Abstract:
An operating mechanism for raising and lowering windows, particularly automobile windows which move upwardly and downwardly in a guide track wherein the movement is controlled by the displacement of a threaded flexible cable which is guided from the rotating mechanism, which may be operated by a hand crank or a motor, to the connecting part for the window pane which is guided in a track. The driving mechanism for the threaded flexible cable includes a housing mounting a driving pinion which engages the cable and which also rotates a spring pulley which carries a spring which is wound during the opening of the window and which is unwound to aid in the driving force during the closing of the window. The construction includes a housing having two interengageable parts which together define an enclosing tube for receiving and holding a rigid plastic tube in which the cable is movable. The rigid tube is held in a secure position within the housing tubular formation in a manner which prevents axial displacement as well as rotation thereof by a formation of plastic sleeves at each end of the housing tubular formation which are formed directly over the rigid plastic tube carrying the threaded cable and which includes projections which engage within recesses of the housing and prevent rotation or axial displacement of the plastic tube. The tube and the plastic sleeves are preferably made of a material such as copolymerized polyacetals and are formed such as by spraying directly over a rigid tube formation for the threaded cable which has been provided with knurlings or grooves on its exterior surface for facilitating interengagement of the sleeve with the rigid tube. The rigid tube containing the threaded cable is provided with a notch or cut-away portion at the location on the interior of said housing to facilitate meshing engagement of a driving pinion within the housing with the threaded cable contained within the tube.
Abstract:
Disclosed is a self-closing sliding door assembly operable to allow manual opening and controlled automatic closing of a sliding door. The door assembly comprises storage spools for storing biasing members biased in a wound position around the storage spools. The door assembly further comprises a main spool for winding a cable and the biasing members. When the door is moved towards an open position, the cable is unwound from the main spool, causing the spool to rotate in a first direction. When the main spool is rotated in the first direction, the biasing members are wound onto the main spool and store energy operable to generate a force to cause the main spool to rotate in a second direction. When the door is released, the energy stored in the biasing members rotates the main spool in the second direction, thereby winding the door cable and providing a sufficient force to move the door towards the closed position.
Abstract:
A window balance assembly may include a carrier, a spring element, and a mounting bracket. The spring element may include first and second portions. The first portion may be coupled to the carrier. The mounting bracket may engage the second portion of the spring element and may selectively engage the carrier. The mounting bracket may include a first mounting surface disposed at a non-perpendicular angle relative to an exterior surface of carrier when the window balance assembly is in an uninstalled configuration. The first mounting surface may be substantially parallel to the exterior surface of the carrier when the window balance assembly is in an installed configuration and the mounting bracket is disengaged from the carrier.