Abstract:
A component for a window regulator system of a vehicle closure panel including: a rail having a rail aperture extending between a first side of the rail and a second side opposite the first side, the rail aperture having a retaining surface associated with the rail aperture; a pulley for mounting adjacent to the first side, the pulley having a pulley aperture with a pulley surface opposite the first side; a pulley rivet having a rivet body including a retaining lip for engaging with the pulley surface and a retainer portion for engaging with the retaining surface, the rivet body configured for receipt in both the pulley aperture and the rail aperture when installed, the rivet body having a hole for receiving a fastener for fastening the rail to a panel via the pulley rivet; wherein, when installed, the rivet body is positioned within the pulley aperture and within the rail aperture, such that engagement between the retaining lip and the pulley surface inhibits separation of the pulley from the rail while engagement of the retainer portion with the retaining surface inhibits separation of the pulley rivet from the rail aperture.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to window regulator systems. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Vehicle doors have windows that can be opened and closed. Within the door, there can be a window regulator assembly including a carrier panel, a motor, rails and window regulator lifter or carrier plate assembly which is driven along is respective rail by the motor with associated cabling. There are several problems, however, with these window regulator assemblies. For example, in situations where the window regulator lifter assemblies are driven by cables, pulleys can be are used to effect a change in direction for the cables within the regulator assembly. However, due to forces involved in operating and/or in installing the window regulator assembly, the joint between the pulleys and the carrier may be subject to premature failure. 
         [0003]    It is recognized that window regulator systems can be fastened to the interior of the vehicle doors in a variety of different ways. It is advantageous for such fastening systems to be streamlined in design as well as to be strong enough to withstand cable tension forces during installation and/or operation. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulley installation on a window regulator system component to obviate or mitigate at least some of the above-presented disadvantages. 
         [0005]    An aspect provided is a component for a window regulator system of a vehicle closure panel including: a rail having a rail aperture extending between a first side of the rail and a second side opposite the first side, the rail aperture having a retaining surface associated with the rail aperture; a pulley for mounting adjacent to the first side, the pulley having a pulley aperture with a pulley surface opposite the first side; a pulley rivet having a rivet body including a retaining lip for engaging with the pulley surface and a retainer portion for engaging with the retaining surface, the rivet body configured for receipt in both the pulley aperture and the rail aperture when installed, the rivet body having a hole for receiving a fastener for fastening the rail to a panel via the pulley rivet; wherein, when installed, the rivet body is positioned within the pulley aperture and within the rail aperture, such that engagement between the retaining lip and the pulley surface inhibits separation of the pulley from the rail while engagement of the retainer portion with the retaining surface inhibits separation of the pulley rivet from the rail aperture. 
         [0006]    A further aspect provided a pulley rivet having a rivet body including a retaining lip for engaging with a pulley surface and a retainer portion for engaging with a retaining surface, the rivet body configured for receipt in both a pulley aperture and a rail aperture when installed, the rivet body having a hole for receiving a fastener for fastening the rail to a panel via the pulley rivet; wherein, when installed, the rivet body is positioned within the pulley aperture and within the rail aperture, such that engagement between the retaining lip and the pulley surface inhibits separation of the pulley from the rail while engagement of the retainer portion with the retaining surface inhibits separation of the pulley rivet from the rail aperture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The foregoing and other aspects will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective cross sectional view of a portion of the window regulator system shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a further perspective cross sectional view of the window regulator system shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is perspective view of a pulley rivet of the window regulator system shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the pulley rivet shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle  10  that includes a vehicle body  12  and at least one vehicle door  14  (also referred to as a closure panel  14 ). The vehicle door  14  includes a latch  20  that is positioned on a frame  15  of the vehicle door  14 , the latch  20  releasably engageable with a striker  28  on the vehicle body  12  to releasably hold the vehicle door  14  in a closed position. The frame  15  also supports a window  13  via a window regulator assembly (not shown) mounted to the frame  15 , as further described below. An outside door handle  17  is provided for opening the latch  20  (i.e. for releasing the latch  20  from the striker  28 ) to open the vehicle door  14 , as well as optionally to operate the window regulator system. Further, the vehicle door  14  has an inside control  16  (e.g. door handle, window controls, etc.) for operating the latch  20  and the window regulator assembly. A door panel  18  is shown providing a finishing cover (e.g. interior panel) over the window regulator assembly positioned between the frame  15  and the door panel  18 . 
