GB1585140A

GB1585140A - Vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator

Info

Publication number: GB1585140A
Application number: GB2529778A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Widney Eng Ltd H S C
Current assignee: Widney Eng Ltd H S C
Priority date: 1978-05-31
Filing date: 1978-05-31
Publication date: 1981-02-25

Description

(54) A VEHICLE ROOF HATCH OR ROOF VENTILATOR (71) We, H.S.C. WIDNEY ENGINEER ING LIMITED, a British Company, of Plume Street, Aston, Birmingham B6 7SA, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the rnethod by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator.

According to the invention there is provided a vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator comprising a hatch or ventilator panel structure, and support mechanism via which said panel structure is connectable to a surround of a hatch opening or ventilation opening in the roof of the vehicle, said support mechanism being such as to permit movement of said panel structure bodily to a predetermined open ventilation position; and said support mechanism supporting the said panel structure when the latter is in said predetermined open ventilation position; wherein the panel structure is frameless and comprises a hatch or ventilator outer member and a hatch or ventilator inner member; wherein the said outer member comprises a panel portion of domed or arched form, and a perimetrical portion surrounding the said panel portion of domed or arched form; wherein the inner member comprises a panel portion and a perimetrical portion; wherein the perimetrical portion of the outer member and the perimetrical portion of the inner member are secured together whereby the panel portions are spaced apart; wherein one or both of said perimetrical portions receive therethrough fasteners for securing the support mechanism to the panel structure; and wherein a part on or of one or both perimetrical portions engages or is co-operable with a resilient perimetrical seal.

Preferably, the panel structure is of transparent or translucent plastics material, with the material of one of the said two members of the panel structure being of a kind having a greater resistance to shatter ing by impact than the material of the other of said two members of the panel structure. Said material having a greater resistance to shattering by impact may be polycarbonate material.

Preferably, the support mechanism is such as also to permit movement of said panel structure angularly into at least one predetermined open ventilation position tilted with respect to said first-mentioned open ventilation position, said support mechanism supporting said panel structure when the latter is in said tilted predetermined open ventilation position or positions.

The perimetrical portion of the outer member may be of a double stepped form which in vertical cross-section comprises: a top upwardly-presented part contiguous with the domed or arched panel portion; an intermediate upwardly-presented part which is joined to the said top upwardlypresent part by an upper riser and which is bonded to the perimetrical portion of the inner member; and a bottom upwardlypresented part which is joined to the intermediate upwardly-presented part by a lower riser. The perimetrical seal may be bonded to said bottom upwardly-presented part so as to project below the latter.

In the accompanying drawings, which show, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention: Figure 1 shows, in part section, a vehicle roof hatch assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a portion of Figure 1 on a larger scale; Figure 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2, but showing a vertical section taken on a centre-line of the assembly; Figure 4 shows, on a larger scale and partly in vertical section, part of the assembly shown in Figure 1 and shows one end of a support mechanism unit; Figures 5 and 6 are two fragmentary views of an end of a steel tube shown in Figure 4; Figures 7 and 8 are two fragmentary views of an end of a nylon sleeve shown in Figure 4; and Figure 9 shows a slide of emergency release mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a vehicle roof hatch comprising a frameless hatch panel structure 100 disposed above a substantially rectangular hatch and ventilation opening 3 in the vehicle roof and connected to the surround of said opening 3 by support mechanism consisting of two identical support mechanism units (one of which is shown at 101) disposed one at each of two opposite sides of the hatch opening 3.

The hatch panel structure 100, which is of substantially rectangular form in plan, is frameless and comprises a moulded hatch outer member 102 and a hatch inner member 103. The hatch outer member 102 comprises a panel portion 104 of domed or arched form, and a stepped perimetrical portion 105 surrounding the domed or arched portion 104. Said stepped perimetrical portion 105 comprises, viewed in verical cross-section, an upwardly-presented part losa contiguous with the domed or arched portion 104; an intermediate upwardly-presented part 105b which is joined to the upwardly-presented part 105a by an upper rise 105C; and a bottom upwardly-presented part 105d which is joined to the intermediate upwardlypresented part 105b by a lower rise 105e.

The portion 105 is thus of double-stepped form. The hatch inner member 103 comprises an upwardly-presented panel portion 106 and an upwardly-presented perimetrical portion 107; and said perimetrical portion 107 of the inner member 103 is bonded to the intermediate part 105b of the perimetrical portion 105 of the outer member 102, whereby the panel portions 104, 106 are spaced apart, as shown in Figure 3.

