Patent Abstract:
A resin garnish installation structure installed to a vehicle body exterior surface, having a resin garnish which extends along a longitudinal direction thereof, the resin garnish including: an exterior surface which is level with the vehicle body exterior surface; a first edge which extends along the longitudinal direction; a second edge which is provided on an opposite side of the first edge and extends along the longitudinal direction; and an end part provided at a tip in the longitudinal direction, wherein in a vicinity of the end part, the second edge gradually curbs toward the first edge, and the second edge joins the first edge at the end part, and the resin garnish is installed so that a gap is formed between the end part and the vehicle body exterior surface, the gap becoming wider as it gets closer to the tip of the resin garnish.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an installation structure of resin garnish used in vehicles such as automobiles. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Some of vehicles such as automobiles are provided with window-side garnishes around the side ends of the front windshield, e.g., on a front pillar. Such window-side garnish has a long dimension and are regularly made of resin. Accordingly, it is necessary to consider heat deformation of the garnish and resulting expansions and contractions thereof. In order to deal with such expansions and contractions by heat, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2005-119457 discloses a structure in which a window-side garnish and another adjacent member, such as a cowling-top garnish, are arranged so as to overlap to each other at their ends. 
     However, in some arrangements, those two members are required to be tandemly arranged so that their ends engage against each other in an head-to-head manner. In this case, it is necessary to design the engaging portion to have a fine appearance while also coping with the expansions and contractions by heat, and to avoid the garnish arrangement from hindering the exterior appearance quality. 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an installation structure of resin garnish in which a resin garnish and another member is tandemly arranged so that their ends are engaging against each other, having a fine appearance and capable of coping with heat expansions and contractions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) An aspect of the present invention provides the following: a resin garnish installation structure installed to a vehicle body exterior surface, having a resin garnish which extends along a longitudinal direction thereof, the resin garnish including: an exterior surface which is level with the vehicle body exterior surface; a first edge which extends along the longitudinal direction; a second edge which is provided on an opposite side of the first edge and extends along the longitudinal direction; and an end part provided at a tip in the longitudinal direction, wherein in a vicinity of the end part, the second edge gradually curbs toward the first edge, and the second edge joins the first edge at the end part, and the resin garnish is installed so that a gap is formed between the end part and the vehicle body exterior surface, the gap becoming wider as it gets closer to the tip of the resin garnish. 
     (2) The resin garnish installation structure may be constituted as follows: the resin garnish installation structure further includes an elastic lip provided between the end part of the resin garnish and the vehicle body exterior surface, wherein the elastic lip becomes wider as it gets closer to the tip of the resin garnish. 
     (3) The resin garnish installation structure may be constituted as follows: the elastic lip includes: a mold-cast portion formed at the tip of the resin garnish by a mold-casting, so as to become wider as it gets closer to the tip of the resin garnish; and an extrusion-mold portion formed by an extrusion molding, and formed continuously with the mold-cast portion. 
     (4) The resin garnish installation structure may be constituted as follows: the tip of the resin garnish is provided adjacent to a junction between two parts of the vehicle body, and a junction between the mold-cast portion and the extrusion-mold portion is provided at a portion away from the junction between two parts of the vehicle body. 
     According to the above-described structure of (1), a sufficient expansion-contraction margin is provided at a tip part of the resin garnish. In addition, a gap along the longitudinal direction is arranged to be as small as possible. In this way, there is an advantageous effect of the structure being able to cope with effects of heat, while maintaining a fine appearance of the structure. 
     According to the above-described structure of (2), by configuring the elastic lip according to variations of gap size, the gap can be efficiently sealed. In addition, unintended counterforce by the elastic lip at the engaging part of the end part of the resin garnish and the vehicle body member can be avoided, resulting in an excellent engagement status. 
     According to the above-described structure of (3), portions of the elastic lip having width variation are formed by a mold-casting. In this way, the elastic lip can be formed with precision into a desired shape. By forming the other parts of the elastic lip with extrusion molding, the production cost can be reduced. 
     According to the above-described structure of (4), the seam part of the elastic lip and the seam part of the vehicle body is not provided adjacent to each other. In this way, those seam parts do not appear conspicuously. In addition, the assemble status of the structure can be made steady. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view from a front-left position showing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view showing a resin garnish of the embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a view looking from the direction of A in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a view looking from the direction of B in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 5  is a view looking from the direction of C in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view along the line D-D in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view along the line E-E in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view along the line F-F in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view along the line G-G in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the front pillar  2  of the vehicle body  1  is provided with a pillar outer panel  4  of an outside panel  3 . The pillar outer panel  4  is provided with a rear-upper end portion  6  of a front fender panel  5 , so that their exterior surfaces are level. 
     At the part along the upper part of the pillar outer panel  4  extending to the rear-upper end portion  6  of the front fender panel  5 , a window-side garnish  7 , which is made with resin and extends along the longitudinal direction thereof, is provided so as to adjacently extend along both of the pillar outer panel  4  and the front fender panel  5 , at the inside of the vehicle width direction. The window-side garnish  7  is an ornamental member provided on an exterior surface of the vehicle body. Along the gap between the window-side garnish  7  and the pillar outer panel  4 /front fender panel  5 , a parting line  8  is provided. The parting line  8  maintains the gap between those adjacent members. The displacement of the window-side garnish  7  at a rear-end part  25  is restricted. The heat expansions and contractions of the window-side garnish  7  is absorbed at the side of a front-end part  14 . Symbol B shows a bonnet. 
     As also shown in  FIGS. 6 to 9 , the window-side garnish  7  is provided with an ornamental part  9  having an outer surface which is level with the outer surfaces of the adjacent pillar outer panel  4  and the front fender panel  5 . The ornamental part  9  is provided with an inside-fringe part  10  and an outside-fringe part  11 , at the center part of the width direction, each extending in an slanted direction toward either inward or outward. As shown in  FIG. 7 , at the back side of the ornamental part  9 , at a vehicle-width outer side, four brackets  12  extending downward direction are provided along the longitudinal direction of the window-side garnish  7 , with predetermined intervals. The brackets  12  are secured on an inside surface  13  of the pillar outer panel  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a backside of the front-end part  14  of the ornamental part  9  is provided with a connection part  15 . An upper fastening part  38  of a clip  16  is held at the connection part  15  in a slidable manner along the longitudinal direction of the window-side garnish  7  (the direction orthogonal to the figure sheet). The lower fastening part  17  of the clip  16  is held and fixed at an internal rack part  18  of the front fender panel  5 . 
     Accordingly, the clip  16  is fixed at the internal rack part  18  of the front fender panel  5 , while the upper fastening part  38  of the clip  16  is slidable in relation to the connection part  15  at the backside of the front-end part  14  of the ornamental part  9 . Therefore, the displacement of the window-side garnish  7  caused by heat expansion/contraction can be smoothly performed at the front-end part. 
     The ornamental part  9  is provided with a leg part  20  at the inside of the vehicle width direction. The leg part  20  extends toward the front windshield  19 , and arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the leg part  20  runs along the longitudinal direction of the window-side garnish  7 . A seal member  22  fits into the leg part  20 . A seal lip  21  of the seal member  22  tightly engages with the front windshield  19 . The extending height of the leg part  20  becomes progressively shorter as it goes closer to the rear end of the window-side garnish  7 . As a result of the connection at the seal member  22 , a drip part  23  is positioned at a side of the front windshield  19 . The drip part  23  has a C-shaped cross-section and is constituted with the inside-fringe part  10  of the ornamental part  9  of the window-side garnish  7 , the leg part  20 , and the front windshield  19 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the front-end part  14  of the ornamental part  9  of the window-side garnish  7  has a tapered shape in which an edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11  becomes gradually closer to an edge part  10   a  of the inside-fringe part  10 , as it goes closer to the tip. The front-end part  14  is provided adjacent to a parting line  24  between the pillar outer panel  4  and the front fender panel  5 . A rear-end part  25  of the window-side garnish  7  also has a tapered shape in which the edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11  becomes closer to the edge part  10   a  of the inside-fringe part  10 , as it goes closer to the tip. 
     Accordingly, the front-end part  14  of the window-side garnish  7  is provided with a front arc part  26 , on the edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11 . Likewise, the rear-end part  25  is provided with a rear arc part  27 , also on the edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11 . 
     On the back surface of the rear-end part  25  of the ornamental part  9 , a rear elastic lip  28  is adhered, on a part of the back surface ranging from the rear arc part  27  to a part of the edge part  10   a  on the side of the inside-fringe part  10  which is further front than the rear arc part  27 . 
     The rear elastic lip  28  has a shape which approximately fits the rear-end part  25  of the ornamental part  9 . The rear elastic lip  28  is provided with a rear arc lip  30  which extends outward from the rear arc part  27  by a shape corresponding to a rear gap  29  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) which opens between the rear arc part  27  of the ornamental part  9  and the pillar outer panel  4 . The rear arc lip  30  fits the rear gap  29  to fill the rear gap  29 . A tip of the rear arc lip  30  tightly engages with the pillar outer panel  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , a seal lip  31  is provided at an inner edge of the rear elastic lip  28 . The seal lip  31  is tightly attached to the front windshield  19 . The rear elastic lip  28  is formed by a mold-casting. 
     A side elastic lip  33  is adhered at a side part of the window-side garnish  7 , on the back surface of the outside-fringe part  11  of the ornamental part  9 . The side elastic lip  33  is connected to the rear elastic lip  28  and extends to a position of the front-end part  14  of the window-side garnish  7 . Although the side elastic lip  33  has a shape which approximately fits the edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11  of the ornamental part  9 , the side elastic lip  33  is provided with a side part lip  34 . The side part lip  34  extends outward from the edge part  11   a  of the outside-fringe part  11  of the ornamental part  9  by a shape corresponding to a side gap  32  (as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 7 ) which opens between the outside-fringe part  11  of the ornamental part  9  and the pillar outer panel  4 /the front fender panel  5 . The side part lip  34  fits the side gap  32  to fill the side gap  32 . A tip of the side part lip  34  tightly engages with the pillar outer panel  4  and the front fender panel  5 . The side elastic lip  33  is formed by an extrusion molding. 
     A front elastic lip  35  is adhered at the front-end part  14  of the ornamental part  9 , on the back surface of the outside-fringe part  11 . The front elastic lip  35  is provided at a position extending from the front arc part  26  to the edge part  10   a  of the inside-fringe part  10 . The front elastic lip  35  is provided continuously with the side elastic lip  33  so as to engage with the side elastic lip  33 . The junction Rat which the side elastic lip  33  and the front elastic lip  35  engages is provided at a position different from the parting line  24  between the pillar outer panel  4  and the rear-upper end portion  6  of the front fender panel  5 . The junction R is shifted further front than the parting line  24 . 
     The front elastic lip  35  has a shape which approximately fits the front arc part  26  of the front-end part  14  of the ornamental part  9 . The front elastic lip  35  is provided with a front arc lip  37  which extends outward from the front arc part  26  by a shape corresponding to a front gap  36  which opens between the front arc part  26  of the ornamental part  9  and the front fender panel  5 . The front arc lip  37  fits the front gap  36  to fill the front gap  36 . A tip of the front arc lip  37  tightly engages with the front fender panel  5  (as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 8 ). The parting line  8  consists of the rear gap  29 , the side gap  32 , and the front gap  36 . The front elastic lip  35  is formed by a mold-casting. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the parting line  8  has an approximately constant width d at the entire rear gap  29  and in the range X of the side gap  32  starting from the rear gap  29  and reaching to the parting line  24  between the front fender panel  5  and the pillar outer panel  4 . However, this is not the case at the other parts of the side gap  32 , namely, in the range Y, which includes the front gap  36  and the part further to the front than the parting line  24  of the front fender panel  5  and the pillar outer panel  4 . In the range Y, as it gets closer to the front end, the width of the parting line  8  becomes gradually wider. 
     In other words, the parting line  8  has the same width d as in the range X at the position of the parting line  24  between the front fender panel  5  and the pillar outer panel  4 . In the range further front than the parting line  24 , the width of the parting line  8  becomes gradually wider until it finally reaches the width D (d&lt;D). At the side part of the window-side garnish  7 , the parting line  8  extrudes sidewise by the width D. The width gradually increases as the parting line  8  extends bending inward along the front arc part  26 . At the tip of the window-side garnish  7 , the parting line  8  extrudes to the front direction by the width D. 
     Correspondently, the extruding width of the side part lip  34  of the side elastic lip  33  provided in the range Y is adjusted by shifting the installation position of the side elastic lip  33  relative to the ornamental part  9 . On the other hand, the extruding width of the front arc lip  37  of the front elastic lip  35  is adjusted by the mold casting of the part, so that the extrusion width becomes gradually wider from the width d finally to the width D. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , a hinge cover  40  is provided on the internal rack part  18  of the front fender panel  5  so as to cover the junction of the window-side garnish  7  and the front fender panel  5 , and cover the hinge which supports the bonnet B. The reference symbol  41  in  FIG. 5  shows a cowling-top garnish provided at the underside edge of the front windshield  19 . 
     The window-side garnish  7  is made with resin and is tend to be affected by heat, resulting in substantial expansions and contractions of the window-side garnish  7  along the longitudinal direction thereof, and dislocations at the front-end part  14 . The range Y of front-end part  14  includes the front gap  36  and the part of the side gap  32  further to the front than the parting line  24  of the front fender panel  5  and the pillar outer panel  4 . In the above-explained embodiment, in the range Y, the width of the parting line  8  becomes gradually wider as it goes closer to the front part thereof, until it finally reaches the width D (d&lt;D). 
     The front arc part  26  is provided at the front-end part  14  of the window-side garnish  7 . At the front arc part  26 , the parting line  8  gradually bends inward as it gets closer to the tip part thereof. Accordingly, a larger margin for the expansion of the window-side garnish  7  along the longitudinal direction thereof is prepared at the front part of the window-side garnish  7 . Therefore, a sufficient margin for the expansion can be secured at the front-end part  14  of the window-side garnish  7 . 
     The range X portion of the parting line  8  resides along the longitudinal direction of the window-side garnish  7 . Since the width of the window-side garnish  7  is smaller than the length thereof, the displacement due to the heat is smaller in the range X. Therefore, in the range X, a smaller expansion-contraction margin is necessary, and the width of the protruding part can be maintained constant throughout the range X at the width d. The width d of the protruding part can be configured as small as possible, in order to realize a constitution which can deal with effects of heat, while having a fine appearance. 
     Particularly, the side part lip  34  of the side elastic lip  33  and the front arc lip  37  of the front elastic lip  35  are each designed to fit the varying width of the parting line  8  between the window-side garnish  7  and the adjacent pillar outer panel  4 /front fender panel  5 . Accordingly, the parting line  8  can be securely sealed. 
     Accordingly, an excellent engaging status between the window-side garnish  7  and the adjacent pillar outer panel  4 /front fender panel  5  can be obtained, without producing an unintended counterforce by the side part lip  34  and the front arc lip  37 . 
     At the front-end part  14  of the window-side garnish  7 , the dislocation caused by the effect of heat is larger. As the width of the side gap  32  changes from width d to width D in the front-end part  14 , the extruding length d of the side part lip  34  of the side elastic lip  33  changes to the extruding length D of the front arc lip  37  of the front elastic lip  35  within the range Y. Accordingly, the lip width is widened so as to fit the width of the parting line  8 . Therefore, as the dislocation of the side gap  32  and the front gap  36  caused by heat becomes larger, the lips can bend further, so that the engaging part between the window-side garnish  7  and the pillar outer panel  4 /front fender panel  5  can be maintained in an appropriate status. 
     Since the front elastic lip  35  is formed by a mold-casting, the extrusion length of the front elastic lip  35  can be adjusted with a precise accuracy into a desired shape, so as to fit with the shape of the parting line  8  as the width changes in the part of the side gap  32  and in the front gap  36 . On the other hand, the side elastic lip  33  is formed at a low cost by an extrusion molding. 
     The junction R of the side elastic lip  33  and the front elastic lip  35  is located at a different position (further to the front) from the position of the parting line  24  between the pillar outer panel  4  and the rear-upper end portion  6  of the front fender panel  5 . Accordingly, the connection at the junction R of the side elastic lip  33  and the front elastic lip  35  is not positioned at the same position with the parting line  24  between the pillar outer panel  4  and the rear-upper end portion  6  of the front fender panel  5 . Therefore, those junctions, i.e., the junction R and the parting line  24  do not appear conspicuous. In addition, the assemble status of the structure can be made steady.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1