JPH0310524B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for opening and closing an opening formed in the roof of an automobile or the like using a sliding roof.

(Prior Art) This type of sliding roof opening/closing device includes lifting the rear end of the sliding roof above the roof from a closed position where the opening is closed.
After setting the entire body to a tilt position where the rear is tilted upward,
There is a so-called outer sliding type in which the opening is opened by moving the entire body parallel to the rear while maintaining the upwardly inclined state of the rear part.

A conventional example of such an outer sliding method is the one shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-93621.

In this conventional device, a slider is slidably provided on a guide rail that is fixed to the side edge of the roof opening and faces in the front-rear direction, and the front end of the slider has a
The front end of the bracket that supports the sliding roof is pivoted about a left-right axis, and the middle part of the bracket is raised and lowered by a lifting device installed in the center of the slider, thereby raising and lowering the sliding roof. The sliding roof can be tilted between an upwardly tilted rear position and a horizontal position, and the sliding roof can be moved in the front and back direction by moving a slider back and forth using a drive means provided in the roof. It's getting old.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional device described above, the front end of the bracket is simply pivoted to the front end of the slider with a left-right axis, so that the bracket and sliding The center of rotation of the roof is behind the front edge of the sliding roof and below the top surface of the roof. Therefore, when the sliding roof is in the tilt position, the front edge of the sliding roof is below the top surface of the roof. As a result, the sealing performance at the front end of the sliding roof deteriorates, and in this state, if the sliding roof is moved parallel to the rear with the slider, the middle part of the sliding roof will immediately close to the opening of the roof. There is a problem that the opening cannot be opened sufficiently because the opening touches the rear edge of the opening.

Also, when the sliding roof is in the tilt position, only a portion of the sealing material provided on both sides of the sliding roof locally contacts the side edges of the opening, and in that state, the sliding roof is rotated several times. If the sealing material is moved back and forth, the above-mentioned portion of the sealing material will be extremely worn, and there will be problems such as loss of sealing performance in a short period of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sliding roof opening/closing device that solves these problems and can reduce the thickness of the entire device when the sliding roof is closed.

(Means for Solving the Problems and Their Effects) In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, an arcuate groove centered at an imaginary point above the roof is formed in the front end of the slider. , By slidably fitting into this groove an arc-shaped protrusion having the same curvature as the groove, which is provided at the front end of a bracket that supports the sliding roof, the sliding roof can be attached to the above-mentioned aerial point on the roof. When the sliding roof is placed in the tilt position, the entire sliding roof can be raised above the upper surface of the roof.

In addition, the elevating device is provided with a rocking table which is pivotally attached to the slider with an axis pointing in the left-right direction, and a cylindrical shape which is pivotally supported on the rocking table and has a female thread cut in the center. a shaft which faces substantially in the vertical direction and is rotatable by an appropriate driving means; the shaft is screwed into a female thread of the shaft; the upper end is pivotally connected to the intermediate portion of the bracket; It can pass through the holes drilled in the moving base and the slider, and by the rotation of the shaft, it can be moved up and down from the shaft, and the bracket and sliding roof can be moved rearwards upwards around the imaginary point. By having a screw rod that can be rotated between an inclined state and a horizontal state, the entire device can be made thinner.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an illustrated example.

Reference numeral 1 indicates an automobile, the roof 2 of which is provided with an opening 3, and a sliding roof 4 that opens and closes the opening 3.
is attached to a switching device 5 provided near the opening 3.

Reference numerals 6 and 7 shown in FIG. 3 are guide rails provided on the left and right sides of the opening 3 and facing in the front-rear direction.

A groove 8 is cut in the center of each of the guide rails 6, 7. The groove 8 faces in the front-rear direction and has an open upper surface, and has narrow horizontal grooves 8a, 8a opening on the left and right sides of the inner surface thereof.

