Component of a roof system

Abstract

Assembly of a roof system, comprising a motor carrier (14) which includes a receiving section (30) and a mounting section (32), and an electric motor (16), wherein the electric motor (16) is received in the receiving section (30) of the motor carrier (14), wherein the mounting section (32) has a mounting dome (40) by means of which the electric motor (16) is detachably attached to the motor carrier (14), and wherein the motor carrier (14) is made of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material and is formed in one piece.

Description

The invention relates to an assembly of a roof system.Such a roof system is used in vehicles, in particular passenger cars, and has a sliding roof cover or a roller blind which is adjustable between a closed and an open position. The sliding roof cover can be made of glass or plastic. The roof system can be a sliding roof system with a sliding roof cover and possibly additionally a roller blind, or merely a roller blind roof system which has a displaceable roller blind below, for example, a panoramic roof.A sliding roof system is subsequently used.In the closed position, the sliding roof cover closes an opening in the roof of the vehicle and in the open position, the opening in the roof is exposed to a greater or lesser extent.In order to adjust the sliding roof cover, an electric motor is used in particular. The rotation of a motor shaft of the electric motor is transmitted via a reduction gear to actuating cables, for example to tension or compression cables, which then adjust the sliding roof cover.The electric motor is usually fastened to the roof system by means of a plurality of metal threaded inserts, and the actuating cables are pressed by means of a spring plate against an output wheel driven by the electric motor.Thus, in the prior art, a large number of metallic components are necessary in order to fasten the electric motor to the roof system.EP 1 291 214 B1 discloses a motor holding plate which is fastened to a front part of a roof system by means of latching elements and which has bores. The bores are congruent with corresponding bores on an electric motor and the front part, and the electric motor is firmly screwed to the front part via the bores.DE 10 2006 002 006 B4 discloses a drive carrier in which two receiving channels for guide tubes are formed.Furthermore, DE 10 2006 002 005 B4 discloses a carrier body for an electric motor. The support body has a receiving portion and a fixing portion.Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,014 B1 shows a support rail of a sliding roof made of composite material. The support rail integrally has a mounting portion for a drive mechanism, and accordingly, the electric motor is directly mounted on the support rail.Furthermore, a front frame of a sliding roof is known from DE 100 53 531 B4. The front frame is made of plastic and a receiving section for an electric motor is formed on the front frame.Finally, DE 10 2016 003 421 A1 shows a support of a sliding roof. The support is attached to a frame front part and a motor can be fastened to the support.It is therefore the object of the invention to reduce the number of necessary metallic components and to simplify the fastening of the electric motor to the roof system.This object is achieved by a structural group of a roof system according to the features of claim 1. The structural group has a motor carrier and an electric motor, wherein the electric motor is accommodated in an accommodation section of the motor carrier and is detachably fastened to the motor carrier in a fastening section. The engine mount is made of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material and is formed in one piece.The invention is based on the basic idea of fastening the electric motor to the roof system only by means of a motor support. Thus, the number of components required is reduced and the fastening of the electric motor is simplified. The motor carrier is formed integrally from a plastic and accordingly has no metallic components, so that the number of metallic components required is reduced by the motor carrier.The motor carrier can be an injection molded part. Injection molded parts are particularly favorable in terms of production.For example, the fastening dome has an internal thread. The electric motor can thus be fastened to the motor carrier simply by means of corresponding screws.It is conceivable that the internal thread is produced on the fastening dome by means of thread-forming or thread-grooving screws, in particular during the fastening of the electric motor to the motor carrier.One aspect of the invention provides that the thermoplastic is a high-performance thermoplastic. High performance thermoplastics have high heat distortion and chemical resistance, so that the engine mount has long durability.For example, the thermoplastic resin is polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). PPS has a high rigidity and an extremely low setting behavior after temperature changes and is therefore particularly suitable for the motor mount.Alternatively or additionally, the fibers may be glass fibers, carbon fibers, or aramid fibers. By using fibers, the stiffnesses and strengths of the engine mount can be adjusted in a targeted manner.A mixture of the fibers mentioned