PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR REPAIRING A VEHICLE ELECTRIC WINDOW DEVICE.

Description

DESCRIPTION of the Industrial Invention entitled PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR REPAIRING AN ELECTRIC WINDOW REGULATOR FOR A VEHICLE of the company E.CO. srL, of Italian nationality, with headquarters in Corso Moncenisio 2, Rosta (Turin) Filed on January 9, 2002 TO 2002 A00 00 25 The present invention relates to a method and equipment for carrying out repairs on an electric window regulator for a vehicle. The type of electric window regulator to which the present invention refers is one comprising two parallel guides on which slide plastic sliders connected to the window to be controlled and connected to a continuous flexible cable arranged in a crossed trajectory, oo, determined by return pulleys and on a branch of which, running between sections of sheath, are inserted an electric drive gearmotor and springs which, acting on the sections of sheath, keep the cable under strong tension, in order to avoid play in the control of the window. A common failure of this type of window regulator is the breakage of one of the plastic sliders, which must then be replaced. This replacement, like other repairs, presents considerable difficulty because the flexible cable is under strong tension, making it difficult to unwind from the return pulleys. When it does unwind, it is pulled back by the springs to a considerable extent and escapes the operator. This unwinding operation may, however, be omitted if, as can happen, the slider breaks or another failure occurs in such a way as to cause the cable to unwind and unwind. Above all, after replacing a broken slider or performing other repairs, the cable must be re-engaged onto the return pulleys, restoring the spring tension with a long, extended pull. To facilitate this operation, the return pulleys feature notches designed to be traversed by the cable during disengagement and re-engagement. However, this measure is not sufficient to substantially facilitate the operation, so it can only be performed, with difficulty, by particularly skilled and experienced workers. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method that allows the operations connected with the repair of a window regulator of the type mentioned to be made easy and executable by anyone. Another aim of the invention is to create a simple and economical equipment, capable of reducing the difficulty of operations to a minimum. The method according to the invention comprises a first phase, in which a limit is placed on the expansion of the springs that keep the cable under tension (and which are compressed if necessary), and a second phase in which (if necessary) the cable is made to slide along a pulley, so that the springs reach the expansion limit set in the first phase of the process and the cable is free of tension and is only pulled back for a short distance. At this point, according to the known art, the broken slider is replaced or other necessary repairs are performed.Once the repair is complete, the procedure according to the invention is resumed, which now features a third phase, in which the cable is repositioned on the return pulleys by overcoming the tension of the springs with a traction limited to a short distance, and finally a fourth phase in which the limit previously placed on the possibility of expansion of the springs is removed, thus restoring the full functionality of the device. By proceeding in this way, when the cable must be derailed from a return pulley, it is only drawn back by the springs to a very limited extent, since they cannot expand freely, and therefore the cable does not tend to escape the operator's control by retracting significantly. If the cable has already derailed due to a broken slider, the limiter is engaged on the springs, compressing them, an operation that presents no difficulty because it is performed independently of all other operations. When it is then necessary to reposition the cable on the pulleys, the travel along which the cable must be pulled against the action of the springs is very short, and therefore the operation presents only a small fraction of the usual difficulty. The apparatus which is the subject of the invention comprises a spring expansion limiter, designed to be attached to the cable sheath or to other elements located at the ends of the springs, so as to limit the expansion possibility granted to the springs to a short distance, this attachment being effected, if necessary, by compressing the extended springs; and comprises an operating lever shaped in a particular way to facilitate the disengagement and engagement of the cable with respect to a return pulley. Preferably, the spring expansion limiter consists of a bracket consisting of a yoke and two arms, the yoke having a length slightly greater than the distance between the ends of the springs under normal conditions of the window regulator, and each arm having a fork-shaped opening slightly greater than the diameter of the elements located at the ends of the springs. This limiter can be economically produced by machining a metal profile. In this way, the expansion limiter is simply engaged with its arms on the sheath sections, while the yoke rides the springs and the gearmotor; when necessary, the springs are compressed to perform this engagement. The expansion limiter is then held by the springs when they tend to expand, thus for the entire subsequent duration of operations, while it is released again by the springs when they are loaded again, making it possible to retract the limiter effortlessly. The operating lever comprises an engagement member shaped so as to be rotatably coupled to a return pulley, a winding member integral with said engagement member but displaced axially and eccentrically with respect to it, and an operating lever arm extending solidly from said two members in a direction at least approximately perpendicular to their axes. This operating lever may be economically molded from plastic material. The operating lever can thus be engaged with the return pulley selected for the cable unwinding operation, when this operation is necessary, and rotated by means of the lever arm while applying transverse pressure to the cable to engage one of the pulley's notches. The cable then exits the pulley groove and winds onto the winding device. Since this is eccentric, further rotation of the lever allows the tension of the unwinding cable to be gradually released, while the springs expand as far as allowed by the expansion limiter attached to them. To reposition the cable, after replacing the broken slider, a loop of cable is engaged with the lever's winding element, and the engagement element is coupled with the pulley. By rotating the lever, the eccentric winding element tensions the cable, loading the springs. Then, simply engage the cable, using transverse pressure, in a notch in the pulley and further rotate the lever, for the cable to pass through the pulley groove and return to its normal operating position. Naturally, this operation is only possible thanks to the expansion limiter, which limits the length to which the springs must be compressed and can be determined by the eccentricity of the winding element. Since the operating lever must be able to engage with the idler pulley, and this has different shapes in different window lift devices, the operating lever must be produced in different versions, having the engagement member suitably shaped to cooperate with the pulleys of different window lift device models. These and other features, purposes and advantages of the object of this The invention will appear more clearly from the following description of two embodiments, constituting non-limiting examples, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates an example of a window regulator device to which the present invention finds application. Figure 2 illustrates in perspective an embodiment of the expansion limiter according to the invention. Figure 3 illustrates in perspective a first embodiment of the operating lever according to the invention, seen from below. Figure 4 illustrates in perspective the operating lever according to Figure 3, seen from above. Figure 5 illustrates in perspective a second embodiment of the operating lever according to the invention. Figures 6 to 9 schematically illustrate various phases of operations performed in accordance with the process according to the invention. With reference to figure 1, a window regulator device of the type to which the invention applies comprises, on a support plate 1, a first guide 2 and a second guide 3, along which two sliders 4 and 5 are mounted in a sliding manner to which, when the device is installed, the window to be controlled is connected. Connected to the sliders 4 and 5 is a continuous cable which is arranged according to a crossed trajectory (called a oo) with a branch 6 which extends along the first guide 2, between (sJ) return pulleys 11 and 12 located at the first and second ends respectively; * section of the guide 2, a branch 7 which extends along the guide 3, between return pulleys 13 and 14 located at the first and second ends of the guide 3 respectively, a sloping branch 8 which extends between the return pulley 12 located at the second end of the first guide 2 and the return pulley 13 located at the first end of the second guide 3, a branch which extends within a sheath 9 from the pulley 14 located at the second end of the second guide 3 to a drive gearmotor unit 15, and a branch which extends within a sheath 10 from the gearmotor 15 to the pulley 11 located at the first end of the first guide 2. A preloaded spring 16 is installed between the sheath 9 and the body of the gearmotor 15, and a preloaded spring 17 is installed between the sheath 10 and the body of the gearmotor 15. Acting between the body of the gearmotor 15 and sheaths 9 and 10, springs 16 and 17 keep the entire continuous cable under tension.The weak points of this window regulator are the two sliders 4 and 5, which are prone to breaking and must then be replaced. In some cases, a broken slider causes the cable to slip off the pulleys and lose tension. Obviously, if this hasn't happened, to proceed with this or other repairs, it's necessary to temporarily remove tension from the cable and then slide it off at least one of the pulleys 11 through 14, thus allowing the springs 16 and 17 to expand. This presents some difficulty due to the cable's strong tension, and then, when the cable slips off, the expanding springs cause it to slip away from the operator and may even cause injury. But the greatest difficulty arises after replacing the broken slider (or performing another repair), when the cable must be repositioned on the pulleys under the tension of the springs. This requires applying strong traction to the cable, compressing the springs for a length equal to the springs' entire expansion travel, simultaneously repositioning the cable on a pulley, a task that is difficult and tiring even for experienced personnel. The aim of the invention is therefore to facilitate both the operation of unwinding the cable, when necessary, and above all the operation of storing it. positioning of the cable under tension, which is always necessary in case of repairs. To this end, the method proposed by the invention involves a first step consisting of constraining springs 16 and 17 by imposing a limit on their expansion. In cases where the cable has not yet become untwisted due to the fault, the springs are still compressed, and it is sufficient to install the constraint to limit their subsequent expansion. In cases where the cable has already become untwisted and the springs have expanded, they must be compressed to install the constraint, but this operation does not present any particular difficulties because it does not need to be performed simultaneously with the cable's repositioning. The second phase of the procedure involves unwinding the cable. This second phase is clearly only performed if the cable has not already unwinded following the fault. It is substantially