Inner support panel with multi-sided mounting interface for hardware module of vehicle door assembly

A motor vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle body having a door frame with opposing fore and aft frame pillars;
• a door assembly including:
• a door hardware module with a unit carrier and a door lock assembly, a speaker, a windowpane, and a window lift assembly mounted to the unit carrier;
• an outer door panel;
• an interior trim panel;
• and
• a door inner panel sandwiched between the outer door panel and the interior trim panel, the door inner panel including a header section attached to a shell section, the header section including a window sill connected to a window arch to cooperatively define a window frame for nesting therein the windowpane, the shell section including a hinge pillar pivotably hinged to the fore frame pillar, a latch pillar releasably latched to the aft frame pillar of the door frame, and a window beltline connected to the hinge and latch pillars to cooperatively define a hardware frame nesting therein the hardware module, the hardware frame including:
• a first mounting interface formed along an inboard surface of the shell section and including a first coupling structure attached via fasteners to an outboard surface of the unit carrier of the hardware module;
• a second mounting interface formed along a fore-aft surface of the shell section and including a second coupling structure sealingly attached via a seal structure to a peripheral surface of the unit carrier;
• and
• a third mounting interface formed along an outboard surface of the shell section and including a third coupling structure attached via fasteners to an inboard surface of the unit carrier.

A method of constructing a door inner panel for a door assembly of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle including a vehicle body with a door frame, and the door assembly including a hardware module with a windowpane and a window lift assembly mounted to a unit carrier, the method comprising:

• forming a header section with a window sill connected to a window arch to cooperatively define a window frame configured to receive the windowpane;
• forming a shell section configured to mount to the door frame of the vehicle body, the shell section including a hinge pillar connected to a latch pillar by a window beltline to cooperatively define a hardware frame configured to receive the hardware module;
• and
• attaching the header section to the shell section,
• wherein the hardware frame is formed with:
• a first mounting interface extending along an inboard surface of the shell section and including a first coupling structure configured to attach to an outboard surface of the unit carrier of the hardware module;
• a second mounting interface extending along a fore-aft surface of the shell section and including a second coupling structure configured to attach to a peripheral surface of the unit carrier of the hardware module;
• and
• a third mounting interface extending along an outboard surface of the shell section and including a third coupling structure configured to attach to an inboard surface of the unit carrier of the hardware module.