Control system for a sliding-tilting roof of a motor vehicle

Abstract: A control system for a sliding-tilting roof of a motor vehicle comprises a motor (1) for moving the sliding­ tilting roof and an electrical circuit with a manually operable operating means for energizing the motor (1) for moving the sliding-tilting roof to its closed or open position, respectively. Said electrical circuit comprises an input (10) to be connected to a central locking system which provides a closing signal upon locking of the vehicle. Said electrical circuit further comprises a detecting means for determining the position of the sliding-tilting roof and said circuit energizes the motor (1) for moving the roof to its closed position when the detecting means signals an open position of the sliding-tilting roof.

Description: The invention relates to a control system for a sliding-tilting roof of the type according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a control system is shown in US-A-4 466 657 which provides the known features of the preamble of claim 1. This known control system has no provisions to connect the system to a central locking system for closing the roof upon closing the door of the vehicle. DE-A-33 24 107 discloses a control system of the above-mentioned type including a control loop which equalizes the position of the sliding-tilting roof to the desired position indicated by the operating means. Although this known circuitry can be connected to a central locking system which upon locking the vehicle supplies a closing signal to the respective actuating devices for closing the windows, the roof and a door locking means, the known control system is relatively expensive due to the complicated electronic circuitry. Up to the present it was not possible to connect a simple control system to a central locking system. DE-A-36 30 004 discloses a control system for electric windows of a motor vehicle, comprising a motor for moving a window and an electrical circuit with a manually operable means for energizing the motor for moving the window to its closed or open position respectively, whereby the circuit comprises an input to be connected to a central locking system which provides a closing signal on locking of the vehicle, wherein said circuit further comprises a detecting means for determining the position of the window and said circuit energizes the motor for moving the roof to its closed position when the detecting means signals an open position of the window. The invention aims to provide a control system of the above-mentioned type which is made simple, which automatically stops the roof at predetermined intermediate positions during opening and which can be connected to a central locking system for closing the roof from any open position. To this end the control system of the invention is characterized by the features of the characterizing part of claim 1. In this manner the control system of the invention can be provided with a simple circuit equipped with electromechanical components such as relays and the like, wherein the interconnected switches provide the possibility to close the sliding-tilting roof in response to a control signal of the central locking system. Further, the sliding-tilting roof can be moved to a restricted number of open positions, wherein the attention of the driver of the vehicle can be completely directed to the traffic as the driver knows beforehand in which positions the sliding-tilting roof will stop. It is no longer required that he visually observes whether the roof has reached a desired position with the otherwise involved risks as is the case in the known control system. Due to the presence of the interconnected switches it is possible despite the presence of one or more intermediate positions, to move the sliding-tilting roof from an open position without interruption to the closed position. According to a simple embodiment of the invention said circuit comprises a first switch for stopping the motor by short circuiting the same wherein a cam means is provided which is synchronously movable with the sliding-tilting roof with respect to said switch means, said cam means having a cam way with a plurality of cams for actuating said switch means, wherein the interconnected switches renders inactive said first switch during the closing movement until the closed position is reached. Preferably the interconnected switches includes a second switch which can be actuated by a second cam way of the cam means. According to a favourable embodiment of the invention a make-and-break contact of a relay is provided at both sides of the motor, wherein each of said make-and-break contacts with corresponding de-energized relay connects the corresponding terminal of the motor to one pole of a power source and with energized relay to the other pole of the power source, wherein the excitation coils of both relays are connected on the one side to said one pole of the power source and on the other side are connectable alternatively to said other pole of the power source through the operating means made as a reversing switch with non-connected centre position, wherein said first switch on operation by a cam of the first cam way energizes the relay which is not energized by the operating means upon manual operation, while said second switch during the closing movement of the sliding-tilting roof interrupts the connection between the first switch and said relay. Thereby the advantage is obtained that the motor current is switched by relay contacts and that the operating means and the switch means only need to carry the excitation currents for the relays. The switches can be simple micro switches and further standard relays can be used. The invention will be further explained by reference to the drawings in which an embodiment is shown. Fig. 1 shows a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the control system according to the invention. Fig. 2 schematically shows the cam means of the control system according to fig. 1. Referring to fig. 1 there is shown a control system for a sliding-tilting roof not shown for opening and closing an opening in a roof of a motor vehicle. The sliding-tilting roof is movable by means of an electromotor 1, each of the terminals of which can be connected to the minus pole 4 and the positive pole 5 of a power source not shown through a make-and-break contact 2 and 3, respectively. The make-and-break contacts 2, 3 together form a pole reversing switch through which the electromotor 1 can be connected to the power source for operation in one or the opposite rotational direction, respectively. The make-and-break contacts 2, 3 are part of a relay 6 and 7, respectively, the excitation coils of which are connected directly to the minus pole 4 on the one side and are connectable to the positive pole 5 through a manually operable reversing switch 8 on the other side. The reversing switch 8 has an open rest position determined by a not shown spring, which rest position is shown in fig. 1. The relay 6 is provided for opening the roof opening by sliding while the relay 7 is provided for opening the roof opening by tilting. When the sliding-tilting roof is in an open position, the situation is reversed and the relay 6 operates for closing from an open position reached by tilting and the relay 7 for closing from an open position reached by sliding. Further the excitation coils of the relays 6, 7 at the side connected to the reversing switch 8 are also connected to a reversing switch 9 made as a microswitch, through which switch the excitation coils of the relays 6, 7 can be connected to an input 10 through which the circuit shown is connectable to a central locking system. Upon locking the vehicle this central locking system provides a closing signal in the form of a positive supply voltage corresponding with the voltage of the power source. In a line 11 a reversing switch 12 is connected between the reversing switch 9 and the input 10, which is also made as a micro switch. When the closing signal is a pulse of short duration, the reversing switch 12 can be directly followed by an auxiliary relay connected between the line 11 and the minus pole 4, wherein a make contact of this auxiliary relay connects the positive pole 5 with the input 10. Therefore, both relays 6, 7 can also be energized through this input 10. To the side of the excitation coils of the relays 6, 7 connected to the reversing switches 8, 9, two diodes 13, 14 are connected which are connected to each other at their other side and are coupled through a reversing switch 15 made as a microswitch to the excitation coil of an auxiliary relay 16 which is connected to the minus pole 4 at its other side. A make contact 17 of the auxiliary relay 16 is connected in parallel to the reversing switch 15. The three reversing switches 9, 12 and 15 are operable through a cam means with three cam ways 18, 19 and 20 which are schematically shown in fig. 2. The cam means is driven by the electromotor 1 synchronously with the sliding-tilting roof. The cam way 18 operates the reversing switch 15, the cam way 19 the reversing switch 9 and the cam way 20 the reversing switch 12. The cams of the cam ways are indicated by a raised shaded part and each cam reverses the corresponding reversing switch from the shown position determined by a spring to the not shown position. The operation of the described control system is as follows. It is assumed that the sliding-tilting roof is in its fully open position reached by sliding, so that a last cam 21 of the cam way 18 moved the reversing switch 15 in its not shown position. In this position the reversing switch 15 connects the excitation coil of the auxiliary relay 16 with the switching arm 23 of the reversing switch 9 through a line 22. The reversing switches 9 and 12 are in their shown position. Now, when the vehicle is locked and the central locking system provides a closing signal, the relay 7 is energized through the input 10, the reversing switch 12, the line 11 and the reversing switch 9. Thereby the make-and-break contact 3 is moved from its shown position and the electromotor 1 is energized for closing the sliding-tilting