GB2133460A - Sliding tilting roof for automobiles - Google Patents

Abstract

In a sliding tilting roof for automobiles, a lid (3) guided on guide rails (11) in a roof opening (2) can be moved in such a manner that, starting from its closed position, it can either be pivoted out in the manner of front- hinged ventilating dampers by raising its rear edge above the fixed roof surface (1) or, after its rear edge has been lowered, can be displaced beneath the rear, fixed roof surface. Detent elements (54) (Figure 7) engaging in recesses (55) (Figure 9) of the guide rails (11) except while the lid is sliding ensure that the lid is not displaced above the rear, fixed roof surface during the pivoting-in movement. Furthermore, the sliding tilting roof possesses devices which prevent rising of the rear edge of the lid during closure displacements of same, without frictional losses originating from upwardly oriented drive force components occurring. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sliding tilting roof for automobiles This invention relates to a sliding tilting roof for automobiles, comprising a rigid lid, which is displaceably guided with front and rear sliding shoes on guide rails fixed laterally in a roof opening, is driven by cables acting upon the rear sliding shoes and displaceably guided thrusttransmittingly on the guide rails, is pivotally journalled about a horizontal axis extending transversely to the direction of sliding by pivot bearings mounted on the front sliding shoes and is equipped, along its lateral edges, with guide blocks fixed to it, into which guide pins mounted on the rear sliding shoes engage, whereby the lid, starting from its closed position, can either be swung out in the manner of front-hinged ventilation dampers by raising its rear edge above the fixed roof surface or, after its rear edge has been lowered, can be displaced beneath the rear, fixed roof surface, a recess being disposed in each guide rail, opposite to one another, on the two sides of the lid in the vicinity of the rear edge of the roof opening, into which recess, except when the lid is displaced, a spring-loaded detent element engages, which is connected, unchangeable in length, with a guide shoe displaceably guided on the guide rail and situated in the vicinity of the rear edge of the lid, which (guide shoe) is connected with the lid by a connecting element, which is articulated on the one hand on the lid and on the other hand on the guide shoe for pivotal movements in a vertical plane situated in the direction of sliding, elements being provided for securing the lowered position of the rear edges of the lid during displacement movements of same.

In sliding tilting roofs, in which the rigid lid can be optionally either pivoted out like a ventilation flap or displaced, as in the case of exclusively slidable roofs, beneath the rear, fixed roof surface, measures must be adopted to prevent incorrect functioning. In particular, two possible incorrect functions must be prevented, which consist in that, on the one hand the lid pivoted upwards and outwards above the fixed roof surface might be displaced rearwards during the desired return pivotal movement, and on the other hand the lid displaced beneath the rear, fixed roof surface might have its rear edge raised during its closure movement, that is, pivoted upwards, Whereas the prevention of the first-named incorrect function is not particularly difficult, the known proposals for preventing the secondnamed incorrect function have the disadvantage that, during the closure displacement of the lid, essentially vertically upward oriented forces occur, which give rise to considerable friction and thus to difficult running and sluggishness of the lid drive.

In a known sliding tilting roof of the first named category (DE-PS 25 32 187), the two described incorrect functions are reliably prevented by measures which have proved satisfactory in practice, but here also the aforementioned, vertically upward oriented forces and their consequences occur during the closure displacement of the lid. By the initially described provision of a recess in each guide rail, with which recess a detent element following the lid displacement is associated, a locking connection which prevents undesired lid displacements in the direction of opening sliding is produced during the pivoting-in of the lid from a pivoted-out position into its closed position.For preventing the lifting of the rear edge of the lid during closure displacements there are provided, opposite to one another on each side of the sliding lid, a guide finger fixed to the sliding lid in the vicinity of the rear edge of the sliding lid and transversely to the displacement direction, which finger, when the rear edge of the lid is lowered starting frbm the closed position of the lid, disengages the detent element from the recess, passes through the recess and, during subsequent lid displacements, is guided on the lower side of the guide rail.The vertically upwardly oriented forces result, with this known form of construction, from the fact that the guide pins which assure the lid closure displacement and which are mounted on the rear sliding shoes, bear in the guide blocks against inclined surfaces, at which the forces produced by the cable drive are broken down into a force component in the direction of sliding and into a force component oriented upwards and perpendicularly thereto. The upwardly oriented force component leads to a frictional bearing of the guide fingers against the undersides of the guide rails. This bearing of the guide fingers does indeed reliably prevent lifting of the rear edge of the lid during the closure displacement, but as a result thereof frictional forces occur which must be overcome by an increased drive torque.

