Abstract:
A sliding roof system includes at least one guide rail, a carriage shiftable in the guide rail, and a cover support coupled with the carriage. The cover support is adapted to be attached to a cover that is movable to open and close a roof opening. A first lifting lever has one end connected to the cover support and another end connected to the carriage with guide pieces received within slots formed in the carriage.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2004 018 461.5, which was filed on Apr. 16, 2004. 
     The invention relates to a sliding roof system comprising at least one guide rail, a carriage shiftable in the guide rail, and a cover support adapted for attachment to a cover and coupled with the carriage. 
     Sliding roof systems for vehicles are generally known. These sliding roof systems are capable of shifting at least one cover (made from sheet metal, plastics or glass, for instance) between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, an opening in a vehicle roof will be closed. When the cover is in the open position, the opening will be at least partially exposed. 
     All sliding roof systems in which the cover is shifted outwardly, such that the cover lies on an outer surface of the vehicle roof in the open position, share a common feature regarding travel and height. It is desirable to provide as much outward travel as possible in combination with an overall height of the sliding roof system that is as small as possible. With a multitude of systems, the travel is directly provided by slotted pieces that are attached to a guide rail or a carriage. In this configuration, the travel is smaller than the height of the guide rail. In order to obtain a particularly large travel, the guide rail has to be constructed to have an increased height, which in turn results in a reduced headroom in an interior of the vehicle. Constructions are also known in which a lifting motion, which is predefined by a slotted piece, is translated by means of levers into a larger travel of the cover. These systems, however, are relatively complicated. 
     It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sliding roof system of the type initially mentioned, in which a particularly large travel can be achieved with low effort. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to meet this objective, a sliding roof system includes a first lifting lever that has one end connected to a cover support and another end connected to a carriage with two guide pieces that are movable within slots. This type of connection is referred to as a “slotted piece guide.” The first lifting lever produces a desired large lifting motion because the first lifting lever is directly coupled with the carriage with a slotted piece guide connection. This provides a particularly simple construction, which can be manufactured at favorable costs, and with low tolerances. The term “slotted piece guide” means in this context the engaging of a movable element in a slotted piece. 
     According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sliding roof system includes a second lifting lever that has one end connected to the cover support and another end connected with two guide pieces to the carriage in a slotted piece guide connection. In this way it is possible to have full control over the lifting motion of the cover just by the movement of the carriage and without any intermediate levers or complicated transmissions. 
     Advantageous designs of the invention will be apparent from the sub-claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic, perspective view of a vehicle roof with a sliding roof system according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a guide rail in which components of a sliding roof system according to a first embodiment of the invention are arranged with a cover being in a closed position. 
         FIG. 3  is a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 2 , with the cover being in a ventilation position. 
         FIG. 4  is a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 2 , with the cover being in a fully raised position extending outwardly. 
         FIG. 5  shows in a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 2 , a sliding roof system according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  shows in a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 4 , the sliding roof system according to the second embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  shows in a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 2 , a sliding roof system according to a third embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 8  shows in a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 4 , the sliding roof system according to the third embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  shows in a view corresponding to that of  FIG. 3 , a sliding roof system according to a forth embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  shows the sliding roof system of  FIG. 9 , in a fully open position. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic side view of a sliding roof system according to a fifth embodiment, with the cover being in an open position. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic side view of the sliding roof system of  FIG. 11 , with the cover being in a ventilation position. 
         FIG. 13  shows a further side view of the sliding roof system of  FIG. 11 , with the cover being in an outwardly raised position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  shows a vehicle roof  5  with an opening  7 . Associated with the opening  7  is a cover  9  that can be moved between a closed position in which the cover  9  closes the opening  7 , and an open position that at least partially exposes the opening  7 . Associated with the cover  9  is a sliding roof system, the essential components of which include two guide rails  10 , first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14 , and two cover supports  16 . The cover supports  16  are configured as separate components that are fixedly mounted to the cover  9 . Nevertheless, the cover supports  16  may also be constituted by inlay parts, which are embedded in the cover  9 , or constituted by fastening tabs that are formed in one piece with the cover  9 , etc. 
