Modular vehicle door

Details Modular vehicle door Modular vehicle door

1998-12-16

2001-03-27

Redman, Jerry (Department: 3634)

Movable or removable closures

Panel with closure feature

With means to accommodate window accessory; e.g.,...

C049S503000, C296S146600

Reexamination Certificate

active

06205714

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to vehicle doors and more particularly to modular vehicle doors in which several working parts of the vehicle door are assembled into a module that is then assembled to the sheet metal structure of the door.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Vehicle doors generally comprise a hollow structural unit or shell that is made of an inner sheet metal door panel and an outer sheet metal panel that are mated together and secured to each other along a mating periphery. In the past, the vehicle door was then completed by adding several parts to this hollow structural shell more or less individually.
In recent years, most vehicle doors have included a crash beam that extends across the length of the vehicle door to absorb side impact loads and thus improve passenger safety and crashworthiness of the vehicle.
Another recent trend in vehicle doors is modular construction where several door parts are preassembled into a module that is then assembled to the hollow structural shell as a preassembled module rather then a number of individual parts; the purpose of the modular construction being to facilitate assembly and reduce assembly cost. See for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,553 granted Jul. 16, 1996 to Brian H. Staser, Danny W. Figlioli and Daniel H. Forrest for a superplug vehicle door module.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle door of modular construction in which the preassembled module not only facilitates assembly and reduces assembly cost but also enhances crashworthiness of the modular vehicle door.
A feature of the invention is that the modular vehicle door of the invention has a preassembled module that includes a support beam that not only supports several components but also combines with the crash beam to improve crashworthiness.
Another feature of the invention is that that modular vehicle door of the invention has a preassembled module that includes a support beam that is fastened to reinforced sheet metal structure of the door easily.
Still another feature of the invention is that the modular vehicle door of the invention has a preassembled module that includes a support beam that combines with a crash beam through reinforced sheet metal structure of the door to improve crashworthiness.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4794735 (1989-01-01), Batcheleder
patent: 4831710 (1989-05-01), Katoh et al.
patent: 5095659 (1992-03-01), Benoit et al.
patent: 5355629 (1994-10-01), Kimura et al.
patent: 5379553 (1995-01-01), Kimura et al.
patent: 5417470 (1995-05-01), Holt
patent: 5535553 (1996-07-01), Staser et al.
patent: 5538094 (1996-07-01), Cobes et al.
patent: 0291107 (1988-11-01), None
patent: 2321660 (1998-08-01), None

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