This application is the U.S. National Phase of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2017/083474 filed on Dec. 19, 2017, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 20 2016 107 095.3, filed on Dec. 19, 2016, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to a rail slider for a cable-type window lifter of a motor vehicle.
Rail sliders may include a base member which is constructed in such a manner that it at least partially engages round the guide rail of the cable-type lifter in order to be displaceably supported thereon and to guide the window pane between the upper and lower stop position thereof. There are connected to the base member legs of the rail slider which form a receiving gap for the window pane, wherein the locking hook is constructed on a leg which can be resiliently deformed transversely with respect to the pane surface.
One or more objects may be achieved with a rail slider described below. The characterizing features describe the geometric relationships according to one or more embodiments between different portions of the rail slider.
The rail slide may include a base member having guiding faces for the guide rail of the cable-type window lifter and a curved retention member which is connected via a base to the base member in a resilient manner and which has a locking hook which is arranged at the upper end. The curved retention member has two lateral webs which are connected to the base and a transverse connection element which carries the locking hook.
A ratio of the clear width between the inner faces of the lateral webs of the curved retention member and the spacing between the stop face of the lower edge of the window pane, on the one hand, and the stop face of the locking hook, on the other hand, assuming a maximum value of 1.2, such as a maximum value of 1.0, and/or the ratio of the clear width between the inner faces of the lateral webs of the curved retention member and the lever length between the base-side virtual pivot axis of the curved retention member, on the one hand, and the stop face of the locking hook, on the other hand, assuming a maximum value of Z2a/Z3a≤0.5, and the transverse connection element of the curved retention member being constructed substantially in a curved manner, at least at the inner side of the transverse connection element.
In one or more embodiments, a contour of the inwardly directed curve of the transverse connection element does not contain any linear segments which are longer than 0.3 times, such as not longer than 0.2 times, the width of the lateral webs. As another example, the contour of the outwardly directed curve of the transverse connection element also does not contain any linear segments which are longer than 0.2 times, such as not longer than 0.1 times the width measured over the outer faces of the webs.
The base-side virtual pivot axis of the curved retention member is intended to be understood to be an axis which is produced as a result of a resilient deformation of the lateral webs in the region of the connection of these webs to the base of the rail slider. The virtual pivot axis thus does not represent an axis which is intended to be precisely located; however, its position may be logically limited to a cross-section of the base.
A rail slider with the above-described geometric proportions according to one or more embodiments ensures, on the one hand, the resilience required for a good capacity for assembly and, on the other hand, increased mechanical strength, in particular being able to transmit an increased pull-off force, wherein at the same time the required material use can be reduced. The proportions and contours according to one or more embodiments may enable a harmonious force path from the locking element in the upper region of the arched curved member, via the lateral webs into the base which is connected to the base member and to which the webs are articulated. These geometric proportions also counteract a torsion of the lateral webs and consequently a pivoting outward of the locking hook under load. Consequently, it is possible to significantly improve the load-bearing capacity of the rail slider without notably limiting the resilient properties which are required for a good assembly capacity.
According to one or more embodiments, within the clear width of the curved retention member (spacing between the inner edges of the lateral webs) there is arranged a base piece which is connected to the base and which forms for the lower edge of the window pane a stop face facing away from the base. This structural feature enables the reinforcement ribs extending along the lateral webs to be continuously redirected in the region of the base at the bottom and thus to extend into the base piece. The force path is thereby discharged or introduced in a targeted manner and undesirable bending effects in the lateral webs are counteracted. The width of the base piece which is connected to the base should be a maximum of half the width measured over the outer faces of the lateral webs.
According to another embodiment, the clear width between the outwardly facing faces of the base piece and the associated inwardly facing faces of the lateral webs is at least as large as the width of the lateral webs. A compact construction is thereby produced whilst at the same time increasing the load-bearing capacity of the resilient curved retention member.
The curved construction of the transverse connection element which bridges the lateral webs should with the inner and/or outer contours thereof ideally substantially correspond to the shape of a parabola or another exponential mathematical function. The tangents at the ends of the relevant contour portions which represent an exponential function extend in this instance substantially orthogonally to each other. In other words: one tangent at an end of the curved contour extends substantially orthogonally relative to the displacement direction and the other tangent at the other end of the curved contour extends substantially parallel with the displacement direction.
An ideal redirection of the vertically extending (that is to say, downwardly facing) pull-off force which has to be absorbed by the locking hook into the lateral webs of the curved retention member is thus ensured. The tendency toward undesirable occurrences of torsion and bending of the load-bearing components is thus minimized.
At this point, it should be noted that comparably good results can also be achieved when the continuous contour path according to an exponential function is completely or partially replaced by a so-called polygon course in which the contour portions are thus composed completely or partially from a large number of linear portions. The angles between adjacent portions of the polygon are intended to be no smaller than 75 degrees, such as no smaller than 80 degrees.
