Side panel arrangement and openable roof system of a motor vehicle

Abstract

A side panel arrangement for an openable roof system (1) of a motor vehicle, comprising a panel blade (6) which is pivotably mounted between a lowered rest position and a raised functional position, which panel blade has two bearing points (8, 9) spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the panel blade, and which is biased towards the raised functional position by a spring device (11), wherein a front bearing point (8) is arranged on the front side of the panel blade (6), wherein a rear bearing point (9) is provided with the spring device (11), and wherein the panel blade (6) is provided with a stiffener (10) in the region of the rear bearing point (9), characterized in that the front bearing point (8) and the rear bearing point (9) are aligned with one another in such a way that they define a common, single rectilinear pivot axis (S) for the panel blade (6), and that the front bearing point has a pivot bearing pin.which extends coaxially to the pivot axis (S) from a front end region of the diaphragm blade (6) to the front, and in that the spring device has a leg spring (11) which is supported on the diaphragm blade (6) in the region of the stiffener (10).

Description

The invention relates to a side panel arrangement for an openable roof system according to the preamble of claim 1.The invention also relates to an openable roof system of a motor vehicle having a roof part which can be displaced between a closed position and an open position, and having at least one side panel arrangement of this type.DE 10 2014 223 120 A1 discloses such a side panel arrangement for an openable roof system. The side panel arrangement has a panel leaf which is mounted pivotably between a lowered rest position and a raised functional position. For this purpose, the diaphragm blade has two bearing points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction. The diaphragm blade is urged by a spring device in the direction of an upright functional position. An upper edge region of the diaphragm blade is reinforced.A further side panel arrangement is known from DE 10 2011 119 991 B3. The side panel arrangement extends laterally along a roof section of a vehicle roof which can be released or closed by a movable roof part. The side panel arrangement is mounted pivotably by means of a pivot mounting in a guide rail region fixed to the roof for the movable roof part. The pivot mounting has a curved or curved pivot axis. The side panel arrangement is composed of a plurality of panel sections adjoining one another in the longitudinal direction.It is the object of the invention to provide a side panel arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning which requires a small installation space.This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. The frontal mounting of the panel blade in the region of the front bearing location results in a particularly space-saving and yet functionally reliable mounting. The front-side arrangement of the front bearing point also causes reduced bending moments on the diaphragm blade. Due to the front bearing on the end face, it is sufficient if only the rear bearing point is provided with the spring device. The spring device is preferably designed mechanically. Advantageously, the front and rear bearing points are aligned with each other such that they define a common, single rectilinear pivot axis for the visor blade. The spring device acts in the direction of raising of the diaphragm blade.According to the invention, the diaphragm blade is provided with a reinforcement in the region of the rear bearing point. The reinforcement can be formed integrally in the panel sheet. Alternatively, the reinforcement can be formed by at least one separately produced reinforcement section applied to the panel sheet. If the reinforcement is integrated in one piece in the panel sheet, the panel sheet is preferably made of plastic in the manner of a plate and has at least one bead or bulge which serves as reinforcement.According to the invention, the spring device has a leg spring which is supported on the diaphragm leaf in the region of the reinforcement. This embodiment makes it possible to achieve a particularly good permanent torque transmission of the spring forces of the leg spring to the diaphragm blade. The leg spring preferably has a bow-shaped leg which is supported on the diaphragm leaf in the region of the reinforcement and which merges with its opposite leg ends into two mutually coaxial helical coil regions of the leg spring. Corresponding ends of the helical screw regions are each supported on the roof-fixed bearing section of the rear bearing point.It is also an object of the invention to provide an openable roof system of the type mentioned at the beginning which forms good protection against view and noise in side regions of the displaceable roof part.For the roof system capable of opening, the object underlying the invention is achieved in that the roof part has, in the region of an underside, at least one sealing profile which interacts with the side panel arrangement during an opening or closing movement of the roof part.The sealing profile is preferably designed in the manner of a web or a strip and protrudes downward from the underside of the roof part. Preferably, each side panel arrangement is assigned a corresponding sealing profile, so that in the case of two side panel arrangements, two sealing profiles protruding downward on its side regions are assigned to the roof part in the region of opposite longitudinal sides of the roof system. The sealing profiles can be made of plastic. The respective sealing profile preferably has a certain elastic flexibility in order to achieve a secure contact and low-wear sliding along the respective side panel arrangement. The respective sealing profile interacts with the associated side panel arrangement during a displacement of the roof part in that it presses from above onto corresponding side surfaces of the panel and thus brings about a pivoting of the panel.Further advantages and features of the invention are evident from the claims. A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention is described below and illustrated with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a perspective illustration of an embodiment of a roof system according to the invention in the closed state, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the roof system according to FIG. 1, omitting a movable roof part of the roof system, FIG. 3 is a further enlarged perspective view of a detail of the view according to FIG. 2 in the region of a left side panel arrangement--viewed in the normal direction of travel, FIG. 4 is another perspective view, obliquely from the inside, of a detail of the side panel arrangement according to FIG. 3 in the region of a rear bearing point, FIG. 5 is a further enlarged perspective illustration of a region of a front bearing point of the side panel arrangement according to FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the roof system according to FIGS. 1 to 5 in the region of the interaction of the movable roof part with the side panel arrangement, and FIG. 7 shows a representation of the roof system according to FIGS. 1 to 5 similar to FIG. 6 in the region of a rear bearing point of the side panel arrangement.A passenger car has a vehicle roof F which is provided with a roof system 1 according to FIGS. 