WO2021249738A1

WO2021249738A1 - Storage tray for a motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2021249738A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/063543
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ludovic Chabassol; Corre JEAN-MARIE
Original assignee: Renault S.A.S
Priority date: 2020-06-11
Filing date: 2021-05-20
Publication date: 2021-12-16
Also published as: EP4164855A1; FR3111313B1; FR3111313A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage device (10) for a motor vehicle, comprising a rigid portion (100) defining an opening (40) of the storage device (10), characterised in that the rigid portion (100) comprises: - an expanded structure (20) forming a body of the rigid portion (100); - a rigid insert (30), the insert (30) forming one end of the rigid portion (100) which defines the opening (40) of the storage device (10); - a cover (6) which at least partially coats an outer surface (101) of the rigid portion (100) and is padded against an inner surface (102) of the rigid portion (100); the cover (6) padded against the inner surface (102) of the rigid portion (100) comprising a free edge (62).

Description

Title of the invention: Motor vehicle storage bin

The invention relates to the field of storage devices and in particular storage devices in the automotive field. More specifically, the invention relates to the storage compartments that comprise the door panels, the dashboards or the trunk walls of motor vehicles.

Generally, vehicle storage compartments perform the function of a storage bin for all types of objects that may be kept in the vehicle during a transport phase. Storage compartments increase the comfort of vehicle passengers. Indeed, they allow passengers not to clutter with objects without reducing the volume inside the vehicle, at the door panels or dashboards.

Currently, car manufacturers are concerned about the fuel consumption of vehicles. Indeed, reducing fuel consumption is an important area of development. Reducing the mass of motor vehicles is an important direction to allow a reduction in the fuel consumption of vehicles. Vehicle designers seek to reduce this mass in all vehicle components. One of the directions for the side doors of the vehicle is to reduce the amount of material used in the doors.

However, the addition of a storage bin or a storage compartment at the level of the vehicle doors significantly increases the weight of the door and therefore of the vehicle. Solutions have been considered such as, for example, the elimination of any type of storage in the vehicle door. However, the discomfort felt by passengers, finding themselves cluttered with objects without being able to store them, does not make this solution viable.

Currently, a storage bin 1 of the prior art, as shown in Figure 1, comprises: an injected door panel 2, one end 21 delimits a storage opening 4 of the storage bin 1, a coating 6, affixed against an external face 22 of the injected door panel 2 and flanged against an internal face 24 of the injected door panel 2, an attached cover 8 added against the internal face 24 of the injected door panel 2 near the end 21 delimiting the storage opening 4.

The outer face 22 of the injected door panel 2 is oriented in a direction D1 of the driving position and the internal face 24 is oriented in the opposite direction to the direction D1 of the driving position, towards the external environment, so as to be "Hidden" from the occupants of the vehicle.

In the present description, the term “back up” means that the part is folded back on itself in a regular manner against the edge of another part previously glued. In our case, "roll up" means bending the covering from the outside of the panel to the inside of the panel. The purpose of the overlaying of the covering is to cover, at least in part, the part of the external face adjacent to the opening of the storage bin.

The coating 6 makes it possible to limit the aggressiveness of the contact on the injected door panel 2 which is obtained from a plastic material, which protects the skin of an occupant of the vehicle wishing to access the storage compartment 1. In addition, from an aesthetic point of view, the coating 6 makes it possible to replace the porous, and therefore unattractive, shape of the injected door panel 2 in view of the occupants of the vehicle.

The injected door panel 2, as it is, seems too thin, and, particularly at a thickness e1 of the end 21 delimiting the storage opening 4 of the storage bin 1 of the prior art. This thickness e1, which can be qualified as low, has the consequence of making the end 21 delimiting the storage opening 4 of the storage bin 1 sharpened for a hand wishing to access the storage bin 1.

Thus, the added cover 8 added against the internal face 24 of the injected door panel 2 near the end 21 delimiting the storage opening 4 makes it possible to locally increase the thickness e1 of the injected door panel 2, thus limiting the dangerousness of the storage opening 4 for an occupant wishing to access the storage bin 1. Another advantage of adding the added cover 8 is found in the fixing of the covering 6. In fact, the overhang of the covering 6 against the internal face 24 of the injected door panel 2 does not ensure a perfect fixing of the covering 6 against. the door panel 2. The addition of the cover 8 against the internal face 24 of the injected door panel 2 allows the covering 6 to be clamped between the added cover 8 and the injected door panel 2, which ensures an almost perfect fixing of the ledge against the injected door panel 2.

However, this addition of the reported cache 8 induces drawbacks. Indeed, a first drawback to the addition of the insert 8 against the injected door panel 2 is the addition of additional mass. However, an increase in the overall mass of a motor vehicle induces an increase in its fuel consumption.

Another drawback to the addition of the added cover 8 is the complexity of the manufacturing phase of the injected door panels 2 according to the state of the art. The addition of the add-on cover 8 involves an additional step during the manufacture of the injected door panel 2, which leads to wasted time and additional costs.

