GLASS PANEL WITH LOWERING GLASS, PARTICULARLY FOR VEHICLE DOORS.

Description

DESCRIPTION of the industrial invention entitled: Glass panel with lowered glass, particularly for motor vehicle doors By: LAVORAZIONI MECCANICHE SPECIALI LAMES Sas di PELLEGRI N. & C., Italian nationality, Via S. Rufino, 29 - 16043 Chiavari (Genoa) Designated inventor: Carlo SERRATI Filed on: May 24, 1996 IO i è ·-> 0 0 1 3 -* * * * DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a glazed panel with a lowerable glass, particularly to a motor vehicle door, which comprises: a casing with a cut-out upper part, in the form of a frame so shaped as to have a lower edge, an upper edge and a first and a second opposite end edge, and with a blind lower part which defines a compartment; a sliding guide extending along the first end edge of the frame; a glass sliding between a raised position in which it is located in the frame and a lowered position in which it is at least partially housed in the recess, and having a lower edge, an upper edge and a first and a second edge - 2 CASE I JACOBACCI & PERANl S.pA SA / sr second opposite end edges that correspond to the homologous edges of the frame; a slide fixed to the first edge of the glass and engaged with the slide guide; and a window lift device having a rail fixed in the recess and extending in a direction of movement of the glass between its raised and lowered positions, with a slide sliding along the rail and supporting the glass, in an intermediate zone of its lower edge, by means of a pivot pin whose axis is normal to the general plane of the glass, and with means for controlling the sliding of the slide along the rail; and in which in the area of ​​the second end edge of the glass the compartment has a limited height such as to limit the descent of the glass in this area. The invention was conceived for application to the rear doors of motor vehicles, but it is susceptible to application in the case of any glass panel whose compartment for receiving the lowered glass has, in one of its end areas, a limited height which prevents the glass from completely lowering into the compartment itself. In certain stylistic configurations of cars JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. - 3-door hatchbacks with rear doors, the lowering of the rear door windows is limited in the rear area of ​​the compartment. This limitation is due to the presence of the rear wheel arch. Due to this space limitation, in known solutions the rear door window, which slides essentially vertically as a whole, cannot retract completely into the compartment. Specifically, the front section of the upper edge of the window, when the window is lowered, remains at such a height that a passenger cannot comfortably extend their hand and arm out of the window, as would be desirable in many circumstances. The purpose of the invention is to create a glass panel with a lowerable glass, particularly a motor vehicle door, of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which when the glass is lowered the front section of its upper edge, although not completely retracted into the compartment, is at a height such that the passenger can comfortably protrude his hand or arm from the window. According to the present invention this aim is achieved by means of a glass panel characterized by JACOBACCI & PERANl S.pA - 4 raised by the fact that: the window regulator rail is oriented in a direction diverging downwards from the direction of the first end edge of the frame; the sliding shoe is fixed to the first end edge of the glass, adjacent to the upper edge of the glass itself, by means of a pivot pin whose axis is normal to the general plane of the glass; and the shoe and the sliding guide are mutually engaged with a coupling of such a shape as to prevent the shoe from moving away from the guide. Considering the case of a rear door of a car, in which the aforementioned first edges of the frame and of the glass are their front edges, thanks to the solution idea of ​​the invention, when the glass is lowered it rotates around the two pins, of the slide and of the shoe, which, combined with the downward translation, causes the front part of the glass to descend lower than its rear part, the descent of which is limited by the shaping of the compartment in correspondence with the wheel arch. JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. - 5 As will be understood, in a glass panel according to the invention the glass is guided, in its rotational and translational movements, only by the diverging rail and by the sliding guide associated with the first end edge (the front edge in the case of a rear door), while the second edge of the glass (the rear edge in the case of a rear door) is not guided. The features and advantages of the invention will be better understood by reading the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the attached drawings, given by way of non-limiting example and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic elevation view of the inside of a rear door of a car, with the window partially lowered, Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on a larger scale in the plane indicated by II-II in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-section taken on a larger scale in the plane indicated by III-III in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a