle. It is something.

Many types of sunroofs have been proposed in the past, but most sunroofs require a very heavy frame to be fixed to the roof opening with a large number of screws and rivets, which has the disadvantage of deforming the exterior of the car body. Ta. When a lightweight frame is used, a relatively thin panel must be used, which results in deformation of the panel over time and the occurrence of leakage.

Furthermore, transparent panels made of glass materials require airtight sealing means, and since this sealing means tightens and presses the glass surface, the load may deform the glass or cause moisture leakage. was.

It is an object of the present invention to propose a hop-up sunroof that overcomes the problems mentioned above and other problems.

A further object of the present invention is to enable the appearance of a vehicle to substantially maintain its original manufacturing form, and to mold the sunroof so that the transparent curved shape of the vehicle roof does not deform or protrude too much in appearance. This is to make it possible.

Another object of the invention is to propose a sunroof that can be mounted on the roof of a vehicle in a reinforcing manner for metal roof panels that are easily deformed by the environment.

Still further, it is an object of the present invention to place the flange of the tray on the roof around said opening, and to engage the upper end of an elastic clip pivoted to the lower part of the tray with the roof to firmly grip the tray to the roof. The purpose is to make it fixed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge and latch mechanism for holding the panel in place in an opening in a vehicle roof, the hinge and latch mechanism supporting the panel in a manner that minimizes the loading of loads on the roof. The purpose of this project is to propose a sunroof that does not leak water.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a drainage groove around an opening in the vehicle roof, and the groove is kept in a sealed condition so that most of the water such as rainwater flows down outside the vehicle body, but does not enter the groove. The purpose of this project is to propose a sunroof in which accumulated moisture is discharged to the outside through a passageway.

Another object of the present invention is that a sunroof is provided in an opening in a metal roof of a vehicle, and the opening is provided with a metal tray formed with a groove for retaining and discharging moisture, and the tray is provided with a metal tray provided in the metal roof of the vehicle. The opening, which is supported by a flange made as thin as possible on the inner periphery of the opening in the vehicle roof, and which covers the tray with a transparent panel, has a first structure that seals between the tray and the panel to prevent moisture from entering the vehicle. Provide a sealing member,
Furthermore, a second sealing member is provided to seal between the panel and the tray in order to discharge dust and moisture to the outside of the vehicle body. In addition, the trays and panels are reinforced and the hinge and latch mechanisms are arranged so that the relatively thin and flexible shingles and glass panels are strain-free as much as possible. A drainage means that is sealed on both sides is provided on the roof of the vehicle, and moisture accumulated in the drainage means is directly discharged to the outside of the vehicle body.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A sunroof 10 is attached to an opening 12 in a vehicle roof 14. The sunroof 10 is mounted on a frame 16 secured to an opening 12 covered by a panel 18. The panel 18 can be moved and held from a closed position to a partially open position with one end threaded, and can also be completely removed from the opening 12.

The roof 14 of the vehicle is made of panels made of metal sheets. Although the sunroof 10 is installed after the vehicle has been manufactured, sometimes it is installed after the completed vehicle has been driven for a certain period of time.

The sunroof 10 according to the present invention can be installed by making an opening 12 in the roof 14 of the vehicle body, whether it is a new vehicle that has just been manufactured or a vehicle that has been driven for a certain period of time. The sunroof should preferably be installed on the roof or in the center of the vehicle, directly above the front seats.

The entire periphery of the opening 12 is surrounded by an endless frame-shaped tray 24, and a flange 26 extending outward from the tray 24 is disposed in contact with the upper surface of the inner periphery of the roof opening. The flange 26
An outer wall portion 28 extends downward from the inner peripheral edge of the opening 12 so as to surround the entire periphery of the opening 12.
A sloped wall portion 30 extends further inwardly, and a horizontal bottom wall portion 32 extends inwardly from the inclined wall portion 30.
An inner wall portion 34 extends vertically upward from the inner wall portion 2, and a horizontal flange 36 extends inward from the inner wall portion 34. Tray 24 configured in this way
In particular, the flange 26 is formed from a thin metal plate having approximately the same thickness as the metal roof 14.

The tray 24, which is formed by press cutting a single metal plate, is supported at the top of the vehicle roof 14, and a drainage groove 40 is formed in the space between the outer wall 28 and the inner wall 34. It is molded. This groove 40 is arranged inside the opening 12 and has a shape along the line of the roof 14.

As shown in FIG.
It is firmly fixed to the roof 14 by means of two engaging means. The clip 42 is made of an elastic material, and a lower curved portion 44 is inserted into a small hole 46 in the lower part of a bar 48 firmly welded to the tray 24. The upper end of the clip 42 is bent into an arm 50 having a tab 52 on the upper side. On the other hand, a reinforcing ring 56 having an L-shaped cross section is provided which fits into the peripheral roof of the opening and the entire circumferential surface of the bar 48 of the tray, and the lower surface of the horizontal flange 54 that overlaps with the roof of the reinforcing ring 56 is provided. A recess 53 is formed. The tab 52 of the clip is elastically fitted into the recess 53. The vehicle roof 14 and the tray 24 are formed of thin metal plates with a thickness of about 1.02 mm and are flexible. Due to its elasticity, the clip 42 moves from the position shown by the broken line to the position shown by the solid line, and the tab 52 moves to the position shown by the solid line.
is fitted into and engaged with the recessed portion 53. The tray 24 is fixed to the metal roof 14 by a flange 26 on the top surface of the roof. The arm 50 of the clip is pressed against the lower surface of the reinforcing ring by the elasticity of the curved portion 44. A plurality of the clips engage one side of each of tray 24 and reinforcing ring 56. A particular advantage of the clip 42 and attachment mechanism used in the sunroof of the present invention is that the tray 24 can be simply placed into position in the opening 12 by a single operator, whether from the outside or inside of the vehicle. However, it is only necessary to attach the clip 42. The clip can then be moved to engage the reinforcing ring 56 by temporarily holding the reinforcing ring in place with one hand while moving the clip to the locked position with the other hand. .

The tray 24 has a trim member 6 made of synthetic resin.
Attach 4. The trim member 64 is formed in an endless shape along the inside of the tray 24 and has a threaded hole 68 therein.
screws 66 into the horizontal flange 36 of the tray through
It is screwed on. Trim member 64 is used to retain upper liner member 70 which is molded from a rigid material. That is, the lining member 70 is held between the flange 72 extending outward from the lower edge of the trim and the bottom wall 32 of the tray 24. In this vehicle, a lower decorative lining member 74 made of a softer material is also installed. The lining member 74 is adhesively secured at its inner edge to the inner surface of the trim member 64.
The lining member 74 and the tray flange 36 are then covered with a sealing member 76.

The sealing member 76 is made of a flexible synthetic resin material and is an elongated strip having a groove 78. The groove 78 not only covers the upper surface of the flange 36, the vertical wall 34 of the tray, and the inner surface of the trim to hold the seal member itself in engagement, but also serves as a finishing member by obscuring the screw 66. A sealing portion 80 is integrally provided in the groove 78, and this sealing portion 80 resiliently engages with the lower surface of the panel 18 to prevent water from outside the vehicle.
Close tightly to prevent dust and air from entering.

Preferably, the panel 18 uses a transparent tempered glass plate 82. The panel 18 is surrounded by a panel frame 84, and the panel frame 84 has an outer frame 86 made of synthetic resin that holds a panel glass plate 82.
and a metal inner frame 88 fixedly supported by this outer frame 86. Panel glass plate 82
is held by both frames 86 and 88 and is watertightly fixed with adhesive.

A second seal member 90 having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the panel frame 84 . One leg 92 of the sealing member 90 is press-fitted into a groove 94 of the inner frame 88, and the other flexible tongue-shaped leg 96 resiliently contacts the outer wall 28 of the tray 24 to prevent the compartment from outside. Seal.

In the position in which the panel 18 closes the aperture 12, the seal member 76 is in press-fitting engagement with the underside of the inner frame 88, and the seal member 90 is in press-fitting engagement with the outer wall 28. Tray groove 40 is substantially closed. Most of the large amount of rainwater and moisture that has fallen onto the vehicle flows down from the surface of the seal member, but some of the moisture enters through the seal member 90 and stays at least temporarily in the closed groove 40.

A drainage device is provided at a desired corner of the tray 24, as shown in FIG. This drainage device has a nipple 97 screwed onto a tray, fixed with a nut 98, and a curved pipe 99 connected to the nipple 97. The curved pipe 99 is disposed in a concave groove reaching the downstream passage on the outer surface of the vehicle.

The panel 18 is attached to the frame 16 of the aperture 12 by a pair of hinges 100 on the rear edge and a latch mechanism 102 on the front edge of the panel.
is provided. As shown in Figure 4, both hinges 1
00 is provided with a rod 106 that is held on the inner frame 88 by a screw 108 and protrudes rearward, and has a cylindrical support shaft portion 110 at the tip of the rod 106.
is pivotally fitted into a resilient sheath member 112 provided in an opening 114 in tray outer wall 28. The sheath member 112 is open to the groove 40, and the support shaft portion 110 is fitted therein so as to be able to swing freely. The sheath member is provided with an internal wall 116, and the internal wall 116 is formed so that the panel 18 can swing up and down about the support shaft 110. Since the sheath member 112 is molded from an elastic material and is deformable, the rods 106 can be pulled out of the sheath member 112 and thus the entire panel 18 can be removed from the vehicle roof 14.

The latch mechanism 102 is configured such that the panel 18 tightly engages and seals the seal member 76, as shown in FIG.
Moreover, it serves to place the panel 18 on the tray. This latch mechanism is generally referred to as an over-center (toggle) type link mechanism, in which the upper end of the handle 118 is pivotally connected to the panel 18 by a pin 119, and one end of the link 120 is attached to a pin 121. Thus, the handle 118 is pivotally connected to the middle portion thereof, and the other end is pivotally connected to the tray 24 by a quick release pin 122. By providing such an over-center link mechanism,
As shown in FIG. 2, the panel 18 is allowed to swing about the hinge 100 from the solid line position to the two-dot chain line position. In this swing position, the linkage anchors the panel in a partially open position for ventilating the vehicle passenger compartment.

If desired, quick release pin 122 can be removed and rod 106 withdrawn from sheath member 112. The entire panel 18 can then be removed from the vehicle along with the latch mechanism.

A pop-up type vehicle sunroof is provided in an opening in a metal roof of a vehicle, and a tray attached to the opening is stamped and formed using a press machine, and is supported on the top of the vehicle roof by its thin metal flange, There is almost no change in the appearance of the roof. The roof opening covered by the panel allows the panel to be hinged and retained in a partially open position, as well as to be completely removed from the vehicle. When the panel is in the closed position, the first seal member seals between the inner edge of the tray and the panel, and the second seal member also seals between the panel and the outer edge of the tray, substantially Forms a closed drainage groove. This groove allows accumulated moisture to drain out onto the road outside the vehicle. When attaching frames or trays to vehicle roofs or panels covering roof openings, they are reinforced in such a way that distortions that would reduce the effectiveness of the seal are not introduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention. A vertical cross-sectional view of a pop-up vehicle sunroof. Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the components of the sunroof installed on a vehicle. Figure 3 is an enlarged view showing the front side of the sunroof attached to a tray attached to the roof. Cross section, 4th
The figure is an enlarged sectional view of a hinge for moving the sunroof to a partially open position. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Sunroof, 12... Opening, 18... Panel, 14... Vehicle roof plate, 16... Frame, 24... Tray, 26... Flange, 28... Outer wall part, 30... Diagonal wall part, 32... Bottom wall part, 34 ...Inner wall portion, 40...Tray drainage groove, 42...Clip, 56...Reinforcement ring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An opening is provided in the metal plate roof of a vehicle, and a tray that surrounds the entire circumference of the roof opening and is held on the roof by a flange is press-molded from a single metal plate, The tray is provided with a drainage groove consisting of an outer wall extending downward from the flange, a horizontal bottom wall, and an inner wall, and on the outer surface of the outer wall there are grooves arranged at intervals at the bottom. A bar having a small hole is provided, one end of which is fitted into the small hole of the bar, and a clip is disposed for elastically engaging and gripping the upper end of the bar with the lower surface of the roof that overlaps with the flange, and A transparent panel covering the tray is held in the roof opening so as to be swingable between an open position and a closed position, and when the transparent panel is in the closed position, the transparent panel seals between the inside wall of the tray and the lower peripheral surface of the panel. A sunroof for a vehicle, characterized in that a first sealing member is provided on the inner wall to seal the space between the outer wall of the tray and the periphery of the panel, and a second sealing member is provided on the periphery of the panel to seal between the outer wall of the tray and the periphery of the panel. 2. The sunroof for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a reinforcing member is provided between the roof of the vehicle and the clip. 3. The reinforcing member has a longitudinally extending recess on its lower surface, and the clip has a tab that is swingable in one direction and prevents the clip from swinging in the other direction, and the tab is in the recess. 2. A vehicle sunroof according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle sunroof engages with the vehicle sunroof.