Glass run for motor vehicle door, and glass run unit including same

Abstract

A glass run seal 2 for a motor vehicle door (see Fig.3) comprising a front connection portion 24, an upper portion (20), and a rear connection portion (25) including an upper engageable groove (26, Fi

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a glass run for a motor vehicle which is configured to be mounted to a sash frame of a motor vehicle door to seal between the sash frame and a door glass, and a glass run unit including the glass run. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A glass run is widely used as a means for sealing between a door glass and a sash frame that constitutes a window frame for the door glass in a motor vehicle. The glass run has a sealing function, as well as a guiding function for raising and lowering the door glass. There is a known glass run having a belt-shaped trim strip member that is attached along an exterior of its upper portion to enhance the vehicle’s exterior design to impart a luxurious feel to the motor vehicle, as disclosed in lapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2022-012750. The trim strip member is configured to engage with the glass run to attach to the glass run. SUMMARY OF INVENTION PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0003] When the position of the trim strip member is misaligned with the glass run in a front-to-back direction of the vehicle, the appearance may be deteriorated. In this regard, the foregoing conventional glass run includes a protrusion provided as a misalignment reduction means to prevent the trim strip member attached to the glass run from being rearwardly displaced due to the opening and closing of a door, the protrusion configured for the trim strip member to abut from a front side of the vehicle.

[0004] Since the misalignment of the trim strip member with the glass run may occur during attachment of the trim strip member to the glass run, there is a need for an art to attach the trim strip member to the glass run without the misalignment in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle during the attachment of the trim strip member, and to put it concisely, an art to position the trim strip member during the attachment of the trim strip member. There is then a problem that, as described above, since the trim strip member is configured to engage with the glass run to attach to the glass run, the trim strip member, once attached to the glass run, is very difficult to be moved in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle due to constraint of the trim strip member by an engaging part. To address this problem, the inventor had started to contemplate a means for positioning a trim strip member with respect to a glass run during a process of attaching the trim strip member to the glass run, i.e., in a state before fully engaging the trim strip member with the glass run.

[0005] The inventor also considered, while contemplating a means for positioning the trim strip member, locating a positioning portion for positioning the trim strip member in such a way that the positioning portion is not easily visible from the outside of the vehicle to avoid impacting the appearance. This led to a problem where the positioning of the trim strip member was inevitably a so-called blind operation which is difficult for an operator to visually assess. The inventor has found a means for facilitating good workability to overcome such problem and developed the present disclosure.

[0006] The present disclosure is made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a glass run for a motor vehicle door and a glass run unit including the glass run, which allow positioning of a trim strip member in a front-to-back direction of a vehicle, while facilitating good workability, when attaching the trim strip member to the glass run. SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

[0007] A glass run according to the present disclosure is configured as follows to achieve the foregoing object. The glass run according to the present disclosure is a glass run for a motor vehicle door, the glass run configured to be mounted to a sash frame to seal between the sash frame and a door glass, the sash frame including an upper frame portion extending in a front-to-back direction of a vehicle, and a front frame portion and a rear frame portion extending downwardly from respective ends of the upper frame portion at a front and a rear of the upper frame portion, wherein the glass run includes an upper portion configured to be mounted to the upper frame portion, a front portion configured to be mounted to the front frame portion, a rear portion configured to be mounted to the rear frame portion, a front connection portion connecting a front end of the upper portion and an upper end of the front portion, and a rear connection portion connecting a rear end of the upper portion and an upper end of the rear portion, and the glass run is configured to be capable of attaching a belt-shaped trim strip member to an exterior thereof from the front connection portion to the rear connection portion along the upper portion. The trim strip member includes an upper engaging portion and a lower engaging portion provided in an upper portion and a lower portion on a back surface thereof and extending in a longitudinal direction, and the lower engaging portion includes a longitudinal end located longitudinally inwardly of a longitudinal end of the trim strip member. The front connection portion, the upper portion, and the rear connection portion include an upper engageable groove and a lower engageable groove configured to be capable of being engaged with the respective upper engaging portion and lower engaging portion, and extending in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. A trim strip engageable member is provided on the exterior of at least one of the front connection portion or the rear connection portion, the trim strip engageable member is formed from a rigid material that is harder than portions coming into contact with the door glass, and the trim strip engageable member includes an engageable portion including a groove portion that forms an end of the lower engageable groove in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and a positioning portion configured to be abuttable to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, in the state where the lower engaging portion engages with the groove portion and the upper engaging portion does not engage with the upper engageable groove, and configured to abut to the lower engaging portion to thereby position the trim strip member in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, the positioning portion extending downwardly beyond a lower end edge of the engageable portion.

