Automobile seal

Abstract: An automobile seal (5), for sealing in particular a car boot closure, has a sponge rubber sealing bulb (27) and a metal-reinforced hard rubber channel (7) for mounting it on a flange (16). One leg (10) of the channel has three inwardly-projecting resilient rubber fingers (18,19,20); the other leg (11) has a single, hollow, half-moon section protuberance (22), with gripper nibs (23,24,25) on its surface, which grips the flange (16) against the fingers (18,19,20). The protuberance (22) is resistant to collapsing at bent portions of the seal.

Description: The invention relates to automobile seals, in particular to seals suitable for use between the rear trunk (boot) compartment of an automobile and the decklid (bootlid) covering the compartment. Certain decklid seals presently in use have a U-shaped channel which is like that shown in US-A-4,348,443 and US-A-4,143,497 in that a number of similarly designed resilient fingers are employed to grip an outstanding flange which extends around the trunk compartment. It has been found that in cases of severe curvature, e.g. 90° corners, the resilient fingers tend to collapse against each other and against the adjacent legs of the channel, somewhat like the fingers 21 shown in Figure 3 of US-A-4,830,898. This has an adverse effect on the seal which has been found to leak occasionally. We provide a seal, preferably for a trunk (boot) lid or decklid, which comprises a U-shaped piece of metal embedded in, and coextensive with a similarly-shaped rubber channel which has a pair of legs connected by a web. Further, a plurality of resilient fingers extend inwardly of one of the legs in the direction of the other leg and of the web. On the other leg opposite the fingers, is a hollow half-moon or crescent-shaped bulbous portion which extends inwardly towards the opposing fingers. The bulbous portion is provided with a gripping means, preferably a number of outwardly extending nibs, which coact with the fingers to grip the outstanding flange of the trunk compartment and seal the spaces between the flange and legs of the rubber channel. In the prior art, US-A-3,333,364 shows a rubber channel with hollow bulbous inward projections 32-34. However that is a glass-run channel and so the projections are incapable of gripping. DE-C-3523409 discloses an automobile door seal which comprises a U-shaped channel having a couple of inwardly projecting fingers opposed to an asymmetric reinforced protuberance for attaching to a flange. Attached to the side of the channel is a soft rubber seal, for sealing against a part movable away from the flange. The present invention provides an automobile trunk or boot seal comprising a metal reinforced rubber U-shaped channel for receiving and gripping an upstanding flange extending around a trunk or boot opening to mount the seal, a sponge rubber sealing bulb secured to the channel, for compressive sealing engagement against a part movable relative to the flange on which the seal is mounted, inboard and outboard opposing legs of the channel having resilient inward projections to grip the flange and comprising as seen in transverse cross-section on the inboard leg a plurality of fingers extending from that leg towards the other leg and towards the base of the channel, and on the outboard leg a hollow protuberance opposing the fingers, and having a grip portion for acting with the fingers to engage and grip the flange, characterised in that the sponge rubber sealing bulb is on the base of the channel, and the hollow protuberance on the outboard leg is half-moon shaped. Thus the present invention provides an automobile seal adapted for fitting an upstanding flange, for use as a trunk or boot seal. Further developments in line with claim 1 are referred to in the dependent claims 2 to 8. An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a cross-section of a trunk lid seal strip 5. The seal 5 comprises a U-shaped metal reinforcement conduit 6 embedded in a similarly shaped resilient rubber channel 7, both of which are coextensive with the length of the seal 5 which has a substantially constant cross-sectional shape along its length. The metal conduit 6 and rubber channel 7 have opposing parallel legs 8,9 and 10,11 which are connected by base webs 12 and 13 to form a metal reinforced rubber channel 7 which has a closed end or base 14 opposite an open end 15 which is designed to receive a metal flange 16, shown approaching in dotted line, which extends around the opening of the trunk compartment so as to follow the periphery of a trunklid or decklid 17 which is rotatable into and out of covering relation with the trunk (boot) compartment. Leg 10 of the channel 7 is somewhat longer than leg 11 owing to an extension of its rubber portion. This is the inboard leg of the channel, i.e. towards the opening of the trunk compartment. Outboard leg 11 forms an exterior front of the trunk opening while the web 13 covers the end of the flange 16. A plurality of resilient tapering rubber fingers 18,19,20 (as seen in cross-section) extend at an incline from the inboard leg 10, towards the opposite leg 11 and inclined towards the base web 13. These extend continuously along the channel 7, forming a series of resilient ribs. In the embodiment shown, there are three of these finger-section ribs. Each has a similar solid, tapering cross-section with, at its extremity, a bulbous (parti-cylindrical) portion 21, and extends approximately half-way across the channel. On the outboard leg 11 is formed a single, hollow half-moon or crescent-shaped resilient rubber protuberance or gripper 22. This projects towards the opposing fingers 18,19,20 sufficiently far to be able to grip the flange 16 securely against them. In the embodiment shown it extends far enough just to interfere with the middle finger rib 19. In this embodiment the protuberance 22 is the only inwardly-projecting feature on the outboard leg 11, and occupies a major proportion of the length of that leg. Its cross-section is substantially a circular segment, less than a semicircle. Like the ribs 18,19,20 it extends continuously longitudinally along the channel and hence forms a parti-cylindrical projection. On its outermost surface i.e. that part adjacent the fingers, the protuberance 22 has a plurality - three, in the embodiment shown - of solid projecting ribs, in cross-section nibs 23,24,25 to increase the gripping effect against the flange 16. The nib cross-section resembles that of a frusto-cone i.e. initially tapers away from the main gripper surface and has a flatter cut-off end surface (by contrast with the pointed ribs 16 seen in US-A-3,360,887). The fingers 18,19,20, gripper protuberance 22 and its nibs 23,24,25 are integrally formed with the rubber channel 7 in one piece of rubbery material by extrusion. On the outside of the base web 13 the seal has a hollow resilient sealing bulb 27 which extends in the direction generally away from the legs 10,11. The bulb 27 is made of a sponge rubber which is softer and more pliable than that of the flange-gripping channel 7, and may have any shape suitable for sealing against a decklid (bootlid) 17. The seal described uses a novel combination of resilient fingers and a hollow gripper protuberance with nibs to provide improved gripping and sealing action which has been found substantially to eliminate leakage between the decklid and boot compartment. It has been found that the semi-cylindrical gripper 22 has less tendency to collapse than the resilient fingers used previously.

