The present invention relates to a weather strip to be attached to a door panel of an automobile by an attaching means except for a retainer.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, related arts are explained below. A full door type door panel 20 of an automobile usually comprising an outer panel 22 and inner panel 21. On the inner panel 21, there is provided a retainer 53 for attaching a weather strip 50 to the inner panel 21. At a connecting portion of both panels, and also at a connecting portion of the inner panel 21 with the retainer 53, a sealant 54 is coated for prevention of rust as shown in FIG. 1.
However, according to the above-described technique, the following problems may be encountered. Since the rust prevention sealant 54 is coated as described above, the weather strip 50 attached to the door panel 20 interferes with this rust prevention sealant 54. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain a stable sealability between the weather strip 50 and the door panel 20.
In order to ensure a stable sealability of the entire weather strip, it is necessary to strongly fasten the weather strip 50 with the retainer 53 so that the weather strip 50 can be fixed. However, since the weather strip 50 is incorporated into the retainer in a state of simple insertion, the weather strip 50 slips when the door is opened and closed, which possibly deteriorates the sealability. Further, at an end portion of the retainer 53, a step portion, the height of which corresponds to the wall thickness of the retainer 53, is created between the retainer 53 and the inner panel 21. Accordingly, the sealability is damaged at this step portion. For the above reasons, when consideration is given to ensuring the sealability between the weather strip 50 and the door panel 20, it is preferable not to provide the retainer 53.
As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of a weather strip 50 having no retainers 53, it is proposed a means for ensuring the sealability of the door panel 20 by providing a small lip 52 which protrudes from an upper end portion of the base portion 51 and comes into elastic contact with the inner panel 21. However, the thus composed small lip 52 gets on a small arc portion 25 formed on the inner panel 21, so that the stable sealability can not be ensured. The reason why the stable sealability can not be ensured is described as follows. When the small lip 52 gets on the small arc portion 25, the sealability in this portion is lowered, and further the small lip 52 which has gotten on the small arc portion 25 does not sufficiently give a elastically contacting force by which a lower face of the base portion 51 of the weather strip 50 comes into elastic contact with the inner panel 21. For the above reasons, even when a highly expanded sponge member 17 or an adhesive double coated tape is provided on the lower face of the base portion 51, it is difficult to obtain a stable sealability. In this case, specific gravity of the highly expanded sponge member is usually in a range from 0.1 to 0.3.
Furthermore, when an adhesive tape is used, it needs an additional step of peeling off a mold releasing paper of the adhesive tape, taking undesirable time and a labor.
Thus, concerning the weather strip 50 attached to the retainer 53 provided on a conventional full door type door panel 20 of an automobile, it is difficult to stably ensure the sealability between the weather strip and the door panel 20. Further, since the small strip 52 provided at an upper end portion of the base portion 51 gets on the small arc portion 25 on the door panel 20, the sealability between the weather strip and the door panel 20 is deteriorated.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide a retainerless weather strip capable of providing stable sealability thorough the entire length thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an attaching structure of a door weather strip by which the weight and cost of the weather strip can be reduced and further the time and labor to attach the weather strip can be reduced.
Other objects and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
The above-described objects of the present invention have been achieved by providing the following weather strips and weather strip assemblies.
(1) A retainerless weather strip attached to a full door type door panel of an automobile by an attaching means except for a retainer, which comprises:
a base portion to be fixed to an attaching portion of the door panel by at least one of a clip and an adhesive double coated tape;
a hollow seal portion provided on an automobile interior side of the base portion so as to come into elastic contact with an automobile body;
a seal lip portion provided on an automobile exterior side of the base portion, the seal lip portion comprising an upper end portion and an intermediate portion, so that the upper end portion of the seal lip portion comes into elastic contact with an automobile body and that the intermediate portion of the seal lip portion comes into elastic contact with a door panel;
an end edge portion protruded from a lower end portion of the base portion on the automobile exterior side; and
a neck portion formed in a connecting portion of the base portion with the seal lip portion on the automobile exterior side.
(2) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (1), wherein the end edge portion is a small lip which obliquely and upwardly comes into elastic contact with a flat portion of the door panel.
(3) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (2), further comprising a highly expanded sponge member provided on a lower face of the base portion on the automobile exterior side.
(4) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (1), wherein the end edge portion comprises a portion made of a highly expanded sponge material.
(5) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (4), wherein the end edge portion is made of a highly expanded sponge material.
(6) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (4), wherein an upper half of the end edge portion is made of the same material as that of the main body of the weather strip and has a lip or protrusion provided thereon, and a lower half thereof is made of a highly expanded sponge material.
(7) The retainerless weather strip according to the above item (4), wherein an upper half of the end edge portion is made of a highly expanded sponge material, and a lower half thereof is made of the same material as that of the main body of the weather strip.
(8) A retainerless weather strip assembly comprising:
a retainerless weather strip according to the above item (4); and
an inner panel having an engaging recess for holding the end edge portion of the retainerless weather strip,
wherein the size of the end edge portion of the retainerless weather strip is larger than that of the engaging recess of the inner panel, and the end edge portion is press-fitted into the engaging recess.
(9) The retainerless weather strip assembly according to the above item (8), wherein the inner panel has a small drain groove on a bottom face of the engaging recess.
(10) The retainerless weather strip assembly according to the above item (8), wherein the end edge portion is made of a highly expanded sponge material.
(11) The retainerless weather strip assembly according to the above item (8), wherein an upper half of the end edge portion is made of the same material as that of the main body of the weather strip and has a lip or protrusion provided thereon, and a lower half thereof is made of a highly expanded sponge material.
(12) The retainerless weather strip assembly according to the above item (8), wherein an upper half of the end edge portion is made of a highly expanded sponge material, and a lower half thereof is made of the same material as that of the main body of the weather strip.