FOR A VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an elongate seal for providing a seal along a moveable windowpane for a vehicle. In particular, but not exclusively it relates to an elongate seal for providing a seal along a movable windowpane of a door of a road vehicle. Aspects of the invention relate to an elongate seal or providing a seal along a moveable windowpane of a vehicle, a door, and a vehicle.

BACKGROUND Side windows in car doors are generally supported at a lower edge by a window regulator which enables the window glass (or windowpane) to be moved up and down to close and open the window. Each of the side edges of the window glass is supported within a channel provided by an elongate seal referred to as a glass run seal. Some such windows have been designed so that the glass (i.e. the windowpane) is flush with adjacent outer components of the door. One problem with such flush fitting windows concerns how to maintain the position of the side edges of the windowpane.

It is an aim of the present invention to address disadvantages of the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide an elongate seal, a door and a vehicle as claimed in the appended claims. According to an aspect of the invention there is provided an elongate seal for providing a seal along a moveable windowpane for a vehicle the elongate seal comprising: a main body extending along at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal and a sidewall extending along at least a portion of the length of the main body to define a channel between the main body and the sidewall wherein: the sidewall defines a groove which faces away from the channel and extends along at least a portion of the length of the sidewall the sidewall comprises a first surface that faces the channel and that extends along said at least a portion of the length of the sidewall for maintaining a position of a moveable windowpane and the first surface is separated from the groove only by solid material that forms the sidewall.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an elongate seal for providing a seal along a moveable windowpane for a vehicle the elongate seal comprising: a main body extending along at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal and a sidewall extending along at least a portion of the length of the main body to define a channel between the main body and the sidewall wherein: the sidewall defines a groove which faces away from the channel and extends along at least a portion of the length of the sidewall the sidewall comprises a first surface that faces the channel and that extends along said at least a portion of the length of the sidewall for maintaining a position of a moveable windowpane and the first surface is separated from the groove only by solid material that forms the sidewall, said groove being arranged to receive a locating feature and comprising at least one locating surface arranged to abut an opposing surface of the locating feature.

This provides the advantage that a relatively rigid and accurately positioned component may be located within the groove to ensure that the first surface is accurately positioned. This enables a windowpane supported by the first surface to be accurately positioned.

In some embodiments the groove has an end face and the first surface extends substantially parallel to the end face. In some embodiments the main body is formed of a material having a first coefficient of friction and the first surface is provided by a material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction.

In some embodiments the sidewall comprises a second surface, which faces into the channel and extends along the length of the elongate seal at an angle to the first surface and over a side of the groove. The main body may be formed of a material having a first coefficient of friction and the second surface may be formed of a material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction. The second surface may extend at an angle of about 90 degrees to the first surface.

The second surface may be separated from the groove only by solid material that forms the sidewalk The groove may have a first side face and the second surface may extend substantially parallel to the first side face. The groove may have a second side face extending substantially parallel to the first side face.

In some embodiments the elongate seal comprises a first limb having a first limb surface for pressing against a windowpane to form a seal, the first limb extending along the length of the elongate seal and extending from the main body.

The main body may be formed of a material having a first coefficient of friction and the first limb surface may be provided by a layer of a material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction.

In some embodiments the elongate seal comprises a second limb having a second limb surface for pressing against a surface to form a seal, the second limb extending along the length of the elongate seal and extending from the main body.

The second limb surface may comprise a layer of a material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction.

In some embodiments the sidewall comprises a limb extending along the length of the elongate seal, and the limb has a surface for pressing against an edge of a windowpane to form a seal.

The main body is formed of a material having a first coefficient of friction and the surface of the limb of the sidewall is formed of a layer of material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction. This provides the advantage of preventing ingress of water from the outer side of the window into the channel between the sidewall and the main body. In some embodiments the main body has a first face facing towards the channel and a second face facing away from the channel; and the second face of the main body has at least one feature for engaging features of a retaining rail. This provides the advantage of providing a simple means of maintaining the elongate seal in position in the door. The at least one feature may comprise at least one of grooves, shoulders, ridges and lips.

In some embodiments the elongate seal comprises a synthetic rubber material.

In some embodiments, the elongate seal is located in a door to provide a seal along a moveable windowpane.

In some embodiments, the groove contains a ridge formed on a component.

In some embodiments, along a first portion of the elongate seal, the groove contains a ridge of a first component and along a second portion of the elongate seal the groove contains a ridge of a second component.

The first component may comprise a retaining rail providing a first side of an outer channel assembly and providing a second side along a first portion of the length of the retaining rail and the second component may comprise a removable member providing the second side of the outer channel assembly along a second portion of the length of the retaining rail.

In some embodiments, the main body and the sidewall extend along the entire length of the elongate seal.

In an embodiment, the locating feature may comprise a first locating surface configured to abut an opposing surface on the groove thereby inhibiting movement of the windowpane in a first direction, in use. This is advantageous as the locating feature may be used to inhibit unwanted movement of the windowpane in a direction transverse or longitudinal of the vehicle. In another embodiment, the locating feature may comprise a second locating surface configured to abut a further opposing surface on the groove thereby inhibiting movement of the windowpane in a second direction, in use. This is advantageous, as the windowpane may be located in a first and second direction thus only allowing movement in, for example, a vertical direction.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a door for a vehicle comprising an elongate seal according to any one of the previous paragraphs and a windowpane, wherein the elongate seal is arranged to provide a seal with the windowpane.

