DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to window pane assembly in automobiles.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
An encapsulation around a glass is used to improve the aesthetics of the seal around the glass pane of an automotive window. The design of the glass and the waist seals are driven by the vehicle styling. Usually the encapsulation section is for hiding the gaps between the glass and the vehicle body.
A quarter glass pane is provided at A and D pillar areas of a vehicle. Both the glasses are static and are pasted to the vehicle using butyl sealant.
An encapsulation is a PVC material moulded over a part of the quarter glass panes. It improves the aesthetics of the glass pane by hiding the gaps between the glass and body. Usually a continuous seal section is wrapped around the glass edge where the fitment is achieved by interference of glass in the seal section.
A locator is used to locate the glass in position on the body. Generally two locators are provided as the locating strategy. Usually a locator is glued using a butyl tape/ adhesive on the glass inner surface.
Usually the waist seal fitment is achieved by adhesion of the seal over the glass or body.
A spacer is required to maintain the requisite gap of around 6mm between the glass inner surface and the body. Usually a separate spacer is stuck to the glass at defined locations.
An additional tooling/process is required for applying the external spacer at various locations. Moreover, the encapsulation tooling/process consumes significant time.
Conventional sealing method for an automotive window does not allow the seal to be discontinuous.
Hence, there is a need for an automotive quarter glass pane assembly and/or construction which saves tooling/process time.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
A primary object of the present disclosure is to provide an automotive quarter glass pane assembly and construction which saves tooling/process time.
Another object of the present disclosure is to an automotive quarter glass pane assembly and construction which provides ease of assembly.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a quarter glass pane assembly for an automobile. The assembly comprises a quarter glass and an encapsulation. The encapsulation is moulded around the periphery of the quarter glass. The encapsulation integrally incorporates at least one spacer, at least one locator and at least one stud.
Preferably, the spacer is formed integral with the encapsulation.
Preferably, the locator is incorporated in the encapsulation by moulding the encapsulation around the locator held in a fixed position relative to the glass.
Preferably, the stud is incorporated in the encapsulation by moulding the encapsulation around the locator held in a fixed position relative to the glass.
In an embodiment, the encapsulation is formed discontinuously around the edges of the glass. In an embodiment, encapsulation is discontinuous along an edge of the glass defining a waist of the glass pane. The assembly is fitted with a waist seal along the waist.
Preferably, the encapsulation is composed of PVC.
The present disclosure also envisages a method of manufacturing a quarter glass pane assembly for an automobile. The method comprises the steps of:
i. Holding a quarter glass in a fixture and placing a mould around the quarter glass, wherein the mould defines a cavity of the desired shape of an encapsulation to be moulded the periphery of the quarter glass and also defining a cavity of the desired shape of at least one spacer;
ii. Holding at least one locator and at least one stud in the fixture against the quarter glass;
iii. Pouring a moulding material into the cavities of the mould;
iv. Allowing the moulding material to set in the mould and thereby form the encapsulation; and
v. Removing the mould and the fixture from the quarter glass.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
An automotive quarter glass pane assembly, of the present disclosure, will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1a illustrates a front quarter glass pane in an automobile body;
Figure 1b illustrates section A-A of Figure 1a;
Figure 2 illustrates an automotive quarter glass pane assembly of the present disclosure;
Figure 3a illustrates a spacer integrated in an encapsulation of the present disclosure;
Figure 3b illustrates a cross sectional view at a spacer of Figure 3a;
Figure 4a illustrates a locator integrated in an encapsulation of the present disclosure;
Figure 4b illustrates a cross sectional view at a locator of Figure 4a;
Figure 5 illustrates a stud integrated in an encapsulation of the present disclosure;
Figure 5b illustrates a cross sectional view at a stud of Figure 5a;
Figure 6a illustrates a variant of a quarter glass pane assembly of the present disclosure with discontinuous encapsulation on quarter glass; and
Figure 6b illustrates a variant of a quarter glass pane assembly of the present disclosure with waist seals.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 automotive quarter glass pane assembly
10 quarter glass
12 waist
20 encapsulation
22 spacer
24 locator
26 stud
30 waist seal
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details, are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
When an element is referred to as being “mounted on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
Terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
In the present disclosure, front quarter glass panes with an encapsulation are envisaged. The encapsulation 20 is a polymeric material moulded over the quarter glass 10. Preferably, the encapsulation 20 is moulded PVC. The quarter glass pane assembly 100 comprises of the following parts:
• Quarter glass 10; and
• Encapsulation 20 with an integrated spacer 22, locators 24 and studs 26.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the encapsulation 20 has an integral spacer 22 as shown in Figures 3a and 3b. The spacer 22 is integrally formed with the encapsulation 20.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the encapsulation 20 also incorporates the locator 24 as shown in Figures 4a and 4b. In the present invention, a locator 24 is held in a fixture during encapsulation of the glass 10 and it gets moulded over with the encapsulation 20. In an embodiment, the locator 24 is made of an elastomer, preferably, POM (Polyoxymethylene).
