Abstract:
A motor vehicle equipment module having at least first and second components in which first and second fixing zones are designed to be fixed to a structural element of the vehicle with a common fixing element. The module includes links which link together the two components when the module is to be mounted on the vehicle structural element. An elastic element is axially interposed between the links and the second component. The links are interposed between the common fixing element and the structural element when the module is fixed on the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   The invention relates to a motor vehicle equipment module. 
   The invention proposes, more particularly, a motor vehicle equipment module of the type which includes at least first and second components which are intended to be fixed to a structure element of the vehicle by a fixing element, such as a screw. 
   Motor vehicles generally include a rear door in which there is produced an opening which is closed off by a glazed panel or window. In some cases, the vehicles include a wiping device for the glazed panel. 
   The wiping device includes a drive shaft for a wiper blade which is driven in rotation by an electric motor and which is guided rotation by a bearing which passes axially towards the outside of the wall of the rear door. 
   When the glazed panel is mounted so as to pivot with respect to the door between an open position and a closed position, the vehicle includes a lock for locking the position of the glazed panel with respect to the fixed part of the door. 
   The locking lock consists of a mechanism including a bolt which is fixed to the fixed part of the door and a keeper which is fixed to the glazed panel so that, when the latter is in the closed position, the bolt cooperates with the keeper so as to immobilize it. This locks the position of the glazed panel. 
   Thus the door is equipped with a module consisting of a wiping device and a locking lock. 
   The equipment module can also include an illuminating light, in particular, a brake light, a support element of which can be pressed against the internal rear face of the glazed panel. 
   When the guide motor is in operation, it causes vibrations which are transmitted to the structure element of the vehicle. The vibrations may cause accelerated aging of the elements which are situated close by, such as the illuminating system of the brake light. They may also cause the fixing elements to become loosened and the wiping device to be immobilized on the vehicle door, which causes the appearance of play. 
   In a similar manner, the functioning of the vehicle causes vibrations which are transmitted to the drive motor. This may in particular cause accelerated aging of the motor as well as loosening of the fixing elements and immobilization of the wiping device on the vehicle door. 
   In addition, the vibrations produce noise that is detrimental to the comfort of the occupants of the vehicle and impairs the quality image of the vehicle. 
   So as to resolve these problems, it is known how to interpose damping elements at the drive motor fixing area so as to decouple the drive motor from the structure element of the vehicle and thus to damp and filter these vibrations. 
   For the purpose of simplifying the module when it consists of a wiping device and a stop device, it is known that the two components are fixed together with a view to their supply and fixing to the structure element. 
   However, when the door is slammed so as to close it, the motor is subjected to a slight movement of around a few millimeters due to its inertia and to the elasticity of the damping elements. The motor then drives the brake light, whose support element is detached from the rear face of the glazed panel. Then, when the module elastically returns, the brake light is once again put in contact with the glazed panel. 
   The elastic return of the module then causes an impact of the support element of the brake light on the glazed panel, which accelerates the aging of the lighting system and produces a noise. 
   When the module consists of the wiping device to which the lock is fixed, its movement due to the closure of the glazed panel may cause a shifting of the bolt, such that it can no longer cooperate with the keeper. 
   In addition, in general terms, the contour of the opening in the door includes a seal which provides impermeability of the inside of the vehicle when the glazed panel is closed. 
   When the glazed panel is closed the seal is compressed, and its elastic return is limited by the lock. However, the elastic force exerted by the seal causes compression of the damping elements. The continuous and prolonged application of this force causes plastic flow of the damping elements and consequently loss of their effectiveness. 
   SUMMARY 
   So as to remedy these drawbacks, the invention proposes a motor vehicle equipment module of the type which includes at least first and second components, first and second fixing areas of which, which consist in particular of plates in which orifices are produced, are intended to be fixed to a structure element of the vehicle by means of a common fixing element. The module is also of the type where an elastic element is interposed between the second fixing area and the structure element. 
   The present equipment module includes connecting means that connect the first and second fixing areas, so as to connect the two components together when the module is supplied with a view to its mounting on the structure element of the vehicle. The elastic element is interposed axially between the connecting means and the second fixing area of the second component, and the connecting means are interposed between the common fixing element and the structure element when the module is fixed so that the first component is immobilized with respect to the structure element and the second component is mechanically decoupled with respect to the first component, in particular with a view to filtering the vibrations. 
   In another aspect of the invention the connecting means includes a strut in which there are at least partially formed a first external radial groove which axially immobilizes the first fixing area of the first component and a second radial groove which receives the elastic decoupling element. 
   In another aspect, the strut includes a stepped tube which has the common fixing element passing through it axially when the module is fixed, the first groove is produced by crimping the free end of the smallest diameter portion of the tube on the first fixing area, and the second groove is produced by the first flat fixing area of the first component which extends radially from the first groove, and by a collar on the tube which extends radially towards the outside of the tube from the free end of the largest-diameter portion. 
   In yet another aspect, the strut includes a tube on the outside diameter of which there is produced a radially oriented rib intended to form a rearward axial stop for the elastic element and a forward axial stop for the first fixing area of the first component. The free ends are formed radially so as to form the first and second grooves for connecting the two components together. 
   The strut may also include at least two elements, each forming at least partially the first and second radial grooves. 
   In another aspect, the strut includes first and second elements, which each have at their opposite axial free ends a radial collar forming an axial stop for the first fixing area and the elastic element in opposite directions, respectively. The strut also includes a third element, interposed axially between the first two elements, having a radial rib forming a common axial stop for the elastic element and the first fixing area. 
   The external cylindrical walls of the first two elements may include projecting or recessed radial shapes which cooperate with recessed or projecting shapes respectively on the internal cylindrical wall of the third element in order to hold together the elements of the strut when the module is supplied. 
   In one aspect, at least one of the components is a lock for locking the position of a glazed panel on the vehicle. 
   In another aspect, at least one of the components is a device for wiping a glazed panel on the vehicle. 
   In yet another aspect, at least one of the components is an indicator light, such as a brake light. 

   
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from a reading of the following detailed description, for an understanding of which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, amongst which: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a rear door of a motor vehicle equipped with an equipment module produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded, partial perspective view of an enlarged scale of the components of an equipment module produced according to a first aspect in accordance with the teachings of the invention, before they are assembled; 
       FIG. 3  is a view similar to that depicted in the previous figures, the components of the module produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention being illustrated in an assembled state; 
       FIG. 4  is a view similar to that depicted in  FIG. 3 , the module produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention being fixed to the door; 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded partial perspective view on an enlarged scale of the components of an equipment module produced according to a variant of the first aspect of the invention, before they are assembled; 
       FIG. 6  is a view similar to that depicted in  FIG. 5 , the assembled module being depicted as fixed to the door; 
       FIG. 7  is an exploded partial perspective view on an enlarged scale of the components of an equipment module produced according to a second aspect in accordance with the teachings of the invention, before they are assembled; 
       FIG. 8  is a view similar to that depicted in  FIG. 7 , the components of the module produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention being depicted in an assembled state; and 
       FIG. 9  is, a view similar to that depicted in  FIG. 8 , the assembled module being fixed to the door. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   In the remainder of the description, the vehicle equipment module includes, by way of non-limiting example, a lock and a wiping device. 
   Other components such as a stop light, a rear vision device and/or a light for illuminating the number plate, can be integrated in the module without departing from the scope of the invention. 
   So as to facilitate understanding of the description, a front, rear, and top, bottom orientation will be used, non-limitingly, in accordance with the left to right and top to bottom orientation in  FIG. 1 . 
     FIG. 1  partially depicts schematically a structure element which is a rear door or tailgate  12  which can be mounted so as to be articulated with respect to the structure of a vehicle according to a substantially horizontal orientation axis. 
   The rear door  12  includes in a top part an opening  16  which is closed off by a movable part which is depicted as a glazed panel  18 . 
   The glazed panel  18  can consist of a reinforcing and fixing frame which receives a window pane. The reinforcing and fixing frame connects the window pane to the door  12  of the vehicle by means of connecting means, not shown. The glazed panel  18  can also simply consist of a window pane which is directly connected to the door  12  of the vehicle by means of the connecting means. The glazed panel  18  is mounted so as to be able to move between a closed position depicted in continuous lines and an open position depicted in broken lines in  FIG. 1 . 
   The rear door  12  is equipped in a bottom area  24  with an equipment module  30  that includes two components depicted as, for example, a lock  32  and a device  34  for wiping the window pane of the glazed panel  18 . 
   The lock  32  consists of a mechanism including a bolt arranged in a housing  36  mounted on the bottom area  24  of the rear door  12  and a keeper  38  mounted on the internal face of the glazed panel  18 . When the glazed panel  18  is in the closed position, the keeper  38  is received in a complementary vertical slot  40  in the housing  36  that opens out towards the rear and cooperates with the bolt so as to be able to provide the locking of the keeper  38  in the front bottom of the slot  40  to prevent its movement towards the front and to lock the glazed panel  18  in the closed position. 
   The bolt is an element able to move between a locking position which locks the keeper  38  in the rear bottom of the slot  40 , and an open position in which the keeper  38  can freely emerge from the slot  40  towards the rear so as to allow the pivoting of the glazed panel  18  towards its open position. 