In some embodiments the groove contains a ridge formed on a removable member and the removable member has an outer surface providing an outer surface of the door. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a door as described in the previous paragraph.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an elongate seal for providing a seal along a moveable windowpane for a vehicle, the elongate seal comprising: a main body extending along at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal; and a sidewall, extending along at least a portion of the length of the main body to define a channel between the main body and the sidewall, wherein: the sidewall defines a groove, which faces away from the channel and extends along at least a portion of the length of the sidewall, for receiving, in use, a complimentary shaped ridge therein so as to maintain a position of the groove with respect to an edge of the moveable windowpane.

Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an example of a vehicle 103 comprising a support structure 301 ;

Fig. 2 shows the vehicle 103 and the mechanisms 201 by which the windowpanes 101 of the doors 102A and 102B may be lowered and raised to open and close the respective windows 106;

Fig. 3 shows a simplified view of components of a support structure 301 for guiding an edge of a movable windowpane 101 ;

Fig. 4 shows the components of support structure 301 with a lower portion 401 of the elongate seal 302 fitted within the channel 307 formed by the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308; Fig. 5 shows an example of a support structure 301 located on the front door 102A;

Figs. 6 to 8 shows cross-sectional views of the support structure 301 that is fitted to the window frame portion 507 of the door 102A;

Fig. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of a lower part of the support structure 301 that is located between the lower door panel 107 and the inner panel 506 of the door 102A;

Figs. 10 and 1 1 show the removable member 309 in a rear view and a front view respectively;

Fig. 12 shows a perspective view of an example of a retaining rail 308;

Fig. 13 shows a cross-section of the retaining rail 308 along plane "A" illustrated in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 shows a cross-section of the retaining rail 308 along plane "B" illustrated in Fig. 12; Fig. 15 shows a perspective view of the door frame 105A of the door 102A;

Fig. 16 shows a flowchart which outlines a method 1600 of assembling a windowpane 101 into a door frame 105A for a vehicle 103;

Fig. 17 shows the retaining rail 308 in position on the door frame 105A (with the lower door panel 107 cut away);

Fig. 18 shows an example of an elongate seal 302;

Fig. 19 shows a window member 1901 comprising the windowpane 101 ;

Fig. 20 shows a cross-sectional view of a guide part 1902A of a second slide member 312A located within a channel 303 of an elongate seal 302 above a waistline of a door 102A; Fig. 21 shows a cross-sectional view of the guide part 1902A located within the channel 303 of the elongate seal 302, below the waistline of the door 102A;

Fig. 22 shows a cross-sectional view of the elongate seal 302; and

Fig. 23 shows a perspective view of the elongate seal 302.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Figures illustrate an elongate seal 302 for providing a seal along a moveable windowpane of a vehicle, the elongate seal comprising: a main body 601 extending along the length of the elongate seal 302; and a sidewall 403, extending along the length of the elongate seal 302 alongside the main body 601 to define a channel 303 between the main body 601 and the sidewall 403, wherein: the sidewall 403 defines a groove 620, which faces away from the channel 303 and extends along the length of the elongate seal, and the sidewall 403 defines a first surface, that faces the channel 303 and that extends over the groove, for maintaining a position of a moveable windowpane 101 .

As will be described in detail below, this arrangement enables a windowpane 101 to be easily fitted to a door 102A, 102B of a vehicle 103 to provide an openable window 106, even when the windowpane 101 is to be located so that its outer surface 315 is flush with an outer surface 316 of the door 102A, 102B adjacent to the windowpane 101 .

An example of a vehicle 103 comprising such a support structure 301 is shown in Fig. 1 . In the present example, the vehicle 103 is a road vehicle in the form of a car. The vehicle 103 may have a front door 102A and a rear door 102B on each of its sides, each having an openable window 106. A lower viewable edge 1 14 of the windows 106 is defined by the waistline 104 of the car 103 which extends along the upper edge of the lower door panels 107 of the doors 102A, 102B.

One or more of the doors 102A, 102B may each be provided with one or more support structures 301 for supporting an edge of a respective windowpane 101 (or glass 101 ) of the door 102A, 102B. The support structures 301 may be configured so that an outer surface 315 (shown in Figs. 3 and 6) of a windowpane 101 may be arranged to be flush with an adjacent outer surface 316 of the door 102A, 102B. For example, in Fig. 1 , the windowpane 101 of the front door 102A may be arranged to be flush with an outer surface of an adjacent finishing panel 309. Similarly, the windowpane 101 of the rear door 102B may be arranged to be flush with an outer surface of an adjacent finishing panel 309 located along a rear edge 205 of the windowpane 101 and/or an outer surface of an adjacent finishing panel 309 located along the front edge 206 of the windowpane 101 . The finishing panels 309 may form a part of the support structure 301 and each of the finishing panels 309 may be a removable member 309 that is removable from a window frame portion of the door frame 105A, 105B of the respective door 102A, 102B.

The expression "door frame" used herein refers to the main structure of the door that is conventionally formed of press-formed metal panels welded together.

The vehicle 103 is shown again in Fig. 2, which illustrates the mechanisms 201 by which the windowpanes 101 of the doors 102A and 102B may be lowered and raised to open and close the respective windows 106. In the present example, the front door 102A is provided with a window actuation means 201 , which may comprise a window regulator 201 , that is arranged to support a lower edge 202 of the windowpane 101 and to move the windowpane 101 up and down, as required, to open and close the window 106.

