A known deflector apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,914 (hereinafter referred to as Reference 1), for example. The deflector apparatus (wind deflector) disclosed in Reference 1 is mounted at a front edge of a roof opening formed at a vehicle roof. In a case where a cover in a sliding roof system for opening and closing the roof opening is opened, the deflector apparatus is raised above the vehicle roof. The deflector apparatus includes a base element extending along the front edge of the roof opening and fixed to a mounting frame extending along the front edge of the roof opening. The deflector apparatus further includes a raising device rotatably connected to the base element via a pivot device so as to be movable between a retracted position and a raised position. The raising device is biased into the raised position by a resilient member. Further, a deflecting element having flexibility and air-permeable properties is disposed between the base element and the raising device. The deflecting element is stretched when the raising device is transferred into the raised position so as to be raised above the vehicle roof together with the raising device. The deflecting element decreases an aerial vibration (i.e., a wind throb) generated when wind enters the roof opening of the vehicle roof.
According to the deflector apparatus disclosed in Reference 1, the raising device is maintained at the raised position by means of the deflecting element. That is, the raised position of the raising device is determined by a height of the deflecting element. The movement (rotation) of the raising device is stopped at a position where the deflecting element is stretched taut by means of a biasing force of the resilient member. According to such configuration, the biasing force of the resilient member is mainly applied to the deflecting element when the raising device is arranged at the raised position, which may cause the deflecting element to extend excessively. The height of the deflecting element is generally specified so as to effectively decrease the wind throb and to restrain a large wind noise depending on a configuration such as size of the roof opening. Therefore, in a case where the deflecting element excessively extends so that the height thereof increases, the wind noise may increase.
A need thus exists for a deflector apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds