Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weather
strip for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to
a weather strip to be attached around a sliding sun
roof of the motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A sliding sun roof is installed in an opening
of a roof panel so as to be slidable backwards and
forwards with respect to the motor vehicle. The
sliding sun roof is opened by sliding the sun roof
backwards and retracting it below the roof panel.
The weather strip is attached around the sliding sun
roof so as to seal a gap between a peripheral edge
of the sliding sun roof and a frame portion of the
roof panel opening.
Such a weather strip generally has a downwardly
oriented drip lip that extends from its lower
portion. This drip lip is meant to guide water
leaking through a gap between the weather strip and
the frame portion into a drip channel provided in
the roof panel so as to be positioned below the drip
lip (Japanese un~x~ined Utility Model publication
No. Sho 56-49622).
When the motor vehicle is driven at high
speeds, a negative pressure is generated along a
surface of the roof panel, thereby causing the
sliding sun roof to be drawn outwardly.
Due to this outward force, the sliding sun
roof, especially the front portion, is likely to be
lifted up. This reduces the sealing force of the
weather strip. As a result, air leaks from the
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inside of the vehicle to the outside thereof, and such
an airflow creates an aspiration noise.
In order to prevent this noise generation,
conventionally, a seal lip has been formed over the
entire length of the weather strip outside the drip lip
with the top end of the seal lip being brought into
pressurized contact with the frame portion of the roof
panel opening (Japanese unexamined Utility Model
publication No. Sho 64-34328).
This seal lip acts as a resistive force to
the outward drawing force acting on the sliding sun
roof. Further, the seal lip prevents the sliding sun
roof from being lifted. Even if the sliding sun roof is
slightly lifted, the seal lip keeps contact with the
frame portion with no reduction in the sealing force
thereof.
However, this seal lip also acts to resist
the backward and forward sliding movement of th sliding
sun roof. Therefore, it has been the custom to cut off
the seal by means of a cutter of the like, leaving only
the front portion corresponding to the front end of the
sliding sun roof, which is iikely to be lifted up due to
the outward force thereon (~apanese une~ined patent
publication No. Hei 1-306321)
LIST OF FIC-IJRES
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a motor
vehicle with a first embodiment of a weather strip in
accordance with the present invention being attached to
a sliding sun roof;
FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken
along the line II-II of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken
along the line III-III of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the
portion C of FIGURF l;
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FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of a
second embodiment of the weather strip, taken in the
same region as FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a
third embodiment of the weather strip, taken in the same
region as FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of prior
art, taken in the same region as FIGURE 2; and
FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of prior art,
taken in the same region as FIGURE 4.
~ FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate examples of the
above-described prior art.
FIGURE 7 illustrates a cross-section of the
weather strip attached to the front end of a sliding sun
roof, and FIGURE 8 illustrates a corner portion of the
weather strip attached to a corner of the sliding sun
roof between the front end and the left side thereof.
The weather strip 2 has a drip lip 23 and a
seal lip 24, both extending from the lower portion of a
tubuler sealing portion 22. This seal lip 24 is c~t off
except for the front portion
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corresponding to the front end of a sun roof l made
of a glass plate. Reference numeral 25 (FIGU~E 8)
designates a cut end of the seal lip 24.
In the front end of the sun roof 1, on which
the outward force acts to lift up the front end at
high motor vehicle speeds, the seal lip 24 comes
into pressure contact with a frame portion 41 of a
roof panel 4 to maintain an adequate seal and acts
to resist lift of the sun roof 1.
In the side edges of the sun roof 1, the seal
lip 24 of the weather strip 2 is removed.
Accordingly, resistance to the sliding movement of
the sliding sun roof is not increased therein.
However, it is extremely difficult to extrude
the weather strip having two lips 23, 24 closel~
positioned while maintaining their precise
dimensions. Moreover, it is also difficult work to
partially cut off the seal lip 24 after extrusion by
means of a cutter or the like. Therefore, the
productivity of the prior art is not good.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a
weather strip which prevents a sliding sun
roof from being drawn outward when a motor vehicle
is driven at high speeds, does not block the
backward and forward sliding movement of the sliding
sun roof when it is opened and closed, and is easily
extruded with improved productivity.
The weather strip of the present invention has
a base portion continuously attached to a peripheral
edge of a nearly rectangular sliding sun roof, a
tubular sealing portion continuously formed onto the
periphery of the base portion and in contact with a
frame portion of a roof panel when the sliding sun
roof is closed, and a lip continuously formed onto
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the lower portion of the sealing portion and
._
extending downwardly therefrom. A front portion of
the lip, corresponding to a front end of the sliding
sun roof, has a predetermined uniform length that is
sufficient for a top end thereof to reach the frame
portion, thereby serving as a seal lip that prevents
the sliding sun roof from being lifted, and also
prevents the generation of aspiration noise. Left
and right side portions and a rear portion of the
lip, which respectively correspond to left and right
ends and a rear end of the sliding sun roof, have a
uniform length shorter than that of the front
portion thereof, and serves as a drip lip for
guiding dripping water into a drip channel.
