Open roof construction for a vehicle

Abstract: An open roof construction for a vehicle having an opening (2) in its fixed roof (1) comprises a frame (3) and an adjustable closure element (4). Said closure element (4) is adjustable between a closed position, in which it closes the roof opening, and an open position, in which it releases the roof opening on the front side. The frame comprises at least one guide rail (5) extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. An operating mechanism for the closure element (4) is provided for effecting a pivoting movement of the closure element (4) and a movement of the closure element in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail (5). The which operating mechanism includes an element (21) which is at least substantially stationary during the pivoting movement of the closure element (4) and which moves along with the movement of the closure element (4). A correction mechanism is provided for moving the closure element (4) slightly in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail upon pivoting movement of said closure element about a pivot member (15). The correction mechanism includes an assembly consisting of single cam (19) and two camways (20), only one of which is operative. The cam (19) is connected with the panel and the camways (20) are formed on said element of the operating mechanism.

Description: The invention relates to an open roof construction in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. In Dutch patent application No. 1011863 (=EP 00201260.7) (not pre-published), from which the present invention departs, the element and the counter element consist of two cams formed on the panel and two camways formed on a link slide, respectively. Although the twin construction provides a solid structure, it has the drawback that if the two cams or camways are not properly aligned, the cams may jam in the camways, which may interfere with the smooth operation of the operating mechanism. The object of the invention is to further improve the open roof construction of the kind referred to in the introduction. To this end the open roof construction according to the invention is characterised by the features defined in the characterizing portion of claim 1. By constructing either one of the element and the counter element of the correction mechanism defined in claim 1, as twin elements, parts such as the member of the operating mechanism can remain identical on the left and right sides of the roof opening, which simplifies production and stockkeeping. Jamming problems are avoided by using only one element or counter element for the correction mechanism, as a result of which the correction mechanism is less sensitive to production tolerances, whilst a smooth operation of the operating mechanism is nevertheless ensured. In an advantageous embodiment said element consists of a cam, and the twin elements of the counter element consist of camways, wherein said cam is preferably formed on the closure element and said camways are formed on the member in the form of a link slide. The invention is especially advantageous if the link slide is divided in longitudinal direction, being made of two interconnected halves. In an embodiment of this kind the camways may be shifted in horizontal direction with respect to each other due to the fact that the two parts of the link slide are not entirely correctly aligned. Since the camways will generally exhibit a fairly steep slope, the cams may easily jam if two cams are used, which will result in variations in the required driving force, an increased noise level of the driving mechanism and a loss of "sense of quality" in the driving mechanism. This is avoided with the open roof construction according to the invention. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, which shows an examplary embodiment of the open roof construction according to the invention. Figs. 1 - 4 are longitudinal sectional views of the embodiment of the open roof construction according to the invention, showing four different positions thereof. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the main components of the operating mechanism of the open roof construction of Figs. 1 - 4. Fig. 6 is a larger-scale cross-sectional view along the line VI-VI in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a larger-scale cross-sectional view along the line VII-VII in Fig. 2. The drawings, and in the first instance Figs. 1 - 4, show an exemplary embodiment of the open roof construction according to the invention, which is built into a vehicle, such as a passenger car, in whose fixed roof 1 a roof opening 2 is present. The open roof construction comprises a frame 3 or different stationary part, which can be attached to the fixed roof 1, or which is formed thereon. Said frame 3 supports, in a manner to be described in more detail hereafter, a closure element 4 which is capable of selectively closing the roof opening 2 or releasing it at least partially. In the illustrated embodiment the open roof construction is a so-called sliding-tilt roof, wherein the closure element 4 is in the form of a transparent, rigid panel, which can be moved from the closed position in roof opening 2 (Fig. 2), on the one hand to an upwardly sloping ventilating position (Fig. 1) and on the other hand downwards (Fig. 3) and subsequently rearwards to a position under the fixed roof 1 (Fig. 4). In order to enable these movements, panel 4 is fitted with an operating mechanism at both longitudinal edges, one of which is shown in the drawings, whereby it should be considered, however, that the same operating mechanism is disposed at the other longitudinal edge of panel 4 in mirror image thereof. Said operating mechanisms are disposed in guide rails 5, which are mounted in frame 3 or integrated therein and which extend on either side of the roof opening 2 and rearwards thereof under fixed roof 1. Each operating mechanism is actuated by a driving slide 6, which is guided in the associated guide rail 5 and which can be moved along guide rail 5 by means of a pull-push cable (not shown) or other connecting element which