In the earliest known form of embodiment of a sliding tilting roof (DE AS 16 05 960), vertically upward forces of this type also occur, which again are produced by breaking down the forces at the bearing points between guide pins and guide block inclined faces. Allowance is made for these upwardly oriented force components on each side of the lid by angle pieces fixed to the lid, which during lid displacements engage beneath additional guide rails, against which they bear with friction during closure displacements, on account of the upwardly oriented force components occurring at the described drive points.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sliding tilting roof for automobiles, in which little or no frictional losses originating from upwardly oriented drive force components occur during lid closure displacements.

The object is achieved according to this invention, starting from the initially stated category, in that a coupling element is provided on each of the two sides of the lid, by which coupling element, when the detent element comes out of the recess, the rear sliding shoe can be positively coupled with the adjacent guide shoe and by which, when the detent element enters the recess, the rear sliding shoe can be uncoupled from the guide shoe, and that, on both sides of the lid, the force-transmitting engagement of the guide pin with the guide block in the displacement direction is cancelled during the closure displacement of the lid.

According to the invention, the guide pins engaging in the guide blocks no longer cause the closure displacement of the lid, but this is brought about by the coupling element which, on each side of the lid, entrains with it the adjacent guide shoe, the guide shoe pushing the lid, via the initially mentioned connecting element, so to speak into its closed position. It can be seen that in this manner bearing of the guide pins against inclined surfaces of guide blocks for driving purposes is unnecessary. When desired pivoting movements of the lid take place, the engagement of the coupling element with the rear sliding shoe is cancelled, so that the rear sliding shoe can displace relative to the guide shoe along the guide rail.The guide shoe here remains in its fixed position, as a consequence of the engagement of the detent element with the recess, so that in inward pivotal movements of the lid this lid bears via the described connecting element against the guide shoe, with the result that undesired displacements of the pivoted-out lid towards the rear are prevented.

In an advantageous form of embodiment of the invention it is provided that the detent element and the coupling element are each disposed on one arm of a two-armed lever, which is pivotally mounted on the guide shoe, and that the disengagement of the detent element from the recess, with simultaneous coupling engagement of the coupling element with the rear sliding shoe, can be brought about by approach of the rear sliding shoe to the guide shoe. The combining of the detent element and the coupling element into one two-armed lever enables the two incorrect operations described earlier to be prevented by one central element. The coupling of the rear sliding shoe and of the guide shoe takes place automatically, that is to say by actuation of the roof drive in the direction of opening displacement.Decoupling, by contrast, is produced in co-operation of the two-armed lever with the recess in the guide rail, i.e. it also takes place automatically when the lid reaches its closed position at the end of the closure displacement.

In the preferred form of embodiment, it is of advantage if a control extension is fixed to the rear sliding shoe, with which control extension is run-up inclined surface situated on the two-armed lever is associated for the initial cancellation of the engagement between detent element and recess, and if a further run-up inclined surface, associated with the adjacent edge of the recess, is disposed on the detent element for the final cancellation of the engagement between detent element and recess.By the provision of the control extension and the associated run-up inclined surfaces on the detent element, assurance is provided that the detent element, at the commencement of the opening displacement, moves without difficulty and without notably increased application of force out of the detent recess of the guide rail, the two-armed lever pivoting until the coupling element comes into engagement with the rear sliding shoe.