roof. As soon as the cam 21 of the cam way 18 leaves the reversing switch 15, the switch 15 arives in its shown position and the auxiliary relay 16 will be energized again and thereby the make contact 17 will be closed. When the cam 24 provided for stopping the electromotor in an intermediate position as will be explained hereinafter, reaches switch 15, this switch will be reversed to its not shown position, which, however has no effect because reversing switch 9 is in its shown position. The electromotor 1 is therefore not stopped. Subsequently the cam 25 of the cam way 18 will reverse the reversing switch 15 to its not shown position again. The motor 1 is now stopped because a cam 26 of the cam way 20 reverses the switch 12 to its not shown position, in which the input 10 is connected with an output 27, through which output it is indicated to the central locking system that the sliding-tilting roof has reached its closed position. If the sliding-tilting roof is in a tilted position, the reversing switch 9 is moved to its not shown position by a cam 28 of the cam way 19. Upon locking the vehicle the relay 6 will be energized whereafter closing of the sliding-tilting roof takes place in the above-described manner. The cam 28 of the cam way 19 extends along the whole tilting movement distance of the cam means up to half-way the cams 25 and 26 of the cam ways 18 and 20. The cam way 19 and the reversing switch 9 therefore operate as a detecting means for determining the position of the sliding-tilting roof, which detecting means indicates whether the sliding-tilting roof has been moved in an open position by tilting or sliding. Due to the presence of the reversing switch 9 it is possible to provide one or more open intermediate positions for the sliding-tilting roof, wherein the closing movement from each open position can nevertheless take place without interruption. Thereby the manufacturer of sliding-tilting roofs has the possibility to predetermine an optimum choice of intermediate positions so that the driver can concentrate his attention fully on traffic during operation of the operating means 8. For sliding the sliding-tilting roof to an open position the operating means 8 is pressed for energizing the relay 6. Thereby the make-and-break contact 2 is reversed and the electromotor 1 slides the roof open. As soon as the cam 25 leaves the reversing switch 15, this switch goes to its shown position whereby the auxiliary relay 16 is energized and thereby the make contact 17 is closed. When in these circumstances the cam 24 determining an intermediate position, reverses the switch 15 to its not shown position again, the voltage on the relay 16 is provided to the relay 7 through the line 22 and the reversing switch 9 which is in its shown position, so that the make-and-break contact 3 is also reversed and the motor 1 is short circuited through its supply lines. When the user wants to close the sliding-tilting roof fully opened by sliding, the operating means 8 is operated in such manner that the relay 7 is energized. As soon as the cam 21 leaves the reversing switch 15, the auxiliary relay 16 is again energized and thereby the make contact 17 is closed. When the cam 24 moves the reversing switch 15 back to its not shown position, the voltage on the relay 16 is provided to the relay 7 through the switch 9, which relay 7 however was already energized through switch 8 so that the motor 1 remains energized for closing the sliding-tilting roof. When the cam 25 moves the reversing switch to its not shown position, the motor I remains energized until the cam 28 reverses the reversing switch 9. Thereby the relay 6 is energized so that the motor 1 is short circuited through its supply lines. A corresponding operation takes place during closing the sliding-tilting roof from a fully open position reached by tilting. In this case the motor 1 remains energized until the cam 28 leaves the switch 9. Although the cam way 18 is shown in the drawing with only one cam 24 for an intermediate position during sliding and one cam 29 for an intermediate position during tilting, it is of course possible to provide more cams for intermediate positions. The cam means can be made in several ways and may for example be made as a cam disk or a cam plate. The invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiment which can be varied in a number of ways within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims: Control system for a sliding-tilting roof of a motor vehicle, comprising a motor (1) for moving the sliding-tilting roof and an electrical circuit with a manually operable switch means (8) for energizing the motor (1) for moving the sliding-tilting roof to its closed or open position, respectively, characterized in that said circuit comprises a control signal input (10) to be connected to a central locking system which provides a closing signal upon locking of the vehicle, said circuit further comprises a plurality of interconnected switches (9, 12, 15) actuating means (18-20) driven by said motor (1) are provided for actuating said interconnected