1 to 7. The roof system 1 has a carrier frame 5, which in the assembled state is firmly connected to corresponding roof body parts of the vehicle roof F. The carrier frame 5 encloses a roof cutout 4, which forms an opening to a vehicle interior of the passenger vehicle. A front panel 3 is assigned to the carrier frame 5 toward the front as viewed in the normal direction of travel, said front panel covering a front region of the carrier frame 5 and adjoining an upper section of a windshield frame of the passenger vehicle. The roof cutout 4 can be closed or released by a cover-shaped movable roof part 2. The movable roof part 2 is guided displaceably between a closed position (FIG. 1 ) and at least one open position (FIGS. 6 and 7 ) by means of a guide mechanism 7 on in each case an opposite side region of the carrier frame 5. The roof part 2 can be transferred from a closed position first into a ventilation position in which the roof part 2 is inclined upwards and backwards. In the open position, the roof part 2 is extended upwards beyond a rear fixed roof region by means of the two guide mechanisms 7 on the opposite longitudinal sides of the carrier frame 5 and is displaced towards a rear side of the roof system 1.In order to achieve protection against view and noise in the ventilation position of the roof part 2 and also in the open position of the roof part 2, a side panel arrangement is assigned to the support frame 5 on both sides of the roof cutout 4. The opposite side panel arrangements are designed and mounted mirror-symmetrically to a vertical longitudinal plane of the vehicle, but otherwise identically to one another. Only the left side panel arrangement viewed in the direction of travel will be described in detail below. The foregoing applies equally to the opposite, right side panel arrangement.The side panel arrangement has a one-piece panel 6, which is at least largely dimensionally stable and is produced from a plastic or a light metal alloy. The diaphragm blade 6 has a substantially trapezoidal base surface, wherein the diaphragm blade 6 has a height which gradually increases from front to rear-referred to its erected functional state. The diaphragm blade 6 is mounted pivotably in the region of a front bearing point 8 and in the region of a rear bearing point 9. The front bearing point 8 and the rear bearing point 9 define a common pivot axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the carrier frame 5. The pivot axis extends at least largely in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The front bearing point 8, as can be clearly seen with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, is provided on the end face on the diaphragm blade 6 of the side diaphragm arrangement. For this purpose, a pivot bearing pin, not designated in more detail, extends coaxially to the pivot axis forwards from a front end region of the diaphragm blade 6. This pivot bearing pin is accommodated in a bearing flange of the bearing point 8, which forms a roof-fixed bearing section of the front bearing point 8. The bearing flange has a bearing plate 14 which is fastened in a planar manner on a carrier surface of the carrier frame 5 by means of an adhesive layer 15. The common pivot axis S is indicated with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.The rear bearing point 9 has a bearing flange 12 which is held fixed to the roof and which is connected pivotably movably to a pin receptacle provided on the aperture plate 6 by means of a pivot bearing pin which is not visible and coaxial with the pivot axis S. The bearing flange 12, also referred to as bearing section, has a planar base plate which is connected in a planar manner to the carrier surface of the carrier frame 5 by means of an adhesive layer 13. On the bearing flange 12 there is also arranged a spring device which comprises a leg spring 11. The leg spring 11 is clearly recognizable with reference to FIG. 4 and is held on the bearing flange 12 by means of a bearing device not designated in more detail. The bearing device of the spring device which carries the leg spring 11 has a rotational axis for the leg spring 11 which is oriented parallel to the pivot axis S. A bow leg of the leg spring 11 is supported from an inner side on the diaphragm blade 6 of the side diaphragm arrangement. The diaphragm blade 6 is provided in the region of the rear bearing point 9 with a reinforcement 10 which is designed as an integrally formed bulge. The bulge is achieved by a corresponding profiling of the diaphragm blade 6. The leg of the leg spring 11 is supported on the inside in the region of the reinforcement 10 on the front panel 6. The leg spring 11 exerts a permanent torque on the diaphragm leaf 6 in the direction of its set-up functional position. The reinforcement 10, which is designed as a bulge, is additionally provided with a bulge section at the level of the bearing device for the leg spring 11. The bulge section is clearly recognizable with reference to FIG. 3 and with reference to FIG. 7. The bearing device of the leg spring 11 dips into this bulge section when the diaphragm blade 6 is in its downwardly pressed rest position. The bulge section consequently prevents the diaphragm blade 6 from striking an outer contour of the bearing device for the leg spring 11 during inward and downward pivoting in the direction of the rest position before the diaphragm blade 6 has reached its rest position.It can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 7 that the panel leaf 6 of the side panel arrangement is supported from below and from inside on a sealing profile 16 of the movable roof part 2 on account of the permanent spring tension by the leg spring. The sealing profile 16 has an L-shaped cross section and is fastened by a holding section 17 to a lower side of the movable roof part 2. A support leg of the sealing profile 16 protrudes downward from the underside of the movable roof part 2. The sealing profile 16 is at least largely dimensionally stable and is preferably made of a plastic material, preferably with an elastomer component. A rigidity of the sealing profile 16 is sufficiently great to be able to exert a sufficiently great pressure on the outer side of the panel blade 6 of the side panel arrangement, which pressure compensates for the raising force of the leg spring 11.It can be seen from FIGS. 3 to 5 that an upper longitudinal edge region of the diaphragm blade 6 of the side diaphragm arrangement is arched in an S- or C-shaped manner as seen in cross section. This results in an improved bearing and support function between the sealing profile 16 of the roof part 2 and the panel 6, while the roof part 2 is displaced in the direction of its open position or in the direction of its closed position. As a result, a particularly good, essentially linear contact of the panel sheet 6 in the region of an underside of the at least limited elastically flexible sealing profile 16 of the movable roof part 2 can be achieved. When the movable roof part 2 is transferred into its closed position, the roof profile 16 presses the panel sheet 6 of the side panel arrangement into its lower rest position. As soon as the movable roof part 2 is raised into its fan position and / or moved into its open position, the panel 6 at least partially adjusts upwards due to the spring prestress, wherein the degree of the pivoting and the adjustment of the panel upwards is dependent on the support of the panel 6 by the sealing profile 16.

