Patent Publication Number: US-2007114817-A1

Title: Raising mechanism for a sliding roof and vehicle roof comprising such raising mechanism

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 05 025 513.2 which was filed on Nov. 23, 2005.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention relates to a raising mechanism for a sliding roof and further to a vehicle roof including this raising mechanism.  
      Sliding roofs have at least one cover that can fully or partially expose a roof opening, or assume a ventilation position by raising the cover at a rear end.  
      Known mechanisms use several carriages to raise and shift the cover, where each carriage can be shifted in one lateral guide rail. By the cooperation of the carriages and the lateral guide rails, a lifting motion is produced by which the corresponding cover can be shifted upwards, as well as producing a displacing motion. For this purpose slotted guides are usually used.  
      A disadvantage with these constructions is the relatively large installation volume of carriage arrangements in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, as well as of the arrangement of the carriages, levers and guide rails in a vertical direction. Moreover, with a completely retracted cover, an opening width of the roof opening in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is limited by a structural length of the carriages and levers, in particular in a situation where the cover is moved to lie above a roof sheet.  
      It is the object of the invention to provide a raising mechanism for a sliding roof, which has a simple construction, needs a small installation volume, and allows a large opening width, as well as to provide a vehicle roof with such a raising mechanism.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      To this end the invention makes provision for a raising mechanism for a sliding roof. The raising mechanism includes at least one laterally arranged guide rail, and two levers constituting a pair of levers, with each of the levers having a guide rail side end and a cover side end, and where both levers are pivotally coupled with each other through a joining axle. The raising mechanism also includes a carriage which, during traversing, exerts a vertical force on the joining axle and lifts the joining axle in order to thereby move the pair of levers to a raised position. A mechanism, e.g. a cable that is guided so as to be resistant to buckling, can be shifted by a drive motor that engages the carriage, so that the latter is displaced along a guide rail. During traversing, the carriage exerts a vertical force on the joining axle, so that the pair of levers (coupled to each other through this joining axle) arrive at the raised position. In this process, the vertical force advantageously directly engages the joining axle. To raise the cover, only one carriage is needed whereby a small installation volume is required in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, which results in a positive effect on an opening width of an associated roof opening.  
      It is preferred that a bolt defines the joining axle.  
      The joining axle is arranged in particular on a first lever, and is non-rotatably fixed to the first lever, for instance.  
      A second lever may have a curved elongated hole that is engaged by the joining axle, which permits a raising and lowering of the second lever during shifting of the carriage by forming a slotted guide between the first and second levers.  
      According to a preferred embodiment, the carriage has a slot that is engaged by the bolt. It would be likewise possible to provide an intermediate part that has a slot, and which is attached to the carriage with the joining axle engaging with the slot.  
      In order to hold the raising mechanism securely in a position in the closed condition of the sliding roof, a position fixing mechanism is provided on a vehicle side end of one lever, and is adapted to be selectively coupled with a vehicle-fixed part, in particular with the guide rail. In a coupled state, the associated lever and the raising mechanism cannot be shifted, or can be shifted only by a minor amount. As already explained, the vehicle side end of the lever and the entire raising mechanism are temporarily fixed in their position by the position fixing mechanism (at least in the closed position).  
      The position fixing mechanism is uncoupled from the carriage or coupled to the carriage by a coupling mechanism for movement together with the carriage and to be able to engage with the vehicle-fixed part, respectively.  
      The coupling mechanism preferably has a coupling pin and a coupling slot.  
      According to one embodiment, the coupling pin is associated to a first lever of the pair of levers and the coupling slot is provided on the carriage. Particularly during raising of the cover for further exposure the roof opening, the coupling slot engages with the coupling pin of the first lever, with the first lever being coupled to the carriage and moved by the latter along the guide rail together with a second lever of the pair of levers.  
      The coupling pin preferably is connected with one lever of the pair of levers through a leaf spring. When the cover is closed, as well as when in the ventilation position, the coupling pin is in a recess of the guide rail. When the carriage is moved, the coupling slot on the carriage engages with the coupling pin and moves the coupling pin out of the recess, i.e. releases the coupling pin. During a further movement of the carriage, both levers will be moved; and during closing of the cover, the coupling pin is urged by the leaf spring to engage with the recess of the guide rail, to fix the raising mechanism and the cover in their positions.  
      It is preferred that each lever has a cover side end provided with a fork-like portion that engages with the cover. The fork-like portion and a rib that is attached to the cover, for example, have an opening that may be engaged by a pin so that both levers are firmly fixed to the cover in an articulating manner. As an alternative, it would also be conceivable to screw the cover to the levers.  
