Patent Publication Number: US-2023158872-A1

Title: Variable pressure weatherstrip assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0160625, filed on Nov. 19, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     The present disclosure relates to a weatherstrip configured to seal a portion between a vehicle body and an opening/closing part of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly configured to prevent foreign substances or noise from being introduced from the outside and to adjust a pressure in the weatherstrip according to situations to make it easy to close a door. 
     Background 
     An opening/closing part, such as a door, a trunk lid, a tailgate, and a sunroof of a vehicle, is equipped with a weatherstrip configured to seal a portion between the opening/closing part and a vehicle body of the vehicle. For example, as illustrated in  FIG.  1   , a weatherstrip  130  is mounted on a door  110  of the vehicle and seals a portion between the door  110  and a vehicle body  120 . 
     The weatherstrip  130  is made of an elastic material such as synthetic rubber. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the weatherstrip includes: a sealing portion  131  having a closed cross-section and configured to perform a sealing function as the cross-section is deformed; a fixing portion  132  configured to fix the weatherstrip  130  to a door panel  111  of the door  110 ; and an insert  133  inserted into the fixing portion  132  and configured to provide rigidity so that the fixing portion  132  is not separated from the door panel  111 . 
     When the door  110  is closed, the sealing portion  131  of the weatherstrip  130  seals the portion between the door  110  and the vehicle body  120  as the cross-section of the sealing portion  131  is deformed. 
     When an internal pressure of the sealing portion  131  is low, various types of noise, such as road surface noise or traveling noise, is introduced when the vehicle travels at a high speed. When the internal pressure of the sealing portion  131  increases to prevent the introduction of noise, a reaction force, which is generated at the time of closing the door  110 , makes it difficult to close the door  110 . 
     Because there is a trade-off between the introduction of noise and the difficulty in closing the door due to the internal pressure of the sealing portion  131  of the weatherstrip  130 , it is not easy to solve the introduction of noise and the difficulty in closing the door at the same time. 
     To solve the problems, a through-hole  131   a  is formed in the sealing portion  131  or a variable cross-section is sometimes applied to a partial section of the weatherstrip  130 . However, the above-mentioned problems cannot be completely solved, and quality of the weatherstrip  130  is difficult to consistently maintain. 
     These problems occur not only in the door  110  of the vehicle but also in the other opening/closing parts, such as the trunk lid, the tailgate, and the sunroof, to which the weatherstrip  130  is applied. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In one aspect, a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly is provided that preferably is capable of preventing or reducing introduction of noise while a vehicle travels at a high speed and changing a reaction force according to traveling states of the vehicle so that the reaction force is reduced at the time of closing a door. 
     As a preferred embodiment, a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly comprises: a weatherstrip comprising a sealing portion having a closed cross-section therein and configured to seal a portion between a vehicle body and an opening/closing part of a vehicle, and a fixing portion integrated with the sealing portion and fixed to a panel of the vehicle to the sealing portion; an air supply device configured to supply pressurized air; an air line configured to allow the air supply device and the sealing portion to communicate with each other; and one or more control valves installed in the air line, disposed between the sealing portion and the air supply device, configured to control the air to be supplied to the sealing portion from the air supply device. 
     The control valve may include: an intake port through which the air is introduced into the control valve from the outside; and an atmospheric pressure port configured to maintain a pressure in the sealing portion so that the pressure in the sealing portion is equal to atmospheric pressure. 
     The variable pressure weatherstrip assembly may further include: a control unit configured to control the air supply device and the control valve according to a speed of the vehicle or whether the opening/closing part is opened or closed so that a pressure in the sealing portion is within a predetermined pressure range from a preset reference pressure. 
     When the speed of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit may control the air supply device and the control valve so that the pressure in the sealing portion is higher than the reference pressure. 
     The control unit may operate the air supply device and open a supply port of the control valve to which the air line is connected. 
     When it is detected that the opening/closing part is being opened or closed, the control unit may control the air supply device and the control valve so that the pressure in the sealing portion is lower than the reference pressure. 
