Patent Publication Number: US-2004049986-A1

Title: Automotive side window glass assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] This invention relates to an automotive side window glass assembly and more particularly to an automotive side window glass assembly that includes a window regulator for raising and lowering a movable window glass pane.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,475 granted to Junichi Maekawa Sep. 8, 1987 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,456 granted to Daiichi Shirasishi Aug. 26, 1986 disclose “dual channel’window regulator systems in which an automotive side window glass is moved up and down by forward and rearward brackets that are secured to the lower portion of the window glass and slide in forward and rearward generally vertical guide channels or rails that are secured to the vehicle body or door. The brackets are moved by a cable or the like that is trained around pulleys at the upper and lower ends of at least one two guide channels in a loop. The cable or its equivalent in turn is driven by a crank arm or an electric motor via a cable drum or drive pulley.  
       [0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,102 filed by Brian H. Staser et al. Feb. 5, 2002 discloses a “dual channel” cable drive window regulator for a window glass of the door that is slideably supported at its forward and rearward ends by doorframe guide portions, which are arranged along the vertical direction of the door. The window regulator has forward and rearward brackets that are secured to the lower end portion of the window glass. The brackets slide on forward and back vertical guide channels that are fixed to the vehicle door between the door frame guide portions. The brackets are secured to a tape or series of tapes that are trained over upper and lower rollers on each vertical guide channel so as to run in a figure eight loop. The tape is driven by a drive roller or cable drum which is driven by an electric motor. Electric motor drives the tape in one direction to raise the window glass and in the opposite direction to lower the window glass.  
       [0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/056,618, filed by Brian H. Staser et al. Jan. 25, 2002 discloses a roller assembly for window regulators that can be used in either a “single channel” or a “dual channel” window regulator.  
       [0005] Automotive side window glass is usually installed in side doors of the vehicle but can be installed in the vehicle body itself, such as rear windows in two door vehicles. A common problem for a moveable glass side window in a front door installation is interference between the moveable side window glass and the door hinge. A similar problem occurs in rear side window glass installations where there is often interference between the moveable side window glass and the rear wheel well. A common solution to these similar problems in the use of a division post which divides the side window glass into a fixed glass pane and a movable glass pane. A vertical edge of the fixed glass pane is held by one side of the division post and a vertical edge of the moveable glass pane is guided by the opposite side of the division post. These rear side divided window glass installations can be found in rear vehicle doors or in the vehicle body itself. In the case of vehicle doors, the door may be a front door or a rear door and the door may be framed or frameless.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] This invention provides an economical automotive side window glass assembly having a division post, a moveable window glass pane, and a window regulator for the movable window glass pane in which the division post performs dual functions. These are the normal function of guiding an edge of the moveable side window glass pane and the extraordinary function of guiding a window bracket so as to eliminate the need for one of the guide channels of a “dual channel” window regulator. The automotive side window glass assembly of the invention can be adapted for installation in a front door, a rear door or the automotive vehicle body itself.  
       [0007] An automotive side window glass assembly of the invention has a division post carried by a support, a movable window pane that has an edge that is guided by the division post, and a window regulator for raising and lowering the movable window pane. The window regulator has a forward bracket and a rearward bracket that are spaced apart and secured to a bottom portion of the movable window pane. A set of upper and lower rollers that are spaced equidistant from the division post guide the forward bracket. A guide channel or rail carried by the support in a parallel relationship with the division post guides the rearward bracket, and a drive assembly raises and lowers the forward bracket and the rearward bracket in unison. The drive assembly includes a movable cable or cables that are attached to the forward bracket and wrapped around the set of upper and lower rollers for travel in a path that is parallel to the division post.  
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0008]FIG. 1 is a front view, schematic in nature, of a prior art side window glass assembly that includes a division post and a window regulator;  
     [0009]FIG. 2 is a front view, schematic in nature, of a side window glass assembly of the invention that includes a division post and a window regulator; and  
     [0010]FIG. 3 is a section taken substantially along the line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0011] Referring now to FIG. 1, a prior art side window glass assembly for an automotive installation is indicated generally at  10 . Assembly  10  comprises a support  12  that carries a division post  14 , a fixed glass pane  16 , a moveable glass pane  18 , and a window regulator  20  for raising and lowering the moveable glass pane  18 .  
     [0012] Fixed glass pane  16  has a rear vertical edge that is disposed in a forward channel of division post  14  while moveable glass pane has a forward edge that slides in a rearward channel  28  of division post  14 .  
     [0013] Window glass pane  18  is raised and lowered by window regulator  20  that includes forward and rearward bracket assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ that are secured to the lower end of the window glass pane  18 . Bracket assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ run respectively on vertical guide channels  32 ,  32 ′ that are mounted on support  12 . Bracket assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ are moved vertically on guide channels  32 ,  32 ′ by cables  34 ,  36  and  38  that are moved by a cable drum that rotates in a cable drum housing  40  that is attached to support  12 . The cable drum is rotated by a crank handle or by an electric motor (not shown). The ends of cables  34  and  36  are attached to the cable drum in cable drum housing  40  so that one cable is wound onto the cable drum while the other cable is simultaneously payed off (wound off) the cable drum with the cable being wound onto the cable drum depending upon the rotation of the cable drum. Such cable drums are well know and need not be described in detail.  
