Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-27
2003-03-11
Pedder, Dennis H. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S207000, C049S480100, C049S498100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06530618
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application is related to and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-295296, incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing structure of a weather strip for a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a sealing structure of a weather strip for forming a seal between a door opening portion around an opening in a side body of the motor vehicle and a periphery of a vehicle door.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in
FIG. 1
, weather strips
10
are attached to door opening portions around door openings formed in a side body of a motor vehicle. As shown in FIGS.
2
(A) and
2
(B), which are cross-sectional views taken along lines A—A and B—B of
FIG. 1
, the weather strip
10
includes a base portion
14
having a generally U-shaped cross-section, and a tubular seal portion
16
having an arc-shaped sealing wall. The tubular seal portion
16
expands from one side wall of the base portion
14
. The base portion
14
is mounted on a flange
18
which is provided in the door opening portion including the center pillar
12
such that the tubular seal portion
16
is located outside the flange
18
. When a vehicle door
20
a
is closed, as shown in FIG.
2
(A), in an upper door opening portion, an inside surface of a door frame
22
contacts and presses the seal portion
16
, and, as shown in FIG.
2
(B), in a lower door opening portion, an inside surface of a periphery of a door panel
24
contacts and presses the seal portion
16
.
In these drawings, reference numeral
26
designates a pillar garnish for covering an inside surface of the center pillar
12
, and reference numeral
28
designates a door weather strip which is attached to inside surfaces of the door frame
22
and the door panel
24
(a door weather strip attached to the door panel
24
is not shown).
When vehicle doors are closed hard, or when vehicle bodies vibrate for some reason, peripheries of the vehicle doors may abut door opening portions around door openings. For solving this problem, stoppers are generally provided in the vehicle doors.
FIG. 3
illustrates one example of such stoppers. As shown, a stopper
30
is composed of a rubber-like resilient material and is provided in a rear lower corner of the door panel
24
of the door
20
a
(FIG.
1
). The stopper
30
is fitted in an aperture
32
formed in an inner panel of the door panel
24
.
With this arrangement, the stopper
30
must be prepared separately. A punching work is needed to form the aperture
32
in the door panel
24
, and a contact surface
34
for the stopper
30
must be formed in the center pillar
12
. Consequently, the production costs increase.
To reduce the production costs, it has been proposed to use weather strips which can serve as stoppers. In one example of such weather strips, the interior of the tubular seal portion thereof is partly filled with a solid rubber material (Publication of Japanese unexamined utility model application No. Sho. 63-82657).
These weather strips, however, cause increase of the forces required for closing vehicle doors. When the vehicle doors are closed hard, they receive large counterforces from these weather strips. Furthermore, weather strips of which tubular seal portions are partly filled with solid rubber materials must be prepared separately from the weather strips which have normally configured tubular seal portions, and these two types of weather strips must be joined to each other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sealing structure of a weather strip for attachment along a door opening portion of a vehicle body, which is capable of achieving a door stopper function without increasing a door closing force.
With the sealing structure in accordance with the present invention, the weather strip includes a base portion for attachment along a door opening portion around a door opening formed in a vehicle body, and a tubular seal portion having an arc-shaped sealing wall which expands outwardly from a side surface of the base portion so as to be contacted and pressed by a periphery of a vehicle door when the vehicle door is closed. A projection projects from the side surface of the base portion into the tubular seal portion in such a manner as to divide an interior of the tubular seal portion into halves in a width direction thereof. The projection extends in a longitudinal direction of the base portion. A projecting end of the projection faces an inner surface of the sealing wall with spacing. The weather strip and the vehicle door are arranged such that, in a door closed state a periphery of a door panel of the vehicle door contacts and presses about a projecting top of the sealing wall of the tubular seal portion, which faces the projecting end of the projection, and a door frame of the vehicle door contacts and presses a side part of the sealing wall of the tubular seal portion apart from the projecting top of the sealing wall.
With this arrangement, the projection abuts only the door panel through the sealing wall of the tubular seal portion upon closing the vehicle door, and achieves a door stopper function only against the door panel.
When the vehicle door is closed, the door panel receives a counterforce from the projection. However, the weight of the door panel is much greater than that of the door frame. Accordingly, the force required for closing the vehicle door is hardly increased with the counterforce from the projection, and when the vehicle door is closed hard, the vehicle door does not receive a large counterforce from the weather strip.
The sealing structure in accordance with the present invention can be preferably applied to vehicles in which, in a door closed state, the space between the inside surface of the door frame and a facing door opening portion is larger than that between a periphery of the door panel and a facing door opening portion.
Other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1928992 (1933-10-01), Clark et al.
patent: 2451450 (1948-10-01), Spraragen
patent: 6012760 (2000-01-01), Nozaki
patent: 358063516 (1983-04-01), None
Ito Hidehiro
Kawai Katsunori
Nozaki Masahiro
Tamaoki Kiyotaka
Pedder Dennis H.
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Toyoda Gosei Co,., Ltd.
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