The present invention refers to the motor-vehicle doors industry and it regards an innovative door architecture.
The object of the present invention is to provide a motor-vehicle door structure that is robust and capable of guaranteeing the utmost safety of the driver and passengers in case of impact, simultaneously being considerably light and capable of guaranteeing extremely easy and quick manufacture, assembly and maintenance operations.
According to the main characteristic thereof, the door according to the invention comprises:
a structure including an inner panel and an outer panel for completion and trimming,
a carrier fixed to the inner panel and carrying a plurality of auxiliary members of the door, and
a trimming panel which covers the carrier and the inner panel on the inner side of the door,
said door being characterised in that the carrier is made of fibre-reinforced synthetic material, it is rigidly connected to the inner panel and it is configured to also serve as structural reinforcement of said inner panel.
According to a further preferred characteristic, the carrier of the door according to the invention has at least one portion exposed to view, not covered by said trimming panel and having a structure and a configuration such to directly serve the function of trimming panel at the aforementioned exposed portions.
Due to the aforementioned characteristics, the structure of the door according to the invention is constituted by a small number of components, it is lighter with respect to doors of this type made according to the known art and it guarantees both a high robustness as well as easy and quick manufacture and assembly operations.
An alternative embodiment is characterized in that:
the inner panel is a framework comprising a U-shaped structure constituted by at least one profiled metal element defining at least one lower crosspiece and two uprights having the lower ends connected to the ends of said lower crosspiece, and in that:
an outer panel having a structure, for example of the honeycomb type, configured for absorbing impact energy, is fixed to the inner panel.
This second embodiment also reveals advantages in terms of construction simplicity and lightness, in terms of safety for the passengers in case of an impact, as well as in terms of easy and quick door assembly and maintenance operations.
Now, the invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:
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The connections of the various components indicated above to each other may be obtained through any known method, for example through a “Pinetto” fastener.
In a variant, the panels 6,7 are integrated in a single panel that can be obtained by means of a single thermoforming step.
The carrier 5 can be fixed to the inner panel 3 preferably using screws and/or rivets, preferably also with the help anti-vibration pads.
Still with reference to
In the embodiment illustrated in
The upper framework 34 shall be assembled on the carrier 5 on which the windows, guides and the power window motor shall be mounted: this allows performing all adjustments a component off-line and in addition, the movement of the glass shall be guided by components closely connected to each other. The structural carrier 5 and framework 34 shall constitute a single element in which the glass slides. This ensemble will then be assembled to the inner panel 3 ending up forming, with the outer panel, the complete door. With this architecture, the inner panel and outer panel do not contribute to the movement of the glass hence further adjustment shall not be required.
On the outer side, the door is closed with an outer panel 4 rigidly connected to the inner panel defined by the element 3 and having a structure made of reinforced synthetic material, or made of metal material or composite material, having a configuration adapted to absorb impact energy, preferably a honeycomb configuration.
An outer cover 41, which can be made of metal material or synthetic material and can be made in a single piece with the structure 40 or separate with respect thereto is applied to the structure 40.
In the preferred embodiment, the honeycomb configuration of the structure 40 has deep meshes which develop from one face of the panel 4 to the other, to absorb the impact energy. Such structure allows avoiding the use, in the door of
In case of a monolithic panel incorporating the structure 40 and the cover 41, the material the panel is made of should combine the impact resistance and machinability characteristics (for example it should be suitable for painting). Regarding painting, the door with the outer panel made of plastic may be more applicable to vehicles in which, for example, the mudguards are also made of plastic. Thus the doors could be painted off-line as done for bumpers and plastic mudguards.
The variant with structure 40 and cover 41, both made of metal, may be obtained through non conventional manufacturing methods in the motor vehicle door construction industry, such as for example electrical discharge machining or die-casting, so as to obtain the alveolar structure 40.
Generally, an outer door panel obtained using the aforementioned technologies may have differentiated rigidity depending on the area (for example varying the density of the cells or the thickness thereof). Thus the central strip of the door could be stiffened so as to resist to lateral impacts and lighten the remaining part so as not to make the entirety heavy.
The alveolar structure with variable rigidity may also integrate other functions besides the anti-intrusion ones. Patches made of different material with rigidity function are glued on the conventional door panels; in other cases, this function is carried out by a further stiffening bar. The addition of glued patches also has the purpose of improving the acoustic behaviour of the door panel. All these functions may be met through an accurate design of the alveolar structure varying the wall thickness, depth, width and shape of the cells.
The door architecture illustrated in 15 allows a different kind of door assembly and maintenance, given that the panel 4 could be the last component to be assembled and the maintenance operations on the various accessory members present within the door could thus be carried out from the outer side of the door, after demounting the panel 4.
The assembly of the various components (carrier, inner panel and outer panel) may be obtained through conventional methods such as bolted joints, welding, gluing, plastic rivets etc.
The maintenance of the components (power windows, locks, handles etc) definitely must be guaranteed hence the carrier must be removable. The outer panel could be glued (greater structural rigidity) or fastened (demounting option with the possibility of carrying out maintenance operations on the accessories from outside).
The structural carrier plus inner panel plus outer structural panel form, with respect to the present invention, a closed structure in which all components contribute to the rigidity of the door thus reducing the weight thereof.
Obviously, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the construction details and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of example, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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11193468.3 | Dec 2011 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2012/055802 | 10/22/2012 | WO | 00 | 6/16/2014 |