Rocker panel moldings
AssigneeGeneral Motors of Canada Limited
InventorGeorge C. Floarea
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Rocker moldings are molded of polymer material and include a front section and a rear section joined by bridge arrangements. A preferred embodiments includes two bridge elements connected to a rear edge of the front section and to a front edge of the rear section. The bridge elements span a gap between the front and rear edges and allow for longitudinal expansion of the rocker panel moldings to accommodate thermal expansion in the underlying rocker panels and to provide for slight longitudinal adjustment in the rocker panel moldings while fitting the moldings to rocker panels.
Claims12
A rocker panel molding for attachment to a rocker panel of an automotive vehicle, comprising:
- a single molding unit having a front section and a rear section, with each section having an exterior surface adapted to face outwardly with respect to the vehicle and an interior surface adapted to face inwardly toward the motor vehicle, the sections further having an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion, when mounted on the vehicle;
- the front section having a rear edge and the rear section having a front edge, the rear edge and the front edge being separated by a gap, and
- at least one flexible bridge element bridging the gap, the bridge element having a front end and a rear end, the front end being in cooperative relation with the rear edge of the front section and the rear end being in cooperative relation with the front edge of the rear section.
A rocker panel molding for attachment to a rocker panel of an automotive vehicle, comprising:
- a unitary molding having a front section and a rear section, with each section having an exterior surface adapted to face outwardly with respect to the vehicle and an interior surface adapted to face inwardly toward the motor vehicle, the sections further each having an upper side portion and a lower side portion when mounted on the vehicle;
- the front section having a rear edge and the rear section having a front edge, the rear edge and the front edge being separated by a gap, and
- first and second flexible bridge elements bridging the gap, the bridge elements each having a front end and a rear end, the front ends of each bridge element being unitary with the rear edge of the front section, whereby as the front and rear edges of the rear and front sections move toward and away from one another, the bridge elements flex to accommodate narrowing and widening of the gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.