US3290826A

US3290826A - Channel section window guides

Info

Publication number: US3290826A
Application number: US379158A
Authority: US
Inventors: Weimar Erich
Original assignee: Draftex Ltd
Current assignee: Draftex Ltd
Priority date: 1964-04-17
Filing date: 1964-06-30
Publication date: 1966-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 1983-12-13
Also published as: GB1022704A; DE1509266A1; ES301890A1

Description

Dec. 13, 1966 E. WEIMAR CHANNEL SECTION WINDOW GUIDES /Nl/f/VTUR WE1 MAR vizir.,

Filed June 50, 1964 f/ZICH BY *DF/brui {TA/nz mm1@ Y /LRSC H TTORNEYSVM United States Patent O 3,290,826 CHANNEL SECTION WINDOW GUIDES Erich Weimar, Viersen, Rhineland, Germany, assignor to Draftex Limited, Coventry, England Filed June 30, 1964, Ser. No. 379,158 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 17, 1964, 16,046/ 64 3 Claims. (Cl. 49--440) This invention relates to channel section window guides, and particularly to window guides for the windows of motor vehicles. Suchy guides as at present manufactured are of channel section material and fitted into channel shaped metal supports.

The chief object ofthe invention is to evolve a window guide which can be easily and economica-lly manufactured, which will be firmly held Within its associated support without the use of adhesive or other fastening means and at the same time will be efficient in use by v ensuring any easy sliding movement of the associated window without rattle.

Furthermore, windows particularly on motor vehicles, are generally formed with radiused corners and consequently it is necessary for the window guide to be bent to a small radius of curvature without any undue opening or closing of the flanges of the channel section guide las a result of such bending movement.

A further object of the invent-ion therefore is to evolve a window guide which will not be subject to such opening or closing movement when bent to a curve of small radius.

A channel section window guide in accordance with the present invention includes a channel section reinforcing member and a moulded on or extruded on enclosing covering of a mouldable or extrudable material, the internal surface of the covering including window engaging faces having a flock or other covering which will resiliently engage the window but at the same time permit of free sliding movement.

Although it is within the scope of the invention to construct the reinforcing member from any suitable material such as for example Wire bent into zig-zag form, it is preferred to bend it up from `a metal blank comprising a series of spaced transverse ribs connected together at points intermediate their length by connecting portions, the connecting portions when the blank has been bent into channel section, occupying a position substantially midway of the depth of the reinforcing member corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the reinforcing member along which bending movement Will take place when the window guide is bent in the plane of the window. By so positioning the connecting portions which are preferably of compartively narrow width in relation to the ribs, there will be little or no tendency for the channel to open or close as a result of such bending movement.A

Referring to the accompanying drawing:

FIGURE l is Ia cross-section of the guide in its original flat form;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional perspective view of the guide bent into channel shape and coated internally with ock material;

FIGURE 3 lis a sectional perspective view of the guide in position Within a metal channel-shaped support;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a part of a metal reinforcing member suitable for incorporation into the guide.

The window guide illustrated is initially of the iiat form shown in FIGUR-E 1, the guide being extruded from a suitable plastics material onto an internal metal reinforcing member, the member for example being of the shape shown in FIGURE 4. The reinforcing member comprises a series of spaced transverse ribs 1 connected rice together by spaced connecting portions 2 of comparatively narrow Width.

The reinforcing member as shown clearly in the drawings lies substantially Vmidway of the thickness of the plastics material, the plastics material extending well beyond the longitudinal edges of the reinforcing member.

The plastics covered reinforcing member -as it emerges from the die of the extruder will be of the flat form shown in FIGURE 1 but is ultimately bent into the channel shape shown in FIGURE 2.

Before being bent into the channel shape shown in FIGURE 2 the plastics covering is coated. on its three at internal faces 3 with a flock coating 4,. the flock being applied in any suitable way as for example elec-V trostatically in known manner, the flock engaging the opposite faces and edge of the window glass and ensuring easy sliding movement of the window without rattle, the glass being shown by chain dotted lines in FIG- URE 3 and indicated by reference numeral 5.

It will be seen that the plastics covering is comparatively thick on the inner surface of the reinforcing member where the fiat faces 3 lie the three faces being connected by compartively thin portions 6 which allow easy bending of the section into the channel shape shown in FIGURE 2.

It will be seen that the central flat face 3 has assumed a bowed shape whilst the outer flat faces 3 diverge towards the mouth of the channel.

The reinforcing member is constructed from steel or other suitable resilient material and consequently when the guide is pressed into the channel section support 8 as in FIGURE 3 the three faces 3 will all be fiat, the outer faces lying parallel with the wind-ow glass 5.

The plastics covering is thickened at 7 so that it makes line or substantially line engagement with the inner faces of the parallel sides of the channel shaped support 8 to hold the guide firmly in position therein by friction between the contacting parts.

As in most cases it will be necessary to bend the guide in the plane containing the Window glass as for example at the radiused corners of the window, the connecting parts 2 of the reinforcing member preferably lie substantially midway of the depth of the guide, the connecting parts lying within the comparatively thin parts of the extrusion and on or substantially on the neutral axis of the guide along which the guide will bend. The connecting parts 2 being comparatively narrow in width will either bend or possibly break in the bending process thus facilitating the bending process of the guide and enabling it to be bent sharply when required.

The parts 7 of the guide provide high pressure engagement with the walls of the channel-shaped support, the diverging form of the guide enabling the parts 7 to exert considerable lateral pressure on the walls and hold the guide firmly in position. Any suitable mouldable or extrudable material may be used as the covering for the reinforcing member but it is preferred to use a thermo-plastic synthetic resin composition or a comparatively hard natural or synthetic rubber.

In the case of the reinforcing member being constructed from wire bent into zig-zag formation, the wire ribs may be connected together by stitching to maintain the parts in correctly spaced relationship when passing through the extruder, the stitches preferably occupying the position occupied by the connecting portions of the metal or other blank.

I claim:

1. A channel section Window guide comprising an elongated resilient member having an internal core embedded therein, said guide being substantially Ushaped in cross section having a base and a pair of legs, said core comprising a plurality of spaced parallel strips of flexible sheet metal extending transversely of the length of the guide member, each of said strips being substantially U-shiaped in cross section having a base and a pair of legs, the end of which are spaced from the ends of said guide member, a plurality of relatively narrow connector ribs joining the adjacent transverse strips, and eX- tending longitudinally of the guide member, said resilient member being internally thickened on each side of the legs of the core at the ends thereof and being internally thickened on the inner side of the base of the core, the inner surface `of the thickened portions being substantially at, said Iconnector portions being located at the thinner Iregions of the resilient member on each side of the base thereof, each of said at surfaces having a flexible coating to permit free sliding movement of the Window.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which a U-shaped channel lmember is provided to receive said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,530,695 3/ 1925 Randall. 2,726,894 12/1955 Bugbee. 2,821,430 l/l958 Grede. 2,847,247 8/ 1958 Kramer. 3,108,338 10/1963 Stec.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

P. GOODMAN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A CHANNEL SECTION WINDOW GUIDE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED RESILIENT MEMBER HAVING AN INTERNAL CORE EMBEDDED THEREIN, SAID GUIDE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED IN CROSS SECTION HAVING A BASE AND A PAIR OF LEGS, SAID CORE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SPACED PARALLEL STRIPS OF FLEXIBLE SHEET METAL EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE LENGTH OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, EACH OF SAID STRIPS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED IN CROSS SECTION HAVING A BASE AND A PAIR OF LEGS, THE END OF WHICH ARE SPACED FROM THE ENDS OF SAID GUIDE MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY NARROW CONNECTOR RIBS JOINING THE ADJACENT TRANSVERSE STRIPS, AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, SAID RESILIENT MEMBER BEING INTERNALLY THICKENED ON EACH SIDE OF THE LEGS OF THE CORE AT THE ENDS THEREOF AND BEING INTERNALLY THICKENED ON THE INNER SIDE OF THE BASE OF THE CORE, THE INNER SURFACE OF THE THICKENED PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, SAID CONNECTOR PORTIONS BEING LOCATED AT THE THINNER REGIONS OF THE RESILIENT MEMBER ON EACH SIDE OF THE BASE THEREOF, EACH OF SAID FLAT SURFACES HAVING A FLEXIBLE COATING TO PERMIT FREE SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE WINDOW.