Window regulator for door

In a vehicle door having a retractable window pane, there is provided an improved window regulator for moving the window pane between its full-open position and its full-closed position. The window regulator comprises an elongate plate secured to the door, the plate being formed with at least one guide rail which extends obliquely, at least one slider slidably engaged with the guide rail, a carrier secured to the window pane and mounting thereon the slider, so that the movement of the slider along the guide rail induces the movement of the window pane, guide means permitting the window pane to pivot during the movement of the same, a flexible wire connected at a portion thereof to the carrier, so that the movement of the wire induces the movement of the carrier and thus the window pane, and a drive unit mounted to the door for driving the wire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a window regulator for doors, particularly 
side doors for motor vehicles, by which regulator the window pane of the 
door is moved between its full-open position and its full-closed position. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
In order to move the window pane of a door between its full-open position 
and its full-closed position, various kinds of window regulators have been 
hitherto proposed and put into practical use. However, due to their 
inherent constructions, some of the conventional window regulators fail to 
exhibit their calculated functions. Viz., as will become apparent as the 
description proceeds, some of them are bulky and heavy in construction, 
and thus when mounted in the door, they tend to induce bulky and heavy 
construction of the door assembly. Such construction deteriorates not only 
the external appearance of the vehicle but also the fuel consumption of 
the same. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an essential object of the present invention to provide 
an improved window regulator which is simple in construction and light in 
weight. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a window regulator 
which assures smooth movement of the window pane between the full-open and 
full-closed positions. 
According to the present invention, there is provided a window regulator in 
a door having a retractable window pane which moves between its full-open 
position and its full-closed position, the window regulator comprising an 
elongate plate secured to the door, the plate being formed with a first 
guide rail which extends therealong, a first slider slidably engaged with 
the first guide rail so that it runs along the rail, a carrier secured to 
the window pane and mounting thereon the first slider, so that the 
movement of the first slider along the first guide rail induces the 
movement of the window pane between the full-open and full-closed 
positions, guide means permitting the window pane to pivot during the 
movement of the same, a flexible wire connected at a portion thereof to 
the carrier so that the movement of the wire therealong induces the 
movement of the carrier, and a drive unit mounted to the door for moving 
the wire therealong.

DESCRIPTION OF CONVENTIONAL WINDOW REGULATOR 
Prior to describing in detail the present invention, one conventional 
window regulator will be outlined with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in order 
to clarify the invention. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, particularly FIG. 1, there is shown a prior art 
window regulator which is mounted in a rear-left door of a motor vehicle. 
The view of FIG. 1 is illustrated from the outside of the vehicle. The 
door 10 shown comprises generally an inner panel 12, an outer panel 14 and 
a flange portion 12a of the inner panel 12 which are combined together to 
form in the door proper a glass pane containing structure 16 into which a 
glass pane 18 is insertable. Designated by numeral 20 is a window opening 
which is defined between a vehicle body and the door 10 in closed 
condition. The window opening 20 can be closed by the glass pane 18 which 
is raised from the containing structure 16 of the door 10. 
The conventional window regulator practically applied to the door 10 has 
such a construction as is described hereinnext. Three guide rollers 22 are 
connected to the lower spaced portions of the glass pane 18, each being 
rotatable about an axis which is perpendicular to the major surface of the 
pane 18. As will be understood from FIG. 2, each roller 22 is thus 
journaled on a shaft 24 which is fixed to the glass pane 18 together with 
two reinforcing plates 26 and 28 by which the pane 18 is sandwiched. For 
assured connection of the roller 22 to the pane 18, the shaft 24 has both 
ends 24a and 24b enlarged, as shown. Three gently curved guide rails 30, 
32 and 34, each having a generally C-shaped cross section, are secured at 
their base portions 30a, 32a and 34a to the inner panel 12 and extend 
downwardly and obliquely but nonparallely as is seen from FIG. 1. As is 
seen from FIG. 2, each roller 22 is formed with an annular groove 22a. 
