Sealing arrangement for a motor vehicle window pane

Abstract

A sealing arrangement for a vehicle window is described. The sealing arrangement includes a retaining rail having a latching channel that is formed by a guide rail and a spring leg having a latch hook, the retaining rail being affixed to a window pane. The sealing arrangement further includes a cover having a guide channel that is formed by a positioning stop and by a latching rail having a locking element. The guide rail is arranged in the guide channel and the latching rail is arranged in the latching channel.

Claims

1. A sealing arrangement for a motor vehicle window pane, comprising: a holding rail having a latching channel that is formed by a guide rail and a spring leg with a latch hook, wherein the holding rail is affixed on a window pane; and a cover having a guide channel that is formed by a positioning stop and a latching rail having a locking element, wherein the guide rail is arranged in the guide channel, and the latching rail is arranged in the latching channel, wherein the latch hook is latched onto the locking element, such that a convexly curved engagement guide surface of the latch hook is guided along an engagement sliding edge of the locking element, wherein a spring element is tensioned in the guide channel between a contact surface on the underside of the cover and the guide rail, and wherein the convexly curved engagement guide surface has a local radius of curvature r.sub.EF of 1.5*b to 5.0*b, where b is a maximum deflection of the latch hook.

2. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the convexly curved engagement guide surface is arranged in a distal region of the latch hook facing the locking element.

3. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the convexly curved engagement guide surface has a local radius of curvature r.sub.EF of 2.0*b to 4.0*b.

4. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the local radius of curvature of the convexly curved engagement guide surface is constant.

5. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the spring element is implemented, in cross-section, as a single lip and, together with the guide rail, seals and supports the contact surface on the underside of the cover between the positioning stop and the latching rail.

6. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the engagement sliding edge has a radius of curvature r.sub.EG of 0.05*b to 0.5*b.

7. The sealing arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the engagement sliding edge has a radius of curvature r.sub.EG of 0.2*b to 0.4*b.

8. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the spring leg is deflectable.

9. The sealing arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the spring leg is deflectably connected to the holding rail and the latching rail is rigid.

10. The sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the locking element includes an unlatching guide surface with a first section with the contour of an inclined plane and a second section with a convexly curved contour.

11. The sealing arrangement according to claim 10, wherein a latching angle between the first section and a release direction is less than arctan(1/.sub.0), where .sub.0 is the coefficient of friction between the latch hook and the locking element.

12. The sealing arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the latching angle is from 62 to 85.

13. The sealing arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the second section has a local radius of curvature r.sub.AF of 0.5*b to 5.0*b.

14. The sealing arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the second section has a local radius of curvature r.sub.AF of 1.0*b to 3.0*b.

15. The sealing arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the second section has a constant radius of curvature r.sub.AF of 0.5*b to 5.0*b.

16. The sealing arrangement according to claim 15, wherein the second section has a constant radius of curvature r.sub.AF of 1.0*b to 3.0*b.

17. The sealing arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the length of the first section is from 20% to 80% of the length of the unlatching guide surface.

18. The sealing arrangement according to claim 17, wherein the length of the first section is from 40% to 60% of the length of the unlatching guide surface.

19. A method for producing a sealing arrangement, comprising: bonding a holding rail to a pane via an adhesive bond; arranging a guide rail within a guide channel of a cover; pressing the cover having a latching rail into a latching channel beyond a latch hook under tensioning of a spring element between the guide rail and a contact surface on an underside of the cover, such that an engagement sliding edge of a locking element of the latching rail is guided along a convexly curved engagement guide surface of the latch hook; and relaxing the spring element so that that latching latch hook is engaged on the locking element of the latching rail.

20. A method for releasing the sealing arrangement produced according to claim 19, comprising guiding an unlatching sliding edge of the latch hook along an inclined plane of a first section of an unlatching guide surface of the locking element, wherein the unlatching sliding edge is guided along a convexly curved contour of a second section of the unlatching guide surface.

21. A method of using of the sealing arrangement produced according to claim 10, wherein the pane is a windshield or rear window.

22. A method of using of the sealing arrangement produced according to claim 10, wherein the pane is a windshield, and wherein the cover is configured as a water box.

Description

(1) In the following, the invention is explained in detail with reference to drawings. The drawings are a purely schematic representation and not true to scale. They in no way restrict the invention.

(2) They depict:

(3) FIG. 1 a cross-section of the sealing arrangement according to the invention,

(4) FIG. 2 an enlarged cross-section of the locked spring element,

(5) FIG. 3 an enlarged cross-section of the latch hook and of the locking element during engagement,

(6) FIG. 4 an enlarged cross-section of a latch hook and of a locking element according to the prior art,

(7) FIGS. 5A and 5B enlarged cross-sections of the latch hook and of the locking element according to the prior art of FIG. 4,

(8) FIG. 6 a diagram of the engagement forces during the engagement procedure,

(9) FIG. 7 a flowchart of the method according to the invention for producing the sealing arrangement,

(10) FIGS. 8A and 8B enlarged cross-sections of an alternative embodiment of the locking element according to the invention, and

(11) FIG. 9 a diagram of the engagement forces during the engagement procedure.

(12) FIG. 1 depicts a cross-section of the sealing arrangement according to the invention. A pane 1, preferably a composite glass pane, is bonded to a holding rail 3 via an adhesive bond 2. The holding rail 3 serves for connecting a motor vehicle component, preferably a water box, to the pane 1. The holding rail 3 comprises a latching channel 4, with the latching channel 4 formed by a guide rail 5 and a spring leg 6. The holding rail 3 can, optionally, include a reinforcing insert 15. The reinforcing insert 15 preferably includes metals and elastic plastics and can also increase the stiffness of the holding rail 3. A cover 7, preferably of a water box, forms, with a latching rail 9 and a positioning stop 10, a guide channel 8. The guide rail 5 implemented as part of the holding rail 3 is arranged in the guide channel 8 and seals the guide channel 8 with a spring element 11. For clarity, reference character 11 depicts the spring element 11 in a non-tensioned state. At the same time, the latching rail 9 is engaged in the latching channel 4 on a spring leg 6 and ensures reliable fixing of the cover 7. The spring element 11, preferably in the form of a polymeric, rubber-containing, and elastic lip, is tensioned in the guide channel 8 between a contact surface 12 on the underside of the cover 7 and the guide rail 5. The spring element 11 is preferably implemented, in cross-section, as a single finger-shaped lip without additional recesses or protrusions. As described above, the spring element 11 seals, together with the guide rail 5 and preferably a supporting bulge 13, the contact surface 12 on the underside of the cover 7 between the positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9. At the same time, the spring element 11 supports the cover 7 on the latching rail 3. The latching rail 9 and the spring leg 6 are arranged preferably parallel or substantially parallel to each other.

(13) The locking is done by a latch hook 14 of the spring leg 6 and by a locking element 16 of the latching rail 9, for example, a locking tab, a recess, or a bulge.

(14) The latch hook 14 has, on the side facing the latching rail 9, in the distal region, an engagement guide surface 17. Here, distal region of the latch hook means the region of the latch hook 14 facing away from the connection point between the spring leg 6 and the holding rail 3. The locking element 16 has, on the side facing the spring leg 6, in its distal region, an engagement sliding edge 18. Here, distal region of the locking element 16 means the region of the locking element 16 facing away from the connection point between the latching rail 9 and the cover 7.

(15) The positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9 are arranged preferably parallel or with a slight opening angle relative to each other. This arrangement enables, together with the spring element 11 and the supporting bulge 13 on the guide rail 5, a leakproof closure of the latching channel 4 and of the intermediate space between the cover 7, the latching rail 3, and the pane 1.

(16) FIG. 2 depicts an enlarged cross-section of the locked spring element. The region of the cover 7 depicted includes the positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9. The contact surface 12 is formed by the intermediate space between the positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9. The positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9 are arranged preferably parallel or in a V shape relative to each other. In the context of the invention, V-shaped also includes an averaged angular deviation between contact surface 12 and the imaginary averaged straight lines A and B through the positioning stop 10 and the latching rail of as much as 45. Preferred here is an arrangement of the straight lines A and B opening away from the contact surface 12. The angle (alpha) between the plane C of the contact surface 12 and the straight line A is, consequently, preferably from 90 to 135; the angle (beta) between the plane C of the contact surface 12 and the straight line B is preferably from 60 to 90. The spring element 11 is implemented, in cross-section, preferably finger-shaped or tongue-shaped and seals, together with the guide rail 5 and the supporting bulge 13, the contact surface 12 and the space on the right (not shown in the figure) between the cover 7 and the pane 1 (not shown). At the same time, the spring element 11 preferably has a Shore hardness from Shore A 50 to Shore A 75 as well as a length of 3 mm to 6 mm. The spring element compressed in the installed state presses against the positioning stop 10 and the latching rail 9 and thus enables centering without actual locking. In addition, the spring element 6 is flexible enough that it can compensate production tolerances in the guide channel 8.

(17) FIG. 3 depicts the basic contour of a spring leg 6 with a latch hook 14 and the latching rail 9 with the locking element 16 of FIG. 1 during the engagement procedure in an enlarged cross-sectional representation.

(18) The latch hook 14 has, on the side facing the rail 9, in the distal region, an engagement guide surface 17. The engagement guide surface 17 is convexly curved. Here, the engagement guide surface 17 has, for example, the shape of a circular segment with a radius of curvature of the engagement guide surface r.sub.EF of 2 mm. The locking element 16 has, on the side facing the spring leg 6, in its distal region, an engagement sliding edge 18.

