Webasto-Werk W. Baier Gmbh & Co.

Webasto-Werk W. Baier Kg

Daimler-Benz Ag

Walter Schatzler

Hans Jardin

Horst Bienert

Werner Sielk

Alfons Lutz

Georg Kohlpaintner

Horst Lux

Julius Frank

Erich Handler

A sliding and lifting roof construction for vehicles having a rigid cover of the type which closes a roof opening in a fixed roof surface in a closed position thereof and is selectively shiftable from the closed position by either being upwardly tilted so that a rear edge of the cover is disposed above the fixed roof surface or by being slid rearwardly after lowering of the cover rear edge below the fixed roof surface, and has a tiltable, sliding roof liner panel that is slidable together with the cover and which, upon raising the cover, is induced into a raising movement that, starting from the closed position of the cover, is faster than the raising movement of the cover; wherein the tiltable siding roof liner panel, at least on one of its sides, is coupled with a pivotable lifting arm. The pivotable lifting arm is designed for providing positive guidance for the pivotable movement thereof in response to movement of a lifting lever of a lifting mechanism for the cover panel in a manner that produces a pivotable movement characteristic for the liner panel that is different from the rate of movement of the cover.

Sliding and lifting roof with tiltable sliding liner panel controlled by

A sliding roof for automobiles with a sliding top for closing a roof aperture in its closed position and which can be selectively lowered from its closed position and pushed underneath a fixed rearward roof section or can be swung out in an upward direction is provided with constraining or guide plates which are adjustable in the longitudinal direction of lateral guides for the sliding top. During closing of the sliding top, a guide member fixedly joined to the sliding top contacts these guide plates to direct the closed sliding top into its forward end position. Since these guide plates must be set in their proper positional relationship with the sliding top in its closed position, but can only be fixedly secured with the top in an open position, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, detent elements are provided which act to at least temporarily retain the guide plates in a position to which they have been adjusted without the securing element for the guide plates being engaged. The detent elements preferably are comprised of at least one lug which is engageable in a corrugation, one of the detents being on the guide plates, and the other being on guide pin carrying mounting plates.

Sliding roof for vehicles

A vehicle roof with a roof aperture of the type having a parametric frame and a displaceable closure panel for opening and closing the aperture is formed through the use of a pre-assembled installation unit which is attachable to the frame and upon which the closure panel is mounted. The installation unit comprises all of the parts necessary for guiding and displacing the closure panel operationally associated with each other in a manner enabling complete testing of the drive for the displaceable closure panel without attachment of the installation unit to the aperture frame.

Vehicle roof

A sliding roof assembly for motor vehicles comprises a translucent rigid sliding cover which covers a roof opening in its closed position and is slidable down and out of this position and behind a fixed rear roof part, a sliding headlining that is slidable relative to the sliding cover panel and jointly movable therewith, and an arrangement for automatically engaging the sliding headlining, when the sliding cover is open, for displacing the sliding headlining with the cover to an open position where they both disappear completely behind a stationary frame cover. An arrangement is also provided for returning the sliding headlining to an intermediate open position wherein a handle thereof projects out of the stationary frame cover when the sliding cover is closed. According to a feature of a preferred embodiment, ventilation of the vehicle passenger compartment can be obtained when the sliding cover is closed and the sliding cover is tilted upwardly by scoop-shaped ventilation openings provided in the sliding headlining. A further feature includes provision of interengageable releasable locking members associated with a stationary part of the roof assembly and the sliding headlining for releasably retaining the headlining in open, closed, and intermediate positions.

Sliding roof for motor vehicles

A rigid cover assembly for vehicle roofs having an opening that can be opened or closed by displacement of a rigid cover panel is provided with a mounting arrangement for the cover panel that is simple to install, provides a good sealing action, and permits considerable dimensional tolerances for the cover panel, even when made of glass or the like. In accordance with preferred embodiments, a peripheral mounting frame is placed in abutment with the bottom edge surface area of the cover panel. This mounting frame is bent downward and outward and then extends upward at its outer edge area so as to have an essentially U- or V-shaped section upon which a sealing section is pushed on from above. The sealing section has a flange which peripherally overlies the top surface of the cover panel.

Rigid cover for vehicle roofs

A sliding roof assembly for motor vehicles of the type having a translucent, rigid sliding cover that closes a roof opening of a fixed roof part in a closed position and is lowerable down and out of the opening and is slidable behind a rear roof part in an open position as well as a sliding headlining that is slidable independently of the sliding cover and jointly therewith is improved in accordance with the present invention by the construction of guide channels for the sliding headlining by surfaces of a U-shaped shield connected to the sliding cover and a portion of an upper surface of lateral tracks used to guide the sliding cover.

A sliding cover panel assembly for a motor vehicle roof that includes a cover panel that is slidably guided in tracks between positions opening and closing a roof opening via sliding shoes connected to the cover panel and having an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height of the cover panel relative to the roof opening when the cover panel is in a position closing the roof opening. In a preferred embodiment, the height adjusting mechanism includes a lever that is mounted to the cover panel so as to be rotatable about an axis intermediate its ends, a locking arrangement associated with the lever securing the lever in any rotational position relative to the cover panel and a link arm having one end swivelably connected to an end of the lever and another end connected to a sliding shoe via a swivelable connection. By rotational adjustment of the lever of the height adjustment mechanism about its rotational axis, the height of the cover panel relative to the sliding shoe can be adjusted.