Upon assembly, the three guide rollers 22 are received by the 
corresponding guide rails 30, 32 and 34 in such a manner that opposed 
edges 30b of each guide rail 30, 32 or 34 are inserted into the annular 
groove 22a of the associated guide roller 22. With this, the upward and 
downward movements of the glass pane 18 are carried out by the rollers 22 
which run along and are guided by the corresponding guide rails 30, 32 and 
34. 
A driving mechanism 36 is provided which drives the glass pane 18 to carry 
out the upward and downward movements of the same. The mechanism 36 
comprises an elongate arm 38 which has a lower end pivoted by a pivot pin 
39 to the inner panel 12 and an upper end equipped with a roller 40. The 
roller 40 is movably received in a straight guide rail 42 which is 
attached to the glass pane 18. A sector gear 44 is fixed at its one 
(right) end to the arm 38 to move therewith. A pinion 46 is engaged with 
the sector gear 44 and disposed on a shaft portion of a manual handle 48 
which is exposed to the passenger cabin of the vehicle. 
Designated by numeral 50 are rollers which are rotatably mounted on the 
upper portion of the inner panel 12 and rotatably contact the inside 
surface of the glass pane 18 to prevent or at least minimize lateral play 
of the same during upward and downward movements of the glass pane 18. 
When the manual handle 48 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the sector 
gear 44 and thus the arm 38 pivot about the pivot pin 39 in the clockwise 
direction. With this, the glass pane 18 is moved downward swinging 
counterclockwise to the position indicated by numeral 18A, that is, to the 
full-open position of the glass pane 18. 
However, the conventional window regulators of the type described 
hereinabove have the following drawbacks due to their inherent 
constructions. That is, usage of the elongate arm 38 and the sector gear 
44 as part of the driving mechanism 36 induces bulky and heavy 
construction of the window regulator, so that construction and weight of 
the door assembly are inevitably increased deteriorating not only the 
external appearance of the vehicle but also the fuel consumption of the 
same. Further, assembly of the window regulator to the door and 
pre-adjusting work of such an assembly are considerably troublesome. 
Furthermore, usage of such heavy and bulky parts in the driving mechanism 
36 inevitably increases the operating force with which an operator or 
passenger in the vehicle manipulates the manual handle 48. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore, to provide an improved window regulator which is free of the 
above-mentioned drawbacks is an essential object of the present invention. 
Referring to FIGS. 3 to 9, particularly FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a 
window regulator of a first embodiment of the present invention, which is 
mounted in a rear-left door of a motor vehicle. The door shown has 
substantially the same construction as that of FIG. 1. Thus, the parts of 
the door 10 are designated by the same numerals. 
The window regulator of this embodiment comprises an elongate plate 52 
which is mounted to the inner panel 12 and extends downwardly and 
obliquely, as shown. For this mounting, the elongate plate 52 is formed 
with three lugs 52a, 52b and 52c which are bolted to the inner panel 12. 
Bolt holes formed in the lugs 52b and 52c are designated by numerals 52b' 
and 52c' in FIG. 4. As is best seen from FIG. 4, the elongate plate 52 is 
formed at its lateral sides with first and second guide rails 54 and 56 
which extend along the corresponding sides of the plate 52. As is 
understood from FIG. 6, each guide rail 54 (or 56) comprises a first 
section 54a (or 56a) raised perpendicularly from the major portion of the 
elongate plate 52 and a second section 54b (or 56b) extending 
perpendicularly outwardly from the first section 54a (or 56a), so that the 
guide rail 54 (or 56) has a generally L-shaped cross section. As is seen 
from FIG. 4, the guide rails 54 and 56 are gently curved and they are 
nonparallel. 
Guided by the guide rails 54 and 56 is a glass pane carrier 58 which is 
attached or bolted to the lower portion of the glass pane 18. For this 
attachement, the carrier 58 has at its longitudinal bent ends 60 and 62 
bolt holes 60a and 62a through which bolts (not shown) pass. The carrier 
58 is equipped at its right-lower and left-upper portions with respective 
sliders 64 and 66 which are slidably engaged with the first and second 
guide rails 54 and 56 in a manner as will be described hereinafter. As is 
seen from FIG. 6, each slider 64 (or 66) is pivotally connected to the 
carrier 58 through a connecting pin 68 (or 70). 
The detailed construction of the slider 64 (or 66) will be described 
hereinnext with reference to FIG. 9. As the sliders 64 and 66 have 
substantially the same constructions, the following explanation will be 
directed to only one slider, that is, the slider 64. 
The slider 64 comprises generally a rectangular casing 72 and a plastic 
slide shoe 74 which is housed in the casing 72. The casing 72 is formed at 
its bottom portion with a circular opening 76 through which the connecting 
pin 68 passes. The pin 68 is caulked at the leading end thereof for the 
pivotal connection with the carrier 58 (see FIG. 6). The casing 72 is 
formed with a vertical slot 78 which receives the first section 54a of the 
guide rail 54 during movement of the carrier 58 as will become clear as 
the description proceeds. 
The plastic slide shoe 74 is of a generally rectangular construction and 
has at its lower portion in FIG. 9 two outwardly extending lugs 80 and 82 
and at its upper portion two bosses 84 and 86. Each boss 84 or 86 is 
formed with a slanted surface (no numeral). The plastic slide shoe 74 is 
formed with a vertically extending slit 88 which is defined between 
opposed convex surfaces 88a and 88b, and the shoe 74 is further formed 
with a generally rectangular slot 89 which intersects the slit 88 at 
substantially right angle, as shown. The upper portion of the plastic shoe 
74 is formed with a rectangular recess 90 which is merged with the slot 89 
and the slit 88 as shown. Upon requirement of assembly, the bosses 84 and 
86 of the shoe 74 are pressed toward each other and inserted into the 
casing 72 from the lower open end of the same and moved until they are 
sprung out the upper open end of the casing 72. Thus, upon proper 
assembly, the lugs 80 and 82 of the shoe 74 and the bosses 84 and 86 of 
the same are hooked to the lower and upper edges of the casing 72 
respectively with the vertical slit 88 exposed to the vertical slot 78 of 
the casing 72. With this, the plastic slide shoe 74 is locked in the 
casing 72. The assembled condition of the slider 64 may be understood from 
FIGS. 7 and 8 even though the slider 64 shown in these drawings is 
illustrated upside-down with respect to FIG. 9. As may be understood from 
FIG. 9, upon assembly of the slider 64 to the guide rail 54, the first 
section 54a and the second section 54b of the guide rail 54 are slidably 
received in the slit 88 and the slot 89 respectively. As is understood 
from FIG. 7, the narrowest portion of the slit 88 of the shoe 74 is 
positioned on or at least near the axis of the connecting pin 68, and one 
side 89a of the slot 89 of the shoe 74 which faces the edge of the second 
section 54b of the guide rail 54 is convexed toward the axis of the 
connecting pin 68. With these convex surfaces 88a, 88b and 89a of the slit 
88 and the slot 89, the sliding movement of the slider 64 along the guide 
rail 54 is carried out permitting pivotal movement thereof about the axis 
of the pin 68. As is understood from FIG. 8, opposed major surfaces 89b 
and 89c of the slot 89 of the shoe 74, which face the surfaces of the 
second section 54b of the guide rail 54, are convexed toward each other. 
With these convex surfaces 89b and 89c of the slot 89, the sliding 
movement of the slider 64 is carried out permitting pivotal movement 
thereof about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the connecting pin 68. 
Accordingly, the sliding movement of the slider 64 is carried out 
permitting universal swing thereof relative to the guide rail 54. 
The other slider 66 having the same construction as the just-mentioned 
slider 64 runs along the second guide rail 56 in substantially the same 
manner as that just described. 
Referring back to FIG. 4, a flexible wire 92 is fixed at a portion thereof 
through a connector 94 to the carrier 58. Both ends of the wire 92 lead to 
a known wire retractor 96 which is mounted to the inner panel 12 and 
driven by a manual handle 98 exposed to the passenger cabin of the 
vehicle. The wire retractor 96 is designed to retract and draw out the 
respective end portions of the wire 92 at the same rate without producing 
slack or abnormal tension of the wire. Two guide tubes 100 and 102 receive 
therein the wire 92 and are fixed through respective connectors 104 and 
106 to the upper and lower portions of the elongate plate 52, each leading 
to the wire retractor 96. Thus, upon manipulation of the manual handle 98, 
the wire 92 travels and thus the carrier 58 moves downward or upward but 
obliquely while keeping the slidable engagement of the sliders 64 and 66 
with the first and second guide rails 54 and 56, as will be described in 
detail hereinnext. 
In the following, operation of the window regulator of the first embodiment 
will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. For ease with which 
the description is made, it will be commenced with respect to the 
condition of FIG. 4 wherein the glass pane carrier 58 is in its uppermost 
position, that is, the glass pane 18 is in its full-closed position. As 
will be seen from FIG. 5, under this closed condition, the two sliders 66 
and 64 assume their uppermost positions a.sub.1 and b.sub.1 on the second 
and first guide rails 56 and 54, and the wire connector 94 assumes its 
uppermost position c.sub.1. 
When the carrier 58 moves downward in response to manipulation of the 
manual handle 98, the two sliders 66 and 64 move downward toward their 
lowermost positions a.sub.13 and b.sub.13 on the second and first guide 
rails 56 and 54 while being guided by the same. During this downward 
movement of the carrier 58, the wire connector 94 moves toward its 
lowermost position c.sub.13 passing the positions c.sub.2, c.sub.3, . . . 
c.sub.12. It is to be noted that any line which connects an evenly divided 
point (for example a.sub.3) of the path extending from the point a.sub.1 
to the point a.sub.13 and an evenly divided corresponding point (for 
example b.sub.3) of the path extending from the point b.sub.1 to the point 
b.sub.13 passes through or at least near the position (for example 
c.sub.3) where the wire connector 94 assumes during the movement of the 
carrier 58. This is important to achieve smooth or tangleless movement of 
the carrier 58. That is, by this arrangement, the carrier 58 can move 
without producing slack of the wire 92 and excessive tension of the same. 
Due to the curved construction of the first and second guide rails 54 and 
56, the downward movement of the carrier 58 induces simultaneous but small 
swing of the carrier 58 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 4. That 
is, as is seen in FIG. 3, the glass pane 18 is moved from its full-closed 
position indicated by mark "C" to its full-open position indicated by mark 
"O" while swinging counterclockwise. Under the full-open position of the 
glass pane 18, it is housed in the glass pane containing structure 16, as 
shown. 
Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a second embodiment of the present 
invention. The window regulator of this embodiment is identical to that of 
the afore-mentioned first embodiment except for the arrangement of the 
wire 92. 
In the second embodiment, a pulley 108 is rotataly connected through a 
shaft 110 to the lower portion of the guide rail-mounted elongate plate 
52. A flexible wire 92 is put around the pulley 108. A portion of the wire 
92 is fixed through a connector 94 to the glass pane carrier 58. Both ends 
of the wire 92 lead to the wire retractor 96. Two guide tubes 112 and 114 
which slidably receive therein the wire 92 are fixed through a common 
connector 116 to the elongate plate 52, each leading to the wire retractor 
96, as shown. Since the operation of this second embodiment is 
substantially the same as the afore-mentioned first embodiment, the 
description of it will be omitted. 
Referring to FIGS. 11 to 19, particularly FIG. 11, there is shown a window 
regulator of a third embodiment of the present invention, which is also 
mounted in a rear-left door of a motor vehicle. The door 10 shown 
comprises generally an inner panel (not shown), an outer panel 14 and a 
flange 12a of the inner panel which are assembled together to form in the 
door 10 a glass pane containing structure 16 into which the glass pane 18 
is insertable. 