The arrangement for this purpose is advantageously such that the coupling element is constructed as a hook, situated on the associated arm end of the two-arm lever, this hook being intended for hooking behind a coupling surface of the control extension.

For a reliable engagement of the detent element into the recess in the closed position of the lid and for maintaining this engagement during any pivotal movements of the lid, it is advantageous if the two-armed lever is biased by a spring in the direction of engagement of detent element and recess. As a consequence, the detent element is certainly pressed onto the guide rail during lid displacements, but only slight frictional forces result from this if, in a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a running roller is mounted on the detent element, which roller projects beyond the detent element and, after the detent element has come out of the recess, can roll freely along the guide rail during lid displacements.

For a firm seating of the pivoted-out lid, it is advantageous if the connecting element is constructed as a lever spring biasing the pivotedout lid in the closure direction, of which one arm is articulated to the guide block, the helical winding is pushed onto a stud pin of the guide shoe, and the other arm bears against the guide shoe.

The arrangement for preventing a forcetransmitting engagement of the guide pin with the guide block during closure displacements of the lid is advantageously such that, in the guide block, a guide slit end portion adjoining a forwardly and downwardly inclined guide slit transition portion and situated adjacent to the lid and extending horizontally thereto, is provided in the guide block in known manner (DE-AS 16 05 960), in which end portion the guide pin is situated during displacement movements of the lid, without bearing against a surface of the transition guide slit. During the opening displacement, by contrast, the guide pin bears force-transmittingly against the end wall of the guide slit end portion, thus causing the lid displacement to take place.

To achieve a tilt-free, synchronized guidance of the two guide shoes disposed on opposite sides of the lid, it is advantageous if the two guide shoes are rigidly connected together in known manner (DE-PS 25 32 187) by a water channel bridging underneath the gap between the rear edge of the lid and the rear edge of the roof opening when the lid is in the closed position.

One embodiment of a sliding tilting roof according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal section through the sliding tilting roof with the lid closed, Fig. 2 a partial plan view, partly cut away, on the sliding roof frame with the functional components mounted thereon, but with the lid removed, Fig. 3 to 6, each a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 1, illustrated with different positions of the lid, Fig. 7 to 9, each a partial longitudinal section to a larger scale than Figures 1 and 3 to 6 and likewise with the lid illustrated in different positions, Fig. 10 a partial section along the cranked section line X-X in Fig. 7, Fig. 11 a partial plan on a guide rail and the recess formed therein, Fig. 12 a plan on the two-armed lever and Fig. 1 3 a section through the two-armed lever along the line Xlll-Xlll in Fig. 12.

The longitudinal sectional views according to Fig. 1 and 3 to 6 show the fixed roof 1 of a passenger automobile with roof opening 2 provided therein, which can be closed by a lid 3.

The edges of the roof opening are downwardly cranked or flanged and are stiffened in the usual manner by a sliding roof frame 4 shown in Fig. 2 and 10. A description of the constructional details of the sliding roof frame will be omitted, because this does not necessitate any special constructional form for the application of this invention. The known cable drive causing the movement of the lid 3 will also be explained in the following only so far as is necessary for an understanding of the invention. In the examples shown the lid 3 is a glass lid, but it can be made also in the conventional manner from steel sheet.

On the four edges of the lid 3 an edge gap seal 5 is seated which, when the lid is closed, assures sealing of the edge gap between the outer edges of the lid and the edges of the roof opening. The arrangement of the parts of the roof construction is symmetrical about the automobile longitudinal axis indicated by a dot-and-dash line in Fig. 2, so that reference will be made below only to the construction of one side of the roof structure, because the opposite sides corresponds to it. At the rear edge 6 of the roof opening, which is adjacent to the rear edge 7 of the lid, there commences the rear, fixed roof surface 8, beneath which is situated the receiving space 9 for the lid 3 when displaced towards the rear to expose the roof opening 2.

