Sliding or sliding-lifting roof for cars

• US 5,039,161 A
• Filed: 11/13/1989
• Issued: 08/13/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Golde GmbH
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Golde GmbH
• Inventors: Bohm, Horst, Federmann, Dieter, Schmidhuber, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Pedder, Dennis H.
• Application Number:
  US07/434,193
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 296/212, 296/216, 296/221, 296/222, 49/477, 49/483, 49/495, 49/497, 49/498
• US Class Current: 296/212
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/40 characterised by contact between two or more cooperating sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/82 for movable panels in roofs

Abstract

In a sliding or sliding-lifting roof for a car, a lid, associated with a roof opening for the purpose of completely closing it, has a front edge which is wedge-shaped in cross-section. A sealing profile, sealingly filling the gap between the fixed vehicle roof and the lid when the lid is closed, is pushed from below onto a downward flange of the fixed vehicle roof and is deformable to form a trough, generally complementary in shape to the wedge shape. The wedge-shaped front edge here engages generally form-fittingly and force-transmittingly into the sealing profile, so that the lid, at its front edge due its engagement with the sealing profile, is reliably secured against high uplift forces, such as occur at high speeds of travel.

Claims

1. An automobile roof construction comprising:

(a) a fixed vehicle roof (1) having means including a downwardly oriented flange (7) defining an opening in said fixed roof;

(b) a sealing profile (5) secured on said downwardly oriented flange (7), said sealing profile (5) including (i) an upper, substantially non-deformable body portion (20) and a lower substantially non-deformable body portion (21) that are backed on one side by said flange (7) and define on the opposite side from said flange (7) a generally wedge-shaped concave inner trough (19) and (ii) a deformable profile wall (18) that extends away from said flange (7) and said non-deformable body portions (20,

     21) and encloses a hollow chamber (14);

(c) a rigid lid (3,

     32) including a front edge for sealing engagement with said sealing profile mounted for sliding and tilting movement within the roof opening in said fixed roof (1) to provide opening and closing thereof, and

(d) means (15,

     35) on the front edge of said rigid lid having a substantially non-deformable wedge shape generally complementary to the shape of said trough (19) to press said deformable profile wall (18) against said trough (19) defined by said substantially non-deformable body portions (20,

     21) and thereby seal said rigid lid against said sealing profile, provide a forward pivot for said rigid lid (3,

     32) and prevent uplifting of the front edge of said rigid lid.

2. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the sealing profile is formed continuously of the same cross-section around the edge of the roof opening and the means on the front edge of the rigid lid is formed across a major portion of the width of said rigid lid with a wedge-shape and is formed with rounded transitions to the lateral edges of the rigid lid.

3. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the hollow chamber of the sealing profile is sealed and filled with air.

4. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein an outer edge of the wedge-shaped means on the front edge of the rigid lid is rounded and said rounded outer edge of said wedge-shaped means and a base of the concave inner trough form a pivot bearing for the rigid lid.

5. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the rigid lid is glass, a frame of plastic material is injection moulded onto the glass, a groove is formed in said frame at the front edge of said rigid lid, said means having a substantially non-deformable wedge shape is a profile strip which is wedge-shaped in cross-section, and said profile strip is fixed in said groove and extends over at least a part of the length of the front edge of the rigid lid.

6. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the rigid lid is glass, said means on the front edge of the rigid lid having a substantially non-deformable wedge shape is a frame of plastic material injection moulded onto the glass.

7. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the rigid lid is glass, the rigid lid is clamped at an outer rim portion between an upper covering frame and a lid reinforcement, said means on the front edge of said rigid lid having a substantially non-deformable wedge shape is an external edge profile having a wedge-shaped cross-section and secured between the covering frame and the lid reinforcement, and said edge profile extends over at least a part of the length of the front edge of the rigid lid.

8. An automobile roof construction according to claim 2, wherein the wedge shape at the rounded transitions to the lateral edges of the rigid lid are gradually blunted or tapered off to vertical surfaces.

9. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein a steel reinforcement is moulded in said sealing profile.

10. An automobile roof construction according to claim 1, wherein the rigid lid is comprised of a sheet of metal and further includes a lid reinforcement and a front edge of said sheet is bent to provide said means having a substantially non-deformable wedge shape.

11. An automobile roof construction according to claim 10, wherein the front edge of the sheet is first bent downwards, then inwards and downwards and terminates with an inwardly and upwardly bent rim, which laps an edge portion of an outwardly and downwardly bent outer rim of said lid reinforcement.