Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02334853 2008-01-08
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ROOF UNIT AND FLOOR UNIT FOR A ROAD VEHICLE
The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a vehicle body
with a roof unit
containing an outer skin and an inward facirig ceiling, or an outer skin and
an inward facing
ceiling with a ceiling frame, whereby the roof unit is in the form of a unit
ready for installat-
ion and, a basic structure, and the ceiling and the outer skin along with the
basic structure
feature configurations for joining that mate with each other at their mutual
places for joining,
this for a body of a road-bound vehicle fitted together horizontally, and
particular roof units.
It is known that manufacturing concepts for powered vehicles make use of
individual
modules that can be assembled separately. This concerns in particular the
whole of the dash-
board including the cockpit. Further, described in the book Horst Pippert,
Karosserie-
technik, Vogel-Fachbuch, Vogel Publishers, Wilrzburg, 1989, pp 242 and 244, is
that hori-
zontal separation of the roof and base units can be useful. Before final
assembly, individual
fittings may be readily added to the base unit. A process for manufacturing a
horizontalty
separated vehicle body is described in EP-B 0 250 678.
Known from DE 79 29 367 U is a roof structure for powered vehicles having an
outer skin
and a roof frame that form a unit which can be attached to the columns of the
vehicle body.
The outer skin of the roof is joined along its edges -to a profiled section
frame, which is
attached to the columns of the vehicle. body.
Separate manufacture of roof and floor units or basic structure was hardly
adopted for series
production purposes as the fitting together and joining of the roof to the
base unit is difficult,
or at least complicated, and the overall stability of a vehicle body - and
with that its struc-
tural strength - is made worse compared with a body with side walls reaching
up to the roof.
Methods of.manufacturing the rough bodywork from floor units and outer sheets
suffer the
disadvantage that the subsequent fitting out of the vehicle, e.g. installing
all components in
the region of the roof and the window posts, involves mounting or fitting
these from the
inside of the body frame. The freedom of movement for a person or a machine in
a finished
vehicle body is very limited. Consequently, manual work is tiresome, and in
some cases it is
not possible to make use of robots.
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The object of the present invention seeks to provide a process for
manufacturing a
vehicle body with a roof unit and a base unit or basic structure for a
horizontally
joined body of a road-bound vehicle, such that the roof unit makes
manufacturing
simple, and the joining of the roof unit and the basic structure is easy, in
particular
in conveyor-belt series production.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a process
for
manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof unit having an outer skin
and an inward facing ceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling
with a
ceiling frame, the roof unit being in the form of a unit ready for
installation, and a
basic structure having longitudinal frame members, wherein the ceiling and the
outer skin along with the basic structure feature joining configurations that
mate
with each other at mutual places for joining, said road-bound vehicle being
fitted
together horizontally, characterised in that the ceiling is introduced through
an
is opening for a rear or front window and, by means of an upward movement, is
brought into contact with matching joining configurations for connection at at
least one of: laterally on the longitudinal frame members and on front and
rear
cross members where said ceiling is fixed and, in a further step, the outer
skin is
lowered onto corresponding matching joining configurations for connection to
the
longitudinal frame members laterally and onto the front and rear cross
members,
and secured there by permanent joining.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
process for
manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof unit having an outer skin
and an inward facing ceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling
with a
ceiling frame, the roof unit being in the form of a unit ready for
installation, and a
basic structure having longitudinal frame members, wherein the ceiling and the
outer skin along with the basic structure feature joining configurations that
mate
with each other at mutual places for joining, said road-bound vehicle being
fitted
together horizontally, characterised in that, the ceiling frame is introduced
through
an opening for a rear or front window and, by means of an upward movement, is
brought into contact with matching joining configurations for connection at at
CA 02334853 2004-08-31
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least one of: laterally on the longitudinal frame members and on front and
rear
cross members where said ceiling frame is fixed and, in a further step, the
ceiling
is lowered to the ceiling frame and the roof skin is lowered onto
corresponding
matching joining configurations for connection to the longitudinal frame
members
laterally and onto the front and rear cross members, and secured there by
permanent j oining.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a
process for
manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof unit having an outer skin
io and an inward facing ceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling
with a
ceiling frame, the roof unit being in the form of a unit ready for
