WINDOW REGULATOR FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE

Abstract: An automotive window regulator comprises a guide rail assembly and a wire type drive unit. The guide rail assembly consists of a pair of guide rails which are joined together by a plurality of beams prior to installation of the guide rail assembly on a door inner panel. The drive unit comprises a wire and a movable bracket for fixing a portion of the wire to a window pane. The movable bracket is disposed right under the center of gravity of the window pane or as close as possible to same.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a window door regulator for raising and lowering a door glass or window pane, according to the pre-characterizing part claim 1. 2. Description of the Prior Art An X-arm type window regulator is widely used for an automotive vehicle frameless door as for example disclosed in the Japanese Provisional Utility Model Publication No. 54-3742 and includes a pair of front and rear guide rails arranged nearly vertically and secured to a door inner panel, a pair of guide rollers rotatably mounted on a door glass and movably received in the guide rails so that the door glass is movable upwardly and downwardly being guided by the guide rails, and an X-arm type drive unit by which the door glass is driven to move upwardly and downwardly. In the prior art window regulator, the guide rails and the drive unit are formed as independent constituent parts or assemblies and separately mounted on a door panel by separate fastening means. Due to this, installation of the window regulator requires not only a difficult installation work but a delicate adjusting work, otherwise the door glass does not move smoothly. Further, in the prior art window regulator, the point at which a driving force is transferred from the drive unit to the door glass traces a curved line upon movement of the door glass. Due to this, the door glass tends to swing forwardly and rearwardly to cause play of the guide rollers and the guide rails. From US-A-2 379 923 a window regulator for raising and lowering a window pane in an automotive door having an inner panel is known, which includes a guide rail assembly fixedly attached to the inner panel and having a pair of parallel guide rails spaced from each other and a pair of first and second beams extending between said guide rails to fixedly attach same to each other. A pair of guide rollers is rotatably mounted on said window pane and movably engaged with said guide rails, respectively and a drive unit is provided for driving a window pane. The window regulator system of US-A-2 379 923, however, has the disadvantage that its structure is very complicated and assembly thereof is complicated as well, so that a long time is needed in order to install the window regulator at the inner panel of the automotive vehicle door. Furthermore the window regulator system of this prior art cannot be preassembled. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a window regulator which can be preassembled as a single unit prior to installation on the inner door panel with ease and efficiency. The solution of this problem is achieved by the characterising features of claim 1. Advantageously there is provided a window regulator for an automotive vehicle door which can effect smooth movement of a door glass without requiring delicate and difficult adjusting work. Futhermore, with the window regulator of the present invention there is provided the advantage that the window regulator is assuredly prevented from causing play of its guide rollers and guide rails. The sub-claims contain further preferred embodiments of the present invention. The features and advantages of the automotive window regulator according to the present invention will become clearly appreciated from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automotive door incorporating a window regulator according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1; and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 is an automotive vehicle door including an outer panel 12 and an inner panel 14 which are joined together to form a hollow door body 16. The inner panel 14 is formed with various access holes (not shown) which are used for assembly works, as is well known in the art. Within the door body 16 a guide rail assembly 18 is disposed and secured to the inner door panel 14. The guide rail assembly 18 consists of a pair of parallel guide rails 20 disposed nearly vertically or disposed to extend in the roof-to-floor direction of the vehicle and a pair of parallel upper and lower beams 22 disposed horizontally between the guide rails 20 to interconnect the same, i.e., the upper beam 22 interconnects the upper end portions of the guide rails 20 while the lower beam 22 interconnecting the lower end portions. Within the guide rails 20 a pair of guide rollers 24 are movably disposed and are in turn rotatably mounted through brackets 26 on a door glass 28 so that up-and-down movement of the door glass 28 is guided by the guide rails 20. A wire type drive unit for driving the door glass 28 is generally indicated by the reference numeral 30. The drive unit 30 is of a wire type and includes a drum base attached to said third beam 48 , a winding drum 34 rotatably mounted on said drum base, a pair of pulleys 36 rotatably mounted on said first and second beams 22 , respectively, a movable bracket 38 installed on said window pane 28 in the place between said guide rails 20 , a wire 40 having a portion fixedly attached to said movable bracket 38 and placed around said pulleys 36 and having opposite end portions, which are respectively wound around said winding drum 34 in reverse directions, and an electric motor 44 and a reduction gear 46 for driving said winding drum 34 to rotate. In the above, the location of the movable bracket 38 on the door glass 28, i.e., the point at which a driving force is transferred from the wire 40 to the door glass 28 is set right under the center of gravity of the door glass 28 or as close as possible to same, whereby to prevent rotation of the door glass 28. In operation, turning of the electric motor 44 of the drive unit 30 causes the winding drum 34 to rotate in one or the other direction, with the upper portion of the wire 40 being wound up on the winding drum 34 or wound off from same. By this, the movable bracket 38 is caused to move upwardly or downwardly between the pulleys 36, with the door glass 28 being driven to move upwardly or downwardly. From the foregoing, it is to be understood that the window regulator of this invention can be installed in place with ease by the effect of employment of the guide rail assembly 18 and the wire type drive unit 30, that is, the installation of the window regulator is attained by first attaching the guide rail assembly 18 and the drive unit 30 to the door inner panel 14 with the wire 40 being wound around the pulleys 36 and the winding drum 34, then mounting the guide rollers 24 in the guide rails 20 and finally fixing a predetermined portion of the wire 40 to the movable bracket 38. It is further to be understood that the window regulator of this invention does not require any delicate adjustment, particularly as to installation of the window glass 28, since by the effect of the guide rails 20 preassembled to form an integral unit, adjustment of the forward and rearward inclination of the guide rail assembly 18 or the guide roller brackets 36 is only necessitated to complete installation of the window regulator of this invention. It is further to be understood that the window regulator of this invention can assure smooth movement of the window glass 28 since by the employment of the wire type drive unit 30, the point at which a driving force is transferred from the drive unit 30 to the window glass 28 is immovable or stationary relative to the window glass 28. This is quite effective for preventing rotation of the window glass 28 and therefore play of the guide rails 20 or the guide rollers 24.

