Patent Publication Number: US-6658795-B2

Title: Vehicular power window regulator

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a vehicular power window regulator, and more particularly to a vehicular power window regulator adapted to absorb compression and tension relative to curvilinear motion of window glass when the window glass is lifted. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally, power window regulators are apparatus for automatically sliding up and down a vehicular door window glass according to vertical manipulation of a power window switch. A power window regulator according to the prior art, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is mounted with a guide rail  104  underneath a door glass  102 . The guide rail  104  is rotatably mounted with a main arm  106  and a sub arm  108 , which cross in X-arm shape. The main arm  106  is connected thereunder to a driving motor  112  by way of a sector gear  110 , while the sub arm  108  is rotatably connected thereunder to one side of the door trim. The driving gear  112  is meshed with the sector gear  110  to rotate same within a predetermined range, while the sector gear  110  is connected to the main arm  106  to rotate same and to allow the door glass  102  to slide up and down. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a hinged connection structure between the guide rail  104  and the main arm  106  includes a slider  116  slidably arranged at the guide rail  104 , a slider shaft  118  vertically protruded from the slider  116  and a hinge groove formed at the main arm  106  for the slider shaft  118  to be inserted thereinto. 
     In the conventional power window regulator thus described, when the motor  112  is driven, the sector gear  110  rotates the main arm  106 , and by the rotation of the main arm  106 , the slider  116  moves along the guide rail  104  to move the door glass  102  up and down. The main arm  106  is vertically operated on a linear route while the door glass  102  moves on a curvilinear route, because the door glass  102  is shaped with predetermined curvature. As a result, compression and tension are generated at the connection area between the guide rail  104  and the main arm  106 . These forces arise from the paths followed by those two parts in lifting of the door glass  102  such that the main arm  106  is bent inwardly and outwardly, and the sector gear  110  and the driving motor are not properly meshed, resulting in generation of noise. 
     In order to overcome the afore-mentioned problems, the driving motor and sector gear are often reinforced, or the size of teeth at the gears is increased to prevent mis-meshing, but these measures can hardly be a fundamental solution as only strength has been increased against the compression and tension generated by vertical motion of the door glass. There is another problem with the reinforced strength thus described in that weight and size of each part, including parts of the main arm, are increased, resulting in an increase in the manufacturing cost and the overall weight of the regulator. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a vehicular power window regulator adapted to allow compression and tension generated during vertical motion of a door glass to be compensated at a connection area between a main arm and a guide rail to prevent the main arm from being bent, and to reduce noise generated in a sector gear, whereby there is no need of increasing weight or size of each part for reinforced strength, leading to reduction in manufacturing cost and overall weight. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular power window regulator, comprising a guide rail, a main arm, a driving motor and flex means. The guide rail is fixed to a lower end of the door glass. The main arm and a sub arm are connected for linear motion on the guide rail and mounted crosswise. The driving motor is connected to a sector gear mounted underneath the main arm to rotate the main arm. The flex means provides flexibility to a connection area between the main arm and the guide rail when the door glass vertically moves. The flex means includes a slider mounted on the guide rail, a slide shaft on the slider, and a grip. The grip has an inner circumferential surface placed over the slide shaft opposite the slider, and an external circumferential surface thereof inserted into the main arm. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a power window regulator according to the prior art; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of “A” part in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line  111 — 111  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of a power window regulator according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V—V of FIG. 4; and 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a slide shaft structure of power window regulator according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Now, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, a power window regulator according to the present invention includes a guide rail  4  fixed to a lower end of a door glass  2 , a main arm  6  and a sub arm  8  connected for linear motion on the guide rail  4  and mounted crosswise, a driving motor  12  connected to a sector gear  10  mounted underneath the main arm  6  to rotate the main arm  6 , and flex means for providing flexibility to a connection area between the main arm  6  and the guide rail  4  when the door glass  2  vertically moves. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the flex means comprises a slider  13  mounted on the guide rail  4  for linear movement, a slide shaft  14  rotatably mounted on the slider  13  and a grip  16  as explained below. The slide shaft  14  is formed at one side thereof with a spherical ball part  22  while the slider  13  is formed with a spherical ball groove  24  for the ball part  22  to be rotatably inserted thereinto. In the case where there is angular variation at the slide shaft  14 , the ball part  22  may rotate at the ball groove  24  of the slider to permit such angular variation within a predetermined range without causing the slider  13  to bind in the guide rail  4 . 
     Furthermore, the slider shaft  14  includes a rod-shaped part  26  having a predetermined length opposite the ball part  22 . The rod-shaped part  26  is formed with a hitching jaw  28  at the end for preventing the grip  16  from being detached. 
     The grip  16  is centrally hollowed for the rod part  26  to be inserted thereinto and is plurally split at one side thereof for sustaining a resilience of predetermined strength. Grip  16  also has a circumferential peripheral surface with a recess  30  for being inserted into the hitching groove  20  of main arm  6 . Furthermore, the grip  16  is tapered at a predetermined angle from the split side to the other side for easy insertion into the hitching groove  20 . 
     The grip  16  linearly moves with rod-shaped part  26 , and is plurally split at one side thereof to provide resilience to external direction after being inserted into the hitching groove  20  for preventing detachment from the hitching groove  20 . The tip end of the grip  16  is hitched at the hitching jaw  28  of the rod-shaped part to prevent detachment from the rod-shaped part  26 . As described above, grip  16 , connected to the main arm  6 , linearly moves on the rod-shaped part  26  to provide flexibility between the main arm  6  and the guide rail  4  when the door glass  2  vertically moves. 
     Now, operations of the vehicular power window regulator thus constructed according to the present invention will be described. 
     When a door glass switch is turned on, the driving motor  12  is driven in the forward or reverse direction according to the applied power, and the sector gear  10 , meshed with the driving motor  12 , is rotated according to rotation of the driving motor  12  to rotate the main arm  6 . Successively, the other side of the main arm  6  is linearly moved along the guide rail  4  to vertically move the door glass  2 . 
     The door glass  2  is shaped with a predetermined curvature to move on a curvilinear route, while the main arm  6  moves along a linear route, such that a flexibility is required at the connection between the guide rail  4  and the main arm  6  according to the difference in motion therebetween. Thus, the ball part  22  at the slider shaft, being rotatably inserted into the ball groove  24  of the slider, provides flexibility for the slide shaft  14 . Flexibility is provided both relative to angular change with respect to a line vertically connecting the curvilinear route of the door glass  2  and linear route of the main arm  6 , while the grip  16  linearly moves on the slider shaft  14  to provide lengthwise flexibility of slide shaft  14 , and with respect to a length change of a line vertically connecting the curvilinear route of the door glass  2  and linear route of the main arm  6 . 
     As apparent from the foregoing, there is an advantage in the vehicular power window regulator thus described according to the present invention in that flexibility required when a door glass vertically moves is appropriately provided to a connection area of the guide rail where the main arm and door glass are connected to thereby prevent working forces such as compression and tension from being generated, and to avoid the main arm from being bent when the door glass moves along a curved route. The present invention thus helps prevent the sector gear from being applied with an excessive force to decrease noise caused by gear meshing. There is another advantage in that minimal reinforcement is needed to cope with the compression and tension generated when the door glass is vertically moved to thereby enable to greatly reduce parts in weights and sizes thereof for decrease of manufacturing cost and overall weight of vehicular.