One piece A-pillar air deflector and windshield molding
View Patent ↗A motor vehicle provides redirection of the slipstream to keep side windows of the vehicle clear of grime thrown into the path of the vehicle as spray or carried by precipitation. Redirection of the slipstream is provided by a turbulence or eddy generating protrusions extending into the slipstream from the vehicle's A-pillars. The protrusions or contours may be formed integrally with the encapsulation molding attached around the circumference of the vehicle's windshield.
1. A vehicle windshield molding attached around the circumference of a windshield and set in a frame defined by a body of a vehicle, the vehicle windshield molding comprising:
a first lip extending inwardly across the outside of the windshield;
a second lip extending outwardly in a direction opposite to the first lip and with the first lip covering a gap between the windshield and the frame; and
left and right side reverse swept deflectors extending outwardly from the second lip adjacent vehicle A-pillars into a slipstream generated by forward movement of the vehicle.
2. A vehicle windshield molding as set forth in clam 1 , further comprising:
the left and right side reverse swept deflectors each being a relatively thin protrusion spaced outwardly from the adjacent A-pillar.
3. A vehicle windshield molding as set forth in claim 2 , further comprising:
a circumferential base abutting end edges of the windshield and disposed in the gap between the edge of the windshield and the frame; and
the first lip extending inwardly from the circumferential base and the second lip extending outwardly from the circumferential base.
4. A vehicle windshield molding as set forth in claim 3 , further comprising:
a plurality of buttresses extending inwardly from the reverse swept deflector toward the vehicle A-pillars to support the position of the reverse swept deflector against the slipstream.
5. A vehicle windshield molding as set forth in claim 4 , wherein the vehicle windshield molding serves as an encapsulation end piece fully covering the gap between the frame and the windshield.
6. A vehicle windshield molding as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the reverse swept deflector generates turbulence in the slipstream adjacent the vehicle side windows.
7. A vehicle comprising:
left and right side windows;
left and right side A-pillars forward from the left and right side windows;
left and right side reverse swept deflectors extending from the left and right side A-pillars into any slipstream generated by forward movement of the vehicle;
a windshield frame defined in part by the left and right side A-Pillars;
a windshield set in the windshield frame;
a windshield molding attached around the circumference of a windshield, the windshield molding including an inwardly directed lip extending over an outer surface of the windshield and an outwardly directed lip extending back over an interior perimeter of the windshield frame; and
the left and right side reverse swept deflectors being formed integrally with the windshield molding.
8. A vehicle as set forth in claim 7 , the windshield molding further comprising:
a circumferential base protrusion abutting end edges of the windshield and disposed in a gap between the edge of the windshield and the windshield frame;
the first lip extending inwardly from the base protrusion; and
the second lip extending outwardly from the base in a direction opposite to the first lip.
9. A vehicle as set forth in claim 8 , further comprising:
each reverse swept deflector defining a steadily widening gap between an inner face and its respective A-pillar from front to rear; and
a plurality of buttresses extending inwardly from the reverse swept deflector toward the vehicle A-pillars to support the position of the reverse swept deflector against a slipstream.