Patent Publication Number: US-2019169900-A1

Title: Window regulator assembly with carrier plate

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application relates to a carrier plate for moving an automotive vehicle window along a single guide rail. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Window regulators for automotive vehicles can be manually operated, or can be driven by a powered actuator, most commonly using an electric motor. One type of window regulator uses a pulley arrangement having a metal cable wrapped around pulleys and a drum driven by an electric motor or by a manual crank arm. Window regulator mechanisms can still be categorized into a group which includes dual-rail and single-rail types. As customary for single-rail rear side windows, a single carrier plate engages the glass panel in two laterally offset locations. The carrier plate is typically driven along a single metal guide rail by the metal cable. Specifically, the actuator moves the cable about the pulley arrangement. The cable in turn moves the carrier plate to control the vertical motion of the window glass. The actuator may be located near the bottom of the guide rail. In other embodiments, the actuator is laterally offset from the guide rail. 
     In some versions of window regulators, the carrier plate includes structures to secure the ends of the cable in the carrier plate to form a cable loop. As the cable ends are spring-biased for reducing slack in the cable during operation, the assembly of the window regulator arrangement prior to installation can be difficult. In particular the insertion of the spring-biased cable ends into the carrier plate can be difficult, or the spring-biased cable ends may slip out of their respective cavities in the carrier plate. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an objective of the present invention to facilitate a smooth assembly of the window regulator 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, a window regulator assembly for moving a side window of a vehicle in an upward direction and in a downward direction along a guide rail, includes a carrier plate having a rail channel for movably engaging the guide rail. A first cable end pocket laterally offset from the rail channel is configured for receiving a cable end extending from a bottom end of the guide rail, and a separate second cable end pocket, likewise laterally offset from the rail channel, is configured for receiving a cable end extending from a top end of the guide rail. At a top end of the first cable end pocket in an installed position, the first cable end pocket is longitudinally delimited by a radial step having a depth of at most ½ of a width of the first cable end pocket. For an even easier insertion of a cable end, the depth of the radial step may be at most ⅓ of the width of the first cable end pocket. 
     To prevent buckling of the spring-loaded cable end, the first cable end pocket may have side walls vaulting toward each other to leave a slot between the side walls that is narrower than the width of the first cable end pocket. 
     For enlarging an open cross-section for inserting the cable end, the side walls may extend along only a portion of the cable pocket remote from the step so that an end portion of the cable end pocket around the step is free of the side walls. In one embodiment, the side walls taper off toward the step. 
     As the first cable end pocket receives a cable end from the bottom of the guide rail, a first cable channel may extend downward from a bottom end of the first cable end pocket in the installed position, and the slot transitions into the first cable channel. 
     The opening cross-section for inserting a cable end with a cylindrical spring into the first cable end pocket preferably allows for an insertion angle of at most 15°. The insertion angle may even be smaller, for example at most 10°, or even at most 5°. This small insertion angle effects a self-alignment of the compression spring with the cable end pocket by mere pulling of the cable without requiring a difficult manipulation of the cable end. 
     For a secure placement of the cable end in the cable end pocket, the cable end includes an end stopper with an enlarged head and a cylindrical compression spring, wherein a combined length of the compression spring and the enlarged head is greater than the first pocket length. Thus, after insertion into the first cable pocket, the compression spring is under tension and holds the cable end in place. 
     The second cable end pocket is preferably laterally disposed between the first cable end pocket and the rail channel to align with a corresponding pulley arrangement on the guide rail. The second cable end pocket may be longitudinally offset from the first cable end pocket so that the first cable end pocket is disposed above the second cable end pocket in the installed position. 
     Unlike the first cable end pocket, the second cable end pocket may have an end wall at a bottom end in the installed position with a greater depth than the step of the first cable end pocket. 
     Like the first cable end pocket, the second end pocket may have side walls vaulting toward each other to leave a slot between the side walls that is narrower than the width of the second cable end pocket. The slot can widen between the side walls of the second cable end pocket toward the end wall for creating an open cross-section for inserting a second cable end with a cylindrical spring into the second cable end pocket. The opening cross-section of the second cable end pocket may only allow for an insertion angle of no less than 30°. 
