Initialization stop for a sliding roof control mechanism

What is proposed is a vehicle roof which has a cover element which can be used to selectively close or at least partially expose a roof opening and which, with respect to a vertical vehicle longitudinal center plane, has a control mechanism for the cover element on each of the two sides, said control mechanism comprising a drive carriage which can be moved in a respective roof-mounted guide rail and controls a pivoting and/or displacement of the cover element, wherein the drive carriages are each connected to a pressure-resistant drive cable which can be driven by means of a drive motor. At least one of the control mechanisms has an initialization stop which, in a front or a rear end position of the cover element, engages in a corresponding guide rail cutout whose edge forms a counter-stop for the initialization stop.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national phase application of International Application No. PCT/EP2011/071351, filed Nov. 30, 2011, designating Europe, which claims benefit from German Application No. 10 2010 055 456.1, filed Dec. 21, 2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The disclosure relates to a vehicle roof with a cover element which can be used to selectively close or at least partially expose a roof opening.

Such a vehicle roof is known from DE 10 2007 001 286 A1 and comprises a roof opening which can be selectively closed or at least partially exposed by means of the cover element. With respect to a vertical vehicle longitudinal center plane, the vehicle roof comprises a control mechanism for the cover element on each of the two sides, said control mechanism comprising a drive carriage which can be moved in a respective roof-mounted guide rail and controls a pivoting and a displacement of the cover element. For this purpose, the drive carriage engages around a guide web which is formed on a carrier of the cover element. The guide web is designed in the manner of a control slideway such that the setting angle of the cover element with respect to adjoining, fixed roof regions can be fixed as a function of the position of the drive carriage in the guide rail. The drive carriages are each connected to a pressure-resistant drive cable which can be driven by means of a drive motor.

In order to be able always to determine the exact position of the cover element with respect to the rigid roof regions or to be able to move the cover element in a positionally accurate manner, it is required that control electronics detect at least one end position for the travel of the drive carriages, which position is used as starting point for the movement of the cover element. This has been carried out hitherto by means of a stop which is formed by a notch in the guide rail and onto which the drive carriage can run. During a restart of the system, it is required that this stop is abutted by the drive carriage for initialization. However, the notch in the guide rail has the disadvantage that a frequent abutment by the drive carriage can lead to high loading on and also damage to the guide rail and/or the drive carriage. In particular, it has also been observed that the notch is broken after an abutment of the drive carriage. Furthermore, the notch, which forms a raised tab, can constitute a risk of injury for a user of the respective vehicle.

The object of the invention is to provide a vehicle roof of the generic type mentioned in the introductory part with an optimized initialization stop.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the vehicle roof having the features of patent claim1.

The essence of the invention therefore consists in that an initialization stop is in each case formed in the control mechanisms for actuating the cover element, which stop interacts with a cutout, that is to say with a window of the respective guide rail, in such a way that the edge of the cutout forms a counter-stop for the initialization stop. On the guide rail of the vehicle roof according to the invention there is therefore not formed any notch and any upwardly bent part which, during a frequent abutment of the respective control mechanism, could break or else constitutes a risk of injury for a user or else a fitter of the sliding roof system who engages in the guide rail.

In a preferred embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the initialization stops are each formed on one of the drive carriages. Thus, during the movement of the drive carriages, the initialization stops are guided in particular in a guide path of the respective guide rail. Only on reaching the corresponding guide rail cutout does the respective initialization stop enter this cutout such that it can run onto the counter-stop formed by the edge of the respective cutout.

In a special embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the initialization stops are each formed on a cable attachment element of the respective drive carriage. Attachment elements for drive cables of drive carriages of a sliding roof are generally produced from a plastic injection-molded part which can be connected to a drive carriage body via a plug connection. The initialization stops can thus be produced in a cost-effective manner by correspondingly designing the mold for the cable attachment elements.

In order that the initialization stops can automatically enter the guide rail cutouts or have a restoring capacity after moving out of the respective guide rail cutout, in a preferred embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention they are designed to be resilient.

In an expedient embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the initialization stops are each formed by a stop finger which extends in the displacement direction of the respective drive carriage. Such a stop finger does not require any additional installation space and can generally be integrated without problem in a guide path of an existing guide rail. Consequently, the initialization arrangement formed in the context of the invention can be integrated in existing control mechanisms for a sliding roof by means of slight modifications.

In order that, on reaching the guide rail cutouts, the stop fingers can be guided into the guide rail cutout without catching, the stop fingers preferably each have an inclined end face which interacts with a counter-surface fixed on the guide rail. When the stop finger runs onto the counter-surface, the stop finger is thus bent according to the inclination of the inclined end face such that the initialization stop enters the corresponding guide rail cutout. Preferably, for this purpose, the guide rails have, in the region of the guide rail cutout, a respective run-on ramp for the respective stop finger, which ramp, during the run-on of the stop finger, presses the respective initialization stop into the respective guide rail cutout and holds it therein.

According to a preferred embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, the run-on ramp is formed by an insert, formed in particular from a plastic, of the respective guide rail, which insert is latched with the guide rail.

To save costs and to simplify the construction of the control mechanisms, the insert can furthermore define an outlet path for a control cam of a cover carrier of the cover element. During displacement of the cover element, the control cam is guided in a guide path of the guide rail such that a pivoting of the cover element or of the cover carrier is blocked. In the closed position and the ventilation position of the cover element, in which the cover element is opened out with respect to the fixed roof sections, the control cam enters the outlet path such that a displacement of the cover element in the vehicle longitudinal direction is blocked by the boundary walls of the insert.

In order to ensure that the initialization stops can be brought out of the guide rail cutouts in an at least substantially resistant-free manner, the initialization stops expediently have, at their side facing away from the respective counter-stop, a bevel which supports a movement of the respective initialization stop out of the respective guide rail cutout.

Further advantages and advantageous refinements of the subject matter of the invention can be found in the description, the drawing and the patent claims.

FIG. 1depicts a motor vehicle10which is formed with a rigid vehicle roof12which has a roof opening14which can be selectively closed or at least partially exposed by means of a cover element16. For this purpose, the cover element can be displaced in the vehicle longitudinal direction along guide rails18A and18B which, with respect to a vertical vehicle longitudinal center plane, are arranged on both sides of the roof opening14. Furthermore, starting from its closed position illustrated inFIG. 1, the cover element16can be pivoted into a so-called ventilation position in which it is opened out with respect to the rigid vehicle roof12.

To adjust the cover element16, a control mechanism is arranged on each of the two sides in the region of the guide rails18A and18B, which control mechanism, as can be seen fromFIG. 2, comprises a drive carriage20which can be moved in the respective guide rail18A or18B. InFIG. 2, the drive carriage20for the guide rail18A is depicted. The control mechanism in the region of the second guide rail18B is formed in a mirror-inverted manner to the control mechanism in the region of the guide rail18A. Therefore, for the sake of clarity, a description of the control mechanism arranged in the region of the guide rail18B will be omitted in the text which follows.

The drive carriage20has an upper claw section22which engages around a slideway-like guide web24of a cover carrier26which is rigidly connected to the cover element16. A movement of the drive carriage20in the guide rail18A and along the guide web24of the cover carrier26thus results in a pivoting of the cover element16.

For displacement purposes, the drive carriage20is connected via a cable attachment element28to a pressure-resistant drive cable30which is guided in a guide path of the guide rail18A and can be actuated by means of an electric drive which is not illustrated in more detail. The cable attachment element28constitutes a plastic encapsulation of the drive cable30and is connected via a plug mechanism to the body of the drive carriage20.

A so-called stop finger32is formed on the drive carriage20or the cable attachment element28of the drive carriage20, said stop finger projecting forwardly with respect to the cable attachment element28parallel to the extension of the guide rail18A and being designed to be flexurally elastic or resilient. The stop finger32has an end face34which, with respect to a plane which intersects the guide rail19A at a right angle in the transverse direction, is inclined obliquely and constitutes an active face of the stop finger32. Furthermore, the stop finger32has, at its underside, a stop element36which constitutes an initialization stop which interacts with a cutout38whose front edge40forms a counter-stop for the stop element36. At its side facing away from the edge40, the stop element36has a bevel42which supports a movement of the stop element36out of the cut-out38.

In order to bend the resiliently formed stop finger32elastically on reaching the cutout38in the guide rail18A such that the stop element36enters the cutout38, the guide rail18A has a run-on ramp44, acting in the manner of a slideway, for the end face34of the stop finger32, which ramp is formed by an upper-side insert46of the guide rail18A. The insert46furthermore defines an outlet path for a control cam50which projects from the cover carrier26in the vehicle transverse direction, and therefore has a dual function. With an arrangement in the outlet path48, the control cam50blocks a displacement of the cover element16in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

By means of the stop element36formed by the stop finger32, it is possible by interaction with the counter-stop formed by the edge40to achieve an initialization of the cover element drive system, which initialization is required during the start-up of the drive system in order to ensure a positionally accurate movement of the cover element16. When the stop element36runs onto the edge40, a sliding roof controller detects a front end position of the drive carriage20, starting from which the cover element16can be moved or pivoted into desired positions by a corresponding activation of the electric drive.

In the normal operation of the above-described lift-and-slide roof, the stop finger32formed on the cable attachment element28of the drive carriage20is moved in a guide channel of the guide rail18A in a protected and concealed manner without function.

For initialization, the drive carriage20is moved from an arbitrary position in the forward direction, with the result that the cover element16is initially brought into the closed position and then into its opened out ventilation position. The stop finger32is now arranged in the region of the initialization cutout38in the guide rail18A (cf.FIG. 7). During a further movement of the drive carriage20in the direction of the vehicle front end, the stop finger32runs with its end face34onto the run-on bevel44formed by the insert46, which bevel then acts in the manner of a control slideway and bends the stop finger32downward such that the stop element36enters the cutout38(cf.FIG. 8). The drive carriage20is now moved further in the direction of the vehicle front end until the stop element36runs onto the front edge40of the rectangular cutout38and an initialization of the system takes place (cf.FIG. 9). In this position, the stop finger32is blocked by means of the insert46from being deflected upward. The insert46thus forms an upper stop for the stop finger32. After the initialization, the drive carriage20is moved by a certain value in the direction of the vehicle rear until a carriage position is reached which corresponds to the ventilation position of the cover element16.

Alternatively or in addition, the control mechanism could also have an initialization stop which is formed on a stop finger of the control mechanism in a manner corresponding to the above-described initialization stop, but can be activated in a rear-side end position of the drive carriage.