U.S. patent number 10,428,243 [Application Number 15/370,550] was granted by the patent office on 2019-10-01 for method of utilizing thin film pressure sensitive strips to measure pressure applied to a seal.
This patent grant is currently assigned to FORD MOTOR COMPANY. The grantee listed for this patent is FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Invention is credited to Stephen Juszczyk, Hossein Jacob Sadri.
United States Patent |
10,428,243 |
Sadri , et al. |
October 1, 2019 |
Method of utilizing thin film pressure sensitive strips to measure
pressure applied to a seal
Abstract
A method of assembling a door on a vehicle begins by identifying
critical fit areas between the door seal and the door frame.
Pressure indicator tape is adhered to the seal in critical fit
areas and the door is closed against the seal to produce a marking
on the pressure indicator tape. Intensity of the marking is
visually compared to a reference pressure intensity scale to
establish an observed pressure intensity level. The observed
pressure intensity level may be recorded, correlated to a specific
critical fit area and analyzed to make operational and design
improvements to the door, door frame or seal.
Inventors: |
Sadri; Hossein Jacob (Novi,
MI), Juszczyk; Stephen (Walled Lake, MI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
FORD MOTOR COMPANY (Dearborn,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
62164239 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/370,550 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180155577 A1 |
Jun 7, 2018 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60J
10/50 (20160201); B29C 66/98 (20130101); B60J
10/00 (20130101); C09J 5/10 (20130101); B60J
10/84 (20160201); Y10T 29/4978 (20150115); Y10T
29/49776 (20150115); Y10T 29/49778 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
C09J
5/10 (20060101); B60J 10/00 (20160101); B60J
10/84 (20160101); B60J 10/50 (20160101); B29C
65/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Sensor Expert--The Force in Surface Contact Pressure, 2013
SensorExpert.com. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Cozart; Jermie E
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hicks; Brandon Brooks Kushman
P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of assembling a vehicle comprising: identifying
critical fit areas between a closure member and a closure member
frame; adhering plural pressure indicator tapes to a peripheral
seal in the critical fit areas; closing the closure member against
the seal to produce a marking on the pressure indicator tapes; and
comparing visually the marking to a reference pressure intensity
scale to establish an observed pressure intensity level.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: recording the observed
pressure intensity level in a vehicle record.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: analyzing the observed
pressure intensity level to create analytical data.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising: making operational
improvements to an assembly process to change the relative
orientation of the closure member and the closure member frame.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising: making design
improvements to the closure member, the closure member frame, or a
seal disposed between the closure member and the closure member
frame.
6. A method of assembling a door on a vehicle comprising:
identifying plural critical fit areas between the door, a
peripheral seal and a door frame; adhering pressure indicator tapes
to the peripheral seal in the critical fit areas; closing the door
against the peripheral seal to produce a marking on the pressure
indicator tapes; and comparing the marking visually to a reference
pressure intensity scale to establish an observed pressure
intensity level.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein closing the door on the door frame
produces marks on the pressure indicator tapes that are compared to
the reference pressure intensity scale to establish a plurality of
observed pressure intensity levels at the critical fit areas.
8. The method of claim 6 further comprising: recording the observed
intensity level in a vehicle record that is correlated to a
specific critical fit areas.
9. The method of claim 6 further comprising: analyzing the observed
pressure intensity level to create analytical data for each
critical fit area.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising: making operational
improvements to an assembly process to change the relative
orientation of the door and the door frame.
11. The method of claim 9 further comprising: making design
improvements to the door, the door frame, or the seal.
12. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of closing the door
against the seal includes: closing the door to a first latch point
with a first level of pressure on a door handle; and increasing the
pressure on the door handle above the first level of pressure until
the door is completely closed at a second latch point.
13. A method of assembling a vehicle comprising: identifying
critical fit areas between a closure member and a closure member
frame: adhering plural pressure indicator tapes to a peripheral
seal in the critical fit areas; closing the closure member against
the seal to produce a marking on the pressure indicator tapes; and
comparing visually the marking to a reference pressure intensity
scale to establish an observed pressure intensity level wherein the
step of closing the closure member against the seal includes:
closing the closure member to a first latch point with a first
level of pressure on a door handle; and increasing the pressure on
the door handle above the first level of pressure until the closure
member is completely closed at a second latch point.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates to a method of measuring the pressure
applied by a seal on a closure member of a vehicle to reduce wind
noise.
BACKGROUND
In vehicle assembly operations, closure members such as doors and
trunk lids must be accurately assembled within a door frame, trunk
opening, hood opening, or the like. When a closure member is
misaligned or the closure member or the frame is out of tolerance,
areas around the closure member may exert insufficient or excessive
pressure on a peripheral seal. Insufficient pressure on a seal may
result in a water leak or wind noise, vibration and harshness (NVH)
issues. Excessive pressure on a seal may result in high effort
being required to close a door.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and other
problems as summarized below.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method is disclosed
for assembling a vehicle that comprises identifying critical fit
areas between closure members and frames defining openings to be
closed by the closure members. According to the method, pressure
indicator tape is adhered to the critical fit areas. The closure
member is then closed against an opening defined by the vehicle to
activate the pressure indicator tape and produce a marking. The
intensity of the marking is visually compared to a reference
intensity scale to establish an observed intensity level.
