Trim panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10065488-B2
Application number	US-201415021201-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2014
Priority date	Sep 12, 2013
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle door trim panel ( 1 ) is provided with a water drainage portion constituted by an upper wall ( 3 ) and a lower wall ( 4 ). The upper wall ( 3 ) is provided with a water inlet aperture ( 8 ), and the lower wall ( 4 ) is provided with a water outlet aperture ( 9 ). The invention also relates to a vehicle door, and a vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A door trim panel for a door of a vehicle, the door trim panel being provided with a water drainage portion, wherein the drainage portion is constituted by an upper wall having a water inlet aperture and a lower wall having a water outlet aperture, the water outlet aperture being off-set with respect to the water inlet aperture to create an indirect path for noise to reach an inside of the vehicle from an outside of the vehicle.

2. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the door trim panel is constituted by a substantially upright main body portion and an outwardly-extending base portion, the base portion incorporating the water drainage portion.

3. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper and lower walls of the drainage portion are arranged substantially parallel to each other.

4. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the door trim panel is a one-piece injection moulded member made of a thermoplastics material.

5. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a channel is formed between the upper and lower walls of the drainage portion in a region between the apertures, the channel forming part of a labyrinth path for draining water from the inlet aperture to the outside of the vehicle via the outlet aperture.

6. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a channel formed between the upper and lower walls of the drainage portion in the region between the apertures is at least partially filled with a sound-absorbing material.

7. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the sound-absorbing material is constituted by an open-cell foam material.

8. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the open-cell foam material is an open-cell polyurethane foam material.

9. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the sound-absorbing material is constituted by a closed-cell foam material, and is provided with a groove for the passage of water from the inlet aperture to the outlet aperture along said channel.

10. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the closed-cell foam material is a closed-cell polyurethane foam material.

11. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the channel formed between the upper and lower walls of the drainage portion in the region between the apertures is provided with a plurality of ribs extending alternately from the upper and lower walls, thereby substantially increasing the labyrinth path.

12. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the ribs are formed integrally with the upper wall or the lower wall.

13. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a free edge of at least one of the upper and lower walls is provided with an adhesive strip for bonding the door trim panel to an adjacent vehicle door inner panel.

14. A vehicle door comprising an outer panel, an inner panel and a door trim panel, the door trim panel being as claimed in claim 1 .

15. The vehicle door as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the inner panel is bonded or press-fitted to the outer panel, and the door trim panel is bonded or press-fitted to the inner panel, thereby forming an integrated door structure.

16. A vehicle incorporating at least one vehicle door as claimed in claim 14 .

17. The door trim panel as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the thermoplastics material is polypropylene.

Assignees

• Jaguar Land Rover Ltd

Inventors

• Halliwell Martin
• Boonham Martin
• Butlin David

Classifications

• B60J10/86 Primary

  arranged on the opening panel · CPC title

• B60R13/07

  Water drainage or guide means not integral with roof structure (B60R13/06, {B60J10/25} take precedence; {integral with roof structure B62D25/07; drainage openings having movable or removable closures B62D25/24}) · CPC title

• B60R13/0243 Primary

  Doors · CPC title

• B60R13/0815

  Acoustic or thermal insulation of passenger compartments (wall or roof liners integrating the insulating function B60R13/02; insulating floor mats or carpets B60N3/04) · CPC title

• B60R13/08

  Insulating elements, e.g. for sound insulation {(sound insulating linings for trains B61D17/185; drivers' cabs for load-carrying vehicles insulated against vibrations or noise B62D33/0604; thermal or acoustic insulation of engines F02B77/11; damping of sounds using compensation by electro-acoustic methods G10K11/178)} · CPC title