Sealing arrangements

A sealing arrangement for a window pane in a vehicle body which can be raised and lowered is shown. The body panel on the outside of the door carries a seal. This seal has an integral hinge region and the inherent resilience of the material biases the seal into a position in which a lip seals against the window pane. When a motor is energised, push rods push upwardly on the end of a leg and hinge the lip away from the window pane, thus permitting it to be easily raised or lowered. This leg is reinforced with a metal strip to enable the force produced by the push rod to be transmitted to the lip. In another embodiment, the lip is hinged away from the window pane by inflation of an air-tube, thus permitting it to be easily raised or lowered. When this air-tube is fully collapsed, the lip moves closer into contact with the window pane, enabling the window pane to be wiped or cleaned as it is moved downwardly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to sealing arrangements. More specifically, the 
invention relates to sealing arrangements for sealing against movable 
panels such as in motor vehicle bodies. In embodiments of the invention to 
be described in more detail below, the invention is applied to a movable 
panel consisting of a slidable window glass in a motor vehicle body. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the invention, there is provided a sealing arrangement for 
controllably sealing against a panel, comprising a flexible sealing lip, 
means mounting the flexible sealing lip adjacent the panel, a reinforced 
member integral with the sealing lip, and sealing lip control means 
operative when activated to apply a mechanical force to the reinforced 
member such as to move the sealing lip between first and second positions 
in which it is respectively out of and in of sealing contact with the 
panel. 
According to the invention, there is also provided a sealing arrangement 
for sealing against a slidable window glass, comprising a flexible sealing 
lip, means mounting the flexible sealing lip adjacent the movable window 
glass, and selectively operable sealing lip control means mounted to apply 
a controllable mechanical force to the sealing lip to move it selectively 
into a first position in which it is substantially clear of the window 
glass, a second position in which it is in sealing contact with the window 
glass, and a third position in which it contacts the window glass with a 
greater pressure than in the second position and carries out a wiping 
action on the window glass as the latter slides. 
According to the invention, there is further provided a sealing arrangement 
for sealing against a slidable window glass, comprising a flexible sealing 
lip, means mounting the flexible sealing lip adjacent to the slidable 
window glass, motor means mounted adjacent to the sealing lip, the motor 
means having an output member which moves in response to energisation of 
the motor means, and means connecting the output member to the sealing lip 
whereby movement of the output member moves the sealing lip between first 
and second positions in which it is respectively out of and in sealing 
contact with the window glass.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The sealing arrangements to be described are for sealing against a window 
pane 10 which can be raised and lowered, such as a window pane in a 
vehicle body which can be lowered into and raised from the lower part of 
the door. 
The Figures show a cross-section through part of the door to an enlarged 
scale. The lower part of the door is hollow and is the space between an 
inner body panel 12 and an outer body panel 14. The window pane 10 can be 
lowered into the interior 16 of the lower part of the door by means of the 
normal window winding mechanism which can be manually operated or 
motorised. The inner and outer body panels 12 and 14 define a gap 18 at 
the so-called waistline through which the window pane 10 is raised and 
lowered. It is necessary to provide a flexible sealing arrangement for 
sealing against the opposite faces of the window pane 10, particularly 
when the window pane 10 is in its closed (fully raised) position. For this 
purpose, seals are mounted on the body panels 12 and 14 and run along the 
length of the gap 18. The seal on the body panel 12 is omitted in the 
Figures. The Figures show different possible arrangements for the seal on 
the body panel 14 as will now be described. 
Referring to FIG. 1, the seal 20 mounted on the body panel 14 is in the 
form of a lip 22 which is made of flexible plastics or rubber material and 
is integral with a body part 24 which may be made of more rigid material. 
However, the body part 24 incorporates an integral flexible region 26 
which acts as a hinge (in a manner to be explained) and integrally 
connects the body part 24 with a mounting part 28 having a downwardly 
depending integral leg 30. Leg 30 incorporates a metal reinforcing strip 
32 which extends along the waistline. Leg 30 is mounted on the body panel 
14 by means of U-shaped clips 34 which are positioned at integrals along 
the waist line (or the clips 34 may be replaced by a single clip in the 
form of a continuous channel). 
The seal 20 also incorporates an integral second depending leg 36 which 
includes a reinforcing metal strip 38. 
The reinforcing metal strips 32,38 may be continuous unapertured strips of 
metal or may be apertured with a series of slits or slots to aid 
flexibility if this is required. Instead, however, the metal strips may be 
replaced by strips of other hard material such as hardened rubber or 
plastics. A further possibility is to make the leg 36, and possibly the 
leg 30 as well, of hardened rubber or plastics. Different parts of the 
seal can be extruded integrally to have different hardnesses. 
The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 also incorporates a motor 40 mounted in the 
interior 16 of the door. The motor may be of any suitable type, such as 
electric or pneumatic for example, and is such that, when energised, it 
raises or lowers a series of push rods of which one is shown in the Figure 
at 42. Other, similar, push rods are arranged along the waistline, there 
being four in total, for example, all of them being operated by the same 
motor 40. The upper end of each push rod is flexibly linked to the distal 
end of the depending leg 38 by means of a metal clip 44 fitted over the 
end of the leg as shown. 
FIG. 1 shows the seal 20 in the sealing configuration, with its lip 22 
sealing against the outer face of the window pane 10. The inherent 
resilience of the material of the seal holds the lip in close sealing 
contact with the window pane 10. In this configuration, the window pane 10 
is in its closed or fully raised position. 
When it is desired to lower the window, the motor 40 is energised either 
manually or automatically. When energised, the motor 40 raises the push 
rod 42 and all the other push rods and these therefore push upwardly on 
the leg 38 and hinge the seal 20 about a pivot axis 45 in the hinge region 
26, against the inherent resilience of the material of the seal, thus 
separating the lip 22 from the face of the window pane 10. The seal thus 
moves into the non-sealing configuration shown in FIG. 2. The window pane 
can therefore be easily raised and lowered without any resistance caused 
by frictional engagement of the lip 22 against it. The motor 40 may be 
energised in response to operation of the manual or motorised window 
raising and lowering control. For example, as indicated in FIG. 1, the 
motorised window raising and lowering unit 46 is controlled by driver's 
push buttons 48. By means of a connection 50, the motor 40 can be 
energised in correspondence with raising or lowering of the window glass 
10. 
When window movement has stopped, either when the window has been fully 
lowered or at some intermediate position for example, the motor 40 can be 
de-energised. The push rod 42 and the other push rods now move downwardly, 
thus causing the lip 22 to be moved back into sealing engagement with the 
window pane 10 by virtue of the inherent resilience of the seal material. 
Items in FIG. 3 corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are correspondingly 
referenced. It will thus be seen that the construction of the seal 20 in 
FIG. 3 is basically the same as the seal 20 in FIG. 1. However, the 
arrangement of FIG. 3 does not use the motor 40 and the push rods for 
moving the seal into and out of its sealing configuration. Instead, it 
uses a hollow tube 52 which runs for the length of the waistline and is 
air tight and held in position between the facing surfaces of the 
depending legs 30 and 36. The interior of the air tube 52 is connected to 
a source of air pressure by means of which it can be inflated into the 
configuration shown in the Figure. In this configuration, the expanded air 
tube applies a force to the side of the leg 36, causing the body 34 of the 
seal 20 to hinge against the resilience of the material about the pivot 
axis 45. The sealing lip 22 is thus moved out of sealing configuration 
with the window glass. Deflation of the air tube 52 collapses it and the 
resilience of the material of the seal causes the lip 22 to move back into 
sealing engagement with the window pane 10. Inflation and deflation of the 
air tube 52 can be arranged to be controlled manually or automatically. As 
indicated in FIG. 3, it could for example be controlled automatically in 
synchronism with raising and lowering of the window, via the driver's push 
buttons 48 controlling the window raising and lowering unit 46 and a 
connection 50 from the latter to a pump 51 for controlling the air 
pressure in the tube 52 (the connection from the pump 51 to the tube 52 is 
omitted for clarity). 
In a modification, the air tube 52 could be connected to a partial vacuum 
source. Its normal or relaxed shape would be as shown in FIG. 3 (that is, 
the shape assumed by its inherent resilience) and, in this shape, it would 
hold the sealing lip 22 away from the window pane. When connected to a 
source of partial vacuum, however, the air tube would be collapsed so as 
to move the sealing lip back into sealing engagement with the window pane. 
The ends of the air tube 52 would of course be blocked to render the tube 
air-tight. This will cause extra bulk at the ends and the legs 30,36 or 
one of them could be shaped to accommodate this bulk. 
The metal reinforcements 32 and 38, particularly the reinforcement 38, 
stabilise the seal 20 across the waist line. 
The metal clips 34 can be omitted and, instead, the leg 30 can be extended 
to form a channel which embracingly grips the edge of the panel 14. Such 
an arrangement is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in which items corresponding to 
those in the other Figures are correspondingly referenced. In FIGS. 4 and 
5, leg 30 forms one side wall of a channel 54 which is reinforced by a 
channel-shaped reinforcement 56 and grips the edge of the panel 14 where 
it is connected to an adjacent panel. FIG. 4 shows the air-tube 52 
collapsed with the lip 22 in the sealing position, while FIG. 5 shows the 
air-tube expanded, thus placing the lip in the non-sealing position. The 
interior walls of the channel 54 may be formed with lips as shown to help 
the channel grip the panels. 
Referring to FIG. 6, the seal 20 mounted on the body panel 14 is in the 
form of a lip 122 which is made of flexible plastics or rubber material 
and is integral with a body part 124 which may be made of more rigid 
material. However, the body part 124 incorporates an integral flexible 
region 126 which acts as a hinge (in a manner to be explained) and 
integrally connects the body part 124 with a mounting part 128 in the form 
of a channel which is reinforced with a metal channel-shaped carrier 130 
of any suitable form. Part 128 is mounted on the body panel 14 by 
frictionally embracing it, lips within the part 128 helping this 
frictional grip. Other fixing means may, however, be used instead. 
The seal 20 also incorporates an integral depending leg 136 which includes 
a reinforcing metal strip 138. The reinforcing metal strip 138 may be a 
continuous unapertured strip of metal or may be apertured with a series of 
slits or slots to aid flexibility if this is required. Instead, however, 
the metal strip may be replaced by strips of other hard material such as 
hardened rubber or plastics. A further possibility is to make the leg 36 
of hardened rubber or plastics. Different parts of the seal can be 
extruded integrally to have different hardnesses. 
As shown in FIG. 6, a hollow tube 146, which runs for the length of the 
waistline and is air tight, is held in position between the facing 
surfaces of part 128 and the depending leg 136. The interior of the air 
tube 146 is connected to a source of air pressure by means of which its 
shape can be controlled. When the tube has the shape shown in FIG. 6, lip 
122 is in sealing contact with the window pane. In this configuration, the 
window pane is in its fully closed position. 
When it is desired to lower the window pane, either manually or 
automatically, the tube 146 is inflated by air pressure into the 
configuration shown in FIG. 7. In this configuration, the expanded air 
tube applies a force to the side of the leg 136, causing the body 134 of 
the seal 20 to hinge against the resilience of the material about the 
pivot axis 145. The sealing lip 122 is thus moved out of sealing 
configuration with the window glass. Deflation of the air tube 146 
collapses it and the resilience of the material of the seal causes the lip 
122 to move back into sealing engagement with the window pane 10 as shown 
in FIG. 6. 
FIG. 8 shows the configuration which is assumed when the air-tube 146 is 
collapsed to a greater degree than shown in FIG. 6. In this configuration, 
the lip 122 is forced into closer contact with the window pane than in 
FIG. 1 and is able to carry out a wiping or cleaning action on the window 
pane by causing the window pane to be moved downwards (or possibly 
upwards) with the lip held in this position. Means (147, see FIG. 6) may 
be provided for applying a jet of cleaning fluid to the window pane to aid 
this process. 
Movement of the lip 122 between the positions shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 can 
be controlled manually, by means of a driver's switch controlling an air 
pump or automatically in dependence on the operation of the window raising 
and lowering unit. FIG. 6 shows the window raising and lowering unit 46 
controlled by the driver's push buttons 48. By means of a connection 50, 
an air pump 51, controlling the air pressure in the tube 146 by means of a 
connection not shown, can be operated so as to move the lip 122 into the 
FIG. 7 position when the window is raised or lowered and then to move back 
into the FIG. 6 position when the window movement stops. By means of a 
further push button, the driver can cause the lip 122 to move into the 
FIG. 8 position when the driver desires to wipe the window. Another of the 
buttons can be operated by the driver to energise a cleaning fluid pump 53 
operating the cleaning fluid jet means 147, or the pump could be operated 
automatically when the lip 122 moves into the FIG. 8 position. 
Instead of an air pressure source, a source of partial vacuum may be used 
to control the shape of the air-tube 146 against its natural resilience.