According to other aspects of this disclosure, the method may
further comprise recording the observed intensity level in a
vehicle record. The method may further comprise analyzing the
observed intensity level to create analytical data.
Operational improvements may be made immediately to an assembly
process to change the relative orientation of the closure member
and the opening. Design improvements may also be made to the
closure member, the opening defined by the vehicle or a seal
disposed between the closure member and the opening.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a method is
disclosed for assembling a door on a vehicle that comprises
identifying a critical fit area between the door, a seal and a door
frame. Pressure indicator tape is then adhered to the seal in the
critical fit area. The door is then closed against the seal to
produce a marking on the pressure indicator tape. The intensity of
the marking is visually compared to a reference pressure intensity
scale to establish an observed pressure intensity level.
The method may also be applied to a plurality of critical fit areas
and the door may be closed on a plurality of pressure indicator
tapes to produces marks that are compared to the reference pressure
intensity scale to establish a plurality of observed pressure
intensity levels at the critical fit areas. The observed pressure
intensity levels may be correlated to specific critical fit areas
in the vehicle record.
The above aspects of this disclosure and other aspects will be
described below with reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a vehicle with a
closed front door with X markings around the door illustrating a
plurality of critical fit locations.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle with an open
front door with a plurality of segments of pressure indicator tapes
attached to a seal secured to the door frame.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the door opening seal taken
along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4A is a plan view of a segment of pressure indicator tape
before pressure is applied to the tape.
FIG. 4B is a plan view of a segment of pressure indicator tape
after pressure is applied to the tape by closing the door shown
next to a pressure intensity scale.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic partial perspective view of the steps
taken according to the method to close the door and test the
pressure applied in the critical fit areas.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The illustrated embodiments are disclosed with reference to the
drawings. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed
embodiments are intended to be merely examples that may be embodied
in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily
to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show
details of particular components. The specific structural and
functional details disclosed are not to be interpreted as limiting,
but as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art
how to practice the disclosed concepts.
Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle generally indicated by reference
numeral 10 is partially shown in the area of a front door 12. The
front door 12 is shown disposed over a door opening 14. The door
opening 14 is formed by an A-pillar 16 on a front edge, a roof rail
18 on a top edge, a B-pillar 20 on a rear edge and a rocker panel
22 on a lower edge. Ten different critical fit areas 24 are
indicated by stars spaced about the A-pillar 16, roof rail 18,
B-pillar 20 and rocker panel 22. The critical fit areas 24 are
areas where the door 12, or closure member, may exert insufficient
or excessive pressure on a peripheral seal. The critical fit areas
24 may result in water leaks or wind noise issues. Excessive
pressure in a seal may cause high effort being required to close
the door.
Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicle 10 is again shown with the door 12
open. The door opening 14 is fitted with a seal 28 that extends
around the periphery of the door opening 14. A plurality of
segments of pressure indicator tape 30 are attached by pressure
sensitive adhesive to the seal 28 in the locations corresponding to
the critical fit areas 24 shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 3, a seal (generally indicated by reference
numeral 28) is shown to include a seal flange receptacle 32 that is
preferably integrally molded with a seal tube 34. A segment of
pressure indicator tape 30 is shown attached to the seal tube 34 on
the side of the seal tube 34 that is to be contacted by the door 12
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when the door 12 is closed. The seal flange
receptacle 32 is adapted to be secured to a flange provided on the
door opening 14.
Referring to FIG. 4A, a segment of pressure indicator tape 30 is
shown prior to being used to indicate pressure in a test. The tape
30 is shown prior to application of energy to the surface (O
Joules). Referring to FIG. 4B, a segment of pressure indicator tape
30' prime is shown after being used in the pressure test. The
pressure indicator tape 30' shown in 4B includes pressure markings
36 that are caused when the door is closed against the door opening
14 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) with a force of 6 Joules. A pressure
intensity scale 38 is shown next to the pressure indicator tape 30'
in FIG. 4B to illustrate the step of visually comparing the
intensity of the pressure markings 36 to a reference pressure
intensity scale 38.
Referring to FIG. 5, the test procedure is diagrammatically
illustrated. In the first step, the door 12 is gently closed to the
first latch point of the door latch at 40. The pressure on the door
handle is then gradually increased at 42 until the secondary latch
of the door latch is engaged upon complete closure of the door 12.
The door 12 must be gently closed to avoid erroneous pressure
readings caused by impacting the seal 28 that may occur if the door
12 is closed with excessive force.
The embodiments described above are specific examples that do not
describe all possible forms of the disclosure. The features of the
illustrated embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments
of the disclosed concepts. The words used in the specification are
words of description rather than limitation. The scope of the
following claims is broader than the specifically disclosed
embodiments and also includes modifications of the illustrated
embodiments.
* * * * *