Similarly, the rear door 102B is provided with a window actuation means 201 , which may comprise a window regulator 201 , that is arranged to support and move the windowpane 101 of the rear door 102B.

A retaining rail 308, which forms a part of the support structures (301 in Figs. 1 and 3) extends down alongside a rear edge 203 of the windowpane 101 of the front door 102A. The retaining rail 308 retains an elongate seal (302 in Fig. 3) defining a channel (303 in Fig. 3) along which the windowpane 101 is slidable. The retaining rail 308 and the retained elongate seal 302 have a sufficient length to support the windowpane 101 along the full length of its movement by the window actuation means 201 .

Similarly, a second retaining rail 308 may extend down alongside a front edge 204 of the windowpane 101 of the front door 102A, and a second elongate seal defining a second channel may be retained within the retaining rail 308, so that the front edge 204 of the windowpane is supported by the second elongate seal and able to slide along its channel. In the present example, a retaining rail 308, which forms a part of a support structure (301 in Figs. 1 and 3) and which retains an elongate seal (302 in Fig. 3), also extends alongside each of the rear edge 205 and front edge 206 of the windowpane 101 of the rear door 102B. In a similar manner to that of the front door 102A, the windowpane 101 of the rear door 102B may be arranged to be retained by, and to slide along, the channel formed in the elongate seals (302 in Fig. 3) retained within the retaining rails 308 of the rear door 102B.

A simplified view of components of a support structure 301 for guiding an edge of a movable windowpane 101 is shown in Fig. 3. For example, the support structure 301 may be used to guide the rear edge 203 and/or the front edge 204 of the windowpane 101 of the front door 102A and/or the rear edge 205 and/or the front edge 206 of the windowpane 101 of the rear door 102B. It may be noted that the drawing of Fig. 3 is not to scale and the length of the components has been reduced for the purposes of illustration. The support structure 301 comprises an elongate seal 302 defining a channel 303 along which a movable windowpane 101 is configured to slide. The elongate seal 302 comprises a main body 601 , a sidewall 403 and an end wall 605 which extends between, and connects, the main body 601 and the sidewall 403. The channel 303 is positioned between the main body 601 and the sidewall 403.

The support structure 301 also includes an outer channel assembly 304 comprising a first side 305 and an opposing second side 306 to define an outer channel 307 containing at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal 302. The outer channel assembly 304 comprises a retaining rail 308 and a removable member 309. The retaining rail 308 provides the first side 305 of the outer channel assembly 304 along the whole length of the outer channel 307 and provides the second side 306 of the outer channel assembly 304 along a first portion 310 of the length of the retaining rail 308. A removable member 309 provides the second side 306 of the outer channel assembly 304 along a second portion 31 1 of the length of the retaining rail 308.

The first portion 310 of the length of the retaining rail 308 is generally located inside the lower door panel 107 of the door 102A, 102B to which it is fitted. The second portion 31 1 of the length of the retaining rail 308 is generally located above the lower door panel 107 of the door 102A, 102B to which it is fitted. Specifically, at least a part of the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 is positioned entirely below the waistline 104 of the door 102A, 102B and at least a part of the second portion is positioned above the waistline 104 of the door 102A, 102B. Typically, the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 is positioned entirely inside the lower door panel 107 and all of the channel 307 that is above the lower door panel 107 (i.e. above the waistline 104) is defined by the retaining rail 308 on one side 305 and the removable member 309 on the other side 306.

The windowpane 101 may be provided with a slide member 312 which is attached to the windowpane 101 so that it extends past the side edge 313 of the windowpane 101 . The slide member 312 may have a shape that is configured to fit within, and to slide along, the channel 303 provided by the elongate seal 302. The part, or parts, of the slide member 312 that are configured to fit within the channel 303 may be positioned in a different plane to the windowpane 101 so that when the slide member 312 is located in the channel 303 the outer surface 315 of the windowpane 101 may be positioned flush with a neighbouring outer surface of the vehicle. For example, in embodiments where the removable member 309 has an outer surface 316 which forms an outer surface of a door 102A, 102B, the outer surface 315 of the windowpane 101 may be positioned flush with the outer surface 316 of the removable member 309. The components of support structure 301 are shown in Fig. 4 with a lower portion 401 of the elongate seal 302 fitted within the channel 307 formed by the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308. An upper portion 402 of the elongate seal 302 resides alongside the second portion

31 1 of the retaining rail 308. However, because the removable member 309 is separate from the retaining rail 308, the sidewall 403 of the elongate seal 302, which defines the channel 303, remains accessible. As will be described in further detail below, this allows the sidewall 403 to be manually manipulated to stretch open the channel 303 and to allow the slide member

312 to be located in the channel 303. The removable member 309 may then be fitted alongside the sidewall 403 of the elongate seal 302 alongside the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308 to enclose the elongate seal 302 and maintain the slide member 312 within the channel 303.

In an alternative arrangement, in which the outer surface of the windowpane 101 is not arranged to be flush with the outer surface of the removable member 309, the windowpane 101 is not provided with slide member 312. Instead, the channel 303 provided by the elongate seal 302 is dimensioned to receive the edge 313 of the windowpane 101 .

