Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Roof structure
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-06
2002-05-21
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Roof structure
C296S039100, C296S097900, C296S210000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06390541
ABSTRACT:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The invention relates to a sun visor arrangement at a roof module for motor vehicles.
Such vehicle roofs which are prefabricated in modular fashion so as to be ready to fit are completed separately from the vehicle body and only joined to the vehicle body in the automobile factory assembly line. Vehicle roof modules of this kind are gaining in importance in particular on account of the substantial reduction of assembly time in the assembly line.
Roof modules having functional elements already preassembled at the inner shell of the roof module are of particular advantage in this respect. The bottom layer, which can be bent downwards, of the inner shell of a known vehicle roof (DE 197 09 016 A1) is provided with preassembled functional elements, for example sun visors, at locations appropriate for this purpose. In this case the bearing elements for the sun visors are constructed as swivel bearing pedestals which are locked into corresponding recesses in the bottom layer and, optionally, the covering material of the inside roof lining, so that the sun visors can be preassembled at the inner shell. Once the body frame has been covered, fastening screws are screwed through the swivel bearing pedestals into the front cross member of the body frame, thereby fastening the sun visors and, in the region of the latter, also the bottom layer of the inner shell to the body frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to improve the preassembly possibilities for the sun visors at the inner shell even further and at the same time also to provide the possibility of rotation at each bearing element in addition to the swivelling mobility of the sun visors.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sun visor arrangement at a roof module for motor vehicles having a vehicle body and a body frame, which module, having an inner shell formed from a foamed plastics material, is produced separately from the vehicle body in sandwich fashion and constructed at its inner shell as an inner roof lining and can be laid by way of its outer edges on the body frame and firmly connected thereto, wherein the inner shell is divided in the region of its outer edges provided to lie on the body frame into a top layer and a bottom layer, the top layer of which can be laid on the body frame, while the bottom layer can be bent downwards and is constructed to cover the body frame, wherein the body frame has a front cross member and the bottom layer is provided in the region of the front cross member of the body frame with preassembled sun visors, which are fitted so as to swivel on bearing elements which are connected to the bottom layer, and wherein fastening means can be passed through the bearing elements, which fastening means fasten the bearing elements and the bottom layer to the front cross member of the body frame, and wherein a rotary bearing is foamed into the bottom layer of the inner shell as a bearing element for each sun visor, which bearing element is constructed to seat a bearing pin, to which the sun visor is connected in a swivelling fashion outside of the rotary bearing.
As a result of foaming in a rotary bearing for each sun visor in the foaming operation which produces the inner shell, this bearing point is already produced in the foaming operation, thereby simplifying preassembly of the sun visors and at the same time obtaining a degree of freedom of rotary motion for the sun visors. Preassembly at the inner shell essentially takes place by inserting the bearing pin, on which the sun visor is mounted so as to swivel, in the rotary bearing.
Two alternatives are proposed for producing the rotary bearing. According to one alternative, a bearing bush which is to be placed in the foaming mold is foamed in, this bush comprising a bearing bore for seating the bearing pin.
According to the other alternative, a bearing bore is made directly in the foamed plastics material by foaming around a mold mandrel corresponding to the bearing pin. In the foaming process applied here a relatively rigid foam, which is partially formed in the inner shell, is foamed around the mold mandrel, so that the bearing bore for the bearing pin is finished without requiring any subsequent treatment when removal from the mold and withdrawal of the mold mandrel take place. Foaming processes in which different foams can be formed for workpieces foamed in one piece are known per se.
A particularly simple method of fastening the sun visors preassembled at the inner shell to the front cross member of the body frame is by forming a circumferential groove in the bearing pin at its end which is remote from the sun visor for locking with the edge of a seating opening in the front cross member of the body frame, the opening diameter of which opening is smaller than the diameter of the bearing pin. These parts can be easily locked by appropriately adapting the fastening openings in the cross member to the bearing pin, while constructing the latter accordingly.
This locking action is facilitated by providing the bearing pin with an axial bore which is open on both sides, at its end which is remote from the sun visor with slots continuing as far as the axial bore and, at this end, with a circulating conical chamfer whose minimum diameter is smaller than the diameter of the seating opening, as the elastic deformability of the bearing pin end concerned in the locking operation is improved by the hollow construction of the bearing pin and the provision of slots. A locking pin or similar, which extends at least into the region of the bearing pin can be provided with slots and can be inserted in the axial bore from the end of the bearing pin facing the sun visor. Thus, the hollow construction of the bearing pin also enables the locking fastening to be secured by inserting the locking pin or a locking screw in the hollow bearing pin, so that the elastic deformability of the bearing pin end is practically cancelled.
The locking pin or locking screw can be fitted by forming the axial bore in the form of a stepped bore, with the region of the stepped bore adjacent to the sun visor, which is of a greater diameter, being adapted to seat a head of the locking pin or similar, which rests against the bore step when completely inserted in the axial bore. Thus, the locking pin or screw is located in a defined position in the bearing pin by using the step of the stepped bore in the bearing pin as a stop for the head of the locking pin or locking screw.
The bearing pin of the rotary bearing enables illuminated vanity mirrors which are fitted on the sun visor to be electrically connected by providing electrically conductive slip rings firmly fitted at the circumference of the bearing pin and electrically connected to electrical conductors. The lighting device of the vanity mirror located on the sun visor is connected, wherein after the bearing pin has been fitted, the slip rings are constantly in contact in the rotary bearing with sliding contacts, which extend into the bearing bore of the rotary bearing and the electrical leads of which are foamed into the inner shell. This connection is externally invisible.
If the outer of the two bearing points of the sun visor is in the form of a rotary bearing, the inner bearing point is a detachable swivel bearing, whereby the sun visor can be swivelled following detachment by means of the rotary bearing in the direction of the side window. The sun visor arrangement can also comprise a removable swivel bearing provided on the side of the sun visor remote from the bearing pin of the rotary bearing by a bearing projection profiled approximately in the shape of a C and produced during foaming of the inner shell and thus in one part, in which bearing projection a swivel bearing pin of the sun visor engages in a releasable manner transversely to the swivel axis. This bearing is foam-molded from the material of the actual inner shell and thus in one part and may also be reinforced by a reinforcement embedded in the bearing projection of the C-shaped profile.
REF
Böhm Horst
Grimm Rainer
Carlson & Gaskey & Olds
Coletta Lori L.
Meritor Automotive GmbH
Pape Joseph D.
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