can also be used.In order to provide a very stable engine mount, the fiber content of the fibers in the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic may be between 30 and 80 percent by weight, in particular between 60 and 70 percent by weight.For example, the thermoplastic is PPS-SGM651 E65. This fiber-reinforced thermoplastic has a glass fiber / mineral content of 65 percent by weight and has a high tensile stress, a high bending strength and a high bending modulus.In one embodiment of the invention, the fastening dome is a fastening bushing. In this way, the electric motor lies flat on the motor carrier in the region of the fastening section. Local, punctiform force effects are thus avoided by the fastening of the electric motor to the motor carrier.For example, the fastening bushing is connected to the fastening section by means of a connecting section or a flange nose. In this way, the fastening section and the receiving section are decoupled, so that the receiving section has a certain mobility with respect to the fastening section and can thus better accommodate the movements of the electric motor.In general, the fastening bushing can also extend directly away from the receiving section.The motor support can have at least two fastening sections, in particular at least three fastening sections. In this way, the electric motor is fastened to the motor carrier at a plurality of fastening sections.For example, the fastening sections are distributed uniformly around the receiving section.It is conceivable for one fastening section to extend directly away from the receiving section and for the other to be connected to the receiving section by means of corresponding connecting sections or flange lugs.In one embodiment of the invention, at least one guide channel is formed in the motor carrier, which extends through the motor carrier. Thus, the electric motor can act directly on an actuating cable.The assembly may include a transmission coupled to the electric motor. For example, the gear is a worm gear, i.e. a reduction gear, and thus large actuating forces can be applied to a component of the roof system to be moved.In one embodiment of the invention, the assembly has an actuating cable which can be actuated via an output wheel of the transmission coupled to the electric motor, in particular wherein the actuating cable is guided through the guide channel of the motor carrier to the output wheel. The motor carrier thus ensures that the actuating cable is guided directly past the output wheel. In this way, no additional spring plate (made of metal) is necessary in order to tension the actuating cable against the driven wheel.In order to fix the electric motor firmly to the roof system, the assembly can have a structural component of the roof system and the motor carrier can be encapsulated or clipped into the structural component.For example, the structural component is also a plastic component and the motor carrier can be encapsulated in the structural component by means of a 2-component injection molding process.Alternatively, the motor support can be detachably fastened to the structural component by means of a screw connection.In one embodiment of the invention, the structural component is a supporting frame.It is conceivable that a guide channel is formed in the structural component, which, in the fastened state of the motor support on the structural component, connects to the guide channel of the motor support. In this way, the operating cable is protected from external influences. In addition, the actuation components cannot jam on any component of the roof system.Alternatively, the assembly can have a guide tube through which the actuating cable is guided. The guide tube can be detachably fastened to the motor carrier, for example by means of a bayonet connection or a clip connection.Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, to which reference is made in the following. In the drawings, there are shown:FIG. 1 shows a schematic, perspective view of a vehicle roof of a motor vehicle having a roof system designed as a sliding roof system,FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an assembly according to the invention of the sliding roof system of FIG. 1 according to a first embodiment,FIG. 3 is a perspective sectional view of the assembled assembly of FIG. 2 along section line III-III in FIG. 2,FIG. 4 is a perspective sectional view of the assembled assembly of FIG. 2 along section line IV-IV in FIG. 2,FIG. 5 shows a motor carrier of the assembly of FIG. 2 in a perspective view,FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an assembly according to the invention according to a second embodiment,FIG. 7 shows the assembled assembly of FIG. 6 in a perspective view,FIG. 8 is a bottom view of a motor carrier of the assembly of FIGS. 6 and 7,FIG. 9 shows an assembly according to the invention according to a third embodiment in a perspective view,FIG. 10 shows a part of the assembly of FIG. 9 in an exploded perspective view,FIG. 11 shows the assembled part of the assembly of FIG. 11 in a perspective view,FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled part of the assembly of FIG. 10 along section line XII-XII in FIG. 11 ,FIG. 13 is a detailed perspective view of the motor support of the assembly of FIG. 9,FIGS. 14 and 15 show a further embodiment of the motor support of the assembly of FIGS. 9 to 13, andFIGS. 