An example of a support structure 301 located on the front door 102A is shown in Fig. 5. The lower door panel 107 has been cut away in Fig. 5 to show the position of the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 which contains the elongate seal 302. The first portion 301 of the retaining rail 308 is located between the lower door panel 107 (not shown in Fig. 5) and the inner panel 506 of the door frame 105A. Fig. 5 also shows the position of several planes 501 , 502, 503 and 504 for which cross- sectional views of the support structure 301 located on the front door 102A are shown in Figs. 6 to 9 respectively. In Figs. 6 to 8 the support structure 301 is shown fitted to the window frame portion 507 of the door 102A, while Fig. 9 shows a lower part of the support structure 301 that is located between the lower door panel 107 and the inner panel 506 of the door 102A. The seal in Figs. 6 to 9 is shown in cross section transverse to its length.

As may best be seen in Fig. 9, a main body 601 of the elongate seal 302 is located against the retaining rail 308. A first limb 602 extends from the main body 601 of the elongate seal 302 and is arranged to press against the windowpane 101 . A second limb 602A may be provided on the elongate seal 302 to press against the windowpane 101 , or, as shown in Fig. 9, to press against a part of the slide member 312. One or more features 603, such as grooves, shoulders, ridges or lips 603 may be provided on the main body 601 to engage features 604 such as grooves, ridges or shoulders formed on the retaining rail 308 to maintain the elongate seal 302 in position.

An end wall 605 of the elongate seal 302 extends from the main body 601 to the sidewall 403, which includes a third limb 606 arranged to press against the edge 203 of the windowpane 101 to form a seal between the outer channel assembly 304 and the windowpane 101 . Therefore, along the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 the third limb 606 of the elongate seal 302 provides a seal between the retaining rail 308 and the windowpane 101 .

Similarly, as shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the third limb 606 of the elongate seal 302 provides a seal between the removable member 309 and the windowpane 101 , along the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308. The sidewall 403 of the elongate seal 302, in combination with the main body 601 , forms the channel 303 in which the slide member 312 resides. The slide member 312 has a first surface 608 extending longitudinally along the vehicle (in direction of arrow 607) and the first surface 608 interacts with a first surface 610 of the elongate seal 302 to resist movement of the windowpane 101 in directions transverse to the vehicle (in direction of arrow 61 1 ).

The slide member 312 may have a second surface 612 that extends in a direction with a component transverse to the length of the vehicle (in direction of arrow 61 1 ). The second surface 612 of the slide member 312 interacts with a second surface 613 of the elongate seal 302 to resist movement of the windowpane 101 in directions along the length of the vehicle (in direction of arrow 607). To provide the second surface 613 of the elongate seal 302, the channel 303 formed by the elongate seal 302 may be provided with an L-shaped profile as shown in Fig. 6 and the slide member 312 may be provided with a corresponding L-shaped profile to provide the second surface 612 of the slide member 312. Thus, the first surface 608 and the second surface 612 of the slide member 312 may meet at a bend in the slide member 312.

The elongate seal 302 is formed of a flexible and resilient material, such as a synthetic rubber. However, to ensure the correct positioning of the edge 203 of the windowpane 101 by the elongate seal 302, the elongate seal 302 is supported within the outer channel 307 provided by the outer channel assembly 304, which is formed by the retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309. Thus, the elongate seal 302 is supported by the retaining rail 308 along the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308, as shown in Fig. 9, and supported by the retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309 in combination, along the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308, as shown in Fig. 6 to 8.

In addition, the outer channel assembly 304 (comprising the retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309) may define a ridge 614 which extends along the length of the outer channel 307. The elongate seal 302 has a groove 620 which extends around the ridge 614 and the first surface 610 of the elongate seal 302 extends over the ridge 614. The thickness of the material of the elongate seal 302 between the ridge 614 and the first surface 610 may be kept to a minimum so that the first surface 610 may be accurately positioned and therefore the position of the windowpane 101 in a direction transverse to the vehicle (in direction of arrow 61 1 ) may also be accurately positioned. Thus, as shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the outer surface 315 of the windowpane 101 may be arranged to be flush with the outer surface 316 of the removable member 309. Similarly, the thickness of the material of the elongate seal 302 between the ridge 614 and the second surface 613 of the elongate seal 302 may be kept to a minimum so that the second surface 613 may be accurately positioned and consequently the position of the windowpane 101 in the direction of the length of the vehicle (in direction of arrow 607) may also be accurately positioned.

The retaining rail 308 defines a first portion of the ridge 614 along the first portion of the retaining rail 308 as shown in Fig. 9. As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the removable member 309 defines a second portion of the ridge 614 along the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308.

The removable member 309 comprises an outer panel 802 having an inner surface 803 from which extends the second portion of the ridge 614. The retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309 are fixed to the door frame 105A at datum surfaces defined by the door frame 105A. Therefore the relative positions of the retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309 may be accurately fixed. In addition spacer parts 801 may be located between the door frame 105A and the outer panel 802 of the removable member 309 to align the first portion of the ridge 614 provided by the retaining rail 308 with the second portion of the ridge 614 provided by the removable member 309. That is, the lengths of the spacer parts 801 are chosen so that the ridge 614 provided by the removable member 309 has a required position transverse to the vehicle (in direction of arrow 61 1 ) with respect to the retaining rail 308. The spacer parts 801 may form a part of the removable member 308 as shown in Fig. 8.

