U.S. patent application number 11/043767 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-23 for apparatus for attaching a seal to an encapsulated window assembly.
Invention is credited to Hicks, Thomas S., Lingle, Thomas M..
Application Number | 20050132564 11/043767 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30773087 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050132564 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hicks, Thomas S. ; et
al. |
June 23, 2005 |
Apparatus for attaching a seal to an encapsulated window
assembly
Abstract
A seal attachment fixture is provided for attaching a seal to an
encapsulated gasket disposed on a work piece, for example, an
automotive window assembly. The seal attachment fixture includes
wedge portions, which slidably move into contact with openable lip
portions on the gasket, thus exposing a retention slot defined
therein. With the gasket retention slot open, a seal is then
inserted within the slot.
Inventors: |
Hicks, Thomas S.; (Allen,
MI) ; Lingle, Thomas M.; (Temperance, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARSHALL & MELHORN
FOUR SEAGATE, EIGHT FLOOR
TOLEDO
OH
43604
US
|
Family ID: |
30773087 |
Appl. No.: |
11/043767 |
Filed: |
January 26, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11043767 |
Jan 26, 2005 |
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10442470 |
May 21, 2003 |
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6874218 |
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60398454 |
Jul 25, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
29/717 ; 29/446;
29/450; 29/451 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 29/49872 20150115;
Y10T 29/53683 20150115; Y10T 29/49863 20150115; Y10T 29/4987
20150115; B60J 10/45 20160201; Y10T 29/53657 20150115; Y10T
29/53843 20150115; Y10T 29/53074 20150115; Y10T 29/49826
20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
029/717 ;
029/446; 029/450; 029/451 |
International
Class: |
F21V 029/00; B23P
011/02 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A seal insertion fixture comprising at least one fixture member,
the fixture member capable of contacting a gasket that is affixed
to at least a portion of a work piece, the gasket having a pair of
openable lip portions and a retention slot portion therebetween;
wherein, when the fixture member contacts the exterior of at least
one of the openable lip portions of the gasket, the lip portion
opens, thus exposing the retention slot for seal insertion.
2. The seal insertion fixture of claim 1, further comprising a
drive for moving the fixture member.
3. The seal insertion fixture of claim 2, further comprising a
rotating hub mechanism rotatably attached to the drive.
4. The seal insertion fixture of claim 3, wherein the rotating hub
mechanism has at least two arms, a first end of each arm pivotably
attached to the rotating hub mechanism and a second end of each arm
pivotably attached to separate wedge portions.
5. The seal insertion fixture of claim 4, wherein the wedge
portions are aligned with separate lip portions that are disposed
on a side of the gasket opposite of where the gasket is disposed on
the work piece, each wedge portion being slidably attached to at
least two rails.
6. The seal insertion fixture of claim 5, wherein the seal is
flexible and the gasket is relatively rigid.
7. The seal insertion fixture of claim 6, further comprising
locating stops, where the work piece, on which the gasket has been
affixed, has been initially placed.
8. The seal insertion fixture of claim 7, further comprising a
plate, to which the drive and locating stops are attached.
9. The seal insertion fixture of claim 8, wherein the locating
stops are adjustably attached to the plate.
10. The seal insertion fixture of claim 1, further comprising
locating stops, where the work piece, on which the gasket has been
affixed, has been initially placed.
11. A fixture for attaching a flexible seal to a relatively rigid
gasket, the relatively rigid gasket having openable lip portions
that define a retention slot therebetween on a side of the gasket
opposite the side of the gasket disposed upon a work piece,
comprising: a plate; a drive attached to the plate; a rotating hub
mechanism rotatably attached to the drive, and having at least two
arms, a first end of each arm pivotably attached to the rotating
hub mechanism; separate wedge portions pivotably attached to a
second end of each arm, where the wedge portions are aligned with
the lip portions of the seal and each wedge portion is slidably
attached to at least two rails; and at least three locating stops
that are adjustably attached to the plate.
12. The seal fixture of claim 11, wherein the gasket is
encapsulated onto the periphery of the work piece, which work piece
is an automotive glazing.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
119(e), of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/398,454,
filed Jul. 25, 2002 under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 111(b), which
application is incorporated herein in its entirety.
[0002] This application is a divisional application of and claims
benefit, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120, of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/442,470, filed May 21, 2003, now, U.S. Pat.
No. 6,______, which application is incorporated herein in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a seal attachment
fixture and, more particularly, to a seal attachment fixture for an
encapsulated window assembly. Most particularly, the present
invention relates to a seal attachment fixture for attaching a seal
to an automotive window with an encapsulated gasket. A method for
operating such a seal attachment apparatus is also disclosed.
