FR2880294A1 - Motor vehicle door seal fitting procedure uses tool with supporting head and fingers that stretch or compress sections of seal as it is stuck to the vehicle body surface - Google Patents

Abstract

The procedure for fixing a seal (10) to the surface (5) of a door surround (4) on a motor vehicle body (1) uses a tool with a supporting head having a perimeter essentially identical to the shape of the door surround, and a series of fingers that can be moved to stretch or contract the seal. The seal is fitted to the tool and first stretched so that it is longer than the perimeter of the door surround, then contracted to make it shorter than the perimeter before being offered up to the door surround fixing surface, stretched slightly and applied under pressure to fix it in place. The procedure is continued in sections round the whole of the door surround's curved (10a) and straight (10b) sections.

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for laying a

  motor vehicle door seal attached to a joint surface of a body portion forming a door surround.

  Motor vehicles comprise at each door 5, a door entry seal whose function is to seal with respect to fluids, that is to say with respect to air and water, and also acoustic sealing, while ensuring a good finish.

  The shape of the door seal and its design are variable. The seal may consist of one or more materials with or without metal reinforcement and may be of constant section or not.

  When the door seal is attached to a body part forming a door surround, it is increasingly an interface piece with the carpet, the interior lining, the integrated driving position and the rebate of the door. door entry. Generally, the door seal is shod on this door entry rabbet and its implementation is performed manually by an operator provided with a rubber mallet.

  Manual assembly of the door seal has drawbacks.

  Indeed, the operator does not always control his typing force which is variable according to its physical state and fatigue, which results in a dispersion in the regularity of typing. This irregularity possibly leads to a risk of damage to the part of the seal forming a clamp and which overlaps the rabbet of the bodywork. It may even occur in some cases a crushing of the seal inducing the loss of the mechanical strength function that can cause the opening of the holding clamp at the time of fitting the seal on said rabbet.

  The non-regular manual installation of the seal causes undulations on the latter particularly in the areas of high thickness of the rabbet supporting said seal or in the areas of maintenance of the lining and the random distribution of the compression creates natural stresses to the tearing off .

  In general, the non-control in time of the fitting forces for the same operator or operator to another induces appearance defects and sealing of the seal.

  Finally, for the operator it follows a very bad ergonomic balance because the installation of each joint requires 100 to 150 mallets and causes a difficult posture for the operator with a strike in all directions and a variable working height and multiple contortions.

  The invention aims to provide a method and a device for installing a motor vehicle door seal which avoids the disadvantages mentioned above.

  The invention therefore relates to a method of laying a door seal of a motor vehicle, fixed on a joint surface of a body part forming a door surround, with the aid of a seal application comprising a tool comprising a seal support head defining a perimeter substantially identical to the door surround and provided with means for moving at least a portion of seal outwardly and inwardly of the outline closed said gasket, said gasket having a bonding surface and a closed contour having curved portions and straight portions, in which: - the displacement means of at least one joint portion are displaced outwardly; extending the perimeter of the seal support head; arranging the seal on the seal support head so as to extend it to a length greater than the perimeter of the seal surface of the door surround; displacing the displacement means of at least one joint portion of the seal support head so as to retract the seal to a length less than the perimeter of the joint surface of the door surround; - The seal is presented in the retracted state opposite said seal surface; the displacement means of at least one joint portion of the seal support head are moved so as to release the seal to a length greater than the length determined by the first extension, and the seal is adhered by exerting a seal pressure on the seal surface of the door surround, moving outwardly the means for moving at least a joint portion of the seal support head.

  According to other characteristics of the invention: the extensions and the retraction of the gasket are carried out over the entire closed contour of said gasket, the extensions and the retraction of the gasket are carried out on the curved portions of said gasket, the extensions and the shrinkage of the seal is performed on the straight portions of said seal.

