US 6,026,611 AGranted

Power sliding window assembly

AssigneeDura Automotive Systems, Inc.

InventorsDaniel D. Ralston, Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, Gary L. Ray, Kelly J. Harris

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Abstract

A pull-pull power sliding window assembly is disclosed, comprising a frame, a sliding pane slidable within the frame, and a pull-pull cable assembly for moving the sliding pane between a open and a closed position. The pull-pull cable assembly comprises a drive motor, a drive drum, and drive cable comprising a cable and a semi-rigid conduit wrapped around the cable, connecting the drive drum to the sliding pane for pulling the sliding pane back and forth. A retainer is mounted on the drive motor, a plunger is slidably received into an opening of the retainer, and the drive cable is routed through the plunger and into the retainer opening. A spring is positioned between the retainer and the plunger and is movable from an expanded condition where the plunger is biased away from the retainer and the drive cable is biased away from the sliding pane, and a compressed condition where the plunger is closer to the retainer and the drive cable extends further out of the conduit. A removable spring compressor compresses the spring, thereby preventing the spring from moving to the expanded condition. Thus, slack is maintained in the drive cable until the spring compressor is removed. A retrofitting kit for retrofitting a manual sliding window assembly to a power sliding window assembly is also disclosed.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A sliding window assembly comprising, in combination:

a frame mountable in a recess in a motor vehicle body;
a sliding pane slidable between a open position and a closed position;
drive means and a drive drum rotatable by operation of the drive means;
and
a pull-pull cable assembly for moving the sliding pane between the open position and the closed position comprising:
drive cable comprising at least one cable having first and second ends and sheathed in a conduit, operatively connected between the drive drum at the first end and the sliding pane at the second end, wherein the drive cable pulls the sliding pane toward the open position upon rotation of the drive drum in a first direction, and the drive cable pulls the sliding pane toward the closed position upon rotation of the drive drum in a second direction opposite the first direction;
a retainer mounted to the drive motor and a plunger having a collar at one end, the plunger being slidably received into an opening of the retainer, wherein the cable is routed through the plunger and into the retainer opening;
at least one spring positioned between the retainer and the plunger, wherein the spring in an expanded condition biases the plunger away from the retainer and the second end of the drive cable extends beyond the conduit by a length, and when the spring is in a compressed condition the plunger collar is closer to the retainer and the second end of the drive cable extends beyond the conduit by an increased length;
and
at least one removable spring compressor compressing the spring, and restricting the spring from moving to the expanded condition.

7 more elements

A retrofitting kit for retrofitting a manually sliding window assembly installed in a motor vehicle to be power operated, the retrofitting kit comprising:

a drive motor for mounting to the motor vehicle, the drive motor having a drive drum rotatable upon actuation of the drive motor;
a cable assembly for pull-pull powered opening and closing of a sliding pane, comprising left and right cables, each cable attached to the drive drum and attachable to a sliding pane;
a spring retainer assembly comprising:
left and right plungers corresponding to the left and right cables, respectively, with each cable coaxially positioned within a corresponding plunger;
a retainer affixed to the motor and provided with a left opening and a right opening, wherein the left and right plungers are slidably received in the left and right opening of the retainer, respectively;
left and right springs interposed between the left and right plunger, respectively, and the retainer, each spring being movable between an expanded condition where the corresponding plunger is biased away from the retainer to a compressed condition where the corresponding plunger is movable towards the retainer;
and
left and right removable spring compressors restricting motion of the left and right plunger, respectively, away from the corresponding retainer opening and thereby restricting the corresponding spring from moving to the expanded condition.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.