facilitated by the fact that during unwinding, the cable is only retracted by the springs for a short distance, permitted by the spring expansion limit, and therefore cannot be missed by the operator. We then proceed to replace the broken cursor or carry out other repairs, operating in the manner suggested by the known technique. Once the repair is complete, the cable must be repositioned on the return pulleys. This operation is performed, in the third phase of the process according to the invention, with the springs having only a limited expansion. Therefore, the cable only needs to be subjected to traction for a short distance, which makes the operation much easier. Finally, with the fourth phase of the process, the constraint on the springs' expansion is eliminated, an operation that does not involve VT! no difficulty because at this point the springs are again under compression and do not exert any stress on the constraint. The process of the invention therefore greatly facilitates all the operations connected to the repair, but it also makes possible the development of a specific equipment, which also constitutes the object of the invention, which definitively makes this set of operations easier. Figure 2 illustrates a very simple embodiment of the expansion limiter to be applied to the springs 16 and 17 in the first phase of the process according to the invention. It consists of a bracket made up of a yoke 20 and two arms 21 and 22. The yoke 20 has a length slightly greater than the distance presented, in the normal conditions of the window lifter device, by the means that connect the springs 16 and 17 to the sheath sections 9 and 10, and each arm 21 or 22 has a fork shape with an opening slightly greater than the diameter of the sheath sections 9 and 10. 10. This tool can be economically produced from metal profile. As shown in Figure 6, the bracket 20 is inserted according to the arrows F1 with the forks of the arms 21 and 22 hooked onto the ends of the springs 16 and 17 which are still, or are brought to, a compressed state. This is done, the bracket acts as an expansion limiter, allowing the springs 16 and 17 only a short distance to expand when the cable is unrolled. When, at the end of the operation, the cable is then repositioned and tensioned, the compressed springs 16 and 17 do not hinder the removal of the bracket 20-22. Figure 3 illustrates an operating lever intended to facilitate the unwinding and repositioning of the cable on a return pulley. The operating lever $ comprises an engagement member 30 shaped so as to be rotatably coupled with a return pulley, a winding member 31 integral with said engagement member 30 but displaced in the axial direction and eccentric with respect to it, and an operating lever arm 32 extending integrally from said two members 30 and 31 in a direction at least approximately perpendicular to their axes. This tool can be economically molded from plastic material. Figures 7 to 9 illustrate the use of the operating lever in the operation of repositioning the cable on a return pulley, for example pulley 13. It is clear that the derailment operation, reciprocal to that which will be described, can be carried out by reversing the order and direction of the repositioning operations, and does not require separate description and representation. As shown in Figure 7, the operating lever is coupled with its engagement member 30 to the pulley 13, and a loop of cable 7 is arranged around the winding member 31. This is possible because the cable is not under tension and has not been extensively retracted by the springs 16 and 17, the expansion of which is limited by the bracket 20-22. In the absence of the latter, the above operation would require exerting traction over a long distance on the cable 7. The operating lever is then rotated according to arrow F2, to the position shown in Figure 8. Following this rotation, the winding member 31, which is eccentric with respect to the engagement member 30 and therefore to the return pulley 13, exerts traction on the cable 7 and compresses the springs 16 and 17; the loop of cable descends from the winding member 31 around the engagement member 30, adjacent to the pulley 13. Then, by pressing on the cable 7 with a finger, as shown in Figure 7, the cable can be engaged with a notch in the pulley 13. | By rotating the lever i in the direction of arrow F3, the operating lever i is then brought to the position shown in figure 9. Dragged by the notch on pulley 13, the cable 7 returns to its normal operating position. The operating lever 30-32 can then be removed, as can the bracket 20-22. The operation is complete. As can be seen, carrying out the various phases of the procedure no longer involves any of the difficulties usually associated with these operations. Since the operating lever must mate with a window lifter's idler pulley, the engagement member 30 must have a shape complementary to that of the idler pulley. Therefore, the operating lever is dedicated to a particular window lifter model and must be made in different shapes to operate on different models. Figure 5 illustrates an operating lever intended to act on a window regulator device other than the one considered so far. Although constructed in a different form than that of Figures 3 and 4, the operating lever according to Figure 5 still comprises an engagement member 40 of a shape suited to that of a return pulley, a winding member 41 displaced in an axial direction and eccentric with respect to the engagement member 40, and an operating lever arm 42 that extends almost perpendicular to the axes of the members 40 and 41. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated as examples. Many modifications are within the reach of those skilled in the art, both for design choices and especially to best adapt the equipment to the needs of different applications. These and other modifications and any substitutions with technical equivalents can be made to what is described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention and the scope of this patent.

