Title of Invention

A WINDOW-LIFTER DRIVE, IN PARTICULAR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES

Abstract A description is given of a window-lifter drive for motor vehicles, having a cable drum (4) which is mounted rotatably in a housing and has a cable, which is connected to the window, wrapped around it. A crank bolt (1) which is mounted rotatably on a wall of the housing is in drive connection with the cable drum (4). Also arranged in the housing is a braking device which comprises a braking cup (6) and a braking spring (7) received in the braking cup (6). A coupling piece, in particular a fork (12) or the like, can be made to rotate by the crank bolt (1) and has radial play with respect to the crank bolt (1). An elastic element (11) is arranged, with prestressing, between the crank bolt (1) and coupling piece .
Full Text

Title: Window-lifter drive for a manual cable-operate?d window lifter
Description
The invention relates to a window-lifter drive, in particular for motor vehicles/ having a cable drum which is mounted rotatably in a housing and has a cable, which is connected to the window, wrapped around it, having a crank bolt which is mounted rotatably on a wall of the housing and is in drive conn-sction with the cable drum, with the result that rotation of the crank bolt, for example by means of a crank handle fitted thereon, causes the cable drum to rotate, having a braking device which is arranged in the housing and has a braking cup and a braking spring received in the braking cup, and having a coupling piece, in particular a fork or the like, which can be made to rotate by the crank bolt and has radial pXay with respect to the crank bolt,
A cable-operated window lifter of this type is known, for example, from DE-91 13 218 Ul, In one embodiment, this window-lifter drive has a reduction gear mechanism between the crank bolt and cable drum-The cable drum is received in a housing and car. be made to rotate by a crank bolt which extends through the housing, is mounted on end-side-housing walls and has a crank handle fitted on it. The cable which wraps around the cable drum is positioned on the inside of a vehicle door, for example, in a closed loop and is routed, by way of a section which corresponds to the length of the window displacement, over a rectilinear stretch parallel to the path of the window. Fastened on this cable section is a carry-along element which is intended for the window and moves essentially in a rectilinear manner during rotation of the cable drum. Provided within the housing is a braking device which is intended to ensure that the window is retained in every position and cannot be opened from the outside, Provided for this purpose is a coupling piece which is

connected to the crank bolt and engages, on the one hand, between carry-along fingers projecting in the axial direction on the end sides of the cable drum and, on the other hand, between the bent leg ends of a braking spring arranged coaxially' with the crank bolt. During a rotary movement of the crank bolt, the braking spring is drawn together by the coupling piece, with the result that a braking action does not take place. If, on the other hand, there is torque introduction on the output side as a result of the window being pushed down, then the braking spring is drawn apart by the projecting carry-along fingers of the cable drum, with the result that the spring is supported on the radially inner housing wall and prevents a rotary movement of the gear mechanism. The reduction gear mechanism has a drive pinion which is in drive connection with the crank bolt. The drive pinion acts on a cable-drum pinion of the cable drum.
Furthermore, DE 40 12 656 C2 discloses a Bowden-cable-operated window drive for motor vehicles which has a cable drum which is mounted in a cable-drum housing and, as coupling piece, has carry-along pins provided on the end sides. A mating couplii^ig piecie which engages between the carry-along pins of the coupling piece can be pushed on to an axially secured crank bolt and can be connected in a positively locking manner thereto for joint rotation therewith. In the case of this drive, which likewise has a braking device, there is no reduction gear mechanism provided between the crank bolt and the cable-drum housing.
Use of the braking device means that the crank bolt can execute unchecked angular movements, which, for example when the motor vehicle is travelling over a porous surface, results in the crank handle which is fitted on the crank bolt pivoting back and forth in an uncontrolled manner, in order to avoid this, attempts have already been made to brace the crank bolt axially by means of the inner door lining, with the result that, although it is possible to maintain the play of

between approximately 5° and 20°, in particular 9° and 13°, which is necessary for the braking device, undesired oscillation of the crank handle is avoided. However, this bracing by means of the inner door lining means that the driver has to apply an increased torque or actuating moment in order to raise and lower the window. In addition, with this measure, the inner door lining has an additional function to fulfil, which cannot always be ensured in certain applications .
In contrast, the object of the invention is to develop the window-lifter drive of the type mentioned in the introduction such that an unchecked angular movement of the crank bolt or of the crank handle fitted on the crank bolt is reliably avoided.
This object is essentially achieved according to the invention, in the case of the window-lifter drive having the features mentioned in the introduction, in that an elastic element is arranged, with prestressing, between the crank bolt and coupling piece and/or braking spring or braking cup. This elastic element or damping member inhibits a relative movement between the crank bolt and the coupling piece, with the result that uncontrolled pivoting of the crank bolt or of the crank handle fastened thereon is reliably avoided -Furthermore, the design outlay for bracing the elastic element is extremely low. In addition, this measure can be used irrespective of the specific type of inner door lining in the vehicle door of the respective motor vehicle.
A first, advantageously designed configuration of the invention consists in that the elastic element is received in an, in particular, dovetail-shaped^ receiving means of the coupling piece and is clamped; in, with prestressing, between the crank bolt and the coupling piece. The elastic elem.ent is retained in the receiving means in a reliable and captive manner and may be of large-surface-area design in the region where it butts against the crank bolt, for example it may

thus grip over the outer lateral surface of the crank
bolt in arcuate form. I
A further advantageous embodiment provides for the crank bolt to have a bore, in particular a transversely arranged blind bore, in which the plastic element is received and is clamped in, with prestressing, between the coupling piece and the bore,
A further configuration of the invention consists in that the coupling piece has a through-passage in which the elastic element is received, the elastic element being clamped in, with prestressing, between the crank bolt and the braking spring or the braking cup. This embodiment provides the additional advantage that, if a reduction gear mechanism is us-sd between the crank bolt and cable drum, a pivoting movement of the crank bolt or of the crank handle fitted thereon, which can be attributed to the tooth^flank play between the gear wheels of the reduction gear mechanism, is also avoided. This is because, in this case, not only does the elastic element avoid a relative movement between the crank bolt and coupling piece, but also said elastic element or damping member curbs, for example, the drive-pinion play,
In particular, in the case of a window-lifter drive without a reduction gear mechanism, the coupling piece is preferably arranged between the cable drum and the crank bolt, with the result that the elastic element clamped in-between the coupling piece and the crank bolt reliably prevents an undesirable pivoting movement of the crank bolt. In the case of a window-lifter drive with a reduction gear mechanism, the coupling piece is a constituent part of a drive pinion which IS in drive connection with the crank bolt and meshes with a cable-drum pinion. In this case, the damping of th-s elastic element acts between the drive pinion and the crank bolt and between the crank bolt and the braking spring or the braking cup, an undesirable pivoting movement as a result of the tooth-flank play of the gear wheels of the reduction gear

mechanism also being reliably avoided in the last mentioned case.
The elastic element is advantageously dessigned as a rubber element which can be adapted, in terms of shape and elasticity, to the respective applications.
Further aims, advantages, features and possible applications of the present invention can be gathered from the following description of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. All the features which are described and/or depicted form the subject matter of the present invention themselves or in any appropriate combination, irrespective of h6w they are combined in the claims or how they relate back.
In the figures: Figure 1 shows a sectional illustration through a
first exemplary embodiment of the window-lifter drive according to the invention, Figure 2 shows an enlarged illustration of the
arrangement of the elastic element according to the exemplary embodiment of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a view of Figure 2 in the Z direction. Figure 4 shows a modified embodiment of the window-lifter drive illustrated m Figure 2, Figure 5 shows a view of Figure 4 in the Y direction. Figure 6 shows a further embodiment of the invention
in sectional illustration. Figure 1 shows an enlarged illustration of the
arrangement of the elastic element of Figure 6, and Figure 8 shows a view of Figure 7 in the X direction.
The window-lifter drive has a crank bolt 1 which is intended for manual actuation and, in the case of the exemplary embodiments illustrated, acts on a cable drum 4 via a reduction gear mechanism, comprising a drive pinion 2 and a cable-drum pinion 3. A cable pull of the cable-operated window lifter is wound up on the cable drum 4, and unwound therefrom, this resulting in

an upward and downward movement of the window. The window-lifter drive is received in a housing which has a base plate 5 and serves for securing the window-lifter drive on a vehicle door. Furthermore, the housing forms a braking cup 6 which receives a braking spring 7. Undesirable lowering of the window, for example by the window being subjected to a force from the outside in the lowering direction, is prevented in a known manner by this braking device. The crank bolt 1 extends through the braking cup 6 and a housing part 8, which preferably consists of plastic and is provided with a bearing location 9 for the crank bolt 1 and bearing locations 10 for mounting the cable drum 4.
The braking system means that the crank bolt can execute unchecked angular movements or pivot.i ng movements, which results in a kind of "dancing" action of the crank which is fitted on the crank bolt 1, in particular when the vehicle is travelling over a poor surface* This can be attributed to the fact that the braking system requires a non-operational angle, i|n particular between 9° and 13°, in order to eliminabe the braking action of the braking system when the window is lowered by actuation of the crank bolt 1.
In order to avoid these uncontrolled angular movements between the crank bolt 1 and the drive pinion 2, an elastic element or a rubber element is arranged, with prestressing, between the crank bolt 1 and drive pinion 2. According to the exemplary embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, the elastic element 11 is received in a dovetail-shaped receiving means of the drive pinion 2 or a coupling piece, which is designed as a fork 12 , The elastic element 11 butts flush against the lateral surface of the crank bolt 1 and engages over part of the circumference of the crank bolt 1 m arcuate form.
Figures 4 and 5 illustrates a further arrangement of the elastic element, In this case, the elastic element 11 is introduced in a bore 13 of the crank bolt 1. The bore 13 is designed, in particular, as a blind bore or the like which is directed transversely with

