Movable or removable closures – Panel with closure feature – With means to accommodate window accessory; e.g.,...
Patent
1998-11-30
2000-09-05
Redman, Jerry
Movable or removable closures
Panel with closure feature
With means to accommodate window accessory; e.g.,...
B60J 504
Patent
active
061124702
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a vehicle door and a method for assembling the same, which can make assembly easily at a body rigging line for vehicles.
BACKGROUND ART
For manufacturing a typical vehicle body, stamped steel plate parts are welded together at a body welding line to prepare several subassemblies, and the subassemblies are assembled to provide a white body. After the white body is painted at a body painting line, equipments are assembled to the painted body at a body rigging line, completing the vehicle body.
A vehicle door to be assembled to a vehicle body is mainly constituted by a door outer panel arranged on an exterior side thereof and a door inner panel arranged on an interior side thereof. Both panels are stamped steal plate parts. The door outer panel and the door inner panel are assembled in a door subassembly by hemming and spot-welding at the body welding line. After the door subassembly is assembled to the body through hinges, painting including electrocoating, intermediate coating and finish coating is applied to the door subassembly at the body painting line. The reason why such painting is carried out with the door subassembly assembled to the body is that the door is prevented from having a different tone of color from the body. Finally, door equipments such as a door widow glass and a window regulator are assembled to the door at the body rigging line.
With regard to such a vehicle door made of stamped steal plates, attaching the door equipments is carried out in such a situation that the door subassembly assembled to the body has been completely painted i.e. that the door outer panel 2 has the door inner panel 3 attached to an interior side thereof and a sash 4 joined thereto to provide a vehicle door panel 1 as shown in FIG. 5. It is usual that the required door equipments are assembled to the door through an access opening 5 formed in the door inner panel 3.
When the door equipments, in particular, large parts such as the window regulator are assembled to the door through the narrow access opening 5 in the door inner panel 3, it is necessary to carry out assembly into the door, handling such large parts at the body rigging line. This operation has required a lot of time and could damage the completely painted body. The attaching operation of such large parts through the narrow access opening involves complicated steps. It is extremely difficult to automatize the operation even if e.g. an excellent industrial robot is used.
There have been some proposals wherein door equipments are attached to a single plate to provide a module and the module is attached to a door panel. These proposal can eliminate the complication caused by attachment of the respective door equipments through the access opening in a door inner panel.
For Example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,585 has proposed that door equipments be integrally formed with a module plate to provide a door module and the door module is attached to a door panel. In this proposal, the door inner panel has an opening formed therein, and the door module is inserted into the door panel through the opening in the door inner panel, improving ease in door attachment.
In the door disclosed in the U.S. patent, a cavity is provided between the inner panel and an outer panel and the door module is mounted in the cavity. Since the opening is formed in the inner panel as stated, the door module can be inserted into the cavity through the opening to be mounted in the cavity. The door module is attached in the cavity by lifting the door module from a lower end toward an upper end of the opening to insert a door window glass into a belt line formed between the inner panel and the outer panel as shown in the drawings of the U.S. patent.
In order to handle the door module for inserting it into the opening in the operation for inserting and attaching of the door module, two-dimensional movement or three-dimensional movement in some instances is required. Specifically, the door module is moved in a direction perpendicular to a surfac
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Hashimoto Hideyuki
Ishikawa Ken-ichi
Osanami Kunio
Asahi Glass Company Ltd.
Redman Jerry
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