JPH0920147A - Frame structure of sunroof for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To raise the strength of the frame of a slide type sunroof. SOLUTION: This frame structure has such structure that a front lateral frame 5 positioned halfway in longitudinal direction and a rear lateral frame 6 are attached across between the right and left frames 2 and 3 arranged in longitudinal direction at a fixed interval in the width direction of an automobile, and that a longitudinal center frame 7 is attached across between the front lateral frame 5 and the rear lateral frame 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a frame structure for an automobile sunroof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional frame structure of a sliding sunroof has a vertical frame arranged along the left and right side edges of a roof opening, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-212622. The front housing is mounted between the front ends of the vertical frames in a straddling manner, and is arranged along the front end edge of the roof opening, and the roof is mounted in a spanning manner in the front-rear direction between the vertical frames. The horizontal frame is arranged along the rear end edge of the opening, and the horizontal frame is attached between the rear ends of both vertical frames in a bridging manner to reinforce the horizontal frame. In addition, guide rails for slidingly supporting the lid are formed on both the vertical frames, and a drain groove for drainage is also integrally formed in some cases. A drive mechanism for the sunroof, which is composed of a drive motor or a geared cable, is incorporated in the front housing.

[0003]

With respect to such a frame structure, various efforts have been made to improve the structural strength of the frame structure, but this is still insufficient and there is room for improvement. It was Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a frame structure having higher rigidity.

[0004]

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 1, between the left and right vertical frames arranged along the front-rear direction at regular intervals in the width direction of the vehicle, the middle of the front-rear direction is provided. It is characterized in that a front horizontal frame and a rear horizontal frame at the rear portion are hung and mounted, and a vertical center frame is hung and mounted between the front horizontal frame and the rear horizontal frame.

According to this structure, since the central vertical center frame is arranged between the front horizontal frame and the rear horizontal frame in addition to the left and right vertical frames, the rigidity of the frame is further enhanced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the frame structure according to the first aspect, the vertical center frame is used as a bracket for mounting indoor lighting equipment.

According to this structure, in order to attach the lighting fixture, the reinforcement was separately attached along the roof in a straddle-like manner, and the lighting fixture was attached via the reinforcement. Since the center frame can also be used as a bracket for mounting a lighting fixture, it is not necessary to set a conventional reinforcement.
This is possible only when the vertical center frame is arranged substantially at the center in the width direction of the roof and its strength is sufficient.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the frame structure according to the first aspect, the vertical center frame is used as a slide receiving member of the sunshade.

According to this structure, since the central portion in the width direction of the sunshade is received by the vertical center frame, there is no fluttering of the sunshade when it is opened as in the conventional case, and the sunshade can be opened and closed more smoothly.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the frame structure according to the first aspect, an end portion of the front horizontal frame is made to project more laterally than the vertical frame, and the projecting portion is supported by the roof side rail via a bracket. It is characterized in that it is configured to.

With this structure, the vertical center frame is supported more firmly, and thus the sunroof frame is supported more firmly as a whole.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the frame structure according to the fourth aspect, an auxiliary bracket is attached to the bracket, and the reinforcement for reinforcing the roof opening is supported from below through the auxiliary bracket. It is characterized in that it is configured to.

According to this structure, the reinforcement for reinforcing the roof opening is supported in a receiving shape from below, so that the reinforcement is conventionally supported only on the roof panel in a suspended manner. Thus, the reinforcement can be supported more firmly, and the rigidity of the roof opening can be further enhanced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a frame structure in which an end piece for collecting water is attached to an end portion of a drain groove provided in a vertical frame, the end piece being provided on both side walls of the drain groove. Left and right side portions that are continuously provided along, a wave return portion that shields the drain groove from above, an abutment portion that shields the front of the drain groove, and a bottom portion that is provided continuously to the bottom portion of the drain groove. It has a drainage port to which a drain hose can be connected, the bottom of the end piece is set lower than the bottom of the drain groove, and a drainer is provided at the end of the drain groove. .

