JPS5813372B2 - sliding groove - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention particularly relates to a sliding roof provided with a lid structure that can be slidably opened and closed, in order to provide an openable skylight on the roof of an automobile or the like.

Many configurations for providing an openable skylight on the roof of an automobile or the like have been proposed so far.

Among them, various so-called sliding roofs have been proposed in which the lid structure for opening and closing the skylight slides along the roof part when opening and closing, but the sliding roofs that have been proposed so far are The lid structure, which is made relatively thick to define the outer and inner surfaces of the roof when the skylight is open, must be overlapped with a part of the roof when the skylight is opened. This is a structure in which the structure is guided so as to protrude considerably to the outside or inside of the roof.

However, if the lid structure or its guide structure protrudes significantly from the outer surface of the roof, it is not only undesirable in appearance, but may impede driving performance or become an obstacle. A large protrusion from the inner surface is undesirable because it reduces the headroom in the vehicle interior and creates an obstacle overhead.

Furthermore, in conventional sliding roofs, opening/closing operations of the lid structure, locking operations, etc. are performed by separate operations.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional sliding roofs, the lid structure is divided into a lower lid structure and an upper lid structure,
When the skylight is closed, the upper lid structure provides a surface that corresponds to the outer surface of the roof, and the lower lid structure provides a surface that corresponds to the inner surface of the roof, giving the sliding roof an overall smooth structure. At the same time, when the skylight is opened, the upper lid structure is moved closer to the lower lid structure, and the thickness of the lid structure is reduced so that the lid structure can be retracted into the adjacent roof part as smoothly as possible. In addition, a series of operations such as the crushing operation of the lid structure, the sliding operation of the lid structure, and the locking operation of the lid structure can be performed by simply rotating a handle or driving a shaft by a motor. A sliding roof, which is achieved automatically by a single operation such as the rotation of the
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1983-1971 related to an earlier application filed by the same applicant as the present applicant.
It is proposed in No.-39820.

The present invention, like the sliding roof proposed earlier, allows a series of operations such as reducing the thickness of the lid structure, sliding the lid structure, and locking the lid structure to be simple. To provide a sliding roof which can be automatically performed by a single operation such as a rotation of a handle or a rotation of a drive shaft of a motor, and whose structure is further simplified than that proposed previously. The purpose is to

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by: a guide frame attached to a body roof; a first and second pair of shoe members that slide while being guided by the guide frame; and a lid lower structure and a lid upper structure that move between positions for opening and closing a window opening formed in the body roof, and the first pair of shoe members is subjected to an elastic restoring force. The second pair of shoe members supports the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure via a two-axis parallel pivot device, and the second pair of shoe members supports the lower lid structure and the lid upper structure through a balance-shaped pivot arm. a wedge device that supports an upper structure and further wedges between the front edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure to spread the space between the front edges when the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are in the window closed position; a drive device that drives the second pair of shoe members along the guide frame body in the window opening/closing direction; and a drive device that drives the second pair of shoe members along the guide frame body; A cam device that rotates the rotary arm engages with rear edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure that have been brought close to each other by the rotation of the scale-shaped rotary arm, and the two structures are connected to each other through the window. This is accomplished by such a sliding roof having an engagement device that holds the trailing edges in close proximity while being moved to the open position.

The invention will now be described in detail by way of example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a perspective view showing an example of the roof section of an automobile equipped with a sliding roof according to the present invention.

Also in the present invention, a guide frame consisting of frame elements 3 and 4 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is mounted around the window opening 2 of the body roof 1.

Similarly, the drive device for moving the lid structure between the window opening and closing positions includes a pair of flexible strips 5 and 6, such as a pair of steel strips, each of which is attached to a frame, as shown in FIG. body element 4
It is adapted to be guided along grooves of groove members 7 and 8 forming part of the groove members 7 and 8.

The front ends of the strips 5 and 6 are constructed with holes or racks for engagement with gear wheels, as in the previous proposal.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the front ends of such strips are constructed as racks 9 and 10, respectively, and a gear 11 meshes with these racks, and this gear 11 is connected to a manual handle mechanism 12 or a speed reducer. By driving in one direction or the other direction by the attached motor 13, both strips 5 and 6 are simultaneously driven in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the front end of the sliding roof showing an embodiment in which a manual handle mechanism is incorporated as the drive device, and this is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1--2 in FIG.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 shows the structure of the portion shown in Fig. 6 with the roof panel and lid upper structure removed for clarity. FIG.

In FIG. 6, 14 is a lid lower structure, and 15 is a lid upper structure.

In this case, these lower lid structure and upper lid structure are S
They are coupled for pivoting relative to each other about two pivots 17 and 18 by a torsion bar 16 (shown in FIG. 8) having a shaped end configuration.