detail view of the area indicated by the arrow IV in Figure 3, and Figures 5 and 6 are elevation views. JACOBACCI & PERANl S.pA - 6 schematics similar to figure 1 and on a smaller scale, in which the crystal is represented, respectively, in the fully lowered position and in the fully raised position. Referring primarily to Figure 1, and also to Figures Se through 6, a glazed panel, in the form of a rear door of a passenger car, comprises a sheet metal casing designated in the complex 10. The casing 10 has a frame-shaped cutout upper portion 12, with a lower edge 14, an upper edge 16 and a first and second opposite end edge, namely a front edge 18 and a rear edge 20. A blind, i.e. non-slitted, lower part of the casing 10 defines a compartment 22 whose rear part has a limited height, due to a shaping 24 of the casing 10 which corresponds to the wheel arch of the rear wheel of the car. Along the front edge 18 of the frame 12 extends a sliding guide 26 which we will return to later. A crystal 28 is mounted in the casing 10 JACOBACC! & PERANi S.p.A. - 7 sliding between a raised position (figure 5), in which it is located in the frame 12, and a lowered position (figure 6), in which it is partially housed in the compartment 22. The crystal 28 has a shaped lower edge 30, an upper edge 32 and a first and a second opposite end edge, in this case a front edge 34 and a rear edge 36, which correspond to the homologous edges of the frame. A slide 38 is fixed to the rear edge 32 of the glass 28, adjacent to its upper edge 28, which is slidably engaged with the guide 26, as will be described later with reference to figures 3 and 4. The door is equipped with a window lift device of a known type, designated in the complex by 40. The window lift device comprises a rail 42, fixed in the compartment 22. According to the invention, the rail 42 is oriented in a direction diverging downwards with respect to the sliding guide 26 associated with the front edge 18 of the frame 12. Along the rail 42 a slide 44 slides which supports the glass 2 8 in an intermediate area JACOBACCi & PERANI S.pA of its lower edge 30, in particular by means of a pin whose axis is indicated with Al in figures 1, 5 and 6. The details of the connection between the crystal 28 and the slide 44 will be described later with reference to figure 2. The window regulator device 40 also includes means 46, of the crank or motor type, for controlling the sliding of the slide. These control means 46, in the case illustrated, are connected to the slide 44 via a known type of flexible cable transmission 48. Reference will now be made to Figure 2 to describe in more detail the slide 44 and its connection to the crystal 28. Figure 2 also shows a cross-section of the guide rail 42 along which the slide 44 slides. The slide 44 consists of a piece of molded plastic material, having on one side an L-shaped section groove 50 coupled with a corresponding L-shaped section flange 52 of the rail 42. On the other hand, the slide 44 comprises, when the piece comes in, the aforementioned pin, of axis Al, designated with 46, which is engaged in a corresponding JACOBACCI & PERANI S.pX - 9 hole 54 of the crystal 28 and is held in the hole 54 by an elastic clip 56. The axis Al of the pin 46 is substantially normal to the general plane of the crystal 28. The slide 44 is provided with spring wings 58 which are applied against the glass 2 8 to eliminate the play by keeping it firmly against the shoulder constituted by the clip 56. Referring to figures 3 and 4, a preferred embodiment of the guide 26 and the shoe 38 will now be described. As already mentioned, the skate 38 is fixed to the front edge 34 of the glass 28 adjacent to its upper edge 32. The front edge 18 of the door frame has a channel-shaped formation 60 that embraces and retains the sliding guide 26, which consists of a profiled element in the form of a sealing gasket made of relatively soft material (rubber or plastic). The gasket 26 has a substantially C-shaped internal cavity 62 that receives the front edge 34 of the glass 28. The cavity 62 is delimited, among other things, by a pair of sealing lips 64 elastically engaged with the glass 28. JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. The shoe 38 is contained in the cavity 62 of the seal 26. In the preferred embodiment, shown in figures 3 and 4, the skate 38 is made up of a square element of plastic material having a larger wing 66 and a smaller wing 68. The larger wing 66 has a longitudinal groove 70 to receive the front edge 34 of the glass 28. This groove 70 is delimited by two sides 72 which embrace the glass. The glass 28 and the shoe 38 are interconnected by a pin 74 which extends through corresponding holes (not numbered) in the sides 72 and the front part 34 of the glass 28. In figure 3 the axis of the pivot pin 74 is indicated by A2, which is substantially normal to the general plane of the glass 28. The axis A2 is also indicated in figures 1, 5 and 6. To prevent the glass 28 from moving away from the front edge 18 of the frame 12, the guide profile 26 has, at the bottom of the cavity 62, a lateral groove 76 in which the smaller wing 68 of the slide 38 is engaged with a form fit. A back wall 76 of the cavity 62 of the JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. - The gasket 26 has a convex profile, as