DESC:Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a sealing for vehicle body parts and more particularly, to a sealing mechanism for an outer pillar of the vehicle.

Background of the invention

Seals play an important role in any component or product by preventing entry of foreign objects inside a space to be protected. In vehicles, the seals are considered important as it completely covers the gap avoiding dust or water entry and noise leakage. The vehicle seals are specifically used in windows, doors, glass run, waist, windshield, tail door glass and as body seal. Out of all the seals, the waist outer seals are given a core importance as it matches with the area to be sealed.

United States patent US 7172239 B2 discloses a sealing structure for a vehicle door wherein a glass is covered by only a glass run seal in a pillar area. The sealing structure fails to insure 100% water leakage protection through the glass run seal on an inside of the vehicle. Also, the waist level seal utilizes only a waist outer seal which also fails to insure 100% anti theft protection. The glass run seal fails to protect the entry of water towards a latch through the waist level.

United States Patents US 8266841 B2 and US 6659536 B1 disclose a weather-strip system for an automotive vehicle door wherein the window glass moves up and down smoothly. The weather-strip system also protects water leakage at waist area. However, the patents don’t disclose the protection at the pillar area.

The seals of the prior art are complex to manufacture and also involves difficult assembling procedures. The seals disclosed in the prior art are not variable seals and the chances of water entry are more in these seals. Typically, at a corner area of the window, the thief or unauthorized person tend to break a latch of the vehicle door through the gap between a door outer panel and the window glass using a screw-driver or any other rod to open the door by pulling the outer waist seal.

Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a sealing mechanism for an outer pillar of a vehicle that overcomes the above mentioned problems of the prior art.

Objects of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing mechanism variable in shape and easy to assemble.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pillar seal that is in continuous flow with a waist outer seal.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide leak resistance from foreign objects.

Summary of the invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides a sealing mechanism for an outer pillar of a vehicle. The vehicle includes a door assembly. The door assembly comprises a window glass, an inner panel, an outer panel, a waist outer seal fitted into the outer panel, a run channel, a glass run seal and the sealing system.

The run channel is spot welded to the inner panel and the outer panel. The glass run seal is removably fitted in the run channel and capable of guiding an upward and a downward sliding motion of the window glass.

The sealing mechanism is fastened to an upper portion of a vehicle panel using an adhesive tape. The sealing mechanism comprises a sealing lip. The sealing lip provides interference for better gripping and smooth sliding of the window glass. The sealing lip is made of rubber. The sealing mechanism is mounted in the run channel using a plurality of clips in such a way that both ends of the sealing mechanism are in continuous seal flow with the waist outer seal and the glass run seal. The plurality of clips is made up of a nylon material.

Brief description of the drawings

The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the disclosure is read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein

Figure 1 shows a schematic longitudinal cut section of a door assembly of a vehicle, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the door assembly of figure 1 showing an integrated sealing mechanism for an outer pillar of the vehicle;

Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the door assembly of figure 2; and

Figure 4 shows an isometric view of the sealing mechanism for the outer pillar of the vehicle, in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiments.

The present invention provides a sealing mechanism for an outer pillar of a vehicle. The sealing mechanism facilitates sealing of the outer pillar in continuous flow with a waist outer seal. The sealing mechanism provides leak resistance from foreign objects, protection against water and noise entry in an inner compartment/cabin of the vehicle.

The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description.

Referring to figures 1-4, a door assembly (150) of a vehicle (not shown) in accordance with the present invention is shown. The door assembly (150) comprises a window glass (10), a glass run seal (20), a waist outer seal (30), an inner panel (40), an outer panel (50), a run channel (60) and a sealing mechanism (80) for an outer pillar (110) of the vehicle.

The glass run seal (20) is removably fitted in the run channel (60) and guides an upward and a downward sliding motion of the window glass (10). The run channel (60) is spot welded to the inner panel (40) and the outer panel (50) of the door assembly (150). The waist outer seal (30) is fitted into the outer panel (50) in waist area of the vehicle.

The sealing mechanism (80) is mounted in the run channel (60) using a plurality of clips (90) in such a way that both ends (not numbered) of the sealing mechanism (80) are in continuous seal flow with the waist outer seal (30) and the glass run seal (20). In an embodiment, the plurality of clips (90) is made up of a nylon material. The sealing mechanism (80) is fastened to an upper portion (not numbered) of a vehicle panel more particularly to the outer panel (50) using an adhesive tape (100). The sealing mechanism (80) includes a sealing lip (70) made of rubber. In an embodiment, the sealing mechanism is preferably a C pillar seal having the sealing lip (70) as an integral part made by molding process. The sealing lip (70) provides interference for better gripping and smooth sliding of the window glass (10). The sealing lip (70) also assures protection against water and noise entry in an inner compartment/cabin (not shown) of the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the sealing mechanism (80) is mounted by four numbers of the plurality of clips (90) in an opposite direction of the window glass (10) and acts as an anti-theft part by completely sealing a gap between the outer panel (50) and the window glass (10) thereby preventing breaking/pulling thereof by thief or unauthorized person. However, it is understood that the number of the plurality of clips (90) may vary in other alternative embodiments of the sealing system (80).

Advantages of the invention

1. The sealing mechanism (80) provides better glass sliding effort.
2. The sealing mechanism (80) covers the additional gap between the outer panel (50) and the window glass (10) thereby achieving better NVH to resist wind cutting noise and protection against air leakage and water leakage in the vehicle
3. The sealing mechanism (80) prevents thief or unauthorized person from gaining entry in the vehicle ensuring the anti-theft protection.
4. The sealing mechanism (80) facilitates easy manufacturing and assembling process consuming less production time.
5. The sealing mechanism (80) provides an aesthetic look as the seal looks like a continuous outer waist seal. Both the ends of the seal appeals to be having a continuous seal flow with the outer waist seal and the glass run seal.

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 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.
,CLAIMS:We Claim:

1. A sealing mechanism (80) for an outer pillar (110) of a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a door assembly (150), the door assembly (150) having a window glass (10), an inner panel (40), an outer panel (50), a waist outer seal (30) fitted into the outer panel (50), a run channel (60) being spot welded to the inner panel (40) and the outer panel (50), a glass run seal (20) removably fitted in the run channel (60) and being capable of guiding an upward and a downward sliding motion of the window glass (10) and the sealing mechanism (80),
characterized in that the sealing mechanism (80) having a sealing lip (70), the sealing lip (70) being capable of providing interference for gripping and sliding of the window glass (10), wherein, the sealing mechanism (80) is mounted in the run channel (60) using a plurality of clips (90) in such a way that both ends of the sealing mechanism (80) are in continuous seal flow with the waist outer seal (30) and the glass run seal (20).

2. The sealing mechanism (80) as claimed in claim 1 is fastened to an upper portion of a vehicle panel using an adhesive tape (100).

3. The sealing mechanism (80) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing lip (70) is made of rubber.

4. The sealing mechanism (80) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of clips (90) is made up of a nylon material.