The bonded-together perimetrical portions 105, 107 jointly receive therethrough fasteners in the form of bolts 35 which pass through holes formed in said portions 105, 107 and which secure the two support mechanism units 101 to the panel structure 100. The material of the hatch inner member 103 is of a kind having a greater resistance to shattering by impact than the material of the outer member 102, and both members 102, 103 are of transparent or translucent plastics material. In the embodiment now being described the inner member 103 is of polycarbonate material and the outer member 102 is of acrylic material. The bottom part 105d of the stepped perimetrical portion 105 of the outer member 102 constitutes a terminal bottom flange of the member 105 and carries a resilient elastomeric perimetrical seal 109 which engaged by and bonded to said part 105d and projects below the latter, said seal 109 engaging the surround of the hatch opening 3 when the panel structure 100 is in its closed position. If desired a resilient elastomeric perimetrical seal may be carried by the said surround instead of, or in addition to, sealing means being carried by the structure 100.

Each support unit 101 is of a construction described in our Patent Application No. 20596/77 (Serial No. 1581591) and comprises a circular-sectioned steel tube 5 carrying brackets 6 via which said tube 5 is attached to the surround of the hatch opening 3, and each end of said tube 5 houses a circular-sectioned nylon sleeve 7 (Fig. 4) which is slidable in the tube 5 and in which is provided a coiled compression spring 8 acting at its outer end on a spherical steel ball 9 and bearing at its inner end, via a circular-sectioned nylon insert 15 slidingly mounted in the sleeve 7, on an abutment 23 formed by deforming the middle of the tube 5. (Only one end of the said mounting arrangement is shown in Figure 4, but the mechanism at the other end is identical to that at said firstmentioned end except that it is of opposite hand.) Pivoted at one end to the outer end of the sleeve 7, by means of a pivot pin 24 mounted in bearing holes 29 (Figs.

7 and 8) in a solid terminal portion 7a of sleeve 7, is an angularly movable stay arm 25 which is pivotally connected at its other end, by means of a pivot 26, to a respective L-sectioned attachment part 11 connected to the panel structure 100 by a respective pair of the bolts 35. There are, in the embodiment now being described, four of the attachment parts 11, namely two below each of two opposite side edges of the panel structure 100. The perimetrical portion 105 is formed with recesses 108 to accommodate the heads of the bolts 35.

The first-mentioned end of the stay arm 25 is received by slots 16, 17 in the sleeve 7 and tube 5 respectively and engages the ball 9, the said ball 9 being displaceable against the action of the spring 8 by angular movement of the stay arm 25.

Said stay arm 25 has a curved edge portion 18, an oblique edge portion 19, and a notch 27 of intermediate said edge portions 18, 19. The tube 5 is provided adjacent the pin 24 with a pair of slots 28 into which project the ends of said pin 24 whereby to hold the sleeve 7 slidably captive to the tube 5. The clearance between the ends of the pin 24 and the sides of the slots 28 is such as to permit limited angular movement of the sleeve 7, about its axis, relatively to the tube 5. The spring 8 springloads the sleeve 7 via the ball 9, the arm 25, and the pin 24 connecting the arm 25 to the said sleeve 7, whereby the sleeve 7 is slidable towards the abutment 23 against the action of the spring 8. The arrangement is such that the stay arm 25 is movable angularly, about its pivot 24, between a lowered position in which the edge 18 engages the ball 9, an intermediate position in which the notch 27 engages the ball 9, and a raised position in which the edge 19 engages said ball 9, the stay 25 co-acting with the ball 9 whereby in an initial. stage of movement from any one of said three positions to the next one of said positions the spring 8 is compressed, and in a final stage of said movement the spring 8 expands or resiles, whereby the stay arm 25 is self-retained in each of said three positions.

The mounting arrangements 12 are such that the panel structure 100, attached to the two support units 101 via the bolts 35, can, to provide ventilation, be moved at will from a closed position: (a) bodily into either of two predetermined open positions in which it is parallel to the vehicle roof, (b) into any one of three predetermined tilted-forwards open positions (c) into any one of three predetermined tilted-rearwards open positions, (d) into any one of three predetermined open positions in which it is tilted towards one side of the vehicle (e) into any one of three predetermined open positions in which it is tilted towards the other side of the vehicle.