installation, and a
basic structure having longitudinal frame members and a roof frame, wherein
the
ceiling and the outer skin along with the basic structure feature joining
configurations that mate with each other at mutual places for joining, said
road-
i5 bound vehicle being fitted together horizontally, characterised in that the
roof unit
containing the outer skin with joining configurations, the ceiling or the
ceiling and
the ceiling frame, in each case with fittings already mounted in place, is
introduced through an opening between the longitudinal frame members and, by
means of an upward movement, is brought into contact with corresponding,
20 matching, joining configurations and permanently joined there, by raising
the roof
unit to the roof frame of the basic structure until roof unit touches the roof
frame
and a groove and a bulge corresponding to the groove, over the whole length of
the roof unit or longitudinal frames, on raising the roof unit further the
bulge fits
into the groove.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a process for
manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof unit having an outer skin
and an inward facing ceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling
with a
ceiling frame, the roof unit being in the form of a unit ready for
installation, and a
basic structure and the ceiling and the outer skin along with the basic
structure
feature joining configurations that mate with each other at mutual places for
joining, said road-bound vehicle being fitted together horizontally,
characterised in
that, some of said joining configurations are in side wall columns of the
basic
CA 02334853 2006-07-25
2b
structure for connecting purposes and the roof unit has installed fittings,
the
roof unit having the ceiling or the ceiling and the ceiling frame, and a said
joining configuration for connecting to the side wall columns is provided on
the
ceiling or ceiling frame and, by lowering the roof unit, mutual joining
configurations for connecting purposes are brought together and joined
permanently with each other.
In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roof unit having
an
outer skin and an inward facing ceiling, or an outer skin and an inward facing
ceiling with a ceiling frame, the roof unit being in the form of a unit ready
for
installation, and a basic structure having longitudinal frame members, wherein
the ceiling and the outer skin along with the basic structure feature joining
configurations that mate with each other at mutual places for joining, for a
body of a road-bound vehicle fitted together horizontally, characterised in
that,
the ceiling contains one or more fittings selected from the group consisting
of:
ceiling cover; interior cladding; cushioning against impact; sun shields;
interior
back-mirror; interior lighting; wiring; operating and display elements;
sliding,
raising, folding, lamellar and glass roofs, and frame parts thereof; drive
elements and roof hand grips, and the roof unit contains a bulge, over the
whole
length of the roof unit or longitudinal frame niembers, the bulge
corresponding
with a groove of the longitudinal frame mernbers, said bulge fitting into the
groove.
According to another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a
process for manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof unit having
an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling with a ceiling frame, and a basic
structure having longitudinal frames, the ceiling and the outer skin along
with
the basic structure having joining configurations that mate the ceiling and
the
outer skin to the basic structure at mutual places for joining, the process
comprising the steps of: introducing the ceiling frame through an opening in
the basic structure for a rear or front window; moving the ceiling frame
upwardly into contact with corresponding of the joining configurations for
connection at least one of laterally on the longitudinal frames and on front
and
rear cross members; fixing the ceiling frame in place; and lower the ceiling
to
the ceiling frame followed by lowering the outer skin onto the corresponding
joining configurations for connection to the longitudinal frames laterally and
onto the front and rear cross members and securing there permanently.
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According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is
provided a process for manufacturing a road-bound vehicle body with a roof
unit having an outer skin and an inward facing ceiling with a ceiling frame,
and
a basic structure having longitudinal frames, the ceiling and the outer skin
along with the basic structure having joining configurations that mate the
ceiling and the outer skin to the basic structure at mutual places for
joining, the
process comprising the steps of: introducing the ceiling frame through an
opening in the basic structure for a rear or fi-ont window; moving the ceiling
frame upwardly into contact with corresponding of the joining configurations
for connection at least one of laterally on the longitudinal frames and on
front
and rear cross members; fixing the ceiling frame in place; lower the ceiling
to
the ceiling frame followed by lowering the outer skin onto the corresponding
joining configurations for connection to the longitudinal frames laterally and
onto the front and rear cross members and securing there permanently, the
ceiling and the outer skin being joined together as a unit and the unit being
lowered onto the ceiling frame and the corresponding joining configurations
for
connection on the longitudinal frames at the side and front and rear cross
members, and secured there by permanent joining.
