Functional device for a vehicle interior

Abstract

Such a functional device with at least one vehicle-fixed guide track, as well as with a sliding body displaceable along the guide track, which is coupled to a functional unit in order to displace the functional unit between a rest position and a functional position, as well as with a drive transmission train which is guided along the guide track and is coupled to the sliding body for displacing the sliding body, as well as with a control roller which is rotatably mounted parallel to the guide track, is known.According to the invention, an additional functional kinematics is provided which is intended for displacing an additional functional part between two different end positions, wherein the control roller is coupled to the additional functional kinematics in order to displace the additional functional part between the end positions, and wherein the sliding body is coupled to the control roller in such a way that a displacement of the sliding body leads to a rotation of the control roller and thereby to a displacement of the additional functional part.

Description

The invention relates to a functional device for a vehicle interior, comprising at least one vehicle-fixed guide track (referring to a fully assembled state), a sliding body that can be moved along the guide track and is coupled to a functional unit to move the functional unit between a rest position and a functional position, a drive transmission train that is guided along the guide track and is coupled to the sliding body for moving the sliding body, and a control roller that is rotatably mounted parallel to the guide track. Such a functional device is known from DE 10 2022 209 124 B3. The device serves to reposition a screen assembly relative to a vehicle roof within a vehicle interior. The screen assembly is held by means of a knee-joint assembly comprising a main lever and a control lever. The main lever and the control lever are movable relative to each other along a guide rail. This relative movement is controlled by a positive control device comprising a control roller extending along the guide rail and rotatable parallel to it. The control roller is provided with control cams that are mechanically coupled to the main lever and the control lever. Another functional device for relocating a screen assembly below the roof of a vehicle's interior is known from EP 3 845 420 A1. The screen assembly can be relocated along roof-side guide rails by means of a support carriage. Drive cables, powered by an electric drive motor, are provided for relocating the support carriage in the guide rails. The screen assembly can be moved between a rest position and a working position by means of a pivoting kinematic mechanism when the support carriage is moved along the guide rails. DE 10 2019 002 976 A1 discloses a shading device that can be accommodated in a vehicle-mounted shaft which can be closed or opened by a cover depending on a movement of a shading strip of the shading device. From DE 10 2012 008 839 A1, an adjustment mechanism for generating pivoting and sliding movements of a body component in the form of a cover for a sliding / tilting roof is known. The adjustment mechanism has a control lever that is pivotably connected to the cover. A drive unit is provided for repositioning the control lever. The drive unit has a movable drive carriage on which the control lever is adjustably mounted by means of two control units. The object of the invention is to create a functional device of the type mentioned above which has improved functionality. This problem is solved by providing an additional functional kinematic mechanism for moving an additional functional part between two different end positions, by coupling the control roller to this additional functional kinematic mechanism to move the additional functional part between the end positions, and by coupling the sliding element to the control roller such that a movement of the sliding element leads to a rotation of the control roller and thus to a movement of the additional functional part. According to the invention, it is possible to mechanically couple two control kinematic mechanisms: the sliding movement of the functional unit along the guide track and the movement of the additional functional part via the additional functional kinematic mechanism. Furthermore, according to the invention, it is possible to use the movement of the sliding element along the guide track to move another functional part.The solution according to the invention is suitable for various functional devices in the interior of motor vehicles. The solution according to the invention is particularly preferred for the additional movement of a locking element functioning as a functional part, which opens or closes an opening through which the functional unit, which can be moved by means of the sliding element, can be moved between a rest position and a functional position. A tensile- and compression-resistant flexible or rigid string, or a purely tensile- or compression-resistant, flexible or rigid string, can be provided as the drive transmission train, in particular in the form of a threaded cable, a rack, a cable pull, or a Bowden cable. Advantageously, two opposing guide tracks and a corresponding sliding element movable in each guide track are provided.Preferably, at least one guide track is a guide rail. Alternatively, a guide rib or similar element can also be provided as the guide track. The sliding element, which is displaceable along the guide track, is guided linearly along the guide track. The guide track is continuously straight. Advantageously, the guide track, designed as a guide rail, has at least one guide channel in which the sliding element is guided for sliding movement. Advantageously, the drive transmission train is also guided in