Weather strip for door provided with latch

There is provided a door weather strip attached to a door frame of an automobile provided with a latch. An automobile body is equipped with a door provided with a latch and a door not provided with a latch. The automobile body is not equipped with a center pillar. An opening for installing a latch is formed at an upper end of one side of a door frame of said door, where hinges are unprovided. An inner sidewall of a molded part of the door weather strip is attached to the upper end of the door frame. The inner sidewall is provided as the bottom end of the molded part and reaches right above the opening. A drainage rib is provided at a rear face of said sidewall for directing water into the opening.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a weather strip attached to a door of an automobile provided with a latch, which also comprises a door unprovided with a latch, and is unequipped with a center pillar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There has been used a conventional door weather strip for a door of an automobile provided with a latch, which comprises a pair of doors in a double-doored closet style (double doors opening outward or a French door style) at one side of an automobile, where one of the doors is provided with a latch and the other is not. A butyl sealer (or an EPT sealer) is provided between a molded part of the weather strip, which forms a corner part thereof, and a door frame provided with a latch in order to prevent water from invading into an interior of the automobile.

However, there is a problem in the prior art, that is, rainwater and the like intrudes into an interior of the automobile when the automobile is left under the rainwater and the like for many hours. Such problem occurs when the butyl sealer (or the EPT sealer) is improperly provided or press-bonding force is insufficiently provided. It is difficult to properly stick the butyl sealer (or the EPT sealer) to a proper position with appropriate press-bonding force because sticking work is usually done on a case-by-case basis.

There has been a technique which provides a effective drainage function in a waist line of an automobile having doors of an ordinal style (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-280748). However, such an effective drainage function has not been provided in doors of a double-doored closet style where one of the doors comprises a latch at an upper corner thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention has been developed to resolve those problems as described above, and it is an object of the invention to provide a weather strip installed to a door provided with a latch, wherein an effective drainage function is provided at a molded part forming a top corner thereof at one side where hinges for installing the door is not provided. The automobile having this weather strip is not equipped with a center pillar and is comprised of a pair of doors, one is provided with a latch and the other is not.

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 5, a first and second aspects of the invention will be described hereinafter.

A door weather strip according to a first aspect of the invention is attached to a door frame3dof an automobile provided with a latch. An automobile body1is equipped with a door3provided with a latch6as well as a door2not provided with a latch. The automobile body1is not equipped with a center pillar. An opening3ffor installing a latch is formed at an upper end of one side of a door frame3dof the door3, where hinges are not provided. An inner sidewall12of a molded part11of the door weather strip is attached to the upper end of the door frame3d. The inner sidewall12is provided as the bottom end thereof reaches right above the opening3f. A drainage rib13is provided at a rear face12aof the sidewall12for directing water into the opening3f.

A door weather strip according to a second aspect of the invention is attached to a door frame3dof an automobile provided with a latch. An automobile body1is equipped with a door3provided with a latch6and a door2not provided with a latch. The automobile body1is not equipped with a center pillar. An opening3ffor installing a latch is formed at an upper end of one side of a door frame3dof the door3, where hinges are unprovided. An inner sidewall12of a molded part11of the door weather strip is attached to the upper end of the door frame3d. The inner sidewall12is provided as the bottom end of the molded part and reaches right above the opening3f. A drainage wall14is provided at the bottom of the sidewall12as the bottom end of the wall14reaches to an upper portion of the opening3f. A drainage rib13is provided at a rear face12aof the sidewall12for directing water into the opening3f.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

InFIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral1indicates an automobile body,7indicates an outside of the automobile,8indicates an inside of the automobile,1aindicates a roof-side frame, and1bindicates a striker protruding downward from the roof-side frame. Reference numeral2indicates a front door which revolves around hinges4to open in a frontward direction, and2aindicates an opening of a front door. Reference numeral3indicates a rear door provided with a latch, which revolves around hinges5and is closed before the front door is closed. Reference numeral3aindicates an opening of a rear door,3bindicates an outer panel, and3cindicates an inner panel. A rear door frame3dis formed with a combination of an outer panel3band an inner panel3c, and there is provided a hollow3ein the rear door frame3d, which is wide open in a downward direction. Reference numeral3findicates an opening for installing a latch, which is formed in the inner panel3c. The latch6engages with the striker1bwhen the rear door3is closed.

According to this embodiment, a molded part11of the rear door weather strip10is attached to a front upper corner of the rear door3. There is formed an opening3fbelow the molded part11of the rear door weather strip10. As shown inFIG. 2, water W tends to intrude into an inside8of the automobile through inbetween the outer panel3band the molded part11via the lower edge of the molded part11. Then the water intrudes between the inner panel3cand the molded part11, and reaches to the inside8through the inner bottom end of the molded part11.

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 5, a first embodiment of a rear door weather strip10according to the invention is described. The rear door weather strip10is attached to the rear door frame3dof an automobile. The body1of the automobile is equipped with a front door2and a rear door3in a double-doored closet style. The automobile body1is not equipped with a center pillar. There is provided an opening3ffor installing a latch6at a front upper end of the rear door frame3d.

In this automobile having the doors in a double-doored closet style, the front door2is connected to the body1at its front end with hinges4, while the rear door is connected to the body1at its back end with hinges5. Further, since the automobile body1is not provided with the center pillar, the front-end part of the rear door3is obliged to perform a function of the center pillar. For that reason, the rear door3is provided with the latch6at the front end thereof for securing the rear door3to the automobile body1capable of opening and closing. When the front and rear doors are closed, the front end of the rear door3overlaps the rear end of the front door2.

With such a construction as described above, an inner sidewall12of the molded part11is provided as it reaches right above the opening3f. The inner sidewall12is a part of the molded part11making a resilient contact with the inner side of the rear door frame3d. There is provided a drainage rib13at a rear face12aof the side wall12, which is a surface facing the rear door frame3d. The drainage rib13directs water W into the opening3f. The drainage rib13is formed to incline in a downward direction in the rear face12toward the central part thereof, which is wide open. The central part of the rib13is used as a drain outlet15.

Similar to the conventional case, a butyl sealer (or an EPT sealer)17is provided between the upper part of the rear face12aof the inner sidewall12of the molded part11and the rear door frame3d. An extrusion-molded part16is continuously connected to the molded part11.

According to the rear door weather strip10, when some rainwater and the like intrudes from the upper end part of the rear door frame3dthrough the butyl sealer (or the EPT sealer)17provided between the upper part of the rear face12aof the molded part11and the rear door frame3d, the rainwater and the like is directed to the opening3fby the drainage rib13. Then the rainwater and the like is drained outside through a drain hole formed at the bottom of the rear door frame3dafter passing through the opening3fand a hollow space3eformed inside the door frame3dbetween the inner frame and the outer frame. Accordingly, it is successfully prevented that the rainwater and the like intrudes into the interior of the automobile.

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 3,6and7, a second embodiment of a rear door weather strip10according to the invention will be described. The rear door weather strip10according to the embodiment is also attached to a rear door frame3dof an automobile. The body1of the automobile is equipped with a front door2and rear door3in a double-doored closet style, while it is not equipped with a center pillar. There is provided an opening3ffor an installation of a latch at the front upper end of the rear door frame3d.

An inner sidewall12of a molded part11, which is attached to an upper front end of the rear door frame3d, is provided as such that it reaches right above the opening3f. A drainage wall14is provided at the bottom end of the inner sidewall12, which reaches to the upper portion of the opening3f. Further, drainage rib13for guiding water W to the opening3fis continuously provided on a rear face12a, which is a surface of the drainage wall14and the inner sidewall12facing to the rear door frame3d. There is formed a drain outlet15at the bottom end of the drainage wall14where no drainage rib is provided.

According to this embodiment, there is also provided a butyl sealer (or an EPT sealer)17between the upper part of the rear face12aof the inner sidewall12of the molded part11and the rear door frame3d. Further, an extrusion-molded part16is connected to the molded part11.

In this rear door weather strip10, when rainwater and the like passes through the butyl sealer (or the EPT sealer)17provided between the upper part of the rear face12aof the molded part11and the rear door frame3d, it is directed to the opening3fby the drainage rib13provided on the rear face12aof the drainage wall14and the inner sidewall12. Then, the rainwater and the like flows in an hollow space3eformed between the inner panel3cand the outer panel3bof the rear door frame3dafter entering from the opening3f, and it is drained outside of the automobile. As a result, the rainwater and the like is prevented from intruding into an inside of the automobile. According to this rear door weather strip10, it can direct the rainwater and the like into the opening3fmore successfully as the drainage wall14is provided.

With the rear door weather strip10in accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the inner sidewall12of the molded part11is provided as far as it reaches right above the opening3f, and the drainage rib13for guiding water to the opening3fis provided on the rear face12aof the inner sidewall12, so that water intruding from the upper end of a door frame3dotherwise can be drained outside of the automobile successfully. Thus, the rainwater and the like is effectively prevented from intruding into an inside of the automobile.

With the rear door weather strip10in accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the inner sidewall12of the molded part11is provided as far as it reaches right above the opening3fwhile the drainage wall14is provided extending from the bottom end of the inner sidewall12to the upper portion of the opening3f. Further, the drainage rib13is provided on the rear face12of the drainage wall14for directing water to the opening3f. Therefore, water intruding from the upper end of a door frame3dis successfully drained outside of the automobile. Thus, the rainwater and the like is effectively prevented from intruding into an inside of the automobile.

According to the above described embodiments of the invention, the rear door is provided with a latch while the front door is not. However, the invention includes such structure that the front door is provided with a latch and the rear door is not.

Further, the invention also includes such structure that a double-doored closet style is provided at the back of the automobile instead of at the side, where the door in the right is provided with a latch while the door in the left is not, or vise versa.

Furthermore, according to the above described embodiments, the door with a latch is a rear door while the other door is a front door, where both doors are hinged doors and installed in a double-doored closet style. However, the invention further includes such structure that one of a pair of doors is a hinged door while the other is a sliding door.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-042007 filed February, 2003 including specification, claims, and drawings, is incorporated herein by reference.