Abstract:
A convertible having a roof is provided with stiff parts, at least one rear roof part, and an upper roof part, which is mounted in front of the rear roof part relative to the direction of travel in the closed state and is located above a passenger area. The upper roof part of the convertible encompasses an at least substantially transparent plate member which can be displaced counter to the direction of travel like a sliding roof; is held parallel to a rear window that is embraced by the rear roof part in the open position thereof; and can be moved along with the roof in the parallel position in order to be opened and closed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention concerns a convertible. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   DE 42 03 228 C2 describes a convertible roof with a rear roof part that comprises a rear window and two lateral frame parts arranged in front of the rear roof part in the direction of travel of the vehicle. A front roof part that can be moved longitudinally relative to the two lateral frames is guided on these frames. This front roof part can be moved like a sunroof in the lateral guides, and it remains completely in the guides even in its open position. This limits the size of the roof opening formed by the sunroof opening. To allow the roof to be lowered further, the rear roof part is first swung down; only then can the upper roof part that encloses the sunroof open and rest on the rear roof part. A mechanism for this is expensive. This requires at least one additional support of the lateral frame parts relative to the automobile body, here with the B-posts  6  and the C-posts  9  actually two supports on each side of the vehicle, which reduce the interior space and reduce visibility. The opening of the roof into the open position and the closing of the roof from the open position take a great deal of time. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The goal of the invention is to improve the ability to open the roof of a convertible with rigid roof parts and a sunroof. 
   In accordance with the invention, a large partial opening of the roof during driving is also made possible by the plate member of the upper roof part. This plate member acts as a sunroof. Due to the fact that the sunroof lies parallel to the rear window in the open position, almost the entire region between the windshield frame and the rear roof part can be freed in this open position. Visibility to the rear is ensured by the transparency of the plate member. The lowering mechanism of the roof to its full opening is speeded up, since the sunroof, at least in its open position, in which it is kept parallel to the rear window, can be let down simultaneously (rather than successively) with the opening rear roof part. 
   If the plate member, in both the open and closed position, is held by its front end region in a guide assigned to the upper roof part and by its rear end region in a guide assigned to the rear roof part, especially smooth opening and closing of the sunroof is obtained, since the sunroof does not have to pass through any step between several roof parts but rather remains assigned to the same roof parts in both the open and closed state. 
   The mounting of the front end region of the plate member in its open position by means of cantilever arms coaxially with an axis of a pivot joint, which joins the rear and upper roof parts, advantageously allows the plate member in its open position also to pivot with the rear roof part. 
   A pivot connection of the middle section, which encloses the rear window, on both the automobile body and the upper roof part makes it possible for the middle section enclosing the rear window to act as a pivot link. The pivot joint between the middle section and the upper roof part can be elevated in such a way that the plate member is displaced over the rear roof part, and in the process the sunroof can be held in the elevated joint. This increases head clearance and reduces the risk of injury by parts situated in this region. 
   In particular, if both the main posts and the middle section can act as pivot links between the automobile body and the upper roof part, a pair of links is already formed on each side of the vehicle, which makes it possible to realize advantageous roof lowering kinematics. Due to the individual swivelability of the middle section, on the one hand, and of the lateral main posts, on the other hand, the roof lowering movement can be adapted to the space conditions in the automobile body, since in the lowered position, the specified parts can be spaced apart from one another, and due to an elevated position of the middle section, additional trunk space can be obtained. 

   
     Other advantages and features of the invention are apparent from the embodiments of the object of the invention described below and illustrated in the drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a convertible of the invention in a schematic side view that is broken off below and at the front, with the roof closed and the plate member of the upper roof part closed. 
       FIG. 2  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 1  in a partially opened position of the plate member, which acts as a sunroof. 
       FIG. 3  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 2  with a drive and reduction gear train for moving the roof parts additionally shown. 
       FIG. 4  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 2  with the plate member in its completely open position but with the roof otherwise closed. 
       FIG. 5  shows the roof as it is being opened. 
       FIG. 6  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 5  with the roof opening progressing further. 
       FIG. 7  shows the roof according to  FIG. 6  in the completely open position, lowered in the rear area of the vehicle. 
       FIG. 8  shows a perspective exploded view of the roof with the plate section provided in the upper roof part. 
       FIGS. 9 to 12  show a simplified systematic side view of the moving parts critical to the lowering of the roof without consideration of drives, gears, or a sunroof. 
       FIG. 9  shows the roof kinematics in the closed roof position. 
       FIG. 10  shows the roof kinematics in the first opening phase, corresponding approximately to the opening position shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 11  shows the roof kinematics in the opening position, corresponding approximately to the opening position shown in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 12  shows the roof kinematics in the completely open position, corresponding to  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 13  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 1  with the roof as a whole displaced horizontally to the rear to release the catch between the front end of the roof and the windshield frame. 
