JP7805889B2 - Vehicle door trim - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to vehicle door trim.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a door structure for the door roof area of a vehicle side door. This door structure is configured so that a trim with a door window frame is located on the rear surface (compartment side) of the door glass. A weatherstrip is provided between the upper edge of the door glass and the vehicle body, and a seal strip is provided between the door glass and the window frame. More specifically, the door trim is provided with a seal strip on the front surface of the window frame, and the seal strip is configured to abut against the interior side of the door glass.

Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 113815391

Vehicle doors are often exposed to rain when open, making it essential to take measures to prevent water leakage. Conventional vehicle doors typically have sealing parts installed in each gap to prevent water leakage, as in Patent Document 1 above. However, the more sealing parts there are, the higher the cost becomes.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its objective is to provide a vehicle door trim that can reduce costs while also providing measures to prevent water leakage.

In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle door trim of the present invention comprises:
A vehicle door trim constituting a vehicle interior side of a vehicle door having a window,
a window frame portion that forms a window frame of the window;
The upper edge of the window frame portion is characterized in that a gutter portion is formed which extends in a direction intersecting the interior and exterior directions of the vehicle and opens at at least one end in the extension direction to allow rainwater to flow down the side edge of the window frame portion.

The vehicle door trim disclosed in the present application has a rain gutter formed on the upper edge of the window frame, along the direction in which the upper edge extends. This rain gutter allows rainwater to flow downward along the side edge of the window frame. As a result, the vehicle door trim disclosed in the present application can prevent rainwater from flowing between the window frame and the window glass, or into the interior of the vehicle cabin of the door trim. Meanwhile, because sealing members are not required in areas where rainwater can be collected by the rain gutter, the vehicle door trim disclosed in the present application can reduce the number of sealing members, thereby reducing the number of parts and costs.

For example, in the case of a vehicle door in which the upper edge of the window frame extends horizontally, such as a sliding door, rainwater is likely to accumulate on the upper edge of the window frame. While there are no particular limitations on the shape of vehicle doors to which the vehicle door trim disclosed in the present application can be applied, the vehicle door trim disclosed in the present application is suitable for vehicle doors in which the upper edge of the window frame extends horizontally. The location where the rain gutter portion drains rainwater is not limited to the outside of the window frame (the side surface of the vehicle door trim), but can also be the inside of the window frame, i.e., the exterior side of the vehicle door trim (between the door panel and the vehicle door trim).

In the above configuration, the vehicle door may be a generally rectangular sliding door, and the upper edge of the window frame portion may be formed to extend generally horizontally.

As mentioned above, rainwater tends to accumulate on the upper edge of the door trim of a vehicle door with this configuration. Therefore, the vehicle door trim disclosed in this application, which has a rain gutter portion, is suitable for vehicle doors with this configuration.

In the above configuration, wiring connecting the vehicle door, which is a sliding door, to the vehicle body is provided between the upper portion of the vehicle door and the vehicle body, and the upper edge of the window frame can be configured to cover the wiring from below when the vehicle door is closed.

The upper edge of the window frame functions as a screen that makes the wiring less visible from the vehicle compartment when the vehicle door is closed. However, because the upper edge of the window frame juts out toward the inside of the vehicle compartment, rain tends to accumulate there when the door is open. The vehicle door trim disclosed in this application, which has a rain gutter, is more suitable for vehicle doors with this configuration.

The above configuration can include an upper wall portion that extends along the upper end portion of the door panel that constitutes the vehicle door and covers that portion from the inside of the vehicle cabin, and a protrusion that protrudes from the lower end of the upper wall portion toward the inside of the vehicle cabin, forms the upper edge of the window frame portion, and has the rain gutter portion formed on its upper surface, and when the vehicle door is closed, the wiring can be routed in the space surrounded by the vehicle body, the upper wall portion, and the protrusion.

This vehicle door trim incorporates a structure for concealing the wiring of the sliding door. This vehicle door trim is designed in such a way that rainwater tends to collect on the upper surface of the protrusion, but the gutter collects rainwater from the upper surface of the protrusion and directs it down along the side edge of the window frame, preventing rainwater from flowing down from the upper edge of the window frame into the interior of the vehicle through the door trim.

In the above configuration, a flange portion may be provided extending from the upper end wall portion toward the outside of the vehicle cabin, and another rain gutter portion may be formed on the flange portion.

A vehicle door trim with this configuration can collect rainwater that flows in between its upper edge and the door panel, preventing the rainwater from flowing down along the inside of the window glass.

In the above configuration, the vehicle door trim is located on the interior side of the window glass and has an opening that penetrates from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle, so that the periphery of the opening forms the window frame.

