CN112977022A

CN112977022A - Motor vehicle tailgate

Info

Publication number: CN112977022A
Application number: CN202010802594.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 奥利维耶·托雷斯
Original assignee: Plastic Omnium SE
Current assignee: Plastic Omnium SE
Priority date: 2019-12-17
Filing date: 2020-08-11
Publication date: 2021-06-18
Also published as: EP4077006A1; CN213082884U; WO2021122485A1; FR3104497A1; FR3104497B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a tailgate for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one side upright (8) to which a rear window (10) is attached, wherein the side upright (8) is configured as a profile having a U-shaped open cross section, the opening of which faces the rear window (10), wherein the side upright comprises an inner side wall (14), wherein the inner side wall (14) comprises a surface (18) that is visible from the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle on which the tailgate (2) is mounted, wherein the surface (18) of the inner side wall (14) is at least partially covered by a texture that is integrally molded with the side upright (8), and wherein the angle (alpha) formed between the inner side wall (14) and the longitudinal axis (X) of the motor vehicle is less than 10 DEG, preferably substantially equal to 5 deg.

Description

Motor vehicle tailgate

Technical Field

The present invention relates to plastic tailgate for motor vehicles, and more particularly to side pillars of the inner lining that are part of these tailgate doors.

Background

In the prior art, tailgate bins are known which comprise an inner structural panel and an outer cladding panel both made of plastic. The inner lining has an opening in the upper part for receiving a transparent window, the sides of which are formed by the uprights of the lining.

For example, patent application FR 3079782 discloses a stud made of plastic. Such a column is formed as a profile with a U-shaped open cross section.

Such pillars are structurally pleasing but aesthetically unsatisfactory, particularly for occupants of the vehicle interior, who may view the visible portions of the pillars from within the vehicle compartment.

To overcome this aesthetic problem, it is known to use cladding decorations of the internal face of the lining, to cover in particular the uprights. Decorations, usually made of textured plastic, are attached to the side uprights and are positioned and dimensioned to obscure the walls of the side uprights, in particular the internal side walls. Thus, the pillars of the structural lining are no longer directly visible from the outside of the vehicle and from the inside of the passenger compartment, but rather the trim is visible, which has the appearance desired by the automobile manufacturer.

However, the presence of such decorations also brings about certain problems.

First, this results in an overlap of the panels: the side column comprises an outer skin, a lining to which the side column belongs and an ornament for covering the side column. This overlapping of the panels increases the weight of the assembly and even the additional assembly operations in order to obtain the final part.

In addition, adding ornamentation to the inside walls of the uprights adds additional thickness and results in a reduced field of view through the rear window by encroaching on the side portions of the rear window. This results in a limited field of view and an increase in blind spots.

It is also known to make tailgate with visible studs (without any decoration), which are then textured, forming for example a standard texture (grain) made by chemical attack. However, this would impose the requirement that the angle between the textured side and the base of the post be approximately equal to at least 12 °: in fact, the mere elimination of decorations allows to obtain an improvement in the rear view effect by eliminating this overlap, but the conditions of releasability of the lining, in particular of the textured side of the uprights, impose the requirement of angles as small as 12 ° and of forming a standard texture, so as not to damage the texture produced on the textured side by pulling.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, in particular, by providing a tailgate for a motor vehicle which allows an enlarged view through the rear window, with an optimal aesthetic appearance.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a tailgate for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one side upright to which a rear window is attached, said side upright constituting a profile with a U-shaped open cross section, the opening of which faces the rear window, said side upright comprising an inner side wall comprising a first face visible from the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle on which the tailgate is mounted, said first face being at least partially covered with a texture integrally moulded with said side upright, said inner side wall forming an angle of less than 10 °, preferably substantially equal to 5 °, with the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle.

Thus, a tailgate is obtained comprising side pillars, the portion of which visible from the interior of the compartment comprising a texture integrally moulded with the side pillars, which texture gives the side pillars an optimal aesthetic appearance.

Furthermore, the narrow angle between the wall of the side pillar visible from the interior of the passenger compartment and the longitudinal axis of the vehicle also allows for less encroachment on the rear viewing area of the rear window.

This allows to maximize the rear view at the rear window, since there is no trim (compared to a part of the prior art) and the angle between the wall of the side pillar visible from inside the passenger compartment and the longitudinal axis of the vehicle becomes smaller. This solution considered also does not have an influence on the structural rigidity of the uprights or on the overall width of the tailgate.

The tailgate according to the invention may also comprise at least one of the following features:

-the depth of the texture on the face of the inner side wall is between 10 μm and 50 μm, preferably between 10 μm and 20 μm;

-the texture on the face of the inner side wall is composed of several regions comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations;

-the side pillar comprises an outer side wall comprising a face visible from the outside of the vehicle on which the tailgate is mounted when the tailgate is open, and the face of the outer side wall is at least partially covered with a texture integrally molded with the side pillar;

-the depth of the texture on the face of the outer side wall is between 10 μm and 50 μm, preferably between 10 μm and 20 μm; and

the texture on the face of the lateral wall is composed of several zones comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations.

The invention also relates to a method for producing a tailgate according to the invention, wherein the side pillars are produced by injection molding in a mold, the molding surface of which for molding the inner side walls of the side pillars is at least partially textured by laser engraving.

The texturing of the mold by laser engraving allows a variety of different appearances to be achieved within the same area of the post that is textured: for example, the depth and direction of the laser engraved relief can be changed. By moulding, these variations will be reflected in the side uprights and visible, achieving various styling effects, for example in terms of the brightness of the part.

The method according to the invention may further comprise at least one of the following features:

-the moulding surface for moulding the outer side wall of the side post is at least partially textured by laser engraving;

-realizing a texture on the face of the inner side wall and/or on the face of the outer side wall with a depth comprised between 10 μm and 50 μm, preferably between 10 μm and 20 μm; and

-realizing a texture consisting of several areas comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations on the face of the inner side wall and/or on the face of the outer side wall.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following description, given by way of example only and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a rear view of an embodiment of a tailgate according to the invention,

figure 2 is a sectional view of the tailgate according to figure 1 taken along the plane I-I,

figure 3 is a side view of a textured side post,

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a mold that allows the implementation of the manufacturing method according to the invention, and

fig. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of the mold of fig. 4A.

Detailed Description

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a tailgate 2 comprising a lower section 4, an upper section 6 and two side pillars 8 connecting the lower section 4 and the upper section 6. The tailgate 2 is made of plastic, as is known to the person skilled in the art. It consists of an outer panel and a lining, which is visible on the upper left part of the tailgate 2 of fig. 1.

Each side post 8 is formed by a lining and is constructed with a profile of U-shaped open cross-section opening towards a rear window 10 mounted in part on the side post 8.

The side uprights 8 comprise a base 12 forming the bottom of the U and which, when the tailgate 2 is in the closed position on the vehicle, is directed towards the front of the vehicle: in this position, the U-shaped opening of the side pillar 8 is thus directed towards the rear of the vehicle.

The base 12 is provided with two sides, namely an inner side wall 14 and an outer side wall 16. The inner side wall 14 is the wall closer to the longitudinal axis passing through the center of the vehicle (or Y0). The outer side wall 16 is further from the axis.

The side pillar 8 does not include a garnish that obscures the inner side wall 14, and therefore, the inner side wall 14 is visible from the interior of the vehicle compartment. To maintain an optimal aesthetic appearance, the face 18 of the inner side wall 14 (that is to say the part of the wall visible from the interior of the cabin) is at least partially covered with a texture (visible in fig. 3). The texture allows for an optimal aesthetic appearance for the elements visible from the vehicle interior. The texture is moulded integrally with the side uprights 8.

In order to improve the view through the rear window 10, the angle α formed by the inner side wall 14 and the longitudinal axis X of the vehicle is less than 10 °, preferably substantially equal to 5 °. In contrast, the angle β formed by this same longitudinal axis X and the inner side wall according to the prior art (indicated with 20 in fig. 2) is approximately equal to 12 °. This reduction in angle allows the field of view of a glazing having a width of 100cm and a pillar height of 100 to 150mm to be increased by about 4 cm.

To obtain a reduced angle α, the depth of the texture made on the face 18 of the inner sidewall 14 may be adjusted. As will be explained in detail below, the method for obtaining these textures allows to obtain the desired depth, contrary to the prior art.

The depth of the texture may be between 10 μm and 50 μm, preferably between 10 μm and 20 μm. Therefore, a texture having a smaller depth than that in the related art can be obtained. This reduction in the depth of the grain makes demolding of the side uprights 8 easier.

In practice, the texture is integrally molded with the side posts. In other words, the mould used comprises a negative of texture at the moulding surface 22 (where the inner side wall 14 is moulded and which allows the face 18 to be obtained) (the negative consisting of a relief complementary to the relief formed on the face 18 of the inner side wall 14).

In the prior art, the problem of damage to the texture made on the surface of the textured side, which can result from the drawing, stems from the problem of undercut demolding (d Moulanen Constre-d pouille). In other words, when the orientation of the shape (here, the texture) of the mold is incompatible with the direction of demolding (indicated by arrow B in fig. 4A), this makes demolding difficult or even impossible without damaging the above-described shape. Therefore, it is necessary to change the direction of demolding and the angle formed by the orientation of the texture (make the orientation closer to the direction of demolding) to allow demolding without damage.

In the present invention, the reduction in the depth of the texture makes demolding easier and thus reduces the angle formed between the molding surface 24 for molding the base 12 and the molding surface for molding the inner sidewall 14. Thus, the above-described enlargement of the field of view through the rear window is obtained.

As shown in fig. 3, the texture present on the inner sidewall 14 may be non-uniform. In this case, the depth of the texture, the distribution of the texture, or their orientation may be varied to achieve a pattern effect as seen on fig. 3. Of course, the same texture may be provided over the entire surface of the face 18 of the side wall 14.

The outer side wall 16 includes a face 26, the face 26 being visible from the exterior of the vehicle when the tailgate 2 mounted thereto is in an open position.

Accordingly, the face 26 of the outer sidewall 16 may include a texture of the type described above. All aspects detailed above to detail the texture (depth, uniformity, non-uniformity, etc.) of the face 18 of the side wall 14 apply to the texture of the face 26 of the outer side wall 16. The texture of the face 26 of the outer sidewall 16 may be the same or different than the texture of the face 18 of the inner sidewall 14.

The invention also relates to a manufacturing method for manufacturing the tailgate 2 according to the invention.

In the method, the side post 8 is manufactured by injection moulding in a mould, the moulding surface 22 for moulding the inner side wall 14 of the side post 8 being at least partially textured by laser engraving.

In contrast to mold texturing by chemical etching, laser engraving allows to achieve a shallower texture on the mold, but also very precise in terms of depth of the texture, distribution of the texture, etc.

To this end, the molding surface 22 corresponding to the face 18 of the inner sidewall 14 may be textured by laser engraving. Texturing may be done regularly or irregularly (to obtain the above-described non-uniformity at face 18 of inner sidewall 14) over the entire molding surface 22 or only a portion thereof.

The molding surface 32 that will correspond to the face 26 of the outer sidewall 16 may also be modified by laser engraving. Thus, after moulding, a face 26 of the outer sidewall 16 is obtained which is textured in the manner described above.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, faces other than those mentioned above may be textured.

List of reference numerals

2: tail door

4: lower part of tail gate

6: upper part of tail gate

8: side column

10: rear window

12: base of side column

14: inner side wall of side upright post

16: outer side wall of side upright post

18: surface of the inner side wall

20: inner side wall according to prior art

22: molding surface for molding inner sidewall

24: moulding surface for moulding a base

26: face of outer side wall

32: moulding surface for moulding an outer side wall

X: longitudinal axis of vehicle

B: direction of demoulding

α: angle formed by inner side wall and longitudinal axis X

Beta: according to the prior art, the angle formed by the inner side wall and the longitudinal axis X.

Claims

1. Tailgate (2) of a motor vehicle, characterized in that the tailgate (2) comprises at least one side pillar (8) to which a rear window (10) is attached, the side pillar (8) constituting a profile with a U-shaped open cross-section, the opening of the U-shaped open cross-section facing the rear window (10), the side pillar comprising an inner side wall (14), the inner side wall (14) comprising a face (18) visible from the interior of the compartment of the vehicle on which the tailgate (2) is mounted, the face (18) of the inner side wall (14) being at least partially covered with a texture integrally moulded with the side pillar (8), the angle (α) formed between the inner side wall (14) and the longitudinal axis (X) of the motor vehicle being less than 10 °, preferably substantially equal to 5 °.

2. A tailgate (2) according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the texture on the face (18) of the inner side wall (14) is between 10 μ ι η and 50 μ ι η, preferably between 10 μ ι η and 20 μ ι η.

3. A tailgate (2) according to any preceding claim wherein the texture on the face (18) of the inner side wall (14) consists of regions comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations.

4. A tailgate (2) according to any preceding claim wherein said side pillar (8) comprises an outer side wall (16) comprising a face (26) visible from the exterior of a vehicle on which the tailgate (2) is mounted when the tailgate (2) is opened and the face (26) of the outer side wall (16) is at least partially covered with a texture integrally moulded with the side pillar (8).

5. A tailgate (2) according to claim 4, wherein the depth of the texture on the face (26) of the outer side wall (16) is between 10 and 50 μm, preferably between 10 and 20 μm.

6. A tailgate (2) according to any of claims 4 and 5 wherein the texture on the face (26) of the outer side wall (16) is comprised of regions comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations.

7. A manufacturing method of manufacturing a tailgate (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the side pillar (8) is made by injection moulding in a mould, the moulding surface (22) of which for moulding the inner side wall (14) of the side pillar (8) is at least partially textured by laser engraving.

8. Manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the moulding surface (32) for moulding the outer side wall (16) of the side post (8) is at least partially textured by laser engraving.

9. Manufacturing method according to any one of claims 7 and 8, wherein a texture with a depth of between 10 μm and 50 μm, preferably between 10 μm and 20 μm, is realized on the face (18) of the inner side wall (14) and/or on the face (26) of the outer side wall (16).

10. Manufacturing method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a texture consisting of several zones comprising textures of different depths, distributions and/or orientations is realized on the face (18) of the inner side wall (14) and/or on the face (26) of the outer side wall (16).