Sliding roof system

Abstract

A sliding roof system is shown having a pair of guide rails, a slide in each guide rail, the slide being displaceably mounted therein, a functional component which is displaceably received in the guide rail and can be fixed in a raised position by means of a latching hook, the latching hook being shiftable between a release position and a latching position, the latching hook when in the latching position engaging in an opening of the guide rail, and a cover which can be opened from a closed position by displacement of the slide, a retaining lever being provided which can mechanically hold the latching hook in the latching position, wherein the retaining lever is adapted to be pivoted about a pivot pin between the release position and the retaining position.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to the following German Patent Application No. 10 2012 016 504.8 filed Aug. 20, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.BACKGROUND[0002]Various embodiments of the present invention relates to a sliding roof system including a pair of guide rails, a slide in each guide rail, the slide being displaceably mounted therein, a functional component which is displaceably received in the guide rail and can be fixed in a defined position by means of a latching hook, the latching hook being shiftable between a release position and a latching position, the latching hook when in the latching position engaging in an opening of the guide rail, and a cover which can be opened from a closed position by displacement of the slide, a retaining lever being provided which can mechanically hold the latching hook in the latching position.[0003]The latching hook serves to relea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]To achieve this, provision is made in a sliding roof system of the type initially mentioned that the retaining lever is adapted to be pivoted about a pivot pin between the release position and the retaining position. Such a retaining lever causes the latching hook to be mechanically retained in the latching position, so that the latching hook cannot leave the latching opening in the latched state of the sliding roof system. The pivotal mounting of the retaining lever allows the lever to be reliably mounted, requiring a small amount of space. If the pivot pin is located in the center of gravity of the retaining lever, it is furthermore ensured that any accelerations occurring do not exert a moment on the retaining lever.

[0009]Provision is made that the retaining lever includes a support arm which is associated with the latching hook and is arranged in relation to the pivot pin such that a force exerted on the support arm by the latching hook urges the retaining lever to the retaining position. This results in a self-reinforcement in the retaining position when the latching hook acts on the retaining lever in terms of a disengagement from the opening. Any additional securing measures to prevent an unintentional movement of the retaining lever from the retaining position to the release position are therefore not required.

[0012]According to one embodiment, provision is made that the opening in the guide rail is located on the side facing the cover. It has been found that by a sequence of motions that is reversed as compared with the prior art, i.e. a pivoting of the latching hook upward in order to bring it to the latching position, a structure can be obtained which, as a whole, is more compact. The reason for this is that irrespective of whether the latching hook is pivoted upward or downward, it is coupled to the slide that is displaceable in the guide rail in the upper half of the slide. In the lower region, the installation space available is usually not sufficient. Among other reasons, this is due to the fact that the guide formations are realized there, by means of which the slide is guided in the guide rail. In this way, a structure that is more compact in the vertical direction can be achieved if the latching hook is shifted from the release position to the latching position towards that side from which it is actuated, namely towards the upper side. Furthermore, the advantage is obtained that the guide rail can be produced with a continuous, uninterrupted bottom surface, which is a great advantage with a view to water tightness. This, too, results in a compact structure of the sliding roof system according to the invention, since no special precautions need to be taken for preventing water from penetrating into the area of the guide rail which, in the prior art, is provided with the opening. In accordance with non-limiting embodiments of the invention, it is sufficient to provide a water drain for the guide rail at a suitable location. Even with a latching hook that is adapted to be pivoted upward into a latching opening, owing to the retaining lever that is provided for according to the invention there is no risk that a vehicle occupant inadvertently pushes the latching hook downward (for example if he or she places his or her hand on the edge of the roof opening when the sliding roof system is open).

[0015]A connecting rod may be provided for the coupling between the functional component and the guide part. This connecting rod makes it possible to arrange the functional component, for example a raising lever, remote from the guide part, for example in the rear area of the guide rail, in order to allow the rear edge of a cover to be raised, while the guide part is arranged in the front area of the guide rail where it can be actuated by the slide arranged there.

Problems solved by technology

This may cause a moment to be transmitted to the latching hook.

While the latching hook typically is spring-loaded so that it reliably remains within its latching opening, this moment is considered to be undesirable if it acts on the latching hook.