Abstract:
A motor vehicle roof with at least one cover ( 12 ) which can be moved above the fixed motor vehicle roof ( 13 ) and which can be raised at its rear edge ( 46 ), and with a control mechanism for the cover ( 12 ) which has a front lifting mechanism and a front displacement mechanism for the front edge ( 45 ) of the cover ( 12 ) and a rear lifting mechanism and a rear displacement mechanism for the rear edge ( 46 ) of the cover ( 12 ). The displacement mechanisms have control carriages ( 18, 19 ) which are connected to the cover ( 12 ) and which are movably guided and can be driven in lateral guide rails ( 17 ). The lifting mechanism for the front edge ( 45 ) of the cover ( 12 ) is integrated into the front control carriage ( 18 ) and the front and the rear control carriages ( 18  and  19 ) are securely connected on each side of the cover, spaced apart from one another, to a drive cable ( 21 ) so as to be driven by the drive cable.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a motor vehicle roof with at least one cover which can be moved above the fixed motor vehicle roof and which can be raised at its rear edge, and with a control mechanism for the cover which has a front lifting mechanism and a front displacement mechanism for the front edge of the cover, and a rear lifting mechanism and a rear displacement mechanism for the rear edge of the cover, the displacement mechanisms comprising control carriages which are connected to the cover and which are movably guided and can be driven in lateral guide rails. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     German Patent DE 42 38 945 C1 discloses a motor vehicle roof with at least one cover which can be raised for opening by means of a raising lever on its rear edge and then can be moved above the fixed motor vehicle roof. The displacement motion takes place by means of a first drive cable and the raising motion takes place by means of a second drive cable which can be moved in the opposite direction relative to it. A raising lever which controls the raising motion via the rear carriage is permanently engaged to one drive cable, while a carriage which is located near the front edge and which is responsible for the displacement motion of the cover is permanently engaged to the other drive cable which can be moved in the opposite direction thereto. By this permanent coupling, complete separation of the raising motion from the displacement motion is only conditionally possible and only a very short path of motion of the drive cable is available for the raising motion. 
     The defects of the above explained known motor vehicle roof are overcome by a motor vehicle roof of the initially mentioned type which is disclosed in German Patent DE 197 13 348 C1. In particular, this motor vehicle roof ensures a clearly defined position of the cover during the raising motion by locking the control carriage, which executes the displacement motion of the cover, to a roof-mounted guide rail via a locking block. Decoupling of the guide rail and simultaneous coupling to the control carriage define a specific start of the displacement motion, since the first drive cable, after traversing an idle path, with the completed raising motion, moves the locking block to its position locked with the guide rail into the coupling position of the drive cable with the control carriage. 
     German Patent DE 42 38 946 C1 discloses a motor vehicle with at least one cover which can be raised for opening by means of a raising lever on its rear edge, at least one guide element which is located on the cover engaging the roof-mounted guide. In this roof, the cover is raised by means of a raising mechanism, and in doing so, a guiding pin which is mounted on the cover is transferred to the railing-like roof guide which is located above the fixed roof. In this known roof, with the cover closed, the roof-mounted guide projects over the fixed roof skin so that, overall, a smooth surfaced appearance is not ensured. Furthermore, with the cover opened, the raising levers, which emerge forward from the cranks which are open in the direction of travel, remain upright; this, likewise, adversely affects the visual appearance of the motor vehicle roof. Furthermore, there is the danger that the raising lever is changed by shaking motions in its raised position such that, when the cover is closed, the cover which moves forward, with the cover crank open forward, can miss the corresponding pin on the raising lever under certain circumstances. 
     These defects are overcome by the construction of the motor vehicle roof of the initially mentioned type which is known from German Patent DE 197 13 347 C1and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,803, and in which the guide element is formed by a support lever which is independent of the raising lever and which is coupled at one end in the rear area of the cover and its other end is supported with at least one sliding element in the roof-mounted guide which is located underneath the fixed motor vehicle roof. 
     The motor vehicle roofs known from the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,803 and German Patent DE 197 13 348 C1, however, have the defect that the displacement motion takes place in a relatively complex manner by means of a first drive cable, while a second drive cable is necessary for the raising motion. Moreover, the parts which effect the displacement motion and the raising motion must be coupled via additional locking blocks to the respective drive cable or to the roof-mounted guide rail. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to devise a motor vehicle roof of the initially mentioned type which has an adjustment and lifting mechanism which is simplified with respect to function and structure. 