         [0014]    For vehicles  10 , the closure panel  14  can be referred to as a partition or door, typically hinged, but sometimes attached by other mechanisms such as tracks, in front of an opening which is used for entering and exiting the vehicle  10  interior by people and/or cargo. In terms of vehicles  10 , the closure panel  14  may be a driver/passenger door, a lift gate, or it may be some other kind of closure panel  14 , such as an upward-swinging vehicle door (i.e. what is sometimes referred to as a gull-wing door) or a conventional type of door that is hinged at a front-facing or back-facing edge of the door, and so allows the door to swing (or slide) away from (or towards) the opening in the body  12  of the vehicle  10 . Also contemplated are sliding door embodiments of the closure panel  14  and canopy door embodiments of the closure panel  14 , such that sliding doors can be a type of door that open by sliding horizontally or vertically, whereby the door is either mounted on, or suspended from a track that provides for a larger opening. Canopy doors are a type of door that sits on top of the vehicle  10  and lifts up in some way, to provide access for vehicle passengers via the opening (e.g. car canopy, aircraft canopy, etc.). Canopy doors can be connected (e.g. hinged at a defined pivot axis and/or connected for travel along a track) to the body  12  of the vehicle at the front, side or back of the door, as the application permits. It is recognized that the body  12  can be represented as a body panel of the vehicle  10 , a frame of the vehicle  10 , and/or a combination frame and body panel assembly, as desired. 
         [0015]    In general, the window can be coupled to a window regulator assembly (not shown) for moving the vehicle window  13  up and down, i.e. in and out of the an enclosure  31  provided between the frame  15  and the door panel  18  (see  FIG. 3 ). The window regulator assembly can include a drive motor and drive mechanism (e.g. gearing—not shown) connected to a set of drive cables (not shown), one or more rails  36  for mounting on the frame  15  (or on an intervening carrier panel  19  as desired—see  FIG. 2 ), a regulator carriage (not shown) connected to the window  13  and mounted on the rail  36  for riding along a track, and one or more pulleys  42  (e.g. upper pulley and lower pulley) for effecting changes in direction of the drive cables. In operation of the window regulator assembly, the drive motor causes movement of the drive cables which in turn propels the regulator carriage towards one end or the other end of the rail  36 , depending upon the rotational direction of the drive motor (e.g. as controlled by the door controls  16 , 17 ). It is recognized that the rails  36  can be mounted on the carrier panel  19  that is itself mounted to the frame  15 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Alternatively, the rails  36  can be mounted directly to the frame  15  (not shown) without the need for the intervening carrier panel  19 . 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , show is a perspective view of a cross section of the pulley  42  and associated attachment of the pulley  42  to the frame  15 . A pulley rivet  44  connects the pulley  42  to an aperture  46  in the rail  36  via an aperture  48  in the pulley  42 , such that a body  41  of the pulley rivet  44  extends from one side  43  of the pulley  42  facing the enclosure  31  (see  FIG. 3 ) to the end  49  of the rail aperture  46  adjacent to the frame  15 . It is recognized that the pulley  42  is positioned on an interior side  35  of the rail  36 , and an exterior side  37  of the rail  36  is positioned adjacent to the frame  15 . 
