Vehicle door installation method and door installation structure

Abstract

To provide a door attachment method of a vehicle which can increase assembling accuracy of a door while facilitating the work when the door attached to a hinge member is temporarily detached and attached to the hinge member again.SOLUTION: When a door 2 is set to be in a state of being temporarily fit to a hinge member 4 by inserting a plurality of fastening members 3 fixed to the door 2 through a plurality of hole parts 43 provided in the hinge member 4, the door 2 is tilted by its own weight, a fastening member pressure-contact state in which at least one of the plurality of fastening members 3 is brought into pressure-contact with an inner peripheral surface of the hole part 43 corresponding to the fastening member 3 is set, a main fastening step is executed in the fastening member pressure-contact state, after the main fastening step, an assembly adjustment step for deforming or displacing at least one of the hinge member 4 and a door attachment object portion 11b so as to reduce the tilting of the door 2 is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a door mounting method and structure for a vehicle such as an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] 8, there has been a truck vehicle Ve in which a pair of left and right back doors 2 (generally called "tailgates") are provided on a loading platform 11 at the rear of the vehicle, and each of the back doors 2 is horizontally rotatable using a hinge member 4. With this configuration, when loading or unloading luggage onto or from the loading platform 11, the back doors 2 can be rotated.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has room for improvement as follows.

[0004] That is, the back door 2 of the truck vehicle Ve may be temporarily removed from the hinge member 4 of the loading platform 11 and then reattached to the hinge member 4. To give a specific example, in the manufacturing process of a truck vehicle Ve, once assembly of the vehicle body 1 is complete, electrodeposition coating is typically applied to the vehicle body 1. However, if the height dimension of the tailgate 2 is large, the vehicle body 1 is likely to float when immersed in the electrodeposition solution. For this reason, it is conceivable to apply electrodeposition coating to the tailgate 2 after removing it from the loading platform. In this case, after the electrodeposition coating is complete, the tailgate 2 is reattached to the hinge member 4 of the loading platform 11.

[0005] Here, when reattaching the back door 2 to the hinge member 4 of the cargo bed 11, it is necessary to adjust the back door 2 so that it is in the appropriate position and posture. However, the back door 2 is cantilevered with one end fastened to the hinge member 4 with a bolt, and the multiple holes provided in the hinge member 4 for inserting bolts are sized to have appropriate play for the shanks of the bolts used to attach the back door to the hinge member 4. For this reason, there is a risk that the rotational moment caused by the back door's own weight will cause the side opposite the hinge member 4 (the other end side) to tilt downward.

[0006] Conventionally, the back door 2 must be installed so as to eliminate the tilt of the back door 2, but this is not an easy task, and it requires skill to install the back door 2 with high precision, and the work takes a long time. Therefore, it is desirable to solve this problem appropriately. Conventionally, a special bolt (centering bolt) has been used to position the tailgate 2, but this requires high precision in the hole for inserting the bolt on the hinge member 4 side and the use of a special bolt, which increases costs and makes assembly difficult. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-193720 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-116791 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention has been devised under the circumstances described above, and provides a vehicle door assembly that can easily be removed from a predetermined hinge member of a vehicle and then reattached to the hinge member, while improving the accuracy of the door assembly. The object of the present invention is to provide a door mounting method and a vehicle door mounting structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle door installation method comprising: a temporary fastening step of overlapping a part of a door with a hinge member for supporting door rotation, which is attached to a target portion of the vehicle door, and inserting a plurality of fastening members fixed to the door through a plurality of fastening member insertion holes provided in the hinge member to set the door in a temporarily fastened state to the hinge member; and a final fastening step of fastening the door and the hinge member to a final fastened state using the plurality of fastening members after the temporary fastening step. When setting the temporary fastening state, the door is tilted by its own weight to set a fastening member pressure state in which at least one of the plurality of fastening members is pressed against the inner circumferential surface of the hole corresponding to the fastening member, and the final fastening step is performed with this fastening member pressure state, and after the final fastening step, a fitting adjustment step is further performed to deform or displace at least one of the hinge member and the target portion of the door so as to reduce the tilt of the door.

[0011] This configuration provides the following effects. In other words, if the door is attached to the hinge member through the above-mentioned series of steps and the fitting adjustment process is completed, if for some reason the door needs to be removed from the hinge member and then reattached to the hinge member, it is possible to make the installation work easier while improving the accuracy of the door fitting. More specifically, when reinstalling the door to the hinge member, even if a rotational moment due to the door's own weight causes one of the multiple fastening members to press against the inner periphery of the corresponding hole in the hinge member, the positional relationship between the multiple fastening members and the multiple holes in the hinge member remains the same, and the door and the hinge member can be reinstalled using the multiple fastening members. The present invention assumes that the door will tilt due to its own weight, and is designed to reduce the door's tilt, so the door will not tilt excessively due to its own weight. Therefore, unlike conventional methods, it is possible to improve the door installation accuracy while facilitating the door reinstallation process.

