Sealing and guiding strips

Abstract: A sealing or guiding strip (26) for contacting a window glass (6) raisable from and lowerable into the hollow interior (8) of a vehicle door is mounted to extend along the waist line of the door by means of a channel-shaped gripping part (30) embracing a mounting flange (22). A sealing portion (32) comprises a portion (44) made of non-cellular rubber for contacting the window glass (6). The portion (44) is connected to the gripping part (30) by two portions (40,42) of expanded or monocellular rubber. On the opposite side of the window glass (6), a sealing strip (28) is provided with two sealing lips (54,56) which contact the window glass (6). Each of these is connected to the channel-shaped gripping or mounting part (36) by a respective portion (58,60) again made of expanded or monocellular rubber. The portions (40,42,58,60) of expanded or monocellular rubber are found to eliminate or minimise the production of a squeaking noise when the window glass slides against the sealing strip.

Description: The invention relates to a sealing or guiding strip for making sealing or guiding contact with a member movable in a predetermined path, comprising a mounting part for mounting the strip adjacent the said path, a sealing or guiding portion made of flexible material for contacting the said member, and an intermediate portion connecting the sealing or guiding portion to the mounting part. The invention also relates to a sealing or guiding arrangement for making sealing or guiding contact with a surface of a movable window glass in a motor vehicle body door, comprising a sealing or guiding strip having a mounting part made of extruded plastics or rubber material for mounting the strip to extend along and adjacent to one longitudinally extending edge of a waist line aperture in the door through which the window glass moves, a sealing or guiding portion made of non-cellular plastics or rubber material having a face for making sealing or guiding contact with the surface of the window glass, and an intermediate portion integrally connecting the sealing or guiding portion to the mounting part. Such a strip and arrangement are shown, for example, in WO-A-97/08004. In the strip and arrangement shown there, the intermediate portion includes a hollow chamber on the outside wall of which is mounted a sealing and guiding portion in such a manner as to reduce "squeaking" noises created when the sealing and guiding portion and the movable member move relative to each other in mutual contact, such as when the movable member is a slidable window glass in a motor vehicle body. The invention is also concerned with this problem. The invention is defined in the independent claims. According to the invention, therefore, the sealing and guiding strip as first set forth above is characterised in that the intermediate portion is made of expanded or monocellular material. The mounting part may comprise channel-shaped flexible material, and the mounting part, the sealing or guiding portion and the intermediate portion may be all integrally formed. Sealing and guiding strips and arrangements embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a motor vehicle incorporating one of the sealing and guiding strips; and Figure 2 is a scrap section on the line II-II of Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the motor vehicle has a door 5 with the normal vertically movable window glass 6, the window glass 6 being lowerable into the lower part 8 of the vehicle door and raisable therefrom. Figure 2 shows a scrap section on the line II-II of Figure 1 taken at the waist line of the vehicle door. Figure 2 shows the outer panels 10 and 12 of the door and the inner panels 14,16 which are overlapped by the inner door trim 18. A gap 20 is thus defined between the door panels 12 and 16 and through which the window glass 6 slides into and from the lower part 8 of the vehicle door. The door panels 10 and 12 on the outside of the door are joined together, preferably by spot-welding, to provide a flange 22 running along the waist line of the door on the outside of the window glass. Similarly, the inner door panels 14,16 form a corresponding flange 24 running along the waist line on the inside of the door. A sealing strip 26 is mounted on the flange 22 for sealing against the outside face of the window glass 6. A sealing strip 28 is mounted on the flange 24 for sealing against the inside face of the window glass. The sealing strip 26 comprises a channel-shaped gripping or mounting part 30 and a hollow sealing part 32. The gripping part 30 is made of extruded plastics or rubber material 33 in channel-form and incorporates a metal core or carrier 34. The carrier 34 is also generally channel-shape in cross-section. It may be made of resilient metal and may be in the form of a continuous unapertured channel or a channel provided with apertures to increase its flexibility. For example, it may be in the form of a series of side-by-side U-shaped metal elements