Claims: A window regulator for raising and lowering a window pane (28) in an automotive vehicle door (10) having an inner panel (14), including: a guide rail assembly (18) fixedly attached to the inner panel (14) and having a pair of parallel guide rails (20) spaced from each other and a pair of first and second beams (22) extending between said guide rails (20) to fixedly attach the same to each other; a pair of guide rollers (24) rotatably mounted on said window pane (28) and movably engaged with said guide rails (20), respectively; and a drive unit (30) for driving the window pane (28), characterized in that said guide rail assembly (18) is a preassembled integral unit and further has a third beam (48) intermediate between said first and second beams (22); and that said drive unit (30) is of a wire type and includes a drum base attached to said third beam (48), a winding drum (34) rotatably mounted on said drum base, a pair of pulleys (36) rotatably mounted on said first and second beams (22), respectively, a movable bracket (38) installed on said window pane (28) in the place between said guide rails (20), a wire (40) having a portion fixedly attached to said movable bracket (38) and placed around said pulleys (36) and having opposite end portions, which are respectively wound around said winding drum (34) in reverse directions, and means (44, 46) for driving said winding drum (34) to rotate. A window regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means comprises an electric motor (44) and a reduction gear (46) installed on said third beam (48). A window regulator claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said movable bracket (38) is located right under the center of gravity of said window panel (28). A window regulator as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said movable bracket (38) is disposed as close as possible to the center of gravity of said window panel (28).

Inventors: UGAWA, SATORU
Applicants: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
Application year: 1985
Main classification: B60J1
IPC codes: B60J1, E05F11