is connected to a drive unit such as an electric motor, a crank handle or the like. As is also clearly shown in Fig. 5, a vertically adjustable member in the form of an arm 7 is attached to the driving slide, which arm is connected to the driving slide 6 by means of a horizontal, transversely extending pivot 8. The arm 7 of driving slide 6 includes a first guide member 9 in the form of a double guide cam, which is in engagement with a guideway 10 in the form of a rib projecting in transverse direction, which is formed on a link plate 11 which is mounted on the underside of panel 4 and which extends in the longitudinal direction thereof. As is shown in Figs. 5 and 7, link plate 11 is formed of two abutting metal plates 12 or the like, which are each other's mirror image and on each of which various parts of the operating mechanism are formed in mirror image of each other. This also applies to guideway 10, which is formed on either side of link plate 11 by moulding plastic material on laterally projecting flanges 13 of the metal plates 12 (see Fig. 7). On the front side, the metal plates 12 of the link plate 11 widely diverge, forming legs 14, on the lower ends of which sliding shoes 15 are moulded, which sliding shoes are accommodated in associated grooves 16 of the guide rail and which are formed such that they are not only capable of sliding movement but also allow rotation about a transverse axis, so that the sliding shoes 15 serve as pivots at the same time. This leads to a reduction of the number of parts. Disposed some distance behind the front sliding shoes 15 or the front pivot 15 of panel 4 is a correction mechanism 17, which causes panel 4 to move slightly rearwards upon pivoting from the closed position which is shown in Fig. 2 to the ventilating position which is shown in Fig. 1, so as to detach a seal 18 on the front side of panel 4 from the edge of the fixed roof 1, thus to prevent said seal 18 from being exposed to high shearing forces upon being moved downwards slightly due to the pivoting movement of panel 4. Said correction mechanism 17 comprises a cam 19 that is formed on either one of the two metal plates 12 of link plate 11, which cam is in engagement with either one of the camways 20 that are formed on a link slide 21, which will be explained in more detail yet. The link slide remains stationary during pivoting movement of panel 4 and moves along when the panel moves in the longitudinal direction of guide rail 5, so that cams 19 and camways 20 can remain in constant engagement with each other because cams 19 allow rearward movement of panel 4 in a lowermost position in camways 20. Said link slide 21 is made up of two interconnected metal plates 35 and 36 formed by cutting and bending, and it is substantially symmetrical relative to a vertical longitudinal plane through the link slide, so that the same link slide 21 can be used on the left-hand side and on the right-hand side of the roof opening. Link slide 21 cooperates with the driving slide 6 in various manners. Driving slide 6 and link slide 21 are guided in two separate, adjoining guideways 5' and 5'' of guide rail 5, but driving slide 6 is guided along an upright flange 32 between the two guideways 5' and 5'', and projects laterally into guideway 5''. Besides first guide member 9, arm 7 of driving slide 6, which extends above guideway 5'', also has a second guide member 22, likewise in the form of dual cams engaging round a second guideway 23 on link slide 21. Dual second guide members 22 and second guideways 23 are used again, wherein the guideways 23 are facing ribs between which the two twin cams of the second guide member 22 are positioned (see Fig. 7). The guideways 10 and 23 are substantially the same length, whilst they are furthermore disposed at least substantially above each other and exhibit approximately the same slope, albeit in opposite direction. The guideways 10 and 23 are so formed and positioned that they can at least partially overlap upon pivoting movement of link plate 11 under the influence of the movement of the first and the second guide member 9, 22 of arm 7 along guideway 10. The sliding block of the arm 7 in which the guide members 9 and 22 are formed is capable of transmitting forces being exerted on panel 4 directly to the link slide 21, as a result of which arm 7 is hardly loaded, if at all, and a very stable support of the panel can be ensured. This effect is further enhanced by the dual construction of guide members 9, 22 and guideways 10, 23. As already mentioned before, link plate 21 only moves so as to enable movement of panel 4 in longitudinal direction, it must remain stationary during the other movements of panel 4 in vertical direction, and consequently driving slide 6 must move relative to link slide 21 in that case. When panel 4 moves in longitudinal direction, driving slide 6 and link slide 21 move as one unit. Special locking, coupling and operating means 24 - 31, which will not be further explained herein, are provided for locking link slide 21 in position and releasing it. For an explanation the reader is referred to Dutch patent application No. 1011863 (EP 002012670.7), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Cam 19 and camways 20 are formed by moulding plastic material round metal parts of link plate 11 and link slide 21. A horizontal lip 33 (see Fig. 6) is formed on either one of the two metal plates 12 of link plate 11, which lip functions to support the plastic cam 19, whilst two vertical lips are cut/bent from each plate of link slide 21 (see opening 34), around which the plastic material for forming camway 30 has been formed by means of an injection moulding technique. The angle that camways 20 include with the horizontal is large, as a consequence of which a horizontal movement of the metal plate portions 35 and 36 of link slide 21 relative to each other due to production tolerances will result in a misalignment of said camways 20, which have been formed prior to interconnecting the metal plate portions 35 and 36. Since only one cam 19 is used, this does not present any problems. On the other hand, since the two camways 20 are