     The two guide rails  10  extend along longitudinal edges of opening  7 , i.e., extend along a longitudinal direction of travel of a vehicle, from front to rear. Usually the guide rails  10  are formed by a section made of an aluminum alloy. A carriage  18  (see  FIG. 2 ) is movably arranged in each guide rail  10 . Coupled to the carriage  18  is a drive mechanism (not shown), such as a metal cable that is resistant to bending and tension for example, and which is driven by a drive motor (not shown). The carriage  18  is typically made from a plastic material. 
     In the first embodiment, the carriage  18  has the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14  coupled to the carriage  18 . The first lifting lever  12  is a front lifting lever and the second lifting lever  14  is a rear lifting lever. Slotted piece guides are used to couple the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14  with the carriage  18 . These are formed by a plurality of lifting slots in the carriage  18  that are engaged by pins provided on the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14 . The carriage  18  has a first lifting slot  20 , which (related to the direction of travel of the vehicle) is arranged on a front end of the carriage  18 . As seen from the front to the rear, the first lifting slot  20  initially runs obliquely to the rear in a downward direction and then extends generally to the rear, further slightly falling away. A second lifting slot  22  is arranged on the carriage  18  roughly in the middle, with a front edge of the second lifting slot  22  lying above and ahead of a rear end of the first lifting slot  20 . Starting from a front end, the second lifting slot  22  extends approximately in a straight line to the rear with a slight inclination. A short transition portion is provided in the middle, where the second lifting slot  22  extends so as to be horizontal. A third lifting slot  24  starts underneath a rear end of the second lifting slot  22 , initially extends horizontally to the rear, then ascends in an upward direction, subsequently extends horizontally again to the rear, and finally extends in an obliquely downward direction to the rear. 
     The first lifting lever  12  is connected with the first lifting slot  20  and the second lifting slot  22  by the first and second pins  26 ,  27 . The second pin  27  is arranged on a rear end of the first lifting lever  12 , and the first pin  26  is arranged on the first lifting lever  12  at a distance from the second pin  27  further to the front. The distance between the first and second pins  26 ,  27 , however, is smaller than half the length of the first lifting lever  12 . The end of the first lifting lever  12  that is opposite to the second pin  27  is connected with the cover support  16  by a first bolt  30 . 
     The second lifting lever  14  is connected with the third lifting slot  24  by means of third and fourth pins  28 ,  29 . The third pin  28  is arranged on a front end of the second lifting lever  14 , and the fourth pin  29  is situated behind a front end of the second lifting lever  14 . The distance between the third and fourth pins  28 ,  29  is smaller than half the length of the second lifting lever  14 . At a rear end opposite to the third pin  28 , the second lifting lever  14  is connected with the cover support  16  by a second bolt  31 . 
     The cover support  16  provides support for the cover  9 , and is provided with a guide tab  34  at a front end. Attached to a lower end of the guide tab  34  is a guide pin  36 . The guide pin  36  engages into a guiding slot  38 . Starting from a front end of the guide rail  10 , the guiding slot  38  initially extends obliquely upwards to the rear and then in a straight line along the guide rail  10 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the carriage  18  in a position that corresponds to the closed position of cover support  16  and cover  9 . The carriage  18  is shifted to the front to the full extent, so that the fourth pin  29  is situated at a rear end of the third lifting slot  24  and the first and second pins  26 ,  27  are situated at the rear end of the first lifting slot  20  and second lifting slot  22 , respectively. The guide pin  36  of the cover support  16  is at the front, lower end of the guiding slot  38 . In this position, the cover support  16  and the cover  9  are locked in the closed position. Movement in a vertical direction is prevented by the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14 , which due to being coupled to the carriage  18 , cannot perform a vertical movement. A movement of the cover support  16  in the longitudinal direction is prevented by the guide pin  36 , which is retained in the guiding slot  38 . 