     Further, the second cable end pocket may a shorter second pocket length than a first pocket length of the first cable end pocket. As the second cable end is inserted first, it is easy to manipulate. For further assembly and installation of the window regulator assembly, the shorter length of the second cable end pocket ensures a secure retention of the cable end by causing a greater spring compression than the greater length of the first cable end pocket. 
     For a space-saving arrangement on the carrier plate, the first cable end pocket and the second cable end pocket may be disposed at a lateral overlap and laterally offset from each other by less than a width of the first cable end pocket and of the second cable end pocket. 
     Further aspects of the invention are explained in greater detail below for a preferred illustrative embodiment with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings are provided for purely illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective rail-side view of a window regulator assembly incorporating a cable guide in accordance with the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective window-side view of the window regulator assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a rail-side view of the carrier plate of  FIG. 1  without a rail; 
         FIGS. 4, 5 and 6  are perspective rail side views of the carrier plate of  FIG. 1  at different stages of inserting a cable end; 
         FIG. 7  is a lateral side view of the carrier plate of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a window-side view of the carrier plate of  FIG. 1  without a rail. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a window regulator assembly  10  includes as principal components, a guide rail  12 , a top pulley  14 , a bottom deflector  16  shown as a pulley, a motor drive assembly  18 , a carrier plate  20 , a cable  22 , a cable guide clip  24 , and a fastening bracket  26 . While the shown embodiment includes only a single guide rail, the subsequently described details of the carrier plate  20  may also be implemented in carrier plates for dual-rail window regulator systems. 
     The guide rail  12  is formed of sheet-metal using a forming or rolling process or as an extrusion. The window carrier plate  20  is caused to travel up and down along the guide rail  12  and includes fastening structures  28  for window clamps for holding a lower edge of a glass panel.  FIG. 1  shows the window regulator assembly viewed from the outside of a vehicle when installed.  FIG. 2  shows the same window regulator assembly viewed from the inside of the vehicle. 
     The top pulley  16  is positioned at the top of the guide rail  12  and acts to redirect and tension the drive cable  22 . In the shown example, the motor drive assembly  18  positioned at the bottom of the guide rail  12  near the bottom pulley  16  and is actuated and powered electrically to move the drive cable  22 . The drive cable  22  starts and ends at the carrier plate  20  is guided around the top pulley  14  and the bottom pulley. An intermediate length of the drive cable  22  extends outside of the perimeter of the guide rail  12  through a cable guide clip  24  attached to the guide rail. The cable guide clip reduces noise and vibration of the intermediate length of the drive cable. 
     Ends  34  and  36  of the drive cable  22  are secured in a first cable end pocket  30  receiving the cable end extending upward from the bottom pulley  16 , and in a second cable end pocket  32  receiving the cable end extending downward from the top pulley  14 . The cable end pockets  32  and  34  face the guide rail  12  in the installed position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The cable end pockets  30  and  32  are shown in  FIGS. 3 through 6  and are discussed below. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 3 , the carrier plate  20  includes a rail channel  38  for a guide structure formed on the guide rail  12 . In the shown embodiment, the rail channel  38  forms an L-shaped cross-sectional clearance  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) corresponding to a corresponding L-shaped guide structure on the guide rail  12 . Between the rail channel  38  and the cable end pockets  30  and  32 , an elastic sliding tongue  42  protrudes from the carrier plate toward the vehicle outside, where the rail extends in the installed configuration. The elastic sliding tongue  42  reduces slack between the carrier plate  20  and the guide rail  12 . 
     The first cable end pocket  30  for the cable end extending upward from the bottom pulley  16  is farther removed from the rail channel  38  than is the second cable end pocket  32 . The first cable end pocket  30  has a first cable channel  44  extending downward toward the bottom pulley  16 . The second cable end pocket  32  has a second cable channel  46  extending upward toward the top pulley  14 . The second cable channel  46  extends between the first cable end pocket  30  and the elastic sliding tongue. While the cable end pockets  30  and  32  are disposed at different distances from the rail channel  38 , the orientation of the drive cable  22  extending from each of the cable end pockets is parallel to the rail channel in the installed configuration due to the radii and axes of rotation of the top pulley  14  and the bottom pulley  16 . 