         [0017]    The pulley rivet  44  has a retaining lip  50  on one side  45  that overlaps with a pulley surface  52  (e.g. a retaining surface for the retaining lip  50 ) of the pulley  42  adjacent to the aperture  48 , in order to retain positioning of the pulley  42  adjacent to the rail  36  when installed by the pulley rivet  44  (i.e. adjacent to the interior side  35 ). At another side  47  of the pulley rivet  44 , opposite the one side  45 , can be an undercut (e.g. retainer portion)  54  for providing a snap fit against a corresponding retaining surface  56 , for example, adjacent to the aperture  46  in the rail  36  (i.e. on the exterior side  37 ), the snap fit between the undercut  54  and the retaining surface  56  acting as a detent mechanism to retain the pulley rivet  44  within the aperture  46 , once inserted. As such, the material (e.g. plastic) of the body  41  of the pulley rivet  44  is resilient to provide for deformation (e.g. elastic) of the body adjacent to the undercut  54  during travel of the pulley rivet  44  within (and through) the aperture  46 , such that the undercut  54  overlaps the retaining surface  56  once the undercut  54  inserted in (and optionally emerges out of) the aperture  46 . In other words, the body  41  (or portion thereof) of the pulley rivet  44  between the retaining lip  50  and the undercut  54  is of a cross sectional dimension smaller than a corresponding cross sectional dimension of the aperture  46 , while the undercut  54  itself (e.g. a barb) is of a cross sectional dimension greater than the cross sectional dimension of the aperture  46  in order to provide for the overlap between the undercut  54  and the retaining surface  56  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . It is also recognized that the position of the retaining surface  56  can be other than shown. For example, the retaining surface  56  rather than being positioned external to the aperture  46  (i.e. on the surface  37  of the rail  36 ), the retaining surface  56  (or more than one retaining surface for mating with a corresponding number of undercuts  54 —not shown) can be positioned within the aperture  46  and as such the body  41  of the pulley rivet  44  may not extend through the aperture  46 . In other words, mating of the retaining surface  56  and the undercut  54  can occur within the aperture  46  rather than external to the aperture  46 , such that the retaining surface  56  and the undercut  54  function as the detent mechanism. 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the cross sectional shape of the body  41  portion of the pulley rivet  44  positioned within the aperture  46  (see  FIG. 2 ) can be other than circular, e.g. hexagonal. As such, the cross sectional shape of non-circular (e.g. hexagonal, square, oval, etc.) can inhibit rotation of the pulley rivet  44  in the aperture  46  when under influence of rotation of the pulley  42  as the window regulator assembly is operated by the drive motor, recognizing that the cross sectional shape of the aperture  46  corresponds (e.g. similarly shaped) to that of the body  41  to facilitate the inhibiting of body  41  rotation within. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , shown is a hole  58  (e.g. extending from the one side  45  to the other side  47 , or not extending there through as desired) positioned in the body  41  of the pulley rivet  44  between the one side  45  and the other side  47 . A longitudinal axis of the hole  58  (in the body  41 ) can be aligned with a longitudinal axis of the rail aperture  46 . Further, the longitudinal axis of the rail aperture  46  can be aligned with a longitudinal axis of the pulley aperture  48 . For example, hole  58  in the rivet body  41  forms a tubular shaped wall about the longitudinal axis of the pulley rivet  44 , such that the fastener  60  is positioned within the interior of the tubular shaped wall and the undercut  54  is located on the exterior of the tubular shaped wall. The hole  58  can be threaded, or otherwise, in order to receive a fastener  60  used to fixedly attach the pulley rivet  44  (once installed on the pulley  42  and rail  36 ) to the carrier panel  19  and/or frame  15  (see  FIG. 2 ). Accordingly, by example, the fastener  60  can be a screw or a bolt and nut combination, as desired. 
         [0020]    In operation of the pulley rivet  44 , the pulley rivet  44  is placed through the aperture  48  of the pulley  42  such that the retaining lip  50  overlaps with the pulley surface  52 . The body  41  of the pulley rivet  44  with the undercut  54  is then pushed into (and optionally though) the aperture  46  of the rail  36  until the undercut  54  overlaps the retaining surface  56  of the aperture  46 , thus securing the pulley rivet  44  within the aperture  46  (through engagement of the retaining surface  56  with the undercut  54 ) and accordingly the pulley  42  on the rail  36  by means of the retaining lip  50  cooperating with the pulley surface  52 . The pulley rivet  44  is inserted into (e.g. received by) both the rail aperture  46  and the pulley aperture  48  when the apertures  46 ,  48  are aligned. Once the rail  36  (with attached pulley  42 ) is in an assembly position with the carrier panel  16  (and/or frame  15 ), the installer can then insert the fastener through a hole in the carrier panel  16  (and/or frame  15 ) and then fasten the fastener  60  in the hole  58  of the pulley rivet  44 , thus securing the rail  36  and attached pulley  42  thereto via the rivet pulley  44 . It is recognized that some or all of the components of the window regulator system (e.g. one or more rails  36 , the regulator carriage connected to the window  13  and mounted on the rail  36 ) is/are ultimately connected to the carrier panel  16  and/or frame  15  via cooperation of the pulley rivet  44  and the fastener  60 . Preferably, the pulley rivet  44  is installed from the one side  35  of the rail  36  and the fastener  60  from the other side  37  of the rail  36 . Once the fastener  60  is fastened in the hole  60 , the window regulator system, if not already attached to the frame  15 , can then be attached via the carrier panel  16  to the frame  15  by other fasteners as desired. It is recognized that the aperture  46  of the rail  36  can be aligned with the corresponding hole in the carrier panel  16  and/or frame  15  when inserting the fastener  60  into the hole  58  of the pulley rivet  44 . 
         [0021]    While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.