integrally connected together by short connecting links. Instead, it could comprise a series of such U-shaped elements entirely disconnected from each other. Wire looped to and fro across the width of the channel could be used instead. However, many other forms of carrier can be used. Advantageously, the carrier 34 is incorporated into the extruded material by means of a known cross-head extrusion process. As shown in the Figure, the extruded material 33 incorporates integral lips 36 on one side of the channel. These contact the face of the flange 22 and help to locate the gripping part 30 firmly in position on the flange. The sealing part 32 is advantageously made of rubber. It may be produced separately and then attached to the outside of the gripping part 30 such as by adhesive. Advantageously, however, and particularly in the case when the extruded material 33 of the gripping part 30 is rubber, it is extruded integrally with the gripping part 30. In accordance with a feature of the sealing strip being described, the gripping part 32 has portions indicated at 40 and 42 which are made of expanded or monocellular rubber or similar material, these portions attaching the remaining portion 44 of the sealing part 32 to the gripping part 30. The remaining portion 44 is made of non-cellular rubber or similar material and, as shown in Figure 2, makes contact with the outside face of the window glass 6. The rubber of the part 44 of the sealing part 32 is advantageously relatively soft and flexible to provide good sealing. It may be softer than the channel-shaped extruded material of the gripping part 30. The outside face of the sealing part 32 is advantageously covered with flock or other low-friction material to assist the sliding movement of the glass 6. The sealing strip 28 on the inside of the window glass has a gripping or mounting part 48 which is of channel-shape and may be generally constructed in the same manner as the gripping part 30 of the sealing strip 26. As shown, it comprises extruded material 50 in which is embedded a reinforcing carrier 52. It has two gripping lips 36 instead of the three gripping lips of the sealing strip 26 but the number of such gripping lips can be varied as desired. The sealing strip 28 also includes two sealing lips 54 and 56. Each of these is preferably integrally extruded with the material 50 of the gripping part 48. Each gripping lip incorporates a root region 58,60 which is made of expanded or monocellular rubber or similar material. The remainder of each gripping lip 54,56 is of non-cellular rubber or similar material, preferably relatively soft and, as shown, each lip makes contact with the inside face of the window glass 6. Advantageously, the surfaces of the lips 54 and 56 in contact with the window glass 6 are covered with low-friction material such as flock. In use, the sealing part 32 and the sealing lips 54,56 make low-friction sealing and guiding contact with the window glass 6 as it is raised and lowered and also prevent water or moisture from entering the lower part 8 of the vehicle door. The expanded or monocellular rubber portions 40,42,58 and 60 of the two sealing strips 26,28 are found to eliminate or minimise the production of squeaky noise during window closing or opening. Such noise is annoying, particularly in more expensive vehicles in which various steps have been taken to minimise all other noises. Although the exact reason for the reduction in the production of such squeaky noise is not yet fully established, it is believed that the expanded or monocellular portions help to prevent vibration of the sealing part and also block the transmission of noise through the sealing parts to the gripping parts. The remaining portion 44 of the sealing strip 26, being made of non-cellular material, is sufficiently resilient to maintain its shape and position when the window glass 6 is lowered; if it were to be made of expanded or cellular material like the portions 42 and 44, there would be a tendency for the sealing part 32 to be dragged downwardly, towards the gap 20, as the window glass moves downwardly. For the same reason, the distal parts of the lips 54,56 are made of non-cellular material. It will be understood that the forms of sealing strip illustrated in Figure 2 are purely by way of example. The sealing strips on both the inside and the outside of the glass could be of the same form if required. The shapes of the sealing parts could be altered as required. There could be more or less than the two sealing lips 54,56 illustrated. If desired, a sealing lip incorporating the noise-reducing expanded or monocellular rubber or similar material portions could be mounted on only one side of the window glass, the sealing strip on the other side perhaps being of conventional form. In such a case, the reduction in noise might not be so great as would be achieved by the use of sealing strips with expanded or monocellular material regions on both sides of the window glass, but might be adequate for some applications.