As Fig. 10 shows, the sliding roof frame 4 is detachably fixed to an intermediate frame 10, which in turn is fixed to the downwardly flanged roof opening edge. In the example illustrated, the sliding roof frame 4 and the guide rail 11 are formed in one piece, so that the guide rail 11 is continuous both along the two lateral parts 12 and also along the forward transverse part 13 of the sliding roof frame 4. The two lateral parts 12 are stiffened relative to one another by a connecting component 14, situated in the region of the rear edge 6 of the roof opening, which connecting component is not shown in Fig. 7 to 9.

The cross-sectional construction of the guide rail 11 is apparent from Fig. 10. It possesses an upwardly open channel, into which, on each side of the lid, a forward sliding shoe 1 5, a rear sliding shoe 1 6 and a guide shoe 40 engage, of which only the last-named is illustrated in Fig. 10. On either side of the channel, there are disposed in pairs in the lateral walls of the guide rail 11 two opposite cable guide channels 1 7 and two sliding shoe guide channels 18, situated beneath them.

The channels 1 7 and 18 each open towards the channel which guides the sliding shoes 1 5, 16 and the guide shoe 40. The sliding shoes 1 5, 1 6 and the guide shoe 40 engage into the sliding shoe guide channels 18 with guide projections 1 9. Two drive cables for the lid 3 are guided thrust-transmittingly in the cable guide channels 1 7, of which only the drive cable 20 is shown in Fig. 2, which is connected force-transmittingly via an entraining device 21 with the rear sliding shoe 1 6. Whereas one of the two cable guide channels of the guide rail 11 receives the drive cable 20 associated with the relevant side of the lid, the other channel of the pair of channels guides the free end of the cable from the opposite side of the roof.Into the helical turns of the two drive cables, there engages a drive pinion 22, illustrated in broken line in Fig. 2, of a drive apparatus 23, likewise shown in broken line, which is fixed to the lower side of the forward transverse component 13 of the sliding roof frame 4 and, for example, is actuated by a hand crank 24.

Rotations of the hand crank 24 and thus of the drive pinion 22 cause displacement of the drive cables 20, acting in the manner of flexible toothed racks, in the cable guide channels, with the result that the rear sliding shoes 1 6 are displaced on the laterial regions of the guide rail 11. All the movement sequences of the lid 3 are brought about by means of these synchronous displacements of the rear sliding shoes 16 in a manner yet to be described.

Other elements which can be seen in Fig. 10 and are not shown in the other Figures for reasons of clarity are the roof lining 26, supported by an edge profile 25, and the lid lining 27, displaceably guided on the guide rail 11. Reference 28 denotes the rainwater gutter running along the lateral components 1 2 and the forward transverse component 13 of the sliding roof frame 4, which gutter is bounded on the one side by the guide rail 11 and on the other side by an external wall of the sliding roof frame 4. As Fig. 2 shows, none of the functional components is located inside the rainwater gutter 28, to which the water outlets 29 are connected.

The front sliding shoe 1 5 is disposed in the vicinity of the front edge of the lid 3 and is displaceably guided on the guide rail 11 similarly to the rear sliding shoe 16. On the front sliding shoe 1 5 there is a forwardly oriented bearing bracket 30, preferably integral with the sliding shoe, which is pivotally connected with a guide block 31 via a bearing pin 32. The bearing bracket 30 and the bearing pin 32 constitute a pivot bearing, the bearing pin 32 of which together with the corresponding bearing pin on the other side of the lid is situated on the aforementioned (imaginary) horizontal axis extending transversely to the direction of sliding. The direction of sliding follows the turn of the guide rail 11.

The elongated guide block 31 , which is fitted to the side of the lid as illustrated in Fig. 2, is connected with the lid 3 detachably and preferably adjustable in height by mounting plates 33 fixed to the lid at a distance one from another.

