Vehicle Roof Comprising a Roof Element and Method for Producing a Vehicle Roof Element

Abstract

A vehicle roof having a roof element having a planar panel made of glass, plastic or metal, the panel having an outer side facing a vehicle environment and an inner side facing a vehicle interior, and the roof element having a connecting metal plate connected to the inner side of the panel via a molded portion. The connecting metal plate is in loose and sealing contact with the inner side of the panel via contact flanges and defines a cavity together with the inner side of the panel, the cavity being filled by the molded portion, and the connecting metal plate is free from molded portions at its surfaces disposed outside the cavity.

Claims

1. A vehicle roof comprising: a roof element having a planar panel made of glass, plastic or sheet metal, the panel having an outer side facing a vehicle environment and an inner side facing a vehicle interior, and the roof element having a connecting metal plate connected to the inner side of the panel via a molded portion, wherein the connecting metal plate is in loose and sealing contact with the inner side of the panel via contact flanges and defines a cavity together with the inner side of the panel, the cavity being filled by the molded portion, and in that the connecting metal plate is free from molded portions at its surfaces disposed outside the cavity.

2. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the connecting metal plate and the cavity are of a frame-like design and circumferentially follow the edges of the panel.

3. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the connecting metal plate has two openings which connect the cavity to the environment.

4. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein sealing elements are disposed between the contact flanges and the panel.

5. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the roof element is a fixed roof element.

6. The vehicle roof according to claim 5, wherein the connecting metal plate has a circumferential adhesion surface for connecting the fixed roof element to a vehicle structure.

7. The vehicle roof according to claim 6, wherein the adhesion surface is formed on an underside of a contact flange of the connecting metal plate, the contact flange being an outer contact flange with respect to a center of the fixed roof element.

8. The vehicle roof according to claim 6, further comprising a substructure which is attached to the vehicle or the body and to which the fixed roof element is attached via a bead of glue disposed on the adhesion surface.

9. The vehicle roof according to claim 1, wherein the connecting metal plate comprises a fixing portion for connecting a functional element, in particular an element of a shading assembly.

10. A method for producing a vehicle roof element having a planar panel made of glass, plastic or sheet metal and a connecting metal plate for connecting the roof element to a vehicle structure, the method comprising the following steps: providing the panel; attaching the connecting metal plate to an inner side of the panel so that a cavity forms between the connecting metal plate and the panel and the connecting metal plate is in loose and sealing contact with the inner side of the panel via contact flanges; and introducing a mold material into the cavity via a gate of the connecting metal plate so that a molded portion forms in the cavity, the molded portion alone fixing the connecting metal plate to the panel.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the connecting metal plate is pushed against the inner side of the panel by a holding tool during the molding of the molded portion.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the panel is held in position.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the mold material is introduced according to an RIM process.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the contact flanges are provided with sealing elements and are joined to the panel via the sealing elements.

Description

[0031] An exemplary embodiment of a vehicle roof according to the invention is schematically illustrated in the drawing and will be explained in more detail in the following description.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a vehicle roof having a fixed roof element;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the fixed roof element;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the fixed roof element in the edge area; and

[0035] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the fixed roof element along line IV-IV in FIG. 2 during its production.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a roof 10 of a passenger car (not shown) which is configured as a panoramic roof and which has a fixed roof element 12 extending from the rear edge of roof 10 to a middle portion of roof 10. A roof opening which can be closed by means of a displaceable cover element 14 is formed forward of fixed roof element 12. By means of displacement kinematics (not shown), cover element 14 can be displaced between the closed position illustrated in FIG. 1 and an open position, in which the roof opening is at least partially open and cover element 14 is moved on top of fixed roof element 12. Fixed roof element 12, which is illustrated on its own in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises a glass panel 16, which forms an outer roof skin element and is curved. At its circumferential edge, glass panel 16 is provided with a circumferential frame-like connecting metal plate 18, which serves to fix fixed roof element 12 to a roof substructure 20 attached to the vehicle and which is a die-cut/bent part made of steel or light metal.

[0037] Connecting metal plate 18 comprises two contact flanges 22 and 24 which extend in the manner of a frame and which are each provided with a sealing element 26 and 28, respectively, which is in loose contact with an inner side 30 of glass panel 16. The inner side 30 of glass panel 16 faces a vehicle interior. On outer side 32, which faces away from inner side 30, glass panel 16 forms the outer visible surface of fixed roof element 12.

[0038] Between the two sealing elements 26 and 28 or the two contact flanges 22 and 24, connecting metal plate 18, together with inner side 30 of glass panel 16, defines a frame-like circumferential cavity 34, which follows the shape of circumferential frame-like connecting metal plate 18. Cavity 34 is filled by a molded portion 36, which is made of a polyurethane foam material and fixes connecting metal plate 18 to glass panel 16.

[0039] For molding molded portion 36, connecting metal plate 18 has a gate 38, which is slot-shaped, on one frame leg in the area between the two contact flanges 22 and 24 and a ventilation opening 40 on a second frame leg.

[0040] Furthermore, connecting metal plate 18 has a support flange 42 which is disposed on the outer side with respect to the center of glass panel 16 and on whose underside a circumferential adhesion surface 44 is formed. Via adhesion surface 44, fixed roof element 12 is glued to roof substructure 20 by means of a bead of glue 46.

[0041] Fixed roof element 12 is produced in the manner described below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0042] In a first method step, glass panel 16 is placed and secured in a holding device 52 with inner side 30 facing up. Subsequently, connecting metal plate 18 is loosely pushed against inner side 30 of glass panel 16 in a sealing manner via sealing elements 26 and 28, which are attached to contact flanges 22 and 24, by means of a holding tool 54.

[0043] Subsequently, a foaming device 48 is joined to gate 38 and a ventilation means 50 is joined to ventilation opening 40. Then, a polyurethane foam material is introduced into cavity 34, which is formed between connecting metal plate 18 and inner side 30 of glass panel 16, by means of foaming device 48, the air being simultaneously displaced from cavity 34 via ventilation opening 40 and ventilation means 50. The introduction of the polyurethane foam material, which forms molded portion 36 after hardening, takes place according to an RIM process under high pressures.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044] 10 vehicle roof [0045] 12 fixed roof element [0046] 14 cover element [0047] 16 glass panel [0048] 18 connecting metal plate [0049] 20 roof substructure [0050] 22 contact flange [0051] 24 contact flange [0052] 26 sealing element [0053] 28 sealing element [0054] 30 inner side [0055] 32 outer side [0056] 34 cavity [0057] 36 molded portion [0058] 38 gate [0059] 40 ventilation opening [0060] 42 contact flange [0061] 44 adhesion surface [0062] 46 bead of glue [0063] 48 foaming device [0064] 50 ventilation means [0065] 52 holding device [0066] 54 holding tool