     [0014] Cable  34  wraps around a lower roller  42  at the lower end of forward guide channel  32  and then is attached to forward bracket assembly  30  so as to pull down on bracket assembly  30  when the cable drum is rotated in one direction. On the other hand, cable  36  wraps around an upper roller  44 ′ at the upper end of rearward guide rail  32 ′ so as to pull up on rearward bracket assembly  30 ′ when the cable drum is rotated in the opposite direction. The third cable  38  connects the forward bracket assembly  30  to the rearward bracket assembly  30 ′ and is trained over an upper roller  44  at the upper end of forward guide channel  32  and a lower roller  42 ′ at the lower end of rearward guide channel  32 ′ so that forward bracket assembly  30  pulls rearward bracket assembly  30 ′ down when forward bracket assembly  30  is pulled down and rearward bracket assembly  30 ′ pulls forward bracket assembly  30  up when rearward bracket assembly  30 ′ is pulled up. Cables  34 ,  36  and  38  are preferably kept in tension. One way to tension cables  34 ,  36  and  38  is to provide cable jackets or conduits  46 ,  48  and  50  that are spring biased at each end away from the cable drum housing  40  or associated roller  42 ,  42 ′,  44  or  44 ′. This is a well known technique and need not be described in detail.  
     [0015] Referring now to FIG. 2, the side window glass assembly  110  of the invention comprises a support  112  that carries a division post  114 , a fixed glass pane  116 , a moveable glass pane  118 , and a window regulator  120  for raising and lowering the moveable glass pane  118 .  
     [0016] Fixed glass pane  116  has a rear vertical edge  122  that is disposed in a forward channel  124  of division post  114  while moveable glass pane  118  has a forward edge  126  that slides in a rearward channel  128  of division post  114  as best shown in FIG. 3.  
     [0017] Window glass pane  118  is raised and lowered by window regulator  120  that includes forward and rearward bracket assemblies  130 ,  130 ′ that are secured to the lower end of the window glass pane  118 .  
     [0018] The front guide channel of the prior art arrangement described above in connection with FIG. 1 has been eliminated so that forward bracket assembly  130  does not run on any guide channel or rail. However, the forward bracket assembly  130  is guided along a path line  132  that is parallel to division post  114  by cables  134  and  138  that run bracket assembly  130  between an upper roller  144  and a lower roller  142  that are located equidistant from division post  114 . Upper roller  144  is supported by a bracket  143  that is attached to the upper portion of division post  144 . Lower roller  142  is supported by a bracket  141  that is attached to the lower portion of division post  114 .  
     [0019] Bracket assembly  130 ′ runs on vertical guide channel  132 ′ that is mounted on support  12 . Bracket assemblies  130 ,  130 ′ are moved vertically by cables  134 ,  136  and  38  that are moved by a cable drum that rotates in a cable drum housing  140  that is attached to support  12 . The cable drum is rotated by a crank handle or by an electric motor (not shown). The ends of cables  134  and  136  are attached to the cable drum in cable drum housing  140  so that one cable is wound onto the cable drum while the other cable is simultaneously payed off (wound off) the cable drum with the cable being wound onto the cable drum depending upon the rotation of the cable drum. Such cable drums are well known and need not be described in detail.  
     [0020] Cable  134  wraps around a lower roller  142  that is supported by bracket  141  that is attached to the lower end of division post  114  and cable  134  is then attached to forward bracket assembly  130  so as to pull down on bracket assembly  130  when the cable drum is rotated in one direction. On the other hand, cable  136  wraps around an upper roller  144 ′ at the upper end of rearward guide channel  132 ′ so as to pull up on rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ when the cable drum is rotated in the opposite direction. The third cable  138  connects the forward bracket assembly  130  to the rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ and is trained over an upper roller  144  that is supported by bracket  143  and a lower roller  142 ′ at the lower end of rearward guide channel  132 ′ so that forward bracket assembly  130  pulls rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ down when forward bracket assembly  130  is pulled down and rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ pulls forward bracket assembly  130  up when rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ is pulled up. Cables  134 ,  136  and  138  are preferably kept in tension. One way to tension cables  134 ,  136  and  138  is to provide cable jackets or conduits  146 ,  148  and  150  that are spring biased at each end away from the drum housing  140  and the associated rollers assembly  142 ,  144 ,  142 ′,  144 ′. This is a well known technique and need not be described in detail.  
     [0021] Suitable bracket assemblies  130  and  130 ′ are described in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/068,102 discussed above. Upper and lower rollers  42 ,  42 ′,  44  and  44 ′ may be provided as part of the roller assemblies that are described in detail in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/056,618 that is discussed above. However, these bracket assemblies and roller assemblies need not be described in detail to understand the invention. Any suitable bracket and roller assembly can be used.  
     [0022] Cables  134 ,  136  and  138  form a figure eight loop that begins and ends at the cable drum in cable drum housing  140 . While three distinct cables are shown, it is possible to have one cable that is attached at one end to the cable drum then proceeds to an attachment at forward bracket assembly  130  then proceeds to an attachment at rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ and then proceeds to an attachment at the opposite end of the cable drum. Moreover, it is also possible to use an endless cable in which case the cable drum is replaced by a drive pulley that drives the endless cable in the forward and reverse directions. Of course if a single cable or a single endless cable is used, some means to keep the cable in tension would preferably be provided as in the case of the three separate cables  134 ,  136  and  138  that are shown in FIG. 2.  
     [0023] Moreover, it is also possible to eliminate the drive to the rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ in some instances and simply guide the rearward bracket assembly  130 ′ by channel  132 ′. In this case, cable  138  would be connected directly to the cable drum in cable drum housing  140 . Furthermore, cables  134  and  138  in this configuration can be single cable or a single endless cable.  
     [0024] In other words, while a preferred embodiment is disclosed, a worker in this art would understand that various modifications would come within the scope of the invention. Thus, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.