(19) The engagement sliding edge 18 has here, for example, the shape of a circular segment with a radius of curvature of the engagement sliding edge r.sub.EG of 0.15 mm. In this example, the maximum deviation b of the latch hook 14 is 0.7 mm, which corresponds here substantially to the width of the locking element 16.

(20) During the engagement procedure, an engagement force F.sub.E is exerted on the cover. The engagement sliding edge 18 strikes the tangent of the engagement guide surface 17 of the latch hook 14 at a wedge angle (phi). The engagement force F.sub.E strikes the latch hook 14 at the contact point between the engagement sliding edge 18 and the engagement guide surface 17 and is converted into a transverse force such that the latch hook 14 is moved away from the latching rail 9 by the transverse force under tensioning of the spring leg 6. The engagement force F.sub.E necessary depends on the restoring force of the spring leg 6, the friction between the engagement guide surface 17 and the engagement sliding edge 18, and, in particular, on the wedge angle between the direction of the engagement force F.sub.E and the tangent to the engagement guide surface 17.

(21) FIG. 4 depicts an enlarged cross-section of a latch hook 14 and of a locking element 16 according to the prior art during an engagement procedure. FIGS. 5A and 5B again depict enlarged cross-sections of the latch hook 14 and of the locking element 16 according to the prior art of FIG. 4.

(22) The latch hook 14 according to the prior art has, on its distal side, in other words, on its side facing away from the connection point of the spring leg 6 and the holding rail 3, an engagement guide surface 17 in the form of an inclined plane. Moreover, the locking element 16 has, on its distal end, an engagement sliding edge 18.

(23) FIG. 5A depicts a first engagement position A, in which the engagement sliding edge 18 strikes the engagement guide surface 17. The engagement force F.sub.E strikes the engagement sliding edge 18 at the wedge angle .sub.1 on the inclined plane of the engagement guide surface 17. There, the engagement force F.sub.E is converted into a transverse force, which deflects the latch hook 14, under tensioning of the spring leg 6, from the latching rail 9.

(24) With further engagement, the engagement sliding edge 18 slides along the engagement guide surface 17, with the spring leg 6 being further tensioned. By means of the deflection of the latch hook 14 and by means of the firm tensioning of the spring leg 6 at the connection point to the holding rail 3, the inclined plane of the engagement guide surface 17 is further inclined relative to the direction of the engagement force F.sub.E.

(25) FIG. 5B depicts a second, later engagement position B. The wedge angle .sub.1 between the insertion direction and the inclined plane of the guide surface 17 has increased by the angle .sub.2. The engagement force F.sub.E that is necessary for inserting and locking the latch hook 14 into the locking element 16 is a function of the wedge angle between the insertion direction and the inclined plane of the guide surface 17, with the engagement force F.sub.E becoming greater with an increasing wedge angle .

(26) An engagement guide surface 17 according to the prior art in the form of an inclined plane thus has the disadvantage that with increasing deflection of the spring leg, the wedge angle between the engagement force F.sub.E and the inclined plane increases and, as a result, the engagement force F.sub.E necessary for the insertion increases greatly.

(27) In contrast, the engagement guide surface 17 according to the invention has, in cross-section, a convexly curved contour, as is depicted in FIG. 3. The convexly curved engagement guide surface 17 according to the invention has the effect of reducing or preventing enlargement of the wedge angle as it occurs with engagement guide surfaces 17 in the form of an inclined plane according to the prior art at the time of insertion. In other words, with convexly curved engagement guide surfaces 17 according to the invention, the wedge angle remains substantially constant and independent of the deflection of the spring leg 6.

(28) For better clarity, FIG. 6 depicts a diagram of the engagement forces F.sub.E during the engagement procedure. In each case, the engagement force F.sub.E is plotted over the engagement path in arbitrary units. The engagement path is the approach of the cover 7 to the holding rail 3. Only the change in the wedge angle through the deflection of the spring leg 6 is taken into account. Other influences, such as friction, are ignored.

(29) As a comparative example, the engagement force F.sub.E of a latch hook 14 according to the prior art of FIG. 4 with an engagement guide surface 17 in the form of an inclined plane is plotted. The engagement force F.sub.E increases progressively to a maximum value as the engagement path increases.

(30) As an example according to the invention, the engagement force F.sub.E of a latch hook 14 of FIG. 1 with a convexly curved engagement guide surface 17 according to the invention is depicted. Compared to the prior art, the engagement force F.sub.E increases more slowly. The maximum value of the engagement force F.sub.E is only roughly 50% of the maximum value of the comparative example. This result was unexpected and surprising for the person skilled in the art.

