GB2438406A

GB2438406A - A trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door

Info

Publication number: GB2438406A
Application number: GB0610396A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sanghera Rashpal Singh
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2006-05-26
Filing date: 2006-05-26
Publication date: 2007-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-26
Also published as: DE102007025024B4; GB2438406B; GB0610396D0; DE102007025024A1

Abstract

A trim arrangement 20 for a window frame of a motor vehicle door is disclosed. The arrangement 20 comprises a header cover 30 adapted to be secured along an upper edge of the window frame, a jamb cover 40 adapted to be secured along a vertical part of the window frame, and a joint assembly for allowing the header cover 30 to be fixed to a predetermined region of the jamb cover 40. The joint assembly includes a locking element (43, Fig.3) extending from the jamb cover 40 and a retainer element (31, Fig.3) arranged to the header cover 30. The retainer element and the locking element are arranged in such a way that the locking element 43 is engageable with the retainer element 31 only when the outer edge 40a of the jamb cover 40 along the vertical part of the window frame is aligned with the outer edge 30a of the header cover 30.

Description

A trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door The present invention

relates to a trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door and in particular a trim arrangement for covering the outside of a window frame of a door to provide a good appearance.

Trim arrangements of the above type are known. See, for example, JP7186724 which discloses a conventional vehicle door having a window frame. The window frame is covering by a trim arrangement which has a header cover disposed along the upper edge of the window frame and an outer jamb cover located substantially vertically along part of the window frame which forms a side of the window frame. The jamb cover includes a pair of hooks which engage a lock portion extending from the header cover, thus maintaining the jamb cover in position relative to the header cover. Such an arrangement ensures that the vertical positional relationship between the header cover and the jamb cover is accurate. One disadvantage of such an arrangement is that it still requires a manual adjustment from the operator to align the edge of the header cover and the edge of the jamb cover which thus may affect the appearance of the junction between the header cover and the jamb cover.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door which overcomes or alleviates the above problem.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door having a window frame, the arrangement comprising a header cover adapted to be secured along an upper edge of the window frame, a jamb cover adapted to be secured along a vertical part of the window frame which forms a side of the window frame, and a joint assembly for allowing the header cover to be fixed to a predetermined region of the jamb cover, the joint assembly including a locking element on one of the jamb cover and the header cover and a retainer element on the other of the jamb cover and the header cover, wherein the retainer element and the locking element are arranged in such a way that the locking element is engageable with the retainer element only when the outer edge of the jamb cover along the vertical part of the window frame is aligned with the outer edge of the header cover.

The jamb cover may further include a holding member for engagement in use with an aperture defined in the vertical part of the window frame, the holding member allowing the positional relation between the jamb cover and the vertical part of the window frame.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a motor vehicle having doors wherein at least one door comprises a trim arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a door for motor vehicle comprising a trim arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: -Fig.1 is a side view of a rear door and a front door of a motor vehicle, both of them having a trim arrangement according to the present invention; Fig.2 is an exploded view of the trim arrangement equipping the front door shown in Fig.1 which is partially depicted; Fig.3 is a bottom exploded view of the trim arrangement shown in Fig. 2; Fig.4 is a sectional view of the trim arrangement taken along the line lV-lV in Fig.1.

Referring to Fig.1, there is shown a motor vehicle 10 provided with four doors respectively two front doors and two rear doors. Each door has a window frame 11, 12 which is covered by a trim arrangement 20 which comprises a header cover 30 and an outer jamb cover 40. The arrangement is also provided with a joint (or latch) assembly for securing the header cover 40 in position relative to the jamb cover 40 so as to obtain a good appearance of the junction between the jamb cover 40 and the header cover 30.

In the following description only the trim arrangement 20 disposed on the left front door 11 will be described in detail, the other doors being provided with the same trim arrangement.

With reference now to the Figs. 2 to 4, the jamb cover 40, in this example, is made from a plastic material by moulding and has a trim strip 41, an L-shaped section 42 extending from the trim strip 41 and a locking element 43 for engagement with a retainer element 31 on the header cover 30. The L-shaped section 42 is provided with fixing devices which are in the form of, for instance, a series of slots 44 spaced out from each other for use in securing the jamb cover 40 to a vertical part 11 b of window frame 11 by means of screws (not shown). The jamb cover 40 also comprises a holding member, in this example a stud 45, extending from a rear surface 46 of the L-shaped section 43.

The locking element 43, in this example, comprises a flange portion 47 extending upward from the top edge of the trim strip 41 (when in the assembled position). The flange portion 47 has a shoulder 48 and a locking tab 49. The shoulder 48 and the locking tab 49 extend sideways from the flange portion 47 and are spaced apart from each other.

The header cover 30, in this example, is extruded from aluminium alloy and has an elongated wall 32 for covering the upper edge ha of the window frame 11, a flange 33 extending perpendicularly from the elongated wall 33 and a pair of elongated stiffening ribs extending from the rear surface 34 of the elongated wall 32 forming respectively an upper rib 35 and a lower rib 36. The elongated wall 32 further has a series of fixing members 37 in the form of clip (Fig.3) for securing the header cover 30 to the upper edge 11 a.