Claims

1. Procedure for carrying out repairs on a window regulator of the type comprising two parallel guides on which slide plastic sliders connected to the window to be controlled and connected to a continuous flexible cable arranged in a crossed trajectory, oo, determined by return pulleys and on a branch of which, running within sections of sheath, are inserted an electric drive gearmotor and springs which keep the cable under tension, characterised in that it comprises: - a first phase, with which a limit is placed on the possibility of expansion of the springs which keep the cable under tension (which are compressed if necessary);- a second phase in which (if necessary) the cable is made to slide off a pulley, so that the springs reach the expansion limit set for them in the first phase of the process and the cable is free of tension and is only retracted for a short distance; - a third phase (undertaken after having proceeded according to the known repair technique) in which the cable is repositioned on the return pulleys, overcoming the tension of the springs with a traction limited to a short distance; - and finally a fourth phase in which the limit previously placed on the possibility of expansion of the springs is eliminated, thus restoring the full functionality of the device.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the limit to the possibility of expansion of the springs is set by engaging with the springs or with organs connected to them a constraint designed to oppose an expansion of the springs beyond a given limit.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the repositioning of the cable and, if necessary, its unwinding, are carried out with the aid of a special tool.

4. Equipment for carrying out a process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a spring expansion limiter, intended to be hooked up to the ends of the springs so as to limit the expansion possibilities granted to the springs themselves to a short distance, this hooking being carried out, if necessary, by compressing the extended springs.

5. Equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that the spring expansion limiter consists of a bracket made up of a yoke and two arms, the yoke having a length slightly greater than the distance presented, in the normal conditions of the window lift device, by the opposite ends of the springs, and each arm having a fork shape with an opening slightly greater than the diameter of elements located at the ends of the springs.

6. Equipment according to claim 4, characterised in that the spring expansion limiter is made of metal profile.

7. Equipment for carrying out a process according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that it comprises an operating lever shaped in a particular way to facilitate the release and engagement of the cable with respect to a return pulley.

8. Equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that the operating lever comprises an engagement member shaped so as to be able to be coupled in rotation with a return pulley, a winding member integral with said engagement member but displaced in an axial direction and eccentrically with respect to it, and an operating lever arm extending integrally from said two members in a direction at least approximately perpendicular to their axes.

9. Equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that the operating lever is molded in plastic material.

10. Equipment according to claim 7, characterised in that the operating lever is produced in different versions, having the engagement member suitably shaped to cooperate with the pulleys of different models of window lift device.

11. Procedure and equipment for carrying out repairs on a window lift device, characterised by the particularities, arrangements and methods of operation as appear in the above description and the attached drawings, or replaced by their technical equivalents, taken as a whole, in their various combinations or separately.