Movable or removable closures – Closure seal; e.g. – striker gasket or weatherstrip – With corner or corner forming portions; i.e. – corner seal
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-17
2001-06-12
Redman, Jerry (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
Closure seal; e.g., striker gasket or weatherstrip
With corner or corner forming portions; i.e., corner seal
C049S441000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243989
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to weather strips attached to door window frames of vehicles for guiding door windows and methods of forming such weather strips.
2. Description of the Related Art
Weather strips, with which door windows engage, are typically attached to door window frames of vehicles. The weather strip guides the door window and seals between the door window frame and the door window against rainwater or the like. A typical weather strip
109
is shown in FIG.
15
. The weather strip
109
includes front and rear side parts
101
shown in FIG.
15
(
a
), an upper part
102
shown in FIG.
15
(
b
), and a connecting part (not shown). The connecting part connects the side parts
101
with the upper part
102
. FIGS.
15
(
a
) and
15
(
b
) are cross-sectional views showing the side part
101
and the upper part
102
, respectively. The side part
101
includes an inner seal lip
104
and an outer seal lip
105
. The inner seal lip
104
resiliently contacts an inner surface
103
a
of the door window
103
at a front or rear edge. The outer seal lip
105
resiliently contacts an outer surface
103
b
of the door window
103
at a front or rear edge.
An auxiliary lip
106
extends from the proximal portion of the outer lip
105
. The auxiliary lip
106
reduces whistling of wind passing through a clearance
110
, which is defined between the door window
103
and the outer seal lip
105
. Furthermore, the auxiliary lip
106
improves the rigidity of the outer seal lip
105
and prevents the outer seal lip
105
from deforming toward the exterior of the vehicle when the window
103
moves. The side part
101
is extruded to have a uniform cross section.
The structure of the upper part
102
is almost the same as that of the side part
101
except for the auxiliary lip
106
. The upper part
102
includes an inner seal lip
107
and an outer seal lip
108
. The inner seal lip
107
resiliently contacts the inner surface
103
a
of the door window
103
at an upper edge, while the outer seal lip
108
resiliently contacts the outer surface
103
b
of the door window
103
at the upper edge.
No auxiliary lip
106
extends from the outer seal lip
108
. This prevents the window
103
from catching the auxiliary lip
106
while moving upward between the inner seal lip
107
and the outer seal lip
108
. The inner seal lip
107
of the upper part
102
is larger than the inner seal lip
104
of the side part
101
. This improves the rigidity of the inner seal lip
107
. The inner seal lip
107
is also resilient to guide the window
103
, which moves upward between the inner seal lip
107
and the outer seal lip
108
, to a predetermined position indicated by the double dotted chain line in FIG.
15
(
b
). The upper part
102
is also extruded to have a uniform cross section.
The connecting part corresponds to a corner of the window
103
and connects the side part
101
with the upper part
102
. The connecting part
101
is formed through injection molding or the like.
The weather strip
109
includes at least three members, that is, the front and rear side parts
101
, the upper part
102
, and the connecting part. Manufacture of these members requires independent molds, such as an extruder and an injection molding for separately forming the side parts
101
, the upper part
102
, and the connecting part. Furthermore, to form the weather strip
109
, the front and rear side parts
101
, and the upper part
102
, each of which has been extruded independently, must be connected to one another by the connecting part (at the front upper corner and the rear upper corner). Therefore, at least four types of molds (two types of extrusion molding dies and two types of injection molds) are necessary to manufacture the conventional weather strip
109
. This complicates the manufacturing equipment. Furthermore, since four or more parts must be formed separately, the number of manufacturing steps is increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a one-piece extruded weather strip having a variable cross sectional shape. A further object is to simplify the equipment and method for manufacturing the weather strip.
To achieve the above objects, a weather strip for attachment to a window frame of a vehicle is provided in a first aspect of the present invention. The weather strip contacts a surface of the window for sealing a periphery of the window. The weather strip guides the window while allowing the window to slide upward and downward with respect to the window frame. The weather strip includes an elongated side section for attachment to a generally vertical member of the window frame, an elongated upper section for attachment to a generally horizontal member of the window frame, and a corner section for attachment to a corner of the window frame. All sections are formed integrally and continuously. A continuous seal lip extrusion resiliently contacts a surface of the window. The seal lip forms part of and is coextensive with the side section, the corner section, and the upper section. The cross sectional shape of the seal lip extrusion varies from a first shape along the side section to a second shape along the upper section such that the seal has different sealing characteristics along the side section as compared to the sealing characteristics of the upper section. A transition shape between the first shape and the second shape is formed in the corner section.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a weather strip for attachment to a window frame of a vehicle is provided. The weather strip contacts both an inner surface and an outer surface of the window. The weather strip supports the window while allowing the window to slide upward and downward with respect to the window frame. The weather strip includes an elongated side section for attachment to a generally vertical member of the window frame, an elongated upper section for attachment to a generally horizontal member of the window frame, and a corner section for attachment to a corner of the window frame. All sections are formed integrally and continuously. A continuous inner seal lip extrusion resiliently contacts the inner surface of the window. The inner seal lip forms part of and is coextensive with the side section, the corner section, and the upper section. The cross sectional shape of the inner seal lip varies from the upper section to the side section. A continuous outer seal lip extrusion resiliently contacts the outer surface of the window. The outer seal lip forms part of and is coextensive with the side section, the corner section, and the upper section. The cross sectional shape of the outer seal lip varies from the upper section to the side section. The outer lip seal is parallel to the inner lip seal.
In a third aspect of the present invention, a method of extruding a weather strip for a vehicle window frame is provided. The method includes the step of extruding a single weather strip by an extruder, the cross sectional shape of which varies longitudinally. The weather strip includes a side section for attachment to a generally vertical member of the window frame, a corner section for attachment to a corner of the frame, and an upper section for attachment to a generally horizontal member of the frame. The corner section lies between and is integral with the upper section and the side section. The extruding step includes extruding the inner and the outer seal lips to be coextensive with the side section, the corner section, and the upper section. The inner seal lip is initially extruded with a first cross sectional shape. The extruding step also includes changing the cross sectional area of the inner seal lip to form a second cross sectional shape by changing the size of a molding die opening of the extruder after a predetermined time such that the seal lip extending along the upper section has different sealing characteristics than that extending along the side section, and forming a transition be
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Redman Jerry
Toyoda Gosei Co,., Ltd.
LandOfFree
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