BELT MOLDING

A long belt molding including: a molding main body including vehicle interior and exterior lateral wall portions, a top wall portion, a design lip, and a vehicle interior lip; and an end cap attached to an end of the molding main body and including a lid portion, a cover portion, and a base portion, wherein the base portion extends from the lid portion and is at least partially fixed to a vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion, and the cover portion protrudes obliquely downward toward the vehicle interior lip from at least a part of an upper end of the base portion and, in a state where the belt molding is mounted on a door panel, at least a part of the cover portion is in contact with the vehicle interior lip to close a gap between the design lip and the vehicle interior lip.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese patent application No. 2020-205215, filed on Dec. 10, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a long belt molding configured to be mounted along an upper edge of a door panel of a vehicle door to which a window pane is attached so as to be able to be moved up and down.

BACKGROUND ART

As this type of belt molding (also referred to as molding), for example, as described in Patent Literature 1 (JP-A-2019-131037), there is one in which, on an vehicle-interior-side surface of a base portion of a belt molding, a lip for sealing a gap between the base portion and a window pane is formed to protrude obliquely upward toward a vehicle interior side (window pane side) and, at an upper end of the base portion, a design lip (decorative lip) which decorates an upper surface side of the belt molding is formed to protrude to the vehicle interior side (window pane side).

In Patent Literature 1 described above, part of wind flowing along the window pane when a vehicle is traveling enters a V-shaped groove (gap between the base portion and the lip) in the belt molding through a gap between the window pane and the design lip. As a result, wind noise is generated and enters the vehicle. Especially when driving at high speed, this wind noise becomes harshness of ears.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a belt molding capable of reducing wind noise during vehicle traveling.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a long belt molding configured to be mounted along an upper edge of a door panel of a vehicle door to which a window pane is attached so as to be able to be moved up and down, the belt molding including: a long molding main body including: a vehicle interior lateral wall portion and a vehicle exterior lateral wall portion which face each other; a top wall portion which connects an upper side of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion and an upper side of the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion; a design lip which protrudes from an upper end of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion to a vehicle interior side; and a vehicle interior lip which protrudes obliquely upward from a part of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion which is located lower than the design lip toward the vehicle interior side, the vehicle interior lip configured to seal a gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion and the window pane; and an end cap attached to an end of the molding main body in a longitudinal direction of the molding main body, the end cap including: a lid portion which closes at least a part of an end surface opening of the molding main body in the longitudinal direction; a cover portion which closes at least a part of an opening between the design lip and the vehicle interior lip; and a base portion which connects the lid portion and the cover portion, wherein the base portion is located between the design lip and the vehicle interior lip, extends in the longitudinal direction from the lid portion along a vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion, and is at least partially fixed to the vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion, and wherein the cover portion protrudes obliquely downward toward the vehicle interior lip from at least a part of an upper end of the base portion and, in a state where the belt molding is mounted along the upper edge of the door panel, at least a part of the cover portion is in contact with the vehicle interior lip to close a gap between the design lip and the vehicle interior lip.

According to this configuration, the cover portion of the end cap attached to the end of the molding main body in the longitudinal direction closes a V-shaped groove between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion of the belt molding and the vehicle interior lip. Therefore, it is possible to prevent traveling wind flowing along the window pane from entering the V-shaped groove. As a result, wind noise when the vehicle is traveling can be reduced and harshness of ears can be prevented.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described based on a belt molding of a front door of a vehicle.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, a window frame12is integrally provided on a front door11of the vehicle and a window pane13(window glass) for opening or closing a window opening formed by the window frame12is provided so as to be able to moved up and down. A long belt molding16is attached to a flange portion15(seeFIG. 8) provided on an upper edge (window opening edge) of an outer door panel14of the front door11and the belt molding16covers a portion between the outer door panel14and the window pane13.

Next, a configuration of the belt molding16will be described with reference toFIGS. 2 to 8. As illustrated inFIGS. 2 to 5, the belt molding16includes a long molding main body17and an end cap18attached to a longitudinal end of the molding main body17. As illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 7, the molding main body17is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section by extrusion molding of a polymer material, and the molding body17includes a vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and a vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22facing each other and a top wall portion23connecting an upper side of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and an upper side of the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22. The vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, and the top wall portion23are integrally provided.

Further, as illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 8, at a lower end of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, a locking portion24which can be locked to the flange portion15of the outer door panel14is integrally formed. At a lower end of the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, a folded-back portion25protruding toward the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21is integrally formed. Further, at a tip of the folded-back portion25, a holding lip26protruding obliquely upward toward the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21is integrally formed and, at the lower end of the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, a vehicle exterior lip27protruding toward the outer door panel14side is integrally formed.

Further, as illustrated inFIG. 8, a flat plate-shaped lower portion21bwhich comes into surface contact with the flange portion15of the outer door panel14when the molding main body17is attached to the flange portion15, a flat plate-shaped upper portion21aplaced above the lower portion21b, and a connecting portion21cwhich connects the upper portion21aand the lower portion21bare integrally provided in the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21. The upper portion21ais provided at a farther interior side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22than the lower portion21b, and the connecting portion21cis provided at a position facing the holding lip26in a vehicle interior-external direction.

As illustrated inFIGS. 6 to 8, at an upper end of the upper portion21aof the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, a design lip28which decorates an upper surface side of the molding main body17is integrally formed so as to protrude obliquely upward toward the vehicle interior side (window pane13side). Here, a protruding amount of the vehicle interior lip29toward the vehicle interior side is larger than a protruding amount of the design lip28toward the vehicle interior side. A vehicle interior lip29which protrudes obliquely upward toward the vehicle interior side is integrally provided to the lower side portion21bof the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21. A low friction material layer30is formed on a surface (at least the surface in contact with the window pane13) of the vehicle interior lip29by flocking nylon pile or the like.

When the molding main body17is mounted over the flange portion15of the outer door panel14, a tip side of the vehicle interior lip29comes into contact with the surface of the window pane13, and thus the portion between the outer door panel14and the window pane13is sealed with the vehicle interior lip29. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent foreign substances (for example, dust, dirt, water droplets, and the like) from entering the vehicle from outside the vehicle. Further when the window pane13moves up and down (opens and closes), foreign matter adhering to the surface of the window pane13can be wiped off with the vehicle interior lip29.

The vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, the top wall portion23, the locking portion24, and the folded-back portion25of the molding main body17are molded of a polymer material having higher rigidity than that of the vehicle interior lip29. In this case, as a polymer material for molding the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, the top wall portion23, the locking portion24, and the folded-back portion25of the molding main body17, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as TPO (olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer), PP resin (polypropylene resin), or PVC resin (polyvinyl chloride resin) having a durometer hardness (type D) of HDD50 to HDD80 (HDD70 in this embodiment) according to JISK7215 is used.

On the other hand, each of the vehicle interior lip29, the design lip28, the vehicle exterior lip27, and the holding lip26is made of a polymer material which is softer and elastically deformable than the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22of the molding main body17. In this case, as the polymer material for molding respective lips26to29, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as TPO, PP resin, PVC resin having a durometer hardness (type A) of HDA50 to HDA80 (HDA70 in this embodiment) according to JISK7215 is used.

The vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22, and the like of the molding main body17and the lips26to29are integrally formed by coextrusion molding (two-color extrusion molding).

After the molding main body17is extruded, as illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5, ends of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21, the locking portion24, and the vehicle interior lip29are notched in order to prevent contact with the outer door panel14at a terminal of the molding main body17.

Next, the end cap18attached to the terminal of the molding main body17in a longitudinal direction of the molding main body17will be described.

As illustrated inFIGS. 2 to 4, the end cap18includes a lid portion31which closes at least a part of a longitudinal end surface opening of the molding main body17, a cover portion32which closes at least a part of an opening between the design lip28and the vehicle interior lip29, a base portion34connecting the lid portion31and the cover portion32, and an insertion portion35which protrudes from the lid portion31in the longitudinal direction of the molding main body17and is inserted into a gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22.

As illustrated inFIGS. 5 to 8, the base portion34is located between the design lip28and the vehicle interior lip29. Further, the base portion34extends in the longitudinal direction from the lid portion31along a vehicle interior surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and is at least partially fixed to the vehicle interior surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21. In this embodiment, the base portion34is adhesively fixed to the vehicle interior surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21with a double-sided adhesive tape36. The base portion34is formed so that a rib37(seeFIG. 3) which abuts on, for example, edges of three sides of the double-sided adhesive tape36and positions the double-sided adhesive tape36protrudes toward the vehicle exterior side. The protruding amount of the rib37is set to be equal to or less than the thickness of the double-sided adhesive tape36.

The cover portion32protrudes obliquely downward from at least a part of the upper end of the base portion34toward the vehicle interior lip29. Further, in a state where the belt molding16is attached along the flange portion15of the outer door panel14, at least a part of the cover portion32abuts on the vehicle interior lip29to close the gap between the design lip28and the vehicle interior lip29(seeFIG. 8).

As illustrated inFIG. 7, the insertion portion35inserted in the gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22is set so that the length of the insertion portion35in the vehicle interior-external direction is substantially the same as the size of the gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22. Accordingly, the movement of the end cap18in the vehicle interior-external direction with respect to the molding main body17is regulated by the insertion portion35. In this embodiment, the insertion portion35is formed in an L-shaped cross section, but the shape of the insertion portion35may be any shape. In short, it is sufficient if the length of the insertion portion35in the vehicle interior-exterior direction is substantially the same as the size of the gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22.

Meanwhile, as illustrated inFIG. 1, when traveling at high speed, if traveling wind passes through the gap between a door mirror41provided on the front door11and a corner garnish42and a vortex is generated, and then the vortex enters a V-shaped groove (gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle interior lip29) in the belt molding16, wind noise is generated and enters the vehicle.

In consideration of this point, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the vortex generated by the traveling wind passing through the gap between the door mirror41and the corner garnish42from entering the V-shaped groove in the belt molding16, a length A (seeFIG. 4) of the cover portion32of the end cap18in the longitudinal direction (vehicle front-rear direction) is set to, for example, 90 mm, and a length B of the entire end cap18in the longitudinal direction (vehicle front-rear direction) is set to, for example, 110 mm. As a result, when the end cap18is attached to the end of the molding main body17on the vehicle front side, the cover portion32of the end cap18is located around the door mirror41, and thus the cover portion32is configured to prevent the vortex generated by the traveling wind passing through the gap between the door mirror41and the corner garnish42from entering the V-shaped groove in the belt molding16. Here, when the length B of the end cap18is much longer than 110 mm, it becomes difficult to assemble the end cap18to the molding main body17and the appearance deteriorates.

The end cap18is injection molded with a polymeric material. As the polymer material for molding the end cap18, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer, PP resin, or PVC resin having a durometer hardness (type A) of HDA50 to HDA80 (HDA62 in this embodiment) according to JISK6253 is used. In this embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 8, when the window pane13is closed, the vehicle interior lip29abuts on the window pane13and bends and deforms, and thus the vehicle interior lip29abuts on the cover portion32of the end cap18and elastically deforms the cover portion32. Thus, the cover portion32is made of a polymer material which is softer than that of the vehicle interior lip29.

According to the embodiment described above, the cover portion32of the end cap18attached to the longitudinal end of the molding main body17closes the V-shaped groove between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21of the molding main body17and the vehicle interior lip29, in such a manner that it is possible to prevent the traveling wind flowing along the window pane13from entering the V-shaped groove which is a source of wind noise. As a result, the wind noise when the vehicle is traveling can be reduced and the harshness of the ears can be prevented.

In addition, the end cap18is formed with the insertion portion35which protrudes from the lid portion31in the longitudinal direction of the molding main body17and is inserted into the gap between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21and the vehicle exterior lateral wall portion22. Therefore, the movement of the end cap18in the vehicle interior-exterior direction with respect to the molding main body17can be regulated by the insertion portion35. As a result, the variation (assembly variation) in a mounting position of the end cap18with respect to the molding main body17can be reduced and the effect of reducing wind noise can be stably obtained.

Further, according to the embodiment described above, since the base portion34of the end cap18is adhered and fixed to the vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21with the double-sided adhesive tape36, there is an advantage that the work of fixing the base portion34of the end cap18to the vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21can be easily performed. However, means for fixing the base portion34of the end cap18to the vehicle-interior-side surface of the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21is not limited to the double-sided adhesive tape36and, for example, it may be adhesively fixed with an adhesive or the like.

Further, according to the embodiment described above, since the rib37configured to position the double-sided adhesive tape36is formed on the base portion34of the end cap18, there is an advantage that the adhesive position of the double-sided adhesive tape36with respect to the base portion34of the end cap18can be easily positioned by the rib37. However, the present disclosure may have a configuration in which the rib37is omitted.

In the embodiment described above, the cover portion32of the end cap18is located around the door mirror41, but the position (that is, the position for reducing the wind noise) of the cover portion32of the end cap18may be changed. In short, it is sufficient if the cover portion32is positioned at a portion where wind noise is generated by the wind entering the V-shaped groove between the vehicle interior lateral wall portion21of the molding main body17and the vehicle interior lip29.

Further, the present disclosure is not limited to the front door of the vehicle and may be applied to other doors such as a rear door. In short, it is sufficient if the cover portion32of the end cap18is positioned at a place where the wind entering the V-shaped groove in the belt molding is the source of the wind noise.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be carried out by making various changes without changing the gist, such as changing the length of the end cap18and the length of the cover portion32, or changing the configuration of the molding main body17.