Weather strip, and attachment structure of weather strip

• US 8,893,438 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2010
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokai Kogyo Company Limited (Eastern Technics Corp.), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Tokai Kogyo Company Limited (Eastern Technics Corp.), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Hamada, Yo, Horie, Takeyasu, Miyake, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Mitchell, Katherine
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEKHAEIL, SHIREF M
• Application Number:
  US12/697,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20100192470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 494/901, 494/751, 494/981, 494/951, 494/841, 494/831
• US Class Current: 49/490.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/80 specially adapted for opening panels, e.g. doors for non-fixed roofs B60J10/90

Abstract

A weather strip is provided. The weather strip is arranged so as to intersect a portion joined by overlapping a plurality of panels, and is provided with a tip projection portion which projects onto an extension line of the exterior side wall portion from the tip of an exterior side wall portion of an attachment portion. The tip projection portion is formed from a material which deforms easier than a material forming the sealing portion and is formed in a shape which becomes thin towards a projecting direction with a width dimension which does not exceed the thickness of the tip of the exterior side wall portion in a cross section along the width direction of the attachment portion, and when the attachment portion is attached to the flange, the tip projection portion stretches in the longitudinal direction of the attachment portion and comes into contact with the panels.

Claims

1. A weather strip made of a polymer material comprising:

an attachment portion formed in a shape having an exterior side wall portion, an interior side wall portion, and a base bottom portion connecting together both the side wall portions so as to be attached to a flange provided along the circumferential edge of an opening of a vehicle body formed by a plurality of panels;

a sealing portion provided at one of the side wall portions or the base bottom portion of the attachment portion, and

the sealing portion being arranged between the circumferential edge of the opening and a lid capable of opening and closing the opening of the vehicle body to seal a gap between the circumferential edge of the opening and the lid,

wherein the weather strip is arranged so as to intersect a portion joined by overlapping the plurality of panels, and is provided with a tip projection portion which projects onto an extension line of the exterior side wall portion from the tip of the exterior side wall portion of the attachment portion,

wherein the tip projection portion is formed from a material which can deform more easily than a material forming the sealing portion, and the tip projection portion is formed in a shape which becomes thin towards a projecting direction with a width dimension which does not exceed the thickness of the tip of the exterior side wall portion in a cross section along the width direction of the attachment portion,

wherein the tip of the exterior side wall portion is formed with a joining portion that includes a joining surface joined to the tip projection portion,

wherein the projecting direction is the same as a direction in which the weather strip is attached to the flange,

wherein the joining surface and the tip projection portion extend both more interior and more exterior, in a width direction of the exterior side wall portion, than a main portion of the exterior side wall portion,

when the attachment portion is attached to the flange, the tip projection portion comes into contact with the panels from its tip, and compressively deforms gradually in the projecting direction so as to be broadened in the width direction of the attachment portion so that a width dimension after deformation becomes greater than a width dimension before the deformation, and the tip projection portion stretches in the longitudinal direction of the attachment portion and comes into contact with the panels.

2. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein the tip projection portion is formed so that the width dimension and a height dimension thereof becomes 1:

1 in cross section.

3. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein the tip projection portion is formed in a shape which is line-symmetric in the width direction in cross section.

4. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein the tip projection portion is formed in a triangular shape which becomes thin towards the projecting direction in cross section.

5. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein a rubber material forming the sealing portion has a smaller specific gravity than a rubber material forming a main portion of the attachment portion, and a rubber material forming the tip projecting portion has a smaller specific gravity than the rubber material forming the sealing portion.

6. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein the tip of the exterior side wall portion is formed so that the surface thereof joined to the tip projection portion is curved in a recessed shape in cross section.

7. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein the tip projection portion is enabled to compressively deform more than the height difference of a portion joined by overlapping the plurality of panels.

8. The weather strip according to claim 1, further comprising a seal lip that projects toward an exterior side of the weather strip and projects downward,

wherein a connection between the seal lip and the exterior side wall portion is a single connection.

9. The weather strip according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the main portion of the exterior side wall portion is substantially the same as a thickness of the base bottom portion.

10. The weather strip according to claim 1,

wherein a maximum cross-sectional thickness of the joining portion is larger than the cross-sectional thickness of the main portion of the exterior side wall portion.

11. An attachment structure of a weather strip made of a polymer material,

the weather strip including an attachment portion formed in a shape having an exterior side wall portion, an interior side wall portion, and a base bottom portion connecting together both the side wall portions so as to be attached to a flange provided along the circumferential edge of an opening of a vehicle body formed by a plurality of panels, and a sealing portion provided at one of the side wall portions or the base bottom portion of the attachment portion, and the weather strip being arranged between the circumferential edge of the opening and a lid capable of opening and closing the opening of the vehicle body to seal a gap between the circumferential edge of the opening and the lid,

wherein the weather strip is arranged so as to intersect a portion joined by overlapping the plurality of panels, and is provided with a tip projection portion which projects onto an extension line of the exterior side wall portion from the tip of the exterior side wall portion of the attachment portion, and

wherein the tip projection portion is formed from a material which can deform more easily than a material forming the sealing portion, and the tip projection portion is formed in a shape which becomes thin towards a projecting direction with a width dimension which does not exceed the thickness of the tip of the exterior side wall portion in a cross section along the width direction of the attachment portion,

wherein the tip of the exterior side wall portion is formed with a joining portion that includes a joining surface joined to the tip projection portion,

wherein the projecting direction is the same as a direction in which the weather strip is attached to the flange,

wherein the joining surface and the tip projection portion extend both more interior and more exterior, in a width direction of the exterior side wall portion, than a main portion of the exterior side wall portion,

when the attachment portion is attached to the flange, the tip projection portion comes into contact with the panels from its tip, and compressively deforms gradually in the projecting direction so as to be broadened in the width direction of the attachment portion so that a width dimension after deformation becomes greater than a width dimension before the deformation, and the tip projection portion stretches in the longitudinal direction of the attachment portion and comes into contact with the panels.

12. The attachment structure according to claim 11, wherein the weather strip further comprises a seal lip that projects toward an exterior side of the weather strip and projects downward,

wherein a connection between the seal lip and the exterior side wall portion is a single connection.

13. The attachment structure according to claim 11, wherein a thickness of the main portion of the exterior side wall portion is substantially the same as a thickness of the base bottom portion.

14. The attachment structure according to claim 11,

wherein a maximum cross-sectional thickness of the joining portion is larger than the cross-sectional thickness of the main portion of the exterior side wall portion.