Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 1003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

TITLE OF INVENTION
A SIDE DOOR FOR A VEHICLE

APPLICANT
MAHINDRA ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE LIMITED, an Indian company, having its address at Mahindra Tower, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Nr. Doordarshan Kendra, Worli, Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra 400018, India.

PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to vehicles and more particularly, to a side door for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Vehicle safety standards and performance expectations, necessitate continuous innovation in the design and construction of various vehicle parts including vehicle doors. Structural integrity, occupant safety along with utility pockets and entertainment components adaption are important considerations for vehicle side doors.
[003] Typically, a side door houses several components such as speakers of entertainment system, a power window assembly, ambient light, wiring harness, locking mechanism, actuators, utility pockets etc. Various cut-outs or openings are provided on an inner panel of the side door for assembly and service of such components. Due to the cut-outs, the door section in and around the cut-out is comparatively weak. The side door usually is subjected to high stress due to slamming of the side door causing the inner panel around the cut-outs to be distorted/deformed, which is undesirable. In prior arts, various solutions have been proposed which suggests increasing the thickness of the inner panel or adding linkages to increase the stiffness of the inner panel of the side door which also achieves desired modal frequency of the door. As is known in the art, modal frequency of a side door is directly proportional to its stiffness and inversely proportional to mass. With the solutions discussed hereinbefore, while the modal frequency increases, the solutions result in increased weight and additional costs of the door, and thereby the vehicle.
[004] Hence there is a need in the art for an improved side door for the vehicle which addresses at least one of the aforementioned problems or drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[005] Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect provides a side door for a vehicle, the side door comprising an inner panel having one or more openings, an outer panel facing an outer surface of the inner panel, at least one intrusion beam disposed between the outer panel and the inner panel and at least one reinforcement member adapted to be attached between the inner panel and the intrusion beam. The reinforcement member adapted adjacent to at least one of the openings of the inner panel. The reinforcement member comprises a base portion and a plurality of spaced apart support portions. Each of the support portions extends from the base portion between the inner panel and the intrusion beam to resist lateral deformation of the area around at least one of the openings of the inner panel.
[006] In an embodiment of the invention, the base portion of the reinforcement member being configured to be attached to a portion of the outer surface of the inner panel.
[007] In another embodiment of the invention, each of the plurality of support portions of the reinforcement member includes a flange adapted to be attached to a portion of the intrusion beam.
[008] In another embodiment of the invention, the reinforcement member is integrally formed and made of a metal sheet.
[009] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the metal sheet of the reinforcement member has a thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 3 mm.
[010] In a further embodiment of the invention, the reinforcement member is attached to each of the inner panel and the intrusion beam through spot welding.
[011] In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of reinforcement members is provided across a length of the intrusion beam. Each reinforcement member is adapted adjacent to an opening.
[012] In yet another embodiment of the invention, each of the plurality of support portions extend diagonally from the base portion of the reinforcement member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[013] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1a illustrates a side view of a side door for a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 1b illustrates a top perspective view of the side door for the vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of a reinforcement member of the side door, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 illustrates a side view of the reinforcement member of the side door, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 illustrates a cross sectional view of the side door, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[014] The present invention is directed towards a side door for a vehicle. The side door of the present invention ensures that the stiffness of the side door is not compromised due to various openings on an inner panel of the side door.
[015] Figure 1a and Figure 1b illustrate a side and top perspective view of a side door 100 for a vehicle, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The side door 100 includes an inner panel 112, an outer panel (not shown) and an intrusion beam 110. The intrusion beam 110 is disposed between the inner panel 112 and the outer panel. The intrusion beam 110 is a high stiffness member extending between vertical side walls 114 of the side door 100. The intrusion beam 110 is disposed inside the side door 100 to withstand side crashes of the vehicle and protect passenger/driver inside the vehicle.
[016] The inner panel 112 includes an upper portion 112U and a bottom portion 112L. The upper portion 112U of the inner panel 112 has a large opening which accommodates a glass window. The lower portion 112L of the inner panel 112 includes multiple openings (O) formed between vertical side walls 114 of the side door 100. Various subsystems, devices of the vehicle such as a power window assembly (not shown), speakers of an entertainment system (not shown), locking mechanism etc, can be assembled/serviced through the openings (O) of the inner panel 112. The inner panel 112 includes an outer surface 112a and an inner surface 112b (shown in Figure 4). The inner surface 112b facing a cabin side of the vehicle. The outer surface 112a facing the outer panel and the intrusion beam 110. In an embodiment, the side door 100 includes at-least one reinforcement member 200 adapted between the inner panel 112 and the intrusion beam 110. The reinforcement member 200 is adapted at the outer surface 112a of the inner panel 112 and adjacent to one of the openings (O) of the inner panel 112. The reinforcement member 200 is adapted to provide high stiffness for the side door 100, especially around the openings (O). The reinforcement member 200 is configured to provide a support from the intrusion beam 110 to strengthen the inner panel 112.
[017] Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate a perspective and side view of the reinforcement member 200 of the side door 100, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The reinforcement member 200 extends between a first end 200a and a second end 200b i.e., in a longitudinal direction of the reinforcement member 200. The reinforcement member 200 includes a base portion 202 and a plurality of spaced apart support portions 204a and 204b. The base portion 202 is configured to be attached to a portion of the outer surface 112a of the inner panel 112. Each of the support portions 204a, 204b extends from the base portion 202 between the inner panel 112 and the intrusion beam 110.
[018] In an embodiment, each of the plurality of spaced apart support portions 204a, 204b extends diagonally from the base portion 202. The support portions 204a and 204b include flanges 205a, 205b. Each of the flanges 205a, 205b is configured to be attached to a portion of the intrusion beam 110. The reinforcement member 200 thus extends between the inner panel 112 and the intrusion beam 110 around the openings (O), whereby the reinforcement member 200 resists lateral deformation of the area around at least one of the openings (O) of the inner panel 112.
[019] In an embodiment, the base portion 202 has a flat surface configured to be attached to the outer surface 112a of the inner panel 112. In a non-limiting example, the support portions 204a, 204b are bent away from the base portion 202 to form the reinforcement member 200. The support portions 204a and 204b are extending portions which are formed along edges of the base portion 202. The dimensions and the geometry of the reinforcement member 200 can be adapted according to the size of the side door 100 and space availability between the intrusion beam 110 and the inner panel 112.
[020] Referring to Figure 3, the reinforcement member 200 includes a length (L) depending upon the space and stiffness requirements of the side door 100 and the base portion 202 of the reinforcement member 200 has a width (W) taken along a lateral direction of the reinforcement member 200. The width (W) of the base portion 202 depends upon the space available on the inner panel 112 (shown in Figure 1b) adjacent the openings (O).
[021] In an embodiment, the base portion 202 of the reinforcement member 200 is attached to the outer surface 112a of the inner panel 112 through spot welding. Similarly, the flanges 205a, 205b are attached to an inner side of the intrusion beam 110 through spot welding. As shown in Figure 3, two weld spots (S) are formed on each of the base portion 202 and the flanges 205a, 205b of the reinforcement member 200. In a non-limiting example, each of the base portion 202, flanges 205a, 205b require a space availability of minimum 20 mm distance for each weld spots (S) in the lateral direction of the reinforcement member 200. A minimum of 60 mm of space should be provided between two weld spots (S) in a longitudinal direction of the reinforcement member 200. Alternately, the reinforcement member 200 can be adapted by adhesive bonding, bolting, snap fitting or seam welding.
[022] Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the side door 100 at the bottom portion of the inner panel 112, sectioned at an axis X-X’ shown on Figure 1a. As shown, the inner panel 112 includes the outer surface 112a and the inner surface 112b.
[023] As shown in figure 4, the reinforcement member 200 extends between the outer surface 112a of the inner panel 112 and intrusion beam 110 whereby the reinforcement member 200 imparts high stiffness to the side door 100. During opening and closing of the side door 100, a support from intrusion beam 110 is imparted to the inner panel 112 through the reinforcement member 200 near the openings (O) of the inner panel 112 (shown in Figures 1a, 1b) to ensure reinforcement at positions where the inner panel 112 is the weakest.
[024] In another embodiment, more than one reinforcement members 200 are provided along the length of the intrusion beam 110. Thus, ensuring reinforcement of the inner panel 112 (shown in Figure 1a) at multiple locations of weakness formed due to openings (O) of the inner panel 112. Further, the reinforcement member 200 can be adapted for any shape or profile of the intrusion beam 110 and the inner panel 112. Due to the stiffness imparted by the reinforcement members 200 around the opening (O), the present invention prevents deformation/distortion of the door even when the door is slammed during opening/closing operations.
[025] In a non-limiting example, the reinforcement member 200 is integrally formed and made of but not limited to a sheet metal of thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 3 mm through forming process. Sheet metal of any desired characteristics can be chosen for the reinforcement member 200 based on the desired stiffness to be provided for the side door 100. In another non-limiting example, the reinforcement member 200 can be made of other materials such as polymers which can provide the desired characteristics to the reinforcement member 200.
[026] Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the support portions 204a and 204b are provided with a taper or inclination with respect to the base portion 202 such that the support portions 204a and 204b extend diagonally from the base portion 202 of the reinforcement member 200. The reinforcement member 200 is formed in a die, and taper provided for the support portions 204a and 204b aid in ejection of the formed reinforcement member 200 from the die used in the forming process.
[027] For illustrating the effect and advantage of the invention, modal frequency of a side door with features of the present invention was tested along with a side door without features of the present invention. It was observed that the side door assembled in accordance with the present invention yielded an improvement of 62 percent increase in modal frequency for the side door 100 with a negligible increase of 0.95 percent in the overall weight of the side door 100.
[028] Advantageously, the present invention provides a side door with high stiffness without increasing the weight of the door. The present invention improves the structural integrity of the inner panel of the side door whereby intrusion beam provides rigidity during crashes, and the reinforcement member provides rigidity during opening and closing or slamming of the door. Further, the reinforcement member of the present invention has a simple construction, can be easily manufactured, and is cost effective. The reinforcement member is designed to be easily installed to the inner panel and the intrusion beam.
[029] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
, Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A side door (100) for a vehicle, the side door (100) comprising:
an inner panel (112) having one or more openings (O);
an outer panel facing an outer surface (112a) of the inner panel (112);
at least one intrusion beam (110) disposed between the outer panel and the inner panel (112); and
at least one reinforcement member (200) adapted between the inner panel (112) and the intrusion beam (110), the reinforcement member (200) adapted adjacent to at least one of the openings (O) of the inner panel (112), the reinforcement member (200) comprises a base portion (202), and a plurality of spaced apart support portions (204a, 204b), each of the support portions (204a, 204b) extends from the base portion (202) between the inner panel (112) and the intrusion beam (110) to resist deformation of the area around the at least one of the openings (O) of the inner panel (112).

2. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base portion (202) of the reinforcement member (200) being configured to be attached to a portion of the outer surface (112a) of the inner panel (112).

3. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of support portions (204a, 204b) of the reinforcement member (200) comprises a flange (205a, 205b) adapted to be attached to a portion of the intrusion beam (110).

4. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reinforcement member (200) is integrally formed and made of a metal sheet.

5. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the metal sheet of the reinforcement member (200) has a thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 3 mm.

6. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reinforcement member (200) is attached to each of the inner panel (112) and the intrusion beam (110) through spot welding.

7. The side door (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of support portions (204a, 204b) extends diagonally from the base portion (202) of the reinforcement member (200).

Dated this 11th day of January 2024

MAHINDRA ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE LIMITED
By their Agent & Attorney

(Janaksinh Jhala)
of Khaitan & Co
Reg No IN/PA-2193