[0004] Encapsulated window assemblies are well known in the art,
where a first side of the gasket has been disposed onto at least a
portion of the periphery of the window. The encapsulated window
assembly may also include a means to: 1) mount the window assembly
to a vehicle, 2) to minimize chipping and breaking of the window,
and 3) to reduce noise, wind, and moisture from entering the
vehicle. In addition, the encapsulated window assembly should be
aesthetically pleasing.
[0005] Although the gasket is composed of plastic/rubber, the
gasket material is typically relatively rigid and not flexible
enough to allow a second side of the gasket to completely prevent
noise, wind, and moisture from entering the vehicle. For this
reason it is common to provide additional means to more reliably
seal out these environmental elements.
[0006] One means that is used is to attach a more flexible
plastic/rubber seal to the second side of the gasket. In the past
the attachment of the seal to the gasket has been accomplished by
using a gasket that has a female feature and/or retention slot
defined along the second side, wherein the retention slot has lips
covering the retention slot opening.
[0007] Next, a male portion of the seal is disposed within the
gasket by manually spreading the lips apart at the opening of the
gasket retention slot so as to allow entry of a male portion of the
seal. When the male portion of the seal is completely in place in
that portion of the retention slot, the lips of the gasket are
released, which results in the seal being firmly seated.
[0008] This manual operation is continued until the entire male
portion of the seal is firmly seated within the gasket. Thus, when
the window is attached to a vehicle, the exterior portion of the
seal is available to completely seal an area between the gasket and
a vehicle aperture mounting surface.
[0009] There are, however, drawbacks to the abovementioned manual
attachment of the seal. For example, an installer can damage the
seal, the gasket, or window during manual seal installation. Also,
by attaching the seal manually within the gasket, the gasket may
become bunched. Both of these drawbacks can result in the leakage
of noise, wind, and moisture into the vehicle compartment. In
addition, manual attachment is time consuming and, therefore,
costly.
[0010] Thus those skilled in the art continued to seek a solution
to the problem of how to provide a more reliable seal attachment
means for an automotive window and at a lower cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention relates to a seal attachment fixture
that is used for attaching a flexible seal to a relatively rigid
gasket, the gasket having openable lip portions on a second side of
the gasket, opposite a first side of the gasket that is disposed
upon a work piece. The gasket may extend around at least a portion
of the work piece. The work piece is preferably an encapsulated
automotive window assembly.
[0012] The fixture comprises at least one fixture member and at
least one locating stop for holding a work piece. The work piece
includes at least a portion of a gasket having lip portions that
define a retention slot therebetween. When the fixture member is
moved into contact with the gasket, the fixture member urges the
lip portions to open, thus exposing the retention slot for seal
insertion.
[0013] A method of attaching the seal to the gasket is provided
where the gasket is disposed on the work piece that is positioned
on the seal attachment fixture, the work piece having openable lip
portions that define the retention slot therebetween. The method
comprises: 1) urging the separate fixture member into contact with
the openable lip portions of the gasket, wherein the fixture
members cause the lips of the gasket to open, and thereby to expose
the retention slot defined within the gasket, 2) inserting a
portion of the flexible seal into the gasket by inserting a male
portion of the seal between the open lip portions of the gasket, 3)
moving the fixture members out of contact with the gasket, thus
allowing the lips of the gasket to close over the male portion of
the flexible seal, and 4) removing the work piece with attached
seal from the fixture.
[0014] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will
be apparent from the following description and appended claims,
reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of
a specification, wherein like reference characters designate
corresponding parts of several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a seal attachment fixture, with
arms extended, in accordance with the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seal attachment
fixture of FIG. 1 with arms retracted, taken along the 2-2 line of
FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded cutaway cross-sectional view of the
work piece with gasket, seal, and fixture member of FIG. 2;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an exploded cutaway cross-sectional view of an
edge of an assembled work piece with seal disposed within the
gasket, in accordance with the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the seal of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The present invention involves a seal attachment fixture 10
as shown in FIG. 1, where a work piece 22, for example, an
automotive window with encapsulated gasket 24, is positioned within
the seal attachment fixture 10.