16 to 18 show a part of an assembly according to the invention according to a fourth embodiment in different perspective views.The invention is explained below by way of example for a roof system 6 designed as a sliding roof system. However, the invention can also be used on a roller blind roof system in which a roller blind is actuated instead of a sliding roof cover 7.FIG. 1 schematically shows a vehicle roof 2 of a motor vehicle. The vehicle roof 2 has an outer skin 4 in which a roof opening 5 is provided.A sliding roof system 6 is inserted into the roof opening 5, which has a sliding roof cover 7.The sliding roof cover 7 is divided into two here and has a front cover part 8 and a rear cover part 9.In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the rear cover part 9 is fixed and the front cover part 8 is movable between a closed position (shown in FIG. 1 ) and an open position in which the front cover part 8 at least partially covers the rear cover part 9 and thereby partially exposes the roof opening 5.In order to adjust the front cover part 8, the sliding roof system 6 has an assembly 10, which is shown in detail in FIG. 2.The assembly 10 includes a structural member 12, a motor carrier 14, and an electric motor 16.The electric motor 16 is a rotary electric motor whose output shaft 18 (FIG. 3 ) forms the input shaft of a transmission 20.More specifically, the gear 20 is a worm gear, and thus the output shaft 18 constitutes the worm shaft that drives a worm wheel 22 of the gear 20 and thus drives an output gear 23.Here, the output shaft 18 of the electric motor 16 and the worm wheel 22 are arranged in a common housing 21, and the output shaft of the gear 20 extends out of the housing 21 and drives the driven wheel 23, which is arranged outside the housing 21.The housing 21 has a cover 19 which is fastened by means of screws in the embodiment of FIG. 2.On the housing 21, a plurality of fastening bushes 24 are formed, each of which is formed on a corresponding projection of the housing 21.Openings are formed in the fastening bushes 24, into which fastening screws 25 are inserted in the assembled state of the assembly 10 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ).In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 5, the structural component 12 is a supporting frame 26 which has two guide channels 27 for guiding in each case one actuating cable 28.The actuating cables 28 are fastened at one end to the front cover part 8 of the sliding roof cover 7, and the actuating cable 28 is guided to the transmission 20 via the guide channel 27.More specifically, the actuating cables 28 are routed to and coupled to the output gear 23 (FIG. 4 ). That is, by moving the driven gear 23, the operation cables 28 are respectively moved in opposite directions in the respective guide passages 27, and by moving the operation cables 28, the front cover part 8 is moved from the opened to the closed position or from the closed position to the opened position.The engine mount 14 is formed in one piece and made of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material.More specifically, the motor carrier 14 is a one-piece molded part made of PPS-SGM651E65.PPS-SGM651E65 is a linear polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composition reinforced with 65 percent by weight of glass fibers and minerals.The motor support 14 is accordingly made of a high-performance thermoplastic material, namely PPS, and has glass fibers as reinforcement.Of course, other fibers can also be used as reinforcement, such as carbon fibers or aramid fibers, or a mixture of fibers, for example a mixture of glass fibers and carbon fibers.Of course, it is also conceivable that the fiber weight fraction (also fiber mass fraction), i.e. the ratio of the mass of the reinforcing fibers to the total mass of the engine mount 14, is more or less than 65 percent by weight.For example, the fiber weight fraction is between 30 and 80, in particular between 60 and 70, percent by weight.As shown in FIG. 5, the motor bracket 14 has a rectangular receiving portion 30 and a plurality of fixing portions 32.Here, the receiving portion 30 is adapted to one side of the housing 21 and is designed to receive the unit consisting of the transmission 20 and the electric motor 16 (see FIG. 4 ).In the receiving section 30, the motor carrier 14 has a recess 34 and two guide channels 36.The recess 34 is formed centrally in the receiving section 30 and is adapted to the driven wheel 23. The recess 34 is thus such that the output wheel 23 can be arranged in the recess 34.More specifically, the operating cable is pressed against the driven gear by the wall of the recess, so that good power transmission to the operating cable is ensured.Adjacent to the recess 34, the guide channels 36 extend as far as one side of the receiving section 30.Accordingly, the operation cables 28 are guided from one side of the receiving portion 30 to the opposite side of the receiving portion 30 by the guide channels 36.The fastening sections 32 are distributed around the receiving section 30 and have fastening domes 40.In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 5, each fastening dome 40 is formed by a fastening bushing.A thread 42 is formed within the