Plastic modular door for a vehicle

Abstract

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a vehicle door including fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) members is provided. The vehicle door includes a fiber reinforced plastic outer skin member which is adhesively bonded to a fiber reinforced plastic intermediate shell including lateral side walls cooperating with inner and outer faces to define an open box-like structure with a hollow, interior cavity. The adhesively bonded outer skin member and intermediate shell define a door subassembly to which a hinge mechanism is coupled for securement to a body of a partially assembled vehicle. The door subassembly and the body of the partially assembled vehicle are simultaneously painted during the on-line assembly process. A carrier plate assembly, including a window glass and regulator mechanism for controlling vertical movement of the window glass, is mountable to the inner face of the intermediate shell after the application of the paint to the door subassembly and the body of the partially assembled vehicle. A metal intrusion beam may be affixed to the outer face of the intermediate shell prior to bonding the outer skin member to the intermediate shell.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.