As can best be seen in Fig.3, the flange 33 and the upper rib 35 defined a first channel or recess 38 and the lower rib 25b has a second recess 39 along its length. The recess 39 is obtained in this example by machining.

The first channel or recess 38 and the second recess 39 form together the retainer element 31 which is arranged in the elongated wall 32 for allowing engagement of the locking element 43. It will be appreciated that the retainer element and the locking element constitute the joint assembly mentioned above.

Hence, the shoulder 48 and the locking tab 49 are arranged and dimensioned such that in the assembled position, the shoulder 48 is located within the first recess 38 of the header cover 30 and the locking tab 49 is located within the second recess 30. Each end of the lower rib 36 defining the recess 30 acts as end stop for the locking tab 49 when the header cover 30 is secured to the jamb cover 40. Similarly, the flange 33 and the upper rib acts as end stop for the shoulder 48 when the header cover 30 is secured to the jamb cover 40 as explained below.

The assembly of the trim arrangement 20 into the window frame 11 is obtained by placing the jamb cover 40 on the vertical part 11 b of the window frame, where the stud 45 is engaged with an aperture lic defined within the vertical part lib thereby holding in position the jamb cover 40 without the need for the operator to maintain the jamb cover 40 with one hand and ensuring that the jamb cover 40 is correctly fitted to the window frame 11 in the horizontal direction or direction Y (shown in Fig.2) in relation to the window frame 11. The stud 45 will also permit movement of the jamb cover 40 relative to window frame in the vertical direction or direction X (Fig. 2).

Once the jamb cover 21 has been correctly adjusted in the direction X, the header cover 30 can be fastened to the window frame 11 by means of the fixing members 37. The positional relation between the header cover 30 and the jamb cover 40 is ensured by engaging the locking tab 49 between the end stops forming the recess 39, and the shoulder 48 in the first recess 38. Hence, the cooperation of the locking tab 49 with the end stops and the shoulder 49 with the first recess 38 permit a correct alignment between the edge 40a of the jamb cover 40 and the edge 30a of the header cover 30, whereas the shoulder 48 engaged within the first recess 38 allows the adjustment in the direction Y between the header cover 30 and the jamb cover 40. Once the header cover 30 has been correctly adjusted with the jamb cover 40, then the jamb cover 40 can be secured to the window frame 11 by means of screws.

The trim arrangement described here provides effective control of the positional relation between the header cover 30 and the jamb cover 40 but also between the jamb cover 40 and the window frame 11 thanks to the holding member 45, hence keeping a good appearance of the junction between the header cover and the jamb cover and the same alignment for each window frame 11, 12 of the vehicle doors. Furthermore, the joint assembly ensures that the locking element is engaged with the retainer element only when the header cover is fixed to a predetermined region of the jamb cover, this predetermined region corresponding to a position in which the outer edge 40a of the jamb cover along the vertical part of the window frame is aligned with the outer edge 30a of the header cover 30.

Although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to a specific embodiment of the invention various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example, the header cover 30 may be made from a plastics material by moulding. In addition the retainer element can be arranged on the jamb cover and the locking element on the header cover.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A trim arrangement for a motor vehicle door having a window frame, the arrangement comprising a header cover adapted to be secured along an upper edge of the window frame, a jamb cover adapted to be secured along a vertical part of the window frame which forms a side of the window frame, and a joint assembly for allowing the header cover to be fixed to a predetermined region of the jamb cover, the joint assembly including a locking element extending from one of the jamb cover and the header cover and a retainer element arranged to the other of the jamb cover and the header cover, wherein the retainer element and the locking element are arranged in such a way that the locking element is engageable with the retainer element only when the outer edge of the jamb cover along the vertical part of the window frame is aligned with the outer edge of the header cover.

2. Arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the jamb cover further includes a holding member for engagement in use with an aperture defined in the window frame, the holding member allowing the positional relation between the jamb cover and the vertical part of the window frame.

3 Arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the holding member comprises a stud.

4. Arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the locking element is an extended flange portion having a shoulder and a locking tab extending sideways from the flange portion for engagement in use respectively with the retainer element.

5. Arrangement as claimed in claim 4 in which the retainer element has a pair of ribs and a flange which are arranged so as to define a first recess between the flange and one of the ribs and a second recess arranged along the length of the second rib for cooperation with respectively the shoulder and the locking tab.

6. Arrangement as claimed 5 in which the second recess is obtained by tooling.

7. Arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the header cover is extruded from aluminium alloy.

8. Arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the jamb cover is made from plastic material by moulding.

9. A motor vehicle having doors wherein at least one door comprises a trim arrangement according to any preceding claim.

10. A door for motor vehicle comprising a trim arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to8.

11. A trim arrangement arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Figs 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.