As a consequence of this arrangement, the lid 3 follows pivotal movements of the guide block 31 about the pivot bearing 30, 32. In the guide block 31 is situated a guide slit which, as can best be seen from Fig. 3, possesses a pivoting portion 34, a closure position portion 35 approximately parallel to the lid surface, an inclined transition portion 36 and an end portion 37, once again oriented approximately parallel to the lid. Into the guide slit there engages a guide pin 38, which is fixed to an upwardly oriented extension 39 of the rear sliding shoe. It can be seen that displacements of the rear sliding shoe 1 6 relative to the front sliding shoe 1 5 lead to displacements of the guide pin 38 in the guide slit of the guide block 31, with the result that the associated position of the lid is changed.If the guide pin 38 moves in the pivoting portion 34 of the guide slit, then the lid 3 pivots, depending upon the direction of sliding of the rear sliding shoe 1 6, upwards or downwards. The approximately maximum achievable outward pivoted position is shown in Fig. 3. In this position, the guide pin 38 is situated in an end portion of the guide slit, not further referenced, which is cranked from the path of the pivoting portion 34. If, by contrast, the guide pin 38 is situated in the closure position portion 35, as shown in Fig. 1, then the lid 3 closes the roof opening 2, the lid being then in the same plane as the fixed roof 1. If the guide pin 38 moves in the transition portion 36 of the guide slit, then depending upon the direction of movement, the rear edge 7 of the lid is raised or lowered. An intermediate position of this movement possibility can be seen in Fig. 4.The lowering movement is substantially completed when the guide pin 38 moves into the end portion 37 of the guide slit, in which it can still move slightly as far as the end of the end portion. This position of the components is illustrated in Fig. 5.

If the movement of the rear sliding shoe 1 6 now continues, then the lid 3 displaces beneath the rear, fixed roof surface 8 towards the rear into the receiving space 9, the lid 3 now being situated underneath the rear edge 6 of the roof opening.

An intermediate position of this opening displacement of the lid 3 is illustrated in Fig. 6.

The constructional features so far described of the sliding tilting roof do not form part of the present invention, but they have been explained to assist in an understanding of the method of functioning of the sliding roof. Reference will now be made below to those constructional features which are intended for preventing the initially described incorrect functioning modes, especially the rising of the rear edge of the lid during the closure displacement of same.

For further explanation of these constructional elements, reference will be made below basically to Fig. 7 to 13 in conjunction with Fig. 2. As can be seen therefrom, in the vicinity of the rear edge 7 of the lid 3, there is situated the guide shoe referenced generally 40 and displaceably guided on the guide rail 11. The guide shoe 40 possesses a forwardly, upwardly oriented bearing projection 41 (Fig. 9), which carries an outwardly extending, cylindrical stud pin 42 (Fig. 10). The helical winding 43 of a lever spring 44 is pushed onto this stud pin 42 and is held thereon by the adjacent wall element of the guide rail 11, as can be clearly seen from Fig. 10. The stud pin 42 constitutes a pivot bearing for the lever spring 44.

The lever spring 44, bent from round section spring steel, possesses a forwardly oriented arm 45 which is pivotally articulated by means of an eye 46 to a bearing pin 47 mounted on the guide block 31, as can best be seen from Fig. 3. The arm 45 constitutes a connecting element between the guide block 31 and lid 3 on the one hand and the guide shoe 40 on the other hand, this element being pivotal in a vertical plane lying in the direction of sliding. The other arm 48 of the lever spring 44 bears against the guide shoe 40. The lever spring 44 is so constructed that its arm 45 is prestressed in the direction of arrow 49 jFig. 3), so that the lid 3 is biased by the lever springs 44 in the closure direction.

On the bearing projection 41 of guide shoe 40, a two-armed lever 50 is furthermore mounted by means of a bearing pin 51 pivotally in a vertical plane lying in the direction of sliding. For this purpose the two-armed lever 50 is pushed with an integrally formed bearing sleeve 52 onto the bearing pin 51, as can be seen from Fig. 10. The bearing pin 51 is located on the side of the bearing projection 41 of the guide shoe 40 remote from the stud pin 42. The rearwardly oriented arm 53 of the two-armed lever 50 is constructed at its end in a manner yet to be described as a detent element 54, which cooperates with a recess 55 located in the guide rail 11 in the vicinity of the rear edge 6 of the roof opening (Fig. 9 and 11). The forwardly oriented arm 56 of the two-armed lever 50 carries, at its forward end, a coupling element in the form of a downwardly oriented hook 57. Detent element 54 and hook 57 co-operate in a manner yet to be described with a control extension 58 fixed on the rear sliding shoe 16, which (control extension), as shown in Fig. 10, fits in a U-formed around an upper, inwardly oriented flange 59 of the guide rail 11 and is slidably guided thereon. In the flange 59, the aforementioned recess 55 is also located.