     The control unit may control and discharge the air in the sealing portion by opening a supply port of the control valve to which the air line is connected and by opening an exhaust port of the control valve through which the air is discharged to the outside. 
     The variable pressure weatherstrip assembly may further include: a pressure sensor installed at one side of the air line and configured to measure the pressure in the sealing portion and output the pressure in the sealing portion to the control unit. 
     When the pressure in the sealing portion measured by the pressure sensor is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure while the air supply device operates, the control unit may stop an operation of the air supply device. 
     The control valves may include: a first control valve configured to control introduction of air from the outside; a second control valve installed between the first control valve and the air supply device; a third control valve installed to be connected to the air line and configured to control and allow the air line and the atmosphere to communicate with each other; and a fourth control valve installed between the air supply device and the air line. 
     When the vehicle travels, the control unit may control to supply the air to the sealing portion via the first control valve, the second control valve, the air supply device, and the fourth control valve. 
     The variable pressure weatherstrip assembly may further include a pressure sensor installed at one side of the air line and configured to measure the pressure in the sealing portion and output the pressure in the sealing portion to the control unit, and when the pressure in the sealing portion reaches the predetermined pressure, the control unit may stop an operation of a pump and close the first control valve, the second control valve, and the fourth control valve. 
     In a state in which the vehicle is stationary, the control unit may control that the third control valve is opened to maintain the pressure in the sealing portion so that the pressure in the sealing portion is equal to atmospheric pressure. 
     The control unit may change the reference pressure in the sealing portion when the opening/closing part is changed. 
     The opening/closing part may be any one of a door, a trunk lid, a sunroof, and a tailgate of the vehicle. 
     The air supply device may be any one of an air pump, a blower, an air compressor, and an air tank. 
     According to the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly of the present disclosure configured as described above, the pressure in the sealing portion of the weatherstrip increases when the speed of the vehicle increases and an outside pressure decreases. Therefore, the sealability between the opening/closing part and the vehicle body is improved, and the introduction of outside noise is blocked. 
     In addition, the pressure in the sealing portion decreases at the time of opening or closing the opening/closing part, thereby improving opening properties and closing properties of the opening/closing part. 
     In another aspect, a vehicle is provided that comprises a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly as disclosed herein. 
     Other aspects are disclosed infra. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a cross-sectional view illustrating a weatherstrip in the related existing technologies. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic view illustrating a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic view illustrating a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic view illustrating a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. These terms are merely intended to distinguish one component from another component, and the terms do not limit the nature, sequence or order of the constituent components. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “unit”, “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof. 
     Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of units to perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplary processes may also be performed by one or plurality of modules. Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unit refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor and is specifically programmed to execute the processes described herein. The memory is configured to store the modules and the processor is specifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or more processes which are described further below. 
     Further, the control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN). 
     Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about”. 
     Hereinafter, some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary accompanying drawings, and since these embodiments, as examples, may be implemented in various different forms by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, they are not limited to the embodiments described herein. In the drawings, the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or equivalent elements. In addition, a detailed description of well-known features or functions will be ruled out in order not to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure. 
     Hereinafter, a variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings,  FIGS.  2 ,  3  and  4   . 
     A variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present disclosure includes: a weatherstrip  30  including a sealing portion  31  having a closed cross-section therein and configured to seal a portion between a vehicle body and an opening/closing part  10  of a vehicle, and a fixing portion  32  integrated with the sealing portion  31  and fixed to a panel of the vehicle; an air supply device  41  configured to supply pressurized air; an air line  42  configured to allow the air supply device  41  and the sealing portion  31  to communicate with each other; and one or more control valves  50  installed in the air line  42 , disposed between the sealing portion  31  and the air supply device  41 , and configured to control the air to be supplied to the sealing portion  31  from the air supply device  41 . 
     The weatherstrip  30  is mounted on an opening/closing part of the vehicle. The opening/closing part of the vehicle may be a door, a trunk lid, a tailgate, a sunroof, or the like. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the weatherstrip  30  is mounted on the door  10  of the vehicle. 
     The weatherstrip  30  includes: the sealing portion  31  having a hollow cross-section; the fixing portion  32  integrated with the sealing portion  31  and fixed to a panel  11  of the door; and an insert  33  inserted into the fixing portion  32  and configured to maintain a state in which the fixing portion  32  is fixed to the panel  11 . The sealing portion  31  and the fixing portion  32  are made of synthetic rubber, and the insert  33  is made of metal. 
     The sealing portion  31  has a closed cross-section which is hollow therein. When the door  10  is closed, the sealing portion  31  seals the portion between the door  10  and the vehicle body  20 . 
     The fixing portion  32  is made of the same material as the sealing portion  31  and connected to the sealing portion  31 . The fixing portion  32  serves to hold the panel of the door. 
     The insert  33  is inserted into the fixing portion  32  and allows the fixing portion  32  to have rigidity when the fixing portion  32  holds the panel. 
     The air supply device  41  supplies air to the sealing portion  31  when electric power is applied to the air supply device  41 . The air discharged from the air supply device  41  is supplied to the sealing portion  31 , for increasing a pressure in the sealing portion  31 . When a speed of the vehicle is high, a pressure in the weatherstrip  30 , i.e., the pressure in the sealing portion  31  increases to prevent introduction of outside noise. The air supply device  41  discharges the compressed air and supplies the compressed air to the sealing portion  31  to increase the pressure in the sealing portion  31 , thereby improving sealability between the door  10  and the vehicle body. 
     The air supply device  41  may be an air pump for pressurizing and discharging air, a blower for supplying and discharging air at a high speed, an air compressor for compressing air, an air tank for storing pressurized air therein, or the like. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the air pump  41  is applied as the air supply device  41 , but the air supply device  41  is not limited to the air pump  41 . 
     The air line  42  connects the air supply device  41  and the sealing portion  31 . The compressed air discharged from the air supply device  41  is supplied to the sealing portion  31  through the air line  42 . 
     The control valve  50  is installed between the air supply device  41  and the sealing portion  31  and controls the air to be supplied to the sealing portion  31  from the air supply device  41  or to be blocked between the sealing portion  31  and the air supply device  41 . 
     Furthermore, the control valve  50  may operate to discharge the air in the sealing portion  31 . 
     The control valve  50  has a plurality of ports to supply the compressed air to the sealing portion  31  or discharge the air in the sealing portion  31 . The ports of the control valve  50  include: an intake port  50   a  through which air is introduced from the outside; a supply port  50   b  through which compressed air is supplied to the sealing portion  31 ; an atmospheric pressure port  50   c  configured to maintain the pressure in the sealing portion  31  so that the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is equal to an atmospheric pressure; and an inlet port  50   d  through which the compressed air is introduced from the air supply device  41 . The ports are opened or closed according to a control signal from a control unit  60  to be described below. 
     The pressure sensor  43  measures the pressure in the sealing portion  31 . The pressure sensor  43  is disposed at one side of the air line  42 , measures the pressure in the sealing portion  31 , and outputs the measured pressure in the sealing portion  31 . 
     According to the situations, the control unit  60  operates the air supply device  41  or controls the control valve  50  to open or close the respective ports of the control valve  50 . 
     The control unit  60  receives an opening and closing signal for the door and a vehicle speed of the vehicle from the outside and controls the pressure in the sealing portion  31  according to the states of the door or the vehicle. To open or close the door, a driver or a passenger operates a door lock, or a signal such as a signal of an ajar switch for detecting whether the door is opened or closed is inputted, such that whether the door  10  is opened or closed is detected. Further, the vehicle speed is inputted to the control unit  60  so that the control unit  60  adjusts the internal pressure of the sealing portion  31  on the basis of the vehicle speed. 
     Furthermore, the pressure in the sealing portion  31 , which is measured by the pressure sensor  43 , is also inputted to the control unit  60 . 
     An operation of the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present disclosure configured as described above will be described below. 
     When the opening/closing part, i.e., the door  10  is opened and an opening signal for the door  10  is inputted to the control unit  60 , the control unit  60  controls the control valve  50  so that the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  of the control valve  50  is opened. When the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  of the control valve  50  is opened, the pressure in the sealing portion  31  becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure, and the opening properties of the door are improved. 
     The weatherstrip  30  is installed in the door  10  is in a compressed state while the door  10  is closed, and the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is higher than the atmospheric pressure. However, when the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  is opened before the door  10  is properly opened (at the moment when the opening of the door is detected), a part of the air in the sealing portion  31  is discharged into the atmosphere, and the pressure in the sealing portion  31  becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure, such that the opening properties are improved. 
     When the door  10  is closed and the door is completely closed, the air supply device  41  operates to supply the air to the sealing portion  31 . When a signal indicating that the door is completely closed is inputted to the control unit  60 , the control unit  60  closes the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  and opens the intake port  50   a , the supply port  50   b , and the inlet port  50   d . Further, the control unit  60  operates the air supply device  41 . Since the air supply device  41  operates in the state in which the sealing portion  31  communicates with the air supply device  41  through the control valve  50 , the air discharged from the air supply device  41  is supplied to the sealing portion  31  to increase the internal pressure of the sealing portion  31 . When the pressure in the sealing portion  31  increases, the sealability of the weatherstrip  30  between the door  10  and the vehicle body is improved. 
     The operation of the air supply device  41  is stopped when the pressure in the sealing portion  31  measured by the pressure sensor  43  is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure while the air supply device  41  operates. 
     Meanwhile, the control unit  60  compares the vehicle speed of the vehicle with a preset reference speed. Even when the current speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than the reference vehicle speed, the control unit  60  operates the air supply device  41  in the state in which the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  is closed and the intake port  50   a , the supply port  50   b , and the inlet port  50   d  are opened, thereby increasing the pressure in the sealing portion  31 . When the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure even in this case, the operation of the air supply device  41  is stopped. 
     The operations of the air supply device  41  and the control valve  50  at the time of opening or closing the door  10  are also applied to the case in which the trunk lid, the tailgate, the sunroof, and the like are opened or closed. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present disclosure. 
     In the present embodiment, the control valve  50  additionally has an exhaust port  50   e  for discharging the air in the sealing portion  31  to the outside. The other configurations are identical to those in the above-mentioned embodiment. 
     An operation of the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present embodiment will be described below. 
     At the time of closing the door in the state in which the door is opened, the door is not sometimes completely closed because of the reaction force of the weatherstrip  30 , i.e., the reaction force of the sealing portion  31 . To solve the problem, the air in the sealing portion  31  is forcibly discharged in advance to decrease the reaction force of the sealing portion  31 , which makes it easy to close the door. 
     When the opening signal for the door is inputted to the control unit  60 , the control unit  60  opens the supply port  50   b , the inlet port  50   d , and the exhaust port  50   e  and operates the air supply device  41  so that the air is discharged to the outside through the exhaust port  50   e.    
     In this case, when the pressure in the sealing portion  31 , which is outputted from the pressure sensor  43 , is equal to or lower than a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, the control unit  60  maintains the state in which the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is decreased. That is, the control unit stops the operation of the air supply device  41  and closes the supply port  50   b , the inlet port  50   d , and the exhaust port  50   e , thereby maintaining the state in which the reaction force of the sealing portion  31  is decreased. 
     In the state in which the reaction force of the sealing portion  31  is decreased, the door may be completely closed even though the door is closed by a small amount of force. When the door  10  is completely closed, the control unit opens the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  to maintain the pressure in the sealing portion  31  so that the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is equal to the atmospheric pressure. 
     Meanwhile, in a case in which the vehicle travels at a high speed, a pressure outside the vehicle is decreased, and the reaction force of the sealing portion  31  is decreased, which causes introduction of noise into the interior of the vehicle and generates vibration of the door. To solve the problem, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than the predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit opens the intake port  50   a , the supply port  50   b , and the inlet port  50   d  and operates the air supply device  41 . The air is supplied from the air supply device  41  to the sealing portion  31 , such that the reaction force of the sealing portion  31  is increased. When the reaction force of the sealing portion  31  is increased, the introduction of outside noise is blocked and the vibration of the door is inhibited while the vehicle travels at a high speed. 
     Further, when the speed of the vehicle is lower than the predetermined vehicle speed, the atmospheric pressure port  50   c  is opened so that the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is equal to the atmospheric pressure. The reason is that the opening properties of the door  10  deteriorate when the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is high. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates still another exemplary embodiment of the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present disclosure. 
     In the present embodiment, a plurality of control valves is provided, unlike the above-mentioned embodiments. 
     A first control valve  51  controls introduction of air from the outside. 
     A second control valve  52  is connected to the first control valve  51  and the air supply device  41 . The second control valve  52  receives the air discharged from the first control valve  51  and supplies the air to the air supply device  41 . In addition, the second control valve  52  communicates with the sealing portion  31  of the weatherstrip  30  through the air line  42 . 
     A third control valve  53  is connected to the air line  42  and configured to close the air line  42  or allow the air line  42  to communicate with the atmosphere. 
     A fourth control valve  54  is installed between the air line  42  and the air supply device  41 . The fourth control valve  54  supplies the air, which is discharged from the air supply device  41 , to the air line  42  or blocks the supply of air. An exhaust port  54   c  is provided at one side of the fourth control valve  54 , and the air is discharged from the fourth control valve  54  to the outside through the exhaust port  54   c.    
     An operation of the variable pressure weatherstrip assembly according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. 
     The ports are opened while the vehicle travels so that the first control valve  51  and the second control valve  52  communicate with each other, the second control valve  52  and the air supply device  41  communicate with each other, the air supply device  41  and the fourth control valve  54  communicate with each other, and the fourth control valve  54  and the air line  42  communicate with each other. All the other ports  52   b ,  53   a ,  53   b , and  54   c  of the first to fourth control valves  51 ,  52 ,  53 , and  54  are closed. 
     The air supply device  41  operates to pressurize the air supplied to the air supply device  41  through the first and second control valves  51  and  52  and supplies the air to the sealing portion  31  through the fourth control valve  54  and the air line  42 . When the air is supplied to the sealing portion  31 , the pressure in the sealing portion  31  increases, and the reaction force increases, such that the sealability between the door  10  and the vehicle body is improved. Therefore, the introduction of outside noise is blocked. 
     In this case, when the pressure in the sealing portion  31  measured by the pressure sensor  43  reaches the preset pressure, the operation of the air supply device  41  is stopped, and the opened ports  51   a ,  52   a ,  52   c ,  54   a , and  54   b  are closed to close the first control valve  51 , the second control valve  52 , and the fourth control valve  54 . 
     In a state in which the vehicle is stationary, the port  53   a  for allowing the air line  42  and the third control valve  53  to communicate with each other is opened, and the port  53   b  for allowing the third control valve  53  and the atmosphere to communicate with each other is opened, such that the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is maintained to be equal to the atmospheric pressure. 
     When the door is opened or closed, i.e., when whether the door is opened or closed is detected, the air in the sealing portion  31  is discharged, and the pressure in the sealing portion  31  is maintained to be lower than the atmospheric pressure. To this end, the exhaust port  54   c  of the fourth control valve  54  is opened so that the air line  42  and the second control valve  52  communicate with each other, the second control valve  52  and the air supply device  41  communicate with each other, and the air supply device  41  and the fourth control valve  54  communicate with each other. Further, when the air supply device  41  operates, the air in the sealing portion  31  is discharged to the outside via the air line  42 , the second control valve  52 , the air supply device  41 , and the fourth control valve  54 . Since the air in the sealing portion  31  is forcibly discharged to the outside as described above, the pressure in the sealing portion  31  becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, and the reaction force decreases, which makes it easy to open or close the door. After the door  10  is completely opened or closed, the third control valve  53  is opened, and the sealing portion  31  is restored to the atmospheric pressure state, thereby maintaining the appropriate sealing performance.