[0008] According to the foregoing configuration, the front connection portion, the upper portion, and the rear connection portion include the upper engageable groove and the lower engageable groove configured to be capable of being engaged with the respective upper engaging portion and lower engaging portion of the trim strip member, and when the upper engaging portion and the lower engaging portion engage with the upper engageable groove and the lower engageable groove respectively, the trim strip member can be attached to the exterior from the front connection portion to the rear connection portion along the upper portion. Also, the trim strip engageable member is provided on the exterior of at least one of the front connection portion or the rear connection portion, the trim strip engageable member is formed from a rigid material that is harder than the portions coming into contact with the door glass, and the trim strip engageable member includes the engageable portion including the groove portion that forms the end of the lower engageable groove in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. Thereby, the end of the lower engageable groove in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle can be formed from a rigid material that is relatively less susceptible to deformation, so that the lower engageable groove can be more reliably engaged with the lower engaging portion of the trim strip member.

[0009] Also, the trim strip engageable member includes the positioning portion configured to be abuttable to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, in the state where the lower engaging portion engages with the groove portion and the upper engaging portion does not engage with the upper engageable groove, and configured to abut to the lower engaging portion to thereby position the trim strip member in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. Thereby, when the trim strip member is attached to the glass run, the lower engaging portion is abutted to the positioning portion in the state where the lower engaging portion first engages with the groove portion, i.e., in the state before the trim strip member fully engages with the glass run, so that the trim strip member can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0010] Also, since the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion of the trim strip member is located longitudinally inwardly of the longitudinal end of the trim strip member, the positioning portion for abutting to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion can be located to be hidden by the trim strip member, i.e., not to be easily visible from the outside of the vehicle. On the other hand, although the positioning of the trim strip member during attaching the trim strip member to the glass run is inevitably a blind operation, the position of the positioning portion can be ensured even in a blind operation to facilitate good workability. Specifically, the positioning portion extends downwardly beyond the lower end edge of the engageable portion, so that the positioning portion is tactilely easily identifiable. Thereby, the trim strip member can be smoothly (without hindering) positioned with respect to glass run while the position of the positioning portion is properly ensured by using fingers, and the good workability thus can be facilitated although the positioning of the trim strip member is a blind operation. As a secondary advantage, since the positioning portion extends downwardly beyond the lower end edge of the engageable portion and the positioning portion is thus also visually easily identifiable in the state where the positioning portion is not hidden by trim strip member, an operator can easily ensure in advance the position of the positioning portion before attaching the trim strip member to the glass run, so that the trim strip member can be further smoothly positioned with respect to glass run. In this way, according to the foregoing configuration, when the trim strip member is attached to the glass run, the trim strip member can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated.

[0011] In the glass run for a motor vehicle door as described above, the engageable portion and the positioning portion may be formed as one piece. This can increase the rigidity of both components.

[0012] In the glass run for a motor vehicle door as described above, the positioning portion may include an abutting surface having a normal direction in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle and configured to abut to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion, and an inclined surface extending from a lower end edge of the abutting surface obliquely downwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of the abutting surface, and configured to guide the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion to the abutting surface when coming into contact with the longitudinal end. Thereby, when an operator brings the trim strip member closer to the glass run, the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion of the trim strip member can be guided to the abutting surface even in the case where the longitudinal end is located opposite to the direction of the abutting surface, and as described above, the lower engaging portion is abutted to the positioning portion so that the trim strip member can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0013] A glass run unit according to the present disclosure includes the glass run for a motor vehicle door and the trim strip member. Thereby, as described above, when the trim strip member is attached to the glass run, the trim strip member can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0014] In view of the above, according to the present disclosure, when the trim strip member is attached to the glass run, the trim strip member can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a left side view illustrating a part of a motor vehicle to which a glass run unit according to a first embodiment is attached. [FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a central portion of an upper frame portion in a sash frame, and its vicinity. [FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the glass run unit according to the first embodiment as seen from an outside of a vehicle. [FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a front end of the upper frame portion in the sash frame, and its vicinity. [FIG. 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a rear end of the upper frame portion in the sash frame, and its vicinity. [FIG. 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a trim strip member according to the first embodiment as seen from a back surface side. [FIG. 7] FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a front connection portion of a glass run according to the first embodiment and its vicinity as seen from the outside of the vehicle. [FIG. 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member according to the first embodiment as seen from the outside of the vehicle. [FIG. 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the trim strip engageable member and its vicinity. [FIG. 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic view (1) for explaining steps of attaching the trim strip member to the glass run. [FIG. 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic view (2) for explaining steps of attaching the trim strip member to the glass run. [FIG. 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic view (3) for explaining steps of attaching the trim strip member to the glass run. [FIG. 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member according to a variant example as seen from the outside of the vehicle. [FIG. 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member according to a second embodiment as seen from the outside of the vehicle. [FIG. 15] FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating the trim strip engageable member in FIG. 14, as seen from the outside of the vehicle. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. lisa left side view illustrating a part of a motor vehicle A to which a glass run unit B according to a first embodiment is attached. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a central portion of an upper frame portion 110 in a sash frame 11, and its vicinity. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section taken along a line A-A in FIG. 1. Reference character X represents a front-to- back direction of the vehicle in the following figures. The directions to an inside and an outside of the vehicle may be referred to below as inward and outward, respectively. The glass run unit B in the first embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to be attached to a door that opens and closes a door opening 90 in the motor vehicle A. The first embodiment describes firstly the configuration of a front door 1 which is an example of the door, and then the configuration of the glass run unit B, in the following.