     When cover  9  is being opened, the carriage  18  is shifted from the position shown in  FIG. 2  to the rear to the position shown in  FIG. 3 . This causes the rear end of the second lifting lever  14 , which is connected with the cover support  16 , to be swiveled upwards, because the fourth pin  29  moves upward in the third lifting slot  24 , while the third pin  28  moves downward in the third lifting slot  24 . Thus, the second lifting lever  14  performs a swiveling motion about a point lying between third and fourth pins  28 ,  29 , such that the rear end of the cover support  16  is lifted. 
     The first lifting lever  12  only performs a slight lifting motion because the second pin  27  goes down slightly during shifting of the carriage  18 , while at the same time the first pin  26  goes up slightly. The resulting, short travel of the front end of the first lifting lever  12 , is transferred via the first bolt  30  to the cover support  16  which performs a corresponding lifting motion in the region of the front end. This causes the guide pin  36  in the guiding slot  38  to be slightly lifted, whereby the cover support  16  is shifted to the rear by a small amount. The position shown in  FIG. 3  is usually termed a ventilation position because it is mainly a rear edge of cover  9  which is lifted, so that a ventilation of vehicle interior space is achieved by a gap at the rear edge. 
     To further open the cover  9 , the carriage  18  is further shifted to the rear. In so doing, the second lifting lever  14  essentially remains in a position shown in  FIG. 3 , while the front end of the first lifting lever  12  is lifted further. This can be in particular traced back to the fact that the first pin  26  is markedly shifted upwards by the front end of the first lifting slot  20 . In addition, the second pin  27  further goes down in the second lifting slot  22 . It is by this lifting motion at the front end of the cover support  16  that the guide pin  36  is further lifted, until the guide pin  36  enters the horizontally extending portion of the guiding slot  38 . The cover support  16  together with the cover  9  can now be shifted to the rear by the carriage  18 , so that the opening  7  is fully exposed in the vehicle roof  5 . 
     If the cover  9  is to be closed again, the carriage  18  is shifted to the front, whereupon the reversed motion sequence of the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14  will occur, until cover  9  has arrived in the closed position again. 
     A particular advantage of the sliding roof system according to the invention is that the lifting motion can be produced with very few components. Two lifting levers are used, which are directly coupled with both the carriage  18  and the cover support  16 . Intermediate levers or transmission levers are not required. As the lifting slots are arranged at advantage, in particular as the lifting slots overlap each other, the carriage  18  can be configured to have a short length, seen in the direction of shifting. Despite a very small overall height, a comparably large travel of the cover  9  is produced due to the transmission achieved with the first and second lifting levers  12 ,  14 . 
     In  FIGS. 5 and 6  there is shown a sliding roof system according to a second embodiment. For the components known from the first embodiment the same reference numerals are used, and insofar reference is made to the above explanations. 
     The difference from the first embodiment is that the carriage  18  is configured to include two parts and has a front carriage part  18   a  and a rear carriage part  18   b.  The front and rear carriage parts  18   a,    18   b  are connected with each other by a joint  19  comprising a ball joint or pivot joint. The joint  19  allows use of a guide rail with a varying curvature, to which the carriage  18  can adapt. 
     In  FIGS. 7 and 8  there is shown a sliding roof system according to a third embodiment. For the components known from the first embodiment the same reference numerals are used, and insofar reference is made to the above explanations. 
     The difference from the first embodiment is that the cover  9  of the third embodiment can only be put to a ventilation position (see  FIG. 8 ) and cannot be completely moved to the rear. In this configuration, the first lifting lever at the front may be omitted; there is merely provided the second lifting lever  14  at the rear. Accordingly, the carriage  18  is provided with one lifting slot only, namely the third lifting slot  24  at the rear, known from the first embodiment. This third lifting slot  24  is also known from the rear carriage part  18   b  of the second embodiment. 
     In  FIGS. 9 and 10  there is shown a sliding roof system according to a fourth embodiment. For the components known from the first embodiment the same reference numerals are used, and insofar reference is made to the above explanations. 
