JP2005162098A - Sunroof device and its escape side pipe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sunroof device, and an escape side pipe thereof capable of reducing a volume to be secured for arranging a drive member. <P>SOLUTION: This sunroof device comprises a pair of function members 48, 49 controlling a movable panel to be opened or closed; a pair of drive belts having a drive part connected with an output pulley of a drive motor, extending on one side of the output pulley, and connected with the function members 48, 49; first and second drive side inner pipes 41, 42 housing the drive parts of the pair of drive belts; and an independent escape side outer pipe 43 housing the escape parts of the pair of drive belts in such a manner that they are not overlaid on each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sunroof device mounted on a vehicle and its escape side pipe.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various sunroof devices have been proposed for the arrangement of drive members (drive cables and the like). For example, those described in Patent Document 1 are known. In this sunroof device, guides (16, 17) for inserting a drive cable are provided in a frame (4) provided corresponding to the roof opening of the vehicle. The sunroof device moves the functional member fixed to one end of the drive cable along the guide so that the movable cable (14) is opened and closed.
JP-A-8-11546 (FIG. 1)

By the way, in the sunroof device of patent document 1, since the said guide is formed in a flame | frame, this will enlarge, and the components cost and the die cost will be forced to increase.
Therefore, such a drive member is accommodated in a pipe separate from the frame, and the functional member fixed to one end of the drive member is moved by moving the drive member along the pipe. In particular, various arrangements have been proposed for the escape side pipe that accommodates the escape portion of the drive member.

  For example, the press product may be bent to fix the pipe. In this case, the pipe may be crushed. Moreover, although the said pipe may be fixed with a clip etc., in this case, an assembly | attachment becomes complicated and cost increases.

  Further, functional members related to opening / closing driving of the movable panel are arranged in pairs on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle, and driving members to which the functional members are fixed are also arranged in pairs. And the escape side pipe which accommodates the escape part of a drive member is also arrange | positioned by a pair. Therefore, for example, when these escape side pipes are arranged so as to be accommodated on the front side of the functional member, the indoor opening is lowered rearward as much as the volume is secured, and the feeling of opening is impaired. Or when these escape side pipes are arranged under the functional member, the thickness is increased and the open feeling is impaired by securing these volumes.

  The objective of this invention is providing the sunroof apparatus which can reduce the volume which should be ensured for the arrangement | positioning of a drive member, and its escape side pipe.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a pair of functional members for controlling opening and closing of the movable panel, and is connected to a drive source, and extends to one side with respect to the drive source and extends to the functional member. A pair of drive members having a drive unit coupled to the drive source, a relief part extending to the other side with respect to the drive source, and a first drive side pipe and a second drive respectively housing the drive units of the pair of drive members The gist is provided with a side pipe and a single escape side pipe that accommodates the escape portions of the pair of drive members so as not to overlap each other.

The gist of the invention described in claim 2 is the sunroof device according to claim 1, further comprising a holding member that holds an intermediate portion of the escape side pipe.
The gist of a third aspect of the present invention is the sunroof device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a guide that bends and guides the folded portion of the escape side pipe.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drive unit connected to a drive source and connected to a functional member that extends to one side with respect to the drive source and controls opening and closing of the movable panel; The gist of the present invention is that a pair of drive members having a relief portion extending in a single direction are housed separately so as not to overlap each other.

(Function)
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the escape portions of the pair of drive members are accommodated by the single escape side pipe so as not to overlap each other. Therefore, for example, the volume to be secured for the arrangement of the drive members is reduced as compared with the case where the escape side pipes are disposed so as to individually accommodate the escape portions of the pair of drive members.

  According to invention of Claim 2, the intermediate part of the escape side pipe is hold | maintained by the said holding member. Therefore, rattling of the escape side pipe, which tends to be relatively long, is suppressed in a very simple manner.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the folded-back portion of the escape side pipe is bent and guided by the guide. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent an unintended external force from being applied to the folded-back portion of the escape side pipe and to be bent and crushed.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the escape side pipe accommodates the escape portions of the pair of drive members so as not to overlap each other. Therefore, for example, the volume to be secured for the arrangement of the drive members is reduced as compared with the case where the escape side pipes are arranged to individually accommodate the escape portions of the pair of drive members.

  As described above in detail, in the inventions according to claims 1 to 4, it is possible to reduce the volume to be secured for the arrangement of the drive members.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a sunroof device 11 mounted on a roof 10 of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  As shown in the figure, the roof 10 is provided with a roof opening 10a. In the roof opening 10a, a deflector panel 12, a movable panel 13, and a fixed panel 14 are arranged in order from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle. The deflector panel 12, the movable panel 13, and the fixed panel 14 are formed of, for example, a daylighting glass plate.

  Moreover, the sunroof apparatus 11 is provided with the housing 21 fastened along the peripheral part of the roof opening part 10a. The housing 21 is formed in a square frame shape with an iron plate. The housing 21 holds the deflector panel 12, the movable panel 13, and the fixed panel 14 in such a manner that the roof opening 10 a is closed from above in the closed state.