The invention aims to overcome all or part of the problems mentioned above by providing a lightweight vehicle door storage device.

To this end, the invention relates to a storage device for a motor vehicle comprising a rigid part delimiting an opening of the storage device, characterized in that the rigid part comprises:

An expanded structure forming a body of the rigid part;

A rigid insert, the insert forming one end of the rigid part which delimits the opening of the storage device;

A liner at least partially covering an outer surface of the rigid portion and being rolled up against an inner surface of the rigid portion; the covering rolled up against the internal surface of the rigid part comprising a free edge.

According to one aspect of the invention, the expanded structure and the insert form a single piece.

According to one aspect of the invention, the foamed structure is foamed polypropylene or foamed polystyrene or foamed thermoplastic.

According to one aspect of the invention the rigid insert is made of plastic, metal or an alloy.

According to one aspect of the invention, the rigid insert is pierced. According to one aspect of the invention, the rigid part of the storage device comprises a thickened border.

According to one aspect of the invention, the thickened rim includes a pinch groove.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method of obtaining a storage device for a motor vehicle according to the invention comprises the following steps:

Extrusion of plastic material into balls;

Expansion of the balls into expanded balls;

Molding of an expanded structure by vaporization of the expanded beads; Overmolding of an insert in the expanded structure to obtain a rigid part;

Covering by a coating of the rigid part;

Overhang of the coating against an internal surface of the rigid part.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages will become apparent on reading the detailed description of an embodiment given by way of example, description illustrated by the accompanying drawing in which:

[Fig.1] Figure 1 shows a storage bin structure known to the state of the art;

[Fig.2] Figure 2 shows a storage bin structure according to the invention;

[Fig.3] Figure 3 shows a variant of the storage bin structure according to the invention;

[Fig.4] Figure 4 shows a method of manufacturing the storage bin structure according to the invention.

For the sake of clarity, the same elements will bear the same references in the different figures.

The invention is described with the example of a storage bin in a door panel. However, the invention applies to any type of storage bin. FIG. 1, which was presented previously, conventionally represents a structure of a motor vehicle door storage bin 1 known from the state of the art.

Figure 2 shows a storage bin structure 10 according to the invention. The storage bin 10, according to the invention, comprises a rigid part 100 defining an opening 40 of the storage bin 10. The rigid part 100 comprises: an expanded structure 20 forming a body of the rigid part 100; a rigid insert 30, the insert 30 forming one end 31 of the rigid part 100 which delimits the opening 40 of the storage bin 10; a coating 6 at least partially covering an external surface 101 of the rigid part 100 and being rolled up against an internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100.

The configuration of the storage bin according to the invention allows a weight saving at a door panel of the order of 40% compared to a door panel of the prior art. This is made possible by the expanded structure 20, and the fact that a cover, as present in the prior art, is no longer necessary. The insert 30, meanwhile, ensures the stiffness of the rigid part 100 at its end, at the opening of the storage bin.

The expanded structure 20 is obtained from an expanded material. For example, the foamed structure 20 can be obtained from foamed propylene, foamed polystyrene or foamed thermoplastic. Thanks to this expanded material, the weight of the expanded structure 20, which forms, as said previously, the body of the rigid part 100 and of the storage bin 10, decreases with respect to the weight of the injected door panel. This is because foamed materials generally include plastics which have undergone expansion. That is to say a multitude of small elements, such as plastic balls, joined together, the final volume of which increases following an external action such as for example an expansion tank.

The rigid insert 30 is made from plastic, metal or an alloy. Ideally, the insert 30 is made of plastic which makes it possible to have a light insert to be incorporated into the rigid part 10. The insert 30 can extend over the entire perimeter of the end 31 of the. rigid part 100 or else it may be present in pieces along the periphery of the end 31 of the rigid part 100.

The coating 6, which is rolled up against the internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100, comprises a free edge 62. That is to say that the coating 6 is glued against the internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100 along one side. and that the other face, or free edge 62, is free from any contact with any part.

In addition, in order to limit the danger of access to the opening 40 of the storage box 10 according to the invention, the end 31 of the rigid part 100 of the storage box 10 comprises a thickened border 32 which is defined by a greater thickness e2 than the standard thickness e3 of the rigid part 100. This variation in thickness is made possible by using an expanded structure from expanded material. It also contributes to the strength of the rigid part.

Thus, unlike the state of the art, which uses an attached cover in order to fix the coating 6 as best as possible and to thicken the end of the injected panel, no added part is applied against the edge. free 62 of the coating 6.

The expanded structure 20 and the rigid insert 30 form a single piece. In this way, since the insert 30 is embedded in the foamed material, good cohesion of the materials is ensured. This contributes to the strength of the rigid part. Further, the rigid portion 100 forms a single piece, which may be aesthetically better perceived for occupants of the vehicle wishing to access the storage bin 10 of the invention.

Figure 3 shows a variant of the storage bin structure 10.