      It is possible that each lever has a guide element at a guide rail side end, with each guide element being shiftable in the guide rail. The levers are supported on the guide rail by the guide elements.  
      The sliding roof is in particular a spoiler roof. With a spoiler roof, the cover is displaced to lie above a stationary roof part of the vehicle roof. The sliding roof could also be a sliding-tilting roof in which the cover is displaced to lie underneath the stationary roof part.  
      The invention further relates to a vehicle roof comprising a raising mechanism according to the invention, with a roof opening being provided that can be opened and closed by a cover, and which has a longitudinal side along which the carriage is moved during exposing and closing the roof opening. The carriage is moved only between edges that extend transverse to a longitudinal axis. Thus, the carriage is moved along those edges of the roof opening that are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and only across the length of these edges, i.e. the carriage is not displaced to lie underneath the stationary roof part that surrounds the roof opening.  
      It will be preferred that the carriage substantially lies within the roof opening which is limited by a surrounding edge to allow an installation of the complete spoiler roof unit from the top. This results in increased headroom for an occupant.  
      According to a preferred embodiment, the guide rail also lies within the roof opening that is limited by a surrounding edge. This likewise enlarges the headroom for the vehicle occupant.  
      These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle roof according to the invention, including a raising mechanism, according to the invention, for a sliding roof.  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the vehicle roof according to the invention, including the raising mechanism according to the invention, with a cover being in a closed position.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the vehicle roof with the raising mechanism according to  FIG. 2  and without a carriage.  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the vehicle roof with the raising mechanism and with the cover being in a ventilation position.  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the vehicle roof with the raising mechanism according to  FIG. 4  and without the carriage.  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the vehicle roof with the raising mechanism and with the cover being in an opened position.  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective partial view of the raising mechanism according to the invention for the cover in the ventilation position.  
       FIG. 8  is a basic draft of a side view of the raising mechanism according to  FIG. 7 .  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the carriage of the raising mechanism according to the invention.  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a lever of the raising mechanism according to  FIG. 7 .  
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the carriage and the lever of the raising mechanism according to the invention.  
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the carriage and the lever of the raising mechanism according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       FIG. 1  schematically shows a vehicle roof  10  comprising a stationary roof part  12  in which a roof opening  14  is provided that can be closed ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) or exposed ( FIG. 6 ) by a cover  16  made of a visually transparent or an opaque material. In  FIGS. 1, 4  and  5 , the cover  16  is shown in a ventilation position in which the cover  16  is raised at a rear end.  
      The presented vehicle roof  10  is a sliding roof, in particular a spoiler roof, in which the cover  16  is moved to lie above the stationary roof part  12 . The vehicle roof  10  could also be implemented such that the vehicle roof  10  includes a sliding-tilting roof; in that case (not shown) the cover  16  would be moved to lie underneath the stationary roof part  12 .  
      On two longitudinal sides  19  of the roof opening  14 , a raising mechanism for the cover  16  has one guide rail  18  each (FIGS.  1  to  6 ), which are fastened to the stationary roof part  12  surrounding the roof opening  14 . The guide rails  18  extend along the longitudinal sides  19  of the roof opening  14 , which run parallel to the longitudinal axis L of the vehicle. The guide rails  18  are only provided between those edges  22  of the roof opening  14  which run transverse to the longitudinal axis L of the vehicle (see in particular  FIG. 6 ).  
      In this arrangement, the guide rails  18  do not protrude into an interior space of the vehicle, as can be seen in particular in  FIG. 6 . Instead, the guide rails  18  are vertically provided in a zone of a surrounding edge  20  limiting the roof opening  14  and surrounding the latter. This allows an installation of the spoiler roof unit from the top, as well as providing increased headroom for a vehicle occupant.  
      A carriage  24  is movably attached in each guide rail  18 ; a shifting mechanism (not shown), for instance a drive cable that is guided to be resistant to buckling and adapted to be shifted by a drive motor in a known manner, engages with the carriage  24 . In this way the carriage  24  can be moved in translation along the guide rail  18 ; in doing so, the carriage  24  will not be moved to lie underneath the stationary roof part  12  owing to the position of the guide rail  18 .  
      A slot  26  ( FIGS. 8 and 9 ) is formed on a side of the carriage  24  that faces away from the longitudinal side  19  of the roof opening  14 . As seen in the direction of travel A ( FIGS. 2-5 ), the slot  26  first extends parallel to the direction of the guide rail  18 , then downwards by a short distance, again parallel to the direction of the guide rail  18 , then extends so as to further descend obliquely, and finally again extends parallel to the guide rail  18 .  