Device for height adjustment of a rigid sliding cover

A vehicle body member such as a roof of a motor vehicle is provided with an opening surrounded by a frame and a cover panel for opening and closing the body member opening. The cover is guided in guide tracks by front and rear sliding shoes for displacement in a direction parallel to the guide tracks and is mounted for pivotable movement about an axis running at right angles to the displacement direction near a forward edge thereof. The cover is further provided with lifting elements which are connected to the rear sliding shoes, which shoes are drivingly connected to incompressible cables arranged in guide tubes and displaceable by an actuating device that is mounted on the cover panel. According to a preferred embodiment, so as to provide a significantly simpler design that is capable of being manufactured much less expensively, the ends of the above-noted guide tubes are displaceably mounted in or on the rear sliding shoes and are running approximately parallel to the guide tracks.

Vehicle body member with an opening closable by a cover

A sliding closure panel assembly of the type wherein a cover panel is shifted between positions openings and closing an opening in a vehicle body member, such as a roof, is provided with lateral shields composed of overlapping essentially strip-shaped components. The shields are easily attached in place, are adjustable in width and cover gaps between a frame surrounding the body opening and the underside of the cover panel.

Sliding cover for motor vehicles

A device for vertical and horizontal adjustment of a sliding cover for an opening in a vehicle body member such as a sliding roof or the like of a motor vehicle of the type wherein the cover is guided on each side by means of at least one guide shoe along guide tracks disposed on the body member is designed to provide an arrangement which requires extremely little room and extends as little as possible beyond the inner edge of the roof frame surrounding the roof opening, allows precise adjustment of the sliding cover relative to the guide shoe support, both vertically and laterally, and is readily accessible. According to a preferred embodiment, the guide shoe support is provided with an adjusting element that is displaceable crosswise with respect to the lengthwise axis of the vehicle, the element cooperating by sloping surfaces with a sliding cover to provide height adjustment thereof, and the sliding cover being connected with the guide shoe support for lateral adjustment of the cover crosswise to the direction of sliding movement of the sliding cover. The sloping surfaces are provided by two parts of the adjustment element, one of which is mounted on the guide shoe support and which receives sloping tracks of a holder element mounted on the sliding cover.

Device for a vertical and horizontal adjustment of a sliding cover for a

A sliding panel device for a cutout in a vehicle body panel, such as a sliding top of an automobile roof, of the type having a sliding panel that is movable between open and closed positions, a headliner displaceable between open and closed positions, a drive cable attached to the sliding panel for displacing the sliding panel and a stationary cantilevered guide for slidably guiding the movement of the cable is improved by the provision of a support attached to the headliner for supporting the cantilevered end of the stationary guide, the support being slidably engageable therewith. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the support supports the guide at at least a pushed-back open position thereof. Furthermore, according to one preferred embodiment the support is a tubular bearing member which surrounds the guide with a sliding seat, while in another preferred embodiment the support is constituted by a longitudinal groove in the top side of the headliner, at least one sliding block being connected to the guide and engaging this groove.

Device for mounting the guide sleeve of a drive cable for a sliding top

A ratchet wheel and resiliently biased stop member arrangement is provided for limiting movement of a movable roof panel member as it travels between respective closed, tilted, and lowered slidably retracted positions. The ratchet wheel is provided with recesses disposed at respective circumferential positions corresponding to predetermined positions of the roof panel member. The resiliently biased members are engageable in these recesses to retain the ratchet wheel at respective predetermined positions such as corresponding to the closed position of the roof panel member, whereby the operator can easily sense the position of the roof member due to the increased resistance caused by the stop member. The stop members and their springs are configured so as to permit overriding of the stop member so that the operator can move the roof panel member away from the respective positions by merely applying additional force to overcome the spring force at the stop member. Preferred embodiments also include a stepping gear arrangement for optimizing the gear ratio in connection with the ratchet wheel while minimizing the forces applied thereto.

Motor vehicle roof

A ratchet wheel and abutment pin arrangement is provided for limiting movement of a movable roof panel member as it travels between a closed position and respective raised tilted and lowered slidably retracted positions. The ratchet wheel is provided with a guide slot at one axial end face for receiving the abutment pin during sliding movement of the roof panel member and with a further guide slot for the pin member at the opposite axial end face of the ratchet wheel for guiding the abutment pin member during tilting movement of the roof member. These guide slots are interconnected with one another at an overlapping passage to accommodate axial displacement of the pin member from one slot section to the other slot section, said overlapping passage also exhibiting abutment end surfaces corresponding to the closed position of the roof member.

A crank and drive mechanism for a raisable sliding top such as of a motor vehicle is provided with a crank arm, with a mechanism to permit a plurality of rotations to said crank arm for a complete extension and retraction of the top, including an end stop. Means are provided to permit, with a single operating member, the actuation of the top into sliding movements, closing movements, opening movements, locking it in a position established, maintaining the top in a locked position releasably without the necessity for additional parts and automatically indicating the closed and the open positions of the top.

Crank and drive mechanism for a raisable sliding top of a motor vehicle

A crank drive assembly for sliding roof mechanisms of automobiles, in which a hand-operated crank drives a push-pull cable, the assembly including a releasable clutch between a drive shaft and a drive pinion transmitting the crank motion to the drive cable, and an arresting mechanism blocking the pinion, whenever the clutch mechanism is disengaged. The clutch mechanism and the arresting mechanism are simultaneously operated by a pivoting motion of the drive crank.

Growing community of inventors

Aufhausen, Germany

Walter Schatzler