Patent Publication Number: US-7216928-B2

Title: Roof arrangement for a vehicle

Description:
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. DE 10 2004 050 608.6, filed Oct. 15, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
   BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a roof arrangement for a vehicle, in particular a passage vehicle, having a displaceable sunroof. 
   DE 101 21 888 A1 describes a roof arrangement that defines this generic type. It has a roof frame with lateral guide paths and a sunroof which is movably guided in the guide rails for at least partially releasing or closing a roof opening. Furthermore, the roof arrangement includes bearing devices which have an articulated connection to the sunroof on one end and are supported by guide elements in the guide paths on the other end. Each bearing device has a lever which is mounted in a rotating bearing on both the sunroof end and the guide path end. The rotating bearing on the sunroof end has a bearing axle, one end of which protrudes into a lateral control path which controls the additional lifting motion of the sunroof in the traversing of the sunroof. 
   An object of this invention is to provide a roof arrangement in which the sunroof can be moved reliably. 
   This object is achieved with a roof arrangement in which a sliding element is provided on the end of a bearing axle which protrudes into the control path, said sliding element having an outside contour such that the sliding element is in contact with an edge bordering the roof control path in any movement position of the sunroof. 
   The advantages achieved with this invention can be regarded as the fact that due to the outside contour of the sliding element, the sliding element is prevented from being forced into the control path and becoming jammed there. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a passenger vehicle having a roof arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows the roof arrangement of  FIG. 1  in a sectional diagram along line II—II. 
       FIG. 3  shows the front and rear bearing mechanism for a sunroof of the roof arrangement of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a control path for the lifting motion of the sunroof of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A roof arrangement  1  is described on the basis of  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and detail X in  FIG. 2 , this roof arrangement being provided on a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger vehicle  2  which includes a body  4  supported by wheels  3 . The body  4  has a base body  5  and a windshield frame  6  into which is inserted a windshield  7 . Lateral longitudinal roof bars  10  of the body  4  running approximately with a curvature extend in the direction of the rear end  9  from the upper corners  8  of the windshield frame  6  so that the body  4  has the shape of a coupe with a fastback. Side windows  12  and  13  are inserted between the lateral longitudinal roof bars  10  and the belt line  11  of the body  4  beneath that. 
   The roof arrangement  1  is arranged between the lateral longitudinal roof bars  10  and has—according to FIG.  2 —a roof frame  14  which is connected to the body  4 , e.g., by a peripheral adhesive joint  15 . The roof frame  14  is preferably designed to run around the periphery and extends from the windshield frame  6  to a front edge area  16  in front of an engine space access panel  17 . However, it would also be conceivable for the longitudinal roof bars  10  to form the roof frame. 
   The roof arrangement  1  has at least one front (as seen in the direction of travel Fr) displaceable sunroof  18  which may be rigid in design and which is adjacent to the windshield frame  6  and a rear roof part  19  (in the closed position St) which is preferably attached undisplaceably to the body  4  and/or the roof frame  14 . In a preferred embodiment, the rear roof part  19  of the roof arrangement  1  is the rear window of the vehicle. It is possible for the rear roof part  19  to be opened about an articulated axle  20  running parallel to the transverse axis Fq of the vehicle. Preferably only one gasket Dt is provided between the rear edge  21  of the sunroof  18  and the front edge  22  of the rear roof part  19 . 
   The sunroof  18  (preferably transparent) is guided movably in lateral guide paths  23  which may be mounted on the roof frame  14  or on the longitudinal bars  10 , for closing or at least partially opening a roof opening  24  so that it can be deposited beneath the rear roof part  19 . It is therefore provided that the sunroof  18  is to be lowered first in the direction of the vehicle interior space  25  in the direction of the arrow  26  and then is to be shifted to the rear beneath the roof part  19 . For lowering the sunroof in the direction of the arrow  26 , the sunroof  18  is supported by a plurality of bearing devices  27  in the guide paths  23 , permitting a pivoting movement of the sunroof  18 . Preferably two bearing devices  27  (arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel Fr) are slidingly guided in each guide path  23 . Each bearing device  27  is supported at one end on the sunroof  18  and at the other end via a guide element  28  in one of the guide paths  23 . Each bearing device  27  has a lever arrangement  29  which is rotatably hinge-connected to the guide element  28  and also to the sunroof  18  in a pivoting bearing and/or pivot bearing  30  and/or  31 . The lever arrangement  29  includes at least one lever  32  which is pivotably mounted in the rotating bearings  30  and  31 . The sunroof  28  can be lowered in the direction of the arrow  26  by the lever arrangement  29 . Along the guide paths  23  it can then be moved to the rear beneath the roof part  19 . 
