Abstract:
This disclosure relates an attachment structure of a door sash of the vehicle door. The vehicle door of this disclosure includes: a door sash; a bracket, which joins the door sash to an inner panel; and a patch, which is joined to the bracket and the door sash and which sandwiches the door sash in cooperation with the bracket, thereby reinforcing the bracket.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-057784 filed on Mar. 21, 2013, the entire subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a vehicle door, and specifically, to an attachment structure of a lower part of a door sash of the vehicle door. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An example of a background vehicle door is described with reference to  FIGS. 6 to 8 .  FIG. 6  is a configuration view of a vehicle door, which is seen from a vehicle interior,  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line VII-VII of  FIG. 6 , and  FIG. 8  is an enlarged view of a part VIII of  FIG. 6 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , an upper part of a vehicle door  1  is provided with a door sash  3  that holds a door glass. As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a lower part of the door  1  is configured by an outer panel  5  and an inner panel  7 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6 to 8 , a vehicle interior face of a lower part of the door sash  3  and the inner panel  7  are connected via a bracket  9 . In the meantime, the bracket  9  also serves as a base to which a lock device and the like of the door are attached. 
     Also, patches  16 A and  16 B may be attached to the bracket  9  so as to reinforce a part of the bracket  9  of which strength is relatively weak (for example, refer to JP-A-2008-168707). 
     SUMMARY 
     Regarding the vehicle door having the above configuration, a sufficient attachment length (a length L in  FIG. 8 ) of the door sash  3  and the bracket  9  may not be secured due to a shape of the vehicle door and a shape of the lock device attached to the bracket  9 . 
     In this case, the attachment strength of the door sash  3  and the bracket  9  becomes insufficient and thus stiffness of the lower part of the door sash  3  is deficient. Therefore, the door sash  3  may be drawn towards a vehicle exterior upon high-speed traveling. 
     This disclosure provides at least a vehicle door where the attachment strength of a door sash and a bracket is improved and the stiffness of the chassis is improved. 
     A vehicle door of this disclosure includes: a door sash; a bracket, which joins the door sash to an inner panel; and a patch, which is joined to the bracket and the door sash and which sandwiches the door sash in cooperation with the bracket, thereby reinforcing the bracket. 
     The other features of this disclosure will be further clarified from an illustrative embodiment of this disclosure to be described later and the accompanying drawings. 
     According to this disclosure, the patch is joined to the bracket and the door sash, sandwiches the door sash in cooperation with the bracket and reinforces the bracket. Thereby, the attachment strength of a lower part of the door sash and the bracket is improved and the stiffness of the door sash is improved. 
     The other effects of this disclosure will be further clarified from an illustrative embodiment of this disclosure to be described later and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed descriptions considered with the reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a vehicle door of an illustrative embodiment of this disclosure and is an enlarged view of a part I of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the entirety of a door sash, a bracket and a patch of the illustrative embodiment, which is seen from a vehicle exterior; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line IV-IV of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line V-V of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a configuration view of a vehicle door, which is seen from a vehicle interior, in a background art; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line VII-VII of  FIG. 6 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged view of a part VIII of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An illustrative embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.  FIG. 1  illustrates a vehicle door of an illustrative embodiment of this disclosure and is an enlarged view of a part I of  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 2  illustrates the entirety of a door sash, a bracket and a patch of the illustrative embodiment, which is seen from a vehicle exterior,  FIG. 3  is a rear view of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line IV-IV of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line V-V of  FIG. 1 . 
     First, an overall configuration is described with reference to  FIG. 2 . In this illustrative embodiment, a vehicle door is a rear door of a vehicle. 
     An upper part of a door  51  is provided with a door sash  53  that holds a door glass. A lower part of the door  51  is configured by an outer panel (not shown) and an inner panel  57 . 
     A vehicle interior face of a lower part of the door sash  53  and the inner panel  57  are joined via a bracket  59 . In the meantime, the bracket  59  also serves as a base to which a lock device and the like of the door are attached. 
     Also, in this illustrative embodiment, an inclined direction of the door sash  53  is opposite to an inclined direction of the bracket  59 , and a shape including the joined part of the door sash  53  and the bracket  59  has a bent shape (a substantial ‘&lt;’ shape), when seen from a vehicle width direction. Thus, when joining the door sash  53  and the bracket  59 , an area in which both overlap each other is small. 
     A lower part of the bracket  59  is attached to the inner panel  57  by welding and an upper part thereof is attached to the vehicle interior face of the door sash  53  by the welding. Also, a patch  61  is attached to the bracket  59  so as to reinforce a part of the bracket  59  of which strength is relatively weak and is attached to a vehicle exterior face of the bracket  59  and a vehicle exterior face of the door sash  53  by the welding, and the patch  61  sandwiches the door sash  53  in cooperation with the bracket  59 . 
     Subsequently, the door is specifically described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 3  to  5 . 