The hatch panel structure 100 serves as an escape hatch member as well as a ventilator member, and there is provided means, of a construction described in our Patent Application No. 41870/77 (Serial No. 1581878), for enabling the said hatch panel structure 100 to be quickly completely released from the support mechanism units 101 in the event of an emergyency. For this purpose there is provided adjacent each attachment part 11 a retainer member in the form of a slide 13 having, as shown in Figure 9, two spaced-apart sockets 31, 32; the socket 31 opens into a larger aperture 33 so as together to form a keyhole-spaced opening in the slide, and the socket 32 opens into a divergent mouth 34 at the end of the slide remote from a lug 30. Engageable with these sockets 31, 32 is a pair of the bolts 35. The shanks of said pair of bolts normally extend through: the bonded-together perimetrical portions 105, 107 of the structure 101, a plastics body 22 beneath the portion 107, apertures 38 in one of the attachment parts 11, and through said sockets 31, 32, as shown in Figure 1. Mounted on the bolts 35 are respective nuts 36, said respective nuts being tightened to a predetermined tightness and serving as abutments on the respective bolts 35 to apply a predetermined clamping pressure to the slide 13 whereby to clamp the respective L-sectioned attachment part 11, at a limb 11a thereof, between the slide 13 and the respective body 22. The aperture 33 and mouth 34 in the slide 13, and the apertures 38 in the attachment part 11, are large enough to allow the nuts 36 to pass through easily, and annular bosses are provided on the body 22 to project into, and fit, the apertures 38 in the attachment part 11. The slides 13 are arranged in pairs, disposed one pair at each of two opposite side edges of the structure 100, and each pair is operable by a release lever device 14 at the respective side of said structure 100. Each release lever device 14 comprises lever handles 40, 41 mounted on a pivot 42 so as to be coupled together by said pivot 42 and to lie one at the outside face of and one at the inside face of the structure 100, these handles being secured for mutual rotation with the pivot 42. A clamping block 43, slotted to receive the ends of two lengths 44, 45 of tension cable, engages the handle 41 to clamp said ends thereto.

The other ends of said cable have heads 46 each of which is held by a respective one of the lugs 30 on the slides 13. The pivot 42 passes through the bonded-together perimetrical portions 105, 107, and the perimetrical portion 105 is recessed at 110 to accommodate the pivot 42.

In an emergency, either handle, 40 or 41, of each release lever device 14 can be turned to cause the respective cable to draw the respective slides 13 linearly towards each other out of co-operation with the nuts 36, whereby to enable the nuts 36 to pass through the slides 13 and attachment part 11 when the structure 100 is thrust or pulled upwards, to allow the structure 100 to be removed.

The embodiment shown constitutes a vehicle roof hatch of robust construction, and the use of polycarbonate material as the material of the hatch inner member 103 reduces or obviates the possibility of said member 103 shattering if an occupant is thrown against the hatch in the event of the vehicle crashing, thereby reducing or obviating the possibility of an occupant being thrown through the hatch panel structure 100 and out of the vehicle in the event of a crash. Also the feature that the hatch panel structure 100 is frameless, with the members 102, 103 being of plastics material, and without a heavy metal frame being present, tends to reduce the possibility of accidents or damage to the other vehicles in the event of inadvertent or unauthorised release of the hatch structure whilst the vehicle fitted therewith is travelling, for example on a motorway.

The embodiment shown is described by way of example only, and many variations in construction are possible within the scope of the claims herein. For example, if desired the panel structure 100 may serve solely as a movable ventilator member and be permanently secured to the support mechanism units 101, instead of serving also as an escape hatch member releasably secured via quick-release mechanism to said units 101.

The support mechanism and, where provided, the emergency release mechanism, may be of any other suitable construction.

If desired, the perimetrical portion 107 of the inner member 103 of the hatch panel structure shown may be extended beneath the part 105d of the stepped perimetrical portion 105 of the outer member 102, whereby both portions 105,107 engage the seal 109.

If desired, the support mechanism may be such as to permit movement of the panel structure into more, or fewer, different predetermined open ventilation positions than in the case of the support mechanism shown, or into only one predetermined open ventilation position; provided that the support mechanism is such as to permit movement of the panel structure bodily to at least one predetermined open ventilation position.

The inventions claimed in the abovementioned Applications Nos. 20596/77 (Serial No. 1581591) and 41870/77 (Serial No. 1581878) form no part of the invention

Claims

claimed herein.

If desired the perimetrical portions 105,

107 may be secured together by means other than bonding, although securing by bonding is preferred. They may, for example, be welded together, or may be secured together solely by the bolts 35.