[0012] A second aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle door mounting structure comprising: a hinge member for supporting door rotation, which is mounted to a vehicle door mounting portion and is set in a state where a portion of the vehicle door is overlapped; and a plurality of fastening members which are fixed to the door by being inserted into a plurality of fastening member insertion holes provided in the hinge member and fasten the door and the hinge member together, wherein the door and the hinge member are fastened by the plurality of fastening members in an arrangement in which at least one of the plurality of fastening members is pressed against the inner surface of the hole corresponding to the fastening member when the door tilts due to its own weight, and the vehicle door mounting structure further comprises an installation adjustment portion which deforms or displaces at least one of the hinge member and the door mounting portion so as to reduce the tilt of the door.

[0013] According to this configuration, the same effects as those described in the vehicle door installation method provided by the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained, and when the door is removed from the hinge member and then re-installed, the installation work can be made easier while also improving the accuracy of the door installation. In addition, there is no longer a need to use a dedicated bolt (centering bolt) or to make high-precision holes in the hinge member for inserting fastening members, which reduces costs compared to conventional methods. Furthermore, assembly work is also easier.

[0014] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a vehicle to which the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the vehicle shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a schematic explanatory view of a main part of the rear door mounting structure of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 (a schematic view of the main part as seen from the rear of the vehicle); FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of the main part of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 before a back door is attached to the rear of the vehicle (a schematic view of the main part as seen from the rear of the vehicle). [Figure 6] 6 is a schematic explanatory view of the essential parts (schematic view of the essential parts as seen from the rear of the vehicle) showing a state in which a back door is attached to the rear of the vehicle from the state shown in FIG. 5.

[0033] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing adjustment of the fitting of the back door shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional technique. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals as those in the prior art shown in FIG. 8 are used for elements that are the same as or similar to those in the prior art.

[0017] 1 and 2 is a truck vehicle having a structure in which a cargo bed 11 is provided behind a cabin section 10 as a vehicle body 1, and its basic structure is similar to that of the conventional vehicle Ve shown in Fig. 8. However, the vehicle V of this embodiment is equipped with a vehicle door mounting structure A to which the present invention is applied at the rear of the cargo bed 11.

[0018] The vehicle door mounting structure A includes a pair of left and right tailgates 2 called "gates," a pair of left and right hinge members 4 to which the pair of tailgates 2 are attached using a plurality of bolts 3, and a mounting adjustment section 5 in which the mounting of the tailgates 2 is adjusted. The back door 2 corresponds to an example of the "door" of the vehicle as defined in the present invention, and the bolt 3 corresponds to an example of the "fastening member" as defined in the present invention.

[0019] The cargo bed 11 of the vehicle V includes a floor 11a and a pair of side plates 11b positioned on both the left and right sides of the floor 11a and standing upright in the vertical direction. The pair of back doors 2 are members for opening and closing a rear opening of the cargo bed 11, i.e., the area between the rear portions of the pair of side plates 11b, and are, for example, in the form of a generally rectangular plate when viewed from the front. Each back door 2 is attached to a respective hinge member 4, and can therefore rotate horizontally around a shaft 41 (see FIG. 3) of the hinge member 4, as indicated by arrow Na in FIG. 1. The pair of back doors 2 are appropriately provided with an operating lever 28 that is gripped when opening or closing them, a locking lever 29 that locks them in the closed state when they are set in that state, etc. Note that in Figure 2 and subsequent figures, these levers 28, 29 are omitted, and the back doors 2 are appropriately simplified. The rear portion of the side plate portion 11b is a portion to which the back door 2 is attached via the hinge member 4, and corresponds to an example of the "portion to which the vehicle door is attached" according to the present invention.

[0020] Each hinge member 4 includes a pair of upper and lower fixing pieces 40 fixed to the rear end of the side plate portion 11b of the loading platform 11, a shaft 41 (rotation center pin) held by the pair of fixing pieces 40 and extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of upper and lower movable pieces 42 each having one end fitted onto the shaft 41 and capable of horizontal rotation around the shaft 41 (see Figures 2 to 5). Each hinge member 4 has a movable piece 42 at the top and bottom, and is configured to rotatably support the back door 2 by attaching the back door 2 to these two movable pieces 42. It is also possible to configure the hinge member 4 in two, upper and lower parts (configuration in which the shaft body 41 is divided into an upper shaft body and a lower shaft body).

[0021] The movable piece 42 of the hinge member 4 is provided with a plurality of holes 43 for inserting bolts (corresponding to an example of the holes for inserting fastening members as referred to in the present invention). These multiple holes 43 include a reference hole 43a, a sub-reference hole 43b, and a non-reference hole 43c, as shown in enlarged views 1 and 2 of Figure 5. The reference hole 43a is a round hole with little play in relation to the shaft diameter of the bolt 3. The sub-reference hole 43b is an elongated hole with little play in the left-right width direction but a large play in the up-down height direction. The non-reference hole 43c is a so-called blind hole with a large play in both the left-right width direction and the up-down height direction.

[0022] A region 2a of the back door 2 near one end in the left-right width direction is provided with a plurality of bolting holes 22 for attaching the back door 2 to the hinge member 4 using bolts 3. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, these plurality of bolting holes 22 include not only holes provided in the back door 2 itself but also screw holes for nuts 23 welded to the back door 2, and the bolts 3 can be fitted (screwed) into these bolting holes 22 with substantially no play.

[0023] The fitting adjustment portion 5 is a portion that deforms or displaces the hinge member 4 or the vicinity of the mounting location of the hinge member 4 at the rear of the side plate portion 11b so that the back door 2 is in a state where there is no tilt due to its own weight or where the tilt is small. Details thereof will be described later.

[0024] Next, a door mounting method for obtaining the vehicle door mounting structure A will be described.

[0025] First, as shown in Fig. 5, with the pair of left and right hinge members 4 attached to the pair of side plate portions 11b, the back door 2 is attached to each hinge member 4. During this attachment, as shown in Fig. 6, the region 2a near one end of the back door 2 is overlapped with the movable piece 42 of the hinge member 4, and then multiple bolts 3 are inserted through the multiple holes 43 of the movable piece 42 and the bolt fastening holes 22 of the back door 2, and are screwed into the threaded holes of the nuts 23. However, the bolts 3 are not immediately tightened firmly, but rather the bolts 3 are loosened and a temporary fastening process is performed in which the back door 2 is temporarily fastened to the hinge member 4.

[0026] When the temporarily fastened state is set, the back door 2 tilts due to its own weight. Because the center of gravity CG of the back door 2 is located away from the hinge member 4, a rotational moment M that lowers the center of gravity CG of the back door 2 is generated in the back door 2, causing the back door 2 to tilt so that the area opposite the hinge member 4 lowers. Due to this tilt, the gap 8 formed between the pair of left and right back doors 2 becomes unsightly, with the lower width Lb being larger than the upper width La.

[0027] As the back door 2 tilts as described above, the bolts 3 are displaced and shifted from the centers of the holes 43. Specifically, the bolts 3 are displaced in the directions indicated by the arrows in the enlarged views 1 and 2 of FIG. 6, and the bolts 3 corresponding to the reference hole 43a and the sub-reference hole 43b are brought into pressure contact with a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the reference hole 43a and the sub-reference hole 43b (fastening member pressure contact state). After this state is created, a process of sufficiently tightening the bolts 3, i.e., a main fastening process of the back door 2 and the hinge member 4, is carried out.

[0028] After the main fastening process, a fitting adjustment process is performed to reduce the inclination of the tailgate 2 so that the vertical widths La and Lb of the gap 8 formed between the pair of tailgates 2 are substantially the same (see FIG. 7 ). In this fitting adjustment process, the hinge member 4 and the rear portions of the side plate portion 11b are deformed or displaced by, for example, applying strong pressure to the hinge member 4 and the rear portions thereof, thereby raising the other end region of the tailgate 2. The fitting adjustment portion 5 is a portion that, as a result of this process, is positioned or shaped differently from its original position or shape. For example, in FIG. 3 , the center line CL of the shaft 41 is slightly inclined relative to the vertical direction. In contrast, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the center line CL of the shaft 41 was originally non-inclined and extended vertically. The center line CL of the shaft 41 is inclined as a result of the fitting adjustment process, and the portion that has been deformed or displaced in this manner is the fitting adjustment portion 5. By completing the above-described fitting adjustment process, the door mounting structure A shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is obtained.

