Arrangement of a vehicle door having an acoustic device

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement of a vehicle door (1), in particular a tailgate, having a door structure (2), produced in particular by moulding a plastic material, and at least one acoustic device having at least one loudspeaker, characterised in that the door structure comprises at least one concave housing (21) inside which an active element of the acoustic device, such as at least one loudspeaker, is at least partially housed, and in that the housing defines a static element of the acoustic device by forming a resonance chamber (32).

Description

[0001] TITLE: Arrangement of a vehicle opening comprising an acoustic device.

[0002] Technical field of the invention

[0003] The invention relates to an arrangement of an opening of a vehicle, in particular a tailgate, comprising an acoustic device. The invention relates more particularly to an arrangement of an opening of a vehicle, in particular a tailgate, comprising a structure of the opening, in particular produced by molding a plastic material, and at least one acoustic device comprising at least one loudspeaker.

[0004] State of the prior art

[0005] A vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, generally comprises at least one opening and a body on which the opening is mounted in an articulated manner, in particular with rotation. In order to improve the acoustics of an on-board audio system, it is often known to use hollow volumes of the body or to add such volumes to create low-frequency sound waves, giving an effect of acoustic depth that is appreciated by users. Such an acoustic device comprises a subwoofer for this purpose, but due to the volume of its box, its integration sometimes results in a reduction in the trunk volume. For example, it is known to add a subwoofer to the trunk, to a trunk side trim or to the trunk floor, the size of the box penalizing the useful volume of the loading trunk.

[0006] It is also known to use the volume created by the rear wheel arch of the vehicle to install such an acoustic device, but this requires long hours of technical feasibility studies because the rigidity of the body is weakened to accommodate the speaker, which subsequently requires work to consolidate the body. As pleasant as it may seem, installing a subwoofer directly on the vehicle body remains a specific operation for each vehicle, as it depends heavily on body geometry, so that such a vehicle design cannot be easily transposed to different body typologies.

[0007] Such a situation is not acceptable.

[0008] Presentation of the invention

[0009] The aim of the invention is to propose an arrangement of a vehicle opening, the arrangement comprising a structure of the opening and at least one acoustic device, remedying the above drawbacks. In particular, the invention proposes a vehicle comprising such an arrangement.

[0010] Summary of the invention

[0011] The subject of the invention relates to an arrangement of an opening of a vehicle, in particular a tailgate, comprising a structure of the opening, in particular produced by molding a plastic material, and at least one acoustic device comprising at least one loudspeaker. The structure of the opening comprises at least one concave housing inside which is housed at least in part an active element of the acoustic device, such as at least one loudspeaker, and in that the housing defines a static element of the acoustic device by forming a resonance box.

[0012] The arrangement of the invention may further comprise the following features taken separately or in combination with each other:

[0013] - the acoustic device includes a nozzle integrated into the structure of the opening,

[0014] - the opening comprises an external panel, in particular made of steel, which is arranged to cover at least part of the structure of the opening, the external panel and the structure of the opening delimiting a volume internal to the opening, inside which the nozzle extends,

[0015] - the concave housing is a subwoofer comprising at least one loudspeaker mounting wall, a bottom wall and at least one connecting wall connecting the mounting and bottom walls together, the bottom wall being in particular inclined relative to the mounting wall,

[0016] - the fixing wall comprises at least one fixing interface intended for the reversible assembly of the loudspeaker to the structure, said interface being in particular made of an anti-creep ring, in particular made of steel, in particular arranged near the housing,

[0017] - the nozzle is a hollow body, notably produced by a process of injecting a flow of air under pressure into the mold used to manufacture the opening structure

[0018] - the nozzle is overmolded to the structure of the opening in such a way that the material used in the manufacture of the nozzle is of a different nature to that used in the manufacture of the structure of the opening

[0019] - the nozzle has an evolving section,

[0020] - the nozzle is a conduit with an angled profile, one end of the conduit being in relation to a vent opening made at the level of the fixing wall, and in that an opposite end is in relation to another vent opening made at the level of the connecting wall, in particular located near the bottom wall.

[0021] The invention also relates to a vehicle comprising a body on which is hingedly mounted an opening equipped with at least one loudspeaker, the vehicle comprising all or part of the characteristics of the aforementioned arrangement.

[0022] Presentation of figures

[0023] These objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be explained in detail in the following description of an embodiment of an arrangement of an opening made without limitation in relation to the attached figures among which:

[0024] - [Fig.1] is a schematic view of a structure of a vehicle opening comprising a housing for receiving an acoustic device, according to the invention,

[0025] - [Fig.2] is another schematic view according to an enlargement of zone A of figure 1,

[0026] - [Fig.3] is a partial detailed and perspective view of the opening of figure 2 according to a section plane BB of figure 2.

[0027] Detailed description

[0028] The direction in which a vehicle, especially a motor vehicle, moves in a straight line is defined as the longitudinal direction X. By convention, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, located in a plane parallel to the ground, is called the transverse direction Y. The third direction, perpendicular to the other two, is called the vertical direction Z. Thus, we use a direct XYZ reference frame in which X is the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, therefore directed towards the rear, Y is the transverse direction directed towards the right and Z is the vertical direction directed upwards. The forward direction corresponds to the direction in which the vehicle usually moves in the longitudinal direction and is opposite to the rear direction.

[0029] Figure 1 schematically illustrates an opening 1, which is here of the type of a tailgate for closing a rear compartment of a vehicle, in particular a luggage compartment of a motor vehicle.

[0030] The opening comprises a structure 2 which is produced by a plastic molding process. The arrangement of the invention takes advantage of this design typology to integrate new functions improving the manufacturing process and assembly quality.

[0031] As a plastic part, the inner face of the structure can act as an appearance element without requiring any particular addition of any trim part. The arrangement that is the subject of the invention takes advantage of this advantage by integrating an acoustic device directly into the structure 2 of the opening. The acoustic device is here visible on the inner face of the opening, that is to say on the face of the opening intended to delimit the volume of the rear compartment, which can in particular be of the trunk type. The outer face of the structure 2 is intended to be covered with an outer panel 4 that can be made from a steel sheet, which is made visible from the outside of the vehicle. An interior space 5 of the opening 1 is then delimited by the superposition of the structure 2 and the outer panel 4. The depth of the interior space 5 of the opening defines the depth of the opening that integrates the acoustic device 3.In Figure 2, the opening 1 is shown comprising an acoustic device 3, mainly consisting of two active elements identifiable by the loudspeakers 33.

[0032] The structural element 2 comprises at least one reception zone intended to receive an acoustic device 3, the reception zone partly forming a static element of the acoustic device 3.

[0033] According to the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the figures, the opening 1 comprises two reception zones which are housings 21 arranged symmetrically with respect to the transverse median plane XZ of the opening 1. Each housing 21 is intended to house in whole or in part an active element of the acoustic device 3. Each housing 21 is in the form of a reception box which also provides a local improvement in the rigidity of the opening. Each housing 21 can be likened to a stiffening beam which extends through the opening 1, that is to say in the depth of the opening, in the sense that it comprises at least one transverse wall extending along the axis X. According to a preferred embodiment, the housing 21 comprises a single wall delimiting a volume of revolution of axis X and which extends in depth in the structure of the opening.Each housing 21 comprises right and left side walls as well as upper and lower walls all connected to each other by curved portions so as to form a line continuity specific to the concept of a single transverse wall. The rigidity of the structure 2 is further given by the presence of a closing wall of the beam which connects and overlaps the rear edge of the transverse wall.

[0034] The stiffening beam delimits the housing 21 inside which the active element of the acoustic device 3 is able to be arranged. The active element is here a loudspeaker 31.

[0035] The acoustic device 3 further comprises a passive element which is partly formed by the walls delimiting the housing, and which aims to create a subwoofer 32. The subwoofer 32 is thus delimited by fixing walls 34, bottom 35 and connecting walls 36 connecting the fixing walls 34 and bottom 35 together.

[0036] The connecting wall 36 of the subwoofer 32 is the transverse wall of the aforementioned stiffening beam. The connecting walls 36 are not parallel but slightly inclined relative to each other, which limits the phenomenon of standing waves inside the subwoofer. This results in a significant reduction in the risk of sound distortion.

[0037] The bottom wall 35 of the box 32 is the closing wall of the aforementioned stiffening beam. The bottom wall may comprise a through hole for the passage of a power supply wire in relation to the active element of the acoustic device 3.

[0038] Housing 21 is the stiffening beam which contributes to the mechanical strength of the plastic structure of the tailgate, in particular by reducing its vibration regime. The peripheral wall of the stiffening beam provides the rigidity which prevents deformation of the flat faces of the structure of the opening under a certain vibration regime.

[0039] The opening 1 comprises on either side of a median plane of axis XZ housings 21 which are substantially identical, apart from symmetry.

[0040] As shown in Figure 1, the housings 21 are located inside a stiffening ring 6 which can be formed by a curved tubular element which is attached to the structure 2, or which can be directly formed in the material of the structure of the opening, in particular by molding. The stiffening ring 6 can be in whole or in part a hollow vein 10 which is produced by injecting a pressurized fluid.

[0041] The stiffening ring 6 goes around an opening 7 of the opening structure 2. An upper part of the structure 2 comprises a window frame delimiting the opening 7. An opening of the type of a rear trunk hatch may comprise articulation means (not shown) in the upper part of the upper part of the structure 2 which allow the opening to tilt around the body of the vehicle. A lower part of the structure 2 comprises a support intended for mounting functional elements, for example a lock.

[0042] The arrangement of the opening is characterized by a positioning of the subwoofer 32 at the level of the lower part of the structure 2, in particular because the depth of the opening offers a dimensioning of the subwoofer in line with the desired sound effect.

[0043] Preferably, each housing 21 is located near a lower right or left corner of the stiffening beam 6. The stiffening beam 6 in combination with the housings 21 aims to improve the resistance to deformation of the structure of the opening as well as to reduce the vibration regime which is a source of noise pollution.

[0044] The static element of the acoustic device comprises a nozzle 33 which is visible in Figure 3 and which will now be detailed below.

[0045] The nozzle 33 is a vent duct which improves the acoustic effect provided by the subwoofer 32, in that it allows improved air circulation of the acoustic device, which tends to improve the sound reproduction. The nozzle 33 is in the form of a duct connecting the interior of the housing 21 to the exterior of the structure 2. For this purpose, the connecting wall 36 and the fixing wall 34 respectively comprise a vent hole 332 and 331. The air flow is optimized by a Bass-reflex® load provided with this vent duct.

[0046] The housing 21 is furthermore a truncated cone-shaped housing having a bottom wall inclined relative to the base defined by the fixing wall 34.

[0047] The connecting wall 36 is of scalable dimension so that an interior zone of the wall 36 gives the housing 21 a depth less than that of an opposite zone delimiting the exterior part of the subwoofer.

[0048] One of the vent holes may be provided at the inner area of ​​the connecting wall 36.

[0049] Note that in Figure 3 is shown in detail the conformation of the nozzle 33 connecting the interior of the subwoofer to the exterior of the opening. One of the vent holes 331, 332 is located near the bottom wall 35, at the level of the connecting wall 36. The other of the vent holes 331, 332 is located near a peripheral zone of the housing 21 which contains the means for fixing the loudspeaker. The nozzle may be of evolving section such that the section of the vent hole 331 of the fixing wall is greater than that of the vent hole of the connecting wall. By evolving section, it is meant that the nozzle has an approximately conical profile open to the outside.

[0050] The nozzle 33 thus connects two adjacent portions of the structure 2 which evolve in a manner substantially perpendicular to one another, which tends to locally improve the rigidity of the housing 21. These adjacent portions are the connecting wall 36 and the fixing wall 34, the latter being a merged part of the part of the structure which remains visible, in the sense that it is not intended to be covered by any lining element.

[0051] The fixing means, which allows the reversible mounting of the loudspeaker to the tailgate structure, may consist of several creep rings made of steel, which have been inserted into the mold before injection of the plastic material used in the manufacture of the opening structure 2. Preferably, the creep rings are distributed uniformly around the housing 21 so that they are able to come directly into engagement with a crown of the loudspeaker which comprises fixing lugs, in particular three fixing lugs spaced at an angle of approximately 120° from each other.

[0052] In Figure 2, the vent hole 331 which is located equidistant from two creep rings.

[0053] The nozzle 33 opens at the level of the fixing wall 34 through a vent hole 331 which is arranged near a hollow vein 10, forming a stiffening beam, which has a substantially U-shaped profile at the level of a lower part of the opening 1, in such a way that the hollow vein 10 of the structure 2 and the nozzle 33 extend in planes substantially orthogonal to each other. The nozzle 33 is mainly inscribed in an XY plane while the stiffening beam 10 tends to evolve mainly in a ZY plane.

[0054] The structure 2 of opening 1 according to the arrangement described previously thus has improved rigidity due to the presence of a set of stiffening beams consisting of the housings 21, the nozzles 33 and the hollow vein 10.

[0055] The manufacturing method of the opening arrangement 1 described above may comprise the following steps:

[0056] - positioning a device for fixing an acoustic device, in particular anti-creep rings, inside a mold intended for the manufacture of a structure 2 of an opening 1,

[0057] - manufacture structure 2 by molding a plastic material,

[0058] - inject a fluid under pressure, in particular a gas, inside the plastic mold in a deformable state in order to create a nozzle,

[0059] - assembling the active element 31 of the acoustic device 3 to the structure 2 of the opening 1 by means of the fixing device, in particular by screwing through the anti-creep rings.

[0060] The method of manufacturing the opening may also comprise the injection of a fluid under pressure to create a hollow body forming a stiffening beam 10 extending approximately at the periphery of a lower part of the structure 2.

[0061] Preferably, the steps of injecting the pressurized fluid for the creation of the stiffening beam 10 and the nozzle 33 are carried out concomitantly.

[0062] Preferably, the pressurized fluid to be injected for the creation of the hollow bodies is a gas, in particular air, pressurized by a cooling fluid, in particular water.

[0063] Thanks to the solution, the integration of the acoustic device into the opening is facilitated by the manufacturing process of the opening, whose structure is made of plastic. The arrangement of an opening including a subwoofer directly made of the material used in the manufacture of the body structure also makes it possible to achieve a high level of rigidity. In addition, the creation of hollow bodies useful for the integration of an acoustic device tends to improve the mechanical and vibration resistance of the opening. As a note, the solution has the advantage of being able to be easily used on other types of openings made of plastic, regardless of the demanding aesthetic criteria. It also has the advantage of not impacting the loading space of the vehicle.

Claims

DEMANDS 1. Arrangement of an opening (1) of a vehicle, in particular a tailgate, comprising a structure (2) of the opening, in particular made by molding of a plastic material, and at least one acoustic device (3) comprising at least one loudspeaker (31), characterized in that the structure of the opening comprises at least one concave housing (21) within which is housed at least in part an active element of the acoustic device, such as at least one loudspeaker, and in that the housing defines a static element of the acoustic device by forming a resonance chamber (32).

2. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the acoustic device (3) comprises a nozzle (33) integrated into the structure (2) of the opening.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the opening (1) comprises an outer panel (4), in particular made of steel, which is arranged to overlap at least part of the structure (2) of the opening, the outer panel and the structure of the opening delimiting an internal volume (5) to the opening, within which the nozzle (33) extends.

4. Arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave housing (21) is a bass enclosure comprising at least one speaker mounting wall (34), a bottom wall (35) and at least one connecting wall (36) linking the mounting and bottom walls together, the bottom wall being in particular inclined relative to the mounting wall.

5. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the fixing wall (34) comprises at least one fixing interface intended for the reversible assembly of the loudspeaker (31) to the structure (2), said interface being in particular made of an anti-creep ring, in particular made of steel, in particular disposed near the housing (21).

6. Arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with claim 2, characterized in that the nozzle (33) is a hollow body, in particular produced by a process of injecting a flow of air under pressure into the mold used in the manufacture of the structure (2) of the opening.

7. Arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with claim 2, characterized in that the nozzle (33) is overmolded to the structure (2) of the opening in such a way that the material used in the manufacture of the nozzle is of a different nature to that used in the manufacture of the structure of the opening.

8. Arrangement according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the nozzle has an evolving cross-section.

9. Arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with claims 2 and 4, characterized in that the nozzle (33) is a duct with a bent profile, one end of the duct being in relation to a vent opening (331) made at the level of the fixing wall (34), and in that an opposite end is in relation to another vent opening (332) made at the level of the connecting wall (36), in particular located near the bottom wall (35).

10. Vehicle comprising a body on which is articulatedly mounted an opening (1) equipped with at least one loudspeaker (31), characterized in that it comprises an arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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