If desired the arrangement may be such that the fasteners for securing the support mechanism to the panel structure pass through the perimetrical portion of only one of the inner and outer members of the panel structure.

If desired, the perimetrical portion of the outer member of the panel structure may be other than of stepped form, and may consist solely of a substantially horizontal rim extending directly from a bottom part of the domed or arched panel portion of the said outer member of the panel structure and carrying a resilient perimetrical seal at its outer edge.

If desired the outer and/or the inner member of the panel structure may have its perimetrical portion provided with a depending flange carrying a perimetrical seal, but it is preferred to provide a perimetrical seal on a horizontal or substantially horizontal part of the perimetrical portion of one or each of said outer and inner members because in such a case the possibility of the seal becoming detached from the panel structure in the event of the seal sticking to the vehicle roof in hot weather conditions is reduced or obviated.

If desire4, the panel structure may not carry a seal but have the perimetrical portion of one or each of said outer and inner members co-operable directly with a seal on the vehicle roof.

If desired, the perimetrical portion of one or each of said outer and inner members of the panel structure may be interrupted by a gap or gaps.

If desired, instead of the inner member of the panel structure being of polycarbonate material and the outer member being of acrylic material, the outer member may be of polycarbonate material and the inner member may be of acrylic material, or both inner and outer members may be of polycarbonate material, but from the cost aspect it may be preferable, as between these three alternatives, to make the inner member of polycarbonate material and the outer member of acrylic material.

The panel structure may be of any other suitable material or materials.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: - 1. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator comprising a hatch or ventilator panel structure, and support mechanim via which said panel structure is connectable to a surround of a hatch opening or ventilation opening in the roof of the vehicle, said support mechanism being such as to permit movement of said panel structure bodily to a predetermined open ventilation position; and said support mechanism supporting the said panel structure when the latter is in said predetermined open ventilation position; wherein the panel structure is frameless and comprises a hatch or ventilator outer member and ç hatch or ventilator inner member; wherein the said outer member comprises a panel portion of domed or arched form, and a perimetrical portion surrounding the said panel portion of domed or arched form; wherein the inner member comprises a panel portion and a perimetrical portion; wherein the perimetrical portion of the outer member and the perimetrical portion of the inner member are secured together whereby the panel portions are spaced apart; wherein one or both of said perimetrical portions receive therethrough fasteners for securing the support mechanism to the panel structure; and wherein a part on or of one or both perimetrical portions engages or is cooperable with a resilient perimetrical seal.
2. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the panel structure is of transparent or translucent plastics material, and the material of one of said two members of the panel structure is of a kind having a greater resistance to shattering by impact than the material of the other of said two members of the panel structure.
3. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the material of the inner member of the panel structure has a greater resistance to shattering by impact than the material of the outer member.
4. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said material having a greater resistance to shattering by impact is polycarbonate material.
5. A vehicle rodf hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the inner member is of polycaronbate material.
6. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the outer member is of acrylic material.
7. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 1, wherein both said two members of the panel structure are of polycarbonate material.
8. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the perimetrical portion of said outer member of the panel structure is of stepped form.
9. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the perimetrical portions of one or both of the inner and outer members of the panel structure has or have a terminal bottom flange engaging or cooperable with said resilient perimetrical seal.
10. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the perimetrical portion of the outer member and the perimetrical portion of the inner member are bonded together.
11. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said perimetrical portions jointly receive therethrough fasteners for securing the support mechanism to the panel structure.
12. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the stepped perimetrical portion is of a double stepped form which in vertical crosssection comprises: a top upwardlypresented part contiguous with the domed or arched panel portion; an intermediate upwardly-presented part which is joined to the said top upwardly-presented part by an upper riser and which is secured to the perimetrical portion of the inner member; and a bottom upwardly-presented part which is joined to the intermediate upwardly-presented part by a lower riser.
13. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the perimetrical seal is bonded to said bottom upwardly-presented part and projects below the latter.
14. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in Claim 12 or 13, wherein the said intermediate part and the perimetrical portion of the inner member are bonded together.
15. A vehicle roof hatch or roof ventilator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support mechanism is such as also to permit movement of said panel structure angularly into at least one predetermined open ventilation position tilted with respect to said first-mentioned open ventilation position, said support mechanism supporting said panel structure when the latter is in said tilted predetermined open ventilation position or positions.
16. A vehicle roof escape hatch constructed in accordance with Claim 1, wherein the panel structure is of a construction substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.