The detent element 54 of the two-armed lever 50 possesses a roller 61, rotatably journalled on the arm 53 in a slit 60, which roller projects downwards beyond the detent element 54 and is intended for running on the surface of the flange 59 of the guide rail 11. The dimensions of the detent element are so selected that the detent element can engage form-fittingly into the recess 55, as shown in Fig. 7. An abutment surface 62 of the detent element 54 here lies on the upper face of the flange 59. On the two-armed lever 50 or on the detent element there are two run-up inclined surfaces 63 and 64, of which the inclined surface 63 is associated with a control edge 65 (Fig. 8) of the control extension 58, whereas the inclined surface 64 cooperates with the rear edge 66 (Fig.

8, 11). The hook 57 constituting the coupling element is intended for hooking behind a coupling surface 67 of the control extension 58.

On the bearing sleeve 53 of the two-armed lever 50 there are situated the helical turns of a helical rotary spring 68 (Fig. 10), which is fixed with one arm to the bearing projection 41 of the guide shoe 40 (not shown) and of which the other arm 69 biases the arm 53 of the two-armed lever 50 in the direction of engagement of the detent element 54 with the recess 55.

As can be seen, the detent element 54 is connected with unchangeable length with the guide shoe 40. The guide block 31 and thus the lid 3 is likewise connected unchangeable in length with the guide shoe 40, that is to say by the arm 45 of the lever spring 44. The guide shoes 40, situated on either side of the lid, are rigidly connected with each other in the example shown by a water channel 70, which for this purpose is fixed to support columns 71 of the guide shoe 40.

The water channel 70 bridges in the conventional manner beneath the gap between the rear edge 7 of the lid 3 and the rear edge 6 of the roof opening when the lid is closed, and conducts away any water that may enter laterally into the rainwater gutter 28.

The method of functioning of the sliding tilting roof will now be explained. It will first be assumed that the lid 3 is to be brought from its closed position shown in Fig. 1 and 7 into the raised position shown in Fig. 3. In the closed position the detent element 54 is in engagement with the recess 55 in the guide rail 11, with the result that the guide shoe 40 is non-slidably fixed to the guide rail 11. The hook 57 of the two-armed lever 50, is, by contrast, not in engagement with the coupling surface 67 of the control extension 58.

Therefore, if the cable drive is appropriately actuated, the rear sliding shoe 16 can move away from the guide shoe 40, the guide pin 38 sliding in the guide slit of the guide block 31 in such a manner that the lid 3 is pivoted upwards. As a consequence of the articulation of the lid 3 to the guide shoe 40 via the arm 45 of the lever spring 44, the lid 3 displaces during its outward pivotal movement in a positively controlled manner somewhat towards the rear. When the pivotedout lid 3 is pivoted back again into its closed position, the lid once again displaces via the arm 45 in positively controlled manner somewhat forwards.It can be seen that during the pivotingin movement also the guide shoe 40 remains in a stationary position, with the result that the lid 3 bears in positively controlled manner via the arm 45 in an articulated manner on this arm, so that the lid 3 is completely prevented from coming down on the rear, fixed roof surface 8.

If starting from the closed position according to Fig. 1 and 7, the lid 3 is to be lowered at its rear edge 7 for the purpose of initiating an opening displacement, then the guide pin 38 travels, with appropriate actuation of the cable drive, out of the closure position portion 35 of the guide block and enters the transition portion 36, thus causing the lowering movement to be initiated. Intermediate positions which occur here can be seen from Fig.

