Vehicle roof, comprising a roof opening system with two kinematic units

Abstract

Vehicle roof with a roof opening system comprising a cover element (16) adjustable between a closed position closing a roof opening (12) and an open position releasing the roof opening (12), with respect to a vertical longitudinal roof center plane, an adjustment kinematics on both sides for adjusting the cover element (16), comprising a guide rail (20), a first kinematic unit (22) guided in the guide rail and a second kinematic unit (24) guided in the guide rail, and a drive cable arrangement for the two kinematic units (22, 24), wherein the second kinematic unit (24) comprises an opening lever (66) to which a sliding element (68) is pivotably connected, on which a guide track (70) of a cover support (52) of the cover element (16) is guided when the cover element (16) is adjusted.wherein the first kinematic unit (22) is driven via a first drive cable (26) by means of a first drive motor (28) and a drive slide (58) of the second kinematic unit (24) is driven via a second drive cable (30) by means of a second drive motor (32), wherein the second kinematic unit (24) has a control rod (62) which is articulated to the extension lever (66) and which is articulated to the drive slide (58), wherein the first kinematic unit (22) comprises a further drive slide (40) on which a pin (42) is formed which is guided in an extension cam (44) which is formed on an extension lever (46) of the first kinematic unit (22) which is articulated to the cover support (52), wherein the sliding element (68) and the control rod (62) on the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) have a common have a pivot axis and the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) has a bearing pin (72),which defines a pivot axis of the opening lever (66) on the guide rail (20) and which is guided in a guide track (74) of the guide rail (20) and has a control pin (76) which, in the closed position of the cover element (16), is arranged in a cam (78) of the guide rail (20), wherein the cam (78) initiates an opening movement of the opening lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) when the cover element (16) is moved from the closed position to the open position.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle roof with a roof opening system comprising a cover element and, with respect to a vertical longitudinal roof center plane, an adjustment kinematics on both sides comprising a first kinematic unit and a second kinematic unit.

[0002] Such a vehicle roof is known in practice and can be designed, in particular, as a so-called spoiler roof, which includes a roof opening system in which a cover element, starting from a closed position that closes a roof opening, can be lifted upwards with its rear edge relative to a fixed roof section to release the roof opening and can be moved over the fixed roof section in the rear direction or longitudinal direction of the roof. The cover element is coupled on both sides to an adjustment mechanism with respect to a vertical longitudinal roof center plane and is thus adjustable between the closed and open positions. The adjustment mechanisms each comprise a front kinematic unit, which is movable in a guide rail, and a rear kinematic unit, which is also arranged in the guide rail.When the lid element is moved into the open position, a release lever of the rear kinematic unit pivots, raising the rear edge of the lid element. The front kinematic unit is then decoupled from the rear kinematic unit and moved rearward in the guide rail. A cam track or control path formed on the lid element engages the release lever of the now stationary rear kinematic unit, which is equipped with a sliding element. When the release lever is extended, the front and rear kinematic units are connected by a connecting rod. After the release lever is extended, the connecting rod is released from the front kinematic unit, leaving the rear kinematic unit in position and allowing the front kinematic unit to move toward the stationary rear kinematic unit.The two kinematic units are driven by a common drive unit or drive cable powered by a single motor. The connecting rod for actuating the rear kinematic unit requires space within the relevant guide rail, which necessitates a minimum height for that rail. However, space required, particularly in the vehicle's vertical direction, can compromise the headroom of vehicle occupants. Furthermore, malfunctions and disruptive noises can occur when disconnecting or reconnecting the connecting rod to the front kinematic unit.

[0003] From publication EP 3 124 300 A1, a vehicle roof with a roof opening system is known, comprising a cover element and, with respect to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof, an adjustment kinematic mechanism on both sides for adjusting the cover element. The adjustment kinematic mechanism includes a rear kinematic unit with an opening lever that is articulated to a sliding element which is guided on a guide track of a cover support. The opening lever is connected to a control link that is articulated to a connecting element which is connected to a slide that is guided in a guide rail.