this channel of the guide rail in which the sliding element is displaceable. Alternatively, the drive transmission train can be guided in a channel of the guide rail parallel to the guide channel for the sliding element. Advantageously, two guide rails spaced parallel to each other are provided, between which the functional unit is guided for displacement.Each guide rail carries a sliding element, with the two sliding elements being coupled to the functional unit on opposite sides. The displacement of the additional functional part via the positive control mechanism formed by the control roller and the functional kinematics enables stepless, low-noise displacement of the functional part between two different end positions. The functional kinematics can be a multi-link kinematic or a simple pivot kinematic, which is spring-loaded in one pivot direction and actuated in the other pivot direction by a control pin fixed to the control roller and projecting radially towards a rotation axis of the control roller. The rotational movement of the control roller causes the control pin to engage the pivot kinematics, pivoting them against the spring force. The solution according to the invention is suitable for use in the interior of a vehicle on land, water, or air.The functional device according to the invention is particularly advantageous for a wheeled motor vehicle in the form of a passenger car or in the form of a commercial vehicle. In one embodiment of the invention, a control pin is provided on the sliding body, which engages in a control cam of the control roller. Advantageously, the control roller has a single control cam that extends continuously over its entire length. The control cam runs circumferentially and along the control roller in such a way that, depending on the displacement of the sliding body along the guide track, a rotation of the control roller occurs, which in turn positively displaces the additional functional kinematics. The control pin of the sliding body forms a cam pin that is linearly movable within the control cam, which forms a guide cam. The control cam of the control roller can be designed such that, during the sliding movement of the sliding body, a reciprocating movement of the functional part also occurs, in particular a partial or complete closing or opening of a closing element.In such variants, the control cam not only runs parallel to the axis of rotation of the control roller, but also has control sections curved in the circumferential direction over the length of the control cam, so that, depending on the desired function, zigzag or serpentine contours of the control cam along the control roller result. In a further embodiment of the invention, a drive system is provided to relocate the drive transmission train. The drive system advantageously comprises at least one electric motor drive which is directly or indirectly mechanically coupled to the drive transmission train in order to relocate it along the guide track. The drive transmission train engages the sliding element, so that when the drive system is activated, the sliding element is relocated along the guide track. In a further embodiment of the invention, the additional functional kinematics are a multi-joint kinematics that supports the additional functional part. Advantageously, the additional functional part is a closing part that is movably mounted between a release position that opens the opening and a closing position that closes the opening. In a further embodiment of the invention, a display carrier is provided as a functional unit, which, in its resting position, is recessed in a shaft in the area of ​​the vehicle's headliner. The display carrier can hold one or more screens that constitute electronic multimedia devices or are coupled to such multimedia devices. A receiving space in the form of the shaft is provided in the area of ​​the vehicle's headliner, in which the display carrier, and thus also the at least one screen, are stored when not in use. The at least one screen attached to the display carrier can be moved out of the shaft into an operating position, in which the display carrier is positioned in the vehicle's interior so that the screen can be viewed by vehicle occupants. In a further embodiment of the invention, the display carrier is pivotably mounted on the sliding body to allow it to be moved from an approximately horizontal position within the shaft to an approximately vertical functional position extending out of the shaft. The display carrier is thus first moved from its rest position towards an opening of the shaft until it is moved far enough out of the shaft that it can be pivoted downwards. Advantageously, the display carrier is also supported in a positionally fixed manner in the approximately vertical downward-pointing functional position. In a further embodiment of the invention, the functional part is designed as a locking element which, in one end position, closes an opening of the shaft flush and, in the second end position, releases the opening of the shaft to allow the display carrier to be moved. Depending on the movement of the display carrier, the locking element is thus moved into its open or closed end position. The movement of the locking element is staggered relative to the movement of the display carrier. First, the at least one sliding element is moved from its rest position to drive the control roller, which in turn moves the locking element from the closed position towards the release position.Conversely, the sliding body together with the display carrier is first moved from the functional position back towards the rest position, before the locking part is moved from the release position back into the closed position by means of the forced control between the sliding body and the control roller. In a further embodiment of the invention, the