Since this type of vehicle door trim does not cover the upper edge of the window glass, measures to prevent water leakage are required on the interior side of the window glass. Therefore, the door trim disclosed in this application, which is equipped with a rain gutter, is suitable for this type of vehicle door trim.

The present invention provides a vehicle door trim that can reduce costs while providing water leakage prevention measures.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle door trim according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the interior side of a vehicle door for getting in and out, which includes the vehicle door trim of the present embodiment. A cross-sectional view showing the upper end of the boarding/alighting door (cross-section A-A in FIG. 2). A perspective view showing the upper end of the boarding/exiting door Plan view showing the top of the boarding door FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle door trim according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper end of the vehicle door trim according to the embodiment; 1 is a plan view of an upper end of a vehicle door trim according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a plan view of the assembly member shown in FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional front view of the upper end of the boarding/alighting door (cross-section B-B in FIG. 8). A front cross-sectional view of the upper end of the boarding/alighting door (cross-section CC in FIG. 8). Cross-sectional view showing the flow of rainwater at the top of the boarding door

A vehicle door trim 10, which is an embodiment of the vehicle door trim of the present invention, will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle door trim 10 of this embodiment (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "door trim 10") is box-shaped with relatively large dimensions in the front-to-rear and up-to-down directions, and is used in a vehicle 12 that can transport a large number of people. The vehicle 12 has a body 14 that forms a passenger compartment (vehicle compartment) inside, and a pair of passenger access doors 16 on one side of the body 14 for passenger access. The door trim 10 of this embodiment forms the passenger compartment interior side of the passenger access doors 16.

The pair of access doors 16 are sliding doors that slide in opposite directions. Specifically, the front access door 16 slides forward, while the rear access door 16 slides rearward. This allows one side of the vehicle body 14 to be widely opened, making it easy for people to get in and out of the vehicle 12. While a detailed explanation is omitted, the access doors 16 slide forward or rearward while moving away from the vehicle body 14 outward in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the vehicle 12 is not configured to cover the access doors 16 from above when they are open, leaving them exposed to rain when it rains.

1, the entry/exit door 16 is depicted as a flat plate. However, in reality, the upper portion of the entry/exit door 16 is curved inward toward the interior of the vehicle cabin, making the interior side of the entry/exit door 16 less susceptible to rain. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the entry/exit door 16 is generally rectangular, with its upper end extending horizontally in the fore-and-aft direction, making it prone to rainwater accumulation at the upper end. Therefore, the door trim 10 of this embodiment is characterized by a structure incorporating water leakage prevention measures to address this issue. The following describes the door trim 10 of this embodiment, focusing on its water leakage prevention structure. Note that although the pair of entry/exit doors 16 are configured to overlap partially in the vehicle width direction at the center in the fore-and-aft direction, they are otherwise substantially identical in configuration. Therefore, the following explanation will focus on the front entry/exit door 16. Note that in some of the drawings, directions are indicated using the symbols Fr, Rr, In, Out, U, and D, which respectively represent the front side, rear side, inside and outside of the passenger compartment in the vehicle width direction, upper side, and lower side of the boarding/exiting door 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, the access door 16 is primarily composed of a door panel 20, which forms the framework of the access door; a plate-shaped glass panel 22 fixed to the exterior side of the door panel 20; and the door trim 10 of this embodiment, which covers the interior side of the door panel 20. The entire exterior side of the access door 16 is covered by the glass panel 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the door panel 20 and the door trim 10 form two generally rectangular openings 24, 25 that penetrate the vehicle widthwise. As a result, in the access door 16, portions of the glass panel 22 covering the exterior side of the door panel 20 function as window glass, forming two windows 26, 27.

The door panel 20 consists of an outer panel 30 and an inner panel 32. As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the upper end portion 20a of the door panel 20 has a cylindrical shape extending in the front-to-rear direction, with the inner panel 32 bulging toward the inside of the vehicle cabin. Specifically, the inner panel 32 has an upper surface portion 32a facing diagonally upward, a wall surface portion 32b extending generally vertically, and a lower surface portion 32c facing diagonally downward. The door trim 10 covers the upper end portion 20a of the door panel 20 from the wall surface portion 32b downward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the door trim 10 includes a portion that forms the aforementioned opening 24, i.e., the window frame portion 36 of the window 26. The upper edge of the window frame portion 36, i.e., the window frame upper edge portion 36a, forms a surface that faces almost vertically downward (actually, it slopes slightly downward toward the outside of the vehicle cabin), as shown in FIG. 3. The door trim 10 also includes an upper wall surface portion 38 that protrudes upward from the window frame upper edge portion 36a and covers the entire lower surface portion 32c of the inner panel 32 from the inside of the vehicle cabin, except for the upper end of the wall surface portion 32b. The upper end of the upper wall surface portion 38 is configured so that a flange portion 38a that protrudes toward the outside of the vehicle cabin abuts against the wall surface portion 32b.

The window frame upper edge 36a protrudes further into the vehicle cabin from the lower end of the upper wall surface 38. This is to make the wiring routed between the vehicle body 14 and the access door 16 less visible to occupants inside the vehicle cabin when the access door 16 is closed, as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, when the access door 16 is closed, the wiring is routed in a state extending in the fore-and-aft direction in the space surrounded by the vehicle body 14, the upper wall surface 38, and the tip (protrusion) 36a1 of the window frame upper edge 36a that protrudes into the vehicle cabin from the lower end of the upper wall surface 38. While not described in detail, the wiring is inserted through a bellows-shaped wiring cover 40 with a square cross section, allowing it to follow the opening and closing of the access door 16.

As described above, when the access door 16 is left open during rainfall, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, the upper end of the door 16 has a width extending in the interior and exterior directions, which makes it easy for rainwater to accumulate at the upper end. Specifically, rainwater tends to accumulate on the upper surface 32a of the inner panel 32, the flange portion 38a of the upper wall surface 38 of the door trim 10, the upper surface of the tip portion 36a1 of the window frame upper edge 36a, and the wiring cover 40. Therefore, if rainwater accumulates on the upper surface of the access door 16, after the access door 16 is closed, there is a risk that the rainwater will enter the interior through the gap between the inner panel 32 and the upper wall surface 38, and flow down the interior side of the glass panel 22 from between the door trim 10 and the glass panel 22, or flow down the window frame upper edge 36a or the wiring cover 40 into the passenger compartment.

Taking the above into consideration, the door trim 10 of this embodiment is designed to prevent rainwater from entering the vehicle interior. This structure will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 12 in addition to Figure 3. As shown in Figures 6 to 8, the door trim 10 is broadly composed of two components. Specifically, the door trim 10 is composed of a trim main body member 50, which forms the majority of the door trim 10, and an assembly member 60, which forms the connection between the window frame upper edge portion 36a and the upper end wall surface portion 38 and is assembled to the trim main body member 50.

As shown in Figure 6, the trim main body member 50 has a portion corresponding to the upper end of the door trim 10 that faces downward and mainly forms the window frame upper edge 36a; an upper surface portion 54 that extends generally horizontally from the end of the lower surface portion 52 facing inside the vehicle cabin to the outside; and a main body member upright wall portion 56 that stands upright from the end of the upper surface portion 54 facing outside the vehicle cabin. However, most of the upper surface portion 54 and the lower end of the main body member upright wall portion 56 have been cut out to form an opening 58, and an attachment member 60 is attached to this opening 58.

As shown in Figures 3, 6, and 9, the mounting member 60 is a longitudinal member with a generally inverted T-shaped cross section. Specifically, the mounting member 60 has an upwardly extending mounting member wall portion 62, an inner extension portion 64 extending from the lower end of the mounting member wall portion 62 toward the interior of the vehicle cabin, and an outer extension portion 66 extending from the lower end of the mounting member wall portion 62 toward the exterior of the vehicle cabin. This mounting member 60 can be assembled by inserting the outer extension portion 66 into the opening 58 of the trim main body member 50 from the interior of the vehicle cabin, bringing the mounting member wall portion 62 into contact with the main body member wall portion 56, and placing the inner extension portion 64 and outer extension portion 66 on the underside of the underside portion 52. Furthermore, the mounting member 60 is designed so that both ends of the inner extension 64 in the longitudinal direction (front-to-rear direction) engage with the edge of the opening 58 in the trim main body member 50.

In other words, in the door trim 10 of this embodiment, the window frame upper edge 36a can be considered to be formed by the lower surface 52 and upper surface 54 of the trim main body member 50 and the inner extension 64 and outer extension 66 of the assembly member 60. Furthermore, in this door trim 10, the upper end wall surface 38 can be considered to be formed by the main body member standing wall 56 of the trim main body member 50 and the assembly member standing wall 62 of the assembly member 60.

The mounting member 60 is provided with rain gutters 70, 72 on each of the inner extension 64 and outer extension 66 to catch rainwater. The rain gutters 70 on the inner extension 64 are formed along the edge of the inner extension 64 facing the interior of the vehicle, and consist of a groove 70a extending in the longitudinal direction and openings 70b formed in the bottom surface at both ends of the groove 70a. As shown in Figure 10, the groove 70a becomes deeper toward the ends, and the bottom surface slopes downward from near the center toward the ends.

The gutter portion 72 of the outer extension portion 66 is formed along the outer edge of the outer extension portion 66 on the outer side of the vehicle cabin. As shown in Figure 3, the outer portion of the outer extension portion 66 has a U-shaped cross section that opens upward along its entire length, thereby forming the gutter portion 72. As shown in Figure 11, the gutter portion 72 becomes deeper toward the ends, and the bottom surface slopes downward from near the center toward the ends.

