Patent Publication Number: US-2005115153-A1

Title: Vehicle door and method for closing a vehicle door window

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This patent application claims priority to French Patent Application No. FR 03 13 995 filed on Nov. 28, 2003.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates generally to a vehicle door and a method for closing a window of the vehicle door.  
      In a vehicle door with a frame, a seal can receive a window glass to guide the window glass when moving and to ensure sealing when the window glass is in a raised position. The friction between the moving window glass and the seal can cause resistance. The drawback is that the driving force of the window glass must be increased to overcome this resistance.  
      There is therefore a need for a vehicle door that reduces the driving force of the window glass.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention provides a vehicle door including a window glass, a slide connected to the window glass, and a guide rail for guiding the slide along a substantially cylindrical trajectory. One end of the guide rail includes a shaping or conformation that changes the substantially cylindrical trajectory of the slide.  
      In one embodiment, the shaping or conformation inclines the trajectory of the slide towards an inner skin of the door. In another embodiment, the guide rail has a radius, and the concavity is directed towards the inner skin of the door. According to yet another embodiment, one end of the guide rail includes the shaping or conformation, which has a reduced radius.  
      According to one embodiment, the shaping or conformation of the guide rail has a section with a reduced radius followed by a section with an increased radius at the end of the guide rail. Alternately, the shaping of conformation of the guide rail has a section with a reduced radius followed by a section where the radius has a concavity that is opposite to the concavity of the guide rail.  
      According to another embodiment, the door includes a plurality of slides connected to the window glass and a plurality of guide rails that guide the slides along a cylindrical trajectory. One end of each of the guide rails has a shaping or conformation that changes the cylindrical trajectory of the slides.  
      According to one embodiment, the door also includes a door shell, and the window glass is guided by two guide rails in the door shell and by one guide rail outside the door shell. An upper end of each of the guide rails includes the shaping or conformation.  
      According to one embodiment, a seal guides the window glass along the guide rail that is outside the door shell. According to another embodiment, the window glass is pushed against the seal when the slide is located at the shaping or conformation of the guide rail. According to yet another embodiment, the window glass is offset from the seal when the slide is not located at the shaping or conformation of the guide rail.  
      According to one embodiment, the slides that are guided by the two guide rails that are in the door shell have two walls that define a rail channel. The two walls have jaws that clamp the guide rail. The jaws are curved in the direction of the guide rail and extend transverse to the guiding trajectory. According to one embodiment, the slides each have two facing pairs of jaws, and each of the pairs of jaws clamp one of the guide rails.  
      The invention also relates to a method for closing a window glass in a vehicle door. The method includes the steps of offsetting the window glass from a guide rail during movement of the window glass and pushing the window glass against the guide rail when the slide is located at the shaping or conformation of the guide rail when the window glass is in the raised position.  
      According to one embodiment, the door includes a frame with a seal around the edge of the frame. The window glass is pushed against the seal when the window glass is in the raised position.  
      Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent when reading the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, given as an example only and with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle door according to one embodiment;  
       FIG. 2  is a profile view of a guide rail;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a guide rail and one type of slide;  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the guide rail and the slide of  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another type of slide;  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another type of slide; and  
      FIGS.  7  to  9  show stages of closing a window glass in the vehicle door in  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic perspective view of a vehicle door  10  according to one embodiment. The door  10  includes a door shell  12 , a frame  14  connected to an upper edge of the door shell  12 , and a window glass  16  moveable relative to the door  10 . The window glass  16  is shown in a lowered position inside the door shell  12 . The window glass  16  can be moved to a raised position in which the edge of the window glass  16  contacts the frame  14  of the door  10 . When the window glass  16  is in the raised position, the window glass  16  ensures sealing with a seal between an interior and an exterior of the vehicle. The seal can be arranged around the edge of the frame  14 , as well as along the upper edge of the door shell  12 . The seal is located on either side of a window glass channel along the upper edge of the door shell  12 . When the window glass  16  leaves or enters the door shell  12 , the seal brushes against the window glass  16 .  