[0017] <Front door> As shown in FIG. 1, the front door 1 includes a door body 10 and a sash frame 11 disposed on an upper side of the door body 10 and constituting a window frame for a door glass W.

[0018] The door body 10 includes a front end configured to be attached to a front pillar via hinges (not shown) that has an axis of rotation extending in a vertical direction. The door body 10 has a structure in which an inner panel (not shown) and an outer panel 100 both formed from, for example, a steel sheet, are joined at their peripheral edges to form an interior space. The interior space of the door body 10 accommodates, for example, a mechanism for raising and lowering the door glass W and a reinforcement member for reinforcing the door body 10, and also receives a lowered door glass W.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the sash frame 11 is provided to protrude upwardly from between the inner panel and the outer panel 100 of the door body 10. The sash frame 11 includes an upper frame portion 110 extending in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and a front frame portion 111 and a rear frame portion 112 extending downwardly from respective ends of the upper frame portion 110 at a front and a rear of the upper frame portion 110, and also has a structure in which an opening 1 la for the door glass W is formed at a center thereof. The opening Ila is configured to be opened and closed by the door glass W that is raised and lowered. As shown in FIG. 2, the sash frame 11 is configured to layer and join an inner sash 115 on an inner circumferential side of the opening Ila and an outer sash 116 on an outer circumferential side of the opening Ila, and this joined portion is formed in the shape of a flange oriented to the outside of the vehicle so as to provide a mounting flange portion 12 for mounting the glass run unitB.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the upper frame portion 110 is formed to curve gently along a roof side-edge 91 of a vehicle body. The front frame portion 111 and the rear frame portion 112 extend parallel to each other along a direction of raising and lowering the door glass W. The front frame portion 111 and the rear frame portion 112 have respective lower ends that are secured in the interior of the door body 10.

[0021] <Glass run unit> FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the glass run unit B in the first embodiment as seen from the outside of the vehicle. Next, the configuration of the glass run unit B in the first embodiment is described. As shown in FIG. 3, the glass run unit B includes a glass run 2 (glass run for a motor vehicle door) configured to be mounted to the sash frame 11 to seal between the sash frame 11 and the door glass W, and a belt-shaped trim strip member 3 provided for decoration purposes and configured to be attached to an exterior of the glass run 2. These components are described in the following.

[0022] -Glass run- The glass run 2 has functions for sealing as described above, as well as for guiding the raising and lowering of the door glass W along the front frame portion 111 and the rear frame portion 112 of the sash frame 11. The glass run 2 is, as shown in FIG. 2, what is called a hidden type glass run configured to cover and hide an exterior of the upper frame portion 110.

[0023] As shown in FIGs. 1 and 3, the glass run 2 includes an upper portion 20 configured to be mounted to the upper frame portion 110 of the sash frame 11, a front portion 21 configured to be mounted to the front frame portion 111, a rear portion 22 configured to be mounted to the rear frame portion 112, an edge sealing portion 23 disposed forwardly of the front portion 21 and configured to be mounted to the front end of the front door 1, as well as a front connection portion 24 and a rear connection portion 25. The front connection portion 24 connects a front end of the upper portion 20, an upper end of the front portion 21, and an upper end of the edge sealing portion 23, and the rear connection portion 25 connects a rear end of the upper portion 20 and an upper end of the rear portion 22.