As described above, the door trim 10 of this embodiment includes a window frame portion 36 that forms the window frame of the window 26. The upper edge 36a of the window frame portion 36 is provided with gutter portions 70, 72 that extend in a direction intersecting the interior/exterior direction of the vehicle and open at least one end in the extension direction to allow rainwater to flow down to the side edge 36b of the window frame portion 36. As a result, the entry/exit door 16 to which the door trim 10 is attached has a structure that makes it easy for rainwater to accumulate, as described above. However, as shown in FIG. 12 , rainwater that collects along the surface of the door trim 10 (the interior side) is received by the gutter portion 70 on the interior side, and rainwater that has infiltrated the back side of the door trim 10 (between the door trim 10 and the inner panel 32) is received by the gutter portion 72 on the exterior side of the vehicle.

The gutter section 70 allows rainwater received in the groove 70a to flow down through the openings 70b on both sides. The gutter section 72 is open both front and rear, allowing the received rainwater to flow down through the openings on both sides. Rainwater flowing down through the openings 70b of the gutter section 70 and from both ends of the gutter section 72 falls onto the back side of the underside 52 of the trim main body member 50, flows along the window frame side edge 36b that forms the side edge of the window frame section 36, and flows down inside the trim main body member 50, before being discharged outside the door trim 10 (outside the vehicle 12).

Therefore, the door trim 10 of this embodiment can prevent rainwater from flowing down the interior side of the window glass 22 or dripping into the passenger compartment from between the entry door 16 and the vehicle body 14. The door trim 10 of this embodiment also reduces the number of sealing members required to prevent rainwater from entering, thereby reducing the number of members and costs. Furthermore, the door trim 10 is configured so that the rain gutters 70, 72 are mounted as separate members (assembly members 60). As shown in FIG. 3, this allows the rain gutters 70, 72 to be formed while the vertical dimension of the window frame upper edge 36a can be reduced (thinned), ensuring a wide window 26.

<Other Embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. For example, the following embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the door trim 10 was used for a sliding door 16 for getting into and out of the vehicle, but this is not limited to this. The door trim of the present invention is suitable for doors in which the upper edge 36a of the window frame portion 36 extends generally horizontally, as in the sliding door of the above embodiment, but can also be applied to glide doors and hatch-type doors that swing horizontally.

(2) In the above embodiment, the door trim 10 has rain gutters on both the design surface and the back surface, but they may be provided on only one side.

(3) In the above embodiment, the vehicle door trim of the present invention is provided for a vehicle (automobile), but is not limited to this, and the vehicle door trim of the present invention can be applied to those provided for various vehicles.

10... Vehicle door trim (vehicle door trim), 14... Vehicle body, 16... Entry door (vehicle door), 20... Door panel, 22... Glass panel (window glass), 24... Opening, 26... Window, 36... Window frame, 36a... Upper edge of window frame, 36a1... Tip (protrusion), 36b... Window frame side edge, 38... Upper wall surface, 40... Wiring cover, 70, 72... Rain gutter

Claims (3)

A vehicle door trim constituting a vehicle interior side of a vehicle door having a window,
a window frame portion that forms a window frame of the window;
A rain gutter is formed on the upper edge of the window frame portion, extending in a direction intersecting the vehicle interior/exterior direction, and opening at at least one end in the extending direction to allow rainwater to flow down to the side edge of the window frame portion ;
the vehicle door is a generally rectangular sliding door;
The upper edge of the window frame is formed to extend generally horizontally;
a wiring connecting the vehicle door, which is a sliding door, to the vehicle body is provided between an upper portion of the vehicle door and the vehicle body;
an upper edge of the window frame portion covers the wiring from below when the vehicle door is closed;
The vehicle door trim comprises:
an upper end wall portion extending along an upper end portion of a door panel constituting the vehicle door and covering the upper end portion from the inside of the vehicle compartment;
a protruding portion that protrudes from a lower end of the upper end wall portion toward the inside of the vehicle cabin, forms an upper edge of the window frame portion, and has the rain gutter portion formed on an upper surface side thereof;
Equipped with
When the vehicle door is closed, the wiring is routed in a space surrounded by the vehicle body, the upper end wall surface portion, and the protrusion portion . a flange portion extending from the upper end wall surface portion toward the outside of the vehicle cabin,
2. The vehicle door trim according to claim 1 , wherein another rain gutter portion is formed on the flange portion. The vehicle door trim according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle door trim is located on the interior side of the window glass and has an opening penetrating from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle, so that the peripheral edge of the opening forms the window frame portion.