Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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EDGE MOLDING FOR ~EHICLE ~OORS
BACKGP~OUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to moldings for use on
automotive vehicles or the like and more particularly to
ornamental and protective moldings to be mounted on the
edges of vehicle doors.
Strips of molding are applied to the marginal
edges of vehicle doors for ornamental and protective pur-
poses. Typically such moldings are made of metal and are
U-shaped in cross section to rely on the resiliency of the
molding to grip opposed surfaces at the hem or marginal edge
of the door. The edges of the door are thin when compared
with the balance of the door and usually include a layer of
metal folded around the edge of another layer of metal so
that three layers of material result. A plastic sealant
material is applied between the layers of metal which is
subsequently dried and hardened. Also the outer surfaces
are painted. As a result, the various layers of metal,
sealant and paint making up the marginal edge of the door
result in a non-uniform door edge having relatively wide
variations in dimensions. It is on this door edge that it
is customary to install ornamental and protective moldings.
In making such an installation it is necessary to use a
molding which can accommodate all of the dimensional vari-
ances. To do so the molding must have an opening not much
smaller than the smallest thickness of the door edge. There-
after, when the molding is applied to the edge of the door,
it is forced into position and in so doing the molding may
be distorted excessively so that it loses some of its ability
to be retained in position. Also forcing the molding into
position may cause scratching of the paint, particularly at
high spots or thick portions of the door edge. Such scratch-
es can encourage the formation of rust and initiate corro-
sion which are conditions that can become particularly ag-
gravated in the presence of moisture. When the metals used
in the door and in the trim molding are dissimilar, electro-
--2--chemical reactions can occur which accelerate corrosion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is highly desirable and is an object of the
invention to provide a molding for the edges of doors which
can accommodate wide variations in door thickness and can
be applied to the door without scratching the surfaces.
Another object of the invention is to provide a
molding for door edges wherein the molding grips opposed
surfaces of the door to hold the molding in position.
A further object of ~he invention is to provide
a molding for door edges wherein the material forming the
decorative exterior of the molding is insulated from the
material forming the door.
Still another object of the invention is to pro-
vide a molding for doors wherein the molding not only gripsthe door but also exerts pressure on a resilient seal mem-
ber to seal moisture from the edges of the door.
The objects of this invention are accomplished by
providing a molding for the edges of vehicle doors in which
the molding is in the form of an elongated strip of rela-
tively hard material such as metal having a generally U-
shaped cross section with the inner walls of the U-shaped
strip having a complementary strip of lining material which
is softer than the exterior strip. The exterior strip of
relatively hard material has bead portions at opposite
edges of the opening formed by the legs of the U which
act as the primary points applying pressure to opposed
surfaces of the door to hold the trim molding in position.
The lining strip of material can be relatively thin in the
areas abutting the beaded edges and substantially thicker
in the remaining areas to substantially fill the void be-
tween the outer surfaces of the marginal edge of the door
and the interior of the U-shaped strip of hard material
forming the decorative outer portion of the molding. These
and other objects of the invention will become apparent from
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the following description and from the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a
motor vehicle showing ornamental and protective molding
embodying the present invention applied at the trailing
edge of each of the vehicle doors;
Figure 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of
the molding at an enlarged scale and separate from the ve-
hicle;
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing
the molding in position for installation on the edge of a
vehicle door; and
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing
the molding in its fully applied position to the door edge.
The ornamental and protective molding embodying
the present invention is designated generally at 10 and is
shown applied to the trailing edges of doors 12 and 13 of
an automotive vehicle. The door edge lS to which the mold-
ing is applied includes an inner door sheet 16 made of
metal and bent to provide a flange 18 and an outer door
sheet 20 having an edge portion 21 bent and folded around
the flange 18 to form a marginal door edge having an op-
positely facing inboard surface 24 and outboard surface 26
with the extreme edge 28 being curved.
During the formation of the door, a sealant
material is applied between the various layers of metal
making up the door and subsequently portion 21 is spot
welded to flange 18. Thereafter the door is painted and
the paint and sealant are dried to a hardened condition.
Because of the multiple layers and particularly because of
the layers of sealant and paint which are very variable in
thickness, the total thickness of the door edge 15 can vary
substantially over the full length of the trailing edge on
which the molding lO is to be applied. In actual practice
on some models of automotive vehicles, doors constructed in
this manner actually vary in dimension from a thickness of
.llO to .160 inches and the molding 10 which is applied to
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these edges must accommodate these substantial variations.
The molding 10 includes a strip 30 of resilient
metal such as stainless steel, for example, which is bent
to form a channel having a generall~ ~-shaped cross section
with an inner leg 32 and an outer leg 34 disposed substan-
tially parallel to each other and joined together by a
bight portion 36. The free ends of the legs 32 and 34 are
formed by bending the edges of the strip of metal upon it-
self and results in beaded edges having facing surfaces 40
spaced slightly from the door surfaces 24 and 26 in the
assembled condition of the molding and door. Disposed with-
in the channel shaped strip 30 is another channel shaped
strip 50 made of relatively softer material. In the illus-
trated embodiment the strip 50 is molded of plastic in a
generally U-shaped configuration with the inner surface 52
conforming generally to the inner surface 24, outer surface
26 and edge 28 of the doors 12 and 13. The outer surface
54 of the plastic U shaped member is shaped to be comple-
mentary to the inner surface of the metal member 30. In
particular, the edges 58 formed adjacent to beads 38 are
relatively thin while the remainder of the body member has
a substantially heavier cross section. In the assembled
condition of the metal strip 30 and plastic strip 50, the
beads 38 serve to hold the plastic strip 50 in position.
~5 If desired, however, a layer of adhesive may be used be-
tween the strip 30 and lining 50. In order to accommodate
dimensional variations in door edge 15, the spacing be-
tween the facing surfaces 60 is maintained slightly smaller
than the minimum door dimension that is expected to be
encountered.
~ hen the molding strip is to be applied to the
edge 15 of a door, the parts are placed relative to each
other as best seen in Figure 3 so that the gap between the
surfaces 60 receives the rounded edge 2~ of the door edge
15. Subsequently the molding is forced onto the door edge
15 during which time the relatively soft lining material
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forming the U-shaped portion 50 and more particularly the
surfaces 60, engage the outer surfaces 2~ and 26 of the
door edge so that the molding 30 does not scratch or mar
the paint on the door. The molding 30 is forced into po-
sition until the U-shaped plastic member 50 engages the
edge 28. This limits further movement of the molding onto
the door lip 15 and cushions the relatively hard portion
30 from the hard surfaces of the door.
In the position seen in Figure 4, the sur~aces
60 engage opposed and oppositely facing surfaces 24 and 26
of the door edge 15 and the resilient material of the outer
strip 30 acts to clamp the molding 10 into position. At
the same time, the pressure applied by the beads 38 on the
plastic surfaces 60 acts as a seal to seal out dirt and
moisture which otherwise might enter between adjoining
surfaces of the door molding 10 and the doors 12 and 13.
The strip 50 is made of a electrically non-conductive plas-
tic material to insulate the metal strip 30 used in mold-
ing assembly 10 from the metal used in the edge of the
door 15. In some instances when the door and moldings are
made of dissimilar materials such as aluminum and steel
the insulation can be very significant in preventing elec-
trolysis between the unlike metals which can result in
corrosion.
Preferably the molding 10 is made so ~hat the op-
posed surfaces 60 are spaced apart a distance slightly less
than the smallest dimension of the door edge 15 which is ex-
pected to be encountered. With door edges of the type pre-
viously mentioned ranging in thickness from .110 to .160
inches it would be highly desirable that the gap between
the edges 58 be slightly less than .110 inches. The thick-
ness of the plastic portions adjacent to the beads 38 is
very thin when compared with the remainder of the plastic
body. By way of example, with the edges having a thickness
of .005 inches, the remainder of the U-shaped plastic por-
tion can have a thickness of approximately .020 inches to
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substantially fill the space between the metal U-shaped mem-
ber 30 and the outer surfaces of the door edge 15. Not only
does the plastic liner in the molding assembly protect the
door surfaces during installation of the molding but once
the molding is placed in position as shown in Figure 3, it
forms a generally flexible seal against moisture to resist
rusting and an insulator between metal layers to resist
corrosion~ Also the plastic strip 50 absorbs shock loads
which may be imposed on the exterior metal skin when the
edge of the door is struck against obstacles during opening.
Although it is preferred that the lining 50 be
made of relatively firm, extruded plastic material, it is
contemplated that the lining may be made of other materials
such as soft plastic foam, ~asket or other like materials.
Such materials are available in commercial form as tapes
with adhesive on one or both sides. In the latter case the
tapes are available in rolls with a layer of paper to sep-
arate the adhesive on the top and the bottom of the tape.
The interior of the U-shaped metal strip 30 may be lined
with such material with adhesive on the one side of the tape
holding the lining in position relative to the metal strip
30 and leaving the paper layer in position for removal just
prior to installing the strip on a vehicle. If the tape
type material used has a single layer of adhesive, the ad-
hesive is used to hold the lining in position within thestrip 30. Alternatively the strip can be placed in position
on the vehicle door prior to installation of the metal strip
30 and in the assembled condition on the door edge 15 such
an installation achieves many of the advantages of the em-
bodiments sho~n in Figures 2, 3 and 4. When the liningmaterial 50 is in the form of foam it tends to be compres-
sed at the beads 38 and the remainder of the material re-
mains fully or partially expanded to occupy the space be-
tween the metal strip 30 and the surfaces of the door edge
15.
An ornamental and protective molding for the edges
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of vehicle doors has been provided in which an elongated
strip of relatively hard material such as metal is formed
in a U-shaped cross section and a second strip of relatively
soft material such as plastic and also having a U-shaped
cross section is disposed on the interior surfaces of the
metal U-shaped portion with the plastic U-shaped portion
forming an elongated opening to receive a door edge. The
opposite facing surfaces of the door edge are engaged by
the lining portion which is pressed into engagement with
the door edges by the metal portion to form a seal and in-
sulation protecting the edge of the door from rusting and
corrosion as well as holding the molding in attached po-
sition on vehicle doors.