In a particular embodiment of the roof unit, the ceiling has a sandwich
structure
comprising a middle layer of foam, with on one or both sides fibre mats or
fleeces of glass fibres and on one or both sides at least one of plastic
films,
cover films and decorative or functional overlays.
Preferably, at least the outer side of the roof unit bears a coating of paint,
wholly or partially, on the parts that are visible from the outside or are
exposed
to weathering. The paint may be a single or multi-layer coating, e.g., of
undercoat, filler, top coat andlor a transparent organic coating, etc. The
paint
can therefore already be applied to the roof unit prior to joining the basic
structure and roof unit.
The roof unit may contain, e.g., the outer skin or the outer skin with
longitudinal and/or cross member(s) and the ceiling, if desired also a frame
for
the ceiling. The roof unit may also be essentially a single shaped part making
up the outer skin and the ceiling. Further, the roof unit may feature means
for
joining the longitudinal frame, the transverse frame and/or the side wall
columns such as A, B, C and if present, D columns, window frames, especially
those for fixed stationary windows or frameless windows in the doors. The
CA 02334853 2006-07-25
2d
roof unit may also contain components such as roofs that slide open, can be
raised, folded and lamella type roofs, or rigid or movable glass roofs and
their
frame parts, also elements for moving the sarne, roof-rack rails, antennae,
and
interior fittings such as covering materials, hand grips in the roof area, sun
blinds, interior lighting, cables, operating and display elements, modules for
series-type airbags at the sides, window airbags, head/shoulder airbags, etc.
The base unit or basic structure may, e.g.,, be in any prefabricated form.
Preferred is a base unit - with respect to the interior fittings - such
featuring
wiring, floor covering, seats, operating elements, instruments, etc. - to a
large
degree prefabricated, in order to minimize further work-steps in the vehicle
interior formed by joining the roof and base units or basic structure.
The outer roof skin and also the ceiling frame: may be made up of one or more
parts and of various materials. Suitable r.naterials are metals, plastics or
combinations thereof. Preferred metals are ferrous and non-ferrous materials,
in particular lightweight metals. Included in the group of lightweight metals
are aluminium and its alloys and magnesium and its alloys. The
CA 02334853 2000-12-12
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outer skin of metal may be in the form of sheet or - in particular in the case
of aluminium or
magnesium - in the form of a foamed shaped body or extruded section. Ceiling
frames may
be e.g. of metal in particular aluminium or magnesium or their alloys and as
stamped, pressed
or extruded parts. Exarnples of plastic-based materials for outer roof skins,
ceiling and ceiling
frames are polyaniides, including polyamides of diamines and aromatic
dicarbonic acid
(Aramides), polyesters, epoxy resins, polyurethanes, polyvinylchlorides,
polycarbonates,
acrylnitrile-styrene copolymers, acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers
(ABS), polyolefins
etc. The plastics may be fibre-reinforced plastics - such as plastics
reinforced with glass or
carbon fibres. The plastics may contain filler materials. The plastics may be
in foamed of non-
foamed state, including closed cell and open cell foams and may be present
both as hard or
soft foams. The outer roof skin, the ceiling and the ceiling frames may also
be made up of a
combination of metals and plastics such as composites, also known as laminates
or sandwich
materials. The composites may have various plastic layers or feature at least
one sheet or
section of metal and at least one plastic layer. The ceiling frame may be a
shaped part of
plastic such as in injection moulded part, a foamed shaped part or may be of
metal in par-
ticular light weight metals such as aluminium or magnesium in the form of a
stamped,
pressure diecast part or as an extruded section, or a combination of plastic
and metal. The
ceiling frame may be painted or covered with material.
The outer roof skin may be in the form of a laminate with a metal or plastic
layer forniing the
outer side and, facing inwards, at least one foamed or non-foamed plastic
layer. The outer
roof skin and the ceiling and possibly the ceiling frame, as one and the same
shaped part or as
separate shaped parts, may also be shaped parts with integral foam with a
closed, solid edge
region that - moving away from the edge, gradually has the form of a fine-
pored structure.