     (Door sash) The door sash  53  is manufactured by roll-forming of a plate material, and a cross-sectional shape in a direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction has a design part  53   a  that is exposed to the outside, a bag part  53   b  that is positioned at a more vehicle interior side than the design part  53   a , and a connection part  53   c  that extends in a vehicle width direction and connects the design part  53   a  and the bag part  53   b , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The bag part  53   b  has a closed cross-sectional shape having a first face  53   b   1  and a second face  53   b   2 , which extend in the vehicle width direction and face each other, and a third face  53   b   3  and a fourth face  53   b   4 , which extend in a vehicle front-rear direction and face each other. 
     Also, a recess part  53   d , which has, as a wall part, the fourth face  53   b   4  of the bag part  53   b  and a vehicle interior face of the design part  53   a  and also has, as a bottom part, the connection part  53   c , is formed between the bag part  53   b  and the design part  53   a.    
     (Bracket) As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the bracket  59  has a fifth face  59   a  that extends in the vehicle width direction. As shown in  FIG. 4 , an upper part of the fifth face  59   a  of the bracket  59  is attached to the first face  53   b   1  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53  by the welding (a bead B 1 ). 
     Also, the bracket  59  has a seventh face  59   b  that is bent from one side of the fifth face  59   a  in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in  FIG. 4 , an upper part of the seventh face  59   b  is attached to the vehicle interior face of the design part  53   a  of the door sash  53  by the welding (a bead B 2 ). 
     Also, the bracket  59  has a ninth face  59   c  that is bent from the other side of the fifth face  59   a  in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in  FIG. 4 , an upper part of the ninth face  59   c  is attached to the third face  53   b   3  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53  by the welding (a bead B 3 ). 
     (Patch) As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the patch  61  has a sixth face  61   a  that extends in the vehicle width direction. As shown in  FIG. 4 , an upper part of the sixth face  61   a  of the patch  61  is attached to the second face  53   b   2  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53  by the welding (a bead B 4 ). Also, the sixth face  61   a  of the patch  61  covers an opening of the recess part  53   d  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53 . 
     Also, the patch  61  has an eighth face  61   b  that is bent from one side (a side covering the opening of the recess part  53   d  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53 ) of the sixth face  61   a  in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in  FIG. 4 , an upper part of the eighth face  61   b  is attached to a vehicle exterior face of the door sash  53  by the welding (a bead B 5 ). As shown in  FIG. 5 , a lower part of the eighth face  61   b  is attached to the seventh face  59   b  of the bracket  59  by the welding (a bead B 6 ). Incidentally, in this illustrative embodiment, eighth face  61   b  is attached to the seventh face  59   b  at two points as shown in  FIG. 1   
     Also, the patch  61  has a tenth face  61   c  that is bent from the other side of the sixth face  61   a  in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in  FIG. 5 , a lower part of the tenth face  61   c  is attached to the ninth face  59   c  of the bracket  59  by the welding (a bead B 7 ). Incidentally, in this illustrative embodiment, the tenth face  61   c  is attached to the ninth face  59   c  at one point. 
     According to the above configuration, following effects can be obtained. 
     (1) As shown in  FIG. 4 , the door sash  53  is sandwiched in the vehicle front-rear direction by the fifth face  59   a  of the bracket  59  and the sixth face  61   a  of the patch  61 . Also, the door sash  53  is sandwiched by the seventh face  59   b  of the bracket  59  and the eighth face  61   b  of the patch. Also, the door sash  53  is sandwiched in the vehicle width direction by the ninth face  59   c  of the bracket  59  and the eighth face  61   b  of the patch. Therefore, the attachment strength of the lower part of the door sash  53  and the bracket  59  is improved, and thus the stiffness of the door sash  53  is improved. 
     (2) The upper part of the patch  61  is attached to the door sash  53  by the welding and the lower part of the patch  61  is attached to the bracket  59  by the welding, so that the attachment strength of the lower part of the door sash  53  and the bracket  59  is improved, and thus the stiffness of the door sash  53  is improved. 
     (3) The sixth face  61   a  of the patch  61  covers the opening of the recess part  53   d  of the bag part  53   b  of the door sash  53 , so that the rigidness of the lower part of the door sash  53  is improved. Additionally, in the above illustrative embodiment, the welding is used so as to join the door sash  53 , the bracket  59  and the patch  61 . However, this disclosure is not limited to the welding. For example, an adhesive, a soldering and the like may be also used. 
     Also, although the patch  61  is joined to the bracket  59 , it may be also joined to the bracket  59  and the inner panel. 
     Also, in the above illustrative embodiment, the bracket  59  is joined to the vehicle interior face of the door sash  53  and the patch  61  is joined to the face of the vehicle exterior side of the door sash  53  by the welding. To the contrary, the bracket may be joined to the face of the vehicle exterior side of the door sash and the patch may be joined to the vehicle interior face of the door sash by the welding.