According to this structure, the end portion of the drain groove is covered with a substantially bag shape, and even if the drainage flowing down the drain groove hits the abutting portion and scatters upward, it is blocked by the wave return portion. Does not scatter out of the end piece.
Also, the bottom of the end piece is set one step lower than the bottom of the drain groove, and the drainer is provided at the end of the drain groove, so there is a gap between the bottom of the drain groove and the bottom of the end piece. Water does not permeate in, and therefore the sealing performance between both bottom parts is improved.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the rigidity of the sunroof frame can be further enhanced.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a roof R of a one-box type automobile, and a sliding sunroof S is set in the center of the roof R. In the figure, V indicates an opening of the roof R, and the sunroof S is configured to open and close the opening V by sliding a transparent glass lid (not shown). The drive mechanism of the sunroof S does not need to be changed, so the description thereof will be omitted. Although not shown in the drawings, a sunshade for sunshade is set to be slidable on the indoor side of the lid in conjunction with the lid or by manual operation.

The frame 1 of the sunroof S is
As shown in FIG. 1, left and right vertical frames 2 and 3 along the front-rear direction of the vehicle (left-right direction in the drawing)
3, a front housing 4 mounted in a bridging manner between the front end portions, a front horizontal frame 5 between the vertical frames 2 and 3 in the front-rear direction, and a rear horizontal frame 6 between the rear end portions. A vertical center frame 7 is attached as a main body between the front horizontal frame 5 and the rear horizontal frame 6 in a bridging manner.

The vertical frames 2 and 3 are made of an aluminum drawing material, and as shown in FIG. 5, guide rail portions 2a and 3a for slidably supporting the lid and a drain groove 2b for drainage. , 3b.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front housing 4 mounted in a bridging manner between the front ends of the vertical frames 2 and 3 is an integrally molded product of synthetic resin, and is not shown in the front housing 4. A drive mechanism 4a including drive cables (geared cables) 4b to 4b that mesh with the pinion of the drive motor is accommodated. The drive cable 4b is routed along the path from the end of the front housing 4 to the inside of the guide rail portions 2a, 3a of the vertical frames 2, 3, and the lids are moved by the movement of the drive cables 4b-4b by the operation of the drive mechanism. Is opened and closed.

Next, the front horizontal frame 5 and the rear horizontal frame 6 are formed by pressing a steel plate having an appropriate plate thickness into a substantially U-shaped cross section, and each has sufficient strength as a frame and is formed by bolts and nuts. Vertical frame 2,
It is fixed between the three. Front horizontal frame 5
Both ends of the vertical frame 2, 3
Is further projected from the side. Both protrusions 5
A and 5a will be described later.

The frame 1 is arranged so that the roof opening V is located on the inner peripheral side of the frame formed by the front half of the vertical frames 2 and 3, the front housing 4 and the front horizontal frame 5. The front housing 4 along the front edge of the roof opening V.
Are arranged, the vertical frames 2 and 3 are arranged along the left and right end edges, and the front horizontal frame 5 is arranged along the rear end edge. Almost half of the rear side of the frame 1 including the front horizontal frame 5 is located on the rear side of the roof opening V and constitutes a housing portion for the lid and the sunshade 11.

A vertical center frame 7 having a substantially flat plate shape is suspended and fixed between the horizontal frames 5 and 6 and in the widthwise center of the vehicle. This vertical center frame 7 also
It is made by press forming a steel plate with an appropriate thickness and has sufficient strength as a frame. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interior lighting fixture 10 is attached to the vertical center frame 7.
Are attached with bolts and nuts.

As shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, the upper surface of the vertical center frame 7 serves as a receiving surface for the sunshade 11, and the sunshade 1 is opened to open the roof opening V.
When the 1 is moved rearward, the sunshade 11 is moved while being supported by the vertical center frame 7 in a receiving shape from below, and can be received by the vertical center frame 7 from below even when it is accommodated in the rear portion. There is.

Thus, the sunroof frame 1 of this example
Has front and rear horizontal frames 5 and 6 between the left and right vertical frames 2 and 3, and both horizontal frames 5 and 6 are provided.
Since the vertical center frame 7 is provided therebetween, the structure has higher rigidity than the conventional sunroof frame.

Further, since the indoor lighting fixture 10 is mounted on the vertical center frame 7 of the frame 1, it is not necessary to separately set a support member (reinforcement) dedicated to mounting the lighting fixture as in the conventional case.

Further, since the vertical center frame 7 also has a function as a receiving member for the sunshade 11, it is possible to suppress the flapping of the sunshade 11 when it is opened. That is, there is a problem that the sunshade is supported only at both ends of the sunshade at the time of opening and the center of the sunshade is not supported. Since the center in the width direction is supported by the vertical center frame 7 from below, the problem of fluttering unlike the conventional case hardly occurs. The vertical center frame 7
Needless to say, the lighting device 10 is not limited to the illustrated lighting device, and other devices such as switches can be attached.

Next, as described above, both end portions of the front horizontal frame 5 are further projected laterally from the vertical frames 2 and 3, and the projecting portions 5a and 5a are interposed by the bracket 8 as shown in FIG. Fixed to the roof side rail RS. In this way, since the frame 1 is also received from below by the brackets 8 and 8 via the end portion of the front horizontal frame 5, as compared with the conventional configuration in which the frame is attached to the roof R only in a suspended state. As a result, the frame 1 is supported more firmly.

The bracket 8 is fixed to the inner panel RSI of the roof side rail RS by bolts and nuts 8b, and the protruding portion 5a of the front horizontal frame 5 is also fixed to the tip of the bracket 8 by bolts and nuts 8a. . Another bracket 9 is fixed to the bracket 8 by bolts and nuts 8a together with the protrusion 5a. An end of the reinforcement RF for reinforcing the roof opening is fixed to the tip of the other bracket 9 by spot welding (indicated by X in the figure).

Here, a reinforcement reinforcement RF for reinforcement is usually attached to the roof opening V, but this reinforcement reinforcement RF for reinforcement is conventionally attached only to the roof panel in a suspended state. However, according to this example, since the end portion of the reinforcement RF is supported by the bracket 9 from below, the supporting rigidity of the reinforcement RF and thus the roof opening V.
The surface rigidity of the periphery can be further enhanced, and thereby the flap R of the roof R can be eliminated and a larger sunroof can be installed.

Next, at the rear ends of both vertical frames 2 and 3,
An end piece 12 is attached to collect the drainage flowing down the drain grooves 2b and 3b. Since the end pieces 12 and 12 attached to both the vertical frames 2 and 3 have a symmetrical structure, the end piece 12 attached to the vertical frame 3 on the right side (upper side in FIG. 1) will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the end piece 12 has a substantially box-like shape with one opening formed by integrally molding synthetic resin. The end piece 12 has both side walls 3c of the drain groove 3b.
Left and right side portions 12a, 12a arranged in a row in the 3c
And a wave return portion 12b that shields the drain groove 3b from above,
An abutting portion 12c that shields the front of the drain groove 3b and a bottom portion 12d that is arranged continuously with the bottom portion 3d of the drain groove 3b.
And a drainage pipe 1 to which the drain hose 13 is connected
2e.

According to the end piece 12 having such a structure,
Even if the drainage flowing down through the drain groove 3b hits the abutting portion 12c and scatters upward, it is not blocked by the wave return portion 12b and does not scatter to the outside of the end piece 12, so that all the collected water is collected. The drainage is drained to a predetermined place through the drain hose 13 connected to the drainage port 12e, and the waterproof performance of the frame 1 is enhanced. In this respect, as shown in FIG. 8, the conventional end piece 20 does not have a portion corresponding to the wave return portion 12b of the present example, and therefore the drainage that hits the abutting portion 20c is the end piece 20.
There was a risk of splashing to the outside and causing water leakage.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the bottom portion 12d of the end piece 12 of this example is formed to be one step lower than the bottom portion 3d of the drain groove 3b, and the tip of the bottom portion 3d is formed in the end piece 1.
It is separated from the second bottom portion 12d, whereby the drainage portion 3e is provided at the end portion of the bottom portion 3d of the drain groove 3b. According to the draining portion 3e, drainage flowing down the drain groove 3b is drained from the bottom portion 3d without fail, so that the bottom portion 3d of the drain groove 3b and the bottom portion 12d of the end piece 12 are drained.
Wastewater does not infiltrate into the overlapping portion 12f with
As a result, the sealing property of the overlapping portion 12f is significantly improved. In this respect, the conventional end piece 2 as shown in FIG.
In 0, since the bottom portion 20a of the end piece 20 was overlapped up to the end of the bottom portion 3d of the drain groove 3b, the drain groove 3b was not reliably drained, so that the drainage leaked into the overlapped portion 20b. There is a risk of penetration, and therefore the sealing performance was not always reliable.

As described above, according to the end piece 12 of the present embodiment, the drainage flowing down the drain groove 3b can be reliably collected, and the sealing performance at the end piece mounting portion can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 1, drainage ports 4c are also provided at both corners of the front housing 4,
The vertical frames 2 and 3 are also formed by the drainage ports 4c and 4c.
The water that has dripped into the drain grooves 2b and 3b and the front housing 4 is drained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an automobile roof equipped with a sunroof.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 4, showing a mounted state of the front lateral frame end portion.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an end piece attachment portion.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view taken along the line DD of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view around a conventional end piece attachment portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Frame 2, 3 ... Vertical frame 2b, 3b ... Drain groove, 3e ... Drainer 4 ... Front housing 5 ... Front horizontal frame 6 ... Rear horizontal frame 7 ... Vertical center frame 10 ... Indoor lighting fixture 11 ... Sunshade 12 ... End Piece, 12b ... Wave return part R ... Roof RF ... Reinforcement for reinforcement RS ... Roof side rail

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A front horizontal frame midway in the front-rear direction and a rear horizontal frame at the rear are laid across between left and right vertical frames arranged along the front-rear direction at regular intervals in the width direction of the automobile. A frame structure for a sunroof for an automobile, characterized in that a vertical center frame is laid between the front horizontal frame and the rear horizontal frame and attached. 2. The frame structure according to claim 1, wherein
A frame structure for an automobile sunroof, wherein the vertical center frame is used as a bracket for mounting indoor lighting equipment. 3. The frame structure according to claim 1, wherein
A frame structure of a sunroof for an automobile, characterized in that a vertical center frame is used as a sliding receiving member of a sunshade. 4. The frame structure according to claim 1, wherein
A frame structure for a sunroof for an automobile, characterized in that an end portion of a front horizontal frame is projected laterally with respect to the vertical frame, and the projected portion is supported by a roof side rail via a bracket. 5. The frame structure according to claim 4, wherein:
A frame structure for a sunroof for an automobile, characterized in that an auxiliary bracket is attached to the bracket, and a reinforcement for reinforcing a roof opening is supported from below through the auxiliary bracket in a receiving shape. 6. A frame structure in which an end piece for collecting water is attached to a terminal end portion of a drain groove provided in a vertical frame, the end piece being continuously provided along both side walls of the drain groove. A drain hose can be connected to the left and right side portion, a wave return portion that shields the drain groove from above, an abutment portion that shields the drain groove from the front, a bottom portion that is connected to the bottom of the drain groove, and a drain hose. Having a drainage port, the bottom of the end piece is set lower than the bottom of the drain groove,
A frame structure for an automobile sunroof, characterized in that a water draining portion is provided at a terminal end portion of the drain groove.