   The sunroof  18  has a supporting frame  34  on its side  33  facing the vehicle interior  25  and attached to the inside  33  of the roof. The supporting frame  34  is provided in the roof edge area  35  and preferably runs completely around this roof edge area  35 . A peripheral gasket  36  running around the edge of the sunroof  18  may be attached to the supporting frame  34 , sealing the sunroof  18  with respect to the border of the roof opening  24 . The gasket Dt may be part of the gasket  36 . A covering strip A 1  can span the free space between the longitudinal roof bar  10  and the sunroof  18  over the gasket  36 . 
   The bearing device  27  has a bearing block  37  which is attached to the supporting frame  34  or is designed in one piece with it. The lever arrangement  29  is attached so that it is rotationally movable in a bearing eye  39  of the bearing block  37  with a first bearing axle  38  of the pivot bearing  30  on the sunroof end. The lever arrangement  29  is also attached so that it is rotationally movable with a second bearing axle  40  in a bearing eye  41  of the pivot bearing  31  on the guide path end. The bearing axles  38  and  40  run parallel to the transverse axis Fq of the vehicle. The lever arrangement  29  is also connected to the sunroof  18  as well as the guide element  28  so that it is pivotably movable. The bearing axle  38  has a disk  42  optionally designed in one piece with it and arranged approximately in the center. A ring element  43  having a U-shaped cross section is also arranged between the bearing axle  38  and the bearing eye  39  of the lever  32  and the disk  42  may be in contact with the ring element on one end  44 . 
   A control path  45  is provided on the side of the roof frame  14  for control of the lifting motion in the direction of the arrow  26  and conversely the sunroof  18 ; a bolt section  46  of the bearing axle  38  protrudes into this control path. The bolt section  46  and the first bearing axle  38  are preferably designed in one piece and pass through the lever  32 . The bolt  46  and/or the bearing axle  38  are held so they are rotationally movable in the bearing eye  39 , preferably with the insertion of a bearing sleeve in between, in particular a sliding sleeve  47 . Furthermore a stepped bearing sleeve  48 , preferably made of a friction-bearing material, is arranged on the end of the bolt  46  that protrudes into the control path  45 . The bearing sleeve  48  also has a ring collar  50  in addition to the sleeve section  49  protruding into the control path  45 , said ring collar being designed with a larger outside diameter AD in comparison with the sleeve section  49  so that, as mentioned above, the bearing sleeve  48  is designed as a stepped sleeve. The ring collar  50  is adjacent to the disk  42 . The outside diameter AD of the ring collar  50  is designed so that the ring collar  50  is in contact with an edge  51  bordering the control path  45  in at least some areas in each movement position of the sunroof  18 . It is also provided that a spring mechanism  52  pressing the bearing sleeve in the direction of the control path  45  is to be arranged between the bearing sleeve  48  and the lever  32 , in particular the disk  42 . The ring collar  50  which is designed accordingly in its outside diameter AD prevents the bearing sleeve  48  from being forced completely into the control path  45  by the force applied by the spring mechanism  52  and possibly being jammed there. In addition, the sunroof  18  is also secured between the lateral control paths  45  by the force applied by the spring mechanism  52  in the transverse direction Fq of the vehicle, so that it is held securely in the roof opening  24  in particular in its closed position St and thus contributes to minimization of noise. The spring mechanism  52  is under prestress in the direction of the transverse axle Fq of the vehicle so that the bearing sleeve  48  is pressed with a corresponding prestressing force against the edge  51 . The spring mechanism  52  is preferably formed by a plate spring package  53  having a plurality of plate springs  54 , e.g., made of steel. The plate springs  54  are arranged with their curvatures in alternation. The plate springs  54 , which are designed as rings, are arranged on the bolt  46  between the bearing sleeve  48  and the lever  32  and/or the disk  42 . 
   The bearing sleeve  48  has a different inside diameter ID 1  and ID 2  in the sleeve section  49  and in the ring collar  50 , with the inside diameter ID 1  being smaller than the inside diameter ID 2  and also being adapted to the outside diameter of the bolt  46 . Due to the larger inside diameter ID 2  in the ring collar  50 , the spring mechanism  52  may be accommodated there at least partially. The outside diameter of the plate springs  54  is also smaller than the inside diameter ID 2 . 
