CLIAMS:We claim:

1. A barrier (100) for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through a vehicle door (200), the barrier (100) comprising:
a polymer sheet (101) having a first side (101a) and a second side (101b), the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) is connectable to a frame (201) of the vehicle door (200); and
a plurality of support members (102) provisioned in the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101), the plurality of support members (102) are adapted to facilitate damping between the vehicle door (200) and the polymer sheet (101).

2. The barrier (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) is connectable to the frame (201) of the vehicle door (200) though a bonding agent.

3. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members (102) are configured in at least one of inverted “T” shape and square shape.

4. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of support members (102) are mounted on the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) though a bonding agent.

5. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bonding agent is at least one of a two sided adhesive tape, and adhesive glue.

6. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members (102) are made of foam material.

7. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members (102) eliminates fluttering sound generated by the polymer sheet (101).

8. The barrier (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polymer sheet (101) is made of plastic material.

9. A door (200) for a vehicle comprising:
an outer panel (202) hinged to a vehicle body, the outer panel (202) is configured in a shape of an opening in the vehicle (200);
a barrier (100) for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through the door (200), the barrier (100) comprising:
a polymer sheet (101) having a first side (101a) and a second side (101b), the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) is connected to a frame (201) of the door (200); and
a plurality of support members (102) provisioned in the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101), the plurality of support members (102) are adapted to facilitate damping between the door (200) and the polymer sheet (101); and
an inner panel connected to the outer panel (202), wherein the inner panel is configured to match vehicle interior.

10. A vehicle comprising a barrier (100) for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound into and through a vehicle door as claimed in claim 1.
,TagSPECI:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a vehicle. Particularly but not exclusively present disclosure relates to closures of the vehicle. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose barrier for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through a closure of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Vehicles such as but not limiting to passenger vehicles including but not limiting to cars, sport utility vehicles, multi utility vehicles, Tempo Travellers, goods carrying vehicles including but not liming to lorries, trucks, agricultural machineries including but not limiting to tractors, and road paving there is a provision of one or more closures to enclose various components. In general, such closures are used to enclose boot space, luggage space, and passenger cabin, and the like.

As an example, one such use of closure which is found virtually in all vehicles is closure which is called as door which is hinged to the vehicle body. The doors configured to be moved between open and closed position to facilitate user of the vehicle to occupy the vehicle and exit from the vehicle. Generally such doors are made of a plurality of panels, and are hinged to the vehicle body. For example, the door comprises of an outer panel which is designed to suit the outer dimension and configuration of the vehicle body, and an inner panel which is designed to suit the inner styling of the vehicle cabin. Generally, in all vehicle doors, barriers, also called as membranes, are provided to prevent the passage of water and dust, typically from outside of the vehicle, into the door structure. The barrier is a clear or transparent polymer sheet, and an adhesive is applied to the barrier to bond the barrier to the vehicle door frame. Thereby, the barrier prevents the passage of water and dust into the vehicle door from the outside. However, in the conventional vehicle doors the barriers are only supported at the peripheral portions, and will lack support in other locations. This results in lack of stiffness of such barrier, and thereby the barrier contacts door frame during vehicle operation, which results in generation of noise due to fluttering of the barrier. The contact of the barrier with the hard-part such as vehicle door also creates rattling noise inside the vehicle. Hence, rattling noise will be generated in the vehicle cabin during operation of the vehicle due to various factors like engine vibration, road conditions, etc. This, rattling noise which is generated becomes unpleasant to user of the vehicle, and hence affects comfort level of the user in the vehicle.

In light of the foregoing discussion, it is necessary to develop an improved barrier for a vehicle door to overcome one or more limitations stated above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The one or more shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by an assembly as claimed and additional advantages are provided through the provision of assembly as claimed in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure there is provided a barrier for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through a vehicle door. The barrier comprises a polymer sheet having a first side and a second side. The first side of the polymer sheet is connectable to a frame of the vehicle door. A plurality of support members provisioned in the first side of the polymer sheet, the plurality of support members are adapted to facilitate damping between the vehicle door and the polymer sheet.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the first side of the polymer sheet is connectable to the frame of the vehicle door though a bonding agent.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of support members are configured in at least one of inverted “T” shape and square shape. Each of the plurality of support members are mounted on the first side of the polymer sheet though a bonding agent. The bonding agent is at least one of a two sided adhesive tape, and adhesive glue.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of support members are made of foam material. The plurality of support members eliminates fluttering sound generated by the polymer sheet.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the polymer sheet is made of plastic material.