  A pair of guide rails 24 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are disposed on the lower surfaces of both sides in the width direction of the housing 21. These guide rails 24 accommodate various functional members that control opening and closing of the movable panel 13. These functional members are connected to a driving belt extending from a driving device 25 (described later) attached to the lower surface of the front end portion of the housing 21, and the movable panel 13 is controlled to open and close in accordance with the protruding and protruding of the driving belt.

  The deflector panel 12 is rotatably connected to the upper surface of the front end portion of the housing 21 so that a so-called tilt-up operation is possible in which the rear part moves upward with the front part as a rotation center.

  The movable panel 13 is connected to a functional member of a guide rail 24 disposed on the lower surface of the housing 21 with the housing 21 in between. That is, the inner plate 26 is stuck on both sides of the movable panel 13 in the width direction, and the movable panel 13 is connected to the functional member provided on the guide rail 24 in the inner plate 26. The movable panel 13 is driven by the driving device 25 through the driving belt to drive various functional members, so that the tilting operation and the sliding operation in the tilted state can be performed. That is, the movable panel 13 employs a so-called outer slide method in which the sliding operation is performed in the tilt-up state.

The fixed panel 14 is fixed to the housing 21.
Next, the drive device 25 in this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a plan view mainly showing the driving device 25. As shown in the figure, the drive device 25 includes a housing 31 made of a resin material, and the housing 31 is fastened to the lower surface of the housing 21. A motor mounting portion 32 is formed at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction) of the housing 31. The housing 31 has a pair of guides 33 and 34 extending from the motor mounting portion 32 to one side in the vehicle width direction (upper side in FIG. 2), and the other side in the vehicle width direction from the motor mounting portion 32 (FIG. 2). A pair of guides 35 and 36 extending downward) are formed. The guides 34 and 36 are disposed on the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the guides 33 and 35, respectively. These guides 33 to 36 are formed so as to protrude to the near side perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure. A fitting member 37 is fixed to the housing 31 in the vicinity of the rear side of the motor mounting portion 32. The fitting member 37 has a fitting piece 37a in which a predetermined gap is set.

  Further, the drive device 25 has a rail-side block provided at one end (upper side in FIG. 2) of the guide rail 24 with one end locked to the entrance of the motor mounting portion 32 in such a manner that one end is guided by the guide 33. A first drive side inner pipe 41 fixed to 24a is provided. Similarly, the drive device 25 has one end guided by the guide 36 and is locked to the inlet of the motor mounting portion 32, and the other end is provided on the guide rail 24 on the other side (the lower side in FIG. 2). A second drive side inner pipe 42 is provided which is fixed to the side block 24b. Further, the drive device 25 is locked to the inlet of the motor mounting portion 32 in such a manner that one end and the other end are respectively guided by the guides 34 and 35, and the intermediate portion forming the closed loop is fitted to the fitting member 37. An escape side outer pipe 43 is provided.

  The drive device 25 includes a drive motor 44 attached to the housing 31 at the motor attachment portion 32 (see FIG. 1), and the first and second drive side inner pipes 41 and 42 and the escape side outer pipe 43 are driven by this drive. This is for accommodating a drive belt connected to the motor 44.

  Here, the connection mode of the drive motor 44 and the drive belt and the routing mode of the drive belt in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the sunroof device 11 in which the housing 31, the first and second drive side inner pipes 41 and 42, and the escape side outer pipe 43 are omitted. As shown in the drawing together with the enlarged view, on the front side (left side in FIG. 3) of the roof opening 10 a where the housing 31 is disposed, an output pulley of the drive motor 44 corresponding to the motor mounting portion 32. 45 is arranged. The output pulley 45 is meshed with driving belts 46 and 47 on the rear side and the front side, respectively.

  One end of the drive belt 46 is fixed to a functional member 48 slidably provided along the guide rail 24 on one side (the upper side in FIG. 3), and the other end is a free end. If the portion extending toward the functional member 48 with respect to the output pulley 45 of the drive belt 46 is defined as a drive portion 46a, and the portion extending toward the opposite side is defined as a relief portion 46b, the first drive side inner pipe 41 accommodates the drive portion 46a. The escape side outer pipe 43 accommodates the relief portion 46b.

  Similarly, one end of the drive belt 47 is fixed to a functional member 49 slidably provided along the guide rail 24 on the other side (lower side in FIG. 3), and the other end is a free end. ing. If the portion extending toward the functional member 49 with respect to the output pulley 45 of the drive belt 47 is defined as a drive portion 47a, and the portion extending toward the opposite side is defined as a relief portion 47b, the second drive side inner pipe 42 accommodates the drive portion 47a. The escape side outer pipe 43 accommodates the relief portion 47b.

The functional members 48 and 49 constitute part of various functional members that control the opening and closing of the movable panel 13.
It is assumed that the drive motor 44 is driven in such a configuration and the output pulley 45 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing. At this time, the drive portions 46a and 47a side of the drive belts 46 and 47 are pushed out, and the functional members 48 and 49 fixed to the drive belts 46 and 47 are respectively positioned from the position A along the guide rail 24 to the rear side (right side in FIG. 3). Move to B. In this state, it is assumed that the drive motor 44 is reversely driven and the output pulley 45 is rotated clockwise in the figure. At this time, the drive portions 46a and 47a side of the drive belts 46 and 47 are pulled in, and the functional members 48 and 49 fixed to the drive belts 46 and 47 are respectively positioned from the position B along the guide rail 24 to the front side (left side in FIG. 3). Move to A (return). In connection with this, it goes without saying that the relief portions 46b and 47b side of the drive belts 46 and 47 are pushed out by the length from the position B to the position A.

  These escape portions 46b and 47b are accommodated in a common escape-side outer pipe 43 that forms a closed loop. However, even when the escape portions 46b and 47b are pushed out to the maximum extent, they do not overlap and interfere with each other. The length of the escape side outer pipe 43 is set. Therefore, the escape sides (relief portions 46b, 47b) of the drive belts 46, 47 are compactly collected and stored in the escape side outer pipe 43 disposed on the front side of the roof opening 10a through the operation of the functional members 48, 49. The

As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the present embodiment, the single relief side outer pipe 43 accommodates the relief portions 46b and 47b of the pair of drive belts 46 and 47 so as not to overlap each other. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the volume to be secured for the arrangement of the drive belts 46 and 47. Further, the escape-side outer pipe 43 is intensively arranged on the front portion of the housing 21 along the first and second drive-side inner pipes 41 and 42, so that the roof opening 10a is more widely secured. Can improve the feeling of opening.

  (2) In the present embodiment, the intermediate portion of the escape-side outer pipe 43 is held by the fitting member 37. Therefore, rattling of the escape side outer pipe 43 that tends to be relatively long can be suppressed in an extremely simple manner.

  (3) In the present embodiment, the shape of the housing 31 can be made to be an extremely simple shape in which only the fitting member 37 for holding the escape-side outer pipe 43 is provided on the rear side. Further, minimizing the size of the housing 31 can reduce the cost of parts and mold.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to smoothly guide each folded portion 51 of the escape side outer pipe 43 that extends from the guides 34 and 35 and is folded back to the fitting member 37 side, it is integrally formed with the housing 31. In this manner, the guide 52 may be provided. Each of the guides 52 has a substantially arc-shaped bent portion 52a formed on the distal end side and a plurality (four) of locking pieces 52b protruding in the radial direction. Each locking piece 52b is formed in a pair so as to sandwich the escape-side outer pipe 43 from one side and the other side orthogonal to the paper surface. Accordingly, the escape-side outer pipe 43 is folded back along the bent portion 52a and is prevented from coming off by being locked by the locking piece 52b. By making a change in this way, it is possible to prevent an unintended external force from being applied to the folded-back portion 51 of the escape-side outer pipe 43 to be bent and crushed. Further, rattling of the folded portion 51 can be suppressed.

In the embodiment described above, the drive belts 46 and 47 are employed as the drive members. However, for example, a drive wire may be employed.
In the previous embodiment, the outer slider method is adopted for the movable panel 13, but a so-called inner slider method in which the movable panel slides on the indoor side of the roof 10 may be adopted.

In the above-described embodiment, the form in which one panel (movable panel 13) is directly driven by the driving device 25 has been described. However, a form in which a plurality of panels are driven simultaneously may be employed.
Next, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above-described embodiment and other examples will be described below together with their effects.

  (A) The sunroof device according to claim 3, wherein the guide has a locking portion (52 b) for preventing the escape side pipe from coming off. According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress rattling of the folded portion of the escape side pipe.

1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows the same embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the embodiment. The top view which shows another example of the same embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Sunroof apparatus, 13 ... Movable panel, 37 ... Fitting member as a holding member, 41 ... 1st drive side inner pipe as 1st drive side pipe, 42 ... 2nd drive side inner as 2nd drive side pipe Pipe, 43 ... Escape side outer pipe as escape side pipe, 45 ... Output pulley constituting drive source, 46, 47 ... Drive belt as drive member, 46a, 47a ... Drive part, 46b, 47b ... Escape part, 48, 49 ... Functional member, 51 ... Folding part, 52 ... Guide.

Claims (4)

A pair of functional members for controlling opening and closing of the movable panel;
A pair of drive members connected to the drive source, having a drive part extending to one side with respect to the drive source and connected to the functional member; and a relief part extending to the other side with respect to the drive source;
A first drive side pipe and a second drive side pipe that respectively accommodate the drive portions of the pair of drive members;
A sunroof device comprising: a single escape side pipe that accommodates the escape portions of the pair of drive members so as not to overlap each other. The sunroof device according to claim 1,
A sunroof device comprising a holding member for holding an intermediate portion of the escape side pipe. In the sunroof device according to claim 1 or 2,
A sunroof device comprising a guide for bending and guiding a folded portion of the escape side pipe. A pair of drive units connected to the drive source and extending to one side with respect to the drive source and connected to a functional member that controls opening and closing of the movable panel, and a relief portion extending to the other side with respect to the drive source An escape-side pipe of a sunroof device, wherein the pair of escape portions of the drive member are individually accommodated so as not to overlap each other.

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