closing element forms a rigid cover whose edge follows the contour of the opening of the slot. As a result, in the rest position of the display carrier, the closing element is flush with the contour of the slot opening. In a further embodiment of the invention, the control roller is coupled to the multi-link kinematics by means of a worm drive. This results in a particularly quiet positive control between the control roller and the multi-link kinematics. The rigid shutter, which serves as the closing element, is attached to the multi-link kinematics. In a further embodiment of the invention, a threaded worm of the worm drive is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner on an outer circumference of the control roller, and a worm wheel of the worm drive, which engages with the threaded worm, is rotationally fixed to the multi-link kinematics. This results in the desired positively controlled coupling between the control roller and the multi-link kinematics. Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the claims. A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below and illustrated with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view, obliquely from below in the direction of travel, of a headliner of a vehicle interior with an embodiment of a functional device according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows the representation according to Fig. 2 in a partially closed position of a shaft in the headliner. Fig. 3 shows the headliner according to Figs. 1 and 2 with a cover serving as a closing element for the shaft in its closed position. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the functional device for the headliner according to Figs. 1, 2 to 3, obliquely from above. Fig. 5 shows the functional device according to Fig. 4 in a lower end position of the cover. Fig. 6 shows an enlarged perspective view of a partial area of ​​the functional device according to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.Figures 4 to 5 show a sliding body and a multi-link kinematic system. Figures 7, 8, 9 to 10 show the section according to Figure 6 in different positions of the sliding body and the multi-link kinematic system. Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a control roller of the functional device according to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 to 10. Figure 12 shows a top view of the section of the functional device according to Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 to 10. Figure 13 shows an enlarged view of a cross-section through the functional device according to Figure 12 along the section line AA in Figure 12. Figure 14 shows the cross-sectional view according to Figure 13, but in a different rotational position. Control roller, Fig. 15 a side view of the section of the functional device according to Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9 to Fig. 10 in an upper end position of the multi-link kinematics and Fig. 16 the section according to Fig.15 in a lower end position of the multi-joint kinematics. A passenger car has a passenger compartment with an interior space that is bounded at the top by a roof area. The underside of the roof area, facing the interior, is lined by a headliner 1, which is shown in Figures 1, 2 to 3. The headliner 1 forms a largely rigid, one- or multi-part lining element that is firmly connected to a roof structure area of ​​the vehicle body from below. The headliner 1, as shown in Figures 1, 2 to 3, is depicted obliquely from below, looking forward from inside the vehicle interior towards a windshield (not shown). The headliner 1 has a receiving space in the form of a shaft 2 in its front area, which extends rearward in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle with an opening that extends transversely. The opening is open to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is bounded by an edge area 3.In shaft 2, a functional unit F is housed in its rest position, which in the illustrated embodiment is designed as a display carrier for a screen. The opening of the shaft can be closed by a closing element in the form of a rigid cover plate 4, which is movably mounted by means of a multi-link kinematic mechanism 5 serving as functional kinematics between a release position (Fig. 1) that opens the shaft and a closed position (Fig. 3) that is flush with the edge region 3 of the shaft opening. The cover plate 4 extends over the entire width of the shaft opening 2 in the transverse direction of the vehicle and is U-shaped at its opposite ends. The edge contour of the cover plate 4 follows the edge region 3 of the shaft 2, which is also curved on opposite sides, by being formed essentially parallel to the edge region 3 of the shaft 2. Thus, in its closed position (Fig. 3), the cover plate 4 is flush with an adjacent trim contour of the headliner 1. The headliner 1 has a [feature / component] as shown in Figs. 1, 2 to 3.Figure 3 indicates a substantially rectangular recess that borders a transparent roof area (not shown) of the vehicle body's roof structure. Shaft 2 is thus open to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle at the transition to the transparent roof area. As can be seen from Figures 1, 2 to 3, the cover 4 is flush with the edge region 3 of the opening of the shaft 2 in its closed position. When it is moved to the release position according to Figure 1, the cover 4 is displaced by the multi-link kinematics 5, which acts on opposite side regions of the cover 4 on its inner side facing the shaft 2, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the rear and in the vertical direction of the vehicle to the downwards, so that essentially a pivoting movement for the cover 4 between its closed position (Figure 3) and its release position (Figure 1) results. The movement of the multi-link kinematics 5 is achieved