VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a support structure for a movable windowpane for a door for a vehicle. In particular, but not exclusively it relates to a support structure of a movable windowpane of a door of a road vehicle. Aspects of the invention relate to a support structure, a door, a vehicle and a method.

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. The glass extends through a slot in the door frame down to the regulator, which is located within the door frame. 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. One problem concerns how to enable the window glass to be easily fitted into the door frame and into the glass run seal. A second problem is how to support the window glass so that it has an outer surface that is flush with adjacent surfaces of the vehicle.

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 a support structure, a door, a vehicle and a method as claimed in the appended claims. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a support structure for a movable windowpane for a door for a vehicle, the support structure comprising: an elongate seal defining a channel along which a movable windowpane is configured to slide; and an outer channel assembly comprising a first side and an opposing second side to define an outer channel containing at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal, the outer channel assembly comprising: a retaining rail providing the first side of the outer channel assembly and providing the second side along a first portion of the length of the retaining rail. An attachable additional member may provide the second side of the outer channel assembly along a second portion of the length of the retaining rail. The additional member may be removeable. The second portion of the length of the retaining rail may be arranged to be positioned above the waistline of a vehicle, in use. The second portion of the length of the retaining rail may be arranged to be positioned adjacent the side of a window opening of a vehicle, in use.

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a support structure for a movable windowpane for a door for a vehicle, the support structure comprising: an elongate seal defining a channel along which a movable windowpane is configured to slide; and an outer channel assembly comprising a first side and an opposing second side to define an outer channel containing at least a portion of the length of the elongate seal, the outer channel assembly comprising: a retaining rail providing the first side of the outer channel assembly and providing the second side along a first portion of the length of the retaining rail; and a removable member providing the second side of the outer channel assembly along a second portion of the length of the retaining rail.

This provides the advantage that the assembly of a movable windowpane is simplified because the windowpane may be positioned before the removable member is positioned to enclose the elongate seal.

In some embodiments the support structure may form a part of a door for a vehicle and at least a part of the first portion may be positioned entirely below the waistline of the door and at least a part of the second portion may be positioned above the waistline of the door. This provides the advantage that the elongate seal may be correctly positioned below the waistline by locating it within the first portion of the retaining rail by sliding it in lengthways, when the retaining rail is itself in place, or locating it in the retaining rail before the first portion of the retaining rail is located in the relatively inaccessible space below the waistline. In some embodiments the support structure may comprise a slide member attached to the movable windowpane, the slide member being slidable within the channel of the elongate seal. This provides the advantage that the outer surface of the windowpane may be positioned to be flush with an adjacent surface of the vehicle, such as the outer surface of the removable member.

The slide member may have a first surface extending longitudinally along the vehicle which interacts with a first surface of the elongate seal to resist movement of the windowpane in directions transverse to the vehicle.

The outer channel assembly may define a ridge and the elongate seal extends around the ridge with the first surface extending over the ridge. This allows the slide member, and hence the windowpane, to be more accurately positioned. The retaining rail may define a first portion of the ridge along a first portion of the retaining rail and the removable member may define a second portion of the ridge along a second portion of the retaining rail. The retaining rail and the removable member may be fixed to a door frame and spacer parts may be located between the door frame and an outer panel of the removable member to align the first portion of the ridge with the second portion of the ridge. The spacer parts may form a part of the removable member.

The retaining rail and the removable member may be fixed to a door frame; and the removable member and the door frame may be provided with mutually engaging locator features for aligning the first portion of the ridge with the second portion of the ridge. The removable member may be provided with a first one of the locator features, the first one of the locator features comprising one of a locator post and a locator hole; the door frame may be provided with a second one of the locator features, the second one of the locator features comprising the other one of the locator post and the locator hole; and the locator post may be located within the locator hole.

In some embodiments the slide member has a second surface that extends in a direction having a component transverse to the vehicle, and the second surface interacts with a second surface of the elongate seal to resist movement of the windowpane in directions along the length of the vehicle. This allows the position of the windowpane in a direction along the length of the vehicle to be controlled and may also prevent rotational movement of the windowpane about an axis perpendicular to the outer surface of the windowpane.

The first surface and the second surface of the slide member may meet at a bend in the slide member.

In some embodiments the elongate seal provides a seal between the removable member and the windowpane. In some embodiments the elongate seal provides a seal between the retaining rail and the windowpane.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a door for a vehicle comprising a support structure as described above and an actuation means for moving the windowpane within the door frame for opening and closing of a window.

The actuation means may comprise a window regulator.

In some embodiments the support structure may be a first support structure extending along a rear edge of the windowpane and the door may comprise a second support structure, the second support structure being a support structure as described in any one of the previous paragraphs extending along a front edge of the windowpane.

This provides the advantage that both the front edge of the windowpane and the rear edge of the windowpane may be positioned to be flush with adjacent outer surfaces of the vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a door according to any one of previous paragraphs. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of assembling a windowpane into a door frame for a vehicle, the method comprising: attaching a retaining rail to a door frame so that a first portion of the retaining rail is below the waistline of the door frame and a second portion of the retaining rail is above the waistline; locating a first portion of an elongate seal into an outer channel provided by the first portion of the retaining rail wherein the outer channel comprises a first side and an opposing second side to define the outer channel, the elongate seal defining a channel for guiding a windowpane during its movement; locating a window member in a slot in the door frame, the window member comprising a windowpane; locating the window member into the channel of the elongate seal; and locating a removable member over the elongate seal above the waistline of the door frame to enclose the elongate seal between the removable member and the retaining rail wherein the removable member provides a second side of the channel along a second portion of the length of the retaining rail. Locating a removable member over the elongate seal after the window member has been located into the channel of the elongate seal provides the advantage that the window member may be easily positioned in the channel. The window member may then be securely maintained in position in the channel of the elongate seal due to the presence of the removable member.

In some embodiments the window member may comprise a slide member attached to the windowpane, and said locating the window member into the channel of the elongate seal may comprise locating the slide member into the channel of the elongate seal. This provides the advantage that the outer surface of the windowpane may be positioned flush with a neighbouring surface of the door.

In some embodiments the method may comprise flexing a wall of the elongate seal to widen the channel of the elongate seal in a second portion of the elongate seal above the waistline of the door frame to enable said locating the window member into the channel of the elongate seal. Flexing a wall of the elongate seal provides the advantage of enabling the window member to be easily fitted into the channel of the elongate seal.

In some embodiments said locating a first portion of an elongate seal into an outer channel provided by the first portion of the retaining rail comprises sliding the first portion of the elongate seal lengthways into the outer channel provided by the first portion of the retaining rail.

Said sliding may be performed with the retaining rail fixed to the door frame. In some embodiments said locating a removable member over the elongate seal may comprise locating a ridge formed on the removable member in a groove in the elongate seal. Because the ridge may be accurately positioned, this enables one or more surfaces of the elongate seal, that are next to the groove and which interact with the window member, to be accurately positioned.

The groove in the elongate seal may extend along the first portion and second portion of the elongate seal and said locating a first portion of an elongate seal into a channel provided by the first portion of the retaining rail may comprise locating a ridge formed on the retaining rail within the groove.

In some embodiments the method may comprise positioning spacer parts between an outer panel of the removable member and the door frame, to set the position of the outer panel relative to the door frame.

In some embodiments the method may comprise operatively connecting the windowpane to an actuation means for moving the windowpane within the door frame for opening and closing of a window.

In some embodiments the slide member is alongside one edge of the windowpane and a second slide member is alongside an opposite edge of the windowpane, and the method comprises locating the second slide member within a channel defined by another section of the elongate seal.

In some embodiments the slide member is alongside one edge of the windowpane and a second slide member is alongside an opposite edge of the windowpane, and the method comprises locating the second slide member within a channel defined by a second elongate seal.

This provides the advantage that both side edges of the windowpane may be arranged to be flush with neighbouring outer surfaces of the door. 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; and 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.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Figures illustrate a support structure 301 for a movable windowpane 101 of a door 102A, 102B for a vehicle 103, the support structure 301 comprising: an elongate seal 302 defining a channel 303 along which a movable windowpane 101 is configured to slide; and 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 comprising: a retaining rail 308 providing the first side 305 of the outer channel assembly 304 and providing the second side 306 along a first portion 310 of the length of the retaining rail 308; and a removable or additional member 309 providing the second side 306 of the outer channel assembly 304 along a second portion 31 1 of the length of the retaining rail 308.

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 visible 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 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, retaining rails 308, which form a part of a support structure (301 in Figs. 1 and 3) and which each retain an elongate seal (302 in Fig. 3), also extend 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 channels 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.

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 may have a groove 620 which extends around the ridge 614 and the first surface 610 of the elongate seal 302 may extend 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.

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. The actual position 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 features 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.