Patent Application
20250229732
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle garnish assembly and, more particularly, to a garnish panel having a front return flange forming a proud condition relative to an adjacent glass panel.
Many automobiles and other motorized vehicles include panels that enhance the appearance and/or functionality of the vehicle body. These panels are referred to as garnish panels or simply a “garnish.” Garnish panels are often placed at the edges of body panels, for example adjacent glass windows. High-speed air flowing over a small gap between the glass window and the garnish may cause air from the open cavity behind the garnish to vent through the small gap due to a negative pressure differential created between the stagnant air behind the garnish and the high-speed air on the outside of the garnish. This venting effect may create a wind noise that can cause a disturbance to passengers within the cabin.
There is a need in the art for an improved garnish assembly to minimize any wind noise and thus reduce the passenger disturbance.
The disclosure herein is directed to a vehicle garnish assembly with a return flange configured to reduce wind noise. The disclosed garnish panel achieves this reduction of the wind noise due to a combination of 1) a front return flange that impedes the air within the open cavity behind the garnish from venting through the small gap and 2) the garnish panel presenting a proud condition adjacent the glass window so as to slow the high-speed air as it flows over the small gap. These features in combination greatly reduce the speed of air exiting from behind the garnish panel to thereby eliminate or significantly reduce wind noise produced during vehicle travel.
In one aspect, the disclosure provides a garnish panel for a vehicle including a main body having a front edge and an opposing rear edge, and a return flange extending from the front edge of the main body. The return flange includes a first portion and a second portion, the first portion extending at an angle from the front edge of the main body and the second portion extending forward from the first portion such that the second portion is substantially parallel with the main body.
In another aspect, the disclosure is directed to a garnish assembly for a vehicle, the vehicle including a rear end, a rear quarter panel window, and a side panel, and the vehicle defining an inner passenger compartment. The garnish assembly includes a garnish panel configured to be mounted on the vehicle between the rear end and the rear quarter panel window. The garnish panel includes an elongate main body and a front return flange extending from a forward portion of the elongate main body. The front return flange is configured to be disposed between an outer surface of the side panel and an inner surface of the rear quarter panel window when the garnish panel is mounted on the vehicle.
A further aspect of the disclosure is directed to a vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle body including a rear end and a rear quarter panel window, and the vehicle defining an inner passenger compartment. The vehicle also includes a D-pillar garnish configured to be mounted on the vehicle body between the rear end and the rear quarter panel window. The D-pillar garnish includes an elongate main body and a front return flange extending from a forward portion of the main body when the D-pillar garnish is mounted on the vehicle. A gap is defined between a rear edge of the rear quarter panel window and a front edge of the elongate main body, and the front return flange is disposed between an outer surface of a vehicle body side panel and an inner surface of the rear quarter panel window such that the front return flange overlaps the gap and the rear edge of the rear quarter panel window.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the disclosure will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the following claims.
The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
The disclosure herein is directed to a vehicle including a vehicle body defining a structural periphery of the vehicle. As shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in greater detail below, the vehicle includes a garnish panel configured to be mounted on the vehicle body. The garnish panel may be configured to be mounted on any suitable portion of the vehicle body. In some exemplary embodiments, the garnish arrangement is configured to be mounted in a D-pillar region of the vehicle body. The D-pillar region of a vehicle is a known region of a vehicle body defining the rear most vertical roof support structure or “pillar” that generally extends between a rear quarter panel window and a tailgate of a four-door vehicle with a rear hatch. Examples of such vehicles may include sport utility vehicles (SUV's), wagons, cross-overs, and other vehicles of similar constructions.
Referring to
As illustrated in the cross section of
As illustrated in
To address this concern caused by the rapid outflow of air through the gap G, an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure herein provides a D-pillar garnish or garnish panel with a return flange, as shown generally in
As illustrated best in
The return flange 204 extends from the forward edge 210 of the garnish panel 200. A first portion 212 of the flange 204 extends at an angle θ of approximately 95 to 145 degrees inwardly toward the passenger compartment P of the vehicle, and a second portion 214 extends forward from the first portion 212. The second portion 214 is generally parallel with the main body 202 of the panel 200 and overlaps with a rear edge 216 of the window 104. In the exemplary embodiment herein, the second portion 214 extends past the rear edge 216 of window 104 by a distance D of approximately 3 to 10 mm, but the overlap may of course be greater or less depending upon the design characteristics of the vehicle. Similarly, the angle θ of the first portion 212 may vary depending upon the design of the vehicle and should not be limited to the exemplary range given above.
In the exemplary embodiment herein, air within the open cavity 116 between the side panel 108 of the vehicle and the inner surface of garnish panel 200 does not readily escape through the gap G as in the prior art. Instead, the front return flange 204 substantially closes off the passageway to the gap G. The air may still flow from the open cavity 116 behind garnish panel 200 through the gap G toward the exterior of the vehicle. However, because of the overlap between the return flange 204 and the window 104, the air escapes at slower speeds, thereby reducing or eliminating the whistling sound that is unpleasant for occupants of the vehicle.
Thus, as explained in detail above, garnish panel 200 utilizes a combination of the proud application of the garnish 200 relative to the rear quarter panel window glass and a front return flange 204 overlapping behind the rear quarter window glass in order to provide an improved garnish system that minimizes wind noise and thus reduces the disturbance to passengers within the vehicle. One skilled in the art will recognize, however, that these features could of course be used independently from one another to also achieve a reduction of the wind noise to some extent.
While various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the disclosure. Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in this detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible. Any feature of any embodiment may be used in combination with, or substituted for, any other feature or element in any other embodiment unless specifically restricted. Therefore, it will be understood that any of the features shown and/or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented together in any suitable combination. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims.
