Draftex Industries Limited

Klaus P Maass

Peter Frommen

A sealing strip adjacent a slidable window glass in an automobile body, provides a sealing lip which is mounted on an air-tight hollow chamber having two relatively rigid sides stiffened by a metal carrier. The third side is a relatively flexible wall. Expansion of the chamber by air pressure pushes the flexible wall outwardly so that a leg pivots the lip out of engagement with the window glass. In this configuration, a further chamber can be expanded by air pressure so that a wiper is caused to move into contact with the face of the window glass. As the window glass is raised or lowered, this wiper removes moisture and prevents smearing. Partial evacuation of the chambers retracts the flexible wall, thus pulling the lip into sealing engagement with the window glass, and also causes the wiper to move out of contact with the glass. A water jet may also be provided to spray cleaning water onto the glass when in the closed position.

Sealing and wiping arrangement including inflatable chamber

A sealing arrangement for a window pane in a vehicle body which can be raised and lowered is shown. The body panel on the outside of the door carries a seal. This seal has an integral hinge region and the inherent resilience of the material biases the seal into a position in which a lip seals against the window pane. When a motor is energised, push rods push upwardly on the end of a leg and hinge the lip away from the window pane, thus permitting it to be easily raised or lowered. This leg is reinforced with a metal strip to enable the force produced by the push rod to be transmitted to the lip. In another embodiment, the lip is hinged away from the window pane by inflation of an air-tube, thus permitting it to be easily raised or lowered. When this air-tube is fully collapsed, the lip moves closer into contact with the window pane, enabling the window pane to be wiped or cleaned as it is moved downwardly.

Sealing arrangements

A retaining and sealing strip made of plastics or rubber, is supported in a channel running along the top of the window frame carried by a conventional vehicle door. The strip defines a hollow chamber running alongside the top of the window opening which, in conjunction with a lip, forms a channel in which is located the upper edge of the window glass. A wall of the chamber is pressed into sealing engagement with window glass by inflation of the hollow chamber. The upper part of the strip defines further hollow chambers, one having a relatively stiff wall hinged by a narrow neck. When this chamber is inflated, the top of the door is retained closed because any attempt at opening it results in interference between a shoulder carried by the stiff wall and a ridge formed on a relatively hard plastics or rubber retaining profile which is rivetted or stuck to the adjacent body part. When the two chambers are at least partially evacuated, the stiff wall hinges to provide clearance for opening of the door.

Sealing and retaining strips

A sealing strip for sealing against a raisable and lowerable window glass plane such as in a motor vehicle door, comprises a triangularly shaped air-tight hollow chamber having two relatively rigid sides stiffened by a metal carrier. The third side is a relatively flexible wall. A sealing lip is pivoted on one of the rigid sides and joined by a leg to an intermediate point on the flexible wall. Partial evacuation of the chamber causes the retracted flexible wall to pull the distal tip of the lip into sealing engagement with the window glass. An increase of air pressure within the chamber causes the flexible wall to move outwards so that the force transmitted via the leg pivots the lip and moves it out of sealing engagement with the window glass.

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Viersen, Germany

Klaus P Maass