Source: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/6481787.html
Timestamp: 2018-07-23 17:46:46
Document Index: 425319746

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts\n6481787', 'art.\n5', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 14', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'arts 14', 'art 15', 'art 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 14', 'art 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14']

Motor vehicle roof with two covers and two head liner parts - Patent # 6481787 - PatentGenius
Motor vehicle roof with two covers and two head liner parts
6481787 Motor vehicle roof with two covers and two head liner parts
Application: 09/698,141
Inventors: Katzmeier; Matthias (Klosterlechfeld, DE)
Kraus; Thomas (Gauting, DE)
Laux; Philip (Munchen, DE)
Schleicher; Bernd (Munchen, DE)
U.S. Class: 296/214
Field Of Search: 296/214; 296/220.01
U.S Patent Documents: 4179156; 4671564; 4844534; 4981290; 6056352
Foreign Patent Documents: 41 11 931; 4221043; 4141283; 44 38 104; 0 980 777
Abstract: A sliding motor vehicle roof with two rigid covers (10, 11) for closing and at least partially exposing a roof opening (12) which is bordered by the roof frame in the fixed roof surface (13), with an displacement means for the ventilation position of the two covers (10, 11), and with a head liner which has a front and a rear headliner part (14, 15) and which can be moved at least partially independently of the cover position in the direction of the lengthwise axis of the motor vehicle by the displacement means. It is provided that, in order to produce the front horizontal ventilation gap (16) in front of the front edge of the front headliner part (14) and the rear horizontal ventilation gap (17) between the two headliner parts (14, 15), the front headliner part (14) is coupled to the rear headliner part (15). The front headliner part (14) can be moved from the closed position into the position which opens the front ventilation gap (16), and the rear headliner part (15) can be moved away from the front headliner part (14) by the ventilation position motion of the cover (10, 11) to clear the rear ventilation gap (17).
1. Sliding motor vehicle roof comprising: a roof opening in a fixed roof surface; two rigid covers for closing and at least partially exposing the roof opening in the fixedroof surface; a headliner which has a front headliner part and a rear headliner part which are movable in a lengthwise direction of the motor vehicle; means for producing a first ventilation position of the roof comprising a first displacement meansfor simultaneously displacing the front headliner part and the rear headliner part in a lengthwise direction of the roof from a closed position to an at least partially open position in which a front ventilation gap is produced between a front edge ofthe roof opening and a front edge of the front headliner part; and means for producing a second ventilation position of the roof comprising a second displacement means for simultaneously displacing the two covers and the rear headliner part in adirection away from the front headliner part into a position producing a rear ventilation gap between a rear edge of the front headliner part and a front edge of the rear headliner part in addition to said front ventilation gap, the front headliner partbeing held by said first displacement means during operation of said second displacement means.
2. Sliding motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear headliner part is coupled to the two covers for producing the rear ventilation gap during movement of the covers into said second ventilation position.
3. Sliding motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rear headliner part is spring loaded by a spring against the front headliner part and is coupled to the second displacement means such that the rear headliner part is movable bythe second displacement means away from the front headliner part against the spring load to produce the rear ventilation gap.
4. Sliding motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 3, wherein the coupling of the rear headliner part to the second displacement means comprises link drivers actuated by the second displacement means and engageable with side driving elements onthe rear headliner part.
5. Sliding motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear headliner part is spring loaded by a spring against the front headliner part and is coupled to the cover displacement means such that the rear headliner part is movable by thesecond displacement means away from the front headliner part against the spring load to produce the rear ventilation gap.
6. Sliding motor vehicle roof as claimed in claim 5, wherein the coupling of the rear headliner part to the second displacement means comprises link drivers actuated by the second displacement means and engageable with side driving elements onthe rear headliner part.
The invention relates to a sliding motor vehicle roof with two rigid covers for closing and at least partially exposing a roof opening which is bordered by the roof frame in a fixed roof surface, with a displacement device for moving the coversinto a ventilation position, and with a headliner which has a front and a rear headliner part and which can be moved at least partially independently of the cover position in the direction of the lengthwise axis of the motor vehicle.
A sliding motor vehicle roof of the initially mentioned type is known, for example, from German Patent DE 44 38 104 C1. This known sliding motor vehicle roof calls for the two sliding headliner parts to lie at least roughly at the same height inthe closed position and to have the capacity to be pushed on top of one another for opening. The two sliding headliner parts are connected on both sides to headliner sliders which, for their part, each engage a roof-mounted restraint which extends inthe lengthwise direction of the motor vehicle for control of the displacement motion of the two sliding headliners and for controlling the vertical displacement motion of the two sliding headliners. There is no separate adjustment of the two slidingroof parts.
German Patent DE 41 283 C2 discloses a sliding motor vehicle roof with a single rigid cover and two sliding headliner parts. In the raised ventilation position of the single cover, a horizontal ventilation gap can be produced between theheadliner parts. To produce this ventilation gap, there is a coupling of the drive for raising the sole cover with the rear headliner part which is connected by spring loading to the front headliner part and can be moved by a roof-mounted control lever,such that the rear headliner part can be moved away from the front headliner part against spring loading to produce the ventilation gap between the headliner parts in the lengthwise direction.
The primary object of the present invention is to improve the ventilation situation in the sliding motor vehicle roof under discussion with simple means.
This object is achieved by the front headliner part being coupled to the rear headliner part so that, proceeding from the closed position of the front headliner part, the front headliner part can be moved into a position which produces a frontventilation gap in front of the front edge of the front headliner part and the rear headliner part can be moved away from the front headliner part by the ventilation position motion of the cover to produce a rear ventilation gap between the two headlinerparts.
Accordingly, in a sliding motor vehicle roof which has two rigid covers and two headliner parts, the invention calls for producing a first ventilation gap between the two headliner parts and another ventilation gap in front of the first headlinerpart. Via these two ventilation gaps and the two ventilation gaps obtained by raising the two covers, a sufficient amount of fresh air can flow into the passenger compartment when the vehicle is moving.
Advantageously, the motion of the headliners for exposing the ventilation gap is coupled to the ventilation position motion of the two covers. Advantageously, the two headliner parts adjoin one another under spring pre-tensioning and can bepushed in this position in the manner of a single headliner in the lengthwise direction of the motor vehicle. Between the two headliner parts, a ventilation gap can be produced by the rear headliner part being forcibly coupled to the adjustment devicefor raising the two covers such that, with the front headliner part stationary, the rear headliner part is pulled to the rear by the covers when the ventilation gap is being produced. The ventilation gap between the two headliner parts is producedpreferably after the ventilation gap in front of the forward headliner part has already been formed by the two adjoining headliner parts being pushed to the rear by the common headliner drive, whereupon the separation of the rear headliner part from thefront headliner part takes place as another ventilation gap is being produced by pulling back the rear headliner part.
The entire headliner for producing the front ventilation gap is moved either via the displacement means which is independent of the displacement means for the covers for the headliner or alternatively by entraining the front headliner part whenthe rear headliner part is pulled back by forced coupling with the cover displacement means, whereupon the front headliner part is fixed by a stop which can be inserted into the path of motion of this headliner part so that proceeding from the then fixedfront headliner part the rear headliner part can be pulled back as the rear ventilation gap is being cleared.
In the following the invention is explained by way of example using the drawings.
FIGS. 1a to 1d schematically show a sliding motor vehicle roof with two covers and two headliner parts in a closed position, a front ventilating position, a dual ventilating position and a fully open position, respectively.
FIG. 2 schematically shows a drive coupling between the two rigid covers and the two headliner parts for producing two ventilation gaps in the headliner area.
FIGS. 1a to 1d schematically show a sliding motor vehicle roof with two rigid covers 10, 11 for closing and at least partially exposing a roof opening 12 which is bordered by 20 a roof frame (not shown) in the fixed roof surface 13. In addition,the sliding motor vehicle roof comprises a headliner having a front headliner part 14 and a rear headliner part 15.
In FIG. 1a, the two covers 10, 11 are in the closed position within the roof opening 12 and the two headliner parts 14, 15 are likewise located in the closed position, the front headliner part 14 coming to rest essentially under the front cover10 and the rear headliner part 15 coming to rest essentially under the rear cover 11. In this position, the covers 10, 11 and the headliner parts 14, 15 border one another. This means that rear edge of the front headliner part 14 borders the front edgeof the rear headliner part 15. From these closed positions, the cover 10, 11 and the headliner parts 14, 15 can be moved into the fully open position which has completely exposed the roof opening and which is shown in FIG. 1d in schematic form. In thefully open position, the two covers 10, 11 are positioned obliquely in the manner of two spoiler covers, the front cover 10 coming to rest over and in front of the rear cover 11, while the two headliner parts 14, 15 come to rest on top of one another inthe area of the rear edge 12 of the roof opening and essentially off set to the rear with reference to it. In the embodiment shown, the front headliner part 14 comes to rest in this position over the rear headliner part 15. Alternatively, the twoheadliner parts 14, 15 can also be pushed under the rear edge of the roof opening 12 lying in succession one behind the other, similarly to the position shown in FIG. 1a.
One an arrangement of the covers 10, 11 and the headliner parts 14, 15 in the ventilation position is schematically shown in FIG. 1c. Accordingly, the two covers 10, 11 are in a ventilation position in which they are each located sloped upwardsat their rear edge having been pivoted around their front edge, and additionally, the back cover 11 being pushed slightly to the rear. By means of these inclined positions of the covers 10, 11, a front horizontal ventilation gap is established betweenthe covers 10, 11 and a rear horizontal ventilation gap is established between the edge of the back cover 11 and the fixed roof surface 13. Analogously to the coverside horizontal ventilation gaps, in FIG. 1c, the headliner is also in the ventilationposition. This means that the headliner parts 14, 15, proceeding from the closed position of the headliner shown in FIG. 1a, at a mutual distance and at a distance with respect to the front edge of the roof opening 12, are pushed to the rear such that afront horizontal ventilation gap 16 is formed, between the front edge of the front headliner part 14 and the front edge of the roof opening 12, while a rear horizontal ventilation gap 17 is formed between the rear edge of the front headliner part 14 andthe front edge of the rear headliner part 15.
FIG. 1b shows an intermediate position of the headliner between the closed position of FIG. 1a and the ventilation position of FIG. 1c. Accordingly, in this embodiment, first the front ventilation gap 16 is produced by pushing the adjoiningheadliner parts 14, 15 jointly to the rear, whereupon, as follows from FIG. 1c, with the front headliner part 14 stationary, the rear headliner part 15 is pushed to the rear as the rear ventilation gap 17 alone is produced. The latter exclusivedisplacement of the rear headliner part is preferably coupled to the raising motion of the cover 10, 11.
Producing the ventilation gaps 16, 17 in the area of the headliner in conjunction with the raising motion of the covers 10, 11 is produced by a displacement means shown in FIG. 2 by way of example.
As shown in FIG. 2, there is a common displacement means for the two headliner parts 14, 15, independently of the cover 10, 1l, which displacement means comprises two drive cables 18, 19 which are securely joined via lateral projections 20, 21 tothe front edge of the front headliner part 14, which run in the conventional manner in guides, and which extend into the area of the rear edge of the front headliner part 14. To the back ends of the drive cables 18, 19, tension springs 22, 23 aresecurely connected and their other ends are securely connected to the projections 24, 25 on the front edge of the rear headliner part 15. By means of the tension springs 22, 23, the front edge of the rear headliner part 15 is normally pre-tensionedagainst the rear edge of the front headliner part 14 so that these two headliner parts 14, 15, in this position, a form a continuous headliner. FIG. 2 shows the spaced position of the two headliner parts 14, 15 in which the tension springs 22, 23 arestretched and the two headliner parts 14, 15 produce the rear ventilation gap 17.
The front ends of the drive cables 18, 19 are drive-engaged with a drive wheel 26 which can be actuated in a manner which is not shown, preferably by means of an electric motor, in order to effect joint displacement of the headliner parts 14, 15. The drive wheel 26 preferably has its axis of rotation on the lengthwise center axis 27 of the headliner parts 14, 15.
Similarly to the lengthwise displacement of the headliner parts 14, 15, the raising motion of the covers 10, 11 into their ventilation position is effected by an electric motor drive which acts on the drive cable 28, 29. FIG. 2 shows, for thesake of clarity, the corresponding drive solely for the rear cover 11. The drive for the front cover 10 is made analogously to this drive and calls for a lengthening of the corresponding drive cables.
Accordingly, the drive for the rear cover 11 comprises two drive cables 28, 29 which are drive-connected to a drive wheel 30 lying on the lengthwise center axis 27 and which actuate the raising mechanism 31, 32 for the rear cover 11 in FIG. 2. Other drive wheels 33, 34 are engaged with the drive cables 28, 29, and for their part, via the drive cables 35, 36 drive link drivers 37, 38, which are securely connected to the drive cables 35, 36 and are guided on either side of the rear headlinerpart 15 in the links. The link drivers 37, 38 are designed to engage projections 39, 40 which are located on the rear edge of the rear headliner part 15 on either side of it and are securely joined to them. The link drivers 37, 38 lie in front of theprojections 39, 40 and are used to push the rear headliner part 15 to the rear relative to the stationary front cover part 14 as the rear ventilation gap 17 is formed, by engaging the projections 39, 40 coupled to the raising motion of the covers, ofwhich FIG. 2 shows only the rear cover 11 and its drive.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, to produce the ventilation gaps 16, 17 in the head liner area first with the covers 10, 11 closed the front head liner part 14 jointly with the rear head liner part adjoining it flush is pushed to the rear bymeans of the drive 18, 19, 26 as the front ventilation gap 16 is cleared between the front edge of the front head liner part 14 and the front edge of the roof opening 12. Thereupon the drive 18, 19, 26 is stopped and thus the front head liner part 14 isheld stationary in its position which clears the front ventilation gap 16. At this point the covers 10, 11 are raised by means of the drive 28 to 32, by which via the drive 33 to 40 the rear head liner part 15 is pulled to the rear against the springforce of the tension springs 22 to the rear from the front head liner part 14 as the rear ventilation gap 17 is cleared. At this point, air is allocated to the row of seats via the horizontal ventilation gaps between the covers 10, 11 and the front edgeof the front cover 10 and the ventilation gaps 16, 17 between the two head liner parts 14, 15 and on the front edge of the front head liner part 14 as the vehicle is driving.
The covers 10, 11 and the headliner parts 14, 15 are closed as the ventilation gaps are closed in the reverse sequence by first lowering the covers 10, 11 (and if necessary, moved forward), in doing so, the rear headliner part 15 being entrainedto make contact against the front headliner part 14 by the tension springs 22, 23, whereupon the two adjoining headliner parts 14, 15 are moved forward jointly into their closed position.
The headliner can be coupled to the two-part cover to produce ventilation gaps in an altered form. Thus, for example, it is possible to form the ventilation gaps in the headliner area without activating the common displacement drive for theheadliner parts by pulling the two headliner parts 14, 15 to the rear via the raising motion of the covers 10, 11. As a result, the headliner parts which adjoin one another are moved together as the front ventilation gap 16 is being formed, the frontheadliner part 14 stopping as soon as the front ventilation gap 16 is produced, coming to rest against stops (not shown) and which project into the path of motion of the front headliner part 14, so that further pulling on the rear headliner part duringthe raising motion of the covers 10, 11 separates the rear headliner part 15 from the front headliner part 14 against the force of the tension springs 22, 23 as the rear ventilation gap 17 is being formed. To close the ventilation gaps 16 and 17, theindicated actuation sequence takes place in the reverse direction, the stops for fixing the front headliner part 14 then being pulled in again. These stops are then also pulled in again and allow joint motion of the two headliner parts 14, 15 when theyare moved into the position shown in FIG. 1d to completely expose the roof opening 12. Preferably, these stops are likewise forcibly controlled by the raising-lowering motion of the two covers 10, 11. Instead of the tension springs 22, 23, as anequivalent, compression springs can also be used when the coupling of the drives to the headliner parts 14 and 15 is matched accordingly, so that the headliner parts are pressed apart by spring action for producing a rear ventilation gal) 17, and toclose this ventilation gap 17, they are pushed together by one of the drives.
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