Motor vehicle window assembly

Abstract

A motor vehicle window assembly. One implementation includes a wiper in electrical communication between a defrost grid of a movable window assembly and an elongate conductor of a guide rail assembly having a straight guide portion and an oblique guide portion, and in contact with the elongate conductor when the movable window assembly is in an open position. Another implementation includes an actuator cable including a core having a terminus coupled to a cable connector portion of a movable window assembly, wherein when the actuator cable is actuated, the movable window assembly moves in a direction extending away from an open position along a plane, toward a closed position out of the plane, and into the closed position in another plane such that the terminus of the core is carried out of the plane by the movable window assembly.

1 . A motor vehicle window assembly, comprising:
 a fixed pane having a surface;   a guide rail assembly extending in a direction away from the surface of the fixed pane and including an elongate guide having a straight portion and an oblique portion; and   a movable window assembly carried by the guide rail assembly to move along an elongate path of travel between a closed position in a first plane and an open position in a second plane offset from the first plane and spaced apart from the surface of the fixed pane, and including:
 a pane, and 
 a cable connector portion coupled to the pane, and 
   an actuator cable including a core having a terminus coupled to the cable connector portion of the movable window assembly, and a sheath covering at least a portion of the core,   wherein when the actuator cable is actuated, the movable window assembly moves in a direction extending away from the open position along the second plane, toward the closed position out of the second plane, and into the closed position in the first plane such that the terminus of the core is carried out of the second plane by the movable window assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a cable mount extending in a direction away from the surface of the fixed pane and including a retainer portion, wherein the sheath is retained to the cable mount by the retainer portion, and wherein the cable mount includes a cable support surface disposed between the fixed pane and a longitudinal axis of the cable as retained to the cable mount. 
     
     
         3 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 2  wherein the cable mount is joined to a portion of the guide rail assembly with a tongue and groove slidable connection and is releasably snap fit to a portion of the guide rail assembly. 
     
     
         4 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 3  wherein the portion of the guide rail assembly includes a mounting surface to support the cable mount, an end surface extending from the mounting surface, and a bayonet extending longitudinally from the end surface, and the cable mount includes a base surface in contact with the mounting surface and a portion trapped between a barb of the bayonet and the end surface. 
     
     
         5 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 3  wherein the portion of the guide rail assembly includes a mounting surface to support the cable mount with an elongate T-shaped feature in the mounting surface, and the cable mount includes a base surface to rest on the mounting surface with an elongate T-shaped feature, wherein the cable mount is slidably mounted to the portion of the guide rail assembly by interengagement of the T-shaped features. 
     
     
         6 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 1  wherein the movable window assembly also includes a structural support coupled to the pane and including the cable connector portion, wherein the cable connector portion includes a base surface, an end surface extending from the base surface, and a relief in the base and end surfaces that accepts the core terminus and an adjacent portion of the core and accommodates relative movement of the terminus and the adjacent portion of the core as the movable window assembly moves toward the closed position from the second plane to the first plane. 
     
     
         7 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 6  wherein the relief includes a base aperture in the base surface spaced from the end surface, an end aperture in the end surface spaced from the base surface, and an elongate T-shaped slot in the base surface having one end in communication with the base aperture and another end in communication with the end aperture, wherein the core terminus is retained in the base aperture and the adjacent portion of the core extends through the T-shaped slot and out of the end aperture. 
     
     
         8 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the movable window assembly also includes a follower coupled between the pane and the elongate guide of the guide rail assembly to facilitate movement of the movable window assembly along the elongate path. 
     
     
         9 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the follower includes a hub and a cam spaced from the hub along the elongate guide, wherein the follower also includes an intermediate portion between the hub and the cam, and wherein the hub has a hub width, the cam has a cam width, and the intermediate portion has an intermediate width less than the width of the hub and less than the width of the cam, and wherein as the movable window assembly moves along the elongate path of travel and into the closed position, the cam cooperates with the elongate guide to facilitate holding the movable window assembly in the closed position. 
     
     
         10 . The motor vehicle window assembly of  claim 9  wherein the oblique portion of the elongate guide includes a first curvate section having a first radial center on one side of the elongate guide, a second curvate section having a second radial center on another side of the elongate guide, and an inflection section between the curvate sections, wherein when the movable window assembly is in the closed position the hub is disposed in the second curvate section and the cam is disposed in the first curvate section to facilitate holding the movable window assembly in the closed position. 
     
     
         11 . A motor vehicle window assembly, comprising:
 a fixed pane having a surface and a first defrost grid;   a guide rail assembly extending in a direction away from the surface of the fixed pane and including an elongate guide having a straight guide portion and an oblique guide portion and an elongate conductor in electrical communication with the first defrost grid and having a straight conductor portion and an oblique conductor portion; and   a movable window assembly carried by the guide rail assembly to move along an elongate path of travel between a closed position in a first plane and an open position in a second plane offset from the first plane and spaced apart from the surface of the fixed pane, and including:
 a pane having a second defrost grid, 
 a cable connector portion coupled to the pane, and 
 a wiper in electrical communication between the second defrost grid and the elongate conductor of the guide rail assembly, and being in contact with the elongate conductor when the movable window assembly is in the open and closed positions and in contact with the elongate conductor along at least a portion of the elongate conductor when the movable window assembly travels along the elongate path, and 
   an actuator cable including a core having a terminus coupled to the cable connector portion of the movable window assembly, and a sheath covering at least a portion of the core,   wherein when the actuator cable is actuated, the movable window assembly moves in a direction extending away from the open position along the second plane, toward the closed position out of the second plane, and into the closed position in the first plane such that the terminus of the core is carried out of the second plane by the movable window assembly.