      Apart from the guide rail  18  and the carriage  24 , the raising mechanism comprises first and second levers  30 ,  34  that define a scissor type linkage. The slot  26  is engaged by a joining axle  28  in the form of a bolt, this joining axle  28  being non-rotatably attached to the first lever  30 . The joining axle  28  passes through a curved elongated hole  32  of the second lever  34  and pivotally couples the first and second levers  30 ,  34  with each other. As the joining axle  28  engages with the slot  26 , the carriage  24  exerts a vertical force directly on the first and second levers  30 ,  34  when the carriage  24  moves.  
      Both the first and second levers  30 ,  34  have a guide rail side end pivotally attached to a guide element  36  (sliding piece), with each guide element  36  being movable in the guide rail  18 . The first and second levers  30 ,  34  are coupled to each other in the manner of a pair of scissors. The guide element  36  of the first lever  30 , which carries the joining axle  28 , lies ahead of the guide element  36  of the second lever  34  in the direction of travel A.  
      On a cover side, end the first and second levers  30 ,  34  each have a fork-like portion  38  that engages with a respective rib  42  of the cover  16 . The first and second levers  30 ,  34  are pivotally fastened to the cover  16  by a pin  44  or screw.  
      So that the raising mechanism is fixed in its position when the cover  16  is closed, a position fixing mechanism is provided on the guide rail side end of the second lever  34 , which firmly positions an end of the second lever  34  in the lifted and closed positions, and also firmly positions the entire raising mechanism temporarily (namely in the closed position of the cover).  
      The position fixing mechanism includes a coupling pin  46  that is connected through a leaf spring  48  with the guide rail side end of the second lever  34  via the guide element  36  thereof. The coupling pin  46  is part of a locking nose  49  that protrudes downward and latches in place in a recess  50  in the guide rail  18  when the sliding roof is in its closed position (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). If so, the carriage  24  has assumed a front position, and both the first and second levers  30 ,  34  have a more or less horizontal orientation. With regard to  FIG. 3 , the joining axle  28  is at a left end of the elongated hole  32  and in a lower portion of the slot  26 .  
      To raise the sliding roof, the carriage  24  is moved towards the rear by the shifting mechanism, so that the joining axle  28  travels to the left along the horizontal, lower portion of the slot  26  ( FIG. 8 ) until the carriage  24  arrives at the portion that is directed obliquely upward. If there occurs a further displacement of the joining axle  28  in the slot  26  along the portion extending obliquely upwards, the first and second levers  30 ,  34  will deploy (see  FIG. 4  and  5 ). The joining axle  28  continues to travel to the middle horizontal portion of the slot  26  and, in doing so, tilts the cover  16  to a larger extent. In the meantime, the guide rail side end of the second lever  34  is permanently held in position. During the entire raising motion, the carriage  24  exerts a force directly on the joining axle  28  to lift the latter and, thus, the first and second levers  30 ,  34 .  
      At the end of the raising motion, a hook-shaped coupling slot  52  (see  FIG. 8  and  9 ), which is provided on the carriage  24  and is directed obliquely upwards, reaches the coupling pin  46  and lifts the locking nose  49  against a force of the leaf spring  48  in order to uncouple the position fixing mechanism. With that, the unit of the first lever  30 , the second lever  34  and the carriage  24  may now be moved to the rear by a maximum extent, until the unit reaches the end position in  FIG. 6 . As the unit of the first and second levers  30 ,  34  and the carriage  24  has a very compact construction in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the cover  16  can be moved very far towards the rear, resulting in a large opening width for the roof opening  14 .  
      If the roof opening  14  is to be closed again, the carriage  24  is moved to the front again and in this process entrains the second lever  34  due to the oblique portion in the coupling slot  52 , until the recess  50  is finally reached and the locking nose  49  latches in place in the recess  50  due to the force of the leaf spring  48 . The carriage  24  will continue to move, so that the joining axle  28  travels to the lower, horizontal portion of the slot  26 ; in this process, the first and second levers  30 ,  34  will be swiveled downward to move the cover  16  to the closed position.  
      The position in which the locking nose  49  has just latched in place in the recess  50 , is the so-called ventilation position of the cover  16 . During traveling, the cover  16  reaches the zero position, i.e. a position in which the roof opening  14  is completely closed by the cover  16 .  
      Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.