Weather strip for movable roof

Details Weather strip for movable roof Weather strip for movable roof

1999-12-23

2002-12-10

Mai, Lanna (Department: 3635)

Static structures (e.g., buildings)

Window or window sash, sill, mullion, or glazing

Having a drain or vent

C052S302100, C052S302700, C052S213000, C052S716200, C052S716500, C052S717010

Reexamination Certificate

active

06490833

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a weather strip for movable roofs such as vehicle sunroofs and moonroofs.
FIG. 6
shows a typical movable roof, or sliding roof
51
. The sliding roof
51
is formed in a ceiling
50
of a vehicle such as an automobile. A weather strip
52
is attached to the periphery of the sliding roof
51
. The weather strip
52
seals the clearance between the sliding roof
51
and the opening thereby preventing rain from entering the passenger compartment. The weather strip
52
also prevents air from flowing through the clearance between the sliding roof
51
and the opening.
In the past, sliding roofs were made of inorganic glass. Recently, to reduce the weight, organic glass such as polycarbonate is used to form sliding roofs. The sliding roof
51
includes an organic glass plate
53
.
The organic glass plate
53
expands and shrinks in accordance with the temperature. Thus, if the weather strip
52
is adhered to the plate
53
with adhesive, temperature changes deform the sliding roof
51
due to the fact that the parts have different coefficients of thermal linear expansion of the glass plate
53
.
Therefore, a sliding roof
54
shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8
has been introduced. The sliding roof
54
includes a slide panel
55
, an organic glass plate
53
and a weather strip
56
. The glass plate
53
is fixed to the upper surface of the slide panel
55
by adhesive
57
. The weather strip
56
is engaged with the periphery of the glass plate
53
. A cover lip
58
extends inward and contacts the upper surface of the glass plate
53
without adhesive in between. The glass plate
53
can be moved relative to the cover lip
58
. A space S is defined between the weather strip
56
and the periphery of the glass plate
53
. When the glass plate
53
expands due to a temperature change, the space S accommodates the expansion.
The weather strip
56
is formed by extrusion molding and injection molding. First, the weather strip
56
is linearly extruded by extruder. The extruded weather strip
56
has the cover lip
58
and a base
59
as shown in FIG.
7
. Then, the weather strip
56
is bent at corner portions, one of which is shown in FIG.
8
. At this time, the base
59
is cut off at corner portions. New bases
59
(the cross hatched portion in
FIG. 8
) are then formed by injection molding at the corner portions.
The cover lip
58
and the periphery of the glass plate
53
are not adhered to each other by adhesive. Thus, foreign matter such as mud and water can enter the space S between the cover lip
58
and the glass plate
53
. The foreign matter remains in the space S.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a weather strip for movable roofs that discharges foreign matter trapped in the space between the weather strip and the organic glass plate in a movable roof.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a weather strip. The weather strip is attached to the periphery of an organic glass plate. The organic glass plate is supported by a support frame. A passage permits foreign matter trapped in a space to discharge from the space. The space is defined between the weather strip and an end face of the periphery of the organic glass plate. The space accommodates thermal expansion of the organic glass plate.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1334398 (1920-03-01), Plym et al.
patent: 2275686 (1942-03-01), Schonberg
patent: 2606635 (1952-08-01), Clingman
patent: 4126352 (1978-11-01), Vogel
patent: 4154033 (1979-05-01), Krueger et al.
patent: 4403805 (1983-09-01), Strem, Jr. et al.
patent: 4627206 (1986-12-01), Cox
patent: 4892351 (1990-01-01), Ono et al.
patent: 5046779 (1991-09-01), Ichinose et al.
patent: 5069502 (1991-12-01), Sekine et al.
patent: 5154471 (1992-10-01), Mimura et al.
patent: 5228743 (1993-07-01), Regner
patent: 5344209 (1994-09-01), Regner
patent: 5669657 (1997-09-01), Miyazawa
patent: 5890331 (1999-04-01), Hope
patent: 37 29 179 (1988-03-01), None
patent: 197 16 390 (1998-08-01), None
patent: 62-210120 (1987-09-01), None
patent: 3-230 (1991-01-01), None
patent: 5-185839 (1993-07-01), None
Translation of German Office Action, dated Jul. 31, 2000 for German Patent Application No. 199 63 276.6-21.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Weather strip for movable roof does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Weather strip for movable roof, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Weather strip for movable roof will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2953377