The two pivots 17 and 18 are provided by pivots 19 and 20, respectively, of the S-shaped end of the torsion bar 16, as best shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in this case, the torsion bar 16 is
As shown in the figure, a U-shaped arm 21 is formed in the center between both ends of the S-shape, and a clamping device 22 is used at this arm to hold the lid upper structure 15 in place. The pivot portion 19 of the torsion bar 16 is thereby positioned at a certain position relatively close to the lid upper structure 15 in a natural state, and the pivot portion 19 of the torsion bar 16 is
When the torsion bar 16 attempts to move beyond that position in a direction away from the lid upper structure 15, the shaft portion 2 of the torsion bar 16
An elastic restoring force is applied due to the elastic twist of No. 3.

This means that the connection between the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 by the torsion bar 16 is such as to flexibly hold both structures pressed together. .

A device that supports the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 so as to be pivotable around two mutually parallel axes is herein referred to as a biaxial parallel axis device, and in this case, such Since the pivot device is given an elastic restoring force by the torsion bar, this will be referred to as a two-axis parallel pivot device to which an elastic restoring force is applied.

The two-axis parallel axis device consisting of the torsion bar 16 is
A shaft 24 attached to both S-shaped ends of the torsion bar
The shaft 24 is supported in a pivotable manner relative to a third member by means of a sliding shoe guided by a groove member 7 (or a groove member 8 on the opposite side) of the guide frame 4. Part 2
It is carried by 5.

This shoe member 25 is provided as a pair with the one guided by the groove member 8, and the pair of shoe members 25 allows the torsion bar 16 to pivot around the axis of the shaft 24 at both ends thereof. It is supported in a movable manner.

When the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 are in the window closed position, a wedge device 26 is provided at the roof opening periphery that abuts the front edges thereof, as shown in FIG. 6 (and FIG. 5). )
As shown in FIG. 2, when the lid structure is brought to the window-closed position, the wedge device 26 bites between the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure, pushing them apart and pushing the lower surface of the lower lid structure 14 against the adjacent roof. and the outer surface of the lid upper structure 15 is brought into a position to smoothly connect with the outer surface of the outer structure 28 of the adjacent roof.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a guide pulley for the strip 5 (6 on the opposite side) provided at the corner of the frame element 4. It is pressed down from the outside by an endless belt 31.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line ■--■ in Figure 1.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 9, with the roof panel and lid upper structure removed for clarity.

As shown in these figures, the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 are supported at their rear edges by both ends of a scale-shaped rotating arm 33 having two arms that rotate around an axis 32. ing.

Such a scale-shaped pivot arm 33 and the shoe member 35 providing the shaft 34 which supports it pivotably about axis 32 are better shown exploded in FIG. 11.

A pin 36 extending from the lower end of the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 engages with a groove 37 formed in the lower lid structure 14 so as to be able to slide along it.

Further, a pin 38 extending from the upper end of the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 is rotatably received by a bearing portion 39 of the lid upper structure 15.

A further pin 40 extends from the upper end of the pivot arm 33 and carries a roller 41.

A cam device 43 that provides a cam groove 42 having a J-shaped curve is incorporated in the rear corner of the roof opening periphery located near the center of the groove member 7, and the roller 41 of the balance-shaped rotating arm is In the fully closed or small opening state, this J-shaped cam groove 4
2.

As is clear from this configuration, the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 supported by the scale-shaped rotating arm 33 are in a state where the scale-shaped rotating arm 33 is in a substantially upright state as shown in FIG. , the distance between both structures is maintained in the widest state, and at this time, the lower surface of the lower lid structure 14 is in a position where it almost smoothly connects to the lower surface of the adjacent lower roof structure 44, and the upper lid The upper surface of the structure 15 is positioned to smoothly connect to the upper surface of the adjacent upper structure 45 of the roof.

In this state, the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 is aligned with the axis 32, that is, the axis 34.
, the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 are pushed together in a direction closer to each other.

Such rotation of the scale-shaped rotating arm is such that the shoe member 35 is connected to the band member 5.
(6 on the opposite side) when driven backwards.

That is, when the shaft 34 moves backward due to the shoe member 35 being driven backward, the roller 41 moves into the J-shaped cam groove 4.
2, and along with this, the scale-shaped rotating arm 3
3 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 9 about an axis 34.

At this time, the pin 36 extending from the lower end of the scale-shaped rotating arm moves relatively rearward along the groove 37 of the lower lid structure.

A lug 47 having a tongue piece 46 at its tip extends from the rear end of the lower lid structure 14, while a lug 47 having a forked tongue piece 48 at its tip extends from the rear end of the upper lid structure 15. 49 is extended.

