FR3088048A1 - SENSOR SUPPORT FOR BODY PIECE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor support (14) for a bodywork part (2) comprising: - at least one fixing zone (20) capable of being fixed to a bodywork part (2), - at least one zone for reception (22) capable of accommodating at least part of a sensor (12), and - a collar (24) extending inside the reception zone (22), the collar (24) being suitable forming a bearing surface for a seal (18) of the sensor (12), the sensor support (14) being able to take up all the forces from a pressure that can be exerted by the seal (18) on the collar (24).

Description

The invention relates to sensors intended to be mounted on a bodywork part of a motor vehicle such as a front or rear bumper. The invention relates more particularly to the supports of such sensors.

The various sensors arranged on the body parts are held in position at the level of the latter by means of supports fixed to the body parts, for example by welding or gluing.

The latest generations of sensors are delivered with a seal. The latter includes lateral bosses. It is therefore necessary that the seal is compressed when the sensors are mounted on the body parts, in order to ensure a good seal of the assembly.

In a conventional assembly, the support is fixed to the internal face of a bodywork part (not visible to a user when the bodywork part and mounted on a motor vehicle) and the sensor is placed against the internal face of the body part, the seal being compressed between the sensor and the internal face of the body part.

These latest generations of sensors, once mounted on a bodywork part, locally exert a force on the bodywork part, this force having a direction substantially orthogonal to a plane in which the interface between the support extends. sensor and the internal face of the bodywork part.

This force, which can be of an intensity approximately equal to 30daN, can lead to limiting the possibilities of fixing the sensor supports. Indeed, the pressure exerted locally by the sensor on the bodywork part leads to the appearance of stresses in the areas in which the sensor support is fixed to the bodywork part.

An existing solution to combat this phenomenon consists in encapsulating the sensor support using a flange. However, this solution poses several problems.

First, it poses a style problem. Indeed, such a collar is visible from outside the vehicle when the bodywork part is mounted on the latter. This can therefore lead to the need to paint this collar but also to store it carefully (to preserve the paint). This can lead to aesthetic degradation of the finished body part.

In addition, this solution leads to the use of an additional part (the flange) and therefore to an additional referencing as well as to additional manipulations.

An object of the invention is to provide a sensor support for a body part making it possible to respond to the above-mentioned stress problems with the aid of a more satisfactory solution than that of the prior art.

To this end, the invention relates to a sensor support for a body part comprising:

- at least one fixing zone capable of being fixed to a bodywork part,

- at least one reception area capable of accommodating at least part of a sensor, and

- a flange extending inside the reception area, the flange being able to constitute a bearing surface for a sensor seal, the sensor support being able to take up all the forces from 'A pressure that can be exerted by the seal on the flange.

Thus, we obtain a sensor support capable of supporting only the pressure exerted by a sensor mounted on a body part, which avoids the exercise of pressure by the sensor on the body part. In addition, the flange, which is an integral part of the sensor support, is not visible from outside the vehicle when the bodywork part is mounted on a vehicle. This makes it possible to overcome the constraints of multiplication of the parts to be handled (absence of a need for painting, simplified storage, etc.).

The sensor support according to the invention may include one or more of the following characteristics:

- the collar came integrally with the fixing zone and the reception zone, for example by molding,

- the collar extends from one end of the reception area opposite to one end of the reception area from which the sensor can be inserted,

- the reception area is tubular in shape, the flange extending in a direction perpendicular to an axis of revolution of the reception area,

the sensor support comprises at least one fixing element capable of holding the sensor in position in the sensor support,

- the fixing element is able to compress the seal against the collar, and

- the collar is of a thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm.

The invention also relates to a set of a sensor support according to the invention and a sensor, in which the sensor seal is pressed against the collar of the sensor support.

The assembly according to the invention may include one or more of the following characteristics:

the sensor support comprises the fixing element, the sensor comprising at least one bearing surface in contact with the fixing element, and

- the sensor is compressed between the fixing elements and the flange.

The invention also relates to a bodywork part comprising:

- a main body, and

- an assembly according to the invention, in which the assembly is fixed to an internal face of the main body.

The bodywork part according to the invention may include one or more of the following characteristics:

the main body comprises a through orifice, one end of the sensor being flush with an external face of the main body,

the collar of the sensor support is distant from the internal face of the main body, and

- the sensor support is glued or welded to the internal face of the main body.

We will now present an embodiment of the invention given by way of nonlimiting example and with the support of the appended figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a bodywork part on which is fixed an assembly consisting of a sensor support and of a sensor according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the portion of the bodywork part of FIG. 1 according to a cutting plane l-l, and

- Figure 3 is a sectional view of the portion of bodywork of Figure 1 along a section plane II-II.

Referring now to Figure 1 showing a portion of a bodywork part 2 comprising a main body 4 can be made of plastic, for example in a thermoplastic material, for example by injection molding.

This main body 4 comprises an internal face 6 and an external face 8. The internal face means the face of the main body 4 which is not visible from the outside of a vehicle on which the part is mounted. bodywork 2. By external face is meant the face of the main body 4 which is visible from the outside of a vehicle on which the bodywork part 2 is mounted.

An assembly 10 consisting of a sensor 12 and a sensor support 14 is fixed on the main body 4, more particularly on its internal face 6. The sensor 12 can for example be an AAS type sensor. This type of sensor is known to those skilled in the art and its internal architecture will not be the subject of a detailed description here.

The main body 4 includes a through hole in which the sensor 12 extends, one end 16 (for example the protective screen of an AAS sensor) of the sensor 12 can be flush with the external face 8 of the body main 4 (the thickness of the bodywork part 2 is then reduced locally compared with the solutions of the prior art).

The sensor 12 includes a seal 18 for sealing at the through hole in the main body 4 for mounting the sensor 12. To ensure this seal, the seal 18 extends to through the through hole and is compressed at the level of the sensor support 14.

The sensor support 14 comprises two fixing zones 20 making it possible to fix the sensor support 14 to the main body 4, for example by welding (for example using a sonotrode) or also by gluing (presence of two strips of glue 21 visible in FIG. 2) from the latter to the main body 4. The number and the shape of the fixing zones 20 can obviously vary.

The sensor support also includes a reception area 22 into which at least part of the sensor 12 can be inserted. The latter can be of different shapes, for example of tubular shape in the figures, and have at least part of its interior surface of a shape complementary to that of the part of the sensor 12 placed inside the reception area 22 .

The reception area 22 may, as shown in the figures, extend perpendicular to the attachment zones 20, the attachment zones 20 extending in the example illustrated on either side of the reception area 22 from the outside of the latter. The angle formed by the reception zone 22 and the fixing zones 20 may not be equal to 90 °.

The sensor support 14 further comprises a flange 24 capable of collaborating with the seal 18. More specifically, the seal 18 can be compressed against the flange 24 to seal the assembly shown in the figures. This means that the seal 18 is only compressed against the collar, more precisely between a shoulder 13 of the sensor 12 and the collar 24.

The sensor 12 exerts pressure on the internal face 6 of the main body 4, the sensor support 14 taking up all the forces undergone by the flange 24 when the seal 18 exerts pressure on the latter (there is no has no force exerted locally and directly by the seal 18 at the internal face 6 as in the prior art), due to the need to compress the seal 18 to seal the bodywork part 2. L exercise of local and direct pressure by a seal on a bodywork part as is the case in the prior art harms the holding over time of the quality of the fixing of a sensor support on a workpiece bodywork (the force exerted by the seal 18 being substantially perpendicular to the plane in which the interface extends between the fixing zones 20 and the main body 4).

Such a configuration (the seal 18 compressed against the flange 24) therefore overcomes the need to limit the number of methods of fixing the sensor support 14 to the internal face 6 of the main body 4 (front be strong enough not to be impacted by a force generated by a sensor which would be directly mounted on the main body 4). To this end, it is possible to provide that the collar 24 has a thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm.

Here, this effort is fully supported by the sensor support 14 via the flange 24, which can also be reinforced, for example by adding filler in the composition of the material from which the flange 24 is made. It is also possible, alternatively or in addition to the notions of material used and thickness, that the flange 24 is located at a distance (distant) from the internal face 6 of the main body 4. In other words, the flange 24, in this case in figure, is not in contact with the internal face 6 of the main body 4, which makes it possible to avoid the exertion of pressure by the sensor 12 on the main body 4. An isolated assembly 10 is therefore obtained relative to the main body 4.

Preferably, the fixing zones 20, the reception zone 22 and the flange 24 have come in one piece, for example by molding.

To ensure compression of the seal 18 against the flange 24, the latter extends inside the reception area 22. It can extend, as shown in Figures 2 and 3 , at one end of the latter opposite the insertion end of the sensor 12 in the reception area 22. It is possible to place this flange 24 at a different level inside the reception area 22.

The flange 24 may extend in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the reception area 22. In the example shown in the figures, the reception zone 22 has a cylindrical shape, the flange 24 s extending perpendicularly to an axis of revolution of the reception area 22.

In order to ensure the compression of the seal 18 against the flange 24, the sensor support 14 may include at least one fixing element 26 making it possible to hold the sensor 12 in position inside the reception area 22 The figures illustrate an embodiment with two fixing elements 26. This case will be described later. The fastening elements 26 can be in contact with at least one bearing surface 28 (two in the embodiment shown in the figures and described below) present at the level of the sensor 12. These fastening elements 26 can be deformable elastically in order to be able to insert the sensor 12 into the reception zone 22 and then to be in contact with the bearing surfaces 28.

The dimensioning of the reception area 22 and of the sensor 12 is carried out to ensure that, once the sensor 12 is mounted on the sensor support 14, the fastening elements 26 allow the seal 18 to be compressed against the flange 24.

In other words, the sensor 12 is compressed between the fastening elements 26 and the flange 24. This is represented by the arrows 30 illustrating the force exerted by the fastening elements 26 on the sensor 12, in this example on the bearing surfaces 28. The arrows 32 illustrate the reaction force exerted by the flange 24 on the seal 18. These two forces extend in parallel directions, in opposite directions and are of equal intensity. The materials used for the manufacture of the flange 24 and of the fastening elements 26 are chosen so as to be able to ensure optimum compression over time (absence of deformation of the flange 24 or of the fastening elements 26 over time).

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

It is in particular possible that the fastening elements have a shape 10 different from that illustrated in the figures. It could for example be a cap covering the sensor. The number of fasteners may also vary. The same applies to the support surfaces.

Similarly, the reception area may have a different shape from that illustrated in the figures.

The sensor support can in turn be fixed to the main body by a process other than gluing or welding.

It is also possible for a sensor support to include several reception areas in order to support several sensors. In this case, the main body may include several through holes (as many as there are sensors).

List of numerical references: bodywork part: main body: internal face of the main body: external face of the main body: sensor / sensor support assembly: sensor: sensor shoulder: sensor support: sensor end: seal: fixing zones : adhesive strips: reception area: flange: fixing element: bearing surface: force exerted by the fixing element on the sensor: force exerted by the flange on the joint

Claims (14)

Claims 1. Sensor support (14) for bodywork part (2) characterized in that it comprises: - at least one fixing zone (20) capable of being fixed to a bodywork part (2), - at least one reception area (22) capable of accommodating at least part of a sensor (12), and a collar (24) extending inside the reception area (22), the collar (24) being capable of constituting a bearing surface of a seal (18) of the sensor (12), the sensor support (14) being able to take up all the forces from a pressure that can be exerted by the seal (18) on the flange (24). 2. Sensor support (14) according to claim 1, in which the flange (24) is integrally formed with the fixing zone (20) and the reception zone (22), for example by molding. 3. Sensor support (14) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flange (24) extends from one end of the reception area (22) opposite to one end of the area d 'home (22) from which the sensor (12) can be inserted. 4. Sensor support (14) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the reception area (22) is tubular in shape, the flange (24) extending in a direction perpendicular to an axis of revolution of the reception area (22). 5. Sensor support (14) according to any one of the preceding claims comprising at least one fixing element (26) capable of holding the sensor (12) in position in the sensor support (14). 6. Sensor support (14) according to the preceding claim, wherein the fixing element (26) is capable of compressing the seal (18) against the flange (24). 7. Sensor support (14) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flange (24) is of a thickness greater than or equal to 1 mm. 8. An assembly (10) of a sensor support (14) according to any one of the preceding claims and of a sensor (12), in which the seal (18) of the sensor (12) is pressed against the flange ( 24) of the sensor support (14). 9. An assembly (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the sensor support (14) comprises the fixing element (26), the sensor (12) comprising at least one bearing surface (28) in contact with the fixing element (26). 10. An assembly (10) according to any one of claims 8 and 9, wherein the sensor (12) is compressed between the fastening elements (26) and the flange (24). 11. Bodywork part (2) comprising: - a main body (4), and - an assembly (10) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, in which the assembly (10) is fixed to an internal face (6) of the main body (4). 12. Bodywork part (2) according to the preceding claim, in which the main body (4) comprises a through orifice, one end (16) of the sensor (18) being flush with an external face (8) of the main body (4 ). 13. Bodywork part (2) according to any one of claims 11 and 12, in which the flange (24) of the sensor support (14) is remote from the internal face (6) of the main body (4). 14. Bodywork part (2) according to any one of claims 11 to 13, in which the sensor support (14) is glued or welded to the internal face (6) of the main body (4).