Roll-bar system for motor vehicles comprising a retractable roof

• US 7,543,878 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2005
• Issued: 06/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ISE Innomotive Systems Europe GmbH
• Original Assignee: ISE Innomotive Systems Europe GmbH
• Inventors: Lang, Jozsef
• Primary Examiner(s): Dayoan; Glenn
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chenevert; Paul A
• Application Number:
  US11/632,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20070205593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,473 Days
• Field of Search: 296/68.1, 296/107.03, 280/756
• US Class Current: 296/68.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/134 movable from a retracted to a protection position
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/13 Roll-over protection electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01

Abstract

The invention relates to a roll-bar system for vehicles comprising a roof, which can be retracted and raised in a motor-driven manner by a roof-displacement mechanism. The system consists of a roll-bar body that is associated with each seat and does not comprise a sensor-controlled crash drive. The body can be forcibly displaced autonomously, in conjunction with the roof-displacement mechanism, between a first rigid position, when the roof is closed, and a second raised, rigid position, when the roof is open. The aim of the invention is to raise the rigid roll-bar system into the respective rigid positions in a kinematically simple, forcibly guided manner. To achieve this, the roll-bar body is mounted and guided in a cassette-type housing that is fixed to the vehicle and the body is associated with a drive, which is coupled to the roof-displacement mechanism and used to displace the body vertically in the housing and with a position-dependent forcibly guided locking device, which is used to lock the body in the raised position.

Claims

1. A roll-bar system for motor vehicles with a roof, which can be extended and retracted in motorized fashion by means of a roof displacement mechanism, consisting of a roll-bar body that is associated with each seat and does not comprise a sensor-controlled crash drive, which can be forcibly displaced autonomously, in conjunction with the roof displacement mechanism, between a first rigid position, when the roof is closed, and a second, raised rigid position, when the roof is open, wherein the roll-bar body is mounted and guided in a cassette type housing that is fixed to the vehicle and said body is associated with a drive, which is coupled to the roof displacement mechanism and used to displace said body vertically in the housing and with a position-dependent forcibly guided locking device, which is used to lock said body in the raised position, wherein the drive for the raising is formed by a spring drive operating in a range of seconds and that for resetting is formed by a Bowden cable coupled to the roof displacement mechanism.

2. The roll-bar system per claim 1, wherein the roll-bar body is formed by a U-shaped tube, whose leg ends are joined together via a cross arm, and the cassette type housing has two U-shaped side pieces, which are joined together at the bottom by a bottom piece, between which a guide block is secured at the top, having openings for guiding the legs of the tube, and in which the ends of the cross arm are introduced.

3. The roll-bar system per claim 2, wherein a compression spring is received inside each of the leg tubes of the U-shaped tube bar, guided by a spring guide bolt firmly arranged on the bottom piece of the housing, and at a pulling end of a pull cable of the Bowden cable there is arranged a T-shaped holding fork, configured T-shaped with two spaced-apart control stops, able to move axially by a predetermined control stroke in the cross arm, able to be guided according to position of the cross arm and to interact with two locking ratchets, so that in the ground condition the holding fork and the rachets hold the cross arm down against the force of the compression springs and in the raised position of the roll bar, the ratchets lock to bolts of the guide blocks and after releasing the locking at the end of the control stroke, the Bowden cable is forcibly guided by the roof displacement mechanism and retracts the raised roll bar.

4. A roll-bar system for motor vehicles with a roof, which can be extended and retracted in motorized fashion by means of a roof displacement mechanism, consisting of a roll-bar body that is associated with each seat and does not comprise a sensor-controlled crash drive, which can be forcibly displaced autonomously, in conjunction with the roof displacement mechanism, between a first rigid position, when the roof is closed, and a second, raised rigid position, when the roof is open, wherein the roll-bar body is mounted and guided in a cassette type housing that is fixed to the vehicle and said body is associated with a drive, which is coupled to the roof displacement mechanism and used to displace said body vertically in the housing and with a position-dependent forcibly guided locking device, which is used to lock said body in the raised position, wherein the drive for both the raising and the resetting is formed by a Bowden cable coupled to the roof displacement mechanism.

5. The roll-bar system per claim 4, wherein the roll-bar body is formed by a U-shaped tube, whose leg ends are joined together via a cross arm, and the cassette type housing has two U-shaped side pieces, which are joined together at the bottom by a bottom piece, between which a guide block is secured at the top, having openings for guiding the legs of the tube, and in which the ends of the cross arm are introduced.

6. The roll-bar system per claim 4, wherein a sheath of the Bowden cable is secured to the guide block and at a pulling end of a pull cable of the Bowden cable there is arranged a T-shaped holding piece, configured T-shaped with two spaced apart control stops, able to move axially by a predetermined control stroke in the cross arm, able to be guided according to position of the cross arm and to interact with two locking ratchets, so that the holding piece after the opening of the roof pulls up the cross arm via released locking ratchets, in the raised position of the roll bar the ratchets are locked to bolts of the guide block and at an end of the control stroke, the cable is forcibly guided by the roof displacement mechanism to release the locking ratchets and pushes the cross arm downward.

7. The roll bar system per claim 6, wherein the roll-bar body is formed by a U-shaped tube, whose leg ends are joined together via a cross arm, and the cassette type housing has two U-shaped side pieces, which are joined together at the bottom by a bottom piece, between which a guide block is secured at the top, having openings for guiding the legs of the tube, and in which the ends of the cross arm are introduced.

8. A roll-bar system for motor vehicles with a roof, which can be extended and retracted in motorized fashion by means of a roof displacement mechanism, consisting of a roll-bar body that is associated with each seat and does not comprise a sensor-controlled crash drive, which can be forcibly displaced autonomously, in conjunction with the roof displacement mechanism, between a first rigid position, when the roof is closed, and a second, raised rigid position, when the roof is open, wherein the roll-bar body is mounted and guided in a cassette type housing that is fixed to the vehicle and said body is associated with a drive, which is coupled to the roof displacement mechanism and used to displace said body vertically in the housing and with a position-dependent forcibly guided locking device, which is used to lock said body in the raised position, wherein the drive for both the raising and resetting is formed by an electric motor actuated nut and thread type spindle drive, electrically connected to the roof displacement mechanism, wherein the threaded spindle of the drive is mounted in the housing so as to move in rotation, but not shift axially, and the nut mounted on the threaded spindle can rotate and is connected to the roll-bar body and wherein the thread spindle is mounted and can turn by one end on the guide block and by the other end on the bottom piece of the housing, and the corresponding nut is mounted on a cross arm, on which the electric motor with corresponding transmission is also placed, wherein the nut of the nut/threaded spindle drive is mounted on the cross arm able to rotate and connected to a take-off shaft of an electric gear motor, and wherein the nut is cylindrically configured and also has an external thread and a corresponding inner thread is arranged in the guide block in an upper bearing region of the threaded spindle to screw in the external thread of the nut in the raised position of the roll bar for locking of the roll bar, and a pitch per turn of the thread of the threaded spindle is equal to that of the locking thread.

9. A roll-bar system for motor vehicles with a roof, which can be extended and retracted in motorized fashion by means of a roof displacement mechanism, consisting of a roll-bar body that is associated with each seat and does not comprise a sensor-controlled crash drive, which can be forcibly displaced autonomously, in conjunction with the roof displacement mechanism, between a first rigid position, when the roof is closed, and a second, raised rigid position, when the roof is open, wherein the roll-bar body is mounted and guided in a cassette type housing that is fixed to the vehicle and said body is associated with a drive, which is coupled to the roof displacement mechanism and used to displace said body vertically in the housing and with a position-dependent forcibly guided locking device, which is used to lock said body in the raised position, wherein the drive for both the raising and resetting is formed by an electric motor actuated nut and thread type spindle drive, electrically connected to the roof displacement mechanism, wherein the threaded spindle of the drive is mounted in the housing so as to move in rotation, but not shift axially, and the nut mounted on the threaded spindle can rotate and is connected to the roll-bar body and wherein the thread spindle is mounted and can turn by one end on the guide block and by the other end on the bottom piece of the housing, and the corresponding nut is mounted on a cross arm, on which the electric motor with corresponding transmission is also placed, wherein the threaded spindle of the nut/threaded spindle drive is connected to a take-off shaft of an electric gear motor and the nut is mounted on the cross arm firm against rotation, and wherein the nut is configured T-shaped with two spaced-apart control stops, staggered by 90 degrees, and mounted on the cross arm firm against rotation, in order to move axially by a predetermined control stroke.

10. The roll-bar system per claim 9, wherein two spring-loaded locking ratchets are also pivoted in the cross arm, being positionally controlled by the control stops of the nut to be brought into a locking interaction with matching lock bolts, firmly arranged on the guide block.