Plastic opening flap with increased rigidity with means for discharging fluids

Abstract

The invention relates to an opening flap, in particular of the tailgate type, for a vehicle, comprising a housing made of plastic, in particular thermoplastic, which housing comprises at least one fluid rib connecting at least two separate connection points, these interface points are respectively intended for fastening a lock, an actuation aid for an opening flap, or a hinged hinge for an opening flap. According to the invention, the housing comprises means for discharging a fluid, in particular a liquid fluid, out of a region inside the opening flap and defined by overlapping the exterior trim panels on the housing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a plastic opening leaf with increased rigidity and a device for discharging fluid and a method for manufacturing the same. The technical field to which the present invention belongs is the technical field of vehicles, in particular automobiles. Background Art

[0002] The use of plastics to manufacture components of the vehicle makes it possible to produce structural parts that can also be decorative parts. It is of interest that plastic molding makes it possible to produce parts that do not require the additional installation of decorative linings. The use of this manufacturing technology makes it possible to produce opening flaps made of plastic, in particular trunk tailgates, without the need for the added step of assembling a lining on the structural part of the tailgate (hereinafter referred to as the "box"). This is of particular interest when mass-producing parts of this type. In addition to this economic advantage, the use of plastics also makes it possible to reduce the weight of the opening flap, thereby contributing to reducing the effective energy consumption when the vehicle is in operation. Plastic molding also offers the possibility of more complex geometries, opening up a range of possibilities for improving the exterior style.

[0003] The tailgate type opening flap must also achieve a high degree of rigidity, since it is a large part that is subject to considerable loads, which are concentrated in particular at the fastening points of the actuation auxiliary devices, which are approximately located in the middle of the opening flap. Such auxiliary devices can be hydraulic rams or electromechanical mechanisms. Another area of ​​the opening flap that is subject to high mechanical stresses is located at the lock in the lower part of the opening flap, which must absorb the impact loads when closing the opening flap in order to lock the opening flap to the body on which it is hingedly mounted, while concomitantly resisting the compression loads of at least one sealing element, which is arranged on the periphery of the rear opening of the body, which is intended to be closed by the opening flap. A hinge is provided in the upper part of the opening flap, which allows the opening flap to be arranged movably on the body.

[0004] Therefore, usually resort is made to creating rigid beams, also called hollow veins or fluid veins, since they are produced during the thermoplastic molding phase by injecting air and / or water. Such beams are particularly intended to connect each of the above-mentioned areas that are subject to high mechanical stress.

[0005] However, this solution has disadvantages. Water retention has been found to occur near the ribs, particularly near the locks. Due to manufacturing constraints of thermoplastic tailgates, particularly those associated with box demoulding, the interface wall where the locks are mounted and the fluid ribs create water retention areas within the dry area of ​​the box. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a device and a method for manufacturing the device in order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages and to improve the quality of the opening valves known in the prior art.

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to an opening flap for a vehicle, in particular a tailgate type opening flap, comprising a box made of plastic, in particular a thermoplastic plastic, comprising at least one fluid rib connecting at least two separate interfacing points, which are respectively intended for fastening a lock, an actuation auxiliary device of the opening flap or an articulation hinge of the opening flap.

[0008] The housing comprises means for draining a fluid, in particular a fluid in liquid form, out of a region which is inside the opening flap and which is delimited by the overlapping fitting of the outer decorative panel on said housing.

[0009] According to the invention, the above-mentioned opening flap may include the following features considered individually or in combination with one another:

[0010] - the drain is located at the fluid rib, which has a closed cross section despite the presence of the drain;

[0011] - the discharge device at least partially reduces the cross-section of the fluid rib, thereby forming a drainage channel between the fluid rib and the outer decorative panel;

[0012] - a discharge device extends between a stagnation area located above the fluid rib and a discharge area located below the opening flap, in particular between the fluid rib and the lower end edge, the stagnation area and the discharge area being in fluid communication via the discharge device;

[0013] - the retention area is delimited by an interface wall located in the lower part of the opening flap, said interface wall being capable of cooperating with the lock, in particular by partially forming means for fastening the lock, said interface wall extending in a transverse plane inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis;

[0014] - the retention area is delimited by at least one reinforcing rib forming a connecting bridge between the interface wall and a bottom wall of the housing which is a continuation of the interface wall, the interface wall and the bottom wall running in separate transverse planes intersecting each other, the reinforcing rib extending perpendicularly to said interface wall and said bottom wall in the longitudinal direction of the opening flap;

[0015] - at least one reinforcing rib surrounding at least one lateral or transverse edge of the lock;

[0016] The interface wall and the reinforcement rib are connected to each other via fluid ribs.

