Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Roof structure
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-20
2003-09-30
Pedder, Dennis H. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Roof structure
C296S223000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06626485
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a vehicle sun roof system, and in particular to a vehicle sun roof system provided with an improved slide mechanism for a moveable sun roof panel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A vehicle sun roof system is typically provided with a moveable sun roof panel that can slide in a fore-and-aft direction to open and close an opening formed in a fixed roof panel of the vehicle. A pair of guide rails are provided in a lower part of the fixed roof panel on either side of the opening, and the moveable panel is provided with four sliders which are slidably engaged by the guide rails.
Because the moveable panel is supported solely by these sliders, to maximize the support rigidity of the moveable panel, it is preferable to attach the sliders to the front end and rear end of the moveable panel, and minimize the forward and rearward overhangs of the moveable panel that extend beyond the sliders.
However, the guide rails are required to be protected from moisture in order to ensure a smooth operation thereof, and the front end of each guide rail is required to be set back from the front edge of the opening by an appropriate distance. In particular, when the corners of the front end of the opening is rounded or is provided with a relatively large radius of curvature for aesthetic reasons, the front ends of the guide rails are required to be substantially set back from the front end of the opening in the roof panel. Modern automotive design is often such that the front window shield is strongly curved so that the front end of the opening in the roof has to be rounded accordingly.
In such a case, the front sliders are required to be set back from the front edge of the moveable panel to match the guide rails which are set back from the front end of the opening, and this results in a substantial front overhang of the moveable panel. Such an overhang is undesirable because the support structure has to be strengthened to ensure the required support rigidity. This is detrimental to compact, light-weight economical design of the vehicle sun roof system.
In such a guide structure, dimensional errors are inevitable between the guide rail and the slider, and it is customary to fit resilient shoes on the sliders so as to eliminate a play that may exist between the guide rail and the slider and ensure a smooth movement of the slider along the guide rail. For instance, Japanese utility model publication 5-29928 discloses a structure in which each slider shoe is provided with an inner wall portion which resiliently fits onto a stay member attached to a moveable panel, an outer wall portion which resiliently engages the guide slot and a space between the inner and outer wall portions to accommodate the resilient deformations of the inner and outer wall portions.
However, this arrangement requires a space between the inner and outer wall portions, and causes a vertical dimension of the guide structure to be increased. This is detrimental to the effort to minimize the vertical dimension of the sun roof system to provide a large head clearance in the passenger compartment of the vehicle without increasing the height of the roof panel.
In a sun roof system which is capable of both a slide open motion and a tilt up motion, it is necessary to prevent the fore-and-aft movement of the moveable panel while the moveable panel is anywhere between the fully closed position and a fully tilted up position. Japanese patent publication No. 05-23208 discloses a lock lever pivotally attached to a front slider via a laterally extending pin shaft, and provided with a front end which can selectively engage an opening provided in the guide rail.
According to this conventional arrangement, when the rear end of the moveable panel tilts down as a step preliminary to sliding rearward, the moveable panel pushes down the rear end of the lock lever, causing the front end to be disengaged from the opening and allowing the moveable panel to slide rearward. Conversely, when the moveable panel slides forward and approaches its fully closed position, the rear end of the moveable panel is tilted up and causes the lock lever to engage the opening. However, because the front end of the lock lever consists of a simple, downwardly extending projection, there was a concern that the lock lever may be inadvertently disengage from the opening, particularly when the rear end of the moveable panel tilts down and the projection of the lock lever tilts rearward as a result.
According to a sun roof system of an inner slide type such as the one disclosed in Japanese patent laid open publication No. 03-121926, the moveable panel is stowed in a space defined under the fixed roof panel behind the opening defined in the fixed roof panel when it is slid rearward toward its fully open position. Therefore, when moving the moveable panel rearward from its fully closed position, it is necessary to tilt down the rear end of the moveable panel, and it is typically accomplished by guiding a pin shaft laterally extending from a stay member depending from the moveable panel along a vertical slot for tilting the rear end of the moveable panel and along a substantially horizontal path for sliding the moveable pane rearward.
Conventionally, the tilt down motion was accomplished by dropping the laterally extending pin shaft into the horizontal guide slot via an opening passed through an opening formed in an upper wall of the guide rail defining the guide slot. Therefore, the transition from the tilt down motion to the slide motion was not effected in as smooth a fashion as desired, and a striking noise may even be produced when the laterally extending pin shift drops into the guide slot.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of such problems of the prior art, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved sun roof system having a favorable slide guide mechanism that ensures a smooth movement of the moveable panel and a high support rigidity for the moveable panel at the same time.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an improved sun roof system which can operate smoothly even when a camber or a warping is present in the guide rail.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an improved sun roof system which can operate smoothly and requires a small vertical dimension.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an improved sun roof system which is capable of both a tilt up motion and a slide motion in a highly reliable manner.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an improved sun roof system which allows the moveable panel to be moved into a space defined under the fixed roof panel immediately behind the opening in a highly smooth and noiseless manner.
According to the present invention, such objects can be accomplished by providing a vehicle sun roof system, comprising: a fixed roof panel defining an opening having a rounded shape; a pair of guide rails extending on the fixed roof panel in a fore-and-aft direction along either side of the opening; and a moveable panel having a pair of sliders on each side thereof, the sliders being slidably engaged by a corresponding one of the guide rails one in the front and the other in the rear; each of the front sliders being provided with at least three laterally extending slide shoes including a front inboard slide shoe, a rear inboard slide shoe and a front outboard slide shoe located intermediate between the inboard slide shoes with respect to a fore-and-aft direction, the guide rail being provided with an inboard side defining an inboard guide slot and an outboard side defining an outboard guide slot adapted to receive the corresponding slide shoes, the outboard side of the guide rail being provided with a front end which is rearwardly offset from that of the inboard side of the guide rail.
Thus, the front end of each guide rail is advanced as much as possible without increasing the exposure of such parts to the moisture that may drip from the fixed roof panel and/or moveable panel by taking into account th
Hotta Koichi
Ohara Tatsuya
Ohnishi Masaharu
Tamura Michio
Uehara Tatsuaki
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
MacPherson Kwok & Chen & Heid LLP
Pedder Dennis H.
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