[0029] When the vehicle body 1 of the vehicle V described above is tentatively assembled, the vehicle body 1 is subjected to electrodeposition coating, but if the tailgate 2 has a large vertical width, the vehicle body 1 is likely to float when immersed in the electrodeposition solution. Therefore, the tailgate 2 is temporarily removed before the electrodeposition coating is performed, and then the tailgate 2 is reattached to the hinge member 4. Here, even when reinstalling the tailgate 2, a force that tends to tilt the tailgate 2 due to its own weight occurs, causing the bolts 3 to press against the inner peripheral surfaces of the holes 43 of the hinge member 4. However, the bolts 3 can be simply inserted into the holes 43 and bolting holes 22 without changing the relative positional relationship between the bolts 3 and the holes 43, thereby bolting (re-fastening) the tailgate 2 to the hinge member 4. The vehicle door installation structure A is designed to reduce the tilt of the tailgate 2 on the premise that the tailgate 2 will tilt due to its own weight. Therefore, when reinstalling the tailgate 2, the tailgate 2 will not assume an unduly large tilt due to its own weight. This facilitates the reinstallation of the tailgate 2 while improving the installation accuracy of the tailgate 2. There is no need to use a dedicated bolt (centering bolt), improving assembly workability.

[0030] The removal of the tailgate 2 from the hinge member 4 and subsequent re-attachment is not limited to cases where electrodeposition coating is performed on the vehicle body 1, but is also performed for reasons other than electrodeposition coating, such as repairs to the tailgate 2, special painting treatments, or the attachment of special equipment to the tailgate 2. In such cases, as in the case described above, it is possible to facilitate the re-attachment work of the tailgate 2 while improving its installation accuracy, which makes it possible to remove the tailgate 2 and then re-attach it, for example, even at a car dealership or the like.

[0031] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each step of the vehicle door mounting method according to the present invention can be modified in various ways within the intended scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the specific configuration of each part of the vehicle door mounting structure according to the present invention can be modified in various ways within the intended scope of the present invention.

[0032] The door referred to in the present invention is not limited to a tailgate provided at the rear of a truck vehicle. The present invention can be applied to various doors as long as the door is rotatably supported using a hinge member. Therefore, the door referred to in the present invention also includes a tailgate other than a tailgate and a side door provided on the side of a vehicle. Therefore, the location where the door is to be attached is not limited. The hinge member referred to in the present invention is not limited to a hinge in the narrow sense, but means a member capable of rotatably supporting a desired member, and its specific configuration is not limited. The fastening members referred to in the present invention are not limited to bolts, but other fastening members may be used, and the specific number of fastening members and holes for inserting the fastening members is not limited. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] A Vehicle door mounting structure V vehicle 1. Body 11b Side plate (door mounting area) 2 Back door (door) 3 Bolts (fastening components) 4 Hinge member 43 Hole (hole for inserting fastening member) 5. Fitting adjustment section

Claims

1. a temporary fixing process in which a region of the door near one end in the left and right width direction is overlapped with a hinge member for supporting door rotation attached to a door attachment target portion of the vehicle, and a plurality of fastening members fixed to the door are inserted into a plurality of fastening member insertion holes provided in the hinge member, thereby setting the door in a temporarily fixed state to the hinge member; a final fastening step of fastening the door and the hinge member to a final fastened state using the plurality of fastening members after the temporary fastening step; 1. A vehicle door installation method, comprising: The hinge member is provided with the plurality of holes as outer holes and inner holes spaced apart from each other in the width direction in the region near the one end of the door, and the outer holes are provided with reference holes having smaller play in the width direction and the vertical height direction than the inner holes, When the temporary fastening state is set, the door is tilted by its own weight, and a fastening member pressurized state is set in which at least one of the plurality of fastening members is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the reference hole portion, and the main fastening step is carried out in this fastening member pressurized state. a door fastening step for fastening the door to the vehicle, the door fastening step being performed after the door fastening step; a fitting adjustment step for deforming or displacing at least one of the hinge member and the door mounting portion so as to reduce the inclination of the door;

2. a hinge member for supporting door rotation, the hinge member being attached to a target portion of a vehicle door and being set in a state in which an area near one end in the left and right width direction of the vehicle door is overlapped; a plurality of fastening members that are fixed to the door in a state of being inserted through a plurality of fastening member insertion holes provided in the hinge member, and fasten the door and the hinge member together; A vehicle door mounting structure comprising: the plurality of holes of the hinge member are provided as outer holes and inner holes spaced apart from each other in the width direction in the region near the one end of the door, and the outer holes are provided with reference holes having smaller play in the width direction and the vertical height direction than the inner holes, the door and the hinge member are fastened by the plurality of fastening members in such a manner that at least one of the plurality of fastening members is in pressure contact with an inner circumferential surface of the reference hole portion due to the door tilting due to its own weight, A vehicle door mounting structure, further comprising a fitting adjustment portion that deforms or displaces at least one of the hinge member and the door mounting portion so as to reduce the inclination of the door.

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