These tongue pieces 46 and 48 are in a state where the balance-shaped rotating arm is rotated until the roller 41 carried by the balance-shaped rotating arm passes through the curved part of the J-shaped cam groove 42 and enters the straight part. Then, they cross each other, that is, the tongue piece 46 is now located above the tongue piece 48.

In the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the tongue pieces 46 and 48 are mutually displaced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, but the shoe member 35 is driven rearward and the lid lower structure 14 and lid In conditions leading to close contact between the upper structures 15, the front edge of the lid structure is disengaged from the wedge device 26, and the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are mutually affected by the elastic restoring force. Since the lid lower structure 14 is rotated around the pivots 17 and 18 and pressed together by the two-axis parallel pivot device exerted by It is in a state relatively displaced rearward from the state shown in the figure, so that the tongue piece 46 can just pass between the pair of tongue pieces 48.

As described above, the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 is rotated around the shaft 34, the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are pressed together in a direction approaching each other, and the tongue piece 46 is positioned above the tongue piece 48. In this state, when the shoe member 35 is further driven backward,
A plate piece 50 is fitted between the tongue pieces 46 and 48.

This plate piece 50 is guided by the groove member 7 (8 on the opposite side) like the shoe member 35 and slides on the block 5.
It is carried by 1.

As shown in exploded view in FIG.
5 is flexibly drawn towards the shoe member 35.

The other end 56 of the spring 55 is engaged with a hole 57 in the shoe member 35.

The block 51 can freely slide rearward along the groove member 7 (or 8 on the opposite side) together with the shoe member 35, but the forward movement of the block 51 requires that its front end surface be aligned with the J-shaped cam groove 42. It is restricted by coming into contact with the rear end edge 59 of the groove member 58 that constitutes the roof opening peripheral structure that constitutes the extension of the bottom surface.

Figures 12, 13, and 14 are cross-sectional views taken along line-■, ■ichiru, and xtv-xiv in Figure 1, respectively;
The cross-sectional structure at the front edge and rear edge of the lid structure is shown.

The structure of the sliding roof described above will be better understood by examining the structure and mutual relationship of each member labeled with a corresponding reference numeral in these figures.

The operation of the sliding roof described above will be explained as follows.

The conditions shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 9 and 10 show the sliding roof fully brought to the window-closed position, ie the skylight completely closed.

In such a state, the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15
Since the spacing relationship between the two is reliably maintained by the balance-shaped rotating arm 33, even if the lid upper structure 15 is pressed from the outside, that is, from above, it will not fall downward, and therefore the lid upper structure 1
The rear edge of the lid structure 5 is abutted against the periphery of the upper structure 45 of the adjacent roof opening periphery, and the lid structure cannot move in the window opening direction.

That is, the lid structure is locked in the window closed position.

As can be seen from FIG. 9, in the final window closing state, the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 is rotated somewhat clockwise beyond the vertical position, and in this state, the pin 36 at the lower end is Groove 3
Since it is engaged with one end of the lid upper structure 1
The pressing force applied from above to the lid upper structure acts to further rotate the rotating arm 33 in the clockwise direction, so that the locked state is maintained stably, and no strong force applied from above the lid upper structure is applied. The locked state is not released even by pressing force.

Starting from the window closed state, when the skylight should be opened, the manual handle device 12 is rotated in the opening direction to drive the pair of strips 5 and 6 toward the rear.

As a result, the shoe member 35 is driven rearward, and the pin 3
4 moves to the aid side, and the roller 41 moves along the J-shaped cam groove 42, so that the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft 34 as seen in FIG. Ru.

Due to the rotation of the balance-shaped rotating arm, the lower lid structure 14 and the upper lid structure 15 are brought closer to each other at the rear edges, and at the same time, the lid structure as a whole moves rearward, so that the front of the lid structure At the edge, it is released by the wedge action of the wedge device 26,
The front edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure carried by a biaxially parallel pivot device subjected to an elastic restoring force consisting of a torsion bar 16 are also brought into close proximity to each other, thus the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure The bodies are brought together as a whole, and the lid structure is in a collapsed structure.

In particular, since the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are close to each other at the rear edge of the lid structure, the tongues 46 and 48 formed at the tips of the lugs 47 and 49 extending from the rear edge of each There is an intersection between them, and the plate piece 50 carried by the block 51 fits therebetween, and even if the roller 41 comes off the cam groove 42, the crushed state at the rear edge of the lid structure is maintained.

When the shoe member 35 is further driven rearward in this state, the crushed lid structure whose thickness has been reduced is smoothly inserted into the space between the lower structure 44 and the upper structure 45 at the peripheral edge of the roof opening. Stored.

When the skylight thus opened is to be closed again, the handwheel 12 is rotated in the opposite direction to drive the strips 5 and 6 forward.

This driving force is transmitted to the shoe member 35 and drives the lid structure forward again via the shoe member.

