US3466803A - Guide arrangement - Google Patents

Description

P 6, 1969 M. A. PACKETT GUIDE ARRANGEMENT Filed May 28, 1968 1A". 70R. 7/7arr/n A. fZc/feii ATTO RN FY United States Patent 3,466,803 GUIDE ARRANGEMENT Marvin A. Packett, Detroit, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 28, 1968, Ser. No. 732,575 Int. Cl. Ed 15/16 US. Cl. 49441 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A guide channel includes a pair of arcuate side walls and a pair of flat base walls, one being longitudinally slotted. A slide member fits within the channel and includes a main body portion secured to the window and end portions, each including pairs of converging side and base walls which converge with respect to each other. Ribs on the main body portion have walls which form continuations of the side walls of the end portions, with the center portions of these ribs engaging the side walls of the channel. Deflectable extensions of the ribs also engage the side walls and the main body portion includes abutments to limit rotation of the slide member about an axis longitudinally of the channel. The converging pairs of walls of the end portions limit rotation of the slide member about axes transverse of the pairs of walls of the channel.

This invention relates to a slide and guide arrangement for guiding the movement of vehicle body windows between open and closed positions.

conventionally, vehicle body windows are guided during their movement between open and closed positions by guide channels which receive guide rollers secured to the window. This arrangement works well but has certain disadvantages when the window moves through a curvilinear path, such as the path of movement of a complex curved door window. Such a curvilinear path requires curvilinear shaped guide channels, and this often leads to binding and guidance problems.

The slide and guide arrangement of this invention obviates any binding and guidance problems by providing a slide member which may move about any one of a plurality of axes with respect to the guide channel and any combination of these axes within predetermined limits. Further, only a limited area of the slide member contacts the channel to reduce binding and any wall of the slide member which engages the channel upon rotation of the slide member within the channel is shaped so as to limit binding to a minimum.

It is accordingly, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a slide and guide arrangement for vehicle body windows which permits movement of a slide member within a guide channel about various axes and any combination of such axes wi hin predetermined limits. Another object of this invention is to provide such an arrangement wherein the contact area between the slide member and channel is minimal and yet the slide member is stabilized within the channel so as to move therewithin upon movement of the window. A further object of this invention is to provide such an arrangement wherein the limitation of movement of the slide member with respect to the channel is set by engagement of portions of the slide member with the channel.

These and other objects of the guide arrangement of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partially broken away partial view of a vehicle body door mounting a vertically movable window guided by a slide and guide arrangement according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partially broken away view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partially broken away view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 44 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the slide member.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a vehicle body door 10 of conventional structure includes a door inner panel 12 and a door outer panel, not shown, which is hem flanged to the inner panel in a conventional manner to provide a window receiving well 14 within the door. A vehicle door window 16 is movable between an open position, as shown, and a closed position, not shown, wherein the window is disposed within the door in the well 14.

A conventional cross arm type window regulator 18 is mounted on the door inner panel by a back plate 20 and by a cam channel 22. The arms of the window regulator are pivotally and slidably connected at their upper ends in a conventional manner to a guide channel 24 secured to a mounting plate 26 which is bolted to the window 16. Suitable operating means are provided for the regulator 18 so that upon movement of the lift arm thereof the window 16 will move between its open and closed positions.

Front and rear guide channels 28 and 30, respectively, mounted on the door inner panel and slide members 32 mounted on the plate 26 cooperate to provide a guide arrangement according to this invention and control the fore-and-aft and lateral movement of the window 16 as it is moved between its open and closed positions. Since each guide channel is of the same cross section, although of different longitudinal shape, and each slide member 32 is the same, only the channel 30 and one of the slide members will be particularly described.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the channel 30 includes a base wall 34, a pair of spaced oppositely opening arcuate side walls 36, and a base wall 38 slotted longitudinally of the channel 38.

The slide member 32 includes a body portion 40 and a pair of end portions 42, each extending oppositely of the other longitudinally of the slide member. The side walls 44 of each end portion taper convergently toward each other and the base walls 46 of each end portion likewise taper convergently toward each other from the juncture of these walls with the main body portion, as can be seen in FIGURES 3 through 5, and terminate at end walls 48. The main body portion 40 includes oppositely opening pairs of recesses which provide a pair of oppositely extending ribs 50. The side wall of each rib has a center portion 54 and side portions 56 which taper oppositely from the center portion and form continuations of the side walls 44 of the end portions 42. A pair of stabilizers or extensions 58 extend laterally from the base walls of each rib. Each stabilizer is of arcuate cross section longitudinally of the slide member as can be seen in FIGURE 3, and it will be noted, FIGURE 5, that only the center portions of the stabilizers are coplanar with the center portion 54 of the side wall of the rib from which they extend.

A pair of abutments 60 extend from one side of the main body portion. The abutments are located on diametrically opposite sides of a countersunk bore 62 which extends through the main body portion 40 and also through a hub portion 64 which extends from the other side of the main body portion.

A headed stud 66 is received within the bore 62 and the reduced diameter end of the stud is headed over the plate 26 to nonrotatably secure the slide member 32 to the plate 26.

When the slide member 32 is received within the channel 30, the center portions 54 or ribs 50 engage the side walls 36 of the channel and likewise the center portions of the stabilizers 58 also engage the channel side walls. The stabilizers are deformed transversely of their normal curvature so that the center portions thereof will conform to the curvature of the walls 36, as shown in FIGURE 2. It can be seen that normally only minimum areas of the slide member engage the side walls 36 and that there is no engagement between the slide member and the base walls 34 and 38.

