WO2008045097A1

WO2008045097A1 - Window coating

Info

Publication number: WO2008045097A1
Application number: PCT/US2006/040454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dennis C. Smith; Heather Lynn Scaglione
Original assignee: A. Schulman Invision, Inc.
Priority date: 2006-10-09
Filing date: 2006-10-17
Publication date: 2008-04-17

Abstract

A hydrophobic strip is applied to one of a retractable window and a fixed windshield. The retractable window is mounted in a vehicle door which includes a gasket. The gasket forms a band of contact with the strip when the window is in the fully extended position and forms a band of contact with the window when the window is in the retracted position. A wiper forms a band of contact with the strip applied to the windshield when the wiper is in a rest position and forms a band of contact with an exterior surface of the windshield when the wiper is not in the rest position.

Description

WINDOW COATING

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to coatings for windows.

BACKGROUND

A motor vehicle has a door with a window opening. A window, in a fully closed position, covers the opening. From this position, the window can be retracted to uncover the opening. In winter, retraction of the window can be resisted by ice formed at the bottom of the window. Similarly, a windshield wiper has a rest position at the bottom of a windshield. Movement of the wiper to wipe the windshield can be resisted by ice formed at the bottom of the windshield.

SUMMARY A door panel has a window opening. A window is configured to cover the opening in a fully extended position and to be retracted downward from the fully extended position to a retracted position. The window has a pane with an exterior surface that is coated with a strip of hydrophobic polymer. A gasket is attached to the door panel to maintain a band of contact with the window as the window slides from the fully extended position to the retracted position. The band of contact is formed with the strip when the window is in the fully extended position and formed with the pane when the window is in the retracted position. Preferably, the strip has a lower edge below the band of contact. The strip has an upper edge that is less than 50% of the way from the band of contact to a top of the window opening when the window is in the fully extended position. Less than half of the window's surface area that is wiped by the gasket is covered by the strip. The upper location is less than 2 inches above the band of contact when the window is in the fully extended position. The panel is a door panel of a motor vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially-schematic side sectional view of a side door assembly of a motor vehicle, including a window shown in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the window in an open position; and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a windshield assembly of the motor vehicle. DESCRIPTION

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 has parts that are examples of the elements recited in the claims. The apparatus thus includes examples of how a person of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the claimed invention. It is described here to meet the requirements of enablement and best mode without imposing limitations that are not recited in the claims.

The apparatus is a door assembly 10 of a motor vehicle. The door assembly 10 includes an exterior metal door panel 12, a window opening 14 in the panel 12, and a window 20 movably attached to the panel 12. In Fig. 1, the window 20 is shown in a fully closed position in which the window 20 extends across and covers the opening 14. In this position, the window 20 is fully extended in that it is prevented from moving further upward by abutment with a top abutment surface 21 of the door panel 12.

Using a motorized or hand crank mechanism 22, a user can retract the window 20 into the door cavity 23 to reach a fully retracted position shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the window 20 does not cover the opening 14 and the user cannot move the window 20 further downward.

The window 20 includes a glass pane 24 with an exterior surface 26 that faces outside 27 the vehicle to be exposed to weather conditions including rain and snow. The exterior surface 26 is coated with a strip 28 of hydrophobic polymer. The strip 28 extends horizontally along the full width of the window 20, and vertically along only a portion of the height of the window 20.

A gasket 30 is attached to the door panel 12. It maintains a horizontally-extending seal with the window 20, defined by a band of contact 40 with the window 20 along the full width of the window 20. The seal 40 is maintained as the window 20 slides against gasket 40 while being retracted from the fully extended position to the fully retracted position. The seal 40 prevents rain and snow from falling into the door cavity 23.

The gasket is also a wiper in that during retraction, the gasket 30 wipes a rectangular surface area 44 of the window 20. The wiped surface area 44 extends horizontally the length of the seal 40, and extends vertically from the location of the seal 40 when the window 20 is fully extended (Fig. 1) to the location of the seal 40 when the window 20 is fully retracted (Fig. 2).

The strip 28 has horizontal bottom and top edges 51 and 52. With reference to the window's fully extended position (Fig. 1), the strip's bottom edge 51 is below the seal 40. The strip's top edge 52 is above the seal 40, preferably less than 50%, more preferably less than one 20%, and more preferable less than 5%, of the way from the seal 40 to the top 53 of the opening 14. The top edge 52 is also preferably less than 1 inch or 2 inches above the seal 40. Less than half of the surface area 44 wiped by the gasket 30 is covered by the strip 40.

Accordingly, the seal 40 is formed with the strip 28 when the window 20 is fully extended (Fig. 1) or initially retracting. However, the seal 40 is formed with the bare pane 24, above the strip 28, for most of the window's range of travel as it is retracted. The polymer's hydrophobicity prevents ice, forming near the gasket 30 at the bottom of the window opening 14, from adhering to the window 20 and resisting initial retraction of the window 30 into the door cavity 23.

Fig. 3 shows a windshield assembly 110 of the motor vehicle. The assembly 110 includes a front panel 112 with a window opening 114 covered by a transparent windshield 120. The windshield 120 includes a glass pane 124 with an exterior surface 126. The surface 126 is coated, near its bottom, with a horizontal strip 128 of a hydrophobic polymer like that described above.

A windshield wiper 130 has a wiper blade 132. It is shown in Fig. 3 in a rest position in which the blade 132 makes a horizontal band of contact 140 with the windshield 120 near the bottom of the windshield 120. From this rest position, the blade 132 can start to rotate upward to wipe liquid and solids (ex: water and dirt) from the window 120. The surface area 144 wiped by the blade 132 is bounded by upper and lower arcs 144a and 144b. hi this windshield assembly 110 (Fig. 3), the wiper 130 slides against the stationary window 120, in contrast to the door assembly 10 (Figs. 1-2) in which the window 20 (Figs. 1-2) slides against the stationary gasket 30.

With reference to the rest position (Fig. 3) of the wiper 130, the horizontal bottom edge 151 of the polymer strip 128 is below the wiper's band of contact 140 with the window 120. The strip's horizontal top edge 152 is above the band of contact 140, preferably less than 50%, more preferably less than one 20%, and more preferable less than 5%, of the way from the band of contact 140 to the top 153 of the window 120. The top edge 152 of the strip 128 is also preferably less than 1 inch or 2 inches above the line of contact 140. Less than half of the surface area 144 wiped by the blade 132 is covered by the strip 128.

Accordingly, the band of contact 140 is formed with the strip 128 when the wiper 130 is in its rest position (Fig. 3) or initially moving upward. However, the band of contact 40 is formed with the bare pane 124 for most of the wiper's range of travel as the wiper 130 wipes the window 120.

The polymer's hydrophobicity reduces the chance of ice, forming at the bottom of the windowshield 120 when the wiper 130 is in its rest position, from adhering to the windowshield 130. This lessens the ice's ability to resist initial upward movement of the wiper 130 from its rest position.

The polymer is preferably an ionomer comprising an ethylene acid copolymer neutralized with a metal salt, and is preferably electrically conductive. The metal of the salt is preferably monovalent or divalent, and can be selected from Groups IA, HA, IB, and HB of the Periodic Table, preferably sodium, potassium and zinc. Preferred ionomers include sulfonated polystyrene, sulfonated t-butyl styrene, sulfonated polyethylene, sulfonated polypropylene, sulfonated styrene/acrylonitrile copolymers, sulfonated styrene/methyl methacrylate copolymers, sulfonated block copolymers of styrene/ethylene oxide, acrylic acid copolymers with styrene, sulfonated polyisobutylene, sulfonated ethylene-propylene terpolymers, sulfonated polyisoprene, sulfonated elastomers, ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer, ethylene acrylic acid copolymer, and propylene acrylic acid copolymer.

The ionomer has been found to have better clarity if sodium is used as the metal. This is particularly advantageous for the embodiments of Figs. 1-3 due to two factors: First, the substrate in these examples, the panes 24 and 124, are configured to be seen through, in contrast to an opaque substrate. Second, the polymer-coated section of the pane 24 or 124 is adjacent to a bare section of the pane, so that any difference between the coated and bare sections is more easily noticed than if the bare section were remote from the coated section. The ionomeric polymer can also be applied to other surfaces that are exposed to ice, such as motor vehicle parts like bumpers and headlights, to prevent ice from adhering to those surfaces.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: a panel having a window opening; a window configured to cover the opening in a fully extended position and to be retracted downward from the fully extended position to a retracted position, the window including a pane having an exterior surface that is coated with a strip of hydrophobic polymer; and a gasket attached to the door panel to maintain a band of contact with the window as the window slides from the fully extended position to the retracted position, the band of contact being formed with the strip when the window is in the fully extended position and formed with the pane when the window is in the retracted position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the strip has a lower edge below the band of contact.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the strip has an upper edge that is less than 50% of the way from the band of contact to a top of the window opening when the window is in the fully extended position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein less than half of the surface area of window, that is wiped by the gasket, is covered by the strip.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the upper location is less than 2 inches above the band of contact when the window is in the fully extended position.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the strip extends horizontally.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the panel is a door panel of a motor vehicle.

8.' An apparatus comprising: a window including a window pane having a surface that is coated with a strip of hydrophobic polymer; and a wiper configured to have a rest position in which the wiper makes a band of contact with the strip and from which the wiper moves to wipe a surface area of the window, with a portion of the wiped surface area not covered by the strip.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein most of the wiped surface area is not covered by the strip.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the strip has a lower edge below the band of contact.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the strip has an upper edge that is less than 50% of the way from the band of contact to a top of the window when the wiper is in the rest position.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the upper location is less than 2 inches above the band of contact when the wiper is in the rest position.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the panel is a door panel of a motor vehicle.

14. An apparatus comprising: a window including a window pane having an exterior surface configured to be exposed to weather conditions and coated with a hydrophobic strip; and a wiper configured to have a rest position in which the wiper makes a band of contact with the strip and from which the wiper moves, relative to the window, to wipe a section of the pane that is not covered by the strip.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the window is a window of a motor vehicle.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein, during the wiping, the window slides against the wiper.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein, during the wiping, the wiper slides against the window.

8. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the strip is of a hydrophobic polymer.