switches said motor driven actuating means (18-20) being synchronously movable with the sliding-tilting roof with respect to said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15) in such a manner that the interconnected switches indicate the position of the sliding-tilting roof, said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15), on operating the manually operable switch means (8) for opening the sliding-tilting roof, de-energize the motor (1) in a limited number of intermediate positions of the sliding-tilting roof predetermined by the said motor driven actuating means (18-20) , in response to a closing signal from the central locking system on the control signal input (10) said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15) energize the motor (1) for moving the roof without interruption to its closed position when the switches indicate an open position of the sliding-tilting roof, and said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15), on operating the manually operable switch means (8) for closing the sliding-tilting roof, maintain the motor (1) in operation until the sliding-tilting roof has reached its closed position from each open position without interruption . Control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15) comprise a first switch (15) for stopping the motor by short circuiting the same in each intermediate position and said interconnected switches (9, 12, 15) comprises second and third switches (9, 12) which render inactive said first switch (15) during the closing movement until the closed position is reached without interruption . Control system according to claim 2, characterized in that said second switch (9) indicates a sliding or tilting movement of the sliding-tilting roof. Control system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said actuating means (18-20) are made as a cam means provided with first, second and third cam ways (18, 19, 20) with cams (21, 24-26, 28, 29) for actuating said first, second and third switches (9, 12, 15), respectively. Control system according to claim 4, characterized in that said second cam way (19) has a cam (28) extending along the whole tilting movement distance of the cam means (18-20) up to substantially half-way the cam (25) of the first cam way (18) which determines the closed position of the sliding-tilting roof. Control system according to claims claims 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that a make-and-break contact (2,3) of a relay (6,7) is provided at both sides of the motor (1), wherein each of said make-and-break contacts (2,3) with corresponding de-energized relay (6,7) connects the corresponding terminal of the motor (1) to one (4) pole of a power source and with energized relay (6,7) to the other pole (5) of the power source, wherein the excitation coils of both relays are connected on the one side to said one pole (4) of the power source and on the other side are connectable alternatively to said other pole (5) of the power source through the operating means (8) made as a reversing switch with non-connected centre position, wherein said first switch means (15) on operation by a cam (21,24,25,29) of the first cam way (18) energizes the relay which is not energized by the operating means (8) upon manual operation, while said second switch (9) during the closing movement of the sliding-tilting roof interrupts the connection between the first switch (15) and said relay. Control system according to claim 6, characterized in that an auxiliary relay (16) is connected in parallel to both relays (6,7) for the motor (1) through corresponding diodes (13,14), wherein said first switch (15) is provided between the junction of the diodes and the auxiliary relay, said first switch being a two-way switch with rest position, of which the switching arm is connected to the auxiliary relay and the rest contact is connected to the junction of the diodes, wherein a make contact (17) of the auxiliary relay is connected in parallel to the rest contact, wherein the active contact of the first switch (15) is connected to the switch arm of the second switch (9) which is a two-way switch with rest position, the contacts of which each are connected with a contact of the operating means (8), wherein the input (10) for connection to the central locking system is connected through a third switch (12) to the switching arm of the second switch (9) and wherein the cam means (18-20) is provided with a third cam way (20) with a cam (26) for operating the third switch in the closed position of the sliding-tilting roof. Control system according to claim 7, characterized in that said third switch (12) is made a two-way switch, one contact of which is connected to the switching arm of the second switch and the other contact of which forms an output (27) for indicating the closed position of the sliding-tilting roof.

Inventors: HUYER JOHANNES NICOLAAS, HUYER, JOHANNES NICOLAAS
Applicants: VERMEULEN HOLLANDIA OCTROOIEN, VERMEULEN-HOLLANDIA OCTROOIEN II B.V.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: E05F15
IPC codes: B60J7