[0017] The invention also relates to a vehicle, in particular a vehicle of the automobile type, comprising an opening flap having at least one of the above-mentioned features.

[0018] The invention also relates to a method for producing an opening flap as described above or a vehicle as described above, according to which the discharge device is produced in the following manner:

[0019] - the thermoplastic box is formed with the opening valve so that the fluid ribs have locally a variable cross section of the outer wall forming the drainage channel; or

[0020] - produced by a separate step after the box is formed, which consists in pressing the fluid ribs by means of a heating element, in particular by means of an ultrasonic horn or by means of a resistor, so as to locally deform the outer wall of the fluid ribs and thus produce the drainage channels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawing shows, by way of non-limiting example, one embodiment of an opening shutter according to the invention.

[0022] Figure 1 An opening flap of a motor vehicle is shown.

[0023] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 Cross-sectional view of the opening valve along axis II-II.

[0024] Figure 3 by Figure 1 An enlarged view of the opening valve is shown, highlighting the fluid discharge path created in the structural elements of the opening valve.

[0025] Figure 4 An enlarged view of an embodiment variant of an opening flap comprising means for discharging a fluid is shown.

[0026] Figure 5 Embodiment variants of the discharge device are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Reference will be made to a direct orthogonal reference system XYZ commonly used in automotive design, where the X-axis represents the front-to-rear longitudinal direction of the vehicle, with the positive direction facing backward, the Y-axis represents the lateral direction of the vehicle, pointing from the left side of the vehicle to the right side, with the left and right sides being defined from the perspective of the driver of the vehicle, and the Z-axis represents the vertical direction, with the positive direction facing upward, with the vehicle parked on a level ground.

[0028] "Inner" should be understood to mean the side closest to the inside of the vehicle interior. Similarly, "outer" should be understood to mean the side opposite to the inside of the vehicle interior, i.e., the side closest to the vehicle's external environment. Finally, "lower" should be understood to mean the side closest to the ground on which the vehicle is parked or the lowest side, and "upper" should be understood to mean the side farthest from the ground or the highest side.

[0029] The vehicle 2 comprises an opening flap 1 of the tailgate type, which comprises a structural element made of plastic, hereinafter referred to as the box 3. The plastic is a thermoplastic and, unlike composite materials filled with fibers, such as glass fibers, requires special reinforcement. This is why the tailgate is produced by injecting an air-like fluid in order to produce at least one reinforcing beam, also called fluid rib 4. The deformation resistance of the opening flap 1 is achieved in part by the fluid rib 4, on which the load-generating elements are arranged. "Load-generating elements" are to be understood as meaning the articulated hinges, the actuation aids and the locks of the opening flap. In the Figure 1 In the figure, which shows the opening flap 1 in the closed position, the interface point P1 is intended for fitting the actuation assistance device, the interface point P2 is intended for fitting the articulated hinge and the interface point P3 is intended for fastening the lock.

[0030] The opening flap 1 is hinged around the Y axis near the rear crossbeam of the roof by means of an articulated hinge. Figure 1 The opening flap 1 in the embodiment comprises interface points P2 which are located in its upper part and are spaced apart from one another relative to the transverse axis such that they are arranged symmetrically relative to the central XZ-axis plane.

[0031] Via the interface point P3, the opening flap 1 receives actuation assistance means which at least support the lifting of the opening flap from its closed position to its open position and which maintain it in its open position. The assistance means may be of a mechanical nature, such as in the case of a balancer, or of an electrical nature, such as a tappet capable of automatically opening and closing the opening flap. Such assistance means connect the rear ring of the vehicle body to the lateral edges of the opening flap, in this case to the left and right lateral edges, below a central opening 20 provided through the box. This opening 20 is delimited by the inner edge of the box, against which the rear window is intended to rest.

[0032] Via the interface point P2 , the opening flap 1 can receive a lock positioned in the lower center of the opening flap.

[0033] from Figure 2The complex geometry of the box 3 can be understood in the figure, which shows a cross-sectional view of the lower part of the box 3 in the XZ plane. The lower part of the box 3 is the part located below the opening 20. The inner edge of the opening 20 can receive a frame 21, the shape of which is set according to the geometry of the opening 20 to strengthen the box 3, which is weakened by the presence of the opening. The lower part of the box 3 is covered by an outer decorative panel 7, which can be made of plastic. The positioning of the outer panel 7 on the box 3 defines the internal area 6 of the opening valve. The box 3 includes a bottom wall 13, which is a vertical continuation of the interface wall 11 intended to receive the lock. The geometry of the interface wall 11 is defined by the size of the opening valve, its opening kinematics, the geometry of the vehicle body and the position of the lock on the rear ring of the vehicle body.