The side walls of the lateral webs are typically constructed as reinforcement ribs. In one or more embodiments, these reinforcement ribs merge in the region of the base into horizontally extending reinforcement ribs. In this instance, the outer reinforcement ribs are connected to each other, whilst the inner reinforcement ribs of the webs merge or are redirected into reinforcement ribs of the inner base piece. In addition, there is used a reinforcement rib which is arranged between the side walls of the webs and which is also redirected in the region of the base into a horizontally extending reinforcement rib and finally runs into a central region of the base piece in the direction of the stop for the lower edge of the pane.
The described reinforcement ribs of the lateral webs may be connected a plurality of transverse ribs which stand at an angle of 70-90 degrees on the connection faces of the reinforcement ribs. The density of the transverse ribs is in the region of the curved transverse connection element (21a) significantly higher than, in particular more than twice as high as in the linearly extending region of a web (in the pull-off direction). The mechanical load-bearing capacity of the transverse connection element is thus increased and the resilience necessary for a simple blind assembly of the rail slider is not limited unnecessarily.
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to an embodiment and the associated Figures. In the drawings:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
An exemplary rail slider is disclosed in EP 0 208 237 B1. Although it enables a connection which is simple and cost-effective to produce between the window pane and the rail slider, the single leg which carries the locking hook has only a very limited mechanical strength. This leads, in the event of higher pull-off forces which occur in particular when panes which are frozen to a door frame are released, occasionally to release of the connection of the pane and rail slider.
DE 10 2012 223 825 A1 discloses an improved rail slider which has between two lateral resilient webs a transverse connection element which centrally carries a locking hook. Although this construction is substantially more robust, in the event of high mechanical loads torsions of the lateral webs which are connected to the base of the rail slider may occur, which promotes an unscrewing movement of the locking hook from the pane hole.
DE 4423440 A1 sets out a rail slider which—in kinematic reversal to the previously described constructions—has a locking element which is arranged in a pane hole and associated locking openings in the legs which form a gap for receiving the window pane. In this instance, the two legs which are arranged laterally and which carry the transverse connection element are kept extremely short and therefore very torsion-resistant. Instead, the cutout which extends below the transverse connection element and which is connected to the locking opening forms a pivot axis for the transverse connection element in order to be able to ensure a pivoting of the transverse connection element for the purposes of engagement of the locking element which is supported on the pane. When a so-called pull-off force acts, the pivotable transverse connection element is supported on the window pane. The mechanical load-bearing capacity of the rail slider is thus not (primarily) determined by the resilience of lateral webs, but instead by the tensile strength of the material which connects the transverse connection element to the legs and which forms the said pivot axis of the transverse connection element. Although the mechanical strength of this structural variant is comparatively good, not least as a result of the distribution of the pull-off forces over two legs at both sides of the window pane, the preassembly of the locking element in the pane hole requires significant additional complexity. In addition to this there are increased requirements when introducing the window pane which is provided with the locking element into the narrow slot of the door shaft.
One or more objects of the present disclosure is to develop a structural configuration of a foldable plastics material rail slider in such a manner that the mechanical strength thereof is improved, but without notably impairing its capacity for assembly at the expense of the flexibility of the lateral legs which is required for this purpose. The present disclosure may provide for an easy or simple capacity for assembly of the rail slider on the window pane, a high degree of flexibility would be advantageous, whilst the transmission of significant pull-off forces requires a high degree of rigidity of the rail slider.
In
This applies similarly to the description of the previously known prior art which is illustrated as different views in
Via the lateral webs 20a which are constructed in a resilient manner, the curved transverse connection element 21a is pressed against the associated surface of the window pane F, wherein the locking hook 210a which is formed on the transverse connection element 21a is also retained in engagement with the assembly opening (not illustrated) in the window pane F. In order to connect the window pane F to the rail slider, the window pane F is pressed with the lower edge F1 thereof onto the inclined introduction wedge face 2100a, wherein the pane F being supported on the leg 100a presses the resiliently deformable lateral webs 20a outward until the locking hook 210a is supported on the surface of the pane F. When the assembly opening in the window pane F is reached, the locking hook 210a engages.
In order to solve one or more of the above-mentioned problems, such as to increase the mechanical strength whilst maintaining a good capacity for assembly and at the same time reducing the material requirement, the following geometric relationships may be as described below.
The relationship of the clear width Z2a between the inner faces of the lateral webs 20a of the curved retention member 2a and the spacing Z1a between the stop face 110a of the lower edge F1 of the window pane F, on the one hand, and the stop face 210′a of the locking hook 210a, on the other hand, should assume at a maximum the value Z2/Z1≤1.2, this value may be less than 1.0.
According to one or more embodiments, the relationship between the clear width Z2a between the inner faces of the lateral webs 20a of the curved retention member 2a and the lever length Z3a of the base-side virtual pivot axis S4 of the curved retention member 2a, on the one hand, and the stop face 210′a of the locking hook 210a, on the other hand, assumes at a maximum the value Z2a/Z3a≤0.5. This relationship may, however, also be used as an alternative to the above relationship Z2/Z1.