During such forward movement, the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are still mutually connected at the front edge of the lid structure by the two-axis parallel pivot device which is applied with an elastic restoring force by the torsion bar 16. At the rear edge of the lid structure, the tongues 46 and 48 intersect with each other, and the crossed state of the tongues 46 and 48 cross each other. Since it is maintained by the plate piece 50 carried by the block 51 that follows and moves with the lid structure, the crushed state of the lid structure is maintained as it is.

Therefore, the lid structure can be pulled out from the storage space as smoothly as when it is inserted.

When the lid structure approaches the position where the window opening is completely closed, the wedge device 26 at the front edge wedges between the front edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure, again shown in FIG. A state like this is achieved.

In addition, in the rear fitting portion, as the lid structure approaches the window fully closed position, the roller 41 first engages with the cam groove 42, and the front end surface of the rear block 51 engages with the rear end portion 59 of the groove member 58. and its advance is blocked.

When the lid structure moves further forward, the plate piece 50 moves to the tongue piece 46.
and disengages from engagement with 48.

However, at this moment, the state in which the lid lower structure and the lid upper structure are pressed together is because the rotation angle of the balance-shaped rotation arm 33 has already been controlled by the engagement of the roller 41 and the cam groove 42. , are held in the required pressed state.

As the lid structure advances further and approaches its terminal position, the roller 41 approaches the curved part of the cam groove 42, which gradually rotates the balance-shaped rotating arm 33 clockwise, and the lid lower structure rotates accordingly. The space between the body and the lid upper structure is expanded, and finally a state as shown in FIG. 9 is reached.

As described above, according to the present invention, the crushing operation of the lid structure and the sliding operation of the lid structure can be performed by a simple rotational driving force in one direction or the other direction by a hand-cranked handle or a motor.
It will be appreciated that a sliding roof is provided with a relatively simple structure that ensures a series of operations including locking of the lid structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the roof portion of an automobile equipped with a sliding roof. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a frame element forming a part of the guide frame. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another frame element that is combined with the frame element shown in FIG. 2 to constitute a guide frame. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the sliding roof drive device. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 1--2 in FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-Vl in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the structure shown in FIG. 6, with the roof panel and lid upper structure removed for clarity. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a torsion bar constituting a two-axis parallel pivot device to which an elastic restoring force is applied. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IK--■ in FIG. 1. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 9, with the roof panel and lid upper structure removed for clarity. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the shoe member and related components at the rear edge of the lid structure. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 1 in FIG. 1. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line >ff-W in FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Roof, 2... Skylight, 3, 4... Frame element, 5, 6... Flexible strip material, 7, 8... Groove member, 9,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Rack, 11...Pinion, 12...Hand drive mechanism, 13...Motor with reducer, 14...
Lid lower structure, 15... Lid upper structure, 16... Torsion bar, 17.18... Pivot, 19.20...
- Pivot part, 21... U-shaped part, 22... Clamp part, 23... Twisted part, 24... Shaft, 25... Shoe member, 26... Wedge device, 27... ...Lower structure of the peripheral edge of the roof opening, 2B... Upper structure of the peripheral edge of the roof opening,
29... Pulley, 30... Roller, 31... Endless belt, 32... Axis line, 33... Balance type rotating arm, 3
4... Shaft, 35... Shoe member, 36... Pin,
37...Groove, 38...Pin, 39...Bearing part,
40... Pin, 41... Roller, 42... J-shaped cam groove, 43... Cam block, 44... Lower structure of window opening periphery, 45... Window opening periphery upper structure of,
46... Tongue piece, 47... Lug, 48... Tongue piece, 4
9... Lug, 50... Board piece, 51... Block,
52... Groove, 53... One end of spring, 55... Tension coil spring, 56... Other end of spring, 57... Hole, 58... J-shaped cam block holding member, 59 ...
Lower end of J-shaped cam block holding member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A guide frame attached to the body roof, a pair of first and second shoe members that slide while being guided by the guide frame, and a window supported by the shoe member and opened in the body roof. a lid lower structure and a lid upper structure that move between positions for opening and closing the opening, and the first pair of shoe members is moved through a two-axis parallel pivot device to which an elastic restoring force is applied. carrying the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure; the second pair of shoe members supporting the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure via a balance-shaped rotating arm; Furthermore, a wedge device that wedges between the front edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure to spread the space between the front edges when the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure are in the window closed position; and the second pair of shoes. a drive device that drives one member along the guide frame in the window opening/closing direction; and a cam device that rotates the scale-shaped rotating arm as the second pair of shoes moves along the guide frame. and,
The scale-shaped rotating arm engages with the rear edges of the lower lid structure and the upper lid structure, which have been brought close to each other, while the two structures are moved to the window opening position. and an engagement device for holding the edges in close proximity.