[0034] The depth of the box 3 is partially defined by the geometry of the interface wall 11 for the lock. The bottom wall 13 forms a substantially obtuse angle with the interface wall 11.

[0035] The lower area of ​​the bottom wall 3 comprises a lower end edge 10 comprising means for fastening the outer panel 7, these means may be formed as interfaces 17 intended to receive assembly clips. The lower end edge 10 comprises water drainage holes distributed along the edge, in particular distributed in a regular manner so that the spacing between two drainage holes 18 is substantially constant.

[0036] The fluid rib 4 may have a generally U-shaped shape in order to connect at least two separate interface points P1, P2 and / or P3 to one another. According to the illustrated embodiment, all interface points are connected to one another via the fluid rib 4, that is, the interface points are arranged adjacent to the fluid rib 4 directly or via dedicated reinforcing elements.

[0037] exist Figure 2 In the embodiment, the bottom wall 13 comprises two parts connected by an interface wall 11, which extends substantially horizontally over a part of the width of the box. The parts of the bottom wall 13 extend substantially vertically for their part.

[0038] The fluid rib 4 is located at the junction between the bottom wall 13 and the interface wall 11 at the bottom, such as Figure 2 The top of the fluid rib 4 extends above the interface wall 11, thereby generating Figure 1 shown and in Figure 2 The water retention area Z1 is partially shown in FIG.

[0039] Condensation may cause water to stagnate in the stagnation zone Z1, which, depending on the outside temperature, may freeze, thus producing a solid that, when it is released from the tank, moves in the inner zone 6 of the opening valve, producing noise. In order to drain the water from the stagnation zone Z1, the tank 3 comprises means 5 for draining the fluid outside the inner zone 6, so that the fluid can follow Figure 3 and Figure 4The discharge path F1 is shown by the dashed line.

[0040] The fluid rib 4 includes a discharge path F1.

[0041] The fluid ribs 4 comprise flow-conducting channels 51 produced in the walls of the reinforcing beams formed by the fluid ribs.

[0042] The fluid rib 4 comprises an upper wall, a lower wall, a front wall and a rear wall so as to form a beam of a closed hollow section.

[0043] The drainage channel 51 preferably extends transversely to the fluid rib 4 because it has a generally straight profile of the X-axis.

[0044] At the drainage channel 51, the fluid rib 4 maintains a closed cross-section so that there will be no flow inside the closed hollow cross-section. Although the outer wall of the fluid rib 4 can have a roughly parallelepiped cross-section with the above-mentioned wall portion, the inner wall of the fluid rib can have a roughly circular cross-section. The realization of the drainage channel 51 is intended to locally deform at least two adjacent parts of the fluid rib 4 (especially the upper part and the rear part). In this way, the fluid rib 4 locally includes an inclined part connected to the bottom part and the lower part.

[0045] according to Figure 4 In the embodiment, the width of the drainage channel 51 is between 5 mm and 10 mm.

[0046] The housing 3 includes at least one drainage channel 51 located at the lowest leg of the stagnation zone Z1. The drainage channel 51 may be located near the reinforcing rib 12. Figure 4 In the embodiment, the reinforcing rib 12 is parallel to the drainage channel 51, since the linear profile of the drainage channel 51 extends along a common axis with an axis inscribed in the reinforcing rib 12, which in particular extends substantially in the X-axis plane.

[0047] Preferably, the deformation of the drainage channel 51 is partially generated by thermal deformation under mechanical load.

[0048] The method for making the drainage channel 51 may include the step of using a sonotrode (i.e., a device for directing ultrasonic energy). This ultrasonic energy comes from a generator and is transmitted to the device for directing energy, which heats the plastic through micro-vibrations. The thrust load applied to the component by the sonotrode then compresses the portion of the rib.

[0049] According to another conceivable type of method, it is possible to envisage the use of a heating blade whose heat comes from a resistor. Applied in this way to the fluid rib 4, the wall portion of the fluid rib 4 is deformed due to its contact with the heating blade.

[0050] Whatever the chosen manufacturing method, the deformation operation is carried out after the molding operation of the box 3 during which the fluid ribs 4 are produced by a step of injecting a fluid, notably containing pressurized air, into the mold in order to deform the material.