  The invention also relates to a device for installing a door seal of a motor vehicle, fixed on a joint surface of a body part forming a door surround, said seal having a bonding surface and a closed contour comprising curved portions and rectilinear portions, characterized in that it comprises a tool comprising a support head of the seal defining a perimeter substantially identical to the door surround and provided with displacement means of at least a portion of the seal outwardly and inwardly of the closed contour of said seal.

  According to other characteristics of the invention: the support head of the joint is formed by sectors aligned next to one another along said perimeter and comprising an upper positioning part in a groove formed in said joint, at least one sector comprising parallel lamellae with variable spacing, -each sector of the joint support head comprises parallel lamellae with variable spacing, the sectors of the curved portions of the seal comprise parallel lamellae with variable spacing, -the sectors of the straight portions of the joint. joint comprise parallel slats with variable spacing.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automobile vehicle whose door surrounds are equipped with a door seal laid by a device according to the invention; FIG. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the door seal; 3 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the delivery device according to the invention; FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a lamella of the delivery device according to the invention; FIG. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a slat sector of the delivery device in the retraction configuration of the door seal; Fig. 6 is a schematic elevational view of a slat sector of the delivery device in the extension configuration of the door seal; 7 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the delivery device according to the invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the laying device according to the invention.

  FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a motor vehicle which comprises, in a conventional manner, a bodywork generally designated by the reference 1 including in particular lateral walls 2 provided with at least one opening 3 for the positioning of a vehicle. opening, not shown.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, each side wall 2 has two openings 3, one for a front door and one for a rear door.

  In the following, we will describe a device for laying a door seal for example for a front door, the device for laying a door seal for a rear door being identical.

  The opening 3 is delimited by a body part forming a door surround 4 on which is formed a joint surface 5 intended to receive a door seal designated by the general reference 10.

  The door seal 10 constitutes an interface piece with the carpet, the interior lining, the integrated driving position in the case of a front door seal, as well as with the door. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the door seal 10 has a closed contour comprising a succession of curved portions 10a and rectilinear portions 10b.

  This door seal 10 is formed by a main portion 11 hollow and closed section and a secondary portion formed by a lug 12 connected by a connecting portion 13 with the main portion 11 and forming with said main portion 11, a groove 14 s extending over the entire contour of said door seal 10.

  The outer face of the tab 12 is coated with an adhesive 15 constituting a bonding surface on the sealing surface 5 of the door surround 4. This door seal 10 is for example made by extrusion.

  In general, the device for laying the door gasket 10 on the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4 comprises a tool comprising a support head 20 of the gasket 10 defining a perimeter substantially identical to the surrounding area. door 4 and provided with means for moving at least a portion of the seal 10 outwardly and inwardly of the closed contour of said seal 10.

  As shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 8, the support head 20 consists of sectors 20A, 20b, 20C, 20L machined to the theoretical profile of the fastening surface 5 of the door surround 4.

  These sectors are aligned next to each other along the perimeter of said door surround 4 and they have the property of being able to vary their spacing so that the perimeter formed by said sectors is maximum or minimum depending on the phase of the laying cycle. seal 10.

  This variation of the perimeter of the support head 20 may indifferently be linear or not and this in the direction of extension or retraction of the door seal 10.

  According to a first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the extension and retraction of the door seal 10 are performed on the entire closed contour of said seal. For this, each sector 20A, 20B, 20C ... 20L of the support head 20 is equipped with means for moving the door seal 10 outwardly and inwardly of the closed contour of this seal 10 and, this effect, each of these sectors comprises parallel slats 21 with variable spacing.

  As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the strips 21 are placed next to each other and each of these strips 21 comprise an upper portion 21a for positioning in the groove 14 of the door seal 10. Thus, all the lamellae 21 of the sectors 20A, 20B, 20C ... 20L is positioned in the groove 14 and this all over the closed contour of the door seal 10.

  The spacing of the lamellae 21 of each of said sectors is variable and this spacing varies between a minimum position shown in FIG. 1.5 5 in which the slats 21 are brought closer together and a maximum position shown in FIG. 6 in which the slats 21 are spaced apart from each other.

  For this purpose, the lamellae 21 of each of the sectors of the support head 20 are associated with a suitable mechanism.

  For example, and as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, this mechanism consists of at least one bar 25 having fingers 26 in the form of a truncated cone uniformly distributed along the length of said bar 25 which itself extends over the entire length of the corresponding sector. Similarly, the lower part 21b of each tongue 21 is equipped with a finger 22 in the form of a truncated cone. The fingers 26 of the bar 25 are arranged between the fingers 22 of the tongues 21. When moving the bar 25 in the direction of the tongues 21, the sliding of the fingers 26 between the fingers 22 causes the spacing of the tongues 21. During the withdrawal of the bar 25, the tongues 21 are returned to their minimum spacing position by a suitable system of known type.

  The installation of the door seal 10 on the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4 is carried out as follows.

  Firstly the operator controls the spacing of the slats 21 of all the sectors 20A, 20B, 2C) C ... 20L so that the support head 20 is in a maximum spacing represented by the position A on FIG. 3. The door seal 10 is then shod on the upper portion 21a of the slats 21 of all sectors so that said door seal 10 is extended over its entire length. Thus, the door seal 10 is extended by outward expansion of the closed contour to a length greater than the perimeter of the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4. The door seal 10 is thus, whatever its length, dilated on the support head 20. Any variation in the length of the door seal 10 is therefore perfectly distributed linearly over the entire perimeter of the support head 20.

  After this first phase, the film covering the adhesive 15 is removed. Then, the spacing of the slats 21 of all the sectors 20A, 20B, 20C ... 20L is brought back to the minimum value in order to retract the door seal 10 to a length less than the perimeter of the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the door seal 10 is returned to a position B. Thus, the door seal 10 is then compressed over its entire length depending on the characteristics of the bonding surface specific to the type of vehicle concerned. It is thus possible to perfectly adapt this compression law to minimize the residual stresses in the door seal after its installation on the vehicle in the most sensitive areas.

  The door seal 10 in the retracted state is presented opposite the seal surface.

  Then, the slats 21 of all of the sectors 20A, 20B, 20C ... 20L are spaced apart to extend the door seal 10 to a length greater than the length of the retracted state in the B position, but lower to the length determined by the first extension in the position A. The door seal 10 is therefore in the position C shown in FIG. 3. The perimeter of the door seal 10 in position C substantially corresponds to the perimeter of the laying surface 5 of the door surround 4.

  Then, the door seal 10 is adhered in the expanded state by applying the adhesive 15 to the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4 by spreading the lamellae to exert pressure against the joint surface. Once the door seal 10 has been glued, the strips 21 of the support head 20 are withdrawn from the groove 14 of said door seal 10.

  According to a second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the extensions and the retraction of the door seal 10 are performed on the curved portions 10a of said seal. For this purpose, the sectors 20A, 20C, 20E, 20G, 201 and 20K corresponding to the curved portions 10a of the door seal 10 are formed by the tongues 21 with variable spacing. These tongues 21 are identical to the tabs of the previous embodiment. The sectors 20B, 20C, 20D, 20F, 20H, 20J and 20L of the support head 20 corresponding to the rectilinear portions 10b of the door seal 10 are formed for example by plates 23 of semi-rigid material. In this case also, the door seal 10 is first extended by outward expansion of the closed contour to a length greater than the perimeter of the joint surface 5 of the door surround 4 corresponding to the position A, then this door seal 10 is retracted to a length less than the perimeter of said joint surface 5 corresponding to the position B and finally the door seal 10 is extended to a length greater than the length to the state retracted, but less than the length determined by the first extension and which corresponds to position C in FIG. 7.

  According to a third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the sectors 20B, 20D, 20F, 20H, 20J and 20L corresponding to the rectilinear portions 10b of the door seal 10 comprise parallel strips 21 of variable spacing, these strips being identical to the strips 21 of the first embodiment. The sectors 20A, 20C, 20E, 20G, 201 and 20K corresponding to the curved portions 10a of the door seal 10 are formed for example by plates 24 of semi-rigid material. In this case also, the door seal 10 is first extended by outward expansion of the closed contour to a length greater than the perimeter of Va joint surface 5 of the door surround 4, corresponding to the position A in FIG. 8, then this door seal 10 is retracted to a length less than the perimeter of said joint surface 5 corresponding to the position B and then said door seal 10 is extended to a length greater than the length to the state retracted, but less than the length determined by the first extension and which corresponds to the position C in this FIG. 8.

  The door seal 10 is therefore applied to a flat joint surface which makes it possible to reduce or possibly eliminate the door rebate used hitherto.

  The method and the laying device according to the invention have the advantage of not causing any tensile stress on the door seal after bonding and avoid internal stresses in the door seal which are generally due to a poor linear distribution of the compression at this door seal.

  Moreover, the method and the laying device according to the invention make it possible to obtain a better positioning of the door seal on the seal surface of the door surround and, consequently, a better indexing with respect to the elements. adjacent.

  It will be noted that the distribution of the extensions of the joint and compressions thereof, can be chosen so that, in the curved portions whose concavity is turned towards the inside of the door, the bonded joint is rather in longitudinal compression, and in the curved portions whose concavity is turned towards the outside of the door, the seal is rather in longitudinal traction or without traction or compression. Thus the glued joint tends, by its elasticity, to remain well plated on the bonding surface.

Claims (9)

  A method of installing a door seal (10) of a motor vehicle, fixed on a joint surface (5) of a body part forming a door surround (4), with the aid of a seal-laying device comprising a tool comprising a seal support head (20) defining a perimeter substantially identical to the door surround (4) and provided with means for moving at least one joint portion towards the door; outside and inwardly of the closed contour of said seal, said seal having a bonding surface (15) and a closed contour having curved portions (10a) and straight portions (10b), wherein: outside the means for moving at least a portion of joint so as to increase the perimeter of the support head (20) seal; the seal (10) is arranged on the joint support head (20) so as to extend it to a length greater than the perimeter of the joint surface (5) of the door surround (4); moving the displacement means of at least one joint portion of the seal support head (20) so as to retract the seal (10) to a length less than the perimeter of the joint surface (5) of the door surround (4); the seal (10) is presented in the retracted state opposite said joint surface (5); moving the means for displacing at least one joint portion of the seal support head (20) so as to release the seal to a length greater than the length in the retracted state, but less than the length determined by the first extension, and - the seal (10) is pressed by exerting a pressure of the seal on the joint surface (5) of the door surround (4), by displacing the displacement means towards the outside. at least one joint portion of the seal support head (20).   2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the extensions and the retraction of the seal (10) are performed on the entire closed contour of said seal.   3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the extensions and the retraction of the seal (10) are performed on the curved portions (10a) of said seal.   4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the extensions and the retraction of the seal (10) are performed on the rectilinear portions (10b) of said seal.   5. Device for installing a door seal (10) of a motor vehicle, fixed on a joint surface (5) of a body part forming a door surround (4), said seal (10) having a gluing surface (15) and a closed contour comprising curved portions (10a) and rectilinear portions (10b), characterized in that it comprises a tool comprising a support head (20) of the gasket (10) determining a perimeter substantially identical to the door surround (4) and provided with means for moving at least a portion of the seal (10) outwardly and inwardly of the closed contour of said seal.   6. Installation device according to claim 5, characterized in that the support head (20) of the seal (10) is formed by sectors aligned next to each other along said perimeter and having an upper positioning part in a groove (14) formed in said joint (10), at least one sector comprising parallel slats (21) with variable spacing.   7. Installation device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that each sector of the support head (20) of the seal (10) comprises strips (21) parallel spaced apart.   8. Installation device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the sectors of the curved portions (10a) of the seal (10) comprise lamellae (21) parallel spaced apart.   9. Laying device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the sectors of the rectilinear portions (10b) of the seal (10) comprise lamellae (21) parallel spaced apart.