Patent Description:
In the vehicle door handles of the state of the art, a bowl is disposed in an opening of a door panel and the bowl is fastened to the door panel, for example via a bracket and a slider positioned inside the door panel. The bowl provides a recess and the automatic door latch may be disposed within the recess of the bowl. Thus, to actuated the automatic door latch, the user puts his fingers within the recess to reach the latch.

To ensure the fastening of the bowl onto the door panel, the upper part of the bowl may comprise a slot configured for receiving an edge of the door panel. Furthermore, the door panel is generally a metallic panel, notably a steel panel, which is painted. However, with the pulling force applied by the user on the bowl at each opening of the door, frictions may occur at the interface between the bowl and the door panel which may remove the painting of the door panel and lead to a corrosion of the door panel. Furthermore, if the bowl is also painted, such friction may also remove the painting of the bowl and lead to the emission of an unpleasant noise at each pulling of the user on the door handle. Document <CIT> discloses a vehicle door handle according to the state of the art.

<CIT> discloses a vehicle door assembly comprising:.

It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide a solution avoiding the degradation of the door panel over time and preventing the occurrence of noise at each pulling of the user on the door handle.

Thus, the present invention refers to a vehicle door handle assembly comprising:.

wherein the bowl comprises a concavity, the said concavity being configured for receiving an edge of the door panel and wherein the peripheral gasket comprises a plurality of pads distributed along the upper portion of the peripheral gasket when the vehicle is assembled, said pads being configured to protrude in the concavity of the bowl to prevent friction between the edge of the door panel and the said concavity.

The absence of friction between the edge of the door panel and the bowl allows avoiding the removal of paint of the door panel which could lead to premature wear and even corrosion. Such friction may also produces unpleasant noise for the user.

According to another aspect of the invention, the door panel is vertical and the edge of the door panel configured to be received in the concavity of the bowl is directed in a horizontal direction when the door panel is assembled to the vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention, the peripheral gasket has a flat portion configured for lying against the door panel and the pad extends from the flat portion of the peripheral gasket with an angle comprised between <NUM>° and <NUM>°, especially <NUM>°.

According to another aspect of the invention, the peripheral gasket is made of elastomer material.

According to another aspect of the invention, the concavity of the bowl is made in an upper part of the bowl when the vehicle is assembled.

According to another aspect of the invention, the door panel is made of a metallic layer, especially steel.

According to another aspect of the invention, the door panel is painted.

According to another aspect of the invention, the bowl is made of plastic and is painted. According to another aspect of the invention, the vehicle door handle assembly also comprises a bracket fastened to the inner side of the door panel and a slider configured for linking the bowl to the bracket in order to ensure the fastening of the bowl on the door panel and the compression of the peripheral gasket.

The present invention also refers to a method for assembling a vehicle door handle on a door panel, the door panel comprising an opening configured for receiving the vehicle door handle and the vehicle door handle comprising a bowl comprising a concavity on its upper part, a peripheral gasket comprising a plurality of pads distributed along the upper portion of the peripheral gasket when the vehicle is assembled, said pads being configured to be disposed protrudingly in the concavity of the bowl wherein the method comprises the following steps:.

According to another aspect of the invention, the vehicle door handle also comprises a bracket and a slider and the method also comprises a preliminary step of fastening the bracket to an inner side of the door panel and an additional step of positioning the slider in a slot of the bowl and in a slot of the bracket to ensure the fastening of the bowl to the bracket and the compression of the peripheral gasket between the bowl and the door panel.

The following achievements are examples. Although, the specification refers to one or several embodiments, it does not imply that each reference refers to the same embodiment or that the features apply only to a single embodiment. Simple features of different embodiments can also be combined to provide other embodiments.

In the following of the description, the terms up, upper, low, lower, vertical, horizontal refers to relative positions or directions when the door handle is assembled to a vehicle.

<FIG> represents a perspective view of a vehicle door handle assembly <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle door handle <NUM> being assembled on a vehicle door panel <NUM>. As represented in <FIG>, the vehicle door handle assembly <NUM> comprises a bowl <NUM> configured to be mounted in an opening <NUM> of the door panel <NUM>. The door panel <NUM> may be made of metal, especially steel and may be painted. The bowl <NUM> may be made of plastic and may also be painted. The side of the bowl <NUM> configured to be positioned outside of the door panel <NUM> may have an elongated shape with a long up side, a long low side and two shorter lateral sides linking the up side and the low side. The central part of the bowl (between the up side and the low side and between both lateral sides) is hollow to enable the hand of the user to protrude within a recess defined by the bowl <NUM> as shown in the top view of the bowl <NUM> in <FIG>. The upper part of the bowl <NUM> comprises a concavity <NUM> configured to be positioned toward an edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> formed by the upper part of the opening <NUM> as represented in the perspective and cut view of <FIG>. The cut of <FIG> corresponds to the plane A-A represented in <FIG>. When assembled to the vehicle, the door panel <NUM> is directed in a vertical direction and the edge <NUM> is directed in a horizontal direction.

The vehicle door handle assembly <NUM> may also comprise a strip <NUM> (visible in <FIG>) configured to be positioned on the upper part of the bowl <NUM> to hide the upper junction between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM> and to make the vehicle door handle <NUM> smooth and streamlined. The strip <NUM> may be clipped and/or glued to the bowl <NUM>.

Furthermore, a peripheral gasket <NUM> is disposed between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM> to ensure waterproofness of the assembly and to prevent dust and water from entering through the opening <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> when assembled. As shown in <FIG>, the peripheral gasket <NUM> is configured to be sandwiched and compressed between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM>, more particularly between a portion of the bowl <NUM> configured to be outside of the door panel <NUM> and an outer side of the door panel <NUM>. In order to ease its positioning and to prevent its displacement over time, the peripheral gasket <NUM> may comprise flat portions such as the upper part 9a of the peripheral gasket <NUM> to enhance the contact surface with the bowl <NUM> and with the door panel <NUM>.

Moreover, the peripheral gasket <NUM> comprises a pad <NUM> which extends laterally and is configured to protrude in the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM>. The pad <NUM> is configured to be placed between the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM> and the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> in order to avoid contact between the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> and the concavity <NUM> of the upper part of the bowl <NUM> as represented in <FIG>. In the present example, as represented in <FIG>, the peripheral gasket <NUM> comprises two pads <NUM> distributed along the upper part 9a of the gasket <NUM> which is configured to extends along the length of the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM>. However, another number of pads <NUM> may be used such as a single pad <NUM> or three pads <NUM>. The length and the thickness of the pads <NUM> may be adapted according to the number of pads <NUM> to ensure that no contact occurs between the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> and the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM>. The length of the pads <NUM> is for example comprised between <NUM>,<NUM> and <NUM> and the thickness of the pads <NUM> is for example comprised between <NUM> and <NUM>. The pads <NUM> may extend from the flat portion 9a of the peripheral gasket <NUM> with an angle comprised between <NUM>° and <NUM>°, especially an angle of <NUM>°. The peripheral gasket <NUM> may be made of elastomer. By preventing contact and therefore friction between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM>, the pads <NUM> enable avoiding a removal of the paint of the door panel <NUM> and therefore limit or avoid the occurrence of corrosion on the door panel <NUM>. Furthermore, a friction between the bowl <NUM> and the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> may produce noise which can be unpleasant for the user.

The present invention also refers to a method for assembling the vehicle door handle <NUM> on the door panel <NUM>.

<FIG> is flowchart of the different steps of the method according to the invention.

The first step <NUM> refers to the fastening of a bracket <NUM> (visible in <FIG>) on the inner side of the door panel <NUM>. The inner side corresponds to the side facing the interior of the vehicle when the vehicle is assembled.

The second step <NUM> refers to the positioning of the peripheral gasket <NUM> on the bowl <NUM>. A footprint may be designed on the bowl <NUM> to ease the positioning of the peripheral gasket <NUM> on the bowl <NUM>. The peripheral gasket <NUM> is positioned so that the pads <NUM> protrude in the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM>.

According to an alternate solution corresponding to step <NUM>', the peripheral gasket <NUM> may be positioned on the outer side of the door panel3 around the opening <NUM>. The peripheral gasket <NUM> may comprise bumps and the door panel <NUM> may comprise complementary holes configured to receive the bumps to ensure the correct positioning of the peripheral gasket <NUM>.

The third step <NUM> refers to the positioning of the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM> toward the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> formed by the upper part of the opening <NUM>. The upper part of the bowl <NUM> is first introduced in the opening <NUM> and moved up so that the concavity <NUM> of the upper part of the bowl <NUM> comes around the edge <NUM>. Such positioning leads to the compression of the pads <NUM> between the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM> and the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM>.

The fourth step <NUM> refers to the swivelling of the lower part of the bowl <NUM> toward the lower part of the opening <NUM> while the pads <NUM> are maintained compressed between the concavity <NUM> of the bowl <NUM> and the edge <NUM> of the door panel <NUM>. Such swivelling produces the compression of the lower part of the peripheral gasket <NUM> between a lower part of the bowl <NUM> and a part of the door panel <NUM> located below the opening <NUM>.

The fifth step <NUM> refers to the positioning of a slider <NUM> (visible in <FIG>) in a first slot <NUM> of the bowl <NUM> and in a second slot <NUM> of the bracket <NUM> to ensure the fastening of the bowl <NUM> to the bracket <NUM> and the compression of the peripheral gasket <NUM> between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM>. <FIG> represents an embodiment of the slider <NUM> positioned on the bowl <NUM>. The slider <NUM> comprises a first hook 17a and a second hook 17b configured to be introduced respectively in a first slot 5a and a second slot 5b of the bowl <NUM>. <FIG> represents the bowl <NUM> of <FIG> with a bracket <NUM>. The bowl <NUM> is fastened to the bracket <NUM> by the slider <NUM>. The bracket <NUM> comprises hooks <NUM> forming a slot configured for receiving the slider <NUM> in order to ensure the fastening of the slider <NUM> on the bracket <NUM>. Thus, during the assembly, the slider <NUM> is positioned in both the slots 5a, 5b of the bowl <NUM> and the hooks <NUM> of the bracket <NUM> in order to ensure the fastening of the bowl <NUM> on the bracket <NUM>. Such fastening of the bowl <NUM> on the bracket via the slider <NUM> also ensures the compression of the gasket <NUM> between the bowl <NUM> and the door panel <NUM>. Other types of fastening of the bowl <NUM> to the bracket <NUM> may also be used.

Claim 1:
Vehicle door handle assembly (<NUM>) comprising:
- a bowl (<NUM>) configured to be mounted in an opening (<NUM>) of a door panel (<NUM>),
- a peripheral gasket (<NUM>) disposed between the bowl (<NUM>) and the door panel (<NUM>) and configured to be sandwiched between the bowl (<NUM>) and the door panel (<NUM>) to provide waterproofness,
wherein the bowl (<NUM>) comprises a concavity (<NUM>), the said concavity (<NUM>) being configured for receiving an edge (<NUM>) of the door panel (<NUM>) and wherein the peripheral gasket (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of pads (<NUM>) distributed along the upper portion of the peripheral gasket (<NUM>) when the vehicle is assembled, said pads (<NUM>) being configured to protrude in the concavity (<NUM>) of the bowl (<NUM>) to prevent friction between the edge (<NUM>) of the door panel (<NUM>) and the said concavity (<NUM>).