[0051] according to Figure 5 In the embodiment in FIG. 1 , the profile of the drainage channel 51 varies along the Y axis. Such a profile can be produced by moving the device for thermal deformation along the fluid rib 4. Such a profile with a cross-sectional variation of the drainage channel 51 can also be produced by injecting a pressurized fluid while producing the fluid rib 4. In this case, the mold must be adapted to such a varying shape to be produced at the reinforcing beam formed by the fluid rib 4.

[0052] Considering that the drainage channel 51 is produced after the thermoplastic plastic box is manufactured, when the vehicle is equipped with a plastic tailgate, it is conceivable that the drainage channel 51 is produced in the vehicle after-sales network.

[0053] The drainage channel 51 allows the retention zone Z1 and the discharge zone Z2 to be placed in fluid communication, so that any fluid in a liquid state can be discharged outside the tank 3.

[0054] The drainage zone Z2 is defined by the lower edge 10 of the bottom wall 13 of the box 3. The lower edge 10 comprises through holes 18 located near the interface 17 dedicated to fastening the outer panel 7 to the box 3. The lower edge 10 provided with at least one through hole 18 extends in a substantially horizontal Y-axis plane, thereby enabling drainage by gravity.

[0055] If the design of the box 3 presents a plurality of stagnation zones Z1 , the fluid ribs 4 may comprise as many discharge devices 5 as there are stagnation zones.

[0056] The opening flap of the invention is noteworthy in that, in particular, its box is made of plastic, making it easy to mass produce. Since the plastic is not filled with reinforcements (such as glass fibers), the thermoplastic box 3 is reinforced by the presence of at least one beam formed by a fluid rib generated by a method for injecting a pressurized fluid (especially air). The local formation of the drain 5 in the wall of the fluid rib, without piercing the wall, maintains the tailgate's resistance to deformation while creating a solution that does not allow water to stagnate inside the tailgate in cold weather conditions and thus possibly freeze.

Claims

1. An opening flap (1), in particular a tailgate type opening flap (1), for a vehicle (2), comprising a housing (3) made of plastic, in particular a thermoplastic, comprising at least one fluid rib (4) connecting at least two separate interface points (P1, P2, P3), which are respectively intended for fastening a lock, an actuation auxiliary device of the opening flap or an articulation hinge of the opening flap, characterized in that The housing (3) comprises means (5) for discharging a fluid, in particular a fluid in liquid form, out of an area (6) which is inside the opening flap and is delimited by an outer decorative panel (7) superposed on the housing (3).

2. Opening flap (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that The discharge device (5) is located at the fluid rib (4), and despite the presence of the discharge device (5), the fluid rib has a closed cross section.

3. The opening flap (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The discharge device (5) at least partially reduces the cross-section of the fluid rib (4), thereby forming a drainage channel (51) between the fluid rib and the outer decorative panel (7).

4. The opening flap (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The discharge device (5) extends between a retention area (Z1) located at the top of the fluid rib (4) and a discharge area (Z2) located at the bottom of the opening valve, in particular between the fluid rib (4) and the lower end edge (10), and these retention areas (Z1) and discharge areas (Z2) are in fluid communication via the discharge device.

5. Opening flap (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that The retention zone (Z1) is delimited by an interface wall (11) located at the bottom of the opening valve, which interface wall is capable of cooperating with a lock, in particular by partially forming a device for fastening the lock, and which interface wall extends in a transverse plane inclined relative to the longitudinal axis (X).

6. Opening flap (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that The retention area (Z1) is defined by at least one reinforcing rib (12), which forms a connecting bridge between the interface wall (11) and the bottom wall (13) of the box body that is a continuation of the interface wall, and the interface wall and the bottom wall run in separate transverse planes that intersect each other, and the reinforcing rib (12) extends perpendicularly to the interface wall (11) and the bottom wall (13) along the longitudinal direction of the opening valve.

7. Opening flap (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that The at least one reinforcing rib (12) surrounds at least one lateral or transverse edge of the lock.

8. An opening flap (1) according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with claims 5 and 6, characterised in that The interface wall (11) and the reinforcing rib (12) are connected to each other via the fluid rib (4).

9. A vehicle (2), in particular a vehicle (2) of the automobile type, characterized in that The vehicle comprises an opening flap (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

10. A method for producing an opening flap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 or a vehicle (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that The discharge device (5) is produced in the following manner: - the thermoplastic plastic box (3) of the opening valve is formed so that the fluid rib (4) has a variable cross-section of the outer wall (41) forming the drainage channel (51) in some areas; or - produced by a separate step after the box (3) is formed, which includes squeezing the fluid rib (4) by a heating element, in particular by an ultrasonic horn or by a resistor, so as to locally deform the outer wall (41) of the fluid rib (4) to produce a drainage channel (51).

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