The removable member 309 may be attached to the door frame 105A of the door 102A by fasteners, such as screws 804, which extend through holes 805 in the door frame 105A and which are located within corresponding holes 806 formed in the removable member, such as in the spacer parts 801 . To correctly position the retaining rail 308, it may be attached to the door frame 105A of the door 102A by fasteners, such as screws 807, at locations where the door frame 105A is provided with a datum surface 808. The removable member 309 and the door frame 105A may also be provided with mutually engaging locator features 701 , 702 to ensure that the second portion of the ridge 614, which is provided by the removable member 309, is correctly aligned with the first portion of the ridge 614, which is provided by the retaining rail 308. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, a locator hole 702 may be formed on the door frame 105A and the removable member 309 may comprise a locator post 701 that is configured to be a good fit within the locator hole 702. The location of the locator post 701 within the locator hole 702 ensures that the removable member 309, and hence the second portion of the ridge 614 provided by the removable member 309, is correctly position in a direction along the length of the vehicle 102, i.e. in direction of arrow 607.

The removable member 309 is shown in a rear view in Fig. 10 and a front view in Fig. 1 1 . The outer surface 316 of the removable member 309 shown in Fig. 1 1 may be substantially featureless and may be provided with a suitable finish for forming a part of the outer surface of the vehicle 103.

The inner surface 803 of the removable member 309 shown in Fig. 10 is provided with several (in this example three) spacer parts 801 defining holes 806 as described with reference to Fig. 8. It also comprises several locator features 701 for engagement with locator features provided on the door frame 105A of the door 102A. The second portion of the ridge 614 also extends from the inner surface 803 adjacent to an edge 1002 of the removable member 309.

An example of a retaining rail 308 is shown in a perspective view in Fig. 12. Cross-sections of the retaining rail 308 along planes "A" and "B" illustrated in Fig. 12 are shown in Figs. 13 and 14 respectively. The retaining rail 308 may be provided with a hole 1201 in its first portion 310 towards one end 1202 to fix that end to the inner panel 506 of the door frame 105A. Additional holes 1203 may be provided in the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308 for enabling attachment to the door frame 105A, as shown in Fig. 8. The door frame 105A of the door 102A is shown in the perspective view of Fig. 15. The door frame 105A comprises the lower door panel 107 and the inner panel 506. A slot 1502 is provided between the lower door panel 107 and the inner panel 506 configured to receive the windowpane 101 .

A window frame portion 507 of the door frame 105A extends above the lower door panel 107 and is configured to provide a frame around the windowpane 101 when it is in a closed position. The window frame portion 507 comprises a rear post 1504, which extends upwards from the lower door panel 107 to provide a rear edge 1505 of the door 102A, and an upper frame portion 1506 that extends from the top of the rear post 1504 towards the front edge 1507 of the door frame 105A.

In the present example, three datum surfaces 808 are provided on the rear post 1504 of the door frame 105A for receiving the retaining rail 308 as described with reference to Fig. 8. The rear post 1504 is also provided with holes 805 for enabling attachment of the removable member 309 and locator features 702 for engagement with locator features 701 provided on the removable member 309 as described with reference to Fig. 7.

A gap 1508 is provided between the inner panel 506 and the lower door panel 107 adjacent to the rear post 1504, at one end of the slot 1502. The gap 1508 has sufficiently large dimensions to enable the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 to be passed through it.

In a method of assembling the windowpane 101 into the door frame 105A, the support structure 301 is assembled as individual components that are attached to the door frame 105A. A method 1600 of assembling a windowpane 101 into a door frame 105A for a vehicle 103 is outlined in a flowchart shown in Fig. 16. The method will be described with reference to door 102A, but it will be understood that a similar method may be used in respect of other doors such as door 102B. At block 1601 of the method 1600, a retaining rail 308 is attached to a door frame 105A so that a first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 is below the waistline 104 of the door frame 105A and a second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308 is above the waistline 104. This may be achieved by locating the end 1202 (Fig. 12) of the retaining rail 308 in the gap 1508 (Fig. 15) and passing the retaining rail 308 through the gap 1508 until the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 resides within the outer panel 107. The retaining rail 308 may then be fixed in position on the door frame 105A, for example using screws 807 (Fig. 8). The retaining rail 308 is shown in position on the door frame 105A in Fig. 17. (The lower door panel 107 has been cut away in Fig.17 to show the location of retaining rail 308.) The first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 may have a length, and be positioned, so that the first portion 310 ends just below the gap 1508, i.e. just below the top of the lower door panel 107.

At block 1602 of the method 1600, a first portion of an elongate seal 302 is located into an outer channel 307 provided by the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308. As described previously, the elongate seal 302 defines a channel 303 for guiding a windowpane 101 during its movement.

An example of an elongate seal 302 is shown in Fig. 18. In this example, the elongate seal 302 has a substantially straight first section 1801 , the majority of which is for location within the outer channel member 304 formed by the retaining rail 308 and the removable member 309. In addition, the elongate seal 302 has a second section 1802 configured to be located along the upper frame portion 1506 (Fig. 15). (The upper frame portion 1506 may be provided with conventional means to enable attachment of the second section 1802 of the elongate seal 302.) The first section 1801 extends from one end 1803 of the elongate seal 302 to the second section 1802. The first section 1801 comprises: a first portion 401 , nearest to the end 1803, which in use is located within the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308; and a second portion 402, which in use is located along the second portion 31 1 of the retaining rail 308.

A cross-sectional view of an example of an elongate seal 302 is shown in Fig. 22 and a short length of the elongate seal 302 is shown in the perspective view of Fig. 23. As described above, the elongate seal 302 comprises a main body 601 that extends along the length of the elongate seal 302; and a sidewall 403 that extends along the length of the elongate seal 302 alongside the main body 601 to define a channel 303 between the main body 601 and the sidewall 403. The sidewall 403 defines a groove 620, which faces away from the channel 303 and extends along the length of the elongate seal, and the sidewall 403 defines a first surface 610 that faces the channel 303 and that extends over the groove 620, for maintaining a position of a moveable windowpane 101 . As described above, the first surface 610 may be used to support a surface 608 of a slide member 312 of a windowpane 101 . Consequently, by providing the groove 620 at a position such that the first surface 610 extends over the groove 620, it is possible to locate a ridge 614 of one or more rigid components, such as the retaining rail 308 and/or the removable member 309, within the groove 620 so that the first surface 610 may be more accurately positioned. In the example of Figs. 22 and 23 the groove 620 has a substantially rectangular cross-section, having an end face 2201 and two side faces 2202 and 2203 that are connected by the end face 2201 . The end face 2201 extends substantially parallel to, and alongside, the first surface 610; the end face 2201 and the first surface 610 being the opposing faces of a portion 2251 of the sidewall 403. The term "substantially parallel" as used herein means that a region of a surface, such as a region of the first surface 610, is oriented to be within 10 degrees of being parallel to a neighbouring region of an adjacent surface, such as a neighbouring region of the end face 2201 . The thickness of the portion 2251 of the sidewall 403 that separates the end face 2201 of the groove 620 from the first surface 610 may be kept relatively thin so that the position of the first surface 610 may be accurately set by accurately positioning the end face 2201 . Therefore, by locating the groove 620 over the accurately positioned ridge 614, the first surface 610 is accurately positioned, and so the windowpane 101 is accurately positioned in a direction perpendicular to the length of the vehicle 103. In some embodiments, the thickness of the portion 2251 of the sidewall 403 is between 1 .4mm and 2.2mm, and typically about 1 .8mm. With thicknesses below 1 .4mm the elongate seal 302 tends to be insufficiently robust for its purpose.

In addition, the portion 2251 of the sidewall 403 that separates the end face 2201 from the first surface 610 is only formed of solid material that forms the sidewall 403. The expression "solid material" as used herein means material formed entirely of a solid substance rather than a liquid or gaseous substance. Thus, the portion 2251 of the sidewall 403 does not include any spaces filled with gaseous matter such as air that would render the portion 2251 more compressible and make the position of the first surface and windowpane 101 more variable.

The main body 601 and the sidewall 403 may be connected by an end wall 605, which also extends along the length of the elongate seal 302.

A large proportion of the elongate seal 302, including the main body 601 , is formed of a first material such as a synthetic rubber that is flexible and which has a relatively high first coefficient of friction. To provide the necessary flexibility the rubber has a hardness that is typically in the range of 65-90 Shore A hardness. The first surface 608 may be formed of a different material having a different coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction. This enables the windowpane 101 to be slid along the elongate seal 302 with relatively low frictional forces between the slide member 312 and the first surface 608. In an example, the first surface 610 may be provided by a layer 2204 of material that is adhered to the first material, which forms the bulk of the sidewall 403. In some embodiments, the layer 2204 is formed of PER (poly ethylene reticulated) which is coextruded with the rubber but in other embodiments it is formed of another low friction high wear resistant coating. The sidewall 403 may define a second surface 613, which faces into the channel 303 and extends along the length of the elongate seal 302 at an angle to the first surface 608 and over the side face 2202 of the groove 620. Therefore, as described above with regard to Figs. 6 to 9, whereas the first surface 610 may maintain the position of a windowpane 101 in a direction perpendicular to the length of the vehicle, the second surface 613 may maintain the position of the windowpane 101 in a second direction. Typically, the second surface 613 extends at an angle of about 90 degrees to the first surface 610 so that it is able to maintain the position of the windowpane 101 in a direction along the length of the vehicle 103.

The side faces 2202 and 2203 of the groove 620 are substantially parallel to the second surface 613, and the second surface 613 extends alongside the side face 2202 separated by a portion 2252 of the sidewall 403. Consequently, because the elongate seal 302 is formed of a flexible material, locating a locating feature or ridge 614 of a relatively rigid and accurately positioned component (such as the retaining rail 308) within the groove 620 enables the position of the second surface 613 to be accurately positioned. This in turn enables the windowpane 101 to be accurately positioned in a direction along the length of the vehicle 103.

The portion 2252 of the sidewall 403 that separates the side face 2202 of the groove 620 from the second surface 613 may be also only formed of solid material that forms the sidewall 403. That is, this portion 2252 of the sidewall 403 does not include any spaces filled with gaseous matter such as air that would render the portion 2252 more compressible and which may make the position of the second surface 613 and the windowpane 101 in a direction along the length of the vehicle 103 more variable. In other words, the groove 620 is arranged to receive a locating feature or ridge 614 such that the locating feature abuts at least one locating surface of the groove 620. The locating surface of the groove 620 may be considered to be one or more of the end surface 2201 or side surfaces 2202, 2203 of the groove 620 and is arranged to abut an opposing surface of the locating feature or ridge 614. The locating feature or ridge 614 enables, at least, the first surface 610 to be accurately positioned relative to the locating feature which in turn provides an accurate datum against which the position of the windowpane 101 may be defined. Locating the first surface 610 by way of a locating feature or ridge 614 positioned within the groove 620 enables the windowpane 101 to be accurately located in a direction transverse to the vehicle 103, as defined by arrow 61 1 .

