Vehicle roof having drive carriage for cover element

A vehicle roof having at least one cover element, which selectively closes or at least partially exposes a roof opening and which, with respect to a vehicle longitudinal center plane, comprises a carrier element on either side, the carrier element comprising a guide web that interacts with an adjusting device that is guided in a guide rail and comprises a drive carriage, which interacts with the guide web at least to pivot the cover element and comprises a guide element on which the guide web rests. When moving the cover element in the vehicle longitudinal direction, each guide element of the drive carriages serves as a dog element, which engages in a corresponding dog recess configured at the respectively associated carrier element of the cover element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a vehicle roof with at least one cover element which optionally closes or at least partially opens up a roof opening.

2. Related Technology

A vehicle roof of this type is known from practice and comprises a cover element which has carrier element along both of the lateral edges thereof with respect to a longitudinal center plane of the vehicle, the carrier element constituting a pivoting or deployment arm for the cover element. Guide rails are arranged, in a manner fixed to the roof, along the lateral edges of the roof opening, in each of which guide rails one of the carrier elements is guided displaceably when the cover element is actuated. Furthermore, a drive carriage is guided in each of the guide rails, the drive carriage, in order to pivot the cover element, interacting with a guide web which is arranged on the respectively assigned carrier element of the cover element. The guide web forms a curved track or control track such that movement of the drive carriage is in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle causing pivoting of the cover element. In particular, the cover element can be pivoted between a closed position, in which the roof opening is completely closed, a ventilation position, in which a rear edge of the cover element is deployed in relation to a rear, fixed roof section, and a displacement position, in which the cover element can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle under the rear, fixed roof section in order to open up the roof opening. The cover element is secured against moving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle during the pivoting operation by a locking lever which interacts with a recess formed on the respective guide rail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a vehicle roof of the type described above, which is distinguished by a small number of components.

Accordingly, the invention provides a vehicle roof with at least one cover element that optionally closes or at least partially opens uP a roof opening and has a carrier element on two sides of a longitudinal center plane of the vehicle, the carrier element comprising a guide web that interacts with a displacement device that is guided in a guide rail and comprises a drive carriage, which interacts with the guide web at least to pivot the cover element and comprises a guide element on which the guide web rests, wherein, as the cover element moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, each guide element of the drive carriage serves as a carry-along element that engages in a corresponding carry-along recess formed on the respectively assigned carrier element of the cover element.

The core of the invention consequently consists in that the drive carriages of the vehicle roof each have a guide element on which the respectively assigned guide web slides during pivoting of the cover element and which also serves to move the cover element in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle by engagement in a corresponding recess on the cover carrier thereof as carry-along element. The cover element carrier therefore does not have to be transferred to various switching and guide elements of the driving kinematics. On the contrary, the control upon actuation of the cover element, i.e. upon lowering and moving the cover element, can be carried out in a movement sequence. All that is required in order to actuate the cover element is the drive carriage of the dual-function guide or carry-along element thereof and the cover element carrier which is fixed to the cover and has the guide web and the carry-along recess. The system according to the invention can therefore have a small number of components, which has a positive effect with regard to installation times, with regard to costs and also with regard to component tolerances. Since, as already mentioned above, when opening or closing the roof opening of the vehicle roof according to the invention there does not have to be any transfer between various switching elements of the cover drive, there are also advantages with regard to the configuration of an anti-jamming system since the latter does not have to process any differentiated force values here.

The vehicle roof according to the invention has a cost-effective, preferably single-part cover element carrier. An additional control part, such as a control lever, for switching the various pivoted positions of the cover element is not required. Since there is no control part, the guide rail also does not require milling processes which may be costly and are otherwise required for this purpose. The web guide which is realized by means of the guide web is furthermore distinguished by a low overall height which constitutes an exact switching mechanism with a kinematically precise configuration. Up to a switch being made from the pivoting operation into the moving operation, as the drive carriage moves, the cover element slowly moves downward into the lowered displacement position thereof. As the cover element moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, there is a large overlap in the vertical direction of the vehicle between the guide element formed on the drive carriage and the carry-along recess. It is also possible for force to be introduced into the cover element carrier in a sheet-like manner as the latter moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the carry-along recesses are each formed by a plastic insert molding of the respective carrier element, said plastic insert molding also forming the guide web formed on the respective carrier element. The carry-along recesses are consequently an integral part of the respective guide web. In particular, as the cover element pivots into the lowered displacement position thereof, the guide element serving as the carry-along element enters the carry-along recess at the end of the pivoting operation such that further movement of the drive carriage in the direction of the vehicle rear leads to the cover element moving in the direction of the vehicle rear. When the cover element moves from the open position into the closed position thereof, the movement sequence takes place the other way around, i.e. first of all the cover element is displaced in the direction of the vehicle front by the guide element engaging in the carry-along recess and then the guide element slides further along the guide web such that the cover element is pivoted upward into the closed position thereof.

In order to ensure smooth-running entry of the guide element serving as the carry-along element into the assigned carry-along recess and a precise switching operation, in an advantageous embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention the carry-along recesses each have a front and a rear boundary surface which are each inclined in the direction of the vehicle rear and ensure a positionally precise entry and exit of the guide element into and out of the carry-along recess.

Since, in the region of the carry-along recess only small forces, if any at all, act in the vertical direction of the vehicle on the plastic insert molding, which forms the guide web and the carry-along recess, as the cover element moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, in a preferred embodiment the plastic insert molding is tapered in the vertical direction of the vehicle in the region of the carry-along recess. The overall height of the carrier element can therefore be kept low. In particular, the carry-along recess can be formed by the tapering of the material.

In order to secure the cover element against moving in the direction of the extent of the guide rails, in an advantageous embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention at least one front locking element and at least one rear locking element are formed on each of the carrier elements of the cover element, which locking elements interact with the corresponding abutments which are fixed to the roof. When the cover element is moved in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the locking elements are preferably guided in a guide channel of the respective guide rail such that they then secure the cover element against pivoting.

The securing of the cover element against moving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle can be realized in particular without additional components if the locking elements each interact with a cutout or recess of an upper wall of the respective guide rail. The edges of the recesses then each form the abutment which is fixed to the roof.

In a particularly cost-effective embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the drive carriages are each designed as a plastic injection molded part on which the respective guide element serving as the carry-along element is formed.

The drive carriages which are formed as a plastic injection molded part preferably each have a guide claw which is formed integrally, engages around the respectively assigned guide web and the base of which is formed by the guide or carry-along element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The drawing illustrates a vehicle roof10of a passenger vehicle, which is provided with a roof opening12which can optionally be closed or at least partially opened up by means of a cover element14. The cover element14is part of a roof opening system, which is illustrated in detail with reference toFIGS. 2 to 10, and comprises a glass body16which is provided with a frame18which is formed from polyurethane foam and in which an inner cover panel20is embedded. The inner cover panel20has fastening tabs22which protrude downward at right angles from the glass body16and serve to connect the cover element14to cover element carriers24which are arranged on the lateral edges of the cover element14on both sides of a longitudinal center plane of the vehicle and are part of a displacement device for the cover element14. The fastening tabs22are each screwed via a screw23to the respective cover element carrier24.

By means of the displacement device, the cover element can be pivoted between a closed position, which is illustrated inFIG. 2and in which the roof opening12is closed, a ventilation position, which is illustrated inFIG. 3and in which a rear edge of the cover element14is deployed in relation to a rear fixed roof section26, and a lowered displacement position, which is illustrated inFIG. 4and in which the cover element14can be moved along guide rails28A and28B, which extend fixed to the vehicle along the lateral edges of the roof opening12, under the rear fixed roof section26.

The displacement device is explained below only with reference to the displacement device region which is arranged on the left in the forward direction of travel. The displacement device region which is arranged on the right in the forward direction of travel is formed correspondingly thereto mirror-symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal center plane of the vehicle.

The displacement device comprises a drive carriage30on both sides of the longitudinal center plane of the vehicle, said drive carriage being guided displaceably in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in the guide rail28A and being driven by means of a pressure-resistant driving cable (not illustrated specifically here). The drive carriage30is a plastic injection molded component and comprises a claw section32which engages around a guide web34which is formed on the lower side of the cover element carrier24and constitutes a plastic insert molding of the cover element carrier24which is otherwise manufactured from steel. The cover element carrier24thus has a substantially T-shaped cross section. A vertical section35of the cover element carrier24reaches through a gap, which is formed by the claw section32, on the upper side of the drive carriage30.