The window regulator of the third embodiment comprises three gently curved 
guide rails 30, 32' and 34' which are connected to the inner panel of the 
door 10 and extend downwardly, obliquely and nonparallelly, as shown. The 
guide rails 32' and 34' are integrally formed on a common plate 35 which 
is secured to the inner panel. Three sliders 118, 120 and 122 are slidably 
received in the guide rails 30, 32' and 34' in such a manner as will be 
understood from FIG. 12 which shows the slider 120 associated with the 
guide rail 32'. As is seen from FIG. 11, the right and left sliders 118 
and 122 are directly fixed to the lower portion of the glass pane 18, 
while the center slider 120 is fixed to a glass pane carrier 124 which is 
bolted to the lower portion of the glass pane 18. A flexible wire 130 is 
connected at a portion thereof to the carrier 124 by a connector 132. Both 
ends of the wire 130 lead to the known wire retractor 96 which is mounted 
to the inner panel of the door 10 and driven by a manual handle 98 exposed 
to the passenger cabin of the vehicle. Two guide tubes 126 and 128 cover 
partially the wire 130 and lead to the retractor 96. Each tube 126 or 128 
is connected through a connector 104 or 106 to the plate 35. Designated by 
numeral 131 is a guide member which is secured to the plate 35 for guiding 
the movement of the wire 130. Thus, upon manipulation of the manual handle 
98, the carrier 124 moves downward or upward but obliquely while keeping 
the sliding engagement between the sliders 118, 120 and 122 and the 
corresponding guide rails 30, 32' and 34', similar to the cases of the 
abovementioned two embodiments. 
The sliding mechanism comprising the slider 120 and the guide rail 32' has 
such a construction as is described hereinnext with reference to FIGS. 12 
to 18. The other two sliding mechanisms each comprising the slider 118 or 
122 and the corresponding guide rail 30 or 34' are substantially the same 
as the hereinnext described one. Thus, description of them will be omitted 
from the following. 
As is seen from FIG. 12, the guide rail 32' has a generally C-shaped cross 
section and thus comprises a base truck 32'a, opposed side trucks 32'b and 
32'c and opposed flanges 32'd and 32'e, as shown. The opposed flanges are 
constructed to define therebetween a longitudinally extending slot 32'f. 
In this drawing, the arrows X and Y indicate the directions of the width 
and length of the associated vehicle respectively. 
The slider 120 comprises, as is best seen in FIG. 15, a shaft 134, a first 
slide shoe 136 of plastics, and a second slide shoe 138 of plastics. The 
shaft 134 has a spherical portion 134a at its one end and a bolt portion 
134b at its other end. The first and second slide shoes 136 and 138 are 
pivotally disposed on the spherical portion 134a of the shaft 134 in a 
manner as will become clear hereinafter. As is seen from FIG. 12, the 
shaft 134 is connected at the bolt portion 134b to the glass pane carrier 
124 with aid of a nut 140. Two reinforcing plates 142a and 142b are 
attached to the carrier 124 for assuring the connection of the shaft 134 
to the carrier 124. Upon assembly, the spherical portion 134a of the shaft 
134 is received in the guide rail 32' with an interposal of the first and 
second slide shoes 136 and 138 therebetween. 
The first slide shoe 136 is of a symmetrical member comprising a major 
portion 136a having convex opposed surfaces 136b and 136b and outwardly 
extending tongue portions 136c and 136c. The major portion 136a is formed 
with a through bore including a semispherical bore section 136d (see FIG. 
12) and a circular opening 136e. As is seen from FIG. 12, the diameter of 
the circular opening 136e is smaller than that of the semispherical bore 
section 136d. The first slide shoe 136 is further formed with a 
rectangular groove 136f into which the second slide shoe 138 is received. 
The second slide shoe 138 comprises a cradle-like major portion 138a 
having a convex surface 138b and an outwardly extending tongue portion 
138c. As is seen from FIG. 15, the major portion 138a is formed with a 
semispherical recess 138d which registers with the spherical portion 134a 
of the shaft 134. As is understood from FIGS. 12, 13 and 15, upon 
assembly, the spherical portion 134 a of the shaft 134 is almost received 
in the semispherical bore section 136d of the first slide shoe 136 with 
the head thereof received in the semispherical recess 138d of the second 
slide shoe 138, and at the same time, as is best seen from FIG. 12, the 
convex opposed surfaces 136b and 136b of the first slide shoe 136 and the 
convex surface 138b of the second slide shoe 138 are in sliding contact 
with the opposed side trucks 32'b and 32'c and the base truck 32'a of the 
guide rail 32'. Furthermore, as is seen from FIG. 13, the tongue portions 
136c and 136c of the first slide shoe 136 are in resilient contact with 
the opposed side trucks 32'b and 32'c, and the tongue portion 138c of the 
second slide shoe 138 is also in resilient contact with the base truck 
32'a. In order to provide the tongue portions of the first and second 
slide shoes 136 and 138 with sufficient resiliency, each tongue portion is 
so constructed that, under nonstressed condition, it projects beyond a 
tangent line W which touches the maximally raised portion of the 
corresponding convex surface 136b or 138b, as is understood from FIGS. 18 
and 19. It is to be noted that assembly of the slider 120 to the guide 
rail 32' is easily achieved by putting the temporally assembled slider 
(that is, the temporally assembled unit comprising the shaft 134, and the 
first and second slide shoes 136, and 138) into the guide rail from one 
longitudinal open end of the same. With this, as is seen in FIGS. 13 and 
14, each tongue portion 136c or 138c of the slide shoe 136 or 138 is 
forced to resiliently abut against the corresponding truck. If desired, 
one of the tongue portions 136c and 136c may be removed so long as the 
remaining tongue portion functions sufficiently. Furthermore, the tongue 
portions 136c and 136c may be provided at the opposed positions as is 
indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 13. 
When, in operation, the manual handle 98 is manipulated to open or close 
the window of the door 10, the wire 130 runs in a direction to move the 
glass pane carrier 124 downward or upward. With this, the glass pane 18 is 
moved from its full-closed position to its full-open position or vice 
versa while swinging counterclockwise or clockwise. During this movement 
of the glass pane 18, the sliders 120, 118 and 122 slide in and along the 
corresponding guide rails 32', 30 and 34' with their first and second 
slide shoes being in contact with the corresponding guide trucks in such a 
manner as is described hereinabove. 
It has been revealed that the provision of the tongue portions 136c, 136c 
and 138c improves the sliding characteristics of the slider 120, 118 or 
122 considerably as compared with one having no tongue portion. That is, 
as may be seen from FIG. 17, even when the slider 120 is applied with a 
force from the direction "X" (that is, the direction of the width of the 
associated vehicle), a so-called "two-points contact" (P.sub.1 and 
P.sub.2) between the second slide shoe 138 and the base truck 32'a of the 
guide rail 32' can be kept due to pivotal movement of the second slide 
shoe 138 about the spherical portion 134a of the shaft 134. Similar to 
this, as may be seen from FIG. 16, even when the slider 120 is applied 
with a force from the direction "Y" (that is the direction of the length 
of the vehicle), a so-called "four-points contact" (P.sub.3, P.sub.4, 
P.sub.5 and P.sub.6) between the first slide shoe 136 and the side trucks 
32'b and 32'c can be kept due to pivotal movement of the first slide shoe 
136 about the axis of the shaft 134. 
Furthermore, even when, after long use of the window regulator, the slide 
shoes 136 and 138 are worn out considerably particularly at the convex 
surfaces 136b, 136b and 138b thereof, the provision of the tongue portions 
136c, 136c and 138c assures the "four-points contact" and the "two-points 
contact" between the shoes and the corresponding guide trucks for the same 
reason as is described hereinabove. 
Referring to FIGS. 20 to 24, there is shown a modification of the 
afore-mentioned sliding mechanims of the third embodiment, which comprises 
a modified slider 144 and a guide rail 32'. Since the construction of the 
guide rail 32' is the same as that of the third embodiment of FIG. 12, the 
following explanation will be directed to only the modified slider 144. 
The parts similar to those of the above-described slider 120 are 
designated by the same numerals. 
The slider 144 which is slidably received in the guide rail 32' comprises, 
as is best seen in FIG. 24, a shaft 134 secured to the glass pane carrier 
124 (see FIG. 20), a first slide shoe 136 of plastics, a second slide shoe 
138 of plastics and an intermediate block 146 of plastics. As is seen from 
the drawing, the first slide shoe 136 has a construction similar to the 
afore-mentioned first slide shoe 136 of FIG. 15, which is thus formed with 
convex opposed surfaces 136b and 136b and tongue portions 136c and 136c. 
As may be well understood from FIGS. 21 and 24, the first slide shoe 136 
is formed with a through bore which includes a cylindrical bore section 
136f and a circular opening 136d. Furthermore, for the purpose which will 
become clear as the description proceeds, a substantially rectangular 
groove 136e (see FIG. 24) is formed in the shoe 136 to extend across the 
same, which is thus merged with the circular opening 136d. The second 
slide shoe 138 is also similar to the afore-mentioned second slide shoe 
138 of FIG. 15, which is thus formed with a convex surface 138b, a tongue 
portion 138c, and a semispherical bore 138d. The intermediate block 146 is 
of a symmetrical member which comprises a cylindrical base portion 146a 
and radially outwardly extending arm portions 146b and 146b. As may be 
understood from FIG. 23, the base portion 146a is formed with a through 
bore which includes a semispherical bore section 146f and a circular 
opening 146c. The semispherical bore section 146f is constructed to 
register with the spherical portion 134a of the shaft 134. Each of the arm 
portions 146b and 146b is formed with a circular opening 146d and a 
curved lug 146e. The openings 146d and the curved lugs 146e are used for 
connecting the wire 130 to the slider assembly 144. For this connection, a 
connecting pin 130a is fixed to each end of the wire 130, as shown. As is 
understood from FIGS. 20 to 23, upon assembly, the intermediate block 146 
is put at the cylindrical base portion 146a thereof in the cylindrical 
bore section 136f of the first slide shoe 136 with the arm portions 146b 
and 146b thereof projected in the radially opposed directions beyond the 
first slide shoe 136, and the shaft 134 is passed through the aligned 
openings 146c and 136d of the intermediate block 146 and first shoe 136 
with the head of the spherical portion 134a thereof pivotally received in 
the semispherical bore 138d of the second slide shoe 138. As is best seen 
from FIG. 23, the remaining portion of the spherical portion 134a of the 
shaft 134 is also pivotally received in the semispherical bore 146f of the 
intermediate block 146. The bolt portion 134b of the shaft 134 is secured 
to the glass pane carrier 124 with aid of a nut 140, as is seen from FIG. 
20. Unlike the arrangement of FIG. 11, the wire 130 is connected to the 
slider assembly 144. That is, the connecting pins 130a and 130a equipped 
to ends of the wire 130 are pivotally hooked to the openings 146d and 146d 
and the curved lugs 146e and 146e. 
With this arrangement of the modification, substantially the same 
advantageous functions as those in the afore-mentioned arrangement are 
expected. That is, during movement of the slider 144 along the guide rail 
32', the "four-points contact" is assuredly kept between the first slide 
shoe 136 and the side trucks 32'b and 32'c of the guide rail 32', and the 
"two-points contact" is also assuredly kept between the second slide shoe 
138 and the base truck 32'a of the rail 32'. Furthermore, in this 
modification, the moving characteristic of the slider 144 is somewhat 
improved as compared with the slider 120 of FIG. 11, because the wire 130 
is connected to the slider 144 directly.