Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – With severing – removing material from preform mechanically,...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-22
2001-04-03
Silbaugh, Jan H. (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
With severing, removing material from preform mechanically,...
C264S148000, C264S149000, C264S171140, C264S296000, C264S322000, C425S297000, C425S356000, C425S394000, C425S398000, C425S401000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210615
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for working the end portion of a roof molding for use in an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
As shown in
FIG. 16
, in many cases, a roof molding
60
is mounted on the roof
51
of an automobile
50
. As can be seen from
FIG. 17
which shows part of the roof
51
with the roof molding
60
removed from the automobile
50
, in order to conceal the connecting lines of the portions of a roof panel
52
and an outer panel
53
where they are connected integrally with each other, the roof molding
60
is mounted or fitted into a groove
54
which is formed in the connecting portions of the two roof and outer panels
52
and
53
.
The roof molding
60
, as can be seen from
FIG. 18
, is composed of a leg portion
61
and a decorative portion
65
which is disposed on the upper end of the leg portion
61
, while the decorative portion
65
is used as the design surface of the roof molding
60
; and, the roof molding
60
is mounted in such a manner that the leg portion
61
thereof is inserted into the groove
54
and the decorative portion
65
thereof covers the groove
54
. Also, in many cases, a metal core member
63
is embedded into the leg portion
61
in such a manner as to extend along the longitudinal direction thereof in order not only to mount and hold the roof molding
60
in the groove
54
of the above panel connecting portions correctly but also to reduce the linear expansion of the leg portion
61
. In
FIG. 18
, reference character
66
designates a lip (a fin piece) which is formed on the two side surfaces of the lower portion of the leg portion
61
in such a manner as to extend along the longitudinal direction thereof, in order to assure the fixing of the leg portion
61
to the grooves
54
.
By the way, if the two end portions of the groove
54
of the connecting portion of the roof
51
are molded by pressing with the same depth as the central portion of the groove
54
, then there is caused a crack in the upper corner portions
55
of the groove
54
. For this reason, the groove
54
is formed in such a manner that it becomes gradually smaller in depth toward the ends thereof. Accordingly, if, as the roof molding
60
, there is used a molding which can be obtained simply by cutting a molding blank member
60
a
consisting of a long extruded molding into a given length, then the lower end of the leg portion
61
interferes with the body of the automobile, which makes it impossible to mount the roof molding
60
into the groove
54
correctly. Therefore, recently, there has been proposed a method in which, as shown in
FIG. 18
, an end portion
62
matched to the depth of the end portion of the groove
54
is injection molded in the end portion of the molding blank member
60
a
cut to a given length.
However, in the roof molding
60
with the injection molded end portion
62
, on the surface of the end portion of the roof molding
60
, in particular, between the molding blank member
60
a
and end portion
62
, there is produced a joint line
67
which can impair the appearance of the roof molding
60
. Also, because the main body portion of the roof molding
60
composed of the molding blank member
60
a
is different in the resin shrinkage ratio from the injection molded end portion
62
, there is caused a crack in the portion of the joint line
67
due to the difference between the thermal shrinkage amounts between them or due to the degradation thereof; and, in the worst case, the end portion
62
and molding blank member
60
a
can be separated from each other.
Also, partly because the groove
54
of the roof
51
is mostly curved in the neighborhood of the end portions thereof in the plane direction thereof as well as in the height direction thereof, and partly because such lip
66
or the like as in the molding blank member
60
a
is not present in the injection molded end portion, the end portion
62
as it is cannot be fixed along the groove
54
fitly, but there can be produced a gap between the one side portion of the end portion
62
and the side surface of the groove
54
, or the end portion
62
can be warped from the groove
54
. To solve these problems, conventionally, the end portion
62
is fixed to the end portion of the groove
54
with pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape or adhesive agents. However, it takes time and labor to carry out such assemblies, which increases the cost thereof; and also, the adhesive strength of the adhesive tape or adhesive agents can be rather weak, so that, as time passes, the end portion
62
becomes easy to warp from the groove
54
.
By the way, to make the end portion
62
to follow the above-mentioned curved shape of the end portion of the groove
54
, there can be imagined a method in which, when the end portion
62
is injection molded, a projection is formed on the side surface of the end portion
62
to thereby make constant the distance between the side surface of the groove
54
end portion and the side surface of the end portion
62
, or a method in which a clip is provided in the end portion of the groove
54
and there is formed in the end portion
62
a portion to be engageable with a pawl formed in the present clip. In these cases, however, the strength of the connecting portions between the end portion
62
and molding blank member
60
a
is weak and, therefore, if the end portion
62
is mounted into the groove
54
of the roof
51
in such a manner that the end portion
62
is curved, then there is a danger that the end portion
62
can be separated in the joint line
67
. Also, to avoid this problem, there can be imagined another method in which only the projection is injection molded locally in the molding blank member
60
a
cut to a given shape. Even in this case, however, the adhesive strength between the projection and molding blank member
60
a
is weak and, therefore, there is a danger that the end portion
62
can be peeled or slipped off at such projection portion from the molding blank member
60
a.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at eliminating the above drawbacks found in the conventional methods. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method for working the end portion of a roof molding for use in an automobile, which not only eliminates a joint line in the design surface of the end portion of the roof molding to thereby be able to provide a beautiful appearance and high durability but also allows the end portion of the roof molding to be fixed to a groove formed in the roof of an automobile accurately and positively.
In attaining the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for working the end portion of a roof molding in which the back surface side of the end portion of a molding blank member formed of resin and having a given cross section shape is cut away to thereby reduce the thickness of the leading end side of said end portion, the end portion of the molding blank member is heated and softened, and, after then, while the design surface of the roof molding end portion is being received by a receiver mold, the back surface of the present end portion is pressed by a pressing mold, characterized in that, at a desired position on the molding surface of the pressing mold that faces a cut-away portion formed on the back surface of the present end portion, there is formed a pressing projecting portion which extends along the width direction of the present end portion, and, in the above pressing operation, the cut-away portion of the back surface of the present end portion is pressed and deformed by the pressing projecting portion of the pressing mold to thereby form a mounting and fixing projection portion which projects toward at least one side in the width direction of the present end portion.
Also, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for working the end portion of a roof molding in which the back surface side of the end portion o
Fujimatsu Hideharu
Fukui Hideo
Yoshizuru Fumitaka
Inoac Corporation
Poe Michael I.
Silbaugh Jan H.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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