SEAL FOR A RETRACTABLE WINDOW PANEL OF A VEHICLE DOOR WINDOW

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a seal between a frame part of a vehicle door window and the upper edge of a retractable pane of the vehicle door window.

[0002] According to Fig. 4 Known seals of this type comprise a sealing profile 7' made of EPDM or TPE material with a Fig. 4 The sealing profile 7' is placed on a flange 9', which is supported by an upper, Fig. 4 The frame part 5' shown in cross-section protrudes perpendicularly to the plane of a retractable window pane 3'. The sealing profile 7' further has sealing lips 20', by means of which the upper frame part 5' can be sealed against an edge surface 21' of a door opening in a vehicle body 6'.

[0003] US 5,209,019 discloses a seal comprising a plastic sealing profile that is fitted onto a flange projecting upward from a door frame. EP 0021069 A1, EP 1500542 A1, and WO 03 / 070501 A1 disclose further seals between a frame part of a vehicle door window and a window pane. EP 0654371 A1 and DE 3512973 A1 disclose seals for sealing a frame part of a vehicle door window against the upper edge of a retractable window pane of the vehicle door window, wherein a tubular sealing profile is additionally provided to form a seal between the frame part and an edge surface of a door opening in a vehicle body.

[0004] Compared to this prior art, the present invention provides a new seal of the type mentioned at the outset with a sealing profile which, with a simplified construction of the upper frame part of the vehicle door window receiving the sealing profile, can be securely mounted on the upper frame part with less effort than conventional EPDM or TPE sealing profiles and which, moreover, brings about significant savings in material costs and weight.

[0005] This object is achieved by a seal having the features of claim 1.

[0006] Advantageously, the sealing profile of the seal according to the invention can be easily attached to the flange via a U-shaped fastening section. A bend in the upper frame section and a bend in the sealing profile corresponding to the flange profile ensure its secure fit on the flange. This fit prevents any displacement of the sealing profile in the longitudinal direction of the flange. Advantageously, the sealing profile can also form a door seal, for which a separate sealing profile is required according to the state of the art.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, an outer U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section forms an inner leg of a U-shaped channel section receiving the upper edge of the window pane, said U-leg keeping the upper edge of the window pane away from the vertically projecting flange of the upper frame part.

[0008] According to the invention, the inner leg of the U-shaped fastening section is connected to the sealing section to form a seal between the upper frame part and an edge surface of a door opening in the vehicle body.

[0009] The sealing section mentioned is a tubular sealing section which, when the vehicle door is closed, adapts to the edge surface of a door frame and forms a seal against the edge surface of the door frame.

[0010] In a further embodiment of the invention, a sealing section, in particular a sealing lip, extends upwards from the upper end of the outer U-profile leg of the U-shaped channel section, which ensures further sealing of the upper frame part of the vehicle door window against the edge surface of the door opening in the body.

[0011] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer U-leg of the fastening section forming the inner U-leg of the gutter profile is extended downwards.

[0012] This extension advantageously has a decorative strip section at its free end that engages under the frame part. In addition to sealing lips that rest against the window pane, the extension may also have devices for further connecting the sealing profile to the frame leg, in particular a stop projection, on the side facing away from the sealing lips.

[0013] In a further embodiment of the invention, the outer U-leg of the gutter section comprises a further decorative strip section.

[0014] In another particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing profile is made of various thermoplastics. It goes without saying that, for example, the fastening section is made of a particularly strong thermoplastic material that can assume the support and clamping functions required for this section. Sealing lips, on the other hand, are made of a flexible thermoplastic material, and decorative strip sections are made of a thermoplastic material that creates a correspondingly attractive surface.

[0015] In a further embodiment of the invention, the channel section is formed at least partially from the solid thermoplastic material of the fastening section so that it can absorb large forces transmitted through the upper edge of the window pane.

[0016] The sealing profile is preferably manufactured by multiple extrusion and subsequent bending of the extrudate, so that sealing profiles are created that are bent to match the bend of the upper frame parts and can be installed without bending.

[0017] The invention will be further explained below with reference to an embodiment and the accompanying drawings relating to this embodiment. They show: Fig. 1 shows a diagram explaining the arrangement of a seal according to the invention on a vehicle, Fig. 2 shows a seal according to the invention in a cross-sectional view, Fig. 3 shows a sealing profile of the seal of Fig. 2 , and Fig. 4 a generic seal according to the prior art.

[0018] One in Fig. 1 The front vehicle door 1 shown with a window 2 has a retractable window pane 3 which, when the window is closed, is sealed with its upper edge 4 against an upper frame part 5 of the window 2. A seal also exists between the upper frame part 5 and an edge surface of the door opening closed by the vehicle door 1 in a Fig. 1 vehicle body shown in detail 6.

[0019] As from Fig. 2 As can be seen, a sealing profile 7 is used for sealing, which is attached via a U-shaped fastening section 8 to a flange 9 of the Fig. 2 upper frame part 5 shown in cross-section. The fastening section 8 consists of a solid thermoplastic material that can assume a supporting function for further profile sections and apply the clamping force required to fasten the sealing profile 7 to the flange 9.

[0020] As the Fig. 2 and3 show, the solid thermoplastic material of the U-shaped fastening section 8 forms an essential part of another U-shaped profile section, namely a groove section 10, which forms a receiving groove 11 for the upper edge 4 of the window pane 3. The outer U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section 8 is a component of both the fastening section 8 and the U-shaped groove section 10. Each of the U-legs of the U-shaped groove section 10 has a sealing lip 12, wherein the sealing lips 12 each consist of a softer thermoplastic material than the solid thermoplastic material of the fastening section 8.

[0021] Further sealing lips 13 made of such a soft thermoplastic material protrude from an extension 14 of the outer U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section 8 or the inner U-leg of the U-shaped channel section 10. The sealing lips 12, 13 have, on their side facing the window pane 3, a sliding coating 15 made of a third thermoplastic material with suitable sliding properties.

[0022] In the example shown, the extension 14 itself consists of a fourth thermoplastic material that meets reduced strength requirements compared to the thermoplastic material of the fastening section 8. On the side of the extension 14 facing away from the sealing lips 13, a stop 16 protrudes, which serves to fasten the sealing profile 7 to the upper frame part 5 and via which the sealing profile 7 rests against another flange of the upper frame part 5.

[0023] Adjoining the free end of the extension 14 is a decorative strip section 18, which conceals the flange 17 of the upper frame part and is made of a fifth thermoplastic material, forming a visually attractive visible surface. Another decorative strip section 19 made of such a thermoplastic material is connected to the outer U-leg of the gutter section 10 and also forms an end section of this outer U-leg.

[0024] Adjoining the outer U-leg at the top is another sealing lip 20, which seals the upper frame part 5 against an edge surface 21 of the door opening in the vehicle body 6. The sealing lip 20 has, on its side facing the edge surface 21, a sliding coating 22 made of a sixth thermoplastic material with special sliding properties with respect to paint. The sealing lip 20 is otherwise made of the same material as the sealing lips 12, 13. In the example shown, the sliding coating 22 is a flocking layer.

[0025] The inner U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section 8 is connected to a tubular sealing section 23, which serves to further seal the upper frame part 5 against the vehicle body 6 and rests against the edge surface 21 of the door opening. The sealing section 23 is made of a special thermoplastic material that withstands dynamic stresses to a particularly high degree.

[0026] The sealing profile 7 described above, which in the example shown has a curved shape in adaptation to the upper frame part 5, is produced by multiple extrusion and subsequent bending of the cooling extrudate, wherein the various profile sections consisting of different thermoplastic materials are joined together by extrusion.

