DESC:CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based on and derives the benefit of Indian Provisional Application 202141035183 filed on 4-Aug-2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to mounting of a weather-strips or extension of encapsulation for a quarter glass in motor vehicles, more particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to a locking arrangement for an encapsulated quarter glass of a vehicle having a cantilever waist extension and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND
[002] Generally, in automobile industry, there is a considerable demand for bigger vehicles, where many quarter windows are located towards the rear end of a vehicle. An encapsulated glass is widely adopted for quarter window for various advantages. The quarter window, which is usually made by encapsulated glass, is used to provide more day light opening for the third-row passengers. Due to the styling requirements of the vehicle, the quarter waist extension which protrudes like a cantilever needs to be extended beyond the quarter glass of the vehicle. As there is no positive locking between the encapsulation extension and body panel of the vehicle, issues of part dislodging and partial separation concerns at the end happens due to the cantilever effect and unsupported profile.
[003] In the conventional setup, there is no positive locking and there are chances that the waist extension of the encapsulation comes out of the body panel due to the wear and tear and the other environmental factors.
[004] Hence, there is a need in the art to provide a positive locking for the waist extension of the quarter glass which alleviates the drawbacks associated with the conventional waist extension mounting.

OBJECTS
[005] The principal object of embodiments herein is to provide a locking arrangement for an encapsulated quarter glass of a vehicle having a cantilever waist extension.
[006] Another object of embodiments herein is to provide the locking arrangement for a positive locking of the encapsulated glass by providing a mounting bracket integrated to the encapsulation extension.
[007] Yet another object of embodiments herein is to provide the locking arrangement for the encapsulated quarter which facilitates the vertical mounting of the extension on vehicle body with ease.
[008] Still another object of embodiments herein is to provide a method of mounting an encapsulated quarter glass with a cantilever extension through a locking arrangement.
[009] Yet another object of embodiments herein is to provide the method for mounting the encapsulated quarter glass with the cantilever extension through the locking arrangement having vertical mounting feature for positive mounting of the encapsulated quarter glass waist extension.
[0010] These and other objects of embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with following description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] The embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0012] Fig.1 and Fig.2 depicts conventional way of mounting a quarter glass encapsulation cantilever waist extension or weather-strip.
[0013] Figs. 3A, 3B and 3C are front view and perspective views of encapsulated quarter glass with an extension having an integrated locking arrangement comprising of a T-frame structured mounting bracket, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0014] Fig. 4A depicts a front view of the locking arrangement integrated to the quarter glass encapsulation of a vehicle body; according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0015] Fig 4B depicts a sectional view of the locking arrangement integrated to the quarter glass encapsulation of the vehicle body along a section A-A of Fig. 4A, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein; and
[0016] Fig. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method (500) of assembling the encapsulated quarter glass with a cantilever waist extension onto a body of a vehicle through the locking arrangement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0018] The embodiments herein achieve a locking arrangement for an encapsulated quarter glass of a vehicle having a cantilever waist extension. Further, embodiments herein achieve the locking arrangement for a positive locking of the encapsulated glass by providing a mounting device integrated to the encapsulation extension. Furthermore, the embodiments herein achieve the locking arrangement for the encapsulated quarter which facilitates the vertical mounting of the extension on vehicle body with ease. Further, the embodiments a method of mounting an encapsulated quarter glass with a cantilever extension through a locking arrangement. Referring now to the drawings, Figs 1 through 5, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0019] Fig.1 and Fig.2 depicts conventional way of mounting a quarter glass encapsulation cantilever waist extension or weather-strip. The conventional quarter glass encapsulation (100) demonstrates a quarter glass weather-strip mounting (102) in Fig.1 and Fig.2 demonstrates a dislocated waist extension of the quarter glass encapsulation. The conventional quarter glass encapsulation (100) dislocates or gets damaged due to harsh environmental/weather conditions as there is no waist proper locking arrangement for the cantilever waist extension of the quarter glass. Hence, there is a need in the art to provide a positive locking for the waist extension of the quarter glass which alleviates the drawbacks associated with the conventional waist extension mounting.
[0020] Figs. 3A, 3B and 3C are front view and perspective views of encapsulated quarter glass with an extension having an integrated locking arrangement comprising of a T-frame structured mounting bracket (314), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. Fig. 3A shows a front view of a encapsulated quarter glass (306) with a cantilever waist extension (312a) assembled on the vehicle body with a D pillar applique (302), a tail-light (304), and a body side outer panel (308). The encapsulated quarter glass (306) comprises the cantilever waist extension (hereinafter also referred to as extension) (312a) which extends beyond the quarter glass encapsulation for a predetermined distance and towards the taillight (304) area. The cantilever waist extension (312a) is transverse to the D pillar applique (302) of the vehicle. In an embodiment as shown in Fig. 3B, the encapsulation of the quarter glass (306) is made-up of thermo plastic elastomeric (hereinafter “TPE”) moulded material. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to fabricate the encapsulation using any other material without otherwise deterring the intended function of the encapsulated quarter glass as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings. The quartz glass (310) is moulded with TPE material (312) as TPEs have multiple advantages such as ease of processing, short cycle times, and no flock melting. Fig 3C shows a perspective view of the encapsulated extension (312a) with a locking arrangement (300). The locking arrangement (300) includes a T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) integrated on the cantilever waist extension (312a). The T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) comprises of a head portion (314h) which is embedded within the cantilever waist extension (312a) and a mounting member (314a) attached perpendicular to a portion of the cantilever waist extension (312a) (as shown in Fig. 4B). The quarter glass encapsulation cantilever waist extension (312a) with the locking arrangement comprising of the T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) facilitates in vertical mounting of the cantilever waist extension (312a).
[0021] Fig. 4A depicts a front view of the locking arrangement integrated to the quarter glass encapsulation of a vehicle body; according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is positioned perpendicular to the extension of the encapsulated quarter glass (306) at a predetermined position of the body of the vehicle. The head portion (314h) which is embedded within the cantilever extension (312a) is affixed to the extension (312a) such that the head portion remains stationery and the mounting member (314a) which is attached perpendicular to the portion of the waist extension (312a) extends for a predetermined distance. Further, the mounting member (314a) defines at least one opening which is configured to receive a fastening means (402, 404). The fastening means (402, 404) connects the mounting member (314a) with the body side panel (408) of the vehicle as shown in Fig. 4B. In an embodiment, the fastening means (402, 404) is at least a fixing means such as a screw or a bolt for facilitating vertical mounting of the waist extension (312a). In Fig 4B, according to an embodiment of the invention, the positive mounting of T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is at least a plastic insert (314a) or a sheet metal bracket which is connected to the body side panel (408) of the vehicle. The T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) enables the positive vertical mounting of waist extension (312a) comprising of the encapsulated weather strip onto the body of the vehicle. The waist extension (312a) and the sheet metal bracket (406) are connected through the T – Frame structure mounting bracket (314) with the fastening means (402, 404), which provides functionality to do positive mounting, and allows easy serviceability to the connected parts and ensures fit and finish of the encapsulation cantilever waist extension (312a). In an embodiment, the mounting member (314a) of the T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is made-up of plastic. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to fabricate the T-frame using any other material without otherwise deterring the intended function of the T-frame structure mounting bracket as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings. The encapsulation extension (312a) is mounted such that the T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is not visible from the outer side of the vehicle and therefore provides aesthetic improvement.
[0022] Fig. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method (500) of assembling the encapsulated quarter glass with a cantilever waist extension onto a body of a vehicle through the locking arrangement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. The method (500) includes providing a locking arrangement (100) integrated to a waist extension (312a) of an encapsulated quarter glass (At step 502). Furthermore, the method (500) includes connecting said waist extension (312a) to a body side panel (408) of a vehicle at the predetermined position through a T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) of said locking arrangement (300) (At step 504). In an embodiment, the waist extension (312a) is fixed at the predetermined position on the body part of the vehicle by fixing the T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) with a part of the body of the vehicle such as a sheet metal bracket (406). The fastening means (402, 404) is inserted through the sheet metal part (406) such that it fixedly engages with the T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) and the sheet metal part (406).
[0023] The technical advantages achieved by the embodiments disclosed herein include positive locking of encapsulation extension with body of the vehicle, ease of mounting and serviceability of the extension due to vertical mounting, improvement in aesthetic after mounting of the extension and an easy assembly method for mounting of encapsulated quarter glass with encapsulation extension.
[0024] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
,CLAIMS:We claim,
1. A locking arrangement (300) for an encapsulated quarter glass (306) with a waist extension (312a) extending towards a taillight (304) and an applique pillar (302) towards a rear end of a vehicle, said locking arrangement comprising:
a T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) integrated to said waist extension (312a) at a predetermined position,
wherein, said T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) comprises a head portion (314h), said head portion (314h) is embedded within the waist extension (312a) and a mounting member (314a) extending transversely from said head portion (314h), said mounting member (314a) is configured to connect with a body side panel (408) of said vehicle.

