DE9407234U1 - Backdrop for a sliding and / or erectable roof part of a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Backdrop for a sliding and/or tiltable roof part of a motor vehicle

The invention relates to a backdrop for a sliding and/or adjustable roof part, such as a sliding and/or pop-up roof or roof window in a frame of a fixed roof surface of a motor vehicle, with the features specified in the preambles of the independent claims 1 and 2, as well as a method for producing such a backdrop.

A link of the generic type is known from DE-G 91 16 421.4. The link specified in this publication is characterized by the fact that it consists of a sheet metal part and the guideway of the link slot in the link is made of plastic. The plastic for the guideway, a guide curve for a bolt on the fastening mechanism, is sprayed onto the link to line the slot or alternatively manufactured as a separate plastic injection-molded part and attached to the link, whereby the part is shaped in such a way that it engages self-adhesively in the link slot of the sheet metal part.

The backdrop is cut or punched out of a relatively strong sheet metal and is relatively thick or has shaped bends in order to achieve a high torsional rigidity and longitudinal stability of the backdrop designed as a longitudinal member.

It has been shown that a high torsional rigidity and strength can only be achieved in gates with very long guide curves if they are made of very strong sheet metal or if the walls above and below the individual guide curves are significantly extended. However, this is not desirable due to the structural arrangement in a roof frame of a motor vehicle to accommodate a roof window or a sliding roof.

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The desired torsional rigidity and the mechanical strength required to be able to absorb the forces acting on the guide rail when the roof section is in place therefore require relatively strong guide rails made of sheet metal, around 3 mm to 5 mm thick, in order to meet these requirements. In any case, this makes the part itself relatively heavy, regardless of whether the guide curve is made of plastic or consists of an inserted plastic part.

From DE 37 39 529 A1 and DE 34 42 600 C2, vehicle roofs are known in which sliding and/or tilting roof parts, such as roof windows or sliding and lifting roofs, are operated by means of a guide. The guide belonging to the operating mechanism is made of plastic, which for reasons of strength and stress must be even stronger than is the case with a simple sheet metal construction. This requires a relatively large construction width in the known sliding roof and/or sliding and lifting roof designs, which inevitably makes the size of the roof opening to be released at the opening point smaller. On the other hand, the use of plastic - this also applies to the first-mentioned publication - has the advantage that a particularly smooth and quiet operation of the sliding roof is achieved during the tilting movement. In addition, the plastic in combination with an inserted metal link bolt offers the advantage that the self-lubricating properties of the plastic ensure the desired smooth movement while at the same time exerting light pressure on the bolt of the sliding mechanism. Furthermore, when manufacturing the link slot in the sheet metal part of the link, no tolerance specifications that are too tight need to be taken into account. The first-mentioned publication also teaches that fastening parts should be provided on the link. These can be inserted or fastened there. This also applies to sliding devices, in particular sliding rollers, which are on

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the fastening parts are attached!***. *The publication also teaches that such parts can be made from plastic and molded onto the fastening parts. The molding of such parts can be carried out together with the molding of the guide track onto the sheet metal part of the guide. In one operation, the sliding devices and the plastic guide track can be provided on the sheet metal part of the guide, preferably made of one and the same material. It is clear that the tool or the molds for molding the plastic guide curve and, if necessary, the fastening devices must be designed in such a way that only the individual parts are molded in the desired manner. The sheet metal part must also be provided with corrosion protection or painted before or after, which in any case requires additional effort so that it can be used for its intended function without the part being damaged by immediate corrosion.

Based on the prior art, the invention is based on the task of designing a backdrop with as thin walls as possible, retaining the described advantages offered by the use of plastic and at the same time offering corrosion protection on all sides without the need for pre- or post-treatment. In addition, the invention is intended to significantly reduce the manufacturing costs of a backdrop and achieve further material savings.

The problem is solved by the technical teachings specified in the independent claims 1 and 2.

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The essence of the invention is to create a thin-walled slide made of plastic into which metallic or non-metallic stiffeners and/or reinforcing elements are embedded. The reinforcing element can be a continuous longitudinal beam made of sheet metal, e.g. sheet steel, similar to that previously known from DE-G 91 16 421.4, but significantly thinner. A slot is punched into this, which is larger than the desired guide curve or the slide track.

The guide curve is then formed from the plastic into the slot. It has been shown that if the longitudinal member has a large number of holes or is made of perforated material, expanded metal or wire mesh, a high level of rigidity is also achieved by the reinforcement element through the connections between the plastic layers on both sides. Furthermore, the wall thickness towards the edge or towards adjacent slots can be kept very thin, especially with longer guide curves. Nevertheless, the choice of reinforcement element or stiffening means ensures that the wall has a high level of inherent elasticity, so that constant pressure is applied to the bolts used and the advantages of the plastic guide curve described at the beginning are also maintained.

The two subordinate claims specify several embodiments of the guide curve on a slide. On the one hand, this can be provided as an opening. On the other hand, it can be introduced on one side or both sides as a recess in the form of a groove and, furthermore, it is also possible, in kinematic reversal, to attach the guide curve as a raised attachment on one side or congruently on both sides, whereby the curve is then formed entirely from the molded plastic and can be reinforced. A carrier with a cut-in groove of an actuating mechanism can be placed on such an attachment if suitable structural adaptation is observed. Even with

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In this design, such a raised guide curve can of course be provided on both sides of the carrier element, so that the slider belonging to the actuating mechanism has an overall U-shaped design, which has corresponding groove-shaped receptacles for the guide curve to be inserted. It is also possible to provide the guide curves provided as a recess as a mirror image on both sides of the carrier and to connect them to one another by a continuous slot, so that with a corresponding design of the carrier of the actuating mechanism with sliding lugs, the longitudinal slider can be inserted into the U-shaped receptacle or receptacles in a locking manner. A bolt can subsequently be inserted into the slot for security and secured in the bearings of the carrier. If the carrier is designed to be sufficiently rigid, the bolt lock can also be dispensed with. In the event that the guide curve is provided as a breakthrough, a further reduction in sliding friction can be achieved by appropriately shaping the guide surfaces, for example by thickening them on one side or on both sides. The inserted bolt only rests on the raised edge of the curvature and not over the entire surface. In any case, the design provides a force-locking connection.

Advantageous further developments of the invention are specified in detail in subclaims 2 to 22.

The plastics that can be used in a suitable manner are specified in claims 14 and 15. Of course, instead of the plastics specified as preferred in claim 15, other types of plastic can also be used if the selected plastic has comparable properties, namely high sliding properties for the bolt of the actuating mechanism that engages the guide curve and durability without cracking during use.

The plastic coating also offers the advantage that metallic stiffeners or reinforcing elements are completely embedded in the openings, even on the walls, and are thus protected against corrosion. Post-treatment, for example by painting a sheet metal support, is not necessary to protect it against corrosion. In addition, it has been shown that the composite formation when using a reinforcing element means that it can be very thin, e.g. approx. 1.7 mm to approx. 2 mm. This leads to a further reduction in weight compared to known designs. Furthermore, the simplified manufacturing process and the reduction in the material of both the sheet metal support and the plastic mass mean that a significant saving in manufacturing costs can be achieved compared to the state of the art. Instead of sheet steel, reinforcing elements made of other materials or non-metallic stiffeners can also be embedded.

However, the invention also allows the use of a pre-molded part made of plastic. This body is a base body made of cheap plastic with molded-in honeycombs, for example, which is used as a longitudinal support, onto which the actual plastic mass is then applied in the subsequent processing step in the tool.

The invention also makes it possible, in a simple manner, to provide U-shaped receptacles or recesses in the edge areas of the walls, for example to pivotally mount the end of a compression spring therein, which serves to support the link with the force of the spring, which presses against a slide rail of the frame. Whether such elements are necessary depends

depends on the design of the installation device and on the operating elements and their interaction with the gate and the guide curves provided therein or on the length of the guide curve.

Of course, it is also possible to directly inject functional elements when the backdrop is overmolded with plastic. The functional elements can be, for example, damping and/or spring elements that are supported by free legs or buttons on parts of the frame and/or roof element.

The invention also offers the advantage that all openings that must be provided on the guide, for example, to pivot on an actuating element at the front around an axis or, in the case of a "opening-only window", to pivot on the frame, are simultaneously injected with plastic, so that a pin or bolt with a sliding fit or slight clamping fit can be inserted here too, thus preventing noise when pivoting the guide around the correspondingly formed pivot bearing.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

The drawings show:

Fig. 1 in perspective view a backdrop,
which is accompanied by another within the framework of a
roof window,

Fig. 2 another backdrop with a structure according to the
Invention with inserted reinforcing element,

Fig. 3 ■ a side view of the backdrop according to Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 a partial section of another embodiment of a backdrop,

Fig. 5 is a partial section along section line A-A in Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 another embodiment of a slide with lateral guide curves,

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the backdrop shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 a cross-section through the gate according to Fig. 6, according to the section line B-B, 15

Fig. 9 another embodiment of a link with molded spring and special pivot bearing attachment,

Fig. 10 a further design of a link in cross section with the slide of the actuating element attached,

Fig. 11 a variant of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 and

Fig. 12 shows a further variant of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10.