shown in figure 3, to elastically engage the foot of the skate 38 for the purpose of eliminating play in the general plane of the glass 28. For the purpose of reinforcing the shoe 38, the groove 7 0 is delimited by a bottom wall 7 8 which is relatively thick in the middle and which becomes thinner towards the ends according to an arched shape with the convexity facing the pin 74. This arched shape serves to avoid interference of the front edge 34 of the glass 28 with the bottom wall 78 during the oscillations of the glass 28 around the axis A2 of the pin 74. We will now return to refer to figures 1, 5 and 6 to better clarify the operation of the window regulator device according to the invention. Assuming that the glass 28 is in an intermediate position of its travel, as in figure 1, the descent of the slide 44 in the direction of the arrow FI of figure 5 produces, in addition to the descent of the glass 28 according to the arrow FI, a rotation of the glass 28 according to the arrow F2 around the axis A1 and a rotation of the glass 28 according to the arrow F3 around the axis A2 integral with the slide 36. JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. - 12 Thanks to the rotations according to F2 and according to F3 the glass 28 lowers at the front by a greater amount than would be permitted by the height limitation of the rear part of the compartment 22, due to the presence of the shape 24. As the glass 28 rises according to arrow F4 in figure 6, it rotates around the axes A1 and A2 in the directions of arrows F5 and F6, respectively inverse to F2 and F3. With these rotations, the glass 28 straightens, placing its front edge 34 parallel to the guide 26, until it completely and correctly occupies the frame 12, all as illustrated in figure 6. JACOBACCI & PERANI S.p.A. -

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A glazed panel with a lowerable glass pane, particularly a motor vehicle door, comprising: a casing (10) with a frame-shaped upper portion (12) so shaped as to have a lower edge (14), an upper edge (16) and first and second opposite end edges (18, 20), and with a blind lower portion defining a recess (22); a sliding guide (26) extending along the first end edge (18) of the frame (12); a glass pane (28) sliding between a raised position in which it is located in the frame (12) and a lowered position in which it is at least partially housed in the recess (22), and having a lower edge (30), an upper edge (32) and first and second opposite end edges (34, 36) corresponding to the homologous edges of the frame (12); a skate (38) fixed to the first edge (34) of the glass (28) and engaged with the sliding guide (26);and a window lift device (4 0 ) with a rail (42) fixed in the space (22) and extending in JACOBACCI & PERANI SpA one direction of movement of the glass (28) between its raised and lowered positions, with a slide (44) sliding along the rail (42) and supporting the glass (28), in an intermediate area of ​​its lower edge (30), by means of an articulation pin (4 6) whose axis (Al) is normal to the general plane of the glass (28), and with means (46) for controlling the sliding of the slide (44) along the rail; and in which in the area of ​​the second end edge (36) of the glass (28) the space (22) has a limited height such as to limit the descent of the glass in this area; characterised in that: the rail (42) of the window lift device (40) is oriented in a direction diverging downwards with respect to the direction of the aforementioned sliding guide (26) associated with the first end edge (18) of the frame (12);the sliding shoe (38) is fixed to the first end edge (34) of the glass (28), adjacent to the upper edge (32) of the glass itself, by means of an articulation pin (74) whose axis (A2) is normal to the general plane of the glass; and JACCBACCI & PERANI SpA the shoe (38) and the sliding guide (26) are engaged with each other with a coupling of such a shape as to prevent the shoe from moving away from the guide.; 2. Glass panel according to claim 1, characterised in that: the sliding shoe (38) is made up of a square element having a larger wing (66) and a smaller wing (68); the larger wing (66) has a longitudinal groove (70) to receive the first edge (34) of the glass (28) and is delimited by two sides (72); the glass (28) and the shoe (38) are interconnected by a pin (74) which extends through corresponding holes in the sides (72) and in the glass (28); and the sliding guide (26) is made up of a profiled element fixed to the first edge (18) of the frame, having a substantially C-shaped cavity (62) to receive the first edge (34) of the glass (28) and the slide (38) and having a lateral groove (76) opening into a bottom area of ​​the cavity (62) and in which the smaller wing (68) is engaged with a shape coupling. JACOBACCI & PERANI S.pA 3. Glass panel according to claim 2, characterised in that the profiled element (26) is a sealing gasket made of relatively soft material and the bottom wall (76) of its C-shaped cavity (62) has a convex profile for engaging the skate (38).

4. Glass panel according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the aforementioned groove (70) of the larger wing (66) of the skate (38) has an arched bottom wall (78) with the convexity facing the pin (74) connecting the glass (28) and the skate (38). JACOBACCI & PERANI S.pA