Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-22
2002-04-02
Strimbu, Gregory J. (Department: 3634)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S201000, C049S141000, C049S502000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06364397
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to attachment devices for attaching a window for a motor vehicle, consisting of at least one sheet of a transparent material which can, in a first position, close off an opening made in the bodywork of vehicles and, in one or more other positions at least partially open the opening. The sheet made of transparent material is, for example, a sheet of glass or a sheet of plastic.
More specifically, although the invention is not restricted to such applications, it applies to side windows associated with “lift-lower” systems which provide a sliding movement of the windows in the doors of motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Customarily, such side windows consist of a sheet of so-called “safety” glass, that is to say glass which meets EC regulation No. 43. In the event of an accident and breakage of the windows, such windows yield small pieces which must not be able to cause the passengers of the vehicle serious injury.
By contrast, such windows have weaknesses as regards the actual security of the vehicle. This is because it is possible to break such windows and gain access to the inside of the vehicle, either to steal the vehicle or to make off with objects or accessories from the cabin.
Anti-theft systems, either in the form of an acoustic alarm or which are able to immobilize the vehicle, have been developed for many years. Although such systems may make it possible to prevent the vehicle from being stolen, they are very often ineffective against simple break-ins by breaking windows in order to steal objects left in the cabin.
In order to respond to and prevent this type of break-in, it has already been proposed that use laminated windows consisting, for example, of two sheets of glass separated by a plastic interlayer. The use of such laminated windows is considered by motor vehicle manufacturers to be a satisfactory response to the problem of preventing theft of, or from, the vehicle. The presence of the sheet of plastic makes breaking the window far more difficult, and this deters, or at the very least discourages, would-be thieves. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, if a sheet of glass breaks, it remains attached to the laminated whole which makes up the window, because of the presence of a sheet of plastic, this result of course minimizing the risk of injury to the passengers because no pieces of glass become detached from the window.
By contrast, the fact that the window maintains its structure if broken is a drawback in the event of an accident. This is because if it is no longer possible, in the event of an accident, to open the side windows on account of mechanical deformation of the doors or an electrical problem, the passengers may find themselves trapped in the cabin of the vehicle. In effect, due to the desire to use such a window to make the vehicle theft-proof, when the window is closed, the door frame is designed to hold the window firmly in place so that intervention from the outside cannot detach the window from the door. It then follows that somebody, who might be injured and therefore slightly incapacitated, located inside the cabin of the vehicle, will not be able to separate the window from the door. If a specialist rescue team is available to intervene, it will be equipped to quickly free these people. However, if it is not, the aforementioned function of the window, which prevents individuals from entering the vehicle by breaking in, leads to the risk of the passengers becoming trapped in the vehicle after an accident.
Solutions for destroying the connection between a laminated window and a bodywork have already been proposed. For example, patent application DE-19 61 15 78 describes a pyrotechnic device which, in the event of an accident, is able to break the window-bodywork connection. This solution in fact consists in destroying the bead of adhesive which connects the window to the bodywork. A solution of this kind therefore requires the window to be attached by adhesive bonding and therefore entails a fixed mounting. It cannot apply to opening windows, particularly sliding windows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventors therefore set out to develop an attachment device for opening-windows of motor vehicles which, in the event of an accident, allows the windows to open the opening which ordinarily they are supposed to protect against break-in. These windows may be made of a transparent material, such as glass or plastic, or a combination of several transparent materials.
This objective is achieved according to the invention using an attachment device for attaching a window for a motor vehicle, consisting of at least one sheet of a transparent material which can, in one position, close off an opening made in the bodywork of the vehicle and, in one or more other positions, at least partially open the opening, it being possible for the window to be normally fastened to the bodywork of the vehicle in the closing-off position, and this window-bodywork fastening being weakened after an accident.
According to the invention, under normal operating conditions, the window may be fastened to the bodywork and therefore securely attached thereto, so that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to remove the window from the bodywork to create an opening using conventional tools or means, such an attachment thus contributing to the antitheft performance of the vehicle. After an accident, the connection between the window and the bodywork is weakened so that a passenger, even one slightly incapacitated as a result of the accident, can, for example, by pushing with his feet, at least partially separate the window from the bodywork and thus open the opening made in the bodywork, which the window closes off, and thus allow the passengers to get out.
According to a first embodiment of the attachment device according to the invention, fastening is achieved over at least part of the periphery of the window. In particular, in the case of a sliding side window, apart from the lower part of the window which is housed inside the door so that it can be attached to the “lift-lower” system, the invention advantageously envisages secure attachment or fastening at the opposite part, that is to say near the top of the window. Depending on the dimensions and shape of the window and the nature of the recess, the invention envisages fastening over a larger area which may be as much as the entire periphery of the window.
According to other embodiments of the attachment device according to the invention, fastening is achieved at least partially via complementary elements surface-mounted on the window. These complementary elements are, for example, profiled rods or pegs fixed to the window at one end, the other end being associated, in the case of a sliding window, with a slideway secured to the bodywork, so that it additionally eases and guides the sliding of the window. These may also be profiled elements extending over the height of the window. In the same way, such profiled elements may be both attached to the window and associated with a slideway. There are advantageously two of such elements provided, these being positioned on the lateral areas of the window so that they are hidden by the lateral uprights of the door. These elements may be attached to the window for example by passing them through a hole made initially in the window, in the case of pegs, or by adhesive bonding, or alternatively by any other attachment means known to those skilled in the art.
As regards the weakening of the fastening which, according to the invention, is to exist after an accident, this may, according to the invention, be achieved in different ways in the case of fastening achieved by complementary elements on the surface of the window. First of all, the fastening may be weakened by breaking these complementary elements and therefore eliminating the main connection between window and bodywork. These elements may be broken manually, preferably only from inside the vehicle, by the occupants of the vehicle; f
Bordeaux Frédéric
Offermann Volkmar
Saint-Gobain Glass France
Strimbu Gregory J.
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