9 is a driving means, which is connected to a motor 10 provided at the center of the rear edge of the opening 3;
and a reducer 11 having a pinion (not shown) on the output shaft, and a wire 1 as shown enlarged in FIG.
A pair of gears having a structure in which a thin wire material 12b is wound spirally around the outer circumference of the pinion 2a and fixed thereto, and the rear end meshes with the front and rear surfaces of the pinion and is reciprocated in opposite directions. cable 12,1
2, and outer cases 13 and 14, which accommodate the geared cable 12 in a slidable manner at the portions exposed from the guide rails 6 and 7, and which are arranged at the rear and front of the opening 3. .

As shown in Figure 1, the right side (hereinafter when we say left and right, we mean when looking at the car from the front).
The geared cable 12 is inserted into the groove 8 of the guide rail 6.
It is fitted into a mounting member 15 having a horizontal groove 15a continuous to the upper edge and facing into the groove 8, and this horizontal groove 15a
Inside, the geared cable 12 is exposed from the outer case 13, and the exposed geared cable 12 is provided with an engaging groove 16a in the center.
and an engagement piece 16 having a slope 16a on its rear edge is fixed.

Further, a vertical rising wall 8 is provided on the outer upper edge of the groove 8.
b are arranged in series, and at the front end of this rising wall 8b,
An engagement groove 8c that is open at the top is cut out.

The geared cable 12 and the guide rail 7 on the left side are also symmetrical with those on the right side described above, but since they have the same configuration, they will be given the same reference numerals and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, referring mainly to FIG. 1, the right side portion of the lifting device and moving mechanism for tilting the sliding roof 4 will be described.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a slider having a substantially rectangular plate shape, and shoes 17a, 17 protruding from both sides thereof at intervals.
a is slidably inserted into the horizontal grooves 8a, 8a of the guide rail 6, and is movable in the front-rear direction.

A raised portion 17b that curves rearward and upward is formed at the front end of the slider 17, and this raised portion 1
An arcuate groove 18 is formed from the top surface of the slider 7 to the front end surface, centered on an imaginary point (0) (see FIGS. 7 to 9) located above the roof 2 and almost directly above the front end of the slider 17. has been done.

By cutting vertical slits 18a, 18a on both sides of the rear part of the groove 18 in the raised portion 17b, between the two slits 18a, 18a,
A triangular protruding piece 18b having an upward pointed tip is formed.

Next, the control device will be explained.

A vertical pin 19 is implanted on the upper surface of the slider 17 behind the raised portion 17b, and the central portion of the swing lever 20 is pivotally attached to this pin 19, so that the swing lever 20 is rotated along the vertical axis. It can be rotated freely.

Front end 20a and rear end 20b of swing lever 20
and a locking rod 21 and a connecting rod 22, respectively.
The notches 21a and 22a at the center of the locking rod 21 and the connecting rod 22 are engaged with each other, and the locking rod 21 and the connecting rod 22 can reciprocate in the left-right direction.

The locking rod 21 is slidably supported at its intermediate portion by a rectangular cylindrical frame 23 formed on the upper surface of the slider 17 and having a cutout window 23a on the rear surface. An engaging portion 21b whose rear surface is an inclined surface is formed at the inner end of the locking rod 21, and a forked portion 21c formed at the outer end has a vertical shaft 2.
4 passes through the vertical shaft 24, and a roller 25 is pivotally mounted on the vertical shaft 24.

The linking rod 22 is formed on the upper surface of the slider 17,
and a rectangular cylindrical frame 2 having a cutout window 26a on the front surface.
6, an inclined surface 22b is formed on the front surface of the inner end thereof, and an outer end surface 22b is formed on the front surface of the inner end thereof.
2c is always urged inward by a compression coil spring 27 interposed between this and the rear end surface of the frame body 26.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the engagement piece 16 of the geared cable 12 moves in the direction of arrow (A), the slope 22b of the connecting rod 22
6b and moves outward against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 27 to rotate the swing lever 20 clockwise in FIG.
is moved inward, and as shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 21b is locked in the engaging groove 16a.

As a result, the slider 17
Towed or pushed by 2.

Next, a lifting device for tilting the sliding roof 4 will be explained.