(31) FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of the method according to the invention for producing the sealing arrangement. In a first step, a holding rail 3 is bonded to a pane 1 via an adhesive bond 2 in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape. In a following step, a guide rail 5 is arranged within a guide channel 8 between a positioning stop 10 and a latching rail 9 of a cover 7. Then, the cover 7 is pressed with a latching rail 9 into a latching channel 4 beyond a latch hook 14 under tensioning of a spring element 11 between the guide rail 5 and a contact surface 12 on the underside of the cover 7. In the final step, the cover 7 moves back under relaxation of the spring element 11 and, in the process, the latch hook 14 is engaged on the locking element 16 of the latching rail 9.

(32) FIG. 8A depicts an enlarged cross-section of an alternative embodiment of the locking element according to the invention 16 with latch hook 14 in the locked state. The latch hook 14 is leaned with its unlatching sliding edge 20 against the unlatching guide surface 19, preferably at the starting edge, at which the locking element 16 borders the latching rail 9. The spring leg 6 is preferably relaxed or only slightly deflected.

(33) FIG. 8B depicts an enlarged cross-section of the locking element 16 of FIG. 8A. The unlatching guide surface 19 is divided into two sections: The first section 19.1 begins at the starting edge with which the locking element 16 adjoins the latching rail 9 and has an inclined plane with a latching angle of, for example, 65. A second section 19.2 in the form of a convexly curved surface is tangentially connected to the first section 19.2. This convexly curved section 19.2 of the unlatching guide surface 19 has, for example, a constant radius of curvature r.sub.AF of 2 mm. Also shown in detail is the engagement sliding edge 18 with a radius of curvature r.sub.EG of 0.15 mm.

(34) So that no self locking occurs at the time of unlatching of the latch hook 14, with a given coefficient of friction .sub.0, the latching angle must be designed such that <arctan(1/.sub.o). The latching angle in the locked position alone determines the securing of the latched position.

(35) At the time of the unlatching procedure, the unlatching sliding edge 20 slides along the unlatching guide surface 19 and, initially, along the first section 19.1. Since the unlatching guide surface 19 is arranged on the locking element 16 of the rigid latching rail 9, the wedge angle does not change. However, the unlatching force F.sub.A increases linearly with the deflection of the spring leg 6 to high forces, with the risk of overloading the latch hook 14 or the locking element 16 occurring.

(36) FIG. 9 depicts a diagram of the unlatching force F.sub.A plotted over the unlatching path. The comparative example according to the prior art is an unlatching guide surface 19, which consists of a single section in the form of an inclined plane with a fixed locking angle . The example is an unlatching guide surface 19 according to the invention, which consists of a first section 19.1 with the shape of an inclined plane and a second section 19.2 in the form of a circular segment.

(37) At the time of the unlatching procedure, both in the comparative example according to the prior art and in the example according to the invention, the unlatching force F.sub.A increases roughly linearly, since in both cases the unlatching sliding edge 20 of the latch hook 14 slides along an inclined plane of section 19.1, linear in its cross-section, of the unlatching guide surface 19. The linear increase is initially advantageous and desirable in order to ensure a high unlatching threshold and, thus, reliable locking that is protected against unintended unlatching.

(38) In the comparative example according to the prior art, the unlatching force F.sub.A rises all the way to very high values, resulting in the risk of damage to the latch hook 14 or to the locking element 16.

(39) In the example according to the invention, the unlatching sliding edge 20 slides over the second section 19.2 of the unlatching guide surface 19, which has a convex curvature. By means of the convex curvature, the wedge angle is reduced and compensates the increase in the unlatching force F.sub.A that is caused by the increasing deflection of the spring leg 6. As FIG. 9 depicts, the slope of the unlatching force F.sub.A in the Example 2 according to the invention decreases and reaches only roughly 50% of the maximum value of the comparative example according to the prior art.

(40) This was unexpected and surprising for the person skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

(41) 1 pane 2 adhesive bond 3 holding rail 4 latching channel 5 guide rail 6 spring leg 7 cover 8 guide channel 9 latching rail 10 positioning stop 11 spring element 12 contact surface 13 supporting bulge 14 latch hook 15 reinforcing insert 16 locking element, recesses or bulges 17 engagement guide surface 18 engagement sliding edge 19 unlatching guide surface 19.1 first section of the unlatching guide surface 19 19.2 second section of the unlatching guide surface 19 20 unlatching slide edge A, B straight line b maximum deflection of the latch hook 14 F.sub.A unlatching force F.sub.E engagement force r.sub.AF radius of curvature of the unlatching guide surface 19 r.sub.AG radius of curvature of the unlatching sliding edge 20 r.sub.EF radius of curvature of the engagement guide surface 17 r.sub.EG radius of curvature of the engagement sliding edge 18 , angle latching angle , .sub.1, .sub.2 wedge angle .sub.0 coefficient of friction between the latch hook 14 and the locking element 16