In another non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure there is provided a door for a vehicle. The door comprises an outer panel hinged to a vehicle body, the outer panel is configured in a shape of an opening in the vehicle. A barrier for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through the door. The barrier comprises a polymer sheet having a first and a second side, the first side of the polymer sheet is connected to a frame of the door. A plurality of support members are provisioned in the first side of the polymer sheet, the plurality of support members are adapted to facilitate damping between the door and the polymer sheet. The door also comprises an inner panel connected to the outer panel, wherein the inner panel is configured to match vehicle interior.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

OBJECTIVE OF THE DISCLOSURE

One object of the present disclosure is to provide a barrier for the vehicle door which prevents the passage of water, dust and sound though the door.

One object of the present disclosure is to provide a barrier for the vehicle door, which is simple in construction, easy to assemble, and retrofitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates perspective view of barrier for preventing entry of water, dust and sound through the vehicle door according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates perspective view of the vehicle door with a barrier of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other mechanism for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

To overcome one or more drawbacks mentioned in the background, the present disclosure provides an improved barrier for preventing passage of foreign ingredients such as water, dirt and sound through a vehicle door. In the vehicles doors are provided to facilitate entry and exit for user into the vehicle. Such vehicle doors will be hinged to the vehicle body and are adapted to enclose the vehicle cabin from the environment. Since the doors are exposed to outside the vehicle body, a barrier is provided in the doors for preventing passage of the water, dirt and sound into and through the door. The barrier comprises a polymer sheet having a first side and a second side. The first side of the polymer sheet is connectable to a frame of the vehicle door. A plurality of support members are provisioned in the first side of the polymer sheet. The plurality of support members are positioned in predetermined locations, and are adapted to facilitate damping between the vehicle door and the polymer sheet. The provision of plurality of support members in the barrier eliminates the fluttering of the barrier during operation of the vehicle, and thereby prevents generation of irritant noise in the vehicle. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the support members are made of foam material. The provision of foam support members on the barrier eliminates contact of barrier with the vehicle frame, and thereby prevents generation of rattling noise in the vehicle door.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an assembly, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.

Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of figures of a side door of the vehicle. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art can envisage various such embodiments without deviating from scope of the present disclosure. Further, it is to be noted that the barrier is used in doors of the vehicles. However for the purpose of simplicity the vehicle is not illustrated in the figures of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure which illustrates a perspective view of a barrier (100) used in doors (200) [best shown in FIG. 2] of a vehicle for preventing passage of water, dust and sound through the door. The barrier (100) is also called as membrane which is provided in the doors of the vehicle, to prevent the passage of water and dust, typically from outside of the vehicle, into the door structure. The barrier (100) comprises a polymer sheet (101) of predetermined shape, attached to the door. The polymer sheet (101) is a clear or transparent polymer sheet comprising a first end (101a) and a second end (101b). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the polymer sheet (101) is made of plastic material. The first end (101a) of the polymer sheet is fixed to the door frame through a bonding agent. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the bonding agent is an adhesive glue and is applied to periphery of the polymer sheet (101) in the first side (101a) for fixing the polymer sheet (101) with the door frame (201) [best shown in FIG. 2]. In an alternative embodiment of the disclosure, the polymer sheet (101) can be fixed to vehicle door frame (201) though fastening using a plurality of fasteners including but not limiting to screws, bolt and nut. Thereby, the polymer sheet (101) acts as barrier (100) to prevent passage of water and dust into the vehicle door (200) from the outside.