     Also, the different distances, at which the cable end pockets  30  and  32  are laterally offset from the rail channel  38 , are reduced by a generally nested arrangement, in which the cable end pockets  30  and  32  are also longitudinally offset from one another. In the shown arrangement, the first and second cable channels  44  and  46  overlap laterally, but the cable end pockets  30  and  32  only overlap with the cable exiting the respective other cable end pocket  32  and  30 . This allows the cable end pockets  30  and  32  to overlap laterally such that the lateral distance d, corresponding the lateral offset between the center lines of the cable channels  44  and  46 , is smaller than the width W of the first cable end pocket  30  and of the second cable end pocket  32 . The first and second cable end pockets  30  and  32  have the same width W, they have different lengths L 1  and L 2 . The length L 1  of the first cable end pocket  30  is greater than the length L 2  of the second cable end pocket  32 . This will be discussed in greater detail below in connection with  FIGS. 4-7 . 
     Now referring to  FIG. 4 , the first cable end pocket  30  is shown with the first cable end  34  installed. The second cable end  36 , which is identical to the first cable end  34 , has been omitted for simplicity. 
     The following description of the first cable end  34  applies in analogy to the second cable end  36 . The first cable end  34  includes a cylindrical compression spring  48  and an end stopper  50  composed of a crimped ferrule  52  and a flat enlarged head  54 , which is closed. The enlarged head  54  has a diameter that is about equal to an outer diameter of the compression spring  48 . The flat end  54  is monolithically formed with the crimped ferrule and forms a radial collar supporting one end of the compression spring  48 . The compression spring  48  has a relaxed length that, combined with the enlarged head  54  of the end stopper, is greater than the length L 1  of the first cable end pocket (and thus also the length L 2  of the second cable end pocket). Accordingly, in the shown installed position of the first cable end  34 , the compression spring  48  is under tension inside the first cable end pocket  30 . 
     Longitudinally adjacent to the enlarged head  54 , the first cable end pocket  30  is longitudinally delimited by a step  56  abutted by the enlarged head  54  of the end stopper  50 . The step  56  is at the top end of the first cable end pocket  30  in the installed position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The step  56  is raised above a deepest point P of the first cable end pocket by less than half of the diameter of the enlarged head  54  (see  FIG. 7 ). In this context, the deepest point of the cable end pocket is the point most inward toward the passenger compartment of the vehicle because the top of  FIG. 4  is the outward-facing side of the carrier plate  20 . As the cable end pocket has a bottom adapted to the cylindrical shape of the compression spring  48 , the deepest point P of the cable end pocket  30  is part of a lowest longitudinal line along the bottom of the cable end pocket  30 . In one example, the depth of the step  56  may amount to no more than  1 / 3  of the diameter of the enlarged head  54  or of compression spring  48  above the deepest point P of the first cable end pocket  30 . Assuming that the first cable end pocket  30  has a width W that is at least equal to the diameter of the compression spring  48 , the step  56  has a depth that is at most ½ or ⅓ of the width W (see  FIG. 3 ) of the first cable end pocket  30 . 
     The step  56  separates the end of the first cable end pocket  30  from a planar portion  62  surrounding a stopper side end of the first cable end pocket  30 . The planar portion  62  that has a height defined by the depth of step  56 , is raised above the deepest point P of the first cable end pocket  30  by less than the bottom of the first cable channel  44 . This will be discussed in more detail in connection with  FIG. 7 . 
     The step  56  does not cover the center of the enlarged head  54  of the end stopper so that the compression spring could possibly bend radially outward and escape from the first cable end pocket  30  without further restraints. In a section adjacent the first cable channel  44 , the first cable end pocket  30  includes two side walls  58  (also shown in  FIG. 3 ) that vault toward each other over the compression spring  48  to leave a slot  60  between them that is narrower than the diameter of the compression spring  48 . Thus, while the compression spring  48  is visible through the slot  60 , it cannot bulge upward through the slot. 
     The vaulted side walls  58  extend along about half of the length of the cable end pocket and end at a radial cable-side end wall  62  that extends on both lateral sides of the first cable channel  44 . The slot  60  transitions into the first cable channel  44 . The cable-side end wall  62  has a greater height than the diameter of the compression spring  48  and supports the entire circumference of the compression spring  48 . Toward the step  56 , the side walls  58  taper off so that a large open cross-section leading into the first cable end pocket  30  is created adjacent to the step  56 . The taper ends short of the end of the first cable end pocket  30  so that an end portion of the first cable end pocket  30  around the step  56  is not flanked by side walls. It is within the scope of the present invention that, instead of being tapered toward the end stopper-side end of the first cable end pocket  30 , the side walls  58  may simply be shorter than the first cable end pocket  30  without a taper. Either way, the open cross-section for inserting the first cable end  34  is enlarged, thereby easing the process of inserting the first cable end  34  into the first cable end pocket  30 . 