28 shown in FIG. 1 is the geared cable 1
A horizontal gear meshing with 2 and its vertical axis 29
has a cylindrical shape with a female thread 29a cut in the center, and has bushes 30, 3 at its upper and lower ends.
0 is inserted.

On the upper surface of the central portion of the slider 17, a mortar-shaped hole 31, which is rectangular in the front-rear direction and has an arcuate stepped portion 31a extending from both sides at the central portion, is cut slightly eccentrically inward. It is set up. This hole 31
The inner arcuate step portion 31a in the slider 17
There is an opening 31b on the inner side surface.

This hole 31 has a shaft hole 3 in the center facing in the vertical direction.
A rocking table 33 having a swing table 2 is pivotally mounted with a left-right shaft 34 provided slightly forward of the center of the hole 31.

By sandwiching the gear 28 and the bush 30 between the rocking table 33 and the mounting plate 35 above it, and securing the gear 28 with appropriate screws 36, a part of the gear 28 can be inserted into the side surface of the slider 17 through the opening 31b. The shaft 29 is attached to the slider 17 so as to protrude further and mesh with the geared cable 12, and so that the shaft 29 can swing back and forth slightly about the shaft 34.

A threaded rod 37 having a T-shaped head 37a at the upper end is screwed into the internal thread 29a of the shaft 29, and the gear 2
By rotating the shaft 29 together with the screw rod 8, the threaded rod 37 is moved up and down.

Next, the structure of the sliding roof support section will be explained.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a bracket for supporting the sliding roof 4, which faces the front-rear direction and has a substantially H-shaped longitudinal section.

The front end of the bracket 38 is connected with an arc-shaped protrusion 38a that has the same curvature as the groove 18 formed in the front part of the slider 17 and extends forward and downward. 38a is slidably fitted into the groove 18, so that the bracket 38 can rotate around the imaginary point (0).

A head 37a of the screw rod 37 is pivotally attached to a portion slightly forward of the center of the bracket 38 with a shaft 39 in the left-right direction.
7 is raised and lowered by the above-mentioned lifting device, the bracket 38 and the sliding roof 4 attached thereto as will be described later are moved as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 with the imaginary point (0) as the center. It can be tilted between a tilt position in which the rear part is tilted upward as shown in FIG. 7, and a horizontal position shown in FIG.

At the right end of the sliding roof 4 are bolts 41 and nuts 4 into which compression coil springs 40 are fitted.
2 are attached to the front and rear of the bracket 38, respectively.

The sliding roof 4 is also attached at its left end with the same configuration as the above-described right end, and the same reference numerals are given to the configuration, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Note that when the locking rod 21 engages with the engagement groove 8c of the guide rail 6 and the slider 17 stops, the threaded rod 37 is located at the bottom of the groove 8 in the guide rail 6 directly below the screwed rod 37. hole 4 into which
3 is drilled (see Figures 7 and 8).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained mainly with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

As shown in Figure 7, the sliding roof 4
is in the fully open state, the locking rod 21 is in the engagement piece 1
6 and are in an engaged state as shown in FIG.

Therefore, when closing the opening 3, when the motor 10 of the drive means 9 is energized and the pinion is rotated,
The tip of the geared cable 12 that meshes with this
Each is pushed toward the front of the vehicle.

When the slider 17 and the bracket 37 move forward together with the slider 17 to close the opening 3, there is no relative movement between the geared cable 12 and the gear 28, so the sliding roof 4 remains tilted. is maintained.

As shown in Fig. 8, the sliding roof 4
When the front edge of the locking rod 21 reaches the front edge of the opening 3, the roller 25 of the locking rod 21 falls into the engagement groove 8c by the action of the compression coil spring 27, as shown in FIG. When the engagement piece 16 is disengaged, it engages with the locking rod 21 and the rail 6, and the slider 17 stops.

With the slider 17 in a stopped state, press the engaging piece 1.
6 further advances in the direction of arrow (B), relative movement occurs between the geared cable 12 and the gear 28, so the gear 28 rotates and the threaded rod 37 becomes the female thread 29.
drawn into a.

