Patent Abstract:
A seal mounting flange projects from automotive body structure into a door opening and receives a U-shaped base portion of a seal that seals with the periphery of an automotive door. The U-shaped base portion has ribs extending therefrom that function as barbs which engage the flange or engage a ramp or bead on the flange to prevent the seal from being dislodged from the door opening. The seal includes a pair of joined tubular portions that are relatively flexible and are flattened upon closing the door to seal with the door.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to sealing arrangements for automotive doors. More particularly, the present invention relates to ergonomic configurations for primary seal carriers that ease installation of door seals in door openings of automotive vehicles. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Automotive vehicles are configured with an automotive body having door openings defined by inwardly facing peripheries on which doors are mounted. Most doors are pivoted on the opening and swing to close, while other doors slide and shift to close. The usual practice is to place a seal arrangement adjacent to the periphery of the opening for sealing engagement with a surface of the door which is usually in the form of a peripheral land. In order to secure the sealing arrangement to the door opening, a flange is provided over which a base portion of the seal is positioned. The flange is then crimped over the base portion of the seal to retain the seal in the door opening over the expected life of the vehicle. This crimping operation requires a crimping tool that squeezes the base portion of the sealing arrangement. The crimping tool is expensive in and of itself and requires maintenance and attention, which when combined with labor costs, add expense to the assembly of automotive vehicles. 
         [0003]    In view of the aforementioned considerations, there is a need for an arrangement wherein door seals are mounted and retained without the use of a crimping tool. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    An automotive door sealing arrangement is configured to facilitate mounting and retaining a door seal adjacent to a periphery of a door opening in an automotive vehicle without crimping of a retaining flange, wherein the seal is mounted adjacent to the door opening with a low insertion force and is retained adjacent to the door opening with a high extraction force. 
         [0005]    In the automotive door sealing arrangement, the door seal is mounted on a flange cantilevered adjacent to the periphery of the door opening. The flange has an attached edge and a free edge, and has an inner surface facing toward the automotive body and outer surface facing away from the automotive body. The door seal comprises a U-shaped base having outer and inner portions spaced from one another and connected by a bight portion to define a slot therebetween. A collapsible sealing portion projects from the outer portion for sealing engagement with the automotive door and a flexible lip portion extends from the bight portion for covering body structure disposed adjacent to the opening in spaced relation to the flange. A resilient spacer engages and urges the outer portion of the U-shaped base away from the flange, and a retaining rib is disposed on the inner portion of the U-shaped base and extends toward the flange. The retaining rib has a first bias when engaging one of the surfaces of the flange to deflect the rib upon pushing the U-shaped base over the flange and a second bias which prevents the seal from backing out of engagement with the flange. Consequently, the U-shaped base is retained on the flange by the second bias. 
         [0006]    In one aspect of the sealing arrangement, the surface of the rib is planar and the second bias occurs upon attempting to deflect the rib in a reverse direction. 
         [0007]    In another aspect of the sealing arrangement, the retaining rib engages a stop surface on a sealing ramp to positively retain the retaining rib on the flange. 
         [0008]    In still another aspect of the sealing arrangement, the retaining rib engages a bead on the flange to positively retain the retaining rib on the flange. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective side view of an automotive vehicle showing an automotive body having a door opening therein that has a peripheral seal arrangement configured to seal with a door mounted adjacent to the opening; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an inside view of the door opening of  FIG. 1  prior to installing the seal; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a portion of a peripheral portion of the door opening of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  but showing the seal installed. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is an elevation taken through  FIG. 1  showing a first embodiment of the automotive door sealing arrangement prior to mounting the sealing arrangement on a flange positioned at the periphery of the door opening; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation similar to  FIG. 5  showing the sealing arrangement retained on the flange at the periphery of the door opening with the automotive door open; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 6  but showing the automotive door closed and compressing the seal; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 6 , but showing a second embodiment of the automotive door sealing arrangement, and 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIGS. 5-8  but showing a third embodiment of the sealing arrangement. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Referring now to  FIG. 1  there is shown an automotive vehicle  10  having a body  12  with an opening  14  for receiving an automotive door  18  which is mounted adjacent the opening to move between an open and closed position. The opening  14  has a peripheral portion  16  on which is mounted a sealing arrangement  20  which seals with a relatively rigid, peripheral land portion  22  on the inner surface of the door  18 . As will be more fully explained hereinafter, the sealing arrangement  20  has a compressible portion for accomplishing the seal  21  and a resilient portion which serves as a seal carrier for mounting the seal adjacent to the periphery of the door opening. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is an inside view of the body frame showing a flange  30  upon which the seal  21  ( FIG. 1 ) of the sealing arrangement  20  is mounted. The flange  30  is known in the art as a B &amp; R flange, and as is seen in  FIG. 3 , is configured from welding an outer portion  31  of the body frame to an inner portion  32 . As is seen in  FIG. 4 , the seal  21  is slid laterally over the flange  30  to form the sealing arrangement  20 . 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7 , where a first embodiment of the sealing arrangement  20  is shown in elevation, the sealing arrangement  20  has a substantially constant cross section throughout its extension while mounted at the periphery  16  of the door opening  14  shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 . As is seen in  FIG. 2 , the sealing arrangement  20  relies on cooperation between vehicle body structure adjacent the door opening  14  and the seal  21 . The automotive body structure adjacent the door opening  10  includes the flange  30 , which is preferably comprised of a lamination of an outer plate  31  and an inner plate  32 , but may include as many as four plates or maybe a single plate. An area  34  behind the flange  30  provides space for interior molding for the vehicle cabin. 
         [0022]    The seal  21  includes a compressible sealing portion  40  comprised of a pair of superimposed compressible tubes  42  and  44 , each vented to the atmosphere and pressed against the peripheral land  22  of the door  18  to seal therewith when the door is shut. The tube  44  is unitary with a U-shaped base  48  having an outer portion  50  and an inner portion  52  joined by a bight  54  to define a slot  56 . The U-shaped base  48  functions a seal carrier for the compressible sealing portion  40 . Extending inwardly from the U-shaped base  48  toward the body of the automobile  10  is a lip  57 , which lip has a rib string  58  thereon that is pulled so that the lip  57  can be made to cooperate with interior cabin structure on the inboard side of the flange  30 . 
         [0023]    As is shown in  FIG. 6 , to install the seal  21  on the periphery  16  of the door opening  14 , the seal  21  is pressed into place over the flange  30 , which flange is received in the slot  56  defined between the outer portion  50  and inner portion  52  of the U-shaped base  48 . In order to have a low insertion force, but high retention or extraction force with respect to the flange  30 , the outer portion  50  of the U-shaped base  48  has a plurality of ribs  60  which are oriented to slant back toward the bight  54  of the base, while the inner portion  52  has a retaining rib  62  and a stabilizing rib  64  which also slant back toward the bight  54 . The retaining rib  62  is triangular in cross section with a base  63  substantially wider than the tip  65 . Thus, the ribs  60 ,  62  and  64  act as barbs allowing relatively easy insertion of the flange  30  into the opening  56 , but difficult extraction of the flange from the opening. The ribs  60  on the outer portion  50  of the U-shaped base  48  provide a spacer arrangement that urges the outer portion away from the flange  30  so that the retaining rib  62  and stabilizing rib  64  are urged into engagement with the flange. 
         [0024]      FIG. 7  shows the automotive door  18  closed against the seal  40  to flatten or compress the outer and inner tubes  42  and  44  against the U-shaped base  48  forming the seal carrier, thus, sealing the door opening  14 . 
         [0025]    As is seen in  FIGS. 5-9 , the retaining rib  62  has a locking tab  66  thereon, which in the embodiment of  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7 , interacts with a ramp  70 . The ramp  70  has a ramp surface  72  and a stop surface  74 . The ramp surface  72  deflects the retaining rib  62  by bending the retaining rib back toward the inner portion  52  of the U-shaped base  48  until the retaining rib clears the ramp  70 . Thereafter, the retaining rib  62  snaps back to seat the locking tab  66  behind the stop surface  74  on the ramp  70 . When a force is applied to the seal  21  tending to remove the seal  21  from the flange  30 , there is positive engagement between the locking tab  66  and the surface  74  that prevents removal of the seal. The ramp  70  may be continuous on the flange  30 , or may be intermittent with gaps between ramp portions. 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 8 , the ramp  70  is reconfigured as a bead  70 ′ in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. The bead  70 ′ is either continuous or in the form of short bead sections. As with the ramp  70  of  FIGS. 5-7 , the bead  70 ′ has a ramp surface  72 ′ and a stop surface  74 ′ with the ramp surface  72 ′ deflecting the retaining rib  62 ′ and the stop surface  74 ′ engaging the locking tab  66 ′ to positively retain the seal  21 ′ on the flange  30 ′. 
         [0027]      FIG. 9  discloses a third embodiment of the invention wherein a flange  30 ″ does not have the ramp  70  of  FIG. 1  or bead  70 ′ of  FIG. 2 , but rather retains the seal  21 ″ on the flange  30 ″ by friction between the free ends of the ribs  60  engaging the bottom surface  33 ″ of flange  30 ″ and the rib  64  and retaining rib  62  engaging the top surface  35 ″ of the flange  30 ″. Since the ribs  60  and  64  and retaining rib  62  slant back toward the bight  54  of the U-shaped base, the ribs  60  and  64  and the retaining rib  62  functioning as barbs that are forced into tighter engagement with the surfaces  33 ″ and  35 ″ in reaction to a force applied to remove the seal  21 ″ from the flange  30 ″. The insertion force for the flange  30 ″ is substantially less than the reverse force or retraction force occurring upon attempting to bend the retaining rib  62  counter to its slant. 
         [0028]    By so configuring the automotive door sealing arrangement  22  as set forth in the embodiments of  FIGS. 5-9 , it is no longer necessary to crimp the flanges  30 ,  30 ′ and  30 ″ in order to retain the seal  21  in place on the flanges. Thus, assembly is eased, crimping tools are no longer necessary and assembly is ergonomically friendly. 
         [0029]    From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing form the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1