       FIG. 14  shows an alternative folding roof design with a conventional link design in the closed position of the roof with the sunroof closed. 
       FIG. 15  shows the alternative folding roof design according to  FIG. 14  with the roof in the closed position and the sunroof partially open. 
       FIG. 16  shows a view similar to that of  FIG. 15  with the sunroof completely open. 
       FIG. 17  shows the alternative folding roof design according to  FIG. 14  as the roof is being opened with the sunroof closed. 
       FIG. 18  shows the alternative folding roof design according to  FIG. 14  as the roof is being opened with the sunroof open. 
   

   The illustrated convertible  1  in accordance with the invention is a two-seater. A convertible with, say, two rows of seats one behind the other can also be constructed in accordance with the invention. 
   The vehicle  1  comprises a movable roof, which is labeled as a whole with  2  in  FIGS. 1 to 13  and in  FIGS. 14 to 18  with  102 . 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The roof  2  according to the first embodiment comprises a rear roof part  3 , i.e., a roof part that is located at the rear relative to the direction of travel F, with two lateral main posts  4  and a middle section  5  located between them. The middle section encloses or is essentially formed by a flexible or, especially, rigid rear window  6 , which can be made, for example, of plastic or, advantageously, glass. Both the main posts  4  and the middle section  5  are rigid and therefore can transmit torques. The main posts  4  and a possible frame  5   a  of the middle section  5  can be made, for example, of steel, a light metal, a metallic foam material, or plastic. It is also possible for the main posts  4  to be transparent. Moreover, the main posts  4  can be supported by frame parts. 
   In addition, the roof  2  comprises an upper roof part  7 , which, in the closed state, is arranged in front of the rear roof part  3  in the direction of travel F of the vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment with a two-seat vehicle  1 , this upper roof part  7  is formed by a single member without further transverse division. In the closed state, the front end of the upper roof part  7  is directly or indirectly supported on the windshield frame  8 . Like the main posts  4 , the upper roof part  7  can be made of various materials. In addition, the member  7  supports a sunroof  13 , which can be displaced essentially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and will be explained in greater detail below. The upper roof part  7  can comprise, besides the sunroof  13 , only two lateral longitudinal supports, in which the sunroof  13  is guided, or the two lateral longitudinal supports can be connected by a forward transverse support, which borders on the windshield frame when the roof is closed, to form a structure with a U-shape as seen in a top view. 
   The main posts  4  are supported in their lower region by arms  9   a  relative to the automobile body  20  on pivot bearings  9 , which are fixed with respect to the automobile body at least during the swiveling. Their bearing axes run horizontally and transversely to the vehicle  1 . In their upper region, the main posts  4  are connected with the upper roof part  7 , which is situated above a passenger compartment, on pivot joints  10 , which also have horizontal bearing axes that extend transversely to the vehicle  1 . When the roof is being opened, the main posts  4  and the upper roof part  7  fold towards each other about the axis of the pivot joints  10 . 
   The lower region of the middle section  5  is supported by arms  11   a  relative to the automobile body  20  on one or more pivot bearings  11 , which are fixed with respect to the automobile body at least during the swiveling. Their bearing axes run horizontally and transversely to the vehicle  1 . In its upper region, the middle section  5  is connected with the upper roof part  7  on at least one pivot joint  12 , which likewise has a horizontal bearing axis that extends transversely to the vehicle  1 . In the present embodiment, two pivot joints  12  are provided, which are assigned to each side of the vehicle  1 . 
   The pivot joints  11  and  12  of the middle section  5  each lie in planes above the planes of the pivot joints  9  and  10  of the lateral main posts  4 . As will be explained in greater detail below, the pivot bearings  9  and  11  can optionally be fixed with respect to the automobile body during the swiveling but can be displaced horizontally or almost horizontally between a closed roof position ( FIG. 1 ) and an extreme rearward position suitable for swiveling ( FIG. 13 ). This applies in principle to all of the embodiments. 
   The front roof part  7  comprises a displaceable plate member  13 , which can be opened like a sunroof and displaced over the rear roof part  3  ( FIGS. 2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ). The place member  13  is made of a transparent plastic or glass, so that even when it has been moved over the rear window  6 , the view to the rear is not obstructed. It has lateral arms  14 , which engage lateral guideways  16  of the upper roof part  7  by means of bearing journals  15  or similar guide elements. In addition, guide rails  17  are provided on the middle section  5  of th rear roof part  3  ( FIG. 8 ), which guide the plate member  13  into a position parallel to the rear window  6  and can hold it there. In the closed position, the plate member  13  engages both the guideways  16  by means of the arms  14  arranged in the front region and the rear guide rails  16  by means of other arms  14   a  (shown schematically only in  FIG. 1 ). Therefore, the roof  2  cannot be opened in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 to 13  until the sunroof  13  has been opened, since otherwise the sunroof  13  would block the folding of the roof parts  3  and  7  towards each other. 