     The sliding roof system according to the fourth embodiment is a combination of the first and third embodiments. The fourth embodiment includes a first cover  9  that can be moved from a ventilation position (see  FIG. 9 ) to a fully open position (see  FIG. 10 ). As seen in the direction of travel, there is additionally provided behind cover  9  a second cover  9 ′, which from a fully closed position can only be put to a ventilation position (see  FIG. 9 ). In case the first cover  9  is raised outwardly beyond the ventilation position and then moved to the rear, the second cover  9 ′ will return to the closed position (see  FIG. 10 ) again, so that the first cover  9  can pass over the second cover  9 ′. 
     For controlling the first  9  and second  9 ′ covers there are provided separate drive mechanisms (not shown) that can be signaled in an appropriate manner. It is also conceivable to use one drive mechanism only, which is coupled with the carriage  18  for the first and second covers  9 ,  9 ′ in a suitable way, so that, during opening the first cover  9 , the second cover  9 ′ performs the desired movement to the ventilation position and back again. 
       FIGS. 11 to 13  show a sliding roof system according to a fifth embodiment. In the basic construction, the fifth embodiment corresponds to the first embodiment, so that essentially only the differences of the fifth embodiment in relation to the first embodiment will be described in the following. 
     The sliding roof system according to the fifth embodiment differs from that according to the first embodiment in that a guiding lever  40  is provided instead of the guide tab  34  fixedly attached to the cover support  16 . One end of the guiding lever  40  is pivotally connected with the cover support  16  by a joint  42 . A side of the guiding lever  40  facing away from the joint  42  is connected with the guiding slot  38  (shown in  FIGS. 11–13  at its center axis) through first and second guide pins  36 ,  37 . In the embodiment shown, two portions of the guiding lever  40  include an angle of about 140°. Other values are also possible depending on the constructional circumstances. 
     When the cover  9  is in the closed position ( FIG. 11 ), the guiding lever  40  retains the front end of the cover support  16  in a lowered position. It is in this position of the guiding lever  40  that the guide pin  36 , attached to the end of the guiding lever  40  that faces away from the cover support  16 , is situated in the upper, approximately horizontally extending portion of the guiding slot  38 . The second guide pin  37 , which is arranged approximately in the middle of the guiding lever  40 , is situated at the lower, front end of the guiding slot  38 . 
     When the cover  9  is in the ventilation position ( FIG. 12 ), the cover  9  has been shifted as a whole by a certain amount to the rear (to the right in the Figures) in relation to the closed position. Thereby the second guide pin  37  of the guiding lever  40  has moved upwards by a small amount in the guiding slot  38 , while the first guide pin  36  has merely traveled to the right approximately on a constant level. Thereby the guiding lever  40  has been pivoted in a clockwise direction about the first guide pin  36  (in addition to the translational movement), so that the joint  42 , and with this the front edge of the cover  9 , has been shifted in upward direction. Thus, the cover  9  has been lifted away from a seal against which the cover  9  rests at a front edge. 
     When the cover  9  is in a position where the cover  9  is fully raised outwardly ( FIG. 13 ), the cover  9  has been shifted to the right and beyond the ventilation position. Thereby the second guide pin  37  also arrives at the horizontal portion of the guiding slot  38 . This causes the guiding lever  40  to pivot about the first guide pin  36  even farther, so that the front edge of the cover  9  will be raised outwards to the maximum extent. 
     The particular advantage of the fifth embodiment is the compact design. The first embodiment requires elongation of the guiding slot at a front end as far as underneath a level which is defined by the guide rail proper. This portion, clearly seen in  FIGS. 2 to 4 , results in a large overall height and may lead to a restriction of the headroom in the interior of the vehicle. With the fifth embodiment the guiding lever  40  acts as a transmission mechanism. The guiding slot  38  has a comparably small height, because the guiding slot  38  is fully housed within the profile of the guide rail  10 ; a portion protruding downward is not necessary. By the guiding lever  40 , the small height of the guiding slot  38  is translated to a larger travel of the front portion of cover  9 . 
     Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.