     This object is achieved in a generic motor vehicle roof by the lifting mechanism for the front edge of the cover being integrated into the front control carriage and by the fact that the front and the rear control carriages are securely connected, on each side of the cover spaced apart from one another, to a drive cable and can be driven by it. 
     Because, in accordance with the invention, the lifting mechanism for the front edge of the cover is completely integrated into the front control carriage and the front and rear control carriages are driven on each side of the cover by a single drive cable to which they are securely attached, spaced apart from one another, a single drive cable per cover side is enough to execute the raising motion and the displacement motion of the cover. 
     The raising and displacement mechanism in accordance with the invention represents a simple, durable cover mechanism which works reliably, which can be built with a relatively small number of parts, and which is thus economical. 
     Feasibly, in the motor vehicle roof, there can be cover-mounted sliding elements or sliding pins on either side of the front edge of the cover for guiding the front edge of the cover when the cover is displaced in the roof-mounted guide paths of the guide rails, and there can be guide paths which descend forward for guiding the front edge of the cover in its raising and lowering motion, then the guide paths being formed in cranks which are securely connected to the guide rails, and the top ends of the guide paths running into the forward ends of the lengthwise guide paths of the guide rails. 
     According to one advantageous embodiment, it is provided that the front lifting mechanism has a sliding element such as, for example, a journal which is guided in the guide path of a lifting crank which is located on the front control carriage, the guide path running in the opposite direction relative to the roof-mounted guide path of the crank and rising in the direction toward the front edge of the cover. 
     In a development of the invention with support levers which are guided by cranks and which are coupled to the cover on either side of the rear edge of the cover, it is advantageously provided that a raising lever is pivotally coupled to the rear control carriage and is raised by a roof-mounted lifting crank in backward motion of the rear control carriage for lifting the rear cover edge and thereupon is dynamically disengaged from the cover and in doing so transfers the support of the rear edge of the cover to the support lever. Preferably in this version it is provided that the support lever is coupled by one end to the cover, by means of a guiding pin which can be for example also a pivotally supported sliding block, is guided permanently in the guiding member path of the guide rail and on the other end has another support pin which can also be formed as a slip-on sliding block. The guiding member path can be formed in a second, external guide rail which is located offset to the outside by the first inner guide rail. 
     In the following the invention is detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a motor vehicle roof with the cover closed, 
     FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 1, but with the cover completely opened, 
     FIG. 3 is a lengthwise section through one side edge of the motor vehicle roof in the area of the raising mechanism with the cover closed, 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged representation of the front raising mechanism in FIG. 3, 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged representation of the rear raising mechanism in FIG. 3, 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged representation of the area of the raising mechanism in FIG. 3, with the cover raised, 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged representation of the area of the raising mechanism in FIG. 3, with the cover at the end of the transition motion, 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged representation of the area of the raising mechanism in FIG. 3, with the cover in an intermediate position, and 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged representation of the area of the raising mechanism in FIG. 3, with the cover opened. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A motor vehicle roof  10  (see FIG. 1) comprises a wind deflector louver  11  which is pivotally located above the windshield  44 , a movable cover  12  which is located behind the wind deflector louver  11 , and a fixed roof pane  13  which adjoins the rear of the closed cover  12 . At each lateral side of the roof, the wind deflector louver  11 , the cover  12  and the roof pane  13  are each bordered by a side member  14 . 
     In the closed state shown in FIG. 1, the motor vehicle roof  10  has a completely smooth appearance. Although the cover  12  can be pushed to the rear above the fixed motor vehicle roof  10  to expose the roof opening  15  (see FIG.  2 ), no guides located above the fixed motor vehicle roof  10  are necessary at all for this purpose. In the raised state, moved to the rear, the cover  12  is supported rather by means of support levers  40  which are coupled laterally in the area of the rear edge  46  of the cover, which can be moved in guides located underneath the level of the fixed roof skin and which, as they emerge upward, partially displace a flexible sealing element  16  which is located between the side members  14  and the components  11 ,  12 , and  13 . 
     The mechanism which is necessary for raising and displacing the cover  12  is built identically on the left and right side of the cover  12  so that only the mechanism of one side is described and explained below using FIGS. 3 to  9 . 
