CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to the following German Patent Application No. DE 10 2017 125 721.7, filed on Nov. 3, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

The invention concerns a shading blind for a roof window of a motor vehicle, comprising two guide rails, a roller blind element having two lateral flexible guide structures with which it is guided in the guide rails, and a receiving space for the roller blind element, the roller blind element being adjustable between an extended position in which it is largely outside the receiving space and a retracted position in which it is largely in the receiving space.

Known shading blinds for roof windows of motor vehicles typically have a shaft on which the roller blind element of the shading blind is wound when it is opened. For this purpose, the roller blind element requires a receiving space which has a relatively large extension in the direction of the vehicle height, thus reducing the headroom of the occupants of the motor vehicle.

Furthermore, additional springs are required for such shading blinds, which reliably ensure that the fabric is rolled up onto the shaft. It is irrelevant in this regard whether the roller blind element is adjusted manually or electrically. These springs cause additional costs and increased assembly effort.

The task of the invention is therefore to provide a shading blind in which the disadvantages from the state of the art are improved.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The task is solved by the invention of a shading blind of the type mentioned above, in which the receiving space, measured in the direction of adjustment of the roller blind element, has a length which is approximately half of the adjustment distance between the extended and the retracted position, the height of the receiving space, measured perpendicularly to the plane of the roller blind element located between the guide rails, is such that, when the roller blind element is deflected in the receiving space by about 180°, the guide structures are only elastically deformed and a rear edge of the roller blind element is fixed in the receiving space. The extended and retracted position of the roller blind element corresponds to its closed or open position. The basic idea of the invention is to hold the roller blind element “in two layers” in the receiving space (and no longer, as in the state of the art, in several layers wound on top of each other), so that less space is required in the vertical direction. This is made possible by the finding that there is a comparatively large amount of space available in the longitudinal direction which can be used to accommodate the roller blind element without this being detrimental to the occupants of the vehicle. A minimum height of the receiving space results from the elasticity of the flexible guide structures, as these are elastically deformable only up to a certain radius of curvature. For example, the minimum radius of curvature (measured in relation to the center of curvature on the outside of the guide structures) is 7 mm, resulting in a minimum height of 14 mm of the receiving space. Preferably, the height of the receiving space is in the same magnitude as the minimum height, but it can also be greater than the minimum height. In particular, the receiving space is provided in the area of the rear seats of the motor vehicle, which increases the headroom of the occupants in the rear seats. A further advantage of the shading blind according to the invention is that no springs are necessary any more in order to reliably hold the roller blind element in the receiving space when it is moved back to the retracted position. This saves costs and reduces the assembly effort. By fixing the rear edge of the roller blind element, i.e. the edge that is always in the receiving space, there is a pre-defined way in which the roller blind element is “folded” into the receiving area.

The receiving space preferably has a lower shell and an upper shell, between which an inlet opening for the roller blind element is provided on one side, in particular the lower shell and the upper shell being firmly connected to one another on the opposite side. Furthermore, the lower shell and the upper shell each extend essentially over the entire length of the receiving space. The roller blind element can be displaced through the inlet opening between the extended position and the retracted position, whereby in the retracted position the roller blind element is largely located between the lower shell and the upper shell. The lower shell can be a roof lining of the motor vehicle. All in all, the roller blind element is protected on all sides in this way when it is in the retracted position. A contour of the lower shell can be adapted to the installation space conditions of the motor vehicle, since a continuous flat extension of the lower shell is not necessary. For example, the lower shell can have a recess in which, for example, a lighting unit for the vehicle interior is accommodated.

One aspect is that the rear edge of the roller blind element is firmly connected to one of the walls of the receiving space, where it is deflected by at least 180°. In the following, “firmly connected” means that the roller blind element is fixed to the wall at least in sections relative to the wall, for example by welding or gluing. The roller blind element can also only be firmly connected to the wall in the area of the flexible guide structures. For example, a first leg of the roller blind element extends a certain distance into the receiving space from its end fixed to the wall, the leg being connected by a C-shaped section to a second leg extending in the opposite direction from the C-shaped section to the first leg. In other words, the roller blind element is U-shaped in the receiving space, with one leg of the roller blind element firmly attached to the wall. The height required for the shading blind in this embodiment of the invention is particularly low in the vertical direction, since only two layers of the roller blind element are accommodated in the receiving space. Essentially, the installation space in the vertical direction is limited only by a material-related minimum height (e.g. flexibility of the material of the roller blind element, in particular the guide structures) of the C-shaped section. Due to the fixed connection to the receiving space, it is geometrically predetermined in which way the roller blind element is placed in the receiving space when it is inserted there. It also ensures that the roller blind element cannot be pulled out excessively.

According to another aspect, the lower shell forms a wall of the receiving space and the roller blind element is firmly connected to the lower shell at its front edge. The front edge is preferably assigned to the inlet opening so that the roller blind element extends U-shaped between the front edge of the lower shell and the inlet opening. This means that the entire length of the receiving space is optimally used for mounting the roller blind element.

In one embodiment of the invention, a cross beam is provided in the receiving space with which the rear edge of the roller blind element is firmly connected, with the roller blind element being deflected by at least 180°. Preferably, the cross beam is provided in an area of the receiving space which is assigned to the inlet opening for the roller blind element. In particular, in this embodiment of the invention, the receiving space is limited on its underside by the headliner of the motor vehicle.

Preferably, the roller blind element is fixed near an inlet slot for the roller blind element. This means that the entire length of the receiving space is optimally used for receiving the roller blind element.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a spring element is provided, which acts on a loop of the roller blind element located in the receiving space into the receiving space. The spring element acts on the roller blind element at least in its extended position in the direction of the retracted position, so that the roller blind element is tightly tensioned.

One aspect is that the guide rails extend into the receiving space and define a receiving path there. In particular, the receiving path consists of two sections and a 180° bend arranged between them. The roller blind element is therefore guided through the guide rails into the receiving space. The section of the guide rails which is provided in the receiving space is in particular designed in such a way that it limits an extension of the roller blind element, i.e. an adjustment towards the closed position. The flexible guide structures of the roller blind element may be fixed to the guide rails at one end of the receiving path which is, with respect to the course of the roller blind element, remote from the inlet opening for the roller blind element.

Another aspect is that the roller blind element is deflected by about 180° between the ends of the receiving path. If the receiving path consists of two sections and a 180° bend arranged between them, the roller blind element is deflected by approximately 180° particularly between the two sections, i.e. in the area of the 180° bend.

The guide structures are preferably plastic strips. Such plastic strips are particularly easy to attach to a fabric of the roller blind element, for example by welding or gluing.

One embodiment of the invention provides that the inlet opening for the roller blind element into the receiving space shall be above the floor of the receiving space.