The base-side virtual pivot axis S4 of the curved retention member 2a is not intended to be understood to be an axis which can be precisely located, but instead an axis which is produced in the event of resilient deformation of the lateral webs 20a in the region of the connection of these webs 20a to the base 10a of the rail slider.
The transverse connection element 21a of the curved retention member 2a is substantially constructed in such a curved manner that:
the curve which faces outward and which is composed of the radii R1a, R2a, R3a has no linear segments L1 which are longer than 0.2 times the width Ba measured over the outer faces of the webs 20a (thus: L1/B≤0.2); such as, less than 0.1; and
the curve which faces inward and which is composed of the radii r1a, r2a, r3a has no linear segments L2 which are longer than 0.3 times the width b1a of the lateral webs 20a (L2/b1≤0.3); as one example, the value L2/b1a is less than 0.2.
See also in this regard the schematic illustrations of
If the geometric proportions described above are compared with the corresponding proportions of the rail slider which belongs to the previously known prior art according to
The schematic illustrations of
The introduction and transmission of the forces within the rail slider is, however, also influenced by the unfavorable relationships of the linear lengths 20ba, 20bi of the outer or inner portions of the lateral webs 20b in comparison with the heights 21ba, 21bi of the outer or inner curved portions of the transverse connection element 21b. The relationship is in this instance (that is to say, in the prior art) in the order of magnitude of approximately 20b/21b=5 . . . 8. In one or more embodiments, these relationships are as a result of the pronounced curved contour in the range of only 2 . . . 3.
For a construction of the rail slider which saves material and space, but at the same time also has good load-bearing capacity, the width b3a of the base piece 11a which is connected to the base 10a should be a maximum of half the size of the width Ba measured over the outer faces of the webs 20a. At the same time, the clear width b2a between the outwardly facing face of the base piece 11a and the inwardly facing face of the associated web 20a, on the one hand, and the width b1a of the webs 20a should assume at a maximum the value 0.5. Sufficient space remains to form the stop face 110a for the lower edge F1 of the window pane F on the base piece 11a.
As already set out, the effectiveness of the rail slider is to construct the transverse connection element 21a as a curved structure. At least the inner contour between the locking hook 210a and the substantially linearly extending regions of the lateral webs 20a (that is to say, in the region of the radii r1a, r2a, r3a) is constructed in a curved manner. As one example, the curved inner and/or outer contours of the transverse connection element 21a may be constructed in a substantially parabolic manner or correspond to the path of another exponentially mathematical function, wherein the tangents at the ends of the relevant contour portions extend substantially orthogonally with respect to each other. Ultimately, this means that one tangent at one end of the curved contour (that is to say, in the region of the locking hook 21a) extends substantially orthogonally to the displacement direction and the other tangent at the other end of the curved contour (that is to say, at the transition to the linear region of the lateral web 20a) extends substantially parallel with the displacement direction. Consequently, there is produced a continuous force path without force peaks as far as the base 10a.
As a another example, a variant may include contour portions r1a, r2a, r3a or R1a, R2a, R3a that may be completely or partially composed from polygonal portions, wherein the angles between adjacent portions of the polygon course are intended to be not less than 75 degrees, such as not less than 80 degrees.
Typically, the side walls of the webs 20a are constructed as reinforcement ribs 201a, 202a which form via a common connecting side wall a U-shaped cross-section of the web 20a. These reinforcement ribs 201a, 202a change their direction in the region of the base 10a and ultimately run horizontally into the reinforcement ribs 2010a, 2020a. Consequently, the outer reinforcement ribs 202a which extend to the lower edge of the rail slider combine to form a common reinforcement rib 2020a on the base 10a, whilst the inner reinforcement ribs via the reinforcement ribs 2030a on the base run into rising reinforcement rib 111a of the base piece 11a.
In order to further improve the mechanical strength, at least one additional reinforcement rib 203a may further be arranged between the edge-side reinforcement ribs 201a, 202a of the webs 20a, wherein this reinforcement rib 203a is also redirected in the region of the base 10a into a horizontally extending reinforcement rib (2030a).
In order to further stabilize the curved transverse connection element 21a which carries the locking hook 210a, a plurality of transverse ribs 22a are provided so that the reinforcement ribs 201a, 202a, 203a of the webs 20a are connected to each other in a net-like manner by the transverse webs 22a. The transverse ribs 22a should stand at an angle of 70-90 degrees on the connection faces of the reinforcement ribs 201a, 202a, 203a. The density of the transverse ribs 22a in the region of the curved transverse connection element 21a is clearly higher than in the linear region of the webs 20a, in particular the density is more than twice as high.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202016107095.3 | Dec 2016 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2017/083474 | 12/19/2017 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2018/114904 | 6/28/2018 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200386027 A1 | Dec 2020 | US |