[0024] The upper portion 20, the front portion 21, the rear portion 22, and the edge sealing portion 23 are formed from a rubber material, such as thermoplastic elastomer, and are formed by way of extrusion molding. The front connection portion 24 and the rear connection portion 25 are formed to embed an insert member formed from, for example, a hard resin material (for example, a fiber reinforced resin) in a molding material formed from, for example, a rubber material, so as to be die-molded. The upper portion 20, the front portion 21, and the edge sealing portion 23 are joined when the front end of the upper portion 20, the upper end of the front portion 21, and the upper end of the edge sealing portion 23 are placed in a molding die of the front connection portion 24 to inject the molding material of the front connection portion 24, thereby molding the front connection portion 24. Similarly, the upper portion 20 and the rear portion 22 are joined when the rear end of the upper portion 20 and the upper end of the rear portion 22 are placed in a molding die of the rear connection portion 25 to inject the molding material of the rear connection portion 25, thereby molding the rear connection portion 25. Dash-dot lines in FIG. 3 schematically show boundaries of the portions of the glass run 2.

[0025] Next, the configurations of the upper portion 20, the front connection portion 24, and the rear connection portion 25 are described in greater detail. The front portion 21, the rear portion 22, and the edge sealing portion 23 are not described in detail since being less important in describing the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion 20 includes an upper wall portion 200 provided along a top surface of the mounting flange portion 12 in the upper frame portion 110 of the sash frame 11, a lower wall portion 201 provided along a bottom surface of the mounting flange portion 12, and a side wall portion 202 connecting an exterior end of the upper wall portion 200 and an exterior end of the lower wall portion 201.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the upper wall portion 200 has a top surface including an upper lip portion 203 protruding upwardly. The upper lip portion 203 is configured to come into contact with the door opening 90 of the vehicle body to elastically deform. The upper wall portion 200 also has a bottom surface including a plurality of lower lip portions 204 protruding downwardly. The lower lip portions 204 are configured to come into contact with the top surface of the mounting flange portion 12 to elastically deform.

[0027] The upper portion 20 further includes an outer lip portion 205 extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the lower wall portion 201, an inner lip portion 206 disposed interiorly of the outer lip portion 205 and extending downwardly from the bottom surface of the lower wall portion 201, and a central lip portion 207 disposed between the outer lip portion 205 and the inner lip portion 206 and extending downwardly from the bottom surface of the lower wall portion 201. The outer lip portion 205 has a tip portion bending inwardly and configured to come into contact with an exterior surface of a raised door glass W to elastically deform. The inner lip portion 206 has a tip portion branched to the outside and inside of the vehicle, and an exterior lip end 208 branched to the outside of the vehicle is configured to come into contact with an interior surface of the raised door glass W to elastically deform and an interior lip end 209 branched to the inside of the vehicle is configured to be provided along the upper frame portion 110 to cover the upper frame portion 110 from the outside of the vehicle. The central lip portion 207 is formed shorter than the outer lip portion 205 and the inner lip portion 206 and configured to come into contact with an upper end of the raised door glass W to elastically deform.

[0028] The outer lip portion 205, the inner lip portion 206, and the central lip portion 207 are configured to come into contact with the raised door glass W and be elastically deformed to seal between the upper portion 20 and the door glass W. Portions configured to come into contact with the door glass W, such as the outer lip portion 205, the inner lip portion 206, and the central lip portion 207, are formed from a rubber material.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the front end of the upper frame portion 110 in the sash frame 11, and its vicinity. FIG. 4 shows a cross-section taken along a line B-B in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the front connection portion 24 includes, as in the upper portion 20, an upper wall portion 240 provided along the top surface of the mounting flange portion 12 in the upper frame portion 110 of the sash frame 11, a lower wall portion 241 provided along the bottom surface of the mounting flange portion 12, and a side wall portion 242 connecting an exterior end of the upper wall portion 240 and an exterior end of the lower wall portion 241. The upper wall portion 240 and an upper half portion of the side wall portion 242 in the front connection portion 24 are formed from a molding material (for example, a rubber material) and the lower wall portion 241 and a lower half portion of the side wall portion 242 in the front connection portion 24 are formed from an insert member (for example, a hard resin material).

[0030] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the rear end of the upper frame portion 110 in the sash frame 11, and its vicinity. FIG. 5 shows a cross-section taken along a line C-C in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear connection portion 25 includes, as in the front connection portion 24, an upper wall portion 250 provided along the top surface of the mounting flange portion 12 in the upper frame portion 110 of the sash frame 11, a lower wall portion 251 provided along the bottom surface of the mounting flange portion 12, and a side wall portion 252 connecting an exterior end of the upper wall portion 250 and an exterior end of the lower wall portion 251. The upper wall portion 250 and an upper half portion of the side wall portion 252 in the rear connection portion 25 are formed from a molding material (for example, a rubber material) and the lower wall portion 251 and a lower half portion of the side wall portion 252 in the rear connection portion 25 are formed from an insert member (for example, a hard resin material).

[0031] The glass run 2 configured as described above is configured to be capable of attaching a trim strip member 3 to the exterior thereof from the front connection portion 24 to the rear connection portion 25 along the upper portion 20. More particularly, as shown in FIGs. 2, 4, and 5, the front connection portion 24, the upper portion 20, and the rear connection portion 25 include an upper engageable groove 26 and a lower engageable groove 27 configured to be capable of being engaged with respective upper engaging portion 30 and lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3 as described hereinafter, and extending in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. The upper engageable groove 26 and the lower engageable groove 27 are disposed in an upper portion and a lower portion of the side wall portions 202, 242, 252 of the front connection portion 24, the upper portion 20, and the rear connection portion 25, and extend in parallel to each other. The upper engageable groove 26 is formed to open upwardly and the lower engageable groove 27 is formed to open downwardly.

[0032] -Trim strip member- FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a part of the trim strip member 3 in the first embodiment as seen from a back surface side. The trim strip member 3 is formed from, for example, a metal material, such as aluminum, stainless steel, or a hard resin material, and is formed by way of extrusion molding. The trim strip member 3 includes a longitudinal end 3a formed by, for example, folding an end after the extrusion molding. The trim strip member 3 has a front suface (a surface oriented to the outside of the vehicle in the state where it is attached to the glass run 2) including, for example, a sheet material, a film material, and a coating having design properties, which are not shown. The direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the trim strip member 3 and a normal direction of the front surface may be referred to as a belt width direction.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 6, the trim strip member 3 includes the upper engaging portion 30 and the lower engaging portion 31 provided in an upper portion and a lower portion on a back surface thereof, and extending in the longitudinal direction. The upper engaging portion 30 is formed to protrude from the back surface of the trim strip member 3 in a normal direction of the back surface and then bend downwardly such that the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is inverted L-shaped. The lower engaging portion 31 is formed to protrude from the back surface of the trim strip member 3 in the normal direction of the back surface and then bend upwardly such that the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is L-shaped. The upper engaging portion 30 is configured to fit with the upper engageable groove 26 to engage with the upper engageable groove 26 and the lower engaging portion 31 is similarly configured to fit with the lower engageable groove 27 to engage with the lower engageable groove 27. The upper engaging portion 30 and the lower engaging portion 31 respectively include a longitudinal end 300 and a longitudinal end 310 that are formed by way of, for example, cutting and located longitudinally inwardly of the longitudinal end 3 a of the trim strip member 3.

[0034] The trim strip member 3 configured as described above is configured to fully engage with the glass run 2 such that the upper engaging portion 30 engages with the upper engageable groove 26 of the glass run 2 and the lower engaging portion 31 engages with the lower engageable groove 27. The upper engaging portion 30, the lower engaging portion 31, the upper engageable groove 26, and the lower engageable groove 27 may be collectively referred to below as engaging portions. Steps of attaching the trim strip member 3 to the glass run 2 will be described later in greater detail. In any case, when the trim strip member 3 is attached, the lower engaging portion 31 first engages with the lower engageable groove 27 and the upper engaging portion 30 then engages with the upper engageable groove 26. In this way, the trim strip member 3 is configured to fully engage with the glass run 2 to attach to the glass run 2.

[0035] -Trim strip engageable member- FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the front connection portion 24 of the glass run 2 in the first embodiment and its vicinity as seen from the outside of the vehicle. FIG. 7 does not show a groove portion 40. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member 4 in the first embodiment as seen from the outside of the vehicle. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the trim strip engageable member 4 and its vicinity. FIG. 9 omits hatch patterns for the sake of illustration. As shown in FIG. 7, the trim strip engageable member 4 is provided on the exterior of the front connection portion 24 of the glass run 2 in the first embodiment so as to reliably engage the trim strip member 3 with the glass run 2 when the trim strip member 3 is attached to the glass run 2. The trim strip engageable member 4 is formed from the insert member (for example, a hard resin material) of the front connection portion 24, and to put it concisely, it is formed from a rigid material that is harder than the portions (for example, a rubber material) coming into contact with the door glass W.