The above-described lip of the present
invention is made by continuously forming a lip
having a uniform length so that a top end thereof
reaches the frame portion of the roof panel.
Further, the lip is provided with a thin-walled
portion at about its mid-length on a lower portion
of the sealing portion of the weather strip. A top
end portion of the lip is torn off along the
thin-walled portion except for the front portion of
the lip, corresponding to the front end of the
sliding sun roof, thereby removing the top end
portion of the left and right side portions and the
rear portion of the lip.
The weather strip of the present invention has
only a continuous single lip, and accordingly can be
easily extruded. Moreover, the unnecessary top end
portion of the lip can be easily removed by merely
tearing it along the thin-walled portion, thereby
improving the productivity.
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Other features and characteristics
of the present invention, as well as the function of the
related elements of the structure, and to the
combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will
become apparent upon consideration of the following
description and the appended claims with reference to
the acco~nying drawings, all of which form a part of
this specification, wherein like reference numerals
designate correspo~;ng parts in the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ln~ EM~ODIMENTS
In a first embodiment shown in FIGURES 1
through 4, a weather strip 2 is attached around a
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_ nearly rectangular sliding sun roof l which opens
and closes an opening of a roof panel 4 of a motor
vehicle. The weather strip 2 is an extruded body of
rubber, and has a base portion 21 which holds a
periphery of the sliding sun roof (hereinafter
called the sun roof) 1 composed of a glass plate.
The base portion 21 is attached to a flange 31 of a
sun roof housing 3. A tubular sealing portion 22 is
integrally formed onto the outer periphery of the
base portion 21, so as to contact a frame portion 41
of the roof panel 4, as shown in FIGURE 2.
The weather strip 2 has a seal lip 26 for
preventing the generation of aspiration noise from
its front portion 2a to its adjacent corner
lS portions. The seal lip 26 extends downwardly from
the bottom of the tubular sealing portion 22, and
bends obliquely and outwardly. The seal lip 26 has
a uniform length so that its top end reaches the
frame portion 41 of the roof panel 4. The top end
thereof comes in pressure contact with the frame
portion 41 of the roof panel 4 when the sun roof 1
is closed. A recess is formed at the bent portion
of the seal lip 26 to define a linearly extending
thin-walled portion 28. In both side portions 2b,
2c and the rear portion 2d of the weather strip 2, a
drip lip 27 which is integral with the base side
portion of the seal lip 26 is continuously formed as
shown in FIGURE 3. The drip lip 27 does not contact
the frame portion 41 of the roof panel 4.
The weather strip having the above-described
structure is made by forming a weather strip having
a lip of a configuration identical to that of the
seal lip 26 by the steps of extruding, slitting the
lip from its top end to its thin-walled portion 28
at ends of the above-described corner portions, and
tearing the lip along the thin-walled portion 28
except for the front and corner portions thereof.
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In the weather strip 2 of the first embodiment,
the seal lip 26 closely contacts the frame portion
41 of the roof panel 4 and has a large frictional
force meant to resist the outward force on the sun
roof when the motor vehicle is driven at high
speeds. Accordingly, the front portion of the sun
roof 1 is restrained from being drawn outward, and a
sealing force of the weather strip against the frame
portion 41 is prevented from being reduced, thereby
preventing the generation of the aspiration noise.
In the side portions 2b, 2c and the rear
portion 2d of the weather strip 2, the drip lip 27
guides water leaking through a gap between the
sealing portion 22 and the frame portion 41 into a
drip channel (not shown). The drip lip 27 of the
side portions 2b, 2c does not contact with the frame
portion 41, and accordingly does not resist the
forward and rearward sliding movement of the sun
roof 1.
The weather strip of the present embodiment can
be easily extruded because the lips 26, 27 are
composed of a continuous single lip. Moreover, the
drip lip 27 of the side portions 2b, 2c and the rear
portion 2d can be formed with improved productivity
by merely tearing off the corresponding portion of
the continuous single lip along the thin-walled
portion 28.
FIGURE S illustrates a second embodiment of
the weather strip in accordance with the present
invention. A base portion 21A of a weather strip 2A
has a U-shaped cross-section. This base portion 2lA
holds a flange 11 formed around a sun roof lA made
of synthetic resin.
The structure and the operational effect of the
remaining parts are substantially identical to those
of the first embodiment.
2 0 2 7 2 1 9
FIGURE 6 illustrates a third embodiment of
the weather strip according to the present
invention. A base portion 2lB of a weather strip 2B
takes the form of a thick plate. A holder member 5
is positioned below the periphery of a sun roof lB.
The weather strip 2B is attached to the sun roof lB
with its base portion 2lB sandwiched between the
periphery of the sun roof lB and the holder member
5. The structure and the operational effect of the
remaining parts are substantially identical to those
of the first embodiment.
While the present invention has been described
in connection with what is presently considered to
be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it
lS is to be understood that the invention is not to be
limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the
contrary, is intended to cover various modifications
and equivalent arrangements included within the
spirit and scope of the appended claims.