In Fig. 1, a complete gate is shown in perspective without an operating mechanism, which is installed on one side of a roof window or a pop-up roof in the frame of a motor vehicle roof. A complementary gate is provided on the opposite side of the frame. The gate 1 has an opening 4 at the front end for receiving a bearing pin around which the gate is pivotably mounted. In

The slide also has openings 5 and 6 into which the brackets of the roof window (not shown) or the pop-up roof engage and are firmly mounted using screws 8 and 10 and with the panes 7 and 9 in between. A guide curve 3 is provided in the middle section between the front and rear connection openings 5 and 6, which is formed by an upper wall and a lower wall 21 of the slide. An actuating bolt of an actuating mechanism (not shown) engages in this guide curve. By moving the actuating mechanism, the longitudinal movement of the actuating device is transformed into a pop-up movement in accordance with the curve. If the bolt in the guide curve is in the rear part, the pop-up window is closed. If the actuating mechanism is moved forwards and the bolt reaches the front part, the pop-up window is raised up around the front pivot bearing. Furthermore, an actuating element 12 is pivotally mounted in a pivot bearing 11 in a U-shaped recess in the lower wall 21. This actuating element is part of a compression spring 13, the end of which is guided on a guide rail in the frame of the pop-up window, which is also not shown.

This exerts a constant pressure on the gate 1, which, depending on the design, is desired.

The special features of the invention are shown in the further figures 2, 3, 4 and 5.

From Fig. 2 it can be seen that the link 1 consists of a longitudinal beam 2 designed as a reinforcing element. This is, for example, a sheet steel beam that is provided with a large number of holes. The holes 4, 5 and 6 serve, as shown in Fig. 1, as a receptacle for a bearing pin or to accommodate a screw for fastening the roof window or the pop-up roof to it. Furthermore, openings 15 (medium-sized holes

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rather) which serve to connect the plastic mass, which is shown as layer 14, on both sides, so that a rigid connection exists between the carrier 2 and the plastic layer applied. The smaller openings 22 provided serve the same purpose. Some of the openings 22 or 15 can also be used to hold the sheet metal carrier in an injection mold. The carrier is then placed on locking pins and overmolded with plastic on all sides, whereby the guide curve 3 and the passages 4, 5 and 6 are kept free. The longitudinal slot in the carrier 2, which corresponds to the guide curve course, is previously punched into the sheet metal, and the other openings are made. The slot 14 is larger than the guide curve passage opening. The openings and their dimensional accuracy are determined by overmolded plastic in the mold. The mold has corresponding inserts.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the structure.

The longitudinal support 2, for example, consists of a sheet of metal approximately 1.7 mm to approximately 2 mm thick, to which a plastic layer of approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 0.8 mm is applied on both sides, so that in the maximum case the total width of the guide is only approximately 3 mm. Connecting the two plastic layers through the through holes 15 or through the smaller holes 22, if these are not used as receiving holes for fixing the support 2 in the mold, significantly increases the bending stiffness and thus the overall strength of the guide 1. In addition, the low wall thickness and the dimensions of the wall 21 - this also applies equally to the rear part of the guide curve 3 - give the wall a high degree of inherent elasticity, so that the bolt inserted into the guide curve 3 is clamped in the respective end positions under slight pressure, but can be easily pulled out of this position again by the actuating mechanism.

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Another embodiment is shown in partial section in Fig. 4. A wire mesh is used as a reinforcing element. This also gives the plastic backdrop the necessary strength. The wire mesh 16 is also provided with the necessary openings and with the slot, which is not shown, in order to accommodate the guide curve, for example.

In Fig. 5, a cross-sectional drawing of a longitudinal support 2 is shown, which has actuating elements 20, which can be formed from the support material and/or overmolded with plastic. This is a good idea, as the entire support is overmolded with plastic in the tool. However, it is also possible to overmold corresponding pins 19 if they are designed according to their mechanical loads. .

Further embodiments are shown schematically in Fig. 6, 7 and 8. The guide 1 shown there consists of a longitudinal beam in which, in contrast to the previous embodiments with a continuous longitudinal slot as bearing curves, the bearing curve is applied to the longitudinal beam as a thickening or projection on two sides. These lateral projections 25 are visible in Fig. 6 and 7 (in partial section). The projections engage in grooves in the supports 26 and 27 of the sliding element 28 of the actuating mechanism. For this purpose, the supports 26 and 27 form a U-shaped receptacle into which the guide is inserted. These supports 27 can also be made of plastic, for example, so that with a corresponding design of the insertion opening at the top, the guide can be pressed in with the protruding projections 25 by sliding surfaces using the inherent elasticity of the supports 26 and 27. The inherent elasticity of the supports 26 and 27 is selected in such a way that a firm fit is guaranteed and yet easy assembly is possible. When disassembling, the link can be removed from the

It goes without saying that the guide and the width of the supports 27 must be designed in such a way that when the actuating element and thus the sliding element 28 are displaced longitudinally, the movement via the protruding guide curve is transformed into a corresponding pivoting movement. As can also be seen from Fig. 8, the guide curve projections 25 that extend out to the side are made of plastic that is embedded in the guide groove of the supports 26 and 27. The plastic layer 32 is anchored to the pre-molded part, consisting of the reinforcing element 2 and the applied plastic layer 14. For this purpose, the laterally protruding projections have undercuts 33 so that the plastic layer 32 of the guide curve anchors itself therein during injection molding. This plastic can be a particularly slippery plastic in order to enable easier sliding in the slide of the actuating element.

As can be seen from Fig. 6, the U-shaped grooves have upper and lower curved limiting parts 29 and 30 in the supports 26 and 27, so that even with a stepped design of the guide curve 25, continuous sliding on it is ensured.

In Fig. 7, in a top view of Fig. 6, it can be seen that the two guide curves 25 and 31 are provided laterally congruently, so that the link can be inserted into a U-shaped slider of an actuating mechanism formed from two supports, as shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 shows a further embodiment of a link according to the invention, which essentially corresponds to that according to Fig. 2, but additionally has a shaped spring 34, at the end of which an eyelet is provided for other functions. Such functional elements can be attached directly during the injection molding process, which leads to

contributes to a significant reduction in costs. In contrast to the example according to Fig. 2, a raised guide curve 25 is provided here, and instead of the bearing hole 4 at the front end, a fork-shaped bearing opening with a bearing hole, the fork 36 being shaped in such a way that it snaps onto a bolt 35 that is provided on the bearing bracket 36 of the frame. However, it is also possible to provide laterally protruding lugs that snap into bearing holes in the bearing bracket 37. An example of this is shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 10 to 12, various embodiments of the gate are shown in simplified cross-section. The gate shown in Fig. 10 has two U-shaped recesses, which are provided congruently, as guide curves, into which the lugs of the supports 42 and 44 engage. Two laterally projecting spring elements 38 and 39 or 40 and 41 are also molded onto the gate, which are attached to the walls of the supports 42, 44 of a sliding mechanism, which ensures that even with large tolerances and possible wear of the sliding surfaces, rattling of the gate in the actuating mechanism is prevented. Otherwise, the gate is constructed in the same way as in the previously described versions, so that an inherently stable gate is provided, which nevertheless has all the advantages of a gate made entirely of plastic.

The embodiment in Fig. 11 differs from that in Fig. 10 only in that lateral ribbing 43 and 45 is additionally provided on the reinforcing element. The embodiment 12 differs from the embodiments in Fig. 10 and 11 in that the two U-shaped guide curve grooves are connected to each other in the middle via a longitudinal section and that a relatively thin bearing bolt is inserted through bearing holes through the two supports 42 and 44, so that even under the greatest loads the two

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Supports 42 and 44 cannot move outwards and thus jump out of the guide curve.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments; advantageous embodiments are specified in detail in the claims.

Claims (1)

Paul Zitzmann GmbH & Co. KG Industriestrasse 2 96342 Stockheim G 1094 15.07.94 Protection claims 1. A guide for a sliding and/or pop-up roof part, such as a sliding and/or pop-up roof or roof window, in a frame of a fixed roof surface of a motor vehicle, consisting of a torsionally rigid, dimensionally stable longitudinal member which is attached to the roof part and has at least one guide curve to which an actuating mechanism which is slidably mounted in the frame is coupled, the longitudinal movement of which is transformed by the guide curve into a pop-up movement when moving in the direction of a front pivot axis of the roof part and into a closing movement of the roof window when moving backwards, the guide curve being made of plastic, characterized in that the guide (1) consists entirely of plastic with embedded metallic or non-metallic stiffening means and/or reinforcing elements (2) which are enclosed on all sides by plastic, and in that the guide curve (3) is designed as a continuous guide opening and/or as a non-continuous one-sided and/or a guide groove is formed on both sides and a bolt or a driving projection of the actuating mechanism engages therein. 2. A backdrop for a sliding and/or pop-up roof part, such as a sliding and/or pop-up roof or skylight, in a frame of a fixed roof surface of a motor vehicle, consisting of a torsionally rigid, dimensionally stable longitudinal support which is attached to the roof part and has at least one guide curve to which an actuating mechanism which is slidably mounted in the frame is coupled, the longitudinal movement of which is transformed by the guide curve into an opening movement when moved in the direction of a front pivot axis of the roof part and into a closing movement of the roof window when moved backwards, the guide curve being made of plastic, characterized in that the guide (1) consists entirely of plastic with embedded metallic or non-metallic stiffening means and/or reinforcing elements (2) which are enclosed on all sides by plastic, and that the guide curve consists of a projection (25) which protrudes on at least one side of the guide and which engages in guide grooves of the actuating mechanism. 3. A backdrop according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one or more thin sheets are provided as reinforcing elements (2) in layers, which have a larger recess (17) than the guide curve (3) over its course, passages (4, 5, 6) for receiving fastening devices for coupling to the operating mechanism and/or to the roof part and other devices for fastening to the operating mechanism or the guide in guide devices in the frame and a plurality of openings (15) for the composite production with the plastic. 4. A backdrop according to claim 3, characterized in that the sheet is a perforated sheet or the sheet layers consist of perforated sheets held at a defined distance from one another. 5. A backdrop according to claim 3 or 1', characterized in that a single or multi-layer gauze or a metal grid (16) is used as the reinforcing element (2) (Fig. 4). 6. A backdrop according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing element has laterally protruding, pressed out, molded out, bent out or attached ribs which are embedded in the plastic mass. 7. A backdrop according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the reinforcing element consists of steel, magnesium or zinc, with ribbing or other functional elements also being formed. 8. Slide according to claim 7, characterized in that the reinforcing element is a die-cast part made of magnesium, zinc, aluminum or other cast alloys. 9. Slide according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a pre-molded part made of plastic is used as the reinforcing element, which is provided with or without ribbing and/or functional elements. 10. A backdrop according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that mineralized plastic is used for stiffening. 11. A backdrop according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that glass fibers or carbon fibers, cross-linked or uncross-linked or knitted, are inserted as stiffening means, the fibers being laid in such a way that the recess areas for the guide curve (3) and the passages (4, 5, 6) for receiving the fastening means and other openings (15) for connecting the plastics are kept free. 12. A backdrop according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening means (20) are fastened to the reinforcing elements (2) and consist of metal or another material and are surrounded by the plastic (18) or are formed as part of the backdrop (1) from plastic and/or die-cast (19). 13. A slide according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal support has a substantially greater length than height and is arranged vertically, and that the wall which delimits the guide curve wall (21) at the bottom has a U-shaped elongated receptacle extending beyond the reinforcing element, into which retractable elements (12) are inserted in a pivoting or sliding manner. 14. A backdrop according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plastic is a homopolymer or a polymeric plastic. 15. A backdrop according to claim 14, characterized in that the following plastics are preferably used alternatively: POM Polyoxymethylene; Polyformaldehyde; Polyacetal PA polyamide PA 6 polymer from &egr;-caprolactam PA 66 Polymer of hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid PP Polypropylen PETP Polyethylene terephthalate PBTP Polybutylene terephthalate PC .Polycarbonat 16. A slide according to claim 2,* ^# *d**ad**u *rc "h characterized in that the guide curves are provided in the form of projections on both sides of the slide, that the actuating mechanism has a U-shaped receptacle into which the slide engages, and that the supports on both sides forming the U-shaped receptacle have recesses into which the raised guide curves engage. 17. Gate according to claim 2 or 16, characterized in that the surfaces above and below the raised guide curves are designed as sliding surfaces against which the corresponding surfaces of the actuating mechanism rest. 18. Gate according to claim 1, 2, 9 or 17, characterized in that the pre-molded part or the pre-formed reinforcing element in the area of the guide curve or raised guide curve has undercuts for the overmolding of the track of the guide curve. 19. A slide according to claim 1, 2 or 13, characterized in that functional elements, e.g. damping and/or spring elements, are formed from the plastic on the slide. 20. Gate according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has fastening projections in the front area of the longitudinal member for the locking introduction into bearing holes of the stationary bearing on the frame or a sliding element for the locking connection in a bearing hole with feed slots or a bearing hole with locking insertion slots for locking onto a bolt of a bearing holder on the frame or a sliding element. 21. A guide according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide is provided ^with lateral continuous spring inserts acting in the direction of the center axis of the guide curve, which are attached to a Sliding surface of the actuating mechanism. 22. Slide according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that functional elements, e.g. springs or damping elements, are provided on the reinforcing element or formed therefrom, which protrude from the molded plastic.