[0036] As shown in FIGs. 7 to 9, the trim strip engageable member 4 includes an engageable portion 41 including a groove portion 40 that forms an end of the lower engageable groove 27 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and a positioning portion 42 located outwardly of the engageable portion 41 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle and configured to position the trim strip member 3 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. The engageable portion 41 and the positioning portion 42 are formed as one piece.

[0037] As shown in FIGs. 8 and 9, the engageable portion 41 is formed to protrude outwardly from the front connection portion 24, and the groove portion 40 is formed to hollow out an interior of the engageable portion 41 so as to open downwardly. Thus, the trim strip engageable member 4 includes the engageable portion 41 in which the groove portion 40 is formed, and thereby, the end of the lower engageable groove 27 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle can be formed from a rigid material that is relatively less susceptible to deformation, so that the lower engageable groove 27 can be reliably engaged with the lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3.

[0038] The positioning portion 42 is configured to be abuttable to the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, in the state where the lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3 engages with the groove portion 40 and the upper engaging portion 30 does not engage with the upper engageable groove 26, and configured to abut to the lower engaging portion 31 to thereby position the trim strip member 3 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0039] Specific steps of positioning using the positioning portion 42 will be described later in greater detail together with the steps of attaching the trim strip member 3 to the glass run 2. As shown in FIG. 8, the positioning portion 42 includes an abutting surface 420 having a normal direction in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle and configured to abut to the lower engaging portion 31. More particularly, the abutting surface 420 is oriented inwardly in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle to oppose to the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3 that is in a process of being attached to the glass run 2, and is configuted to be adjacent to the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3 that is in the state of having been attached to the glass run 2.

[0040] As shown in FIGs. 8 and 9, the positioning portion 42 also extends downwardly beyond a lower end edge 410 of the engageable portion 41. Thereby, the positioning portion 42 is tactilely easily identifiable and, for example, when an operator touches the trim strip engageable member 4, the operator can easily identify the portion protruding relatively downwardly as the positioning portion 42. A length d of the protrusion of the positioning portion 42 with respect to the lower end edge 410 of the engageable portion 41 (see FIG. 8) is, for example, from about 1 to about 5 mm. Also, the positioning portion 42 extends downwardly beyond the lower end edge 410 of the engageable portion 41, so that the positioning portion 42 is visually easily identifiable in the state where the positioning portion 42 is not hidden by trim strip member 3.

[0041] -Steps of attaching the trim strip member- FIGs. 10 to 12 are schematic views (1) to (3) for explaining steps of attaching the trim strip member 3 to the glass run 2. The steps of attaching the trim strip member 3 as described above to the glass run 2 are then described. As shown in FIG. 10, the lower portion of the trim strip member 3 is first brought closer to the glass run 2 in the state where the trim strip member 3 is held obliquely such that the belt width direction of the trim strip member 3 intersects with the vertical direction, and the lower engaging portion 31 is then engaged with the lower engageable groove 27 (including the groove portion 40 of the trim strip engageable member 4). In this instance, the upper engaging portion 30 has not yet been engaged with the upper engageable groove 26, which is not shown.

[0042] Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 is abutted to the abutting surface 420 of the positioning portion 42 along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle in the state where the lower engaging portion 31 is engaged with the lower engageable groove 27 and the upper engaging portion 30 is not engaged with the upper engageable groove 26, so that the trim strip member 3 is positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle. As described above, since the positioning portion 42 is located outwardly of the engageable portion 41 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, the lower engaging portion 31 is abutted to the positioning portion 42 from an inner side in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, as shown with an arrow F1 in FIG. 11. In this instance, since the upper engaging portion 30 has not been engaged with the upper engageable groove 26, the trim strip member 3 is in a state before being fully engaged with the glass run 2. Thus, the trim strip member 3 is not fully constrained by the engaging portions, and the trim strip member 3 can be easily moved in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and the lower engaging portion 31 is then abutted to the positioning portion 42 along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle so that the trim strip member 3 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0043] Lastly, as shown in FIG. 12, the trim strip member 3 is rotated about the lower engaging portion 31 in a rotation direction as shown with an arrow F2 in FIG. 12 to bring the upper portion of the trim strip member 3 closer to the glass run 2 in such a way that the belt width direction of the trim strip member 3 is aligned with the vertical direction, and the upper engaging portion 30 is then engaged with the upper engageable groove 26. Thereby, the trim strip member 3 is fully engaged with the glass run 2. In this way, the trim strip member 3 is attached to the glass run 2.