respect to the longitudinal axis of the crank bolt 1, In this case, the elastic element 11 is supported on the drive pinion 2 or on Che fork 12 of the coupling piece -
A further variant of the invention is illustrated in Figures 6 to 8 .
In this case, the coupling piece, designated as fork 12, has a bore through it or s through-passage in which the elastic element 11 is received. The elastic element is clamped in, with prestressing, b-stween the crank bolt 1 and the braking spring 7, This measure curbs not only the uncontrolled pivoting of the crank bolt 1, which can be attributed to the radial play of the braking device, but also pivoting of the crank bolt 1 as a result of any tooth-flank play between the drive pinion 2 and the cable-drive pinion 3-
Although the invention has been explained by way of example with reference to a window drive with a reduction gear mechanism, it goes without saying that the invention can also be used fcr a window-lifter drive without a reduction gear mechanism.

List of designations

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12 -13

Crank bolt Drive pinion Cable-drum pinion Cable dram Base plate Braking cup Braking spring Housing part Bearing location Bearing location Elastic element For k




We Claim: —
1. Window-lifter drive, in particular for motor vehicles, having a cable drum (4) which is mounted rotatably in a housing and has a cable, which is connected to the window, wrapped around it, having a crank bolt (1) which is mounted rotatably on a wall of the housing and is in drive connection with the cable drum (4), with the result that rotation of the crank bolt (l)r for example by means of a crank handle fitted thereon, causes the cable drum to rotate, having a braking device which is arranged in the housing and has a braking cup (6) and a braking spring (7) received in the braking cup (6), and having a coupling piece, in particular a fork (12) or the like, which can be made to rotate by the crank bolt (1) and has radial play with respect to the crank bolt (1), characterized in that an elastic element (11) is arranged, with prestressing between the crank bolt (1) and coupling piece and/or braking spring (7) or braking cup (6), j
2. Window-lifter drive according to Claim l, characterized in that the elastic element (11) is received in an, in particular, dovetail-shaped receiving means of the coupling piece and is clamped in, with prestressing, between the crank bolt (1) and the coupling piece.
3. Window-lifter drive according to Claim 1, characterised in that the crank bolt (1) has a bore ' (13), in particular a transversely arranged blind bore, in which the elastic element (11) is received and is clamped in, with prestressing, between the coupling piece and the bore (13).
4. Window-lifter drive according to Claim 1, characterised in that the coupling piece has a through-passage in which the elastic element (11) is received, the elastic element (11) being clamped in, with prestressing, between the crank bolt (1) and the braking spring (7) or the braking cup (6).
5. Window-lifter drive according, to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling

6, Window-lifter drive, in particular for motor vehicles, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanyinq drawings,


Documents:

094-mas-1998-abstract.pdf

094-mas-1998-claims filed.pdf

094-mas-1998-claims granted.pdf

094-mas-1998-correspondnece-others.pdf

094-mas-1998-correspondnece-po.pdf

094-mas-1998-description(complete)filed.pdf

094-mas-1998-description(complete)granted.pdf

094-mas-1998-drawings.pdf

094-mas-1998-form 1.pdf

094-mas-1998-form 26.pdf

094-mas-1998-form 3.pdf

094-mas-1998-form 4.pdf

094-mas-1998-form 5.pdf

094-mas-1998-pct.pdf

abs-94-mas-1998.jpg


Patent Number 212470
Indian Patent Application Number 94/MAS/1998
PG Journal Number 07/2008
Publication Date 15-Feb-2008
Grant Date 03-Dec-2007
Date of Filing 15-Jan-1998
Name of Patentee KUSTER & CO. GMBH
Applicant Address AQM BAHNHOF, D- 35630 EHRINGSHAUSEN,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 WILLI JAKOB BERLINERSTRASSE 4, D-35630 EHRINGSHAUSEN,
2 GERHARD BRAUER PESTALOZZI-STRASSE 38, D-35606 SOLMS-OBERBIEL,
PCT International Classification Number E 05 F 11/50
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 197 29 468.5 1997-07-10 Germany
2 197 01 153.5 1997-01-15 Germany