by a positive control system dependent on the displacement of the functional unit F, i.e., the display carrier, between its rest position within the shaft 2 and a functional position displaced from the shaft 2 towards the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, in which the functional unit F, i.e., the display carrier, is pivoted downwards into the vehicle interior. In its rest position, the functional unit F is parallel to the headliner 1 and thus approximately horizontally aligned, and positioned between two guide rails 6 that serve as guide tracks. The guide rails 6 are fixed to the vehicle and thus fixed to the headliner within the shaft 2 and extend parallel to each other on opposite sides of the shaft 2 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.The functional unit F is pivotally mounted on opposite sides on a sliding body 7, which forms a guide slide within a guide channel of the respective guide rail 6. For this purpose, each sliding body has a bearing receptacle 13, as can be clearly seen in Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 to 10, into which a pivot pin, projecting laterally outwards from the functional unit F in the transverse direction of the vehicle, engages. The functional device consisting of the functional unit F, the aperture 4, the multi-link kinematics 5, the sliding bodies 7, the guide rails 6, a drive system 8, 9 and further sections and parts described below are described in more detail with reference to Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 to 16. The guide rails 6 are connected at their end ends, positioned at the front in the normal direction of travel of the passenger car, by a rigid plastic cross member, which can be seen in Figures 4 and 5. This cross member supports the drive system with an electric drive unit 8 and drive transmission cables 9, which extend from the cross member into the guide channels of the guide rails 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the drive transmission cables 9 are designed as flexible threaded cables, each of which engages at its end face with one of the two sliding elements 7 in the guide rails 6, in order to allow the sliding elements 7 to be moved forward or backward along the guide channels in the guide rails 6 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.The guide rails have 6 sliding channels for the thread pitch cables, which are positioned above the guide channels for the sliding elements 7, as can be seen in Fig. 13. Each of the two guide rails has a support bracket 17, which supports one side of the multi-link kinematics 5. The two sides of the multi-link kinematics 5, which together support the cover 4, are mirror-symmetrical about a vertical longitudinal plane of the vehicle, but otherwise identical. Each side of the multi-link kinematics 5 has lever arms (not specified in detail) that articulately support a retaining section 18 to which the cover 4 is attached. Both sides of the multi-link kinematics 5 are also subjected to torque by a return spring 10, with each return spring 10 permanently applying torque to its respective side of the multi-link kinematics 5 in the direction of the closed position of the cover 4. The functional unit F is moved rearward from its rest position by means of the two sliding elements 7, which carry the functional unit F along the guide rails 6 to a rear end region of the guide rails 6 (Figs. 10 and 16). In this rear end position of the sliding elements 7, the functional unit F is moved out of the shaft 2 and can be pivoted downwards about the pivot axis extending transversely to the vehicle between the bearing receptacles 13 of the sliding elements 7. The multi-link kinematics 5 is pivoted by means of a positive control mechanism, described in more detail below, depending on the displacement of the sliding elements 7 between the front and rear end positions within the guide channels of the guide rails 6. The forced control system has a control roller 11 in the area of ​​each guide rail 6. This roller extends parallel to the guide rail 6 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is freely rotatable between two bearings 12 attached to the underside of the respective guide rail 6. An axis of rotation of the control roller 11 extends parallel to the guide channel for the sliding element 7 within the respective guide rail 6. The control roller 11 is provided with a groove-shaped guide cam 14 into which a control pin 15, serving as a cam pivot, engages. This control pin is attached to the sliding element 7. The control pin is positioned on the respective sliding element 7 offset towards the center of the vehicle in the transverse direction and projects downwards in the vertical direction of the vehicle to engage in the guide cam 14. Figures 6 to 10 and 15, 16 show that the control pin 15, in a forward end position of the respective sliding body 7, i.e., in the rest position of the functional unit F, engages in a helical cam section of the guide cam 14, also referred to as the control cam. Adjoining this helical cam section, which is positioned at a front end region of the control roller 11, is a straight, longitudinally extended cam section that runs parallel to the axis of rotation of the control roller 11 to a rear end region of the control roller 11. In the area of ​​the support bracket 17 for each side of the multi-link kinematics 5, the control roller 11 has a threaded worm that is rotationally fixed to the control roller 11. The support bracket 17 is attached to the respective guide rail 6 adjacent to the opening of the shaft 2. This threaded worm meshes with a worm gear 19 (indicated in Figs. 15 and 16), which together with the threaded worm 16 forms a worm drive. The worm gear 19 is rotationally fixed to a lever arm 20 of the respective side of the multi-link kinematics 5. The lever arm 20 forms the driven lever arm of the multi-link kinematics 5. This is designed as a control lever that strikes one of the other two lever arms from above during a pivoting movement in order to pivot the two lever arms. This lever arm 20 has a certain non-functional dead space during a rotational movement, since in the initial position ( Fig. 15) it is spaced apart from the other lever arms.One of the two lever arms is permanently spring-loaded by the return spring 10 in the direction of the closed position of the aperture 4, so that the lever arms return to the closed position as soon as the load from the supporting lever arm 20 is removed. A rotational movement of the control roller 11 therefore leads to a pivoting of the multi-link kinematics 5. Since the helical cam section of the guide cam 14 of the control roller 11 is positioned at the front end of the control roller 11, an initial displacement movement of the sliding body 7 from the rest position already leads to a rotation of the control roller 11 and consequently also to a lowering of the aperture 4 towards the release position, as illustrated in Figures 6, 7, 8 to 9. Thus, the aperture 4 releases the opening before the functional unit F reaches the opening of the shaft 2 with its rear end face.A bearing 21, located in the area of ​​the support bracket 17 and visible in Figures 11, 12, 13 to 14, prevents the control roller 11 from deflecting upwards due to the forces acting in the area of ​​the worm drive. The illustrated bearing has two half-shells that pull the control roller 11 downwards in the upward direction of the vehicle to prevent unintentional upward bending of the control roller 11 in the area of ​​the worm drive. The sliding elements 7 are moved by activating the drive system 8, 9. When the electric drive unit 8 is activated, the drive transmission lines 9 push the sliding elements 9 rearward from their rest position at the front end of the guide channels of the guide rails 6. When the functional unit F is to be moved from its functional position back to its rest position within the shaft 2, the drive transmission lines 9 are driven in the opposite direction by the electric drive unit 8, thereby moving the sliding elements 7 forward again in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from their functional position as shown in Figures 10 and 16. The multi-link kinematics 5 remain in the release position of the gate 4 until the control pins 15 of the sliding elements 7 engage again in the helical cam sections of the control rollers 11.Now the control roller 11 is inevitably turned back to its starting position, which also shifts the multi-joint kinematics 5 back into the closed position of the aperture 4 via the worm drive.

Claims

Functional device for a vehicle interior, comprising at least one vehicle-fixed guide track (referring to a fully assembled state), a sliding body (7) displaceable along the guide track and coupled to a functional unit (F) to displace the functional unit (F) between a rest position and a functional position, a drive transmission train (9) guided along the guide track and coupled to the sliding body (7) for displacing the sliding body (7), and a control roller (11) rotatably mounted parallel to the guide track, characterized in that an additional functional kinematic (5) is provided for displacing an additional functional part between two different end positions, and that the control roller (11) is coupled to the additional functional kinematic (5) to displace the additional functional part between the end positions.and that the sliding body (7) is coupled to the control roller (11) in such a way that a displacement of the sliding body (7) leads to a rotation of the control roller (11) and thereby to a displacement of the additional functional part. Functional device according to claim 1, characterized in that a control pin (15) is provided on the sliding body (7) which engages in a control cam (14) of the control roller (11). Functional device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one drive transmission train (9) is part of a drive system (8, 9). Functional device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the additional functional kinematics is a multi-joint kinematics (5) which carries the additional functional part. Functional device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a display carrier is provided as the functional unit (F), which in the rest position is recessed in a shaft (2) in the area of ​​a roof liner (1) of the vehicle interior. Functional device according to claim 5, characterized in that the display carrier is pivotably mounted on the sliding body (7) in order to be able to be transferred from an approximately horizontal rest position provided in the shaft (2) to an approximately vertical functional position displaced from the shaft (2). Functional device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional part is designed as a closing part which, in one end position, closes an opening of the shaft (2) flush and, in the second end position, releases the opening of the shaft (2) for relocation of the display carrier. Functional device according to claim 7, characterized in that the closing part forms a rigid aperture (4) whose edge contour follows an edge area (3) of the opening of the shaft (2). Functional device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control roller (11) is coupled to the multi-link kinematics (5) by means of a worm drive. Functional device according to claim 9, characterized in that a threaded worm (16) of the worm drive is arranged non-rotatably on an outer circumference of the control roller (11), and that a worm wheel (19) of the worm drive, which engages in the threaded worm (16), is non-rotatably connected to the multi-link kinematics (5).

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