   So as to compensate for any differences in position of the keeper and bolt, the keeper  38  is fixed to the glazed panel  18  by adjustable means (not shown), that is to say, for example, by studs whose diameter is less than the fixing orifices in the keeper  38  through which they pass. Thus, when the equipment module  30  is fixed to the door  12 , the position of the keeper  38  is determined according to that of the bolt. 
   The bolt can be returned to the locking position by elastic means, such as a spring, the release of the keeper  38  then being obtained by the actuation of an opening handle which controls the passage of the bolt to the open position. 
   Thus, when the user wishes to maneuver the glazed panel  18  towards its open position, the user actuates the opening handle and concomitantly exerts a rearward force on the glazed panel  18 . 
   In accordance with the depiction in  FIG. 1 , the bolt can be motorized, in particular, by an electric motor. Thus the locking or release of the keeper  38  is obtained by the control of an electrical circuit. Opening the panel then results from a rearward force exerted on the handle  41 . 
   The wiping device  34  consists principally of a drive motor  42  and a rear bearing  44  fixed to the rear opening  12 . The rear bearing  44  rotatably receives axially a shaft  46  driving a wiper arm, not shown. The rear bearing  44  includes an axial barrel  48  which passes through the rear opening  12 . 
   So as to allow fixing to the rear door  12 , the housing  36  of the lock device  32  and the wiping device  34  includes first and second fixing areas  50  and  52 , respectively, which consist advantageously of transversely-oriented flat areas of the housing  36  of the lock device  32  and the wiping device  34  in each of which there is produced a fixing orifice  56 ,  58 , respectively. 
   An equipment module of this type can include common fixing elements  54  which pass through the orifices in the first and second fixing areas  50  and  52  of the lock device  32  and of the wiping device  34 . Here by example, the equipment module  30  includes two common fixing elements  54 . This makes it possible to omit two fixing elements. This is because the lock device  32  includes two fixing areas  50  and the wiping device  34  includes three of them. Fixing the equipment module  30  requires only three fixing elements instead of five. 
   In the remainder of the description, the assembly of only first and second fixing areas  50  and  52  of an equipment module  30  will be described. 
   In accordance with the invention, so as to facilitate the mounting of the module  30  on the door  12 , the lock device  32  and the wiping device  34  are connected together by connecting means  60  when the module is supplied with a view to its mounting on the door  12 . 
   Thus the two devices  32  and  34  are connected and pre-positioned with respect to each other, which facilitates, in particular, their storage as well as the manipulations of the operator. 
   In accordance with  FIGS. 2 to 9 , an elastic element  62  is interposed axially between the connecting means  60  and the second fixing area  52  of the wiping device  34 . In addition, the connecting means  60  are interposed between the common fixing element  54  and the rear door  12  when the module  30  is fixed to the door  12  so that the housing  36  carrying the bolt of the lock device  32  is immobilized with respect to the door  12 , and the wiping device  34  is mechanically decoupled with respect to the rear door  12 . Thus, when the glazed panel  18  is slammed with a view to its closure, the keeper  38  engages in the slot  40  of the housing  36  and cooperates with the bolt. 
   The elastic element  62 , which forms a damper, mechanically decouples the wiping device  34  with respect to the lock device  32 . The elastic element  62  allows a relative movement of the wiping device  34  with respect to the lock device  32 . Thus the vibrations caused in particular by the wiping device  34  during its functioning and when the glazed panel  18  is slammed on the recess  16  of the door  12  are not transmitted to the connecting means  60 . Instead, the vibrations are damped by the elastic element  62 . Thus, the elastic element  62  protects the environment of the wiping device  34  against vibrations, which increases the service life of the module  30  and limits the production of noise. 
   In the remainder of the description, two aspects of the equipment module  30  will be proposed by way of non-limiting examples. 
     FIGS. 2 to 4  depict a first aspect of components of the equipment module  30 . 
   The connecting means  60  includes a strut  64  consisting of a stepped tube, which is for example produced from metal. 
   The stepped tube has a first rear portion  68  of diameter D 1  and a second front portion  70  of diameter D 2  greater than D 1 . The front free end  72  of the second front portion  70  is folded radially towards the outside so as to form a collar  74 . 
   The elastic element  62  is here tubular in shape, the inside diameter of which corresponds substantially to the diameter D 2  of the second front portion  70  and whose length corresponds to the length of the second front portion  70 . A groove  76 , which is produced substantially in a transverse mid-plane of the elastic element  62 , extends radially from the external tubular wall  78  towards the inside and makes it possible to receive the orifice  58  in the second fixing area  52  of the wiping device  34 . 