[0004] From German patent application DE 37 35 686 C1, a vehicle roof is known which has a roof opening system comprising an adjustable cover element that is connected on both sides to an adjustment kinematic mechanism with respect to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof. The adjustment kinematic mechanism comprises a front kinematic unit and a rear kinematic unit. The two kinematic units can each be driven by a separate drive cable, which is driven by a respective drive motor.

[0005] German patent application DE 10 2017 207 892 A1 discloses a vehicle roof with a roof opening system that includes a cover element which can be adjusted by means of an adjustment kinematic mechanism. The adjustment kinematic mechanism comprises, relative to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof, a guide rail on both sides and a front kinematic unit with a control slide, as well as a rear kinematic unit. The rear kinematic unit includes an opening lever to which a sliding element is pivotally connected. During adjustment of the cover element, this sliding element is guided along a guide track of a cover support. A control lever of the rear kinematic unit is articulated to a rear slide element of a control rod, which can be coupled to or uncoupled from the front kinematic unit via a front coupling device.

[0006] The invention is based on the objective of creating a vehicle roof of the type mentioned in the introduction that allows for a low installation height of the guide rails and ensures a high level of operational safety.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by the vehicle roof with the features of claim 1.

[0008] The vehicle roof according to the invention thus comprises, with respect to the vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof, an adjustment kinematic mechanism on each side with two kinematic units, each driven by a separate drive element consisting of a drive motor and drive cable. The second kinematic unit is driven via a control rod equipped with a drive slide to which the drive cable of the second kinematic unit is connected. The control rod, which is articulated to the opening lever, allows leverage ratios to be achieved that permit pivoting the opening lever with low drive forces, both when extending the opening lever to raise the cover element and when retracting the opening lever to adjust the cover element into its closed position. Furthermore, in the vehicle roof according to the invention, each of the two drive cables assigned to the two kinematic units is driven separately.This eliminates the need to couple the two kinematic units via a connecting rod or similar mechanism. Instead, it is only necessary to coordinate the operation of the two drive motors for the two kinematic units, which is achieved using a suitable control unit connected to the two drive motors. This ensures high operational reliability. Furthermore, the absence of a connecting rod to be coupled and uncoupled prevents any potentially disruptive switching noises. The guide rails, arranged on both sides and each supporting two kinematic units, each have two cable duct sections, each containing a drive cable. One cable drives the first kinematic unit, and the other drives the second.The cable duct sections can be integrated into the guide rail without requiring much installation space, which offers a significant space advantage in the roof height and / or width compared to a vehicle roof with a connecting rod for the two kinematic units. This can also increase headroom for vehicle occupants compared to current technology.

[0009] By eliminating the connecting rod between the two kinematic units, it is also possible to design the adjustment kinematics with less complexity. Furthermore, the guide rails in which the kinematic units are arranged can be narrower compared to an adjustment kinematics system with a connecting rod, which in turn can increase the roof visibility area provided by the vehicle roof.

[0010] The cable duct sections for the two drive cables of the kinematic units assigned to a guide rail can be arranged one above the other on one side of the guide track. Alternatively, the cable duct sections for the two drive cables can be arranged side by side. It is also conceivable that one of the two cable duct sections is arranged on one side of a guide track for the kinematic units and the other of the two cable duct sections is arranged on the other side of this guide track. The cable duct sections can extend over the entire length of the guide rail, so that the guide rail can be manufactured, in particular, as an extruded profile.

[0011] In a specific embodiment of the vehicle roof according to the invention, in which one of the drive motors for the drive cables is arranged at the front of the roof opening, relative to the roof orientation, and the other of the two drive motors is arranged at the rear of the roof opening, relative to the roof orientation, the two cable duct sections are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. In this case, the two cable duct sections can be aligned with each other or merge into one another and have the same cross-section, so that the two cable duct sections can be formed from the same profile channel.

[0012] The roof opening system of the vehicle roof according to the invention is in particular the roof opening system of a spoiler roof, in which the rear kinematic units arranged on both sides expediently each have the opening lever which interacts via the respective sliding element with a guide or cam track which is formed on a cover carrier of the cover element.

[0013] In the vehicle roof according to the invention, the sliding element and the control rod on the opening lever share a common pivot axis. Therefore, only one bearing journal is required on the opening lever for both the sliding element and the control rod, defining this common pivot axis. Furthermore, the adjusting force transmitted from the control rod to the opening lever can be low due to the resulting leverage. Consequently, only a small and therefore cost-effective drive motor is needed for the second kinematic unit. In the closed position, the opening lever and the control rod can extend relative to each other.

[0014] In the vehicle roof according to the invention, the opening lever has a bearing pin that defines a pivot axis of the opening lever on the guide rail and is guided in a guide track of the respective guide rail. When the opening lever is pivoted by means of the control rod, the bearing pin is moved in the guide track. The position of the pivot axis of the opening lever thus changes when the opening lever is adjusted.

[0015] To minimize the adjustment forces in an extended position between the control rod and the opening lever, the opening lever of the vehicle roof according to the invention has a control pin which, in the closed position of the cover element, is arranged in a cam or control track of the guide rail, wherein the cam or control track initiates an opening movement of the opening lever when the cover element is moved from the closed position to the open position. The control track thus has a profile that is angled relative to the extension of the guide rail and therefore relative to the direction of movement of the drive slide of the control rod.

[0016] To hold the extension lever in a defined position when extended, the extension lever preferably has a retaining pin that engages in a retaining track or rests against a retaining surface formed on the guide rail when the extension lever is extended. The retaining pin thus serves to secure the extension lever in its extended position along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

[0017] Further advantages and advantageous embodiments of the subject matter of the invention can be found in the description, the drawing and the patent claims.

[0018] An exemplary embodiment of a vehicle roof according to the invention is shown schematically simplified in the drawing and is explained in more detail in the following description. It shows: Fig. 1 a schematic top view of a vehicle roof according to the invention; Fig. 2 a schematic side view of a roof opening system of the vehicle roof according to Fig. 1 in a closed position of a lid element; Fig. 3 one Fig. 2. Corresponding view of the roof opening system, but in a vent position of the cover element; Fig. 4 also a Fig. 2 corresponding view of the roof opening system, but with the cover element moved slightly rearward; Fig. 5 also a Fig. 2. Corresponding view of the roof opening system, but in an open position of the cover element; Fig. 6 an enlarged view of a front kinematic unit of the roof opening system for the closed position of the cover element; Fig. 7 a Fig. 6 corresponding view of the front kinematic unit, but with the cover element in the raised position; Fig. 8 a rear kinematic unit of the roof opening system for the closed position of the cover element; Fig. 9 a Fig. 8. Corresponding view of the rear kinematic unit of the roof opening system, but with the cover element in the raised position; and Fig. 10 a cut through a guide rail of the roof opening system.

[0019] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a highly schematic representation of a vehicle roof 10, which is an opening vehicle roof of a passenger car and has a roof opening 12 that is bounded by a fixed roof section 14 and can be selectively closed or at least partially opened by means of a cover element 16. The cover element 16 is part of a roof opening system 18 that forms a spoiler roof.

[0020] The roof opening system 18 of the vehicle roof 10 comprises a guide rail 20 on each side of a vertical longitudinal roof center plane. A front (or bow-side) first kinematic unit 22 and a rear (or stern-side) second kinematic unit 24 are arranged in each of the guide rails 20. The front kinematic units 22 are driven by a first drive motor 28 via first drive cables 26. The rear kinematic units 24 are driven by a second drive motor 30 via second drive cables 30. In the present embodiment, the two drive motors 28 and 32 are each arranged centrally at the bow of the roof opening 12 on a frame front section of a roof frame (not shown in detail).