     The second cable end pocket  32  is, in various aspects, similar to the first cable end pocket  30 . However, it has an end wall  64  that is higher than the step  56  so that the end wall  64 , apart from a small chamfer  66 , covers the enlarged head of the second cable end  32 . While the slot  68  between vaulted side walls of the second cable end pocket widens toward the end wall  64 , the side walls  70  don&#39;t taper down so that the second cable end pocket receives the second cable end  36  in its entirety. Also, as previously mentioned, the second cable end pocket  32  is shorter than the first cable end pocket  30 . Still, the deepest points and the cable channels  44  and  46  are at identical heights in the carrier plate  20 . 
     As a result, the installation of the window regulator  10 , especially the insertion of the cable ends  34  and  36  into the cable end pockets  30  and  32  is much easier than with known carrier plates as will be explained in connection with  FIGS. 5 through 7 . The second cable end  36  can initially be inserted into the second cable end pocket  32 . Because the cable  22  is not under tension at this point, no specific accommodations for easy insertion need to be made as the cable end  36  can easily be manipulated. 
       FIG. 5  shows the carrier plate  20  during the insertion of the first cable end  3434 . This step is performed after the second cable end  36  in already in place. The second cable end  36  is only omitted for simplicity. 
     Because the step  56  has a height less than half of the outer diameter of the compression spring  48  and because the side walls  58  are tapered down toward the step  58 , the wide open cross-section of the first cable end pocket  30  allows for a very shallow insertion angle α of the first cable end  34  compared to the insertion angle β for the second cable end  36 . 
     The insertion angle is the smallest possible angle, at which the compression spring can be inserted into the cable end pocket relative to a carrier plane parallel to the guide rail in an installed position and parallel to the glass panel to be moved. For example, the fastening structures  28  are surrounded, on the side facing the inside of the passenger compartment, by planar portions  72  (see also  FIG. 8 ) extending in a common plane parallel to the carrier plane. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the first insertion angle α is no greater than about 15°, preferably no greater than 10°. In fact, in the shown example, the first insertion angle a amounts to at most 5°. This is a significant reduction compared to the second insertion angle β, which ranges between 30° and 45°. 
     For proper insertion of the first cable end  34  and for tensioning the compression spring  48 , the cable  22  is placed in the first cable channel  44  so that the cable-side end of the compression spring  48  lies in the first cable end pocket  30  as shown in  FIG. 5 . A simple subsequent action for proper placement of the end stopper  50  and the first compression spring  48  consists of pulling the cable  22 . Because the first insertion angle α is shallow and the opening cross-section is wide, the end stopper  50  and the first compression spring  48  align themselves with the first cable end pocket  30  and move into the position shown in  FIG. 6 , past the step  56 . No manipulation of the end stopper  50  or the compression spring  48  is necessary. Furthermore, because the first cable end pocket  30  has a greater length L 1  compared to the length L 2  of the second cable pocket  32 , a lesser pull force is required for achieving the necessary compression of the compression spring  48  to move the enlarged head  58  past the step  56 . 
     A subsequent release of the cable  22  moves the end stopper  50  and the first compression spring  48  into the final installed position shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates that the side walls  58  and  70  have the same maximum heights, but that the sides walls  58  taper off toward the step  56 , while the side walls  70  don&#39;t taper off. The position of the cable  22  is illustrated in broken lines. The cable  22  exits both cable end pockets  30  and  32  at the same height. The end wall  64  is significantly higher than the step  56 . Further indicated in broken lines are the different lengths L 1  and L 2  of the first and second cable end pockets  30  and  32 . 
       FIG. 8  shows the side of the carrier plate  20  that faces away from the guide rail  12  and toward the glass panel of the vehicle side window. On this side, tabs  74  are provided for retaining window clamps (not shown) to be attached to the fastening structures  28  for holding the glass panel. 
     While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims.