Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Roof structure
Patent
1985-10-04
1987-02-24
Reeves, Robert B.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Roof structure
296218, 296224, 292263, 49359, B60J 708, E05F 1120, E05F 1134
Patent
active
046452591
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to actuators for openable vehicle roofs of the kind having a panel, one edge of which can be swung outwardly, e.g. a sunroof for a vehicle.
In a typical glass sunroof arrangement, a frame and seal is ridigly mounted in an opening in the vehicle roof. A safety glass panel is hinged to the forward edge of the frame and has an opening and locking mechanism at the rear of the frame.
When opened, the rear edge of the glass panel rises above the frame, thus providing ventilation to the vehicle interior without admitting direct air from the front of the sunroof which is kept in contact with the frame seal by the hinges at the front edge of the glass panel.
When closed, the mechanism, commonly known as "the handle", holds the glass panel in contact with the seal, so making a water and air-tight joint.
Similar openable roofs may be made in which the panel is not glass but is, for instance, metal.
The handle is generally also designed such as it allows disconnection of the panel from the frame and therefore removal from the vehicle giving an unrestricted opening in the vehicle roof.
A handle, as described, allows for just three modes of operation, i.e. (a) fully open, (b) with the panel fully removed and finally, (c) closed. In the open position, it is inevitably a compromise that only a fixed amount of opening is permitted. Handles of the kind described in failing to allow for a partially opened position do not allow for regulation of the ventilation depending on forward movement of the vehicle to draw air from the vehicle interior. While the opening has to be adequately large to be effective at low vehicle speeds, it becomes too large at high speeds, on motorways for instance, and with the increase in ventillation comes a rapid increase in wind noise across the opening.
The present invention provides an actuator for an openable vehicle roof for a motor vehicle of the kind comprising a panel, one edge of which can be swung outwardly, which actuator comprises a mounting member for mounting the actuator to a fixed part of the vehicle, a body portion hinged to the mounting member, an arm member carried by the body portion for connection to the openable roof panel and a worm associated with the body portion engaged with a worm follower member associated with the arm member, such that rotation of the worm produces angular displacement of the arm member with respect to the body portion.
Preferably, the body portion comprises a housing member having said mounting member and said arm member pivotably mounted thereon for pivoting about spaced substantially parallel axes.
Preferably, the worm extends in said housing member between said parallel axes with its own axis substantial perpendicular thereto.
Preferably a handle for manual rotation of the worm is connected thereto.
Preferably the arm member comprises a shaft bearing an arm extending transversely thereof, the shaft forming a pivot axis for the arm.
In such an arrangement, the worm follower member is preferably non-rotatably mounted on the shaft of said arm member.
Preferably, the shaft of the arm member bears a pair of arms extending transversely to one side thereof in substantially a common plane.
Said arms may diverge from one another, e.g. may be set at an angle up to approximately right-angles to one another and each at up to approximately 45.degree. to the shaft.
Preferably, the worm follower member lies on the shaft of the arm member betwen said arms.
There will normally be provided a connecting member for connecting the arm member to the roof panel, which connecting member is pivoted to the arm member, normally at the distal end thereof.
Preferably, the actuator has an open position in which said arm member extends away from said body portion such that the hinge of the mounting member to the body portion, the connection of the arm member to the body portion and the distal end of the arm member lie substantially in a common plane.
Preferably, the actuator has a closed position in which the arm member overlies the body portion, once
REFERENCES:
patent: 3949625 (1976-04-01), Bienert
patent: 3979148 (1976-09-01), Martin
patent: 4118063 (1978-10-01), Bienert et al.
patent: 4165120 (1979-08-01), Jardin et al.
Pedder Dennis H.
Reeves Robert B.
Tudor Webasto Limited
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