[0044] As described above, since the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 of the trim strip member 3 is located longitudinally inwardly of the longitudinal end 3a of the trim strip member 3, the positioning portion 42 for abutting to the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 is located to be hidden by the trim strip member 3, i.e., not to be easily visible from the outside of the vehicle. Thus, the positioning of the trim strip member 3 as described above is inevitably what is called a blind operation in which an operator may not visually assess.

[0045] If the position of the positioning portion 42 cannot be ensured at all during the positioning of the trim strip member 3 because the positioning of the trim strip member 3 is a blind operation, the relative position of the positioning portion 42 cannot be ensured with respect to the longitudinal end 310 of the lower engaging portion 31 and it is thus difficult to ensure whether the lower engaging portion 31 is properly abutted to the positioning portion 42 or not, for example. This may result in repeating the positioning of the trim strip member 3 and hinder the positioning of the trim strip member 3. In this respect, as described above, since the positioning portion 42 is tactilely easily identifiable, the position of the positioning portion 42 can be properly ensured by using fingers during the positioning of the trim strip member 3 as described above, so that the trim strip member 3 can be smoothly positioned with respect to glass run 2 without the hindering as described above.

[0046] As described above, since the positioning portion 42 is also visually easily identifiable in the state where the positioning portion 42 is not hidden by trim strip member 3, an operator can easily ensure in advance the position of the positioning portion 42 before attaching the trim strip member 3 to the glass run 2 (before bringing the trim strip member 3 closer to the glass run 2 as shown in FIG. 10) so that the trim strip member 3 can be further smoothly (without the hindering) positioned with respect to glass run 2.

[0047] According to the glass run 2 and the glass run unit B as described above, since the trim strip engageable member 4 includes the positioning portion 42, the trim strip member 3 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle by abutting the lower engaging portion 31 to the positioning portion 42 in a state before the trim strip member 3 fully engages with the glass run 2. Moreover, the positioning portion 42 extends downwardly beyond the lower end edge 410 of the engageable portion 41 and thereby, the position of the positioning portion 42 can be properly ensured by using fingers to position smoothly (without hindering) the trim strip member 3 with respect to glass run 2. This facilitates good workability although the positioning of the trim strip member 3 is a blind operation. In this way, according to the glass run 2 and the glass run unit B as described above, when the trim strip member 3 is attached to the glass run 2, the trim strip member 3 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated.

[0048] Also, as described above, the engageable portion 41 and the positioning portion 42 are formed as one piece so that the rigidity of both components can be increased.

[0049] The embodiment as described above uses the example where the trim strip engageable member 4 is provided on the exterior of the front connection portion 24; however, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration and the foregoing trim strip engageable member 4 may be provided on the exterior of the rear connection portion 25. This case also produces effects that, as described above, the trim strip engageable member 4 includes the foregoing positioning portion 42 and when the trim strip member 3 is attached to the glass run 2, the trim strip member 3 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated.

[0050] FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member 4A according to a variant example as seen from the outside of the vehicle. The embodiment as described above uses the example where the engageable portion 41 and the positioning portion 42 are formed as one piece; however, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration and an engageable portion 41A and a positioning portion 42A may be formed as separate pieces as shown in FIG. 13. This case also produces effects that, as described above, when the trim strip member 3 is attached to the glass run 2, the trim strip member 3 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle while the good workability is facilitated.

[0051] The embodiment as described above uses the example where the positioning portion 42 is located outwardly of the engageable portion 41 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle and the lower engaging portion 31 engaged with the groove portion 40 of the engageable portion 41 is thus abutted to the positioning portion 42 from the inner side in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle; however, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration and the positioning portion 42 may be located inwardly of the engageable portion 41 in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0052] The embodiment as described above uses the example where the longitudinal end 300 of the upper engaging portion 30 is located longitudinally inwardly of the longitudinal end 3a of the trim strip member 3; however, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration and the longitudinal end 300 of the upper engaging portion 30 may be located flush with the longitudinal end 3 a of the trim strip member 3.

[0053] The embodiment as described above is described using the example of the front door 1; however, the present disclosure can be readily adapted for other glass run units configured to attach to, for example, a rear door 9 (see FIG. 1).

[0054] (Second Embodiment) FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a trim strip engageable member 7 according to a second embodiment as seen from the outside of the vehicle. FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating the trim strip engageable member 7 in FIG. 14, as seen from the outside of the vehicle. Next, the configuration of a glass run 5 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure is described focusing on differences from the glass run 2 of the first embodiment as described above. A trim strip member 6 in the second embodiment is similar to the trim strip member 3 of the first embodiment as described above.