By lowering the screw rod 37, the bracket 38
, the protruding piece 38a at the front end is connected to the groove 18 of the slider 17.
By sliding inside, the rear end rotates downward around the imaginary point (0), and as shown in FIG. The occlusion position is reached.

At this time, the lower end of the threaded rod 37 enters into the hole 43 of the guide rail 6.

When the sliding roof 4 reaches the closed position, an appropriate detection means (not shown) detects this and the rotation of the motor 10 is stopped.

To open the sliding roof 4 from the closed position shown in FIG. 9, the motor 10 is rotated in the opposite direction to that described above.

Then, the geared cable 12 is moved backward, and the gear 28 and shaft 29 meshing with it are moved back.
The screw rod 37 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above case.
is raised. As the screw rod 37 rises, the bracket 38 and the sliding roof 4
is rotated upward around the imaginary point (0) in the opposite way to the above case.

When the sliding roof 4 reaches the tilt position shown in FIG. 8, the slope 16a of the engagement piece 16 pushes the linking rod 22 outward, and the roller 25 is moved away from the engagement, as shown in FIG. It is pulled out from the matching groove 8c.

As shown in FIG. 5, the locking rod 21 is
After being engaged with the engagement groove 16a of No. 6, the geared cable 12 and the slider 17 move back together, so the sliding roof 4 moves rearward while remaining in the tilted state, and the opening 3 is opened.

When the sliding roof 4 reaches the fully open position shown in FIG. 7, an appropriate detection means (not shown) detects this, and the rotation of the motor 10 is stopped, returning to the initially described state.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, when the sliding roof is set to the tilt position by rotating the sliding roof around an imaginary point above the roof, the entire sliding roof is moved to the roof. The sliding roof can be floated above the top surface, and the sliding roof can be opened wide without interfering with the roof opening.
When the sliding roof is moved back and forth, the sealing material provided on the side edges of the sliding roof is prevented from sliding against the side edges of the opening, and there are advantages such as improving the durability of the sealing material.

In addition, the threaded rod in the lifting device can pass through the shaft, the rocking table, and the slider that all have female threads to which it screws, reducing the vertical thickness of the entire device. In addition, the screw rod and the shaft to which it is screwed are supported on a rocking table pivotally connected to the slider, so that they can swing when the screw rod advances and retreats. It is possible to absorb the inclination caused by the advance and retreat of the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an automobile to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing only the opening/closing device shown in FIG. 2. , FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 3, FIGS. 5 and 6 are partially cutaway plan views for explaining the different operations of the locking rod in FIG. The figure is -
The longitudinal sectional views along the line, Figures 8 and 9, are
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the sliding roof shown in different operating states; 1...Car, 2...Roof, 3...Opening,
4...Sliding roof, 5...Opening/closing device,
6, 7... Guide rail, 8... Groove, 10... Motor, 12... Geared cable, 13, 14...
...Outer case, 16...Engaging piece, 17...Slider, 18...Groove, 21...Lock rod, 28...
Gear, 37... Screw rod, 38... Bracket, 3
8a... Protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sliding roof opening/closing device for opening and closing an opening formed in the roof using a sliding roof, comprising: a guide rail facing in the front-rear direction and fixed to a side edge of the opening in the roof; provided so as to be slidable along the guide rail,
and a slider having an arcuate groove centered at an imaginary point above the roof on the front end, and an arcuate protrusion having the same curvature as the groove and slidably fitted into the groove. a bracket provided at the front end and supporting the sliding roof; a rocking table pivotally attached to the slider with an axis pointing in the left-right direction;
a shaft having a cylindrical shape with a female thread cut in the center and facing in a substantially vertical direction so as to be rotated by an appropriate driving means; The bracket and the sliding roof are pivotally attached to the middle part of the bracket and can pass through holes formed in the rocking table and the slider, and are moved up and down from the shaft by the rotation of the shaft. an elevating device having a screw rod that rotates the slider between an upwardly inclined rear position and a horizontal position about the imaginary point; and a drive means that moves the slider in the front-rear direction along a guide rail. A sliding roof opening/closing device characterized by: