Mounting plate for vehicle door reinforcement members

#This application claims priority to French Patent Application FR 02 14 110 filed Nov. 12, 2002.

#This invention relates generally to a mounting plate that fixes a reinforcement member in different orientations in a vehicle door to protect vehicle occupants from a side impact.

#Vehicle doors are fitted with assemblies that reinforce the structure of the door against side impacts. U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,537 discloses a reinforced vehicle door assembly that transfers the energy of a side impact to the chassis of a vehicle through the door hinge. The assembly includes two anti-intrusion bars across the door. One end of the bar is connected to the hinge, and the other end of the bar is connected to the door frame by a mounting plate.

#Other characteristics and advantages of the invention are given in the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only and with reference to the drawing.

#FIG. 1 shows a mounting plate according to one embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 1 illustrates the anti-intrusion reinforcement member mounting plate 10 of the present invention. The plate 10 includes securing features 22 and 24 to secure the plate 10 to a vehicle door. The plate 10 also includes a plurality of reinforcement member mounting interfaces 12 and 14 for a reinforcement member 16, allowing one type of plate 10 to be fitted to different fixing points in the door and to different reinforcement members 16. Regardless of the position of the reinforcement members 16 in the door, the reinforcement members 16 can be fixed to the door with the plate 10, simplifying production of the mounting interfaces 12 and 14. The plate 10 can also be fitted to different types of doors, depending on the door length.

#The reinforcement member 16 is fixed to a vehicle door panel 9 using the plate 10. In one example, the panel 9 is an inner door panel joined to an outer panel (not shown) to form the door.

#Vehicle doors are being made increasingly lighter by reducing the thickness of the bodywork and by decreasing the size of the door structure. A drawback to making doors lighter is that the impact resistance of the door decreases. The reinforcement member 16 lines the door, increasing the door strength and providing greater resistance than the bodywork in the event of an impact. The reinforcing member 16 extends in a zone of the door that could potentially injure the vehicle's occupants in the event of a side impact. The reinforcing member 16 reinforces the door without adding excessive bulk or weight to protect the vehicle's occupants and limit the intrusion of the door into the vehicle passenger compartment in the event of a side impact.