The claw section32of the drive carriage30comprises an upper guide surface36, which bears against the upper side of the guide web34, and a guide element38, which forms a lower guide surface383, on which the guide web34rests. The guide element38has a front boundary surface382and a rear boundary surface381which are each inclined in the rear direction of the vehicle and are connected to each other via the guide surface383which is of curved design and bears against the lower side of the guide web34.

The plastic insert molding which forms the guide web has a multiply curved profile such that movement of the drive carriage30in the guide rail28A causes pivoting of the cover element14by interaction of the guide web34with the upper guide surface36and with the guide surface formed by the guide element38. In a rear section, the guide web34is provided with a “carry-along recess”40, the shape of which, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, corresponds to the shape of the guide element38of the drive carriage30in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The carry-along recess40is formed by a tapering of the material of the guide web34in the vertical direction of the vehicle. As can be gathered fromFIG. 4, in the lowered displacement position of the cover element14, the guide element38enters the carry-along recess40as a carry-along element. The carry-along recess consequently also has a front boundary surface402and a rear boundary surface401which are each inclined in the direction of the vehicle rear.

Furthermore, in addition to a front slide42, which is guided in a guide channel44of the guide rail28A and defines a pivot axis of the cover element14, the carrier element24has a front locking element46and a rear locking element48which each protrude in the transverse direction of the vehicle and, upon pivoting of the cover element14, secure the latter against moving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle by interaction with upper recesses50and52, respectively, of the guide rail28A. In the displacement position which is illustrated inFIG. 4, i.e. in the lowered position of the cover element14, the locking elements46and48are arranged in a guide channel54of the guide rail28A such that they secure the cover element14during the movement thereof in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle against pivoting about an axis which is arranged in the region of a front edge and extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle.

The roof opening system illustrated in the drawing operates in the manner described below.

Starting from the closed position of the cover element14, which position is illustrated inFIG. 2and in which the claw section32of the drive carriage30rests in a substantially horizontal region A of the guide web34, the drive carriage30, as the cover element14pivots into the ventilation position thereof, which is illustrated inFIG. 3, is moved in the direction of the front of the vehicle into a region B of the guide web34, which region drops in the direction of the front of the vehicle in relation to the region A such that, by interaction of the claw section32of the guide web34, which drops substantially as viewed from the vehicle rear, the rear edge of the cover element14is deployed upward in relation to the fixed roof section26.

If, in order to open up the roof opening12, the cover element14is to be moved under the rear fixed roof section26, the drive carriage30is likewise moved from the closed position, which is illustrated inFIG. 2, in the direction of the vehicle rear into a region C of the guide web34, which region rises in the direction of the vehicle rear in relation to the central region A such that the guide element38slides along the lower edge of the guide web34and enters the carry-along recess40. The movement sequence taking place in this case is illustrated in a stepwise manner inFIGS. 5 to 10. At the beginning of the entry operation, the rear surface381of the guide element38strikes against the rear boundary surface401of the carry-along recess40. By means of the respective orientation of said surfaces381,401in a manner inclined in the direction of the vehicle rear, as the drive carriage30moves further in the rear direction, the cover element carrier24slides downward along the surface381such that the cover element14is pivoted about the pivot axis, which is formed by the front slide42, and is lowered. When the guide element38enters the carry-along recess40, the upper guide surface36is moved away from the guide web34(c.f.FIGS. 4,9and10). By this means, the cover element14is lowered below the level of the fixed roof section26such that the locking elements46and48lie outside the upper recesses15and52of the guide rail28A and completely in the guide channel54of the guide rail28A. Upon further movement of the drive carriage30, the guide element38, which is located in the carry-along recess40of the plastic insert molding forming the guide web34, then acts as a carry-along means which causes the cover element14to move in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The guide element of the drive carriage30therefore controls the guide web34of the cover element carrier24such that the locking element46and48pass with precision through the recesses50and52of the guide rail28and enter the guide channel54of the guide rail28A, and the cover element14can be moved. During closing of the roof opening12, i.e. when the cover element14is moved from the moved-back open position to the closed position, the pivoting movement of the cover element14is triggered, after a front stop of the cover element14is reached, by the interaction of the front boundary surface382of the guide element38and the front boundary surface402of the carry-along recess. The cover element is thus pivoted upward into the closed position thereof which closes the roof opening12. The guide element38of the drive carriage30is then located again in the region A of the guide web34.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS