Movable or removable closures – Panel with closure feature – With means to accommodate window accessory; e.g.,...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-17
2001-05-01
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
Panel with closure feature
With means to accommodate window accessory; e.g.,...
C296S146600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223472
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 10-235832, filed Jul. 21, 1998. The contents of that application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle door and a vehicle door module.
2. Prior Art
In general, a vehicle door includes a windowpane, a door main body, a window regulator and a sash. The windowpane opens and closes a window opening of an automobile. The door main body includes a housing space, which is provided under the window opening and which houses the windowpane. The window regulator lifts the windowpane between the window opening and the housing space. The sash comprises a first sash and a second sash, which, respectively, guide both sides of the windowpane in the housing space, and which are provided in parallel with each other.
The first sash and the second sash have a length extending from a windowpane lifting slot provided in a belt line of the door main body into the window opening. The first sash, the second sash and an upper sash extending between an upper end of the first sash and an upper end of the second sash form the sash to surround the window opening.
In the case of a so-called hardtop automobile without an upper sash, the window opening is formed at a location that is surround by the vehicle body and the belt line when the door is closed.
Parts for a vehicle door have been recently provided as a module to simplify the assembling process. An example of such a vehicle door is constructed as follows: A mounting opening is formed at an upper end, a lower end, a side end, an exterior side or an interior side of a door main body in advance. A module, which has a windowpane, a window regulator, a first sash and a second sash incorporated therewith through a base plate, is inserted into the mounting opening and is mounted to the door main body.
The base plate is made of a plate-shaped metallic material having a certain plane shape. The base plate extends between the first sash and the second sash. The base plate has door equipment, such as the window regulator, an inside door handle, a speaker, a door ratch, a room light, wire-harness, and different kinds of switches, fixed thereto.
By the way, the vehicle door is required to provide the base plate with complex uneven plane shape so as to be matched with the equipment including the window regulator provided thereat. Thus, the base plate is likely to be heavy, creating a problem in that it is difficult to reduce the weight of a door.
In order to cope with this problem, there is an idea of adopting a base plate made of resin. However, this idea creates problems in that dimensional accuracy lowers according to a change in temperature and a resin base plate has lower strength than a metallic base plate.
In a case where a resin base plate has an expansion ratio of 0.1% due to a change in temperature, an error of 1 mm is produced at the maximum when the distance between the first sash and the second sash is 1,000 mm, for instance. When the resin base plate supports a window regulator, the position of a window plate alters in the front and rear direction of an automobile to bring about malfunction in lifting the window plate and positional shifts of other equipment in some cases.
In particular, a window plate is usually formed in a curved shape, the window plate is a big part among constituent parts for a vehicle door, and the window plate has a wide sliding range. As a result, the occurrence of a positional shift of the window plate in the front and rear direction has great impact on malfunction in comparison with other equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle door and a vehicle door module capable of not only making the assembling process thereof simple but also reducing the weight thereof, and improving dimensional and positional accuracy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to attain the object, the present invention provides a vehicle door having a window opening provided therein, including a windowpane for opening and closing the window opening; a door main body, which is provided under the window opening, and which has a housing space for housing the windowpane; a window regulator for lifting the windowpane between the window opening and the housing space; a first sash and a second sash for respectively guiding both sides of the windowpane in the housing space, the first and second sashes provided in parallel with each other; and a base plate, which extends between the first sash and the second sash, and which is made of a resin material in a plate-shaped form; and further including a metallic elongated member extending between the first sash and the second sash, the elongated member having the window regulator carried thereon; wherein the windowpane, the window regulator, the first sash, the second sash and the elongated member are incorporated with the base plate as a unit of module, and the module is to be mounted to the door main body.
The present invention also provides a vehicle door module as a unit, having vehicle door equipment incorporated therewith to be mounted to a vehicle door main body, including a windowpane for opening and closing a window opening in a vehicle door; a window regulator for lifting the windowpane between the window opening and a housing space, the housing space housing the windowpane in the vehicle door main body; a first sash and a second sash for respectively guiding both sides of the windowpane, the first and second sashes provided in parallel with each other; and a base plate, which extends between the first sash and the second sashes, and which is made of a resin material in a plate-shaped form; and further including a metallic elongated member extending between the first sash and the second sashes, the elongated member having the window regulator carried thereon; wherein the windowpane, the window regulator, the first sash, the second and the elongated member are incorporated with the base plate as a unit of module.
In the vehicle door and the vehicle door module thus constructed, the metallic elongated member extends between the first sash and the second sash, and the base plate is made of a resin material. This arrangement can not only reduce the weight of the vehicle door and the vehicle door module in comparison with adoption of a metallic base plate, but also ensure required strength, and can reduce extension due to a change in temperature, in particular a change in dimension of the entire module in a front and rear direction of an automobile.
In accordance with the vehicle door and the vehicle door module according to the present invention, the window regulator is carried on the elongated member. By this arrangement, the windowpane can be smoothly and reliably lifted since the base plate is hardly susceptible to deformation due to the lifting of the windowpane. Even if the base plate is extended or shrunk by a change in temperature, the windowpane can be prevented from shifting in a front and rear direction thereof since the window regulator is carried on the elongated member.
In the vehicle door and the vehicle door module, it is preferable that the first sash, the second sash and the elongated member are provided in a substantially H-character shaped arrangement. The malfunction in lifting the windowpane is influenced by lack of dimensional stability in the front and rear direction thereof. The extension and the shrinkage of the resin base plate in the front and rear direction due to a change in temperature is apt to create the malfunction in lifting the windowpane. The provision of the first sash, the second sash and the elongated member in a substantially H-character shaped arrangement can contribute to effectively prevent the resin base plate from extending or shrinking in the front and rear direction and the windowpane from malfunctioning in the lift movement due to extension or shrinkage of the resin base plate in the front
Hashimoto Hideyuki
Ishikawa Ken-ichi
Asahi Glass Company Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Stodola Daniel P.
Strimbu Gregory J.
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