According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the encapsulation 20 incorporates the studs 26, as shown in Figures 5a and 5b, for snapping the quarter waist seals 30 for the waist 12 of the quarter glass 10. The studs 26 are formed during the encapsulation process. The studs 26 help provide a positive mounting between the waist seal 30 and the waist 12 of the glass 10.
According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, the encapsulation 20 of the present disclosure provides a seal to be discontinuous unlike the conventional sealing method. The encapsulation 20 is formed discontinuously around the edges of the glass 10. As a result, the encapsulation 20 supports variant strategy as shown in Figures 6a and 6b.
The method of manufacturing the quarter glass pane assembly (100) of the present disclosure comprises the steps of:
i. Holding a quarter glass (10) in a fixture and placing a mould around the quarter glass (10), wherein the mould defines a cavity of the desired shape of an encapsulation (20) to be moulded the periphery of the quarter glass (10) and also defining a cavity of the desired shape of at least one spacer (22);
ii. Holding at least one locator (24) and at least one stud (26) in the fixture against the quarter glass (10);
iii. Pouring a moulding material into the cavities of the mould;
iv. Allowing the moulding material to set in the mould and thereby form the encapsulation (20); and
v. Removing the mould and the fixture from the quarter glass (10).
Integrating spacers 22 with encapsulation 20 avoids the tooling/ process required for applying the external spacer at various locations. Providing locators 24 over the moulded encapsulation avoids the tooling/ process required for applying the external locators 24 at various locations. Integration of studs 26 is a unique feature to provide positive mounting for the waist seal 30 with the waist 12 of the glass 10. Variant strategy as illustrated in Figures 6a and 6b allows different variants of the waist seal 30 in terms of colour and material to be used on the same glass hence saving the encapsulation tooling/ process. These features give superior aesthetics and work content reduction in the manufacturing plant.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of an automotive quarter glass pane assembly which gives following advancements:
• saves tooling/process time; and
• provides ease of assembly.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments 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.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments 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 preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A quarter glass pane assembly (100) for an automobile, said assembly (100) comprising:
• a quarter glass (10);
• an encapsulation (20) moulded around the periphery of said quarter glass (10), said encapsulation (20) integrally incorporating at least one spacer (22), at least one locator (24) and at least one stud (26).
2. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said spacer (22) is formed integral with said encapsulation (20).
3. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locator (24) is incorporated in said encapsulation (20) by moulding said encapsulation (20) around said locator (24) held in a fixed position relative to said glass (10).
4. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stud (26) is incorporated in said encapsulation (20) by moulding said encapsulation (20) around said locator held in a fixed position relative to said glass (10).
5. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said encapsulation (20) is formed discontinuously around the edges of said glass (10).
6. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said encapsulation (20) is discontinuous along an edge of said glass (10) defining a waist (12) of the glass pane.
7. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said assembly (100) is fitted with a waist seal (30) along said waist (12).
8. The assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said encapsulation (20) is composed of PVC.
9. A method of manufacturing a quarter glass pane assembly (100) for an automobile, said method comprising the steps of:
i. Holding a quarter glass (10) in a fixture and placing a mould around said quarter glass (10), said mould defining a cavity of the desired shape of an encapsulation (20) to be moulded the periphery of said quarter glass (10), said mould also defining a cavity of the desired shape of at least one spacer (22);
ii. Holding at least one locator (24) and at least one stud (26) in said fixture against said quarter glass (10);
iii. Pouring a moulding material into said cavities of said mould;
iv. Allowing said moulding material to set in said mould and thereby form said encapsulation (20); and
v. Removing said mould and said fixture from said quarter glass (10).