fastening domes 40, which is axially continuous in all fastening sections 32.For the detachable fastening of the electric motor 16 and the gear 20 to the motor carrier 14, the fastening screws 25 are screwed into the threads 42 of the fastening sections 32.For example, the thread 42 was formed in the mounting domes 40 by thread forming or thread grooving mounting screws during the bolting of the electric motor 16 and gear 20 unit to the motor carrier 14.In the fastened position of the electric motor 16, the fastening bushes 24 of the housing 21 lie flat on the fastening bushes of the motor carrier 14.In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the fastening sections 32 are connected to the receiving section 30 by means of connecting sections 44. In this case, the connecting sections 44 decouple the fastening sections from the receiving section 30.In addition, the motor support 14 is encapsulated in the structural component 12 in the assembled state of the assembly 10.More specifically, the motor support 14 is encapsulated in the structural component 12 in the region of the fastening domes 40 and in the region of the connecting portions 44 (FIGS. 3 and 4 ).The motor support 14 thus simultaneously provides guidance for the actuating cable 28 and a possibility for fastening the electric motor 16 and the transmission 20 to the structural component 12. This eliminates additional metal mounting sleeves made of metal and an additional spring plate in order to press the actuating cable 28 against the driven wheel 23. The fastening of the electric motor 16 to the structural component 12 is thus simplified.The sliding roof system 6 is usually exposed to large temperature differences. In summer, the temperature of the sliding roof system may increase to above 95° C. in the case of direct solar radiation, and in winter, the sliding roof system may be exposed to temperatures of less than -20° C. Since the motor support 14 is made of a thermoplastic material, the motor support has a very good temperature resistance and these temperature differences accordingly have only a very slight influence on the mechanical properties of the motor support 14.In addition, the motor carrier 14 is formed very stably by the fiber reinforcement and accordingly also absorbs the torques arising during the movement of the worm wheel 22.With reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, an assembly 10 according to a second embodiment is now described, which substantially corresponds to the first embodiment, so that only the differences will be discussed below. Identical and functionally identical components are provided with the same reference numerals.In contrast to the first embodiment, instead of the fastening bushes 24, flange noses 46 are formed on the housing 21, which extend away from the housing 21 and have corresponding openings to receive the fastening screws 25.A further difference is the configuration of the motor support 14, which has a triangular shape and has flange noses 48 which extend directly away from the receiving section 30.In other words, the motor bracket 14 does not have connecting portions 44.The flange noses 48 are configured planar with respect to one another and form a support surface for the flange noses 46 of the housing 21.The fastening domes 40 are integrally formed on the underside of the flange noses 48 and the fastening domes 40 extend away from the flange noses 48.The fastening domes 40 thus extend away from the side of the flange noses 38 which faces the structural component 12.In this case, the opening is only axially continuous in the case of two of the three fastening domes 40 (FIG. 8 ).A further difference is the fastening of the motor support 14 to the structural component 12.The motor support 14 can thus be inserted into corresponding openings 50 on the structural component 12 and has fastening lugs 52 on the outside of the fastening domes 40, which engage into an undercut (not shown) formed in the openings 50 and in this way provide the clip connection.FIGS. 9 to 13 show a third embodiment of the assembly 10, which corresponds substantially to the first and second embodiments. Only the differences will therefore be discussed below. Identical and functionally identical components are provided with the same reference numerals.In contrast to the first two embodiments, the structural component 12 does not have any guide channels 27. instead, the assembly 10 has guide tubes 54 and cable outlet tubes 56.In this case, a guide tube 54 and a cable outlet tube 56 each adjoin the corresponding guide channel 36 of the motor support 14 and are fastened to the structural component 12.The guide tubes 54 guide the corresponding actuating cable 28 to the front cover part 8 of the sliding roof cover 7 and the cable outlet tubes 56 serve to receive the end of the actuating cable 28 which is not connected to the front cover part 8.The guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56 are in particular so long that the corresponding actuating cable 28 is arranged completely within the corresponding guide tube 54, the corresponding guide channel 36 and the corresponding cable outlet tube 56 in each possible adjustment position of the front cover part 8.In order to fasten the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56 to the motor carrier 14, a bayonet closure 58 is formed.More specifically, mounting buttons 60 are formed on the motor support 14 at the end of each guide channel 36 (FIGS. 10 and 13 ), and the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56, respectively, have respective mounting tabs 62.Another difference is that fastening openings 64 are formed in the housing 21 (FIG. 12 ), which serve for fastening the housing 21 to the motor support 14.In this case, the cover 19 of the housing 21 is also additionally fastened by means of the fastening screws 25.For positioning the housing 21, the motor carrier 14 additionally has positioning pins 66, which extend away from the receiving section 30 and simplify the positioning of the housing 21 on the motor carrier 14 before the housing is fixed by means of the fastening screws 25.Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIGS. 9 to 12, the motor support 14 is screwed to the structural component 12.For this purpose, C-shaped coupling sections 68 are formed on the motor support 14 (FIG. 10 ), into which plastic sleeves 70 are inserted.The plastic sleeves 70 have on the outer lateral surface a circumferential groove 72, in which the legs of the coupling sections 68 engage, so that the plastic sleeves 70 are fixed in the axial direction.The plastic sleeves 70 additionally have an EPD insert 74. In this way, the motor support 14 is decoupled from the structural component 12 and oscillations of the structural component 12 are transmitted to the motor support 14 only in a damped manner.FIGS. 14 and 15 show a further embodiment of the motor support 14. In contrast to the embodiment of FIGS. 9 to 13, the motor support 14 has additional resilient fastening lugs 76 which are formed on the motor support in the region of the cutout 34.The fastening lugs 76 are designed to press the actuating cables 28, which are guided through the guide channels 36, against the output wheel 23.In other words, the fastening tabs 76 replace the spring tabs known from the prior art.Finally, FIGS. 16 to 18 show a fourth embodiment of the assembly 10.In contrast to the third embodiment, the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56 are fastened to the motor carrier 14 by means of a click connection 78.In this case, FIGS. 16 and 18 show the motor support 14, with attached guide tubes 54 and cable outlet tubes 56. In FIG. 17, one of the guide tubes 54 is not clipped to the motor support 14.In order to prevent an axial movement of the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56, the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56 are radially widened in the region of the coupled end to the motor carrier 14. This widening then interacts with corresponding projections on the motor carrier 14 and prevents axial movement of the guide tubes 54 and the cable outlet tubes 56.

Claims

Assembly of a roof system, having an engine mount (14), which comprises a receiving section (30) and a fastening section (32), and an electric motor (16), wherein the electric motor (16) is received in the receiving section (30) of the engine mount (14), wherein the fastening section (32) has a fastening dome (40), via which the electric motor (16) is detachably fastened to the engine mount (14), and wherein the engine mount (14) is made of a fibre-reinforced thermoplastic material and is formed in one piece.Assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the thermoplastic is a high-performance thermoplastic, in particular polyphenylene sulphide, and / or in that the fibres are glass fibres, carbon fibres and / or aramid fibres.Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the fibre content of the fibres in the fibre-reinforced thermoplastic is between 30 and 80 percent by weight, in particular between 60 and 70 percent by weight.Assembly according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening dome (40) is a fastening bushing, in particular wherein the fastening bushing is connected to the fastening portion (32) by means of a connecting portion (44) or a flange nose (46).Assembly according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor carrier (14) has at least two fastening sections (32), in particular at least three fastening sections (32).Assembly according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one guide channel (36) is formed in the motor carrier (14), which guide channel extends through the motor carrier.Assembly according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the assembly (10) comprises a gear mechanism (20), in particular a worm gear mechanism, which is coupled to the electric motor (16).Assembly according to claim 7, characterised in that the assembly (10) has an actuating cable (28) which can be actuated via an output wheel (23) of the transmission (20) coupled to the electric motor (16), in particular wherein the actuating cable (28) is guided through the guide channel (36) of the motor carrier (14) to the output wheel (23).Assembly according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the assembly (10) has a structural component (12) of the roof system (6), wherein the motor carrier (14) is encapsulated or clipped into the structural component (12).Assembly according to claim 9, characterised in that the structural component (12) is a supporting frame (26).

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