AU785162B2 - Door panel - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: MELCHOR DAUMAL CASTELLON Actual Inventor: MELCHOR DAUMAL CASTELLON Address for Service: CALLINAN LAWRIE, 711 High Street, Kew, Victoria 3101, Australia Invention Title: DOOR PANEL The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 2707/01 .tdl2167.csl -2- The present invention relates to a panel of the type of that is used to hide devices and mechanisms housed inside the door of a vehicle, e.g.

the elements that intervene in the window lifting device of the vehicles These panels comprise a metallic or plastics board having small thickness whose external profile is complementary of the interior profile of the door where it is to be mounted. The function of the door panel of the vehicle is also to provide a complementary rigidity to the structure of the door and to hide, as it has been previously mentioned, the various mechanisms and elements fitted in the interior. Additionally, panels have been designed for vehicle doors as described in Spanish patent ES2152800 fitting various mechanisms and elements that conventionally were arranged inside the door to therefore facilitate assembling, repairing and maintenance operations.

15 Among the functions previously mentioned, it is to be *.*heightened, however, the function of rigidity that the door panel provides to the assembly. This function is usually carried out either arranging reinforcement structures as bars intended to take-up lateral impacts or by ribbing means formed in the panel itself during the manufacturing thereof.

In this sense, a new structural configuration of a door panel for motor vehicles has been found which advantageously combines ribbing means providing rigidity to the door assembly with a considerable reduction in the door panel thickness.

Different tests carried out in the manufacturing of door panels with different geometries resulted in a geometry that provides a door panel of excellent mechanical characteristics with a substantially reduced cost than that of the door panels manufactured for the same purpose presently available.

With a door panel as the one that is being described, deep ribs or 26/07/01,td 12167.spe2 -3accessory elements as guides or other resistant elements of the window lifting device to provide rigidity to the door are no longer necessary.

According to the present invention there is provided a door panel for vehicles, said door panel including a board fitted in the interior part of door of a vehicle covering the interior thereof, said door panel having a plurality of small recesses having an individual geometry selected among circular, lineal,triangular or hexagonal defining a group of rigidity ribs. It has been found that formation of soft recesses in the board of the door panel with any of the above mentioned geometries allows to reduce the thickness of the board of the door panel from 5 to 10% regarding the conventional door panels also obtaining an exceptional rigidity. This reduction in the thickness influences positively in the final cost, since the recesses can 15 be formed during the stamping process when moulding the board of the door panel.

Preferably, the recesses formed in the door panel object of the present invention have a depth from 0.3 to 1 mm and equivalent size to a circumference with a diameter between 3 and 10 mm.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the invention, the recesses are formed in the door panel in a substantially central position S 2 thereof and they are guided and properly faced in such a way that they are not creating starting crack lines or board bending lines.

The preferred geometry for the recesses of an embodiment of a door panel according to the invention corresponds to a circular geometry with a diameter of 5 mm. Due to the existent symmetry, lineal recesses as well as equilateral triangular geometries have been also tested as being advantageous.

Further details and features of the present invention will be 26/07/01,td 12167.spe.3 -4apparent from the following description, which refers to the accompanying drawings that schematically represent the preferred details. These details are given by way of example, which refer to a possible case of practical embodiment, but it is not limited to the disclosed details; therefore this description must be considered from an illustrating point of view and without any type of limitations.

A detailed list of the various parts cited in the present patent application is given below: Fig. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a door of an motor vehicle from the interior thereof and without the door panel of the invention; and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cutaway perspective view of an embodiment of a resistant door panel according to the present invention.

The elements described in the drawing correspond to door oooo panel, board of the panel, external profile of the panel, interior profile of the door of the vehicle, door of the vehicle, door housing, (7) frontal guide, 9) sliding rails, (10) lock support and window pane 20 assembly, (11) window guides, (12) window pane hook, fitted in the window lifting device track, (13) recesses, and thickness of the board of the panel.

The panel that is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings comprises a board made of metal or of a type of plastics and/or an appropriate S 25 composite. The board has an external profile suitable to fit with the interior profile of the door illustrated in the Fig. 1.

The interior profile of the door defines a housing (6) wherein various devices and mechanisms of the door are housed, for example the window lifting device, including elements as a front guide sliding rails the lock support and window pane assembly guides a hook (12) of the window pane that is fitted in the window lifting 2607/01.td12167.spe4 device track to avoid vibrations, etc.

The function of the panel of the door is to hide the housing with the elements housed therein. The panel also serves the purpose of providing rigidity to the structure of the door and therefore the structural configuration shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings included in the present specification is used. This configuration consists in the formation of a plurality of small recesses (13) that, in the embodiment illustrated by way of an example in Fig. 2, have a circular geometry of 5 mm of diameter and from 0,5 to 0,8 mm of thickness. These recesses (13) are formed in the board (2) of the door panel in a substantially central position thereof and they are properly faced in such a way that they are not creating starting crack lines or board bending lines properly guided.

S. 15 The soft recesses (13) formed in the board of the door panel allow reduction of the thickness from 5 to 10% compared with conventional door panels and to obtain an exceptional rigidity due to the symmetry of the ribs formed according to Fig. 2 of the drawings. Reduction of thickness influences positively in the final cost of the assembly, since the o 20 recesses (13) can be formed during the stamping process when moulding the board of the door panel 0 **.Once having been sufficiently described what the present patent application consists in accordance to the enclosed drawings, it is understood that any detail modification can be introduced as appropriate, provided that S 25 variations may alter the essence of the invention as summarised in the appended claims.

26/07101,td12167.spe.5

Claims (5)

1. A door panel for vehicles, said door panel including a board fitted in the interior part of door of a vehicle covering the interior thereof, said door panel having a plurality of small recesses having an individual geometry selected among circular, lineal, triangular or hexagonal defining a group of rigidity ribs.

2. The door panel according to claim 1, wherein said recesses are formed in the door panel in a substantially central position thereof, said recesses being properly faced in such a way that they do not create starting crack lines or board bending lines.

3. The door panel according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said recesses have a depth from 0.3 to 1 mm and equivalent size to a circumference with a diameter 15 between 3 and 10 mm.

4. The door panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said recesses have a circular geometry of a 5 mm diameter. 20

5. A door panel for vehicles, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 2 4 th day of July, 2006 MELCHOR DALbUMAL CASTELLON By their Patent Attorneys: CALLINAN LAWRIE 24/07/06,sw12167 p6,6