Claims

Side panel arrangement for an openable roof system (1) of a motor vehicle, having a panel (6) which is mounted pivotably between a lowered rest position and a set-up functional position, which has two bearing points (8, 9) spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the panel, and which is acted upon by a spring device (11) in the direction of the set-up functional position, wherein a front bearing point (8) is arranged on the end face of the panel (6), wherein a rear bearing point (9) is provided with the spring device (11), and wherein the panel (6) is provided with a stiffening (10) in the region of the rear bearing point (9), characterized in that the front bearing point (8) and the rear bearing point (9) are aligned with one another in such a way that they define a common, single rectilinear pivot axis (S) for the panel (6), the front bearing point has a pivot bearing pin which extends forward coaxially to the pivot axis (S) from a front end region of the diaphragm blade (6), and the spring device has a leg spring (11) which is supported on the diaphragm blade (6) in the region of the reinforcement (10).Side panel arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the leg spring (11) is supported by a bearing device which has a rotational axis for the leg spring (11), which rotational axis is aligned parallel to the pivot axis (S).Openable roof system (1) of a motor vehicle having a roof part (2) which can be displaced between a closed position and an open position, and having at least one side panel arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the roof part (2) has, in the region of a lower side, at least one sealing profile (16) which interacts with the side panel arrangement (6) during an opening or closing movement of the roof part (2).

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