   For sealing, an upwardly projecting sealing edge is assigned to the upper edge of the rear roof part  3 , and a downwardly directed opposing edge that grips behind the sealing edge of the rear roof part  3  is assigned to the rear edge of the plate member  13 . In the closed state of the sunroof  13 , the sealing edge and the opposing edge are in contact with each other. 
   Even in the open position of the plate member  13  that acts as a sunroof, in which it is displaced to the rear by the maximum amount, the plate member  13  is still held in the guide rails  17  of the rear roof part  3  and, by means of its arms  14 , in the guideways  16  of the upper roof part  7 . The end point of the guideways  16  lies on the pivot axis of the upper pivot joint  12 , with which the middle section  5  engages the upper roof part  7 , which makes it possible for the roof  2  to be opened and closed with the sunroof  13  open (see, e.g.,  FIG. 5 ). A program control can be provided, which ensures that the roof  2  can be opened or closed only with the sunroof  13  completely open. Due to the fact that the sunroof  13  remains with both its front arms and its rear arms in the respective guides  16 ,  17 , it is not necessary to overcome any step during the opening of the sunroof  13 . Therefore, the opening operation can be carried out especially smoothly and reliably, even after an extended vehicle life. During the movement of the sunroof  13 , neither a front arm  14  nor a rear arm  14   a  of the sunroof  13  must leave the guide  16  or  17  that is guiding it. Therefore, a possible misalignment of the guides  16 ,  17  caused by production tolerances is irrelevant to the movement of the sunroof  13 . 
   Alternatively, it would also be possible for the plate member  13  to be held in its closed state only on the upper roof part  7  and in its open state to be transferred completely to the rear roof part  3 , as is shown in detail as an example in  FIGS. 14 to 18  for another embodiment. It would then be possible to open the roof with the sunroof  13  either completely open or completely closed, as will be explained in greater detail below. 
   In the first embodiment ( FIGS. 1 to 13 ); the middle section  5  consists of a support frame  5   a  and a transparent plate member mounted on it, which serves as the rear window  6 . This plate member can possibly support the guide rails  17  for the sunroof  13 . Many other designs are also possible, possibly also with a frame, in the middle of which the rear window is situated, or with arms  11   a  welded directly onto a rear window. 
   To secure the front roof part  7  on the windshield frame  8 , pins  18  are assigned to the roof part  7 , which are located approximately in its extension plane and are directed in travel direction F in the closed state of the roof. The pins  18  fit into complementary recesses  19  of the windshield frame  8 . The pins  18  and the recesses  19  can be conically shaped to facilitate centering of the closing roof  2 . An additional securing mechanism is not absolutely necessary if a securing mechanism of the displaceable main bearing  21  explained in the next paragraph is provided. 
   In the aforementioned optional design, the pivot bearings  9 ,  11  for the parts  4 ,  5  are fixed with respect to the automobile body and are mounted as a whole in a lateral main bearing  21 , which can be displaced relative to the automobile body  20  horizontally or almost horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A drive mechanism  22 , say, a hydraulic cylinder, a shaft, an electric motor or the like, is assigned to each of these main bearings  21 . Each of the main bearings  21 —and thus the roof  2  supported on them—can be moved by this drive mechanism  22  horizontally in the direction of arrow H (transition from  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 13 ) between a front extreme position with the roof completely closed and a rear extreme position ( FIG. 13 ), in which the roof  2  has been displaced in the direction opposite the direction of travel F to such an extent that the pins  18  have come out of the recesses  19  of the windshield frame  8 . In this position, the roof  2  can pivot freely about the bearings  21  without there being any danger of the front tip of the roof colliding with the windshield frame  8 . 
   The roof parts  3 ,  7  are coupled with each other by a coupling element  23  for their movement about the main bearings  21 , which are mounted laterally in the automobile body  20 . The coupling element  23  extends between arms  9   a  and  11   a , which connect the pivot bearing  9  with a main post  4  and the pivot bearing  11  with the middle section  5 . Therefore, one drive  24  for each side of the vehicle ( FIG. 3   a ) is sufficient for producing a uniform swiveling movement about the bearings  9  and  11 . 
