Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to sealing and finishing strips
such as, for example, to channel-shaped strips supporting
a seal and arranged to embrace a flange or the like in a
vehicle body.
S~MMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a
channel-shaped strip for embracing a mounting flange
or the like in use and made of channel-shaped flexible
material having ribs running along the inside of the
channel on opposite side walls thereof, there being a
plurality of ribs on each such side wall, the innermost
rib of each side wall extending substantially perpendicular
from its respective side wall so that its distal edge makes
contact with the distal edge of the innermost rib on the
opposite side wall when the strip is not motmted on the
said flange or the like thereby to define, with the base
of the channel, a cavity for receiving a mastic sealant
for sealing against the distal edge of the mounting
flange or the like in use, the other ribs extending
obliquely to their respective side walls and being
directed towards the base of the channel.
According to the invention, there is also provided
a channel-shaped sealing strip for mount.ing around
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the luggage compartment opening of a vehicle body, com-
prising a channel~shaped gripping portion for mounting on
and embracing a mounting flange running around the said
opening, and a longitudinally extending seal attached to
the outside of the channel so as to be positioned, when
the channel-shaped portion is mounted on the flange,
whereby to seal against the lid of the opening, the
channel-shaped portion being made of flexible material
having embedded within it a reinforcing carrier and
defining three ribs on one inside wall of the channel and
four such ribs on the other inside wall, the innermost rib
on each inside wall extending substantially perpendicular
from its respective wall so that its distal edge makes
contact with the distal edge of the innermost rib on the
opposite wall when the strip is not mounted on the said
flange whereby the innermost ribs define with the base
of the channel a cavity for receiving a mastic sealant
which in use seals against the distal edge of the mounting
flange, the other said ribs exerting a gripping force on the
mounting flange, the said three ribs being relatively
larger than the said four ribs, and a longitudinally
extending sealing lip mounted on the channel adjacent the
mouth thereof and extending outwardly and away from the
mouth for engaging a drain channel running around the said
flange, the sealing lip having a tear-off protruding strip
running along its length by means of which the sealing
lip can be manually pulled in a predetermined direction
during fitment so as to locate the sealing lip in the
drain channel.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Channel-shaped sealing strips embodying the invention
will now be described, by way of example only, with
reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing which
is a cross-section through one form of the sealing strip.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The sealing lip to be described is intended for
mounting around the luggage compartment opening on a
vehicle body, though is not restricted to such use. Such
luggage compartment openings normallyhave-a flange (shown
dotted at 3) running around them which is generally up-
standing and adjacent to the drain channel (shown dotted
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at 4) i-or draining away water.
As shown, the sealing strip has a channel-shaped gripping
portion 5 on which is mounted a sealing portion 6. In use,
the gripping p~rtion 5 is mounted on and embraces the flange
and thereby positions the sealing portion 6 to run around
the opening so that the lid of the luggage compartment closes
onto it, partially compresslng it and thus providing a
sealing function.
Advantageously, therefore, the sealing portion 6 is made
of flexible resilient material such as sponge rubber. The
gripping portion 5 is constructed of flexible material 7
such as rubber or plastics and advantageously has embedded
within it a reinforcing support or earrier 8. The carrier 8
is intended to be sufficiently flexible to allow the strip
to be mounted in position but is also sufficiently resilient
to stiffen and reinforce the gripping portion 5 and help to
increase the force with which it is retained on the mounting
flange. The carrier may have any suitable form. It may,
for example, be made of metal. In one possible form, it
comprises a series of side-by-side U-shaped elements which
are interconnected by links or possibly completely disconnected.
Instead, for example, it could be in the form of a corrugated
channel.Inanother form, it can be made of wire such as wire
looped back and forth across the width of the channel.
However, other forms of carrier are also possible.
The flexi.ble material 7 of the gripping portion 5 is
formed with inwardly directed ribs, therc being
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three such ribs 10, 12, 14 on one inside wall of the
channel and four, smaller, ribs 16, 18, 20 and 22 on the
opposite side. The ribs run along the length of the
channel.
In use, when the gripping portion 5 is pressed onto the
flange 3, the ribs on opposite sides of the channel are
forced apart to allow entry of the flange and press against
the sides of the flange. The ribs 10, 12, 16, 18 and 20
are designed to exert a gripping and sealing force on the
flange. In doing so, t'ney help to resist removal of the
strip from the flange and also help to prevent water or
moisture from entering the luggage compartment by running
around the flange on the inside of the channel.
The ribs 10 to 22 may be fo~med integrally with the
flexible material 7 such as by an extrusion process.
They need not be of the same hardness as the flexible
material 7 and it may in fact be advantageous for them to
be made of softer material than the material 7 because
(in the case of ribs 10, 12, 16, 18 and 20) this is found
to improve their sealing ar.d gripping action.
The sealing portion 6 may also be extruded simultan-
eously with the material 7 (and the lips 10 to 22) or it
may be formed separately and secured to the gripping
section 5 as by means of adhesive.
In addition, a suitable mastic sealant is placed in
the base of the channel, at 24, to provide an additional
seal and water barrier, so that the distal edge of the
flange presses into this mastic.
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The provision of the relatively thin top ribs
14 and 22 is advantageous because they define a cavity, at 24,
within which the mastic is located, and help to prevent the
mastic from running down onto the main gripping ribs 10, 12
16, 18 and 20. Without the provisionof such rihs
14, 22, it is found that the mastic does have this tendency
to run onto the main gripping ribs, reducing their gripping
force. The ribs 14 and 22 also enable a smaller quantity of
mastic sealant to be used. These ribs are primarily designed
for mastic retention and exert substantially no gripping
force on the flange 3.
The arrangement of the ribs so that there are
three relatively large ribs on one side of the channel and
four relatively small ones on the o~her side is advantageous
in giving additional stability to the gripping section 5
when mounted on the flange.
The lower large gripping rib 10 has a cut-out 26 to
increase its flexibility.
In addition,the gripping portion 5 has a downwardly
and outwardly extending longitudinal sealing lip 28 which
may advantageously be formed integrally with the material 7.
In use, when the gripping portion 5 is mounted on the
mounting flange, tlle sealing lip 28 extends into the drain
channel 4 which runs around the luggage compartment opening.
It is important that the lip 28 does not become inadvertently
tucked up inside the gripping portion 5 when the gripping
portion is forced onto the flange 3. In order to guard
against this possibility, the lip 28 is provide~d with a tear-
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off cord 32 running along the length of the lip. Thiscord is integrally formed with the material of the lip 38
but is attached to it by a relatively weak neck 34 and
the cord may extend beyond the length of the lip 28. In
use, the fitter grips the cord 32 and uses it to pull the
distal edge 36 of the lip 28 outwardly and upwardly - and
thus away from the mouth of the gripping portion 5, and,
simultaneously, tears the cord 32 off via the weakened
beck 34. In this way, the lip 28 is positively located
within the drain channel 4 at the correct location, as
shown dotted in the drawing, so as to provide most
effective sealing. At the same time, the cord 32 is
removed so as not to impede sealing.