As said previously, the storage bin 10, according to the invention, comprises the rigid part 100 delimiting an opening 40 of the storage bin 10. The rigid part 100 comprises: the expanded structure 20 forming the body of the rigid part 100; a rigid insert 300, the insert 300 forming one end 310 of the rigid part 100 which delimits the opening 40 of the storage bin 10; the coating 6 at least partially covering the external surface 101 of the rigid part 100 and being rolled up against the internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100. As for the insert 30, the insert 300 can be obtained from plastic, metal or alloy and is drilled in order to increase the "mixing" between the two materials of the expanded structure 20 and the insert. 30 during the overmolding step.

The rigid part 100 of the storage bin 10 also includes a thickened border 320 which, as shown in Figure 2, is defined by a thickness e2 greater than the standard thickness e3 of the rigid part 100.

Further, the thickened rim 320 includes a pinch groove 321. More precisely, the insert 300 is obtained initially, before being overmolded to the expanded structure 20 during the overmolding step, with a pinch groove 321. Thus, during the step of lining up the coating 6 against the internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100, the free edge 62 of the coating 6 is clamped in the nip groove 321. In this way, the free edge 62 of the covering 6 rolled up against the rigid part 10 is no longer accessible to the hands of occupants wishing to access the storage bin 10. Thus the covering 6 rolled up into the storage box 10 according to the invention is no longer accessible. can not come off following the passage of the hands of the occupants of the vehicle in the storage box 10. The storage device according to the invention therefore presents a lightening of the vehicle while ensuring the robustness of the elements constituting it.

FIG. 4 represents a method for obtaining 1000 of the storage bin structure 10 according to the invention. Indeed, the manufacture of the storage bin 10 is facilitated by the fact that the rigid part 100 is a single piece. In this way, fewer steps have to be put in place compared to a storage bin 1 according to the state of the art. Thus, the method 1000 for obtaining the storage bin 10 according to the invention comprises the following steps: a step 1001 of extruding plastic 90 in balls 91; a step 1002 of expanding the balls 91 into expanded balls 92 making it possible to obtain the raw material necessary for the manufacture of the expanded structure 20; a step 1003 of molding an expanded structure 20 by vaporizing the expanded beads 92 which, using a mold, forms the body of the expanded structure 20; a step 1004 of overmolding an insert 30 in the expanded structure 20 in order to obtain a rigid part 100. In this way, the one-piece part is obtained and no added part is inserted after having molded the body of the rigid part 100; a step of covering 1005 with a coating 6 of the rigid part 100 which is affixed and glued, at least partially and ideally completely, against the external surface 101 of the rigid part 100; a step 1006 of embedding the coating 6 against the internal surface 102 of the rigid part 100 where the coating 6 is affixed and partially glued against the internal surface 102. This step of collapsing 1006 makes it possible to fix the coating 6 against the rigid part 100 and while covering the rigid part 100 vis-à-vis the eyes of the occupants of the vehicle in order to obtain a storage bin 10 according to the invention.

Furthermore, in order to improve the cohesion between the expanded structure 20 and the rigid insert 30 during the step of overmolding the insert 30 in the expanded structure 20, the insert 30 is drilled in order to increase the " mixture ”between the two materials of the expanded structure 20 and of the insert 30.

Claims

1. Storage device (10) for a motor vehicle comprising a rigid part (100) delimiting an opening (40) of the storage device (10), characterized in that the rigid part (100) comprises:

An expanded structure (20) forming a body of the rigid part (100);

A rigid insert (30), the insert (30) forming one end (31) of the rigid part (100) which defines the opening (40) of the storage device (10);

A liner (6) at least partially covering an outer surface (101) of the rigid portion (100) and being rolled up against an inner surface (102) of the rigid portion (100); the covering (6) flanged against the internal surface (102) of the rigid part (100) comprising a free edge (62).

2. Storage device (10) according to claim 1 wherein the expanded structure (20) and the insert (30) form a single piece.

3. Storage device (10) according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the expanded structure (20) is expanded polypropylene or expanded polystyrene or expanded thermoplastic.

4. A storage device (10) for a motor vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the rigid insert (30) is made of plastic, metal or alloy.

5. A storage device (10) for a motor vehicle according to claim 4 wherein the rigid insert (30) is pierced.

6. A storage device (10) for a motor vehicle according to claim 2 wherein the rigid part (100) of the storage device (10) comprises a thickened edge (32; 320).

7. A storage device (10) for a motor vehicle according to claim 6 wherein the thickened edge (320) comprises a pinch groove (321).

8. A method of obtaining (1000) a storage device (10) for a motor vehicle comprising the following steps:

Extrusion (1001) of plastic material (90) into balls (91);

Expansion (1002) of the balls (91) into expanded balls (92);

Molding (1003) of an expanded structure (20) by vaporization of the expanded beads (92); Overmolding (1004) of an insert (30) in the expanded structure (20) in order to obtain a rigid part (100);

Covering (1005) by a coating (6) of the rigid part (100);

Overhang (1006) of the coating (6) against an internal surface (102) of the rigid part (100).