Claims: A sealing or guiding strip (26,28) for making sealing or guiding contact with a member (6) movable in a predetermined path, comprising a mounting part (30,48) for mounting the strip adjacent the said path, a sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) made of flexible material for contacting the said member (6), and an intermediate portion (40,42,58,60) connecting the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) to the mounting part (30,49), characterised in that the intermediate portion (40,42,58,60) is made of expanded or monocellular material. A strip according to claim 1, characterised in that the flexible material of the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) is non-cellular. A strip according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said flexible material is plastics or rubber. A strip according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the mounting part (30,48) is channel-shaped for gripping a mounting flange (10,12,14,16) or the like. A strip according to claim 4, characterised in that the mounting part (30,48) comprises channel-shaped flexible material. A strip according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) and the intermediate portion (40,42,58,60) are integrally extruded. A strip according to claim 5, characterised in that the mounting part (30,48), the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) and the intermediate portion (40,42,58,60) are all integrally extruded. A strip according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the sealing or guiding portion (32) is in the form of a wall (44) embracing a hollow interior, the intermediate portion comprising two expanded monocellular plastics or rubber portions (40,42) respectively connecting the wall (44) to the mounting part (30) at two positions spaced apart across the hollow interior. A strip according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the sealing or guiding portion comprises at least one sealing lip (54,56) extending away from the mounting part (48) towards the said path, the intermediate portion comprising a portion (58,60) of expanded or monocellular plastics or rubber connecting the root of the lip (54,56) to the mounting part (48). A strip according to any preceding claim, characterised by low-friction material such as flock on a face of the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) contacted by the movable member (6). A sealing or guiding arrangement for making sealing or guiding contact with a surface of a movable window glass (6) in a motor vehicle body door, comprising a sealing or guiding strip (26) having a mounting part (30) made of extruded flexible material (33) for mounting the strip to extend along and adjacent to one longitudinally extending edge of a waist line aperture in the door through which the window glass (6) moves, a sealing or guiding portion (32) made of flexible material having a face for making sealing or guiding contact with the surface of the window glass (6), and an intermediate portion (40,42) integrally connecting the sealing or guiding portion (32) to the mounting part (30), characterised in that the intermediate portion (40,42) is made of expanded or monocellular flexible material the arrangement being such as to reduce the production of any squeaking noise caused by sliding movement of the window glass (6) against the sealing or guiding portion (32) in use. An arrangement according to claim 11, characterised by a further sealing or guiding strip (28) mounted to extend along and adjacent to the opposite longitudinally extending edge of the waist line aperture. An arrangement according to claim 11 or 12, characterised in that the sealing or guiding portion (32) of the or at least one of the sealing or guiding strips (26,28) comprises a wall (44) made of the non-cellular material embracing a hollow interior, and the intermediate portion comprises two separate portions (40,42) of the expanded or monocellular material connecting the wall (44) to the mounting part (30) at respective portions spaced apart across the hollow interior. An arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterised in that the sealing or guiding portion of the or one of the sealing or guiding strips (26,28) comprises at least one lip (54,56) made of the non-cellular material, and the intermediate portion comprises a portion (58,60) of the expanded or monocellular material connecting the root of the lip (54,56) to the mounting part (48). An arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterised in that the mounting part (30,48) is of channel-shape for embracingly gripping a mounting flange (10,12,14,16) or the like. An arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 15, in which the flexible material (33,50) of the mounting part (30,48) and/or the flexible material of the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) is plastics or rubber. An arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterised by a reinforced carrier (34,52) embedded within the material of the mounting part (30,48). An arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterised in that the material of the sealing or guiding portion (32,54,56) is non-cellular.

Inventors: NIEMANNS GERD, NIEMANNS, GERD
Applicants: GENCORP PROPERTY INC, GENCORP PROPERTY INC.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B60J10
IPC codes: B60J10