The barrier (100) further comprises a plurality of support members (102) provided in the first end (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) for supporting the polymer sheet (101) in the vehicle door (200). The plurality of support members (102) are fixed at predetermined locations on the polymer sheet (101) such that the plurality of support members contacts the vehicle door frame (201) after assembly. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of support members (102) are fixed at noise generation areas on the polymer sheet (101). The different noise generating areas in the barrier (100) includes but not limiting to middle portion of the polymer sheet (101), and side portion, top portion and bottom portion of the polymer sheet (101). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of support members (102) are made of polymer material including but not limiting to foam material. In an embodiment, the foam material is polyurethane foam. The plurality of support members (102) are configured to facilitate damping between the polymer sheet (101), and the vehicle door frame (201) during operation of the vehicle. Thereby, the plurality of support members (102) absorbs the noise generated due to fluttering of the polymer sheet (101) onto the vehicle door frame (201) during operation of the vehicle, and thus prevents generation of rattling noise in the vehicle cabin. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of support members (102) are configured in circular shape or any polygonal shape including but not limiting to triangular shape, square shape, rectangular shape, and the like. In a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of support members (102) are configured in an inverted “T” shape. Further, the plurality of the support members (102) are fixed to the polymer sheet (101) through a bonding agent. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the bonding agent includes but not limiting to the adhesive glue and a two sided adhesive tape. However, one should not consider using of above mentioned bonding agents as limitation to the present disclosure, since a person skilled in the art can use any bonding agent or any other fixing method to fix the support members (102) onto the polymer sheet (101).

FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure which illustrates a perspective view of the door (200) of the vehicle. In the vehicles doors (200) are provided to facilitate entry and exit to the users in the vehicles. Such doors (200) are hinged to the vehicle body and are configured to be operated between open position and the closed position. Further, at least one latch [not shown] is provided at a free end of the door (200) to lock the door with the vehicle body in the closed position. The doors (200) generally comprises of an outer panel (202) hinged to a vehicle body at one or more hinge points. The outer panel (202) is configured in a shape of an opening in the vehicle (200) such that the outer panel (202) encloses the opening in the closed position. An outer surface of the outer panel (202) is designed such that it matches outer dimension, shape and styling’s of the vehicle body, and the inner surface of the outer panel (202) is configured to accommodate various components including but not limiting to wiring harness, window panel, door opening mechanism, speaker. The door (200) further comprises an inner panel (not shown) mounted to the outer panel (202) through a suitable mounting mechanism. The inner panel of the door is dimensioned and designed to match the interior of the vehicle cabin. The inner panel also comprises various operating mechanism such as door window operating member including but not limiting to window leaver and a power window switch, door operating latch, and a cup holders. The design and finishing of the inner panel is configured to match the interior of the vehicle.

Further, the door comprises a barrier (100) between the inner panel and the outer panel (202) for preventing passage of water, dust, and sound through the door (200). The barrier (100) comprises a polymer sheet (101) having a first side (101a) and a second side (101b). The first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101) is connected to the frame (201) of the door (200), and the second side (101b) is configured to make contact with the inner panel. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the polymer sheet (101) is bonded to the frame (201) of the vehicle door through a bonding agent including but not liming to adhesive glue. Further, the barrier (100) includes a plurality of support members (102) provisioned in the first side (101a) of the polymer sheet (101). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality support members (102) are made of foam material and are configured in inverted “T” shape. The support members (102) are adapted to facilitate damping between the door (200) and the polymer sheet (101) by preventing the noise generated due to fluttering of the barrier (100) with the frame (201) of the vehicle door (200).

It is to be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art would design the barrier in any shape, dimension and configuration to prevent the passage of foreign ingredients through vehicle door without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Also, various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations provided they come within the ambit of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Advantage:
The present disclosure provides a barrier for the vehicle door which prevents passage of water, dust and sound, though the door. The barrier is simple in construction, easy to assemble, and retrofitted.

The present disclosure is provides a barrier for the vehicle door in which a plurality of support members are provided in the barrier which eliminates contact of the barrier with the vehicle door. This prevents the generation of the rattling noise in the vehicle, and thereby improves user comfort in the vehicle.

Equivalents:

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Barrier
101 Polymer sheet
101a First side of the polymer sheet
101b Second side of the polymer sheet
102 Support members
200 Door
201 Frame of the door
202 Outer panel