[0055] As shown in FIGs. 14 and 15, the trim strip engageable member 7 of the glass run 5 in the second embodiment includes a positioning portion 72 as in the first embodiment as described above. The positioning portion 72 in the second embodiment includes an abutting surface 720 as well as an inclined surface 722 extending from a lower end edge 721 of the abutting surface 720 obliquely downwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of the abutting surface 720.

[0056] The inclined surface 722 is configured to guide a longitudinal end 610 of a lower engaging portion 61 of the trim strip member 6 to the abutting surface 720 when coming into contact with the longitudinal end 610. More particularly, when an operator brings the trim strip member 6 closer to the glass run 6, the longitudinal end 610 of the lower engaging portion 61 of the trim strip member 6 comes into contact with the inclined surface 722 in the case where the longitudinal end 610 of the lower engaging portion 61 is located opposite to the direction of the abutting surface 720 as shown with a dash-dot line in FIG. 15. When coming into contact with the inclined surface 722, the longitudinal end 610 of the lower engaging portion 61 then slides obliquely upwardly along the inclined surface 722 to be guided to the abutting surface 720 as shown with an arrow F3. A dashed line in FIG. 15 shows the trim strip member 6 after the longitudinal end 610 of the lower engaging portion 61 is guided to abutting surface 720 by the inclined surface 722.

[0057] The inclined surface 722 as described above is provided in the positioning portion 72 and when an operator brings the trim strip member 6 closer to the glass run 5, the longitudinal end 610 of the lower engaging portion 61 of the trim strip member 6 can be guided to the abutting surface 720 even in the case where the longitudinal end 610 is located opposite to the direction of the abutting surface 720, and as described in the first embodiment, the lower engaging portion 61 is abutted to the positioning portion 72 so that the trim strip member 6 can be positioned in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle.

[0058] The embodiments as described above are illustrative in all respects and are not the basis for a limiting interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not to be interpreted solely based on the foregoing embodiments and examples, but is to be defined based on the claims. Further, all variations and modifications falling within the scope equivalent to the claims are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A glass run for a motor vehicle door, the glass run configured to be mounted to a sash frame to seal between the sash frame and a door glass, the sash frame including an upper frame portion extending in a front-to-back direction of a vehicle, and a front frame portion and a rear frame portion extending downwardly from respective ends of the upper frame portion at a front and a rear of the upper frame portion,wherein the glass run includes an upper portion configured to be mounted to the upper frame portion, a front portion configured to be mounted to the front frame portion, a rear portion configured to be mounted to the rear frame portion, a front connection portion connecting a front end of the upper portion and an upper end of the front portion, and a rear connection portion connecting a rear end of the upper portion and an upper end of the rear portion, and the glass run is configured to be capable of attaching a belt-shaped trim strip member to an exterior thereof from the front connection portion to the rear connection portion along the upper portion,wherein the trim strip member includes an upper engaging portion and a lower engaging portion provided in an upper portion and a lower portion on a back surface thereof and extending in a longitudinal direction, and the lower engaging portion includes a longitudinal end located longitudinally inwardly of a longitudinal end of the trim strip member,wherein the front connection portion, the upper portion, and the rear connection portion include an upper engageable groove and a lower engageable groove configured to be capable of being engaged with the respective upper engaging portion and lower engaging portion, and extending in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle,wherein a trim strip engageable member is provided on the exterior of at least one of the front connection portion or the rear connection portion, the trim strip engageable member formed from a rigid material that is harder than portions coming into contact with the door glass,wherein the trim strip engageable member includes:an engageable portion including a groove portion that forms an end of the lower engageable groove in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle; anda positioning portion configured to be abuttable to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion along the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, in the state where the lower engaging portion is engaged with the groove portion and the upper engaging portion is not engaged with the upper engageable groove, and configured to abut to the lower engaging portion to thereby position the trim strip member in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, andwherein the positioning portion extends downwardly beyond a lower end edge of the engageable portion.

2. The glass run for a motor vehicle door according to claim 1, wherein the engageable portion and the positioning portion are formed as one piece.

3. The glass run for a motor vehicle door according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion includes an abutting surface having a normal direction in the front-to-back direction of the vehicle and configured to abut to the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion, and an inclined surface extending from a lower end edge of the abutting surface obliquely downwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of the abutting surface, and configured to guide the longitudinal end of the lower engaging portion to the abutting surface when coming into contact with the longitudinal end.

4. A glass run unit including a glass run for a motor vehicle door according to claim 1 and the trim strip member.

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