[0021] The seal attachment fixture 10 comprises a plate 26 (shown
in FIG. 2), a drive 42 that is attached to the plate 26, a rotating
hub mechanism 12, which is rotatably attached to the drive 42, and
having at least two arms 18, but preferably four arms 18. A first
end of each arm 18 is pivotably attached to the rotating hub
mechanism 12, while a second end of each arm 18 is pivotably
attached to separate fixture members 14 that are slidably attached
to at least two rails 28. The seal attachment fixture 10 also
comprises at least one locating stops 16, but preferably a minimum
of three (see FIG. 1), which are attached to the plate 26 and
possibly adjustably attached to the plate 26.
[0022] Initially, as FIG. 1 illustrates, the rotating hub mechanism
12 is rotated by the drive 42, for example, a pneumatic cylinder,
an electric motor, a hydraulic mechanism, or other rotating means
that are known in the art, in a first direction to extend the arms
18. The extension of the arms 18 provides clearance between the
fixture members 14 and the work piece, so that the work piece 22
can be positioned on the locating stops 16. The locating stops 16,
which are positioned between the slidable fixture members 14 and
inside of the gasket, are aligned with openable gasket lip portions
34 (refer to FIG. 3). With the arms 18 extended, as so described,
the lips 34 are not in contact with the fixture members 14.
[0023] Next, the rotating hub mechanism 12 is rotated by the drive
42 in a second direction so that the arms 18 are retracted, which
causes the fixture members 14 to come into contact with the lips
34. This results in the fixture members 14 spreading the lips 34
open and exposing a retention slot 32. The retention slot 32 is
preferably defined within the gasket 24 on a side opposite a side
of the gasket 24 that is disposed on the work piece 22.
[0024] A male portion 36 of a seal 20, as shown in FIG. 5, is
inserted between the lips 34 and within the retention slot 32
(shown in FIG. 3) throughout the gasket 24. Insertion of the seal
20 may be by any appropriate method, for example, manually or
robotically.
[0025] When the complete male portion 36 has been inserted into the
retention slot 32 around at least a portion of the periphery of the
gasket 24, the rotating hub mechanism 10 is rotated in the first
direction so as to extend the arms 18. This rotation causes the
arms 18 to slide the fixture members 14 out of contact with the
lips 34, which close over the male portion 36 of the seal 20.
[0026] Thus, the work piece 22 is removed from the locating stops
16 with the seal male portion 36 attached to the gasket 24, while a
seal exterior portion 38 is exposed outside of the gasket 24. This
exterior portion 38 is then available for creating sealable contact
between the work piece 22 and an automotive vehicle window aperture
(not shown).
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the seal
attachment fixture of FIG. 1, taken along the 2-2 line of FIG. 1,
however, with the arms 18 retracted. Therein are shown the fixture
members 14 causing the lips 34 to be spread apart and exposing the
gasket retention slot 32. FIG. 3 shows an exploded cutaway
cross-sectional view of the work piece 22 with the lips 34 spread
apart and the retention slot 32 exposed. It should be noted that
the present invention may be practiced as shown where the fixture
member 14 is pointed at the point of contact with the lips 34, but
may also be non-pointed (not shown) and still be within the spirit
and scope of the invention.
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded cutaway cross-sectional view
of an edge of an assembled work piece 22 with the seal 20 disposed
within the gasket retention slot 32. Shown in FIG. 5 is a
cross-sectional view of the seal 20 with the male portion 36 and
the exterior portion 38. The encapsulated gasket 24 may be composed
of any suitable thermoplastic or thermoset material. The seal 20
may be composed of any suitable extrudable plastic material.
[0029] A method of attaching the flexible seal 20 to the rigid
gasket 24 is provided where the gasket 24 is disposed on the work
piece 22, for example, an encapsulated window assembly, that is
positioned on the seal attachment fixture 10, the work piece 22
having openable lip portions 34 that define the retention slot 32
therebetween. The method comprises: 1) urging the separate fixture
members 14 into contact with the openable lip portions 34 of the
gasket 24, wherein the fixture members 14 cause the lips 34 of the
gasket 24 to open, and thereby to expose the retention slot 32
defined within the gasket 24, 2) inserting a portion of the
flexible seal 20 into the gasket 24 by inserting a male portion of
the seal 36 between the open lip portions 34 of the gasket 24, 3)
moving the fixture members 14 out of contact with the gasket 24,
thus allowing the lips 34 of the gasket 24 to close over the male
portion 36 of the flexible seal 20, and 4) removing the work piece
22 with attached seal 20 from the fixture 10.
[0030] In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes,
the principles and modes of operation of this invention have been
described and illustrated in its preferred embodiments. However, it
must be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise
than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing
from its spirit or scope.
* * * * *