Furthermore, the locating feature or ridge 614 may be configured to locate the second surface 613 of the seal 302 in a longitudinal direction (as defined by arrow 607). At least one of the locating surface 2201 or the locating surface 2203 may be configured to engage with an opposing surface of the locating feature thereby accurately positioning the second surface 613 relative to the locating feature. This in turn ensures that the windowpane 101 is accurately positioned in the longitudinal direction (as defined by arrow 607). The groove 620 thus provides the advantage of accurately locating the windowpane 101 in both the longitudinal and transverse directions relative to the vehicle 103. This is particularly, but not exclusively, advantageous in vehicles with flush glazing where the windowpane 101 is flush with an exterior surface of an exterior trim component such as finisher panel 309 of Fig. 6.

The second surface 613 may be formed of a layer 2205 of the same, or similar, material to the first surface 610 and have a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction of the first material. As illustrated in Figs. 22 and 23, the layer 2204 and the layer 2205 may be different parts of a single layer.

The elongate seal 302 may comprise the first limb 602, which extends along the length of the elongate seal 302 and extends from the main body 601 . The first limb 602 has a first limb surface 2206 for pressing against a windowpane 101 to form a seal. The first limb surface 2206 may also be provided by a layer 2207 of a material having a coefficient of friction that is lower than the first coefficient of friction of the material forming the main body 601 . The layers 2204, 2205 and 2207 are typically all low friction coatings. Layers 2204, 2205 and 2207 may all be formed of the same type of material. However, typically layers 2204 and 2205 are formed of high wear coatings, whereas the material forming the layer 2207 may be selected to ensure good sealing properties.

The elongate seal 302 may also comprise a second limb 602A that extends along the length of the elongate seal 302 and which extends from the main body 601 . The second limb 602A may have a second limb surface 2208 for pressing against the outer surface of the slide member 312 to form a seal. The second limb surface 2208 may be formed of a layer 2209 of material of the same or similar type as the layer 2207 on the first limb 602, and therefore have a coefficient of friction that is low when compared to the first material.

The sidewall 403 may also comprise a limb 606 extending along the length of the elongate seal 302, which may have a surface 2210 for pressing against an edge 203 of a windowpane 101 to form a seal. The sidewall 403 may have a proximal edge that is connected to the main body 601 by the end wall 605 and the limb 606 may be positioned to provide a distal edge of the side wall 403 with at least a part of the surface 2210 facing away from the end wall 605. Consequently, the surface 2210 may be located against the edge of a windowpane 101 as shown, for example, in Fig. 9, while the limbs 602 and 602A may be located against the inner surface of the windowpane 101 . The surface 2210 of the limb 606 may be provided by a layer 221 1 of material of the same or similar type as the layer 2207 of the first limb 602, and therefore have a coefficient of friction that is low when compared to the first material.

The main body 601 has a first face 2212 facing towards the channel 303 and a second face 2213 facing away from the channel 303. The second side 2213 of the main body 601 may have at least one feature 603 for engaging features of a retaining rail 308. In the example of Figs. 22 and 23, the at least one feature 603 comprises a lip 603, but in alternative embodiments, the feature may comprise at least one of grooves, shoulders, ridges and lips.

Returning to Fig. 16 and block 1602, the first portion of an elongate seal 302 may be located into the outer channel 307 (Fig. 12) provided by the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308 by passing the end 1803 (Fig. 18) of the elongate seal 302 through the gap 1508 (Fig. 15) and into the upper end of the outer channel 307 provided by the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308. When doing this, features of the elongate seal 302 are aligned to engage with corresponding features of the retaining rail 308. For example, the groove 620 (Fig. 6) provided by the elongate seal 302 is positioned over the ridge 614 of the retaining rail 308. The elongate seal 302 is then slid lengthways along the retaining rail 308 until its end 1803 is located at, or near to, the end 1202 of the retaining rail 308. During sliding, the groove 620 slides along the ridge 614, and so the groove 620 in combination with the ridge 614 facilitate the correct positioning of the elongate seal 302 in the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308. Furthermore, because the groove 620 is a good sliding fit over the ridge 614, the engagement of the ridge 614 within the groove 620 retains the elongate seal 302 in its correct position in the first portion 310 of the retaining rail 308.

The actual position of the elongate seal 302 along the retaining rail 308 may be chosen to enable correct positioning of the upper end of the first section 1801 (and, in this example, correct positioning and attachment of the second section 1802 on the upper frame portion 1506 (Fig. 15)).

Features of the elongate seal 302 may also be brought into engagement with corresponding features of the retaining rail 308 on its second portion 31 1 . For example, the elongate seal 302 may be pushed into position so that a feature such as the lip 603 (Fig. 6) provided on the elongate seal 302 is retained against the shoulder 604 provided on the retaining rail 308.

In examples where both the rear edge 203 (or 205) and the front edge 204 (or 206) of the windowpane 101 are to be similarly mounted by a support structure 301 , blocks 1601 and 1602 may be repeated to locate a second retaining rail 308 in position on the door frame 105A, 105B alongside the other edge of the window 106 and to locate a second elongate seal 302 within the second retaining rail 308. (Alternatively a single elongate seal may be provided with two end sections, which are each located in a retaining rail 308 at opposing edges of a window 106, and a central section that is arranged to extend across the upper frame portion 1506.)

At block 1603 of the method 1600, a window member comprising a windowpane 101 is located in a slot 1502 in the door frame 105A. A window member 1901 comprising the windowpane 101 is shown in Fig. 19. In this example, the window member 1901 comprises the windowpane 101 and a slide member 312. The windowpane 101 has a rear edge 203, a front edge 204, a lower edge 202 and an upper edge 1904, and the windowpane 101 is provided with a hole 1905 near to the lower edge 202 to enable attachment to a window regulator 201 . The slide member 312 has an elongated shape which extends along the majority of the rear edge 203 of the windowpane. The slide member 312 may be formed of a rigid plastics material, for example by injection moulding, and fixed to the inner surface of the windowpane 101 with adhesive. The slide member 312 has two guide parts 1902 towards each of its ends that are arranged to interact with the surfaces 610 and 613 of the elongate seal 302. A connecting portion 1903 of the slide member 312 connects the two guide parts 1902. By providing both of the guide parts 1902 on a single slide member 312 the mutual alignment of the two guide parts 1902 and their positioning with respect to the edge of the windowpane 101 may be facilitated during attachment of the guide parts 1902 to the windowpane 101 . Also, by fixing the whole length of the slide member 312 to the windowpane 101 allows adhesion of the guide parts 1902 over a larger surface area and assists with the strength of the attachment.

Although not shown in Fig. 19, the windowpane 101 may be provided along its front edge 204 with a second slide member 312A that is similar to slide member 312. This second slide member 312A is similar to slide member 312 but differs from slide member 312 in the shape of its guide parts 1902A. Cross-sectional views of the second slide member 312A through one of its guide parts 1902A located within a channel 303 of an elongate seal 302 are shown in Fig. 20 and 21 . Fig. 20 shows a cross-section view above the waistline 104 of the door 102A and Fig. 21 shows a cross-sectional view below the waistline 104.

The elongate seal 302 and retaining rail 308 may be provided with a cross-sectional shape as previously described. However, slide member 312A only has surfaces 608 arranged to interact with a surface 610 of the elongate seal 302 that extends along the length of the vehicle. Consequently, the position of the slide member 312A (and the windowpane 101 ) is only controlled in a direction transverse to the direction of the vehicle, i.e. in the direction of arrow 61 1 . By use of a slide member 312 along one edge 203 (or 204, 205 or 206) of a windowpane 101 and a slide member 312A along the opposite edge 204 (or 203, 205 or 206), the position of both edges 203 and 204 (or 205 and 206) of the windowpane 101 may be controlled in a direction transverse the length of the vehicle 103, while the position of the windowpane 101 in a direction along the length of the vehicle 103 may be controlled by the slide member 312 located at one of the edges.

Returning to block 1603 of the method 1600, the window member 1901 may be manually positioned on the outer side of the door frame 105A and the lower edge 202 of the windowpane 101 may be located in the slot 1502 in the door frame 105A between the lower door panel 107 and the inner panel 506. This may be achieved by tilting the upper edge 1904 of the windowpane 101 away from the door frame 105A. With the lower edge 202 located within the slot 1502, the windowpane 101 may then be tilted forward to bring the upper edge 1904 towards the door frame 105A.

As indicated at block 1604, the window member 1901 is then located in the channel 302 of the elongate seal 302. For example, the slide member 312 is located in the channel 303 formed by the elongate seal 302. This may be most easily achieved by manually pulling the sidewall 403 of the elongate seal 302 to open the channel 303 wider and lift the sidewall 403 past the guide parts 1902 as they are positioned in the channel 303. With the guide parts 1901 in the channel 303, the sidewall 403 may then be allowed to return to its relaxed position. If both edges (e.g. 203 and 204) of the windowpane 101 are provided with a slide member 312, the slide members 312 may each be located in the respective elongate seal 302 in a similar way.

In instances where the windowpane 101 is not arranged to be flush fitting and the windowpane 101 is not provided with a slide member 312, the rear and front edges 203 and 204 of the windowpane 101 may be located in the channel 303 of the elongate seal 308 in a similar way, by pulling the sidewall 403 of the elongate seal 308 outwards and around the edge of the windowpane 101 .

With the window member 1901 located in the channel(s) 303 of the elongate seal(s) 302, the window member 1901 may be lowered to rest on the window actuation means 201 . This may be done either before or after the process of block 1605. The actuation means 201 may then be operatively connected to the windowpane 101 .

At block 1605 of the method 1600, a removable member 309 is located over the elongate seal 302 above the waistline 104 of the door frame 105A to enclose the elongate seal 302 between the removable member 309 and the retaining rail 308. When doing this, the second portion of the ridge 614 provided by the removable member 309 may be positioned within the groove 620 formed in the elongate seal 302 before the locator features 702 are engaged with the locator features provided on the door frame 105A. The removable member may then be attached to the door frame 105A, for example by screws 804 located through the door frame 105A and into holes 806 provided on the removable member 309.

The blocks illustrated in the Fig. 16 may represent steps in a method. The illustration of a particular order to the blocks does not necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for the blocks and the order and arrangement of the block may be varied. Furthermore, it may be possible for some steps to be omitted.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, in the above described embodiments, the removable member 309 is fixed to the door frame 105A. However, it will be understood that an alternative embodiment may provide a structure that enables the removable member 309 to be fixed directly to the retaining rail 308. Also the removable member 309 is described as having an outer surface that may provide an outer surface of a door. However, in an alternative embodiment, the removable member may be a component that his hidden behind another component forming an outer surface of the door. Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.