   To open the roof  2  from the closed position ( FIG. 1 ) to a completely open position (FIG.  7 )—without the option of the roof  2  that can be moved as a whole—the arms  9   a  and  11   a  are first simultaneously swiveled by the force of the drive  24  ( FIG. 3 ) towards the rear about the bearings  9 ,  11 , which are fixed with respect to the automobile body ( FIG. 5  to  FIG. 7 ). In the version illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 13 , the sunroof  13  must be completely open during the opening of the roof  2 . In the example shown here, before the operation of opening the roof is started, the sunroof  13  is first opened by guiding the arms  14  in the guideways  16  and guiding the plate member  13  in the guide rails  17  of the rear roof part  3  in such a way that in the completely open position of the sunroof, the bearing journals  15  are coaxial with the pivot axis of the pivot joint  12  ( FIG. 4 , ff.). In this process, the bearing journals  15  continue to be held in the guideways  16 , so that they do not have to overcome a step or a misalignment as the sunroof  13  is slid open. Since the middle section  5  and the roof part  7  swivel towards each other on the joint  12 , during this swiveling, the plate member  13  can be held motionless parallel to the rear window  6 , which is part of the middle section  5 , and yet remain with the arms  14  in the guideways  16  of the front roof part  7 . 
   During the swiveling open of the roof parts  3  and  7 , the middle section  5  passes through the extension plane of the main posts  4  due to the height shift of the planes of the joints  9  and  10 , on the one hand, and  11  and  12 , on the other hand. The long sides of the articulated parallelogram, formed by the main posts  4  and the middle section  5 , completely fold towards each other, so that at the end, the parallelogram orientation has changed. In this way, the middle section  5  arrives in a lowered position in the automobile body  20  above the main posts  4  ( FIG. 7 ). This is very advantageous, because it results in additional storage space under the middle section  5  with the rear window  6 . 
   With the option of a horizontal displacement of the whole roof  2 , the roof  2  would first be moved towards the rear ( FIG. 13 ) before the movement to swivel it open is initiated and can then be moved back towards the front after the roof has been completely opened. 
   The complete folding of the parallelogram is brought out again in the schematic overview in  FIGS. 9 to 12 . The essentially rod-shaped parts shown in this series of drawings were provided with the reference numbers  4 ,  5 , and  7  for the corresponding overall parts for the purpose of simplification, since, where the sequence of movements is concerned, it does not matter how any of the supporting frame parts for the specified units  4 ,  5 ,  7  are designed. The sunroof  13  also plays no role in the basic sequence of movements illustrated here. As the drawings show, additional links beyond parts  4  and  5  are not necessary. The parallelogram is closed by the roof part  7  that connects the pivot joints  10  and  12  without there being any need for a separate part here. The head clearance thus remains unrestricted. With the complete swiveling of the parallelogram, one achieves, on the one hand, sealed contact between the middle section  5  and the main posts  4  with the roof  2  closed and, on the other hand, mounting of the middle section  5  in an elevated plane to increase the trunk space. 
     FIGS. 14 to 18  show another embodiment of a two-part folding roof  102 , in which a rear roof part  103  is designed as a single part, so that the rear window  106  is permanently connected with lateral main posts  104 . As especially  FIGS. 17 and 18  show, the rear roof part  103  forms a main link. As is well known from the parent document, another link  105  is arranged in front of this main link in the direction of travel F. The link  105 , on the one hand, and the roof part  103 , on the other hand, thus form an articulated parallelogram, connected above by the joints  112  and  110  and the rear section of the front roof part  107 , and rotatably supported in the lower section on the automobile body  20  on the bearings  109  and  111 . In this embodiment, the automobile body  20  can be designed almost the same as the automobile body of the first embodiment. In the roof  102 , on the other hand, the additional link  105  is necessary due to the fixed connection of the rear window  106  to the main posts  104 . Instead of the elevated joint  12  of the first embodiment, the joint  112  is located in a low position, so that in the second embodiment, a displacement of the sunroof  113  below the rear window  106  is advantageous. In a difference from the first embodiment, when the sunroof  113  is opened (transition from  FIG. 14  to  FIG. 16 ), it is transferred completely from the front roof part  107  to a guide of the rear roof part  103 . Therefore, the roof  102  can be swiveled open both with the sunroof  113  completely closed ( FIG. 17 ) and with the sunroof  113  completely open ( FIG. 18 ). 
   In both embodiments, the sunroof  13 ,  113  can be moved while driving. As long as the roof  2 ,  102  remains in an otherwise closed position, partial opening of the sunroof  13 ,  113  is also possible at all times. 
   The invention can be used both in vehicles with manually moved roofs and in vehicles with fully automatically or semiautomatically moved roofs  2 ,  102 . It is also possible to provide drives only for the horizontal movement H and/or for the sunroof  13 ,  113  and to carry out the folding or unfolding of the roof  2 ,  102  manually.