4 and 8. In this lowering movement, the rear sliding shoe 1 6 approaches the guide shoe 40, the control edge 65 of the control extension 58 coming into contact with the run-up inclined surface 63 on the two-armed lever 50. at the end of the lowering phase. With continuing movement of the rear sliding shoe 1 6 towards the rear, the arm 53 of the two-armed lever is raised against the force of the helical rotary spring 68, so that the detent element 54 commences to come out of the recess 55 in the guide rail 11. This situation is illustrated in Fig. 8. In this movement the twoarmed lever 50 pivots about its bearing pin 51.

After the initial raising of the arm 53, the run-up inclined surface 64 comes into contact with the rear edge 66 of the recess 55, with the result that during continued displacement of the rear sliding shoe 1 6 towards the rear, the detent element 54 comes completely out of the recess 55. The twoarmed lever 50 here pivots around its bearing pin 51 sufficiently far for the hook 57 to couple onto the rear sliding shoe 16 by engagement of the hook behind the coupling surface 67 of the control extension 58. At this instant, the guide pin 38 reaches the rear end of the end portion 37 of the guide slit in the guide block 31, so that with continued actuation of the cable drive, the lid 3 is entrained by the guide pin 38 in the direction of its opening displacement. Simultaneously, the guide shoe 40 is displaced via the arm 45 of the lever spring 44. The roller 61 rolls both during the opening displacement and also during the closing displacement on the upper surface of the flange 59 of the guide rail 11, with the result that the hook 57 is kept in engagement with the coupling surface 67.

If the lid 3, displaced completely or partly open into the receiving space 9, is now to be displaced back in the closure direction, then the rear sliding shoe 16 is moved forwards by appropriate actuation of the cable drive. Since, however, the functional components adopt the relative position to one another shown in Fig. 9, the guide pin 38 cannot move the lid 3 forwards, because this guide pin does not act in the guide slit of the guide block 31 in force transmitting manner in the direction of displacement against a surface of the transition portion 36 of the guide slit. The guide pin 38 is, instead, always situated during the closure displacement still in the end portion 37 -and is thus ineffective for transporting the lid 3 in sliding movement.

This displacement transport is provided for in the closure displacement by the coupling engagement between the two-armed lever 50 and the control extension 58 of the rear sliding shoe 16. By this coupling engagement, both the guide shoe 40 and therefore, of course, also the water channel 70 are entrained, and also the sliding lid 3 is pushed by the arm 45 of the lever spring 44 articulated to the guide block 31 and guide shoe 40. The displacement movement in the closure direction of the lid 3 continues until the detent element 54 again engages into the recess 55 with simultaneous decoupling of the hook 57 from the coupling surface 67. This position has been approximately reached in Fig. 8.

By the engagement, the guide shoe 40 is again immovably held firm, so that with continuation of the drive movement the rear sliding shoe 1 6 again moves away from the guide shoe 40. Since, however, the lid 3 is connected unchangeably in length via the guide block 31 and the arm 45 with the guide shoe 40, the guide pin 38 now moves forwards in the guide slit of the guide block 31 and, after it leaves the end portion 37, also moves downwards, now sliding in the transition portion 36. As a consequence the lid 3 is finally raised into its closed position shown in Fig. 1 and 7, until the guide pin 38 is located in the closing position portion 35 of the guide slit in the guide block.As will be apparent from the foregoing description, both the engagement of the detent element 54 with the recess 55 and the corresponding disengagement respectively and also the coupling of the hook 57 with the coupling surface 67 and the corresponding decoupling process respectively take place automatically and are brought about exciusively by the drive movement of the rear sliding shoe 1 6 in conjunction with the arrangement of the recess 55. It can also be seen that, during the closure displacement of the lid, the lid 3 cannot rise with its rear edge 7 because the guide pin 38 is prevented from entering the transition portion 36. Since, however, the guide pin 38 also does not bear against the inclined surface of the transition portion 36, no vertical forces produced by the closure displacement occur. The helical rotary spring 68 does indeed press the detent element 54, during the displacement movements, against the guide rail 11, but the friction resulting therefrom is, however, slight as a consequence of the arrangement of the roller 61.