[0021] The roof opening system 18, which is located in the Fig. The adjustment mechanism, which is shown in detail in Figures 2 to 9, is essentially mirror-symmetrical with respect to a vertical longitudinal roof plane. The following description therefore focuses largely on the adjustment kinematics located on the left side relative to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle in question. The adjustment kinematics located on the right side relative to the forward direction of travel are essentially mirror-symmetrical and are therefore described analogously. Furthermore, the following are shown in the Fig. 2 to 8 components of the roof opening system, which lie in different planes in the transverse direction of the roof, are projected onto the drawing plane.

[0022] As described above, the adjustment kinematics each comprise a front kinematic unit 22 and a rear kinematic unit 24, which are arranged in a common guide rail 20 and are each connected by a separate drive cable 26 and 30, respectively. The two drive cables 26 and 30 are guided one above the other in guide channels 34 and 36 in the guide rail 20, which are formed in the guide rail 20 on one side of a guide track 38. The two kinematic units 22 and 24 are guided and arranged in the guide track 38.

[0023] How especially the Fig. 6 and Fig. As can be seen from Figure 7, the front kinematic unit 22 comprises a drive carriage 40, which is connected to the drive cable 26 guided in the guide channel 34 and on which a pin 42 is formed, which is guided in a projection cam 44. The projection cam 44 is formed on a projection lever 46, which is articulated on one side via a pivot point 48 to a carriage 45 and on the other side via a pivot point 50 to a cover support 52, which is fixed to the underside of the cover element 16. Furthermore, the front kinematic unit 22 comprises a cam track 54, which is formed at the bow end of the guide rail 20 and interacts with a guide pin 56, which is arranged on the projection lever 46.

[0024] The rear one, in the Fig. 8 and Fig. Figure 9, a detailed illustration of the kinematic unit 24, comprises a drive carriage 58, which is connected to the second drive cable 30 that is guided in the guide channel 36 of the guide rail 20. A control rod 62 is articulated to the second drive carriage 58 via a pivot point 60. The end of the control rod 62 facing away from the drive carriage 58 is articulated at a pivot point 64 to an extension lever 66. A sliding element 68 is pivotally mounted on the extension lever 66, with the pivot axis of the sliding element 68 coinciding with the pivot axis of the pivot point 64. The sliding element 68 is slidably guided on a guide track 70 formed on the cover support 52, which is located on the underside of the cover element 16.

[0025] In its end region furthest from pivot point 64, the extension lever 66 has a bearing pin 72 which is slidably guided in a guide track 74 formed on the guide rail 20. Furthermore, a control pin 76 is arranged on the extension lever 66 in a region spaced apart from the bearing pin 72. This control pin interacts with a cam 78, which is also formed on the guide rail 20 and has a curved profile with an upper outlet opening 80. In its end region furthest from pivot point 64, the extension lever 66 has a retaining pin 82 which, in the extended position of the extension lever 66, interacts with a retaining track 84 formed on the guide rail 20 and which has a substantially vertical orientation.

[0026] The roof opening system 18 described above operates in the manner described below.