2. The locking arrangement (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mounting member (314a) defines a hole in a body of the mounting member (314a) at a predetermined position for receiving a fastening means.

3. The locking arrangement (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) facilitates vertical mounting of said extension (312a) on said vehicle body at a predetermined position, said encapsulated glass is locked to said vehicle body.

4. The locking arrangement (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mounting member (314a) is at least made-up of plastic.

5. The locking arrangement (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is positioned transverse to said encapsulated quarter glass (306), said taillight (304), and said pillar applique (302) of said vehicle.
6. The locking arrangement (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastening means is at least a nut (404) and bolt (402).

7. A method (500) of assembling an encapsulated quarter glass with a waist extension (312a) onto a body of a vehicle through the locking arrangement (300), comprising steps of:
providing a locking arrangement (100) integrated to said waist extension (312a) of said encapsulated quarter glass; and
connecting said waist extension (312a) to a body side panel (408) of said vehicle at the predetermined position through a T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) of said locking arrangement (300).

8. The method (500) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said waist extension (312a) is connected to said body side panel (408) of said vehicle at the predetermined position by connecting said T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) with said body side panel (408) through a fastening means, said fastening means is at least a bolt (402) and a nut (404).

9. The method (500) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said T-frame structure mounting bracket (314) is connected to said body side panel (408) through a sheet metal bracket (406).