     The raising and displacement mechanism for the cover  12  comprises a guide rail  17  which is formed as a profile part with guide paths which run in the lengthwise direction. In the lower guide path  20 , the front control carriage  18  and the rear control carriage  19  are guided to move lengthwise. The two control carriages  18 ,  19  are securely joined to the drive cable  21  at a mutual distance. Moreover, the control carriages  18 ,  19  are connected to the front edge  45  and the rear edge  46  of the cover  12 , respectively, especially via a guide track or support lever for raising and carrying the front edge  45  and the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  in its displacement between its closed and open positions, as is explained in further detail below, first of all, for the front edge  45  of the cover and then for the rear edge  46  of the cover. 
     On the bottom of the cover  12 , in the area of its front edge  45 , there is a lateral vertical cover carrier  22 . A laterally projecting journal  23  of the cover  12  is connected to the rear edge of the cover carrier  22  at a distance from the front edge  45 . The journal  23  fits into the guide path  24   a  of a lifting guide  24  which is securely attached to the front control carriage  18 , being formed integrally with it. The guide path  24   a  of the lifting guide  24  runs ascending from its back end to its front end in the area of the front edge  45  of the cover  12 . In particular, the guide path  24   a  is formed in a roughly L-shape with a front short bent leg section and a rear long bent leg section. The journal  23  is located with the cover  12  closed in the area of the back end of the guide path  24   a  (FIGS.  3  &amp;  4 ), and with the cover  12  raised and forward, as well as during the displacement of the cover  12  on the front elevated end of the guide path  24   a  (see, for example, FIG.  7 ). The journal  23  moves in the guide path  24   a  as a result of the lengthwise displacement of the control carriage  18  which is caused by the drive cable  21 , the journal  23  moving out of its lower position shown in FIG. 1 with the cover  12  closed by displacement rearward of the front control carriage  18  into its top position in which the front edge  45  of the cover  12  is raised (see, FIG.  7 ). As can be seen in FIGS. 4 &amp; 7, the journal  23  has a generally rectangular cross section with two pairs of opposed surfaces, one pair being longer than the other. As can be seen in FIG. 4, during movement of the journal through the rear long bent leg section of the guide path  24   a , the longer pair of opposed surfaces engage the guide surfaces of the guide path  24   a . On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 &amp; 8, the shorter opposed pair of surfaces of the journal  23  engage the guide surfaces of the front short bent leg section of the guide path  24   a.    
     Laterally, the sliding pin  25  projects from the cover carrier  22  and is likewise attached to the lower edge of the cover carrier  22 . In the embodiment shown, pin  25  is located is in front of the journal  23  in the lengthwise direction of the motor vehicle. Furthermore, the guide rail  17  comprises a guide path  26  for the sliding pin  25  which runs  7  parallel to the carriage guide path  20  in the lengthwise direction of the guide rail  17 . A guide  27  for guiding the front edge  45  of the cover in its raising and lowering motion adjoins the front end of the sliding pin guide path  26 . This guide  27  is securely joined to the guide rail  17  or the motor vehicle roof  10 , and has a guide path  28  which adjoins the front end of the sliding pin guide path  26  of the guide rail  17  and runs downward toward the front. With the cover  12  closed, the sliding pin  25  (see, FIG. 3) is located on the bottom end of the guide path  28 . The sliding pin  25  is guided largely without play in the lengthwise direction (x-direction) of the motor vehicle, and thus, determines the exact position of the front edge  45  of the cover  12  when it is in the closed position. As is apparent from FIGS. 4,  7  &amp;  8 , the sliding pin  25  has the shape of a parallelogram in cross section with two pairs of opposed surfaces, one pair being longer than the other. As can be seen in FIG. 4, during movement of the sliding pin  25  through the guide path  28 , the inclined pair of opposed surfaces engage the guide surfaces of the guide path  28  of the guide  27 . On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 &amp; 8, the horizontal pair of surfaces of the sliding pin  25  engage the guide surfaces of the guide path  26  of the guide rail  17 . 
     The exact position of the front edge  45  of the cover in the vertical direction (z-direction) is determined by the journal  23  which is held in the rear section of the guide path  24   a  essentially without play in the vertical direction. When the front edge  45  of the cover is raised by means of the lifting guide  24  and the journal  23 , by moving the front control carriage  18  to the rear, at the same time, the sliding pin  25  moves along the guide path  28 , which rises to the rear, and ultimately enters the front end of the sliding pin guide path  26  of the guide rail  17  (see, FIG.  5 ). At this point, the cover  12  has assumed a position in the area of its front edge  45  from which it can be moved to the rear. 
     The lifting and displacement mechanism in the area of the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  is explained below using the lengthwise displacement of the rear guide carriage  19  via the drive cable  21 . 
     The cover  12  in the area of its rear edge  46  has a cover carrier  30  which extends downward (see, FIG.  6 ). To lift the back edge  46  of the cover  12 , a raising lever  31  is used which, on its front end, is coupled by a bearing pin  32  to be able to pivot relative to the rear control carriage  19 , and which has a laterally projecting raising member  33  on its back end. The raising pin  33 , with the cover closed (FIG.  3 ), fits as far as the raised cover position or transfer position (FIG. 5) into a raising guide  34  on the cover carrier  30  which is open to the rear (see, for example, FIG.  5 ). Between the bearing pin  32  and the raising pin  33 , a lifting pin  35  projects laterally from the raising lever  31  and is guided by sliding in a lifting guide  36  which is mounted on the guide rail. The guide path  37  of the lifting guide  36  runs from front to back, first ascending, thereafter essentially parallel to the lengthwise direction of the guide rail  17 , and then descending and ending in the guide path  38  of the guide rail  17 , which can coincide with the carriage guide path  20 . 
     A bearing pin  39  couples the support lever  40  for the rear edge  46  of the cover to the cover carrier  30 . On the end of the support lever  40 , opposite the bearing pin  39 , a guiding member  41  projects laterally from lever  40  and is guided in all positions of the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  in the guiding member path  42  of a guide rail  47  which is external relative to the initially mentioned inner guide rail  17 . The guiding member path  42  runs in the lengthwise direction of the guide rail  47 . Instead of the inner guide rail  17  and the outer guide rail  47 , there can also be only one guide rail which contains the indicated guide paths. 
     Roughly in the center between the bearing pin  39  and the guiding member  41 , a support member  43  projects laterally from the support lever  40 , and only after completely raising the rear edge  46  of the cover  12 , enters the guiding member path  42 , and as the cover  12  continues to move, slides to the rear in this guiding member path  42  in order to support the cover  12  which has been pivoted upward to the rear jointly with the guiding member  41  which is guided in the guiding member path  42  instead of the raising lever  31 . 
     Using FIGS. 5 &amp; 9, the raising of the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  into the cover open position as shown in FIG. 7 is explained below. 
     When the rear control carriage  19  is moved to the rear proceeding from the cover closed position (see FIG. 5) by means of the drive cable  21 , the lifting pin  35  of the raising lever  31  first moves upward in the front ascending section of the guide path  37  of the lifting crank  36  (FIG. 6) so that the raising lever  31  which has been pivoted upward, by means of the raising member  33  which is guided in the raising guide  34 , raises the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  over the fixed roof. In the position shown in FIG. 6, the support member  43 , which so far has not been drawn in, enters the guiding member path  42  and now slides, as the rear control carriage  19  continues to move backwards, jointly with the guiding member  41  which slides in front of it along the guiding member path  42  with the support of the cover  12  at a stipulated raising angle to the rear. When the rear control carriage  19  is moved from the position shown in FIGS. 3 &amp; 5 into the position shown in FIG. 6 in which the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  is raised, the raising member  33  moves from the front end of raising guide  34  to its back open end, from which the raising member  33  emerges as the rear control carriage  19  continues to move backward (see FIG. 7 which shows the transfer position). During the transition from the position shown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. 7, the lifting pin  35  moves along the horizontal part of the guide path  37  of the lifting guide  36 , and thereupon, travels into the descending part of the guide path  37  so that the raising lever  31  is pivoted down again roughly into the horizontal position. 
     As the rear control carriage  19  continues to move to the rear, the lifting pin  35  enters the guide path  38  which guides the raising lever  31  during further backward motion of the control carriage  19  into its lowered horizontal position, in which it is inoperative. The raised position of the rear edge  46  of the cover  12  is maintained exclusively by the support lever  40 , the two pins  41  and  43  of which are guided in the guiding member path  42 . 
     The closing motion of the cover  12  takes place with common, coupled forward running of the two guide carriages  18  and  19  with the reverse sequence of the pivoting motions of the rear edge  46  and the front edge  45  of the cover  12 . 
     While a single embodiment in accordance with the present invention has been shown and described, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto. This embodiment may be changed, modified and further applied by those skilled in the art. 
     Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and described previously but also includes all such changes and modifications which are encompassed by the appended claims.