Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Storm-front shield – apron – or robe
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-09
2001-03-06
Pedder, Dennis H. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Storm-front shield, apron, or robe
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196615
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an automobile windshield molding for a motor vehicle body to seal the space between a windshield and a periphery of a window opening of a vehicle body panel, and a method of producing such automobile windshield molding.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
An automobile windshield molding is usually attached around an edge of a windshield to seal the space between a windshield and a window opening of a vehicle body panel. The automobile windshield molding is directly attached to the vehicle body panel or is supported by a fastener fixedly mounted on the body panel.
Examples of such molding are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54416/1982 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 9811/1989. These citations disclose windshield moldings which have water drain channels for receiving water flowing on the surface of the windshield.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 289427/1987 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 28374/1989 describe windshield moldings in which the size of the water drain channels is varied in the longitudinal direction of the molding.
In the latter two cases, the molding is divided into a portion without a water drain channel, a portion with a water drain channel of one size, and a portion with a water drain channel of a different size. These molding portions are separately produced, and are then arranged to be coupled as one unit by an injection molder. When they are coupled, there may be lines between joined areas of the molding parts, which would deteriorate the decorativeness of the molding.
To overcome the foregoing inconvenience, a variety of proposals have been made in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications 8019/1988, 269612/1989, 195032/1989. 291721/1988, 244820/1989, 269611/19899, 269613/1989, and 283017/1987, and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication 128411/1989.
With Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications 8019/1988 and 283017/1987, the molding has a specified constant cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction. The molding is deformed to serve an article at a portion where a water drain channel is to be formed.
In the citation 269612/1989, the molding has a specified constant cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction. The molding has a leg portion cut at one side, which is used to receive a windshield and to form a space for a water drain channel.
In 195032/1989, the molding has a specified constant cross-sectional shape, and a portion for a water drain channel is removed at portions where no water drain channel is necessary.
In 291721/1988 and 244820/1989, the molding has two extending portions to form a pair of grooves, and one of the extending portions is cut off at a portion where no water drain channel is necessary.
The citation 128411/1989 discloses a molding which is a modification of the moldings of the two last mentioned citations. In this citation, a corner joint is used to connect upper and side molding parts.
With 269611/1989 and 269613/1989, an upper decorative portion of the molding has a specified configuration, but the shape of a portion for receiving the windshield is changed.
In 269613/1989, the molding has a specified cross-sectional shape longitudinally, and the portion for receiving the windshield is changed in position by cutting to obtain a space for a water drain channel.
The foregoing moldings have drawbacks as described hereinafter.
The moldings of 8019/1988 and 269612/1989 have grooves for water drain channel, which are somewhat insufficient to guide water. In 195032/1989, the molding has a sharp edge on its decorative portion. Such sharp edge should be removed later. The depth of the groove in the side molding part cannot be changed in the longitudinal direction. With 291721/1988 and 244820/1989, the depth of the grooves of the molding cannot be changed in the longitudinal direction. The molding is difficult to attach in the windshield of the automobile since a portion of the molding is cut off to serve as a water drain channel. With 244820/1989, a die should be modified to make a molding.
With the citations 269611/1989, 269913/1989, and 283017/1988, the depth of the grooves can be changed in the longitudinal direction. However, at the upper molding part where no water drain channel is formed, portions of the molding in contact with the surface of the windshield should be housed inside the decorative portion. Therefore, the decorative portion should be made large, which would adversely affect the external appearance of the upper molding, and reduce the field of view from the driver's position. Such large upper molding part might be contrary to a demand for a flush surface between the windshield and the vehicle body panel. At the corner molding part, the molding might be wrinkled since the thin decorative portion is curved abruptly.
A windshield molding is generally installed along the periphery of the windshield glass mounted to the window frame opening of a body panel. To be more precise, a long belt-shaped space is formed between the periphery of the windshield glass and the edge of the window opening of the body panel, and a windshield molding of a long belt-shaped extruded material is inserted into said space for sealing. The windshield molding consists of a support leg, which is inserted in the above-noted space, and a decorative portion, which covers the space on the outside.
Japanese Utility Model Gazette No. 54416/1982 and other background art have been proposed wherein a windshield molding for vehicles has grooves to drain rainwater from the windshield glass. In this case, it is desirable to provide grooves only at the places where they are actually required so as to avoid the creation of whistling sounds during vehicle motion and to avoid the use of a more rigid material. Also, because such rainwater is forced to flow upward on the windshield glass when the vehicle is traveling, the lower end section area of the side molding is able to be comparably small. Therefore, Japanese Utility Model Gazette 15044/1987 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 31513/1984 stipulate that such windshield molding should have a groove only in either the upper area or the lower area of the side molding section.
Grooves for the above-noted utility models are formed so as to have constant cross-sections in their longitudinal direction. Therefore, they cannot convey and drain rainwater effectively. Windshield moldings with such grooves cannot be formed in one piece with current extrusion molding technology. Namely, the groove must be formed by injection molding but, in this case, the windshield molding should be composed of more than one connecting member. This requires larger injection molds and increased man hours, resulting in lower productivity. The above publications have not disclosed how to form the groove.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention therefore intends to provide a vehicle windshield molding with good draining function and the production method thereof with the use of a simple device.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an automobile windshield molding, in which a water drain channel is formed along the vehicle body side panel.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automobile windshield molding for sealing a space between a windshield and a periphery of a window opening of a vehicle body panel. The molding comprises an extruded side molding part and an extruded specific molding part integral with and extending from the side molding part. The side and specific molding parts comprise an exterior wing adapted to cover the space, on an exterior side of the vehicle.
The exterior wing comprises an inward wing portion having a uniform exterior contour appearance from the side molding part to the specific molding part; a sub-inward wing portion having an interior surface at the side molding part which continues in succession to an interior surface of the inward wing portion at the specific molding part; and a water drain channel ex
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Pedder Dennis H.
Tokai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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