During operation of the window regulator 18 and movement of the window 16, the slide member 32 can rotate within predetermined limits about various axes or combination of axes and still cooperate with the guide channel to guide movement of the window without binding. The slide member 32 can rotate about an axis transverse of the walls 34 and 38 until diagonally opposite side walls 44 of the end portions engage the side walls 36 of the channel. However, this engagement will not have any binding effect on movement of the window. Likewise, the slide member 32 can rotate about an axis transverse of the walls 36 until diagonally opposite base walls 46 of each end portion engage the side walls 36 to provide a predetermined limit to the movement. Again, there will be no binding of the slide member within the channel.

Should the slide member rotate about an axis longitudinally of the channel 30, movement in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2, will be limited by engagement of the left-hand abutment 60 with the wall 34, and movement in a counterclockwise direction will be limited by engagement of the other hand abutment 60 with the wall 34 so that, again, a predetermined, limit is set for such movement.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the slide member and channel cooperate to permit limited rotational movement of the window relative to the channel about an axis transverse of the side walls of the channel, transverse of base walls of the channel, longitudinally of the channel, and any combination of such axes, to thereby provide for substantially universal movement of the window relative to the channel while still maintaining guiding engagement of the slide member with the channel without any binding. During such movement, only a limited area of the slide member normally engages the channel and the stabilizers 58 stabilize the guide member to ensure that a sufiicient area of engagement between the slide member and the channel is present at all times.

With reference to FIGURE 1, it will be noted that the slide members 32 are arranged in pairs since this improves the stability of the window laterally of the guide channels 28 and 30 and also provides for improved fore-and-aft stability of the window as it moves between its open and closed positions.

Thus this invention provides an improved slide and guide arrangement for guiding the movement of vehicle body windows.

I claim:

1. A slide and guide arrangement for guiding movement of vehicle body windows comprising, in combination, an elongate guide channel having a pair of transversely arcuate spaced side walls opening to each other and a pair of spaced base walls joined to the side walls, one base wall having an elongated slot therein, a slide member received within the channel and including a main body portion and a pair of longitudinally extending end portions, each extending oppositely of the other, the side walls of each end portion tapering convergently of each other from juncture thereof with the main body portion,

the main body portion including a pair of oppositely extending ribs,'the side wall of each rib having a center portion and side portions tapering oppositely from the center portion, each side portion forming a continuation of a side wall of an end portion, the center portions of the rib side walls seating on the channel side walls, diagonally opposite side walls of the end portions being engageable with the channel side walls to limit rotation of the slide member about an axis transverse of the channel base walls, and stabilizer means extending laterally from each rib and conforming to the curvature of the channel side walls to stabilize the slide member upon rotation thereof about an axis longitudinally of the channel.

2. A slide and guide arrangement for guiding movement of vehicle body windows comprising, in combination, an elongate guide channel having a pair of trans versely arcuate spaced side walls opening to each other and a pair of spaced base walls joined to the side walls, one base Wall having an elongated slot therein, a slide member received within the channel and including a main body portion and a pair of longitudinally extending end portions, each extending oppositely of the other and including a pair of base walls and a pair of side walls, the walls of each pair tapering convergently of each other from juncture thereof with the main body portion, the main body portion including a pair of oppositely extending ribs, the side wall of each rib having a center portion and side portions tapering oppositely from the center portion, each side portion forming a continuation of a side wall of an end portion, the center portions of the rib side walls seating on the channel side walls, diagonally opposite side walls of the end portions being engageable with the channel side walls to limit rotation of the slide member about an axis transverse of the channel base walls, diagonally opposite base walls of the end portions being engageable with the channel base walls to limit rotation of the slide member about an axis transverse of the channel side walls, and stabilizer means extending laterally from each rib and conforming to the curvature of the channel side walls to stabilize the slide member uponrotation thereof about an axis longitudinally of the channel.

3. A slide and guide arrangement for guiding movement of vehicle body windows comprising, in combination, an elongate guide channel having a pair of transversely arcuate spaced side walls opening to each other and a pair of spaced base walls joined to the side walls, one base wall having an elongated slot therein, a slide member received within the channel and including an apertured main body portion having a coaxially apertured hub movable within the base wall slot and a pair of longitudinally extending end portions, each extending oppositely of the other and including a pair of base walls and a pair of side walls, the walls of each pair tapering convergently of each other from juncture thereof with the main body portion, the main body portion including a pair of oppositely extending ribs, each having a pair of base walls and a side wall, the side wall of each rib having a center portion and side portions tapering oppositely from the center portion, each side portion forming a continuation of a side wall of an end portion, the center portions of the rib side walls seating on the channel side walls, diagonally opposite side walls of the end portions being engageable with the channel side walls to limit ro tation of the slide member about an axis transverse of the channel base walls, diagonally opposite base walls of the end portions being engageable with the channel base walls to limit rotation of the slide member about an axis transverse of the channel side walls, a stabilizer member extending laterally from each rib base wall adjacent the side wall center portion of the rib and conforming to the curvature of the channel side walls to stabilize the slide member upon rotation thereof about an axis longitudinally of the channel, and a stud received within the apertures of the main body portion and hub to secure the slide member to a window.

4. The combination recited in claim 3 wherein the body member includes spaced abutment means adjacent the aperture therein to limit rotational movement of the slide member about the axis longitudinally of the channel.

5. The combination recited in claim 3 wherein each stabilizer member is a relatively thin extension of the rib and has a normal curvature opposite to that of the channel side walls.

6. The combination recited in claim 5 wherein the slide member is formed of plastic material and the main body portion, end portions and extensions are formed integral with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Sturtevant et a1. 49-428 X 0 DAVID J. WlLLIAMO-WSKY, Primary Examiner J. KARL BELL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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