[0027] To remove the lid element 16 from the in Fig. 2 shown closing position in the in Fig. To move the opening position shown in section 5, both drive motors 28 and 32 are initially actuated, whereby, as shown in the Fig. As can be seen from Figures 6 to 9, the first drive cable moves the drive carriage 40 relative to the carriage 45, so that the front edge of the cover element 16 is slightly raised by the interaction of the pin 42 formed on the drive carriage 40 with the projection cam 44 of the projection lever 46 and the interaction of the guide pin 56 with the cam track 54. Simultaneously, the second drive cable 30 moves the projection lever 66 rearward via the control rod 62, causing the control pin 76, guided in the cam 78, to extend the projection lever 66. In addition, a torque is introduced into the projection lever 66 via the control rod 62, acting in the extension direction. When the bearing pin 72 strikes the rear end face of the guide track 74, the retaining pin 82 of the release lever 66 engages in the retaining track 84 of the guide rail 20.This secures the extension lever 66 in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20. The drive carriage 58 is moved until the extension lever 66 is in its correct position. Fig.The control pin 76 has then left the cam 78. The second drive motor 32 can then be stopped. By further actuating the first drive motor 28, the drive carriage 40 is moved further in the rear direction via the first drive cable 26. The pin 42 formed on the drive carriage 40, which is arranged in the projection cam 44, thus pulls the cover element 16 further in the rear direction, whereby the projection position of the projection lever 46 is secured by the guide pin 56 arranged in a guide channel of the guide rail 20. When the cover element 16 retracts, the guide track 70 of the cover support 52 is guided on the sliding element 68 of the rear second kinematic unit 24, so that the cover element 16 is moved over the fixed roof section 14.

[0028] The adjustment of the cover element 16 from its open position to its closed position is carried out in the reverse analogous manner, so that a detailed description in this regard can be omitted. Reference symbol list 10 Vehicle roof 12 Roof opening 14 Fixed roof section 16 lid element 18 Roof opening system 20 guide rail 22 first kinematic unit 24 second kinematic unit 26 first drive cable 28 first drive motor 30 second drive cable 32 second drive motor 34 first guide channel 36 second guide channel 38 Guide rail 40 drive slides 42 cones 44 Exhibition backdrop 45 sleds 46 ejection levers 48 Joint point 50 Joint point 52 lid supports 54 Scenery Railway 56 guide pins 58 drive slides 60 Joint point 62 Control rod 64 Joint point 66 ejection levers 68 sliding element 70 Guide track 72 bearing journals 74 Guide track 76 control pins 78 Backdrop 80 Exit opening 82 retaining pins 84 Stopping track

Claims

[1] Vehicle roof with a roof opening system comprising a cover element (16) adjustable between a closed position closing a roof opening (12) and an open position releasing the roof opening (12), with respect to a vertical longitudinal roof center plane, an adjustment kinematics on both sides for adjusting the cover element (16), comprising a guide rail (20), a first kinematic unit (22) guided in the guide rail and a second kinematic unit (24) guided in the guide rail, and a drive cable arrangement for the two kinematic units (22, 24), wherein the second kinematic unit (24) comprises an opening lever (66) to which a sliding element (68) is pivotably connected, on which a guide track (70) of a cover support (52) of the cover element (16) is guided when the cover element (16) is adjusted,wherein the first kinematic unit (22) is driven via a first drive cable (26) by means of a first drive motor (28) and a drive slide (58) of the second kinematic unit (24) is driven via a second drive cable (30) by means of a second drive motor (32), wherein the second kinematic unit (24) has a control rod (62) which is articulated to the extension lever (66) and which is articulated to the drive slide (58), wherein the first kinematic unit (22) comprises a further drive slide (40) on which a pin (42) is formed which is guided in an extension cam (44) which is formed on an extension lever (46) of the first kinematic unit (22) which is articulated to the cover support (52), wherein the sliding element (68) and the control rod (62) on the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) have a common have a pivot axis and the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) has a bearing pin (72),which defines a pivot axis of the opening lever (66) on the guide rail (20) and which is guided in a guide track (74) of the guide rail (20) and has a control pin (76) which, in the closed position of the cover element (16), is arranged in a cam (78) of the guide rail (20), wherein the cam (78) initiates an opening movement of the opening lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) when the cover element (16) is moved from the closed position to the open position. [2] Vehicle roof Claim 1, characterized by , that the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) has a retaining pin (82) which engages in a retaining track (84) formed on the guide rail (20) when the extension lever (66) of the second kinematic unit (24) is extended.

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