   Thus the preliminary assembly of the module  30  with a view to its supply consists of slipping the elastic element  62  onto the second front portion  70  until it comes into axial abutment against the collar  74 . 
   Next the first rear portion  68  is introduced into the orifice  56  in the first fixing area  50 , so that the first fixing area  50  comes into axial abutment against the annular shoulder  80  that extends radially between the first rear portion  68  and the second front portion  70 . In this position, the first fixing area  50  forms an axial rearward stop for the elastic element  62  and consequently of the second fixing area  52  of the wiping device  34 . 
   The assembly of the equipment module  30  is terminated, in accordance with  FIG. 3 , by the crimping of the free end  82  of the first rear portion  68  onto the first fixing area  50 . The crimping of the free end  82  makes it possible to produce a first groove  84  that receives and axially immobilizes the first fixing area  50  of the lock device  32  with respect to the connecting means  60 . 
   The second fixing area  52  of the wiping device  34  is held with respect to the connecting means  60  by the elastic decoupling element  62 , which is received in a second radial groove  86  produced between the collar  74  and the first fixing area  50 . 
   Thus the connecting means  60  connect the first and second fixing areas  50  and  52  of the lock device  32  and of the wiping device  34  with a view to the mounting of the module  30  on the vehicle door  12 . When the module  30  is fixed to the door  12 , a common fixing element  54  such as a screw  88  is introduced from front to rear into the connecting means  60 . In accordance with  FIG. 4 , the shank  90  of the screw  88  is engaged in a corresponding thread  92  in the door  12 . Screwing the screw  88  tightens the head  94  of the screw  88  on the annular shoulder  80  so as to fix the connecting means  60  against the door  12 . 
   The common fixing element  54  can also be a stud that extends towards the front from the door  12  so as to pass through the connecting means  60  and is associated with a fixing nut axially locking the module  30 . 
   According to a variant aspect depicted in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the strut  64  of the connecting means  60  includes a tube in the external cylindrical wall of which there is produced a radially oriented rib  96  that forms an axial rearward stop for the elastic element  62  and a forward axial stop for the first fixing area  50  of the lock device  32 . 
   The assembly of the module  30  then consists of slipping the elastic element  62  and the first fixing area  50  onto the tube on each side of the stop rib  96 , and then radially deforming, for example by crimping, the front  72  and rear  82  free ends so as to immobilize the elastic element  62  and the first fixing area  50  with respect to the strut  64 . Next the equipment module  30  is fixed to the door  12  by a screw  88 , which comes into abutment on the front collar  74  in accordance with  FIG. 6 . 
     FIGS. 7 to 9  depict a second aspect of the components of the equipment module  30 . 
   The strut  64  of the connecting means  60  includes first and second tubular elements  100  and  102 , which each have a cylindrical skirt  101  and  103 . At the opposite axial free ends of the first and second tubular elements  100  and  102  extend radial collars  104  and  106 , which are each intended to form an axial stop for the first fixing area  50  and the elastic element  62 , respectively. Advantageously, so as to facilitate the production of the connecting means  60 , the first and second tubular elements  100  and  102  are identical. They may be produced for example by molding from a plastic material. 
   The strut  64  also includes a third intermediate annular element  108  that makes it possible, when the equipment module  30  is assembled, to form a common axial stop for the first fixing area  50  and the elastic element  62  by means of a collar  110  which extends radially the outside. 
   This is because, in accordance with  FIG. 8 , the first radial groove  84  which receives the first fixing area  50  is limited axially towards the rear by the radial collar  104  of the first tubular element  100  and towards the front by the radial collar  110  of the third intermediate element  108 . In a similar fashion, the second groove  86  which receives the elastic element  62  is delimited axially towards the rear by the radial collar  110  of the third intermediate tubular element  108  and towards the front by the radial collar  106  of the second tubular element  102 . 
   The intermediate element  108  also makes it possible to axially hold the first and second tubular elements  100  and  102  of the strut  64  after their assembly when the module  30  is supplied, in accordance with  FIG. 9 . For this purpose, the external cylindrical walls  112  and  114  of the skirts  101  and  103  include annular ribs  116  and  118 , respectively, which cooperate, when the three elements  100 ,  102 ,  108  are assembled, with grooves  120  and  122  produced in the internal cylindrical wall  124  of the third element  108 . 
   When the module  30  is fixed to the door  12 , a screw  88  is introduced from front to rear in the connecting means  60 . In accordance with  FIG. 9 , the shank  90  of the screw is engaged in a corresponding thread  92  in the door  12 . Screwing the screw  88  tightens the head  94  of the screw  88  on the collar  106  of the second element  102  so as to compress the first element  100  against the door  12  by means of the third element  108 .