   For simple assembly of the spring mechanism  52  and the bearing sleeve  48 , a snap device and/or a catch mechanism  55  is provided between the bolt  46  and the bearing sleeve  48 , holding the bearing sleeve  48  on the bolt with a catch connection. The bolt may have a notch  56  for the catch mechanism  55 , a nose  57  engaging in the notch, protruding on the inside  58  of the bearing sleeve  48  and thus belonging to the catch mechanism  55 . The nose  57  and/or the notch  56  may be designed to run around the perimeter or be provided just in sections. 
   A spring path Fw between the bearing sleeve  48  and the disk  42  and/or the lever  32  is also provided due to the position of the catch mechanism  55 , this spring path being measured between an end face  59  of the ring collar  50  and the disk  42 . The spring path Fw is preferably of such dimensions that the spring mechanism  52  cannot be overloaded and/or “blocked” so that a spring force limit is reached by the spring path Fw when the end face  59  is in contact with disk  42 . If no disk  42  is used, then the preceding discussion for the lever also applies here, with the spring mechanism  52  then being supported on the lever. However, a separation between the spring mechanism  52  and the lever is achieved by the disk  42  and the ring element  43  so that the lever  32  can be rotated about the bearing axle  38  without any great resistance. Moreover, the spring mechanism  52  is under prestress, so that the resulting spring force still allows the bearing sleeve  48  to slide and/or rotate in the control path  45  and/or on the edge  51 . 
     FIG. 3  shows two bearing mechanisms  27 . A rear bearing mechanism  27   h  is designed as described above. A front bearing mechanism  27   v  for the sunroof  18  (not shown in  FIG. 3 ) is explained below, where differences in comparison with the rear bearing mechanism  27   h  are described in particular. The same parts of the front and rear bearing mechanisms and/or those having the same effect are labeled with the same reference notation. A sliding element  60  is arranged on the end of the bearing axle  38  protruding into the control path  45 , so that it is rotatable in particular and is made of a friction bearing material such as plastic. It is possible to provide for a bearing sleeve  48  to be arranged on the end of the bearing axle  48 —as described in conjunction with the rear bearing mechanism  27   h , the sliding element  60  being attached to the sleeve section  49  of said bearing sleeve. The bearing sleeve  48  may be acted upon by force via the spring mechanism  52 . However, as an alternative it would also be conceivable for the sliding element  60  to be placed directly on the bearing axle  38 . Again in this embodiment, the spring mechanism  52  may be provided, but then it acts directly on the sliding element  60 , pressing it against the edge  51  of the control path  45 . The sliding element  60  has an outside contour  61  which may be triangular, but in particular is designed so that it rests in at least some sections on the edge  51  in any movement position Bs ( FIG. 4 ) of the sunroof  18  so that it cannot be forced into the control path  45  where it could become jammed. 
   A control extension  62  which engages in the control path  45  may be [mounted] on an extension of the lever  32  on the front and/or rear bearing mechanisms  27   v ,  27   h . The sliding element  60  may have a corresponding cutout  63  in which the control extension  62  is situated. 
     FIG. 4  shows the control path  45  in a side view. It has a longitudinal control section  64  and at least one lifting control section  65 . The upper end  66  of the lifting control section  65  is assigned to the closed position St of the sunroof  18  in which end  66  the bearing axle  38  is situated in the closed position St of the sunroof  18 . The detail of the control path  45  shown in  FIG. 4  is provided for the rear bearing mechanism  27   h . The longitudinal control section  64  leads from its intersection  67  with the lifting control section  65  in the direction of the arrow  68  further to a lifting control section (not shown here) which is provided for the front bearing mechanism  27   v . For the sake of simplicity,  FIG. 4  shows only the sliding element  60  and the control extension  62  which are situated in the area of the intersection  67  in the movement position Bs (shown in  FIG. 4 ) of the sunroof  18  which corresponds to an at least partially open position of the sunroof  18 . The outside contour  61  of the sliding element  60  prevents it from being forced into the control path  45  so that jamming of the sliding element  60  therein is prevented. In this movement position Bs, the control extension  62  is in a separate section  69  of the control path  45  which is separated from the longitudinal control section  64  by a control wall  70 . It can be seen here that the sliding element  60  is supported on the edge  51  in at least three points  71 .