The present disclosure relates to a sealing member provided for a roof of, for example, a convertible or hardtop automobile, and more particularly relates to the field of a structure for sealing the gap between the roof and the upper edge of a movable window pane of a sashless door.
The present disclosure further relates to an attachment structure of a sealing member for sealing an opening of an automobile, for example, and more particularly relates to the field of a structure for attaching a sealing member to a vehicle with a retainer interposed therebetween.
A known automobile includes, as its front doors, movable window panes, and fixed side panels respectively provided in front of the movable window panes, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-129402. A glass run made of an elastic material and a retainer for retaining the glass run are provided in front of each movable window pane. The glass run and the retainer extend in the direction of moving of the movable window pane (a vertical direction).
The glass run has a hollow seal portion with which the front edge of the movable window pane comes in contact. A portion of this hollow seal portion outside the cabin has a slit extending vertically. The formation of this slit allows the hollow seal portion to be partially open. A portion of the glass run outside the cabin has front and rear engagement grooves and two intermediate engagement grooves. The front and rear engagement grooves are respectively arranged closer to the front and rear of the automobile than the slit is, and extend vertically. The intermediate engagement grooves extend vertically along the edge of the slit of the glass run.
Meanwhile, the retainer has front and rear protruding portions that are respectively formed in the vicinity of its front and rear ends to protrude while facing each other. An intermediate portion of the retainer between the front and rear protruding portions has an intermediate protruding portion extending vertically. The front and rear protruding portions of the retainer are respectively fitted into, and engaged with, the front and rear engagement grooves of the glass run. In addition, the intermediate protruding portion of the retainer is fitted into, and engaged with, the intermediate engagement grooves of the glass run.
In general, the gap between a door and an associated door opening provided in a side part of an automobile is sealed with a sealing member called a weatherstrip (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H03-118216). A weatherstrip of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H03-118216 is designed to be attached to the periphery of a door with a retainer interposed therebetween. Both side portions of the retainer are curved to catch both lateral ends of a base of the weatherstrip. A rising wall of the retainer is provided with a clip to fix the retainer to the door.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds