Reinforced-fit top trim panel with decorative piece, for a vehicle door
The trim panel design with an interface device securely attaches the ornament piece to the support, preventing detachment and object passage, enhancing vehicle quality and eliminating repair needs, with optional lighting features.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- STELLANTIS AUTO SAS
- Filing Date
- 2022-09-02
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing trim panels in vehicle doors are prone to detachment during closure, affecting perceived quality, and in lower-end vehicles, they allow objects to pass through, necessitating costly and time-consuming repairs or disassembly.
A trim panel design with an interface device that couples the upper ornament piece to the support, obstructing the passage between the ornament and trim strip, and optionally includes a photon source for illumination, ensuring secure attachment and preventing object passage.
Prevents detachment of the ornament piece and blocks object entry, maintaining vehicle quality and eliminating the need for repairs, while providing optional lighting in both high-end and lower-end vehicle segments.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Reinforced top trim panel with decorative piece, for a vehicle door Technical field of the invention
[0001] The invention relates to vehicles comprising at least one side door, and more specifically to the trim (or cladding) panels intended to be part of such side doors. State of the art
[0002] Many vehicles, generally of the automobile type, include a passenger compartment which can be accessed by at least one side door (or door). Usually, each side door includes an external structural part (or metal panel) to which an internal trim panel (and therefore facing the passenger compartment) is fixedly attached.
[0003] Certain trim panels include in particular a support, an upper band trim attached to the support and defining a recess, and an upper ornament piece having a lower part attached to the support and installed almost entirely under the upper band trim.
[0004] Sometimes, the upper ornament piece has an upper edge which is separated from the upper band trim by a passage, so as to allow photons to pass through to illuminate the recess and generated by a photon source attached to a support piece installed behind the upper ornament piece by being attached to the support.
[0005] When a vehicle user pulls on the upper trim piece to close the door, instead of pulling on the designated area on the door armrest, this can cause the upper trim piece to detach because only its lower part is attached to the support. This detracts from the vehicle's perceived quality and requires the driver to take the vehicle to a service center to have the side door repaired, which is both time-consuming and expensive.
[0006] Furthermore, since recess lighting is generally reserved for vehicle versions in the so-called upper (or high-end) segment, in vehicle versions in the so-called lower segment, the trim panel does not include a photon source support piece, and therefore the passage between the upper edge of the upper ornament piece and the upper trim strip allows small objects to pass through and become lodged inside the trim panel. For To retrieve an item, the vehicle user must take it to an after-sales service which then has to dismantle at least part of the trim panel, which proves to be time-consuming and expensive.
[0007] The invention therefore aims in particular to improve the situation. Presentation of the invention
[0008] In particular, it proposes for this purpose a trim panel suitable for forming part of a vehicle's side door and comprising:
[0009] - a support,
[0010] - an upper band trim fixed to the support and defining a ren darkening, and
[0011] - an upper ornamental piece having a lower part attached to the support and having an upper edge separated from the upper trim by a passage.
[0012] This trim panel is characterized by the fact that it also includes an interface device coupling an upper part of the upper ornament piece to the support to prevent a widening of the passage, and arranged so as to obstruct this passage.
[0013] Thus, when a vehicle user pulls on the upper ornament piece to close the side door, there is no longer a risk of causing the upper ornament piece to detach, and since the passage is permanently obstructed and cannot be widened, there is no longer a risk that an object could pass between the upper edge of the upper ornament piece and the upper trim strip.
[0014] The trim panel according to the invention may include other features which may be taken separately or in combination, and in particular:
[0015] - its interface device may include, on the one hand, an interface piece ensuring the coupling between the upper part of the upper ornament piece and the support, and, on the other hand, an obstruction piece fixedly attached to this interface piece and ensuring the obstruction of the passage;
[0016] - in the presence of the first option, the obstruction piece can be made in a material transparent to photons;
[0017] - in the presence of the last sub-option, the interface device may include a photon source fixedly attached to an upper face of the interface piece and capable of generating photons towards the obstruction piece so that they exit through the passage to illuminate the recess;
[0018] - also in the presence of the first option, the interface piece may include at least one housing. In this case, the upper ornamental piece may include an inner face provided with at least one first coupling tab housed in the corresponding housing;
[0019] - also in the presence of the first option, the interface piece may include at least one first through hole. In this case, the upper ornament piece may include an inner face provided with at least one second coupling tab passing through the corresponding first through hole;
[0020] - in the presence of the last two sub-options, each housing in the room The interface can be defined in an upper part of this interface piece, and each first through hole of the interface piece can be defined in a lower part of this interface piece;
[0021] - also in the presence of the first option, the upper ornamental piece can include an internal face equipped with at least one support tab. In this case, the interface part may include at least one support tab bearing on the corresponding support tab;
[0022] - also in the presence of the first option, its support may include at less a second through hole. In this case, the lower part of the upper ornament piece may include an inner face having at least one fixing tab passing through the corresponding second through hole, and the interface piece may include at least a third coupling tab having a third through hole through which the corresponding fixing tab passes.
[0023] The invention also proposes a side door suitable for equipping a vehicle and comprising a structural part having an internal face to which is attached a trim panel of the type shown above,
[0024] For example, this side door may be part of a motor vehicle. Brief description of the figures
[0025] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from an examination of the detailed description below, and the accompanying drawings (obtained using CAD / CAM (“Computer-Aided Design / Computer-Aided Manufacturing”)), in which:
[0026] [Fig. 1] schematically illustrates, in a perspective view from the inner face, a portion of an example of a vehicle side door comprising an example of an embodiment of a trim panel according to the invention,
[0027] [Fig.2] schematically illustrates, in a perspective view from the inner face, the side door part of [Fig.1] with its trim panel lacking its upper ornamental piece in order to reveal the interface device,
[0028] [Fig.3] schematically illustrates, in a cross-sectional view in a first transverse plane, the trim panel of the [Fig.1],
[0029] [Fig.4] schematically illustrates, in a cross-sectional view in a second transverse plane, a part of the trim panel of [Fig.1],
[0030] [Fig.5] schematically illustrates, in a cross-sectional view in a third transverse plane, a part of the trim panel of the [Fig.1],
[0031] [Fig.6] schematically illustrates, in a cross-sectional view in a horizontal plane, a part of the trim panel of the [Fig.1],
[0032] [Fig.7] schematically illustrates, in a first perspective view from the side of the outer face, the interface device of the [Fig.2],
[0033] [Fig.8] schematically illustrates, in a second perspective view from the inner face, the interface device of [Fig.2], and
[0034] [Fig.9] schematically illustrates, in a front view from the side of the inner face, the upper ornament piece of the trim panel of the [Fig.1]. Detailed description of the invention
[0035] The invention aims in particular to provide a trim panel PG intended to be part of a side door PV of a vehicle and comprising a top ornament piece POS with reinforced hold.
[0036] In what follows, the vehicle is considered, by way of non-limiting example, to be of the automobile type. For example, a car. However, the invention is not limited to this type of vehicle. It relates in fact to any vehicle having at least one side door providing access to a passenger compartment within it.
[0037] Figures 1 and 2 schematically illustrate part of an example of a PV side door intended to equip a vehicle and comprising an external structural part (or metal panel) PST and an example of an embodiment of a PG trim panel according to the invention, fixedly attached to this structural part PST and intended to be oriented towards a passenger compartment of this vehicle.
[0038] As illustrated at least partially in Figures 1 to 3, a trim panel PG, according to the invention, comprises at least one support SP, an upper trim strip EBS, an upper decorative piece POS, and an interface device DI. It should be noted that in the illustrated example, the trim panel PG also comprises an upper trim strip BAS fixedly attached to the support SP.
[0039] The SP support is fixedly attached to the structural part PST, and can be made of rigid plastic or metal.
[0040] The upper trim ring EBS is fixedly attached to the support SP (see [Fig. 3]), as well as here to the upper trim ring BAS which is placed above it (see [Fig. 3]). The first attachment will be discussed later.
[0041] In addition, this upper band trim EBS defines a recess (or concave housing) RE.
[0042] The upper ornament piece POS has a lower part which is attached to the support SP (see [Fig. 6]), and includes an upper edge BS which is separate (and therefore distant) from the upper trim EBS by a PL passage (see figures 1 to 5). We will return to this fastening later.
[0043] The interface device DI couples an upper part of the upper ornament piece POS to the support SP to prevent widening of the passage PL (see [Fig.3]).
[0044] In addition, this DI interface device is arranged to obstruct the PL passage (see [Fig.3]).
[0045] Thanks to the invention, when a vehicle user pulls on the upper decorative piece POS to close the side door PV, instead of pulling on the area designated for this purpose on the door armrest, there is no longer a risk of the upper decorative piece POS becoming detached, since its upper and lower parts are now coupled to the support SP (in particular via the interface device DI). Consequently, there is no longer any risk that the installation method of the upper decorative piece POS could degrade the perceived quality of the vehicle.
[0046] Furthermore, the DI interface device now obstructs the PL passage, both when the vehicle version belongs to the upper segment and when the vehicle version belongs to the lower segment, and the PL passage cannot be widened, there is no longer a risk that an object could pass between the upper edge BS of the upper ornament piece POS and the upper trim strip EBS.
[0047] For example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 2 to 5, 7 and 8, the interface device DI may comprise an interface piece PI and an obstruction piece PO. The interface piece PI provides the coupling between the upper part of the upper ornament piece POS and the support SP (see [Fig. 3]). The obstruction piece PO is fixedly attached to the interface piece PI and provides the obstruction of the passage PL (see [Fig. 3]).
[0048] It is important to note that in one embodiment the interface device DI could comprise only one part providing both interfacing and blocking.
[0049] It should also be noted that the obstruction piece PO can be made of a material that is transparent to photons. This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the interface device DI also includes, as illustrated non-limitingly in Figures 3 to 5, a photon source SOP fixedly attached to the upper face of its interface piece PI and therefore inside the internal housing defined by its interface piece PI and obstruction piece PO.
[0050] It will be understood that the photon source SOP is arranged so as to generate photons in the direction of the obstruction piece PO so that they exit through the passage PL to illuminate the recess RE. For example, this photon source SOP may include at least one light-emitting diode (or LED) or a laser diode, with its control and power supply means.
[0051] When the illumination function of the recess RE is not provided (lower segment), the interface device DI does not include the photon source SOP. In this case, and as mentioned above, the interface device DI may consist of only one part providing both the interface and the obstruction.
[0052] Also, for example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 4, 7, and 9, the PI interface piece may include at least one LP slot, and the POS upper ornament piece may include an FI inner face provided with at least one PCI coupling pin housed in the corresponding LP slot. This ensures at least part of the coupling between the PI interface piece and the POS upper ornament piece. Preferably, and as illustrated, this coupling takes place in the PSP upper part of the PI interface piece and in the upper part of the POS upper ornament piece. However, this is not mandatory.
[0053] It should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in Figures 7 and 9, the number of LP slots (and therefore also the number of first PCI coupling pins) is equal to six. But this number can take any value greater than or equal to one.
[0054] Also, for example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 3, 7, and 9, the interface piece PI may include at least one first through-hole TT1, and the inner face FI of the upper ornament piece POS may be provided with at least one second coupling tab PC2 that passes through the corresponding first through-hole TT1. This ensures at least part of the coupling between the interface piece PI and the upper ornament piece POS. Preferably, and as illustrated, this coupling takes place in the lower part PIP of the interface piece PI and in an intermediate part of the upper ornament piece POS. However, this is not mandatory.
[0055] It should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in Figures 7 and 9, the number of first through holes TT1 (and therefore also the number of second coupling pins PC2) is equal to two. But this number can take any value greater than or equal to one.
[0056] Also, for example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 5 and 9, the inner face FI of the upper ornament piece POS may be provided with at least one support tab PTS, and the interface piece PI may include at least one bearing tab PAP that bears against the corresponding support tab PTS. This makes it possible to increase the number of bearing points of the interface device DI on the upper ornament piece POS. Preferably, and as illustrated, this bearing occurs in the intermediate part of the upper ornament piece POS, and each bearing tab PAP projects downwards from an inner part A third component of the PI interface piece. But this is not mandatory.
[0057] It should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in [Fig. 9], the number of PTS support lugs (and therefore also the number of PAP support lugs) is equal to two. But this number can take any value greater than or equal to one.
[0058] Also, for example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 2 and 6 to 9, the support SP may include at least one second through hole TT2, and the inner face FI of the upper ornament piece POS may be provided in a lower portion with at least one mounting tab PF that passes through the corresponding second through hole TT2. In this case, the interface piece PI may also include in its lower portion PIP at least one third coupling tab PC3 that is provided with a third through hole TT3 through which the corresponding mounting tab PF passes. It will be understood, as illustrated, that each third coupling tab PC3 projects downwards from the lower portion PIP of the interface piece PI.This ensures coupling between the lower part of the upper ornament piece POS and the SP support and the lower part PIP of the interface piece PI, while providing at least one support point for the interface device DI.
[0059] It should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in Figures 2 and 7 to 9, the number of PF mounting tabs (and therefore also the number of second through holes TT2 and the number of third coupling tabs PC3) is equal to four. But this number can take any value greater than or equal to one.
[0060] It should also be noted, as illustrated (but not limited to) in [Fig. 6], that the free end of each PF mounting tab, located behind a second through hole TT2, may optionally be butted. However, this is not mandatory. Indeed, each PF mounting tab could be a clipping tab.
[0061] Also, for example, and as illustrated, without limitation and at least partially, in Figures 3 and 8, the SP support may include at least one fourth through-hole TT4, and the PI interface piece may also include in its lower part PIP at least one fourth coupling tab PC4 which passes through the corresponding fourth through-hole TT4. This ensures coupling between the SP support and the PI interface piece, and thus allows the DI interface device to ensure coupling between the upper part of the POS upper ornament piece and the SP support.
[0062] It should be noted that in the example illustrated, but not limited to, in [Fig.8], the number of fourth coupling pins PC4 (and therefore also the number of fourth through holes TT4) is equal to seven. But this number can take any value greater than or equal to one.
[0063] It should also be noted, as illustrated but not limited to [Fig. 3], that The lower end of the EBS upper trim panel can also include at least one fifth through hole TT5, through which the corresponding fourth coupling tab PC4 passes. Each fifth through hole TT5 can optionally be defined in a coupling tab of the EBS upper trim panel. This ensures coupling between the lower part of the EBS upper trim panel and the SP support, while also reinforcing the overall stability of the PG trim panel. It should also be noted that the number of fifth through holes TT5 can be equal to the number of fourth coupling tabs PC4. However, this number can be any value less than or equal to the number of fourth coupling tabs PC4.
[0064] It should also be noted, as illustrated but not limited to Figures 3 and 8, that the free end of at least one of the fourth coupling pins PC4, located behind a fourth through hole TT4, may optionally be button-type. However, this is not mandatory. Indeed, each fourth coupling pin PC4 could be a clipping pin.
Claims
Demands
1. Trim panel (PG) suitable for forming part of a side door (PV) of a vehicle and comprising i) a support (SP), ii) an upper trim strip (EBS) attached to said support (SP) and defining a recess (RE), and iii) an upper ornament piece (POS) having a lower part attached to said support (SP) and having an upper edge (BS) separated from said upper trim strip (EBS) by a passage (PL), characterized in that it further comprises an interface device (DI) coupling an upper part of said upper ornament piece (POS) to said support (SP) to prevent a widening of said passage (PL), and arranged so as to obstruct said passage (PL).
2. Trim panel according to claim 1, characterized in that said interface device (ID) comprises i) an interface piece (IP) ensuring said coupling between said upper part of the upper ornament piece (POS) and said support (SP), and ii) an obstruction piece (PO) fixedly attached to said interface piece (IP) and ensuring said obstruction of the passage (PL).
3. Trim panel according to claim 2, characterized in that said obstruction piece (PO) is made of a photon-transparent material.
4. Trim panel according to claim 3, characterized in that said interface device (ID) comprises a photon source (PS) fixedly attached to an upper face of said interface piece (IP) and adapted to generate photons in the direction of said obstruction piece (OP) so that they exit through said passage (PL) to illuminate said recess (RE).
5. Trim panel according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said interface piece (PI) comprises at least one housing (LP), and in that said upper ornament piece (POS) comprises an inner face (FI) provided with at least one first coupling tab (PCI) housed in said corresponding housing (LP).
6. Trim panel according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that said interface piece (PI) comprises at least one first through hole (TT1), and in that said upper ornament piece (POS) comprises an inner face (FI) provided with at least one second coupling tab (PC2) passing through said first through hole (TT1) corresponding.
7. Trim panel according to the combination of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that each housing (LP) is defined in an upper part (PSP) of said interface piece (PI), and each first through hole (TT1) is defined in a lower part (PIP) of said interface piece (PI).
8. Trim panel according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that said upper ornament piece (POS) comprises an inner face (FI) provided with at least one support tab (PTS), and in that said interface piece (PI) comprises at least one support tab (PAP) resting on said corresponding support tab (PTS).
9. Trim panel according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that said support (SP) comprises at least one second through hole (TT2), and in that said lower part of the upper ornament piece (POS) comprises an inner face (FI) provided with at least one fixing tab (PF) passing through said corresponding second through hole (TT2), and in that said interface piece (PI) comprises in a lower part (PIP) at least one third coupling tab (PC3) provided with a third through hole (TT3) through which said corresponding fixing tab (PF) passes.
10. Side door (PV) suitable for equipping a vehicle and comprising a structural part (PST), characterized in that it further comprises a trim panel (PG) according to one of the preceding claims, attached to an internal face of said structural part (PST).