Modular Vehicle Door Assembly With Pre-Installed Window Hardware
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle door assemblies require complex and resource-intensive final assembly processes, involving numerous structural components and steps, which increases manufacturing time and mass.
Innovation Solution
A modular door assembly design featuring a one-piece module pre-assembled with window hardware, which is then attached to a metal outer panel and reinforcement member, reducing the need for additional fasteners and streamlining assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional multi-component door assembly is used with separate inner and outer panels connected during final assembly, then structural integrity is maintained, but manufacturing complexity and assembly time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the inner panel, outer panel, window regulator, window channels, and window into a single integrated door assembly. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate assembly steps where these components are traditionally connected during final vehicle assembly, directly improving productivity while reducing the number of discrete components that must be handled and fastened together
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly is pre-assembled as a complete unit before installation into the vehicle. The window regulator, channels, and window are installed in the door assembly during manufacturing rather than during final vehicle assembly, allowing the door to be delivered to the assembly line as a nearly complete subsystem that requires minimal additional assembly steps
2Weight of moving object
If multiple fasteners are used to connect module with inner panel, then structural strength is ensured, but overall mass of door assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the window regulator, window channels, and window into a single monolithic module rather than assembling these as separate components, the patent eliminates the fasteners that would be required to connect these parts. This merging reduces the total mass of the door assembly while maintaining structural strength through the integrated design of the module itself
3Loss of time
If window is inserted between inner and outer panels during final assembly, then proper positioning is achieved, but assembly time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The window, window channels, and window regulator are pre-installed in the door assembly during manufacturing before the door is delivered to the final vehicle assembly line. This preliminary action eliminates the time-consuming step of inserting and positioning the window between inner and outer panels during final assembly, reducing both assembly time and the complexity of the final assembly process
Data Source
AI summary
The vehicle door assembly includes an outer panel which has a rocker sill area and a beltline area. A reinforcement member, which is made of one or more pieces, is attached with the outer panel along at least a portion of an outer periphery of the outer panel. The door assembly further includes a module which is made as a single integral piece and is fixedly attached with the reinforcement member. The module has an inner beltline reinforcement and supports a pair of window channels and a window regulator for controllably raising and lowering a window between an open position and a closed position.