Patent Application
20170089111
This application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to French Patent Application No. 15/59013 filed on Sep. 24, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a cable window regulator and more particularly, an apparatus and method for reinforcing the support of a cable deflection means of the window regulator.
In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide improved window regulator systems.
Actuation of windows, such as vehicle windows, often utilizes window regulator systems for controlling vertical movement of the window. In one configuration, the window regulator systems include one or more window attachments carriers or sliders each slidably engaging a guide rail. The window attachment also includes an attachment feature for attachment of the window to the window attachment and hence the window moves as the attachment slides along the guide rail. In order to facilitate the movement of the window, the window attachment is secured to a drive means, such as a cable, which is driven by a drum rotated by a motor or a lever actuated manually. In operation and as the drum rotates, a portion of at least one cable is wound onto the drum while a portion of the at least one cable or another cable is unwound from the drum. Each cable is secured to the window attachment to either pull or allow for (e.g., unwind) slidable movement of the window attachment as the cable drum is rotated by the motor.
Since the cable drum is typically remotely located from the ends of the guide rail the window attachment slides along, pulleys or deflection ramps are located near or at the distal ends of the guide rail so that as the cable drum is rotated the applicable force is applied to the window attachment in order to cause it to slide along the guide rail. The pulleys provide rotational support of the cable(s) as they are wound and unwound from the cable drum. The deflection ramps provide sliding support of the cable(s) as they are wound and unwound from the cable drum. Due to the force applied to the pulleys or ramps via the cable it is necessary to ensure that the cable pulley or ramp and the guide rail it is secured to is designed to withstand the forces applied thereto via the cable.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an apparatus and method for reinforcing a pulley support of the window regulator.
In one embodiment, a bracket for securing a pulley or deflection ramp to a guide rail of a window regulator is provided. The bracket having: a main body portion; a pulley or ramp support extending away from the main body portion and forming a rotational pulley axis or a ramp attachment; and a load diffusing means for transferring loads applied to the pulley or the deflection ramp, wherein the main body portion extends over a top portion of the pulley or deflection ramp and a flange of the load diffusing means extends away from a distal end of the main body portion.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the bracket may be formed from steel, aluminum or plastic.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, further embodiments include an opening that may be located in the main body portion between a pair of collars.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the pulley support may be a collar that is configured to rotationally receive the pulley and the load diffusing means further comprises a collar located between the flange and the collar.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the flange may have a curved surface configured to disperse an axial load upon a surface of the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the guide rail may be formed from plastic.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the guide rail may be formed from plastic or a plastic composite and the bracket is formed from steel, aluminum or plastic and wherein the guide rail has a pair of integrally formed bosses configured to be received within the pair of collars when the bracket is secured to the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the pulley or deflection ramp may be an upper pulley or upper deflection ramp.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, further embodiment include a window regulator having the bracket with one or more features described above and the window regulator has: a guide rail; at least one pulley or deflection ramp for guiding a cable of the window regulator, wherein the bracket secures the at least one pulley or deflection ramp to the guide rail and wherein loads transferred by the bracket are transferred to a portion of the guide rail remote from the pulley or deflection ramp.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the bracket may be formed from steel, aluminum or plastic.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, further embodiments include an opening that may be is located in the main body portion between a pair of collars.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the pulley support may be a collar configured to rotationally receive the pulley and the load diffusing means further comprises a collar located between the flange and the collar.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the flange may have a curved surface configured to disperse an axial load upon a curved surface of the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the guide rail may be formed from plastic or a plastic composite.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the guide rail may be formed from plastic or a plastic composite and the bracket is formed from steel, aluminum or plastic and wherein the guide rail has a pair of integrally formed bosses configured to be received within the pair of collars when the bracket is secured to the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the bracket may be secured to the rail by a fastener that passes through an opening in the bracket.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, further embodiments may include an opening that may be located between the pair of collars of the bracket.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the pulley or deflection ramp may be an upper pulley or upper deflection ramp.
In yet another embodiment, a method of transferring axial loads of a pulley of a window regulator to a surface of a guide rail of the regulator is provided. The method including the steps of: rotatably securing the pulley to a first collar of a bracket; securing the bracket to the guide rail, wherein the first collar is located about a first boss of the guide rail; and transferring axial loads applied to the first collar to a flange of the bracket, wherein the flange is secured to the first collar via a main body portion that extends over a top portion of the pulley.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the bracket may be formed from steel, aluminum or plastic and the guide rail and the first boss may be formed from plastic or a plastic composite.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the bracket may have a second collar configured to be located over a second boss when the bracket is secured to the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the flange may have a curved surface configured to align with a curved surface of the guide rail when the bracket is secured to the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the flange may have a generally flat surface configured to disperse an axial load upon a generally flat surface of the guide rail.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the pulley or deflection ramp may be an upper pulley or upper deflection ramp.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the flange may have a generally flat surface configured to disperse an axial load upon a generally flat surface of the guide rail.