maintained, it is possible to use the same link slide 21 both on the left and on the right of the roof opening, so that the number of parts will not increase. The operation of the illustrated embodiment of the open roof construction according to the invention is in principle similar to that of the embodiments described in Dutch patent applications Nos. 1009773 (WO-A-00/06403), 1011863 (EP 00201260.7), 1012645 (EP 00202266.3) and 1012646 (EP 00202268.9) so that the reader is referred to said prior patent applications for a further explanation thereof, and the contents of said patent applications are incorporated herein by reference thereto. From the foregoing it will be understood that the invention provides an open roof construction which on the one hand is remarkable for its simplicity and its small overall height and which on the other hand provides a stable support, whilst the compensation mechanism is of solid and stable construction and insensitive to production tolerances, whilst it does not add to the number of different parts. The invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiment as shown in the drawing, which can be varied in several ways without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the invention can also be used with other kinds of open roof constructions such as tilt roofs, spoiler roofs and other types of roofs comprising panels or different single or multiple closure elements. The vertically adjustable part of the driving slide could also be in engagement via one guide pin or similar guide member with the guideways in the form of guide slots of the closure element and the stationary part. The guide members and guideways as well as the cam and the camways of the correction mechanism could also be kinematically reversed. The cam and the camways may also be of different construction, for example being formed with a pin and a slot or with a link rib and cams engaging therearound. The invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiment as shown in the drawing, which can be varied in several ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims: An open roof construction for a vehicle having an opening (2) in its fixed roof (1), comprising a stationary part (3) to be fixed to the roof, an adjustable closure element (4) supported by said stationary part, which is adjustable between a closed position, in which it closes the roof opening, and an open position, in which it releases the roof opening on the front side, wherein said stationary part comprises at least one guide rail (5) extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, whilst the closure element includes a pivot member (15) near the front side and is slidably supported by at least one sliding shoe (15) which is capable of movement in said guide rail, whilst an operating mechanism for the closure element (4) is provided, which is arranged for effecting the pivoting movement of the closure element and movement of the closure element in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail (5), said operating mechanism including a member (21) which is at least substantially stationary during the pivoting movement of the closure element (4) and which moves along with the movement of the closure element, as well as a correction mechanism (17) disposed some distance behind said pivot member, which functions to move the closure element slightly in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail (5) upon pivoting movement of said closure element about the pivot member (15), which correction mechanism includes an assembly consisting of an element (19) and a counter element (20), wherein either one of said element (19) and said counter element (20) is connected to said closure element (4) and the other is formed on said member (21) of the operating mechanism, characterised in that parts of the operating mechanism on the member (21) and the closure element (4) are twin parts, being substantially symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal plane, whilst only one of said element (19) and said counter element (20) is in the form of twin elements, the other being a single element. An open roof construction according to claim 1, wherein said element (19) and said twin elements of the counter element (20) each consist of a cam (19) and two camways (20), respectively. An open roof construction according to claim 2, wherein said cam (19) is formed on said closure element (4) and said camways (20) are formed on the member (21) in the form of a link slide. An open roof construction according to claim 3, wherein said link slide (21) is divided in longitudinal direction, being made of two interconnected halves. An open roof construction according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said closure element (4) is the panel of a sliding-tilt roof, which can on the one hand be pivoted from the closed position to a ventilating position and which can on the other hand be moved downwards and rearwards to a position under the fixed roof. An open roof construction according to claim 5, wherein said operating mechanism comprises a driving slide (6), which is in engagement via a vertically adjustable element (7) with a guideway (10) on said panel (4) and with a guideway on a link slide (21) that is guided in said guide rail (5), which link slide includes a locking member (25), which locks the link slide (21) in position with respect to the guide rail (5) during pivoting movements of the panel (4) and which can be released by the driving slide (6) at the transition to longitudinal movements of the panel (4), and wherein the camways (20) of the correction mechanism (17) are formed on said link slide (21). An open roof construction according to any one of claims 2-4, wherein the camways (20) of the assembly are positioned in opposite sense in transverse direction on either side of a link plate (11) on the closure element (4).

Inventors: MANDERS PETER CHRISTIAAN LEONA, MANDERS, PETER CHRISTIAAN LEONARDUS JOHANNES
Applicants: INALFA ROOF SYS GROUP BV, INALFA ROOF SYSTEMS GROUP B.V.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B60J7
IPC codes: B60J7