Also, fibre matting with fibres of glass, cotton, flax or coconut etc. may be
provided between
the roof outer skin and the ceiling, or as ceiling itself or within a ceiling-
laminate, from case
to case as desired. By appropriate choice of layer thickness and materials
laniinates may in
particular be designed for optimal dampening of resonance and noise.
The ceiling ma.y be a covering e.g. of leather, artificial leather, textiles,
plastic films etc.
These materials may be drawn over e.g. A shape-determining support of plastic,
metal,
foamed mats, foamed bodies, stiffened fibre matting etc. The ceiling may e.g.
also be a
shaped part of plastic, foamed plastic or integral foam such as e.g. mentioned
above for the
roof outer skin. The ceiling may have a sandwich structure comprising a middle
layer of foam
e.g. polyurethane foam, fibre mats or fibre-glass fleece etc., on one or both
sides and, may
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feature on one or both sides, plastic films, cover films and/or decorative or
functional covers.
The ceiling may also include a ceiling frame.
The basic structure is closed off at the top by the ceiling frame comprising
e.g. longitudinal
members at the side or longitudinal members at the side with front and rear
cross members
arranged between them, or with the side wall columns and front and rear cross
members.
Usefully, the roof unit contains the outer skin with configuration for
connecting to the ceiling
frame, such as a longitudinal member and/or a front and rear cross member
and/or the side
wall columns such as A and C columns and if present B and D columns.
The outer skin of the roof may e.g. also be a single piece shaped part with
configuration for
connecting to the ceiling frame, cross members and/or the side wall columns
such as A and C
columns and if present B and D columns.
The roof unit preferably contains an outer skin and a ceiling frame with
longitudinal members
arranged at the sides of the outer skin and/or front and rear cross members.
Another pre-
ferred version is such that the roof unit contains the outer skin and the
ceiling frame, the
ceiling frame being one single shaped part.
Usefully, the outer skin and/or the ceiling frame contains fittings. The
fittings include e.g. one
or more of the following parts: ceiling cover, other interior cladding,
cushioning against
impact, sun shields, interior back-mirror, interior lighting, wiring,
operating and display
elements, sliding, raising, folding, lamellar and glass roofs and their frame
parts and corres-
ponding drive elements, roof hand grips etc. The outer skin rnay also feature
outward facing
attachment means for antennae, roof fittings such as luggage rack or rails.
Especially preferred are roof frames or side wall columns or cross members
that feature con-
necting elements to which the corresponding configurations for connecting on
the ceiling
frame or the outer skin may be attached. Suitable configurations for
connecting purposes on
the ceiling frame or side wall columns or cross members are bolting, riveting,
form-fit, clip or
push-fit type connections etc. For example the configuration connecting
facility of the roof
unit could be the means of attachment for the roof hand grips and/or the sun
shields.
Belonging to the wiring in the roof unit are in particular push-fit
connections which are
preferably situated at the mutual joining points on the roof and base units;
the continuation of
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these is in the corresponding wiring with corresponding push-fit connections
in the basic
structure.
The scope of the present invention includes the production of the horizontally
assembled
vehicle body comprising roof and basic structure.
The production process is e.g. performed in such a manner that the basic
structure with
respect to interior fittings such as seats, dashboard, operating elements etc.
is to a large
extent pre-fabricated. The basic structure terminates at the top e.g. with the
longitudinal
members at the sides and, with respect to the roof, a front and rear cross
member. The
ceiling, which in some case contains a ceiling frame, is in introduced through
the opening for
the rear or front window and, by means of an upward movement, is brought into
contact with
the matching con-figuration points for connection on the longitudinal frame
members at the
side and/or the front and rear cross members where it is fixed into place. The
ceiling may
already have fittings attached to it. The ceiling may be connected to the
longitudinal members
and/or to the cross members via configurations for joining such as bolting or
push-fit
connections which are foreseen e.g. for attaching the hand grips and/or the
sun shields.
Subsequently, further fittings may be added as required. In a further step the
outer skin is
brought into contact with the corresponding configuration for joining on the
longitudinal
members at the side and the front and rear cross members by lowering it, and
then
permanently attached there. The outer skin may be attached by adhesive
bonding, welding,
bolting, riveting, clamping, engaging by fit and shape, clinching or a
combination of the
different means of attachment. Welding methods are in particular friction
welding, MIG, TIG
or laser welding.
The production process is performed in another manner which is e.g. such that
the basic
structure is to a large extent pre-fabricated with respect to interior
fittings such as seats,
dashboard, operating elements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top
e.g. with the
longitudinal members at the sides and, with respect to the roof, and a front
and rear cross
member. The ceiling frame is in introduced through the opening for the rear or
front window
and, by means of an upward movement, is brought into contact with the
corresponding
configuration points for connection on the longitudinal frame members at the
side and/or the
front and rear cross members where it is fixed into place. The ceiling frame
may already have
fittings attached to it. The ceiling frame may be connected to the
longitudinal members
and/or to the cross members via configurations for joining such as bolting or
push-fit
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connections which are foreseen e.g. for attaching the hand grips and/or the
sun shields.
Subsequently, further fittings may be added as required. In a further step the
ceiling is
lowered onto the ceiling frame and in some cases joined permanently to it.
Finally the outer
skin is lowered onto the corresponding configuration for joining on the
longitudinal members
at the side and the front and rear cross members and permanently joined there.
The outer skin
may be attached by adhesive bonding, welding, bolting, riveting, clamping,
engaging by fit
and shape, clinching or a combination of the different means of attachment. In
this process it
is also possible to prefabricate the ceiling and outer skin by joining them
together to make a
unit out of them, to lower this unit onto the ceiling frame and the
corresponding con-
figuration for joining on the longitudinal members at the sides and the front
and rear cross
members, and thereafter to join them permanently together.
The production process is performed in yet another manner which is e.g. such
that the basic
structure is to a large extent prefabricated with respect to interior fittings
such as seats, dash-
board, operating elements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top e.g.
with the long-
itudinal members at the sides. The roof unit - comprising outer skin, ceiling
or ceiling and
ceiling frame and a front and rear cross member, in each case with fittings
already mounted -
is in introduced between the two longitudinal members and, by means of an
upward move-
ment, is brought into contact with the corresponding configuration points for
connection on
the longitudinal frame members where it is fixed into place. The ceiling or
ceiling frame may
be connected to the longitudinal members via configurations for joining such
as screw-type
or push-fit connections which are foreseen e.g. for attaching ceiling hand
grips. The ceiling
is joined to the longitudinal members by means of further configurations for
that purpose e.g.
by interlocking by virtue of shape and fit. The further configuration for
joining may e.g. be in
the form of a rib or ribs, or bulge or bulges, running along the side of the
outer skin and
corresponding groove or grooves, or rib or ribs, running along the
longitudinal members.
Adhesive and/or sealing masses are preferably provided in the region of the
joint made by the
rib and groove, or the bulge and groove. Possible means of joining the
longitudinal members
and the outer skin in the region of their mutual configuration for joining are
adhesive
bonding, welding, clamping, clinching, riveting, bolting, either alone or a
combination of the
different means of attachment.
The production process is performed in yet another manner which is such e.g.
that the basic
structure is to a large extent pre-fabricated with respect to interior
fittings such as seats,
dash-board, operating elements etc. The basic structure terminates at the top
e.g. with the
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side wall columns. The side wall columns feature a configuration for
attachment purposes.
The roof unit may be already feature fittings installed in it. The roof unit
features the ceiling
or ceiling and ceiling frame. A configuration for joining to the side wall
columns is provided
on the ceiling or on the ceiling frame. For example by lowering, raising or
inserting the roof
unit from the front or rear, the points of mutual configuration are brought
into contact with
each other and joined permanently together. Suitable configurations for
joining are tongue
and groove, shoulder section and contact strips, cogged sections, plugs such
as conical plugs
and holes, wedges engaging in slits, channel sections that engage on a
projection etc.
Adhesive joints may be made using adhesives. Examples of adhesives are - apart
from the
physical bonding adhesives - the particularly suitable chemically bonding
adhesives. Belong-
ing to the chemically bonding adhesives are reaction type adhesives such as
the two com-
ponent adhesives with epoxy resins and acetic anhydrides, epoxy resins and
polyamines, poly-
isocyanates and polyols or the single component adhesives cyanacrylates or
methacrylates,
the two component adhesives out of unsaturated polyesters and styrene or
methacrylates, the
single component adhesives of phenoplasts and polyvinyl acetalene or nitrile-
caoutchoucs,
the two component adhesive s of pyromellite acetic anhydride and 4.4-diamineo-
diphenyl-
ether forming polyimides or of poly-benzimide-azoles. Adhesives that form
duroplastics or
possibly elastic compounds are to be preferred.
At the areas or edges of contact between the roof and the basic structure, and
between the
ceiling and ceiling frame, provision may be made for clamping and/or sealing
profiled
sections, edge sections, closing off sections etc., of elastic materials,
sealing strips or sealing
masses etc.
The roof units according to the invention find preferential application for
road bound vehicles
such as private cars and the like or for the driver's cabin in lorries.
Included in the category
of private cars are e.g. 2-door and 4-door limousines, two-seater cars, estate
cars, vans and
small buses.
With the roof units described above it is possible to fabricate the basic
structure almost to
completion, whereby the roof initially remains open, and. the opening in the
roof remains
available as workspace and for introducing fittings. This provides an
efficient production
method for fitting out the basic structure, followed by simple addition of the
roof unit to the
3 5 basic structure.
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Various exemplified embodiments of the object of the invention are explained
in greater
detail in the following with the aid of drawings viz.:
Figures 1 to 4 showing the first version of the assembly of a roof unit on a
basic
structure, the roof unit being mounted on the basic structure in several
steps.
Figures 5 to 7 showing a second version of the assembly of a roof unit on a
basic
structure where the ceiling and outer skin already form a unit with the
basic structure prior to installation.
Figures 8 to 13 showing a third version of the assembly of a roof unit on a
basic
structure where the roof unit already contains the ceiling, the ceiling
frame, the outer skin and both cross members and represents a complete
unit. Apart from its installation on the basic structure, the roof unit
requires no further work to it.
Figures 14 and 15 showing a fourth version of the assembly of a roof unit on a
basic struct-
ure where the roof unit contains the complete roof frame
Shown in figure 1 is a basic structure 10 of a vehicle body which already has
the side wall
columns 24, 25, 26, 27, the front and rear cross frames 11 and 12 and the
longitudinal frame
members 16. The basic structure 10 may feature further component parts; as
these are not
pertinent to the object of the invention they not shown here.
Figure 2 shows a cross-section through a longitudinal frame member 16 which
represents the
upper limit of the basic structure 10. The longitudinal frame features an
extrusion seal 19,
and a connecting element 20 features e.g. an internal thread, a sleeve etc.
When the car body
is being assembled, the roof unit is fitted onto the largely prefabricated
basic structure 10.
Figure 3 shows further parts that can be built onto the basic structure 10
e.g. the ceiling 14,
such as a foamed body covered with a lining 31, ceiling frame 15 and airbag
module 18 e.g.
for side wall airbags, window airbags or head/shoulder airbags. During
production of the
vehicle, the ceiling 14 along with the ceiling frame 15 is inserted through
the front or rear
window opening and, in an upwards movement, the ceiling frame 15 brought up to
the points
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CA 02334853 2000-12-12
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for connecting it to the longitudinal frame members 16. The ceiling frame 15
is joined to the
longitudinal frame members 16 - one of various possible attachment points -
via the
attachment of the roof hand-grip 17, which in turn is secured to the
connecting element 20.
The lower edge region of the ceiling frame 15 is accommodated by the seal 19.
Provided the
fittings have not alrea.dy been mounted on the ceiling 14 or the ceiling
framel5 and therefore
already in place, further fittings in the roof region may be mounted from
above.
Shown in figure 4, also in cross-section, is the outer skin 13 of the roof
which is mounted in
a further production step onto the longitudinal frame 16, which is part of the
basic structure
10. The outer skin 13 can be lowered from above onto the longitudinal frame.
The outer skin
13 and the cross members 11 and 12 shown in figure 1 are permanently joined to
the basic
structure 10 at the seam 21 e.g. by adhesive bonding and/or welding.
Figure 5 shows a ceiling frame 15 which may be of one or a plurality of parts,
preferably one
part. The ceiling frame 15 may e.g. be a shaped part of metal such as a
pressure diecasting,
or a foamed body such as an integral foam body etc.
Figure 6 shows a cross-section through a longitudinal frame 16 of basic
structure 10; the
ceiling frame 15 along with airbag module 18 are mounted by way of the
connecting element
20 to which the hand grip 17 is attached. The lower edge of the ceiling frame
is accommo-
dated by the profiled seal 19. The ceiling frame 15 may be introduced into the
basic structure
e.g. through the front or rear window opening and raised to the connecting
points on the
longitudinal frame 16 and the cross members. The ceiling frame 15 may e.g.
also be intro-
duced by tilting and lowering into the basic structure before being raised
again to the match-
ing connecting points on the longitudinal frame 16 and the cross members.
Figure 7 shows a further assembly step beyond that shown in figure 6 in which
a unit -
comprising the outer skin 13 already attached to the ceiling 14 is mounted on
the ceiling
frame 15 and the roof frame (containing both longitudinal frame members 16,
the front cross
members 11 and rear cross member 12) -joined permanently to the roof frame at
seam 21 by
adhesive bonding and/or welding.
Shown in figure 8 are the relevant parts of a basic structure 10 of a vehicle
body including
side wall columns 24, 25, 26, 27 and the longitudinal fram.e 16. This differs
from that shown
in figure 1 in that the front and rear cross members 11 and 12 are missing.
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Figure 9 shows a fully installed roof unit 23 with ceiling 14, ceiling frame
15, outer skin 13,
rear cross member 12 and front cross member 11. The roof unit 23 may also
include interior
fittings not shown here such as e.g. wiring, holding grips, sun shields,
interior lighting,
operating and display elements, sliding, raising, folding and lamellar roofs,
or rigid or move-
able glass roofs and their frame parts as well as driving mechanisms for
moveable roofs.
Figure 10 shows the mounting of the roof unit 23 shown in figure 9 to the
basic structure 10.
For that purpose the roof unit 23 is introduced e.g. from the front between
the two columns
24 into the interior of the vehicle in the direction of the arrow, then
subsequently raised up
until the roof unit 23 and the basic structure 10 touch at the: matching
points ofjoining.
Figure 11 shows the cross-section of one of the two longitudinal frame members
16 before
fitting on the roof unit 23 shown in figure 10.
Figures 12 and 13 show in cross-section the vertical fitting of roof unit 23
according to figure
10. The roof unit 23 is raised to the roof frame of the basic structure 10
until it touches it.
The groove 29 and the corresponding bulge 28 may be provided over the whole
length of the
roof unit 23 or longitudinal frame members 16 and cross members 11, 12. On
raising the roof
unit 23 further the bulge 28 fits into the groove 29. This first connection
may be fixed further
by connection of the hand grips 17 to the connecting elements 20. At joints
such as in the
region of the bulge 28 and groove 29 further means of joining may be employed
and the
longitudinal fiame members 16 for example welded, adhesively bonded, bolted,
clipped etc to
the roof skin 13. The other parts which have not been mentioned can be
identified from the
reference numbers in the previous figures.
Figure 14 shows a further possible version of a roof assembly unit whereby
this roof unit, in
addition to the components in the roof unit 23, contains both longitudinal
frame members 16
which along with the cross members 11 and 12 form a closed roof frame. In the
roof unit
shown in figure 14 the side wall airbag module 18, the connecting elements 20
etc., are
already connected to the longitudinal members 16. Further, the roof unit in
figure 14 features
the connecting means 30 which permit the roof unit to be joined to the basic
structure 10
shown in the next figure viz., figure 15.
Figure 15 shows the basic structure 10 relating to figure 14, which contains
the side columns
of the car body, A column 24, B column 25, C column 26 and D column 27. At the
upper
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ends of the side columns are the corresponding connecting means 30 . Further
vehicle com-
ponents on the basic structure in figure 15 were omitted here.
s
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