Convertible skeleton door
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsRanil Patel, Timothy Bearup, Stephen Thomas Kozak, Colleen Hoffman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle door assembly includes a door housing configured for covering a vehicle access opening. A frame member is disposed within the door housing. A module includes an intrusion beam coupled to the frame member and removable from the door housing. The module is configured to accept attachment of a module hinge and a module latch to provide a secondary door assembly. A modular vehicle door assembly and a method of assembling a door assembly to a vehicle are also disclosed.
Claims15
A vehicle door assembly comprising:
- a door housing for covering an access opening of a vehicle when in a closed position, the door housing enclosing an interior space and including hinges for mounting the door housing to a body of the vehicle and a latch for securing the door housing to the vehicle body when in the closed position;
- a module enclosed within the interior space of the door housing and removable from the interior space of the door housing, the module mountable to the vehicle body separate from the door housing for covering a portion of the vehicle access opening when the module is in a closed position, the module including a first bracket, a second bracket and at least one intrusion beam coupled between the first bracket and the second bracket, at least one module hinge for securing the module to the vehicle body once the module is removed from the door housing and a module latch for securement of the module to the vehicle body when in the closed position extending across the access opening independent of the door housing.
A door assembly for a vehicle including a vehicle body and an access opening, the door assembly comprising:
- a door housing enclosing an interior space, the door housing including hinges for mounting the door housing to the vehicle body and a latch for securing the door housing to the vehicle body when in a closed position;
- a first bracket;
- a second bracket;
- at least one beam extending between the first bracket and the second bracket, wherein the first bracket, the second bracket and the at least one beam define a module that is removable from the interior space within the door housing and mountable to the vehicle body independent of the door housing by a module hinge and securable to the vehicle body with a module latch assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.