Sliding Cover for Motor Vehicles

The invention relates to a sliding roof for motor vehicles. In a known sliding roof of this type (German Patent No. 2502 775), a U-shaped shield is provided to cover the space between the under side of the sliding cover and the lower edge of the frame, said shield running along the lateral edges and the forward edge of the sliding cover, and being slidable together with the sliding cover. The lateral parts of this U-shaped shield cooperate with a downwardly extending projection of the headlining. Apart from the fact that the manufacture of such a U-shaped shield is relatively costly, this design does not allow easy access to the adjusting means which serve for height adjustment of the sliding cover, by which means the sliding cover is adjusted in the closed position so that it is exactly flush with the solid part of the roof.

The goal of the invention is to simplify the coverage of the gap between the under side of the sliding cover and the lower edge of the frame along the lateral edges of the roof opening, and to improve the accessibility of the adjustment means for the sliding cover.

This goal is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by virtue of the fact that an upper part of the shield is mounted removably on the sliding cover and the lower part of the shield is mounted removably to the frame. Hence, the lateral shields each consist of two essentially strip-shaped components, which can be manufactured by simple means, require little space for storage and shipment, and can be installed in a simple manner after height adjustment of the sliding cover.

In order to be able to mount the lateral shields without tools, the upper shield part is bent backward along its upper edge and pushed into a space between the sliding cover and the headlining on the sliding cover. In addition, the surfaces opposite one another can be provided with serrations which cooperate with one another.

The lower shield part can be mounted on guide rails provided on the frame by means of forward and/or rear sliding shoes. The forward sliding shoe can be dispensed with if the lower shield part is rotatably connected to the upper shield part near its forward edge.

If there is no connection between the upper and lower shield parts, it is advantageous to guide the lower shield part on the upper shield part to prevent lateral displacement, which can be achieved by providing projections on the lower shield part, said projections fitting around the lower edge of the upper shield part.

These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a lengthwise section through a sliding roof according to the invention, whereby the sliding cover is shown in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a lengthwise section similar to FIG. 1, but with the sliding cover in the lowered position;

FIG. 3 is a section along line III--III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section along line IV--IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a lengthwise section similar to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 6 is a cross section along line VI--VI in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1, the solid part of the roof is designated by 1, said part having a rectangular roof opening 2, said opening being surrounded by a frame 3 and closable by a translucent rigid sliding cover 4. Sliding cover 4 has a border 5 with a headlining panel 6.

Near the forward edge of sliding cover 4, a sliding shoe 7 (FIG. 3) is mounted on headlining panel 6, said shoe engaging a guide track 8' (FIG. 3) provided in frame 3 and delimited by a cover 8. Near its rear edge, sliding cover 4 is connected on both sides with a lowering and guide mechanism 9, comprising a plate 10, fastened to heading panel 6 by screws 11 and 12, and comprising a slot 13, engaging a pin 14, said pin being mounted on a sliding shoe 15, said shoe being guided on cover 8, as shown in FIG. 4. The rear sliding shoe 15 is displaceable in known fashion along guide track 8', for example, by an incompressible cable. In the course of a rightward displacement from the position shown in FIG. 1, the cooperation of pin 14 with slot 13 initially lowers the rear edge of cover 4 into the position shown in FIG. 2, until pin 14 strikes the right-hand end of slot 13, whereupon cover 4 is pulled beneath the rear solid roof part 1'.

In order to permit height adjustment of cover 4, which is required for cover 4 to be exactly flush with the fixed roof part 1, 1' when it is in the closed position shown in FIG. 1, screw 12 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is guided through an elongated hole 16 in a tab 17 mounted on headlining 6. When screws 11 and 12 are loosened, cover 4, by virtue of elongated hole 16, can be displaced relative to plate 10 in such manner that its upper edge is exactly flush with fixed roof 1, 1'. Then screws 11 and 12 are tightened and the cover is locked in this position. A height-adjusting device can also be provided between the forward sliding shoe 7 and cover 4, said device being visible in FIG. 3 and, in the embodiment shown, comprises a block 18 connected by a loop 7' to sliding shoe 7 and having a diagonal slot 19 in its forward and rearward surfaces, into which slots the edges of a panel 20 mounted on headlining panel 6 fit. When block 18 is displaced relative to panel 20 by means of a screw 21, said screw engaging a thread 22 in block 18 and being rotatably mounted in panel 20, the diagonal groove 19 in cover 4 causes the latter to be raised or lowered relative to fixed roof part 1. A height adjustment device of this type is described in commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 941,465, filed Sept. 12, 1978, and this height adjustment device per se forms no part of the invention apart from the overall combination. In fact, other height adjustment devices can be utilized as part of the present inventive combination.

An interior roof headlining 23 is provided below sliding cover 4, displaceable independently of the latter, said headlining resting laterally upon edge 3' of frame 3.

In order to cover the forward height-adjustment device and the rear tilting mechanism 9 when headlining 23 is pushed back but sliding cover 4 is closed, a lateral shield is provided on each side of sliding cover 4, said shield consisting of an upper shield part 24 and a lower shield part 25. The two shield parts 24 and 25 overlap. The upper shield part 24 is bent back along its upper edge forming an outwardly directed flange. This bent-back part 26 is inserted in a space between headlining 6 and sliding cover 4, and is retained therein by virtue of the fact that it comprises openings 27 which accept projections 28 on headlining panel 6. Instead of projections 28, springs can also be provided on headlining panel 6, said springs engaging openings 27. Alternatively, of course, openings 27 can be provided in headlining panel 6 and projections 28 can be provided on part 26.

The lower shield part 25, in the first embodiment shown, is provided with one forward and one rear sliding shoe 29 and 30, respectively, said shoes being pushed onto the free ends of cover 8. Lateral displacement of the lower shield part is prevented by virtue of the fact that this part is provided with a tab 31 near its forward end and a tab 32 near its rear end, said tabs fitting around the lower edge of the upper shield part 24, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Therefore, the shield consisting of parts 24 and 25 is attached by merely locking the turned-back segment 26 of the upper shield part 24 in the space between the headlining panel 6 and cover 4 as shown in FIG. 3.

It is clear that when shield 24, 25 is removed, screws 11, 12, and 21 for height adjustment of cover 4 are readily accessible. The lower shield part 25 in this embodiment simultaneously serves to hold interior headlining 23 against edge 3' of frame 3. The forward gap between cover 4 and frame 3 is covered by a shield 33 (FIG. 1), which can be mounted similarly to shield part 24 on cover 4. As FIG. 1 shows, the lower lateral shield part 25 is mounted between this forward shield 33 and bent back edge 34 of inner headlining 6 along the rear edge of cover 4, so that it is entrained by these parts as cover 4 is pushed backward and forward.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, parts which are the same as in the first embodiment have been given the same reference numbers except that each is followed by the letter a. Thus, guidance of the lower shield part 25a by means of a forward sliding shoe is dispensed with, and this shield part 25a is rotatably connected with upper shield part 24a by means of a rivet 35. In order to permit adjustment of the width of the shield consisting of parts 24a and 25a to various height adjustments of cover 4a, a vertical elongated hole 36 is provided in shield part 24a to accept rivet 35. Near its rear end, lower shield 25a can be guided in the same manner as shield part 25 in FIG. 4.

While I have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.