These and/or other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Although the drawings represent varied embodiments and features of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to illustrate and explain exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The exemplification set forth herein illustrates several aspects of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
Referring now to the FIGS., a window regulator 10 is illustrated. Window regulator 10 has a guide rail 12 and a window attachment, carrier or slider 14 slidably secured to the guide rail for movement in the direction of arrows 16 is response to movement of a cable or pair of cables 18 each having one end operatively coupled to the carrier 14 at one end and a cable drum 20 (illustrated by the dashed lines in
In order to transfer the rotational movement of the cable drum 18 to the carrier 14, pulleys 26 are rotationally secured to the guide rail 12.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the guide rail 12 is formed from a plastic or plastic composite or composite guide rail 12. The plastic or plastic composite or composite guide rail 12 allows for ease of manufacture, reduced weight and other advantages. In motor vehicle applications, reducing the weight of components and thus the overall weight of the vehicle is desired. However, such light weight components must still be configured to withstand operational loads in different thermal and environmental conditions. Thus, it is desirable to reinforce the pulley's or the ramp's securement to the guide rail. Reinforcement of the pulley 26 or the deflection ramp or cable ramp 26′ will counteract potential deformation issues that may occur in plastic and/or composite guide rails 12 especially when the pulley is under high loads and the system or regulator 10 is subjected to high temperatures. Although it is contemplated to use the reinforcement bracket 28 with plastic and/or composite guide rails 12 it is, of course, understood that various embodiments of the present invention may be used in conjunction with guide rails formed from other materials such as metal, alloys, etc.
In one embodiment, the first support collar 36, the second support collar 38 and the flange portion 42 may be integrally formed with the reinforcement bracket 28. When the reinforcement bracket 28 is secured to the upper portion 32 of the guide rail 12 the first support collar 36 is located over a first boss 46 of the upper portion 32 of the guide rail 12 and the second support collar 38 is located over a second boss 48 of the upper portion 32 of the guide rail 12. In addition and when the reinforcement bracket 28 is secured to the upper portion 32 of the guide rail 12, the main body portion 34 extends over and from a top portion of the pulley 26 towards the surface 44.
As illustrated in
When the reinforcement bracket 28 is secured to the upper portion 32 of the guide rail 12, the first support collar 36 is located between the inner opening 52 and the first boss 46. In addition, a portion of the main body portion 34 extends over a top portion 70 of the pulley 26. As used herein, top portion 70 refers to the side surface of the pulley 26 that is furthest from the surface of the guide rail 12 that first boss 46 extends from. In addition, the second support collar 38 is located over the second boss 48 and the flange 42 is adjacent to the surface 44 when the bracket 28 is secured to the guide rail 12. The opening 40 is also aligned with an opening 54 in the guide rail 12 when the bracket 28 is placed over first boss 46 and second boss 48 such that a fastener or screw 56 can be inserted into openings 40 and 54 and secure the reinforcement bracket 28 to the guide rail 12. In one embodiment, the fastener or screw 56 engages threads in opening 54 or in yet another embodiment, the fastener or screw 56 may be a self-tapping screw configured to engage a non-threaded opening 54. Of course, numerous means for securing bracket 28 to guide rail 12 may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. In one embodiment, opening 54 may be located in an elevated feature 55 of the guide rail 12 in order to locate opening 54 proximate to opening 40.
Once the bracket 28 is secured to the guide rail 12, the first collar 36 provides a rotational axis for the pulley 26, and the second collar 38 and the flange 42 extends parallel to the first collar 36 or rotational axis of the pulley 26. This configuration allows axial loads in the direction of arrow 58 to be also transferred or supported by surface 44 and 48 via flange 42 and collar 38 and thus no high axial loads in the direction of arrow 58 are applied to boss 46.
Accordingly, at least one collar of the bracket 28 provides a rotational axis for the pulley 26 and the bracket 28 transfers the load coming from cable 18 to the surface 44 of the guide 12 via flange 42. In addition and in one embodiment, the load that supports the first collar 36 is diffused on several rail surfaces in order to minimize stress and strain on rail.
The inner hole of each collar of the bracket 28 is centered about a plastic/composite boss 46, 48 coming from the rail 12. These bosses offer first surfaces, which allow the load coming from the cable 18 of the system to be diffused. In addition, the flange 42 of the bracket 28 is applied on a rail surface 44 and is properly oriented to diffuse the cable load on this rail surface. Still further and as mentioned above, a portion of the main body portion 34 extends over the top portion 70 of the pulley 26.
In addition and as described above holes 40 and 54 allow the bracket 28 to be screwed into the plastic/composite rail 12. The screw 56 maintains the bracket to rail 12 in a Y direction (wherein the Y direction is the direction of the pulley axis). Moreover, the various embodiments of the invention described herein allows the pulley area to be reinforced against creep issue by transforming a compression constrain to a compression one on a larger surface. In other words, axial loading in the direction of arrow 58 is transferred to the larger surface 44, 46 and 48.
Although, the reinforcement bracket 28 is illustrated with two collars it is understood that alternative embodiments of the present invention may include a bracket 28 with only a single collar and boss or more than two collars and two bosses. Still further and in yet another embodiment, the bracket 28 may be secured to the guide rail 12 by any suitable means for example, the bracket may be “snap fitted” into the guide rail 12, wherein features of the bracket 28 engage complementary features of the guide rail 12 thereby negating the need for screw 56 and/or openings 40 and 54. Still further and in yet another embodiment, the screw 56 and openings 40 and 54 may be used in combination with a “snap fittingly” engaged bracket 28. Still further, the securing means to the guide 12 may be designed for also diffusing loads in direction of arrow 58
Through the use of bracket 28, a simple thermoplastic rail 12 may be used to allow the window regulator 10 to have an overall lower weight as also meeting a robust creep test requirement. Therefore, a window regulator 10 using the invention described herein and above will assist in allowing plastic/composite rail(s) 12 to be used in window regulators.
In yet another embodiment and as illustrated in
As used herein, the terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. In addition, it is noted that the terms “bottom” and “top” are used herein, unless otherwise noted, merely for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation.
The modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity).
While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1559013 | Sep 2015 | FR | national |