Claims (10)

Claims

1. A sliding tilting roof for automobiles, comprising a rigid lid which is displaceably guided with front and rear sliding shoes on guide rails fixed laterally in a roof opening, and driven by cables acting upon the rear sliding shoes, the lid being pivotally journalled about a horizontal axis extending transversely to the sliding direction by pivot bearings fitted to the forward sliding shoes and equipped along its lateral edges with guide blocks fixed to it, into which guide pins fitted on the rear sliding shoes engage, whereby the lid, starting from its closed position, can optionally be pivoted outwardly in the manner of front-hinged ventilator by lifting its rear edge above the fixed roof surface or, when rear edge is lowered, can be displaced beneath the rear fixed roof surface, a recess being disposed in the guide rail on each side of the lid in the vicinity of the rear edge of the roof opening, into which recess, except when the lid is displaced, a spring-loaded detent element engages, which detent element is connected, fixed in length, with a guide shoe displaceably guided on the guide rail and situated in the vicinity of the rear edge of the lid, the guide shoe being connected with the lid via a connecting element which is articulated on the one hand on the lid and on the other hand on the guide shoe for pivotal movements in a vertical plane lying in the direction of sliding, and wherein elements are provided for maintaining the lowered position of the rear edge of the lid during displacement movements of same, and in which on each of the two sides of the lid a coupling element is provided, by which, when the detent element comes out of the recess, the rear sliding shoe can be positively coupled with the adjacent guide shoe and when the detent element enters the recess, the rear sliding shoe can be decoupled from the guide shoe, and on both sides of the lid, the force-transmitting engagement of the guide pin with the guide block in the direction of displacement is cancelled during the closure displacement of the lid.

2. A sliding tilting roof according to Claim 1, in which the detent element and the coupling element are each disposed on a respective arm of a two-armed lever, which is pivotally mounted on the guide shoe and the disengagement of the detent element from the recess with simultaneous coupling engagement of the coupling element with the rear sliding shoe can be caused by movement of the rear sliding shoe to the guide shoe.

3. A sliding tilting roof according to Claim 1 or 2, in which a control extension is fixed to the rear sliding shoe with which control extension a runup slope on the two-armed lever is associated for the initial cancelling of the engagement between the detent element and recess and a further runup slope associated with the adjacent edge of the recess, is disposed on the detent element for the final cancellation of the engagement between the detent element and recess.

4. A sliding tilting roof according to Claims 1,2 or 3 in which the coupling element is constructed as a hook situated on the end of the associated arm of the two-armed lever which hook is arranged to engage behind a coupling surface of the control extension.

5. A sliding tilting roof according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the two-armed lever is biased by a spring in the direction of engagement of the detent element and recess.

6. A sliding tilting roof according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, in which a running roller is mounted on the detent element, which projects beyond the detent element and, after the detent element has disengaged from the recess, can roll along the guide rail during lid displacements.

7. A sliding tilting roof according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the connecting element is constructed as a lever spring biasing the pivotedout lid in the closure direction, of which one arm is articulated to the guide block, an intermediate helical winding is mounted on a stud pin of the guide shoe, and the other arm bears against the guide shoe.

8. A sliding tilting roof according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which a guide slit is provided in the guide block and an end portion of the guide slit adjoining a forwardly, downwardly inclined guide slit transition portion is located adjacent to the lid and extends horizontally thereto, the guide pin being situated in the end portion of the slit during displacement movements of the lid, without bearing against a face of the guide slit transition portion.

9. A sliding tilting roof according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the two guide shoes disposed on the two sides of the lid are rigidly connected together by a water channel, engaging beneath the gap between the rear edge of the lid and the rear edge of the roof opening when the lid is in the closed position.

10. A sliding tilting roof for a vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.