Claims: An automobile trunk or boot seal comprising a metal reinforced rubber U-shaped channel (7) for receiving and gripping an upstanding flange extending around a trunk or boot opening to mount the seal, a sponge rubber sealing bulb (27) secured to the channel (7), for compressive sealing engagement against a part (17) movable relative to the flange on which the seal is mounted, inboard and outboard opposing legs (10,11) of the channel (7) having resilient inward projections to grip the flange and comprising as seen in transverse cross-section on the inboard leg (10) a plurality of fingers (18,19,20) extending from that leg towards the other leg (11) and towards the base (13) of the channel, and on the outboard leg (11) a hollow protuberance (22) opposing the fingers (18,19,20), and having a grip portion (23,24,25) for acting with the fingers to engage and grip the flange, characterised in that the sponge rubber sealing bulb (27) is on the base (3) of the channel, and the hollow protuberance (22) on the outboard leg (11) is half-moon shaped. An automobile seal according to claim 1 in which the grip portion of the protuberance (22) comprises nibs (23,24,25) projecting from the surface thereof towards the opposing fingers (18,19,20). An automobile seal according to claim 2 in which there are three said nibs (23,24,25). An automobile seal according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3 in which the protuberance (22) and fingers (18,19,20) are formed integrally with the channel (7). An automobile seal according to any one of the preceding claims in which there are three said fingers (18,19,20). An automobile seal according to any one of the preceding claims in which the fingers (18,19,20) taper in thickness from the leg (10) towards the centre of the channel (7). An automobile seal according to any one of the preceding claims in which each finger (18,19,20) terminates in an enlarged bulbous portion (21). An automobile seal according to claim 2 in which each nib (23,24,25), in cross-section, tapers away from the surface of the protuberance (22) and has a flatter end portion.

Inventors: WARNER DOUGLAS L, WARNER, DOUGLAS L.
Applicants: GENCORP INC, GENCORP INC.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B60J10
IPC codes: B60J10, B60R13