[0027] The wall of the tubular sealing section 23 is only integrally connected to the inner U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section 8 at 24, while a snap-in positive connection is created at 25. The wall of the sealing section 23 is extruded onto the inner U-leg of the U-shaped fastening section 8 and onto an end piece 26, which is also made of the solid thermoplastic material of the U-shaped fastening section 8. The positive connection is necessary because a tubular sealing section that has already been extruded in a closed state cannot be subjected to subsequent bending. The wall of the tubular sealing section 23 is designed to have varying degrees of flexibility over the circumference of the tube by means of an area with notched grooves 28, such that a desired tube shape is achieved when the positive connection 25 is created.

[0028] The fastening section 8, the channel section 10 and the end piece 26 can be made of the same hard thermoplastic material, e.g. PP ionomer, PP copolymer or glass fiber reinforced PP.

[0029] For the sealing lips 12, 13 and 20, soft thermoplastic material with a hardness between 55 and 75A can be considered, e.g. TPV or TPS.

[0030] The extension 14 with the stop 16 is preferably made of a soft thermoplastic material with a hardness between 75 and 90A.

[0031] For the sealing section 23, a very soft thermoplastic material with a hardness between 35 and 50A can be considered.

[0032] Both the extension 14 and the sealing section 23, like the sealing lips 12, 13, 20, can have TPV or TPS as base material.

[0033] The decorative strip sections 18 and 19 consist of a material forming a decorative, scratch-resistant surface with a hardness between 55 and 90A, e.g. of TPV, TPS, PP, PA, an alloy of PA and PP or an ionomer.

[0034] Reference numeral 27 denotes a metal insert, formed in the example in question as an aluminum strip, which is embedded in the hard material of the fastening section 8 or groove section 10. The metal insert 27 serves to limit the thermal expansion of the sealing profile 7 and, in the example shown, is arranged in a central region of the sealing strip section formed from the hard material.

[0035] The manufacturing process of the sealing strip described above requires at least five different extrusion devices to extrude the sealing sections together. Preferably, six different extruders are used.

Claims

1. Seal between a frame part (5) of a vehicle door window (2) and the upper periphery (4) of a lowerable window pane (3) of the vehicle door window (2), having a seal profile (7) of plastic which by way of a U-shaped fastening portion (8) is plug-fitted onto a flange (9) that projects upward from the frame part (5) of the vehicle door window (2), wherein additionally the seal profile (7) is provided with a tubular sealing portion (23) for forming a seal between the frame part (5) and a peripheral face (21) of a door opening in a vehicle body (6), characterized in that the sealing portion (23) is connected to an inner leg of the U-shaped fastening portion (8), wherein a wall of the tubular sealing portion (23) is extruded in cross-section at a first end onto the internal leg, and at an opposite end a latched form-fitting connection to the internal U-leg of the U-shaped fastening portion (8) is established.

2. Seal according to Claim 1, characterized in that an external U-leg of the U-shaped fastening portion (8) serves as an internal U-leg of a U-shaped groove portion (10) that forms a receptacle groove (11) for the upper periphery (4) of the window pane (3).

3. Seal according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the seal profile (7) has a metal insert (27) that delimits the thermal expansion.

4. Seal according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a seal portion, in particular a seal lip (20), extends upward from the upper end of an external U-profile leg of the U-shaped groove portion (10).

5. Seal according to one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the external leg of the fastening portion (8) that forms the internal U-profile leg of the groove portion (10) is extended downward in terms of length.

6. Seal according to Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the extension (14) at the free end thereof is connected to a trim strip portion (18) that engages below the frame part (5).

7. Seal according to Claim 6, characterized in that the extension (14), apart from seal lips (13) that seal the window pane (3), has means, in particular a detent protrusion (16), for connecting to the frame part (5).

8. Seal according to one of Claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the external U-leg of the groove portion (10) comprises a trim strip portion (19).

9. Seal according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the seal profile (7) is produced from various thermoplastic materials.

10. Seal according to Claim 9, characterized in that at least in parts the groove portion (10) is composed of the thermoplastic material from which the fastening portion (8) is produced.

11. Seal according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the seal profile (7) is formed by multiple extrusion and subsequent bending of the extruded product.