      The door  10  also includes a slide  18  connected to the window glass  16  and a guide rail  20 . Between the raised position and the lowered position, the moving window glass  16  follows the guide rail  20  by the slide  18 . The guide rail  20  guides the slide  18  along an approximately cylindrical trajectory. Cylindrical trajectory is defined to mean a curved trajectory along the directrix of a cylinder. The guide rail  20  is concave to provide such a trajectory, and the concavity of the guide rail  20  is directed towards an inner skin of the door  10  and towards an interior of the vehicle. The concavity of the guide rail  20  allows the window glass  16  to cylindrically move between the raised position and the lowered position. The door  10  has a generally curved shape, and the cylindrical movement of the window glass  16  allows the window glass  16  to adapt to the shape of the door  10 .  
      The guide rail  20  guides the window glass  16  outside the door shell  12  in the frame  14 . If the guide rail  20  is an upright of the frame  14 , the guide rail  20  is then a window glass run. The seal of the frame  14  can be along the guide rail  20 . The window glass  16  is guided relative to the guide rail  20  with the help of the slide  18 . Thus, the window glass  16  is not guided relative to the guide rail  20  by a lateral edge of the window glass  16 . This reduces the friction between the window glass  16  and the guide rail  20  because it is the slide  18  that principally contacts the guide rail  20 .  
      One end of the guide rail  20  includes a shaping or conformation  22  that changes the cylindrical trajectory of the slide  18 . The shaping  22  is more clearly visible in  FIG. 2 , which shows a profile view of the guide rail  20 . The guide rail  20  includes a main body  21  that is curved according to a certain radius that corresponds to the curvature of the window glass  16 . The radius is, for example, 1200 mm. The concavity of the radius faces towards the interior of the vehicle. The slide  18  follows a regular trajectory along the main body  21 . One end of the guide rail  20  includes the shaping  22 . The shaping  22  inclines the trajectory of the slide  18  towards the inner skin of the door  10 , and the slide  18  is diverted towards the inner skin of the door  10 . The shaping has, for example, a smaller radius than the radius of the main body  21  of the guide rail  20 , for example, 200 mm. The radius of the shaping  22  can be five to ten times smaller than the radius of the main body  21  of the guide rail  20 . In particular, the shaping  22  allows the guide rail  20  to curve towards the interior of the vehicle an increased amount.  
      In  FIG. 2 , the continuation of the main body  21  is shown with a dotted line, while the shaping  22  is more curved than the main body  21 . Thus, when the slide  18  reaches the end of the guide rail  20  having the shaping  22 , the trajectory of the slide  18  changes, and the slide  18  moves towards the interior of the vehicle. The window glass  16  is connected to the slide  18 , and the slide  18  carries the window glass  16  with it while it moves towards the interior of the vehicle. This pushes the window glass  16  against the seal. Preferably, an upper end of the guide rail  20  at the top of the frame  14  includes the shaping  22 , pushing the window glass  16  against the seal when the window glass  16  is in the raised position to ensure sealing. Moreover, when the window glass  16  is not located at the shaping  22  of the guide rail  20 , the window glass  16  is offset from the seals, reducing the friction between the window glass  16  and the seals.  
       FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the slide  18  connected to the window glass  16 . A seal  32  is arranged along the guide rail  20 , and the slide  18  is guided by and slidingly mounted in the guide rail  20 . Thus, the window glass  16  is guided by the slide  18  as the window glass  16  moves in the frame  14 . The window glass  16  is guided relative to the guide rail  20  by the slide  18 , which maintains its stability and reduces the friction between the window glass  16  and the seals  32 .  
       FIG. 4  shows a section view of the window glass  16 , the slide  18 , and the seal  32  in the guide rail  20 . The arrow X points along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and the arrow Y points transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle towards the interior of the vehicle. The guide rail  20  has a substantially U-shaped section, and the seal  32  is inserted in the U. The seal  32  can be glued or held by any other means. The seal  32  has one or more lips  40  and  42  between the guide rail  20  and the window glass  16 . The lips  40  and  42  extend from arms of the U of the guide rail  20  in the direction of the slide  18 . The window glass  16  does not contact the lips  40  and  42  when the window glass  16  moves between the lowered position and the raised position. When the slide  18  reaches the raised position, the window glass  16  is pushed against the lips  40  and  42 , as described below.  
      The guiding of the slide  18  in the guide rail  20  is shown in  FIG. 4 , as an example. The guide rail  20  has shoulders  34  and  36  that extend from the arms of the U-shaped guide rail  20  towards the interior of the U. The shoulders  34  and  36  can also extend from the seal  32 . The shoulders  34  and  36  extend along the guide rail  20  and cooperate with the ribs  38  and  39  that extend from the slide  18  in the direction of the arms of the U of the guide rail  20 . The shoulder  34  cooperates with the rib  38 , and the shoulder  36  cooperates with the rib  39 . Thus, the slide  18  slides along the guide rail  20  by the sliding of the ribs  38  and  39  on the shoulders  34  and  36 .  
      The shoulders  34  and  36  and the ribs  38  and  39  provide a sliding connection between the slide  18  and the guide rail  20 . The ribs  38  and  39  and the shoulders  34  and  36  maintain the slide  18  along the guide rail  20 . In the direction indicated by the arrow Y in  FIG. 4 , the shoulders  34  and  36  and the ribs  38  and  39  alternate on either side of the slide  18 . On the right hand side of the slide  18 , the rib  38  is located between the shoulder  34  and the bottom of the guide rail  20  or the seal  32 . This pushes the window glass  16  against the seals  32  when the slide  18  is located in the shaping  22 . On the left hand side of the slide  18 , the shoulder  36  is located between the rib  39  and the bottom of the guide rail  20  or the seal  32 . This moves the window glass  16  away from the seal  32  when the window glass  16  is not located in the zone of the shaping  22  and reduces the friction between the window glass  16  and the lips  40  and  42  of the seal  32 .  
      The slide  18  can also be guided by ribs on the slide  18  that are guided in grooves in the guide rail  20  or the seal  32 .  
       FIG. 1  further shows two other guide rails  24  and  26  in the door shell  12 . The guide rails  24  and  26  each guide a slide  28  and  30 , respectively, that is connected to the window glass  16 . The slides  28  and  30  are driven by a window glass regulator (not shown). The window glass regulator can also only include one guide rail. However, two guide rails  24  and  26  further stabilizes the window glass  16  in the door shell  12 . The two guide rails  24  and  26  hold the window glass  16  in the plane of the door  10 , and the guide rail  20  prevents the window glass  16  from falling out of the plane of the door  10 . It is hereafter assumed, in a non-exhaustive way, that the window glass regulator includes two guide rails  24  and  26  in the door shell  12  and one guide rail  20  in the frame  14 . The guide rails  24  and  26  are curved in the same manner as the guide rail  20 . The curvature of the guide rails  20 ,  24  and  26  allows the window glass  16  to have a cylindrical trajectory and allows the window glass  16  to follow the general curved shape of the door  10 .  
      The guide rails  24  and  26  preferably also have a shaping or conformation  22  similar to the shaping  22  of the guide rail  20 . The shaping  22  on the guide rails  24  and  26  can be seen in  FIG. 1 . The shapings  22  allow the slides  28  and  30  to move towards the interior of the vehicle and to carry the window glass  16  with them. The shapings  22  are located at the upper end of the guide rails  24  and  26  at the top of the door shell  12 .  
      In  FIG. 1 , the window glass  16  has a substantially triangular shape, for example. The base of the triangle is guided in the door shell  12  along the guide rails  24  and  26  by the slides  28  and  30 . The apex of the triangle is guided in the frame  14  along the guide rail  20  by the slide  18 . Moreover, each of the guide rails  20 ,  24  and  26  has a shaping  22 , preferably located at the upper end. Thus, when the window glass  16  is in the raised position, the slides  18 ,  28  and  30  are located in the shapings  22  of each guide rail  20 ,  24  and  26 . However, a different type of guiding is possible, with two guide rails in the frame  14  and one guide rail in the door shell  12 .  
       FIGS. 5 and 6  show perspective views of another type of slide that guides the window glass  16  relative to the guide rails  24  and  26 . The guide rails  24  and  26  are located in the door shell  12 . The guide rails  24  and  26  are the rails of a window glass regulator, not shown. The window glass regulator includes, for example, a cable drive, and the mechanism drives the slides  28  and  30  by a cable.  
       FIG. 5  shows the window glass  16  and the slide  28  or  30  connected to the window glass  16 . One of the guide rails  24  and  26  is also shown, for example the guide rail  24 . The guide rail  24  guides the slide  28  along a cylindrical trajectory. One end of the guide rail  24  includes a shaping  22  that changes the cylindrical trajectory of the slide  28 . The shaping  22  has, for example, a reduced radius. Alternatively, in the direction of the end of the guide rail  24 , the shaping  22  of the guide rail  24  has a section with a reduced radius followed by a section having an increased radius. Alternately, the shaping  22  of the guide rail  24  includes a section with a reduced radius followed by a section where the curvature has a concavity opposite to that the concavity of the guide rail  24 .  
       FIG. 6  shows in more detail an example of the slide  28 . The slide  28  includes two walls  44  and  46  that define a rail channel  48  and can also include a stop  49  that faces the rail channel  48 . The slide  28  clamps the guide rail  24  between the walls  44  and  46 , and the window glass regulator drives the slide  28  along the guide rail  24 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the guide rail  24  includes an L-shaped profile  51 . One arm of the L extends into the rail channel  48 , and the other arm extends between the stop  49  and the rail channel  48 . The stop  49  prevents the slide  28  from coming out of the guide rail  24  in a direction in the plane of the window glass  16  and transverse to the direction of guiding. Preferably, the slide  28  is inserted from the end of the guide rail  24  and in the guiding direction of the slide  18 . The slide  28  can also be inserted between the ends of the guide rail  24  by clipping. The slide  28  is then manipulated to insert the L-shaped arms of the guide rail  24  into the rail channel  48 .  
       FIG. 6  further shows the zones of contact between the slide  28  and the guide rail  24 . The walls  44  and  46  of the slide  28  have jaws  50  and  52  that clamp the guide rail  24 . The jaws  50  and  52  extend transverse to the guiding trajectory along the guide rail  24  and are curved towards the guide rail  24 . The jaws  50  and  52  are each a half-cylinder with the curved edges facing each other. Thus, the contact between each of the jaws  50  and  52  and the guide rail  24  extends along a generatrix of the jaws  50  and  52 , reducing the contact between the slide  28  and the guide rail  24  and therefore friction.  
      According to one embodiment, the slide  28  includes two facing pairs of jaws  50  and  52 . The slide  28  includes two contact zones with the guide rail  24 , increasing the stability of the slide  28  along the guide rail  24 . Moreover, as the guide rail  24  is curved, the curved jaws  50  and  52  allow the guide rail  24  to tilt in contact with the jaws  50  and  52  transverse to a directrix of the jaws  50  and  52 . This compensates for the radius of the guide rail  24 . Moreover, the jaws  50  and  52  also adapt to the shaping  22  of the guide rail  24 , in particular when the slide  28  reaches the shaping  22  of the guide rail  24 . In one embodiment, the shaping  22  has a reduced radius relative to the radius of the guide rail  24 . When the slide  28  reaches the shaping  22 , the slide  28  straddles the shaping  22  and the main body  21  of the guide rail  24 . The guide rail  24  is then curved in the rail channel  48 . The curved jaws  50  and  52  allow the guide rail  24  to tilt in contact with the jaws  50  and  52 , allowing it to have a free passage when the guide rail  24  slides with a variable radius and compensates for the change in the radius of the guide rail  24 .  
      FIGS.  7  to  9  show stages of closing of the window glass  16  in the door  10  in  FIG. 1 . FIGS.  7  to  9  show the guide rails  20  and  26  and the window glass  16  in profile. The slides  18  and  30  connected to the window glass  16  and guided, respectively, by the guide rails  20  and  26  are also shown. An upper end of each of the guide rails  20  and  26  has a shaping  22 . The guide rails  20  and  26  are curved, and the concavity of the guide rails  20  and  26  is directed towards the interior of the vehicle on the left hand side in FIGS.  7  to  9 . The guide rails  20  and  26  are curved to adapt the movement of the window glass  16  to the generally curved shape of the door  10 . The guide rails  20  and  26  can have the same radius, and the shapings  22 , for example, have a smaller radius. In FIGS.  7  to  9 , the shaping  22  of the guide rails  20  and  26  are located at the upper end. Thus, the ends are inclined towards the interior of the vehicle. Moreover, and according to the profile view in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , the guide rails  20  and  26  overlap, and the lower end of the guide rail  20  is lower in the door  10  than the upper end of the guide rail  26  including the shaping  22 .  
      In  FIG. 7 , the window glass  16  is in the lowered position inside the door shell  12 . The slides  18  and  30  are positioned at the lower end of each of the guide rails  20  and  26 . In this position, the window glass  16  may or may not be completely inside the door shell  12 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the window glass  16  is held away from the guide rail  26  both by the slide  30  (which is placed between the guide rail  26  and the window glass  16 ) and by the slide  18  (which maintains a space between the window glass  16  and the guide rail  20 ).  
      In  FIG. 8 , the window glass  16  moves in the direction of the frame  14  to be closed. The slides  18  and  30  move along the guide rails  20  and  26 , respectively, along a cylindrical trajectory. The window glass  16  partially occupies the frame  14 . A space is visible between the window glass  16  and the guide rails  20  and  26 . Thus, during the travel of the window glass  16 , the window glass  16  is offset from the guide rail  20 , and in particular from the seal  32 . The offset reduces the friction between the window glass  16  and the guide rails  20  and  26 , and if applicable, the seal  32 . It is also possible that the window glass  16  is not completely separated from the seal  32 . In particular, the flexible lips  40  and  42  can contact the window glass  16 . However, the window glass  16  is not forced against the seal  32 , reducing the friction between the window glass  16  and the seal  32  when the window glass  16  moves along the guide rail  20 .  
       FIG. 9  shows the window glass  16  in the raised position at the end of upward travel. The window glass  16  is pushed against the guide rail  20 . In particular, the window glass  16  is pushed against the seal  32 . In this position, the contact between the window glass  16  and the seal  32  ensuring sealing. To allow the window glass  16  to be pushed against the seal  32 , the slides  18  and  30  have reached the shapings  22  of the guide rails  20  and  26 . The guide rails  20  and  26  are then curved more towards the interior of the vehicle at the shapings  22 , and the slides  18  and  30  are carried towards the interior of the vehicle. The change in trajectory imposed upon the slide  18 , which is connected to the top of the window glass  16 , allows the upper edge of the window glass  16  to enter the roof seal. Moreover, the slide  30  drives the window glass  16  towards the interior of the vehicle when the slide  30  reaches the shaping  22  of the guide rail  26 . The lower end of the guide rail  20  is lower in the door  10  than the shaping  22  of the guide rail  26 , and the bottom of the window glass  16  is then also forced against the seal  32 . The guide rail  24  also includes the shaping  22 , and the entire window glass  16  is pushed against the guide rails  20  and  24  and against the seal of the frame  14 .  
      In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the window glass  16  is forced towards the interior of the vehicle by the three slides  18 ,  28  and  30 . This pushes the window glass  16  against the seal  32  and allows the upper edge of the window glass  16  to insert into the roof seal. Thus, the friction of the window glass  16  against the seal  32  is reduced as long as the window glass  16  moves between the lowered position and the raised position. However, when the window glass  16  arrives in the raised position in the frame  14 , the window glass  16  is pushed against the seal  32  of the frame  14  at the end of upward travel. The window glass  16  is then placed in a sealing position when it is closed.  
      Of course, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described as an example. Thus, the number of guide rails is not limited to that given as an example in the description. Moreover, the slides and the guide rails can be considered and protected independently of the other components of the door.  
      The foregoing description is only exemplary of the principles of the invention. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.