Disclosed herein are vehicle door inner panels, methods for making such inner panels, and motor vehicles with door assemblies using inner support panels. Presented is a door inner panel for a vehicle door assembly with a hardware module. The door inner panel includes a header section with a window frame for receiving a windowpane. A shell section is attached to the header section and mounts to the vehicle body's door frame. The shell section has a hardware frame for the hardware module. The hardware frame includes: a mounting interface on the shell section's inboard surface for coupling to an outboard surface of the hardware module's unit carrier; a mounting interface on a fore-aft surface of the shell section for sealingly attaching to a peripheral surface of the unit carrier; and a mounting interface on the shell section's outboard surface for coupling to an inboard surface of the unit carrier.

A vehicle door assembly includes a door structure, an interior latch handle a panel and an interference member. The interior latch handle is installed to an inboard area of an inner door panel of the door structure. The interior latch handle has a housing and a release lever supported to the housing for pivotal movement. The panel is fixed to the inner door panel. The interference member is fixed to the panel and extends toward the release lever. With the door structure in a non-deformed state the interference member is spaced apart from the release lever. With the door structure in a deformed state in response to an impact event proximate a central area of the door structure, the panel can deformed and moves the interference member toward one end of the release lever preventing movement of the release lever to an door opening orientation.

A press forming method for an automotive outer panel according to the present invention is a method for press forming a metal sheet 51 into an automotive outer panel 61 having a character line 63 and panel surface portions 65a and 65b by using a punch 3, a die 5, and a blank holder 7. The press forming method includes: a step of providing an elastic body 9 protruding toward the punch 3 side on a die-side forming surface portion 5b forming the panel surface portion 65a, and bringing the elastic body 9 into contact with the metal sheet 51 prior to the die 5; and a step of press forming while crushing the elastic body 9 and pressing the metal sheet 51, and the elastic body 9 is caused to protrude from the die-side forming surface portion 5b so that a frictional force of the crushed elastic body 9 and the metal sheet 51 is equal to or greater than an absolute value of a difference between tensions acting on. both sides of a portion 53 corresponding to the character line 63.

An automotive panel assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes a first panel, a second panel, and a flange of the first panel folded over an edge region of the second panel to hem together the first and second panels. The flange of the first panel includes a textured geometry that interlocks with a textured geometry of the edge region.

A press-formed product is manufactured by press-forming a blank material into an intermediate shape, and further press-forming the blank material from the intermediate shape into the press-formed product having a target shape. A product portion of the target shape includes a first ridge line portion and a second ridge line portion each having a radius of curvature of 20 mm or smaller and a bending angle of 130 degrees or larger. The product portion of the intermediate shape has a curved shape having a radius of curvature of 100 mm or larger or a linear shape in a specific cross section. A height of an excess thickness portion of the intermediate shape is higher than 10 mm with respect to a peripheral portion and lower than a height of the excess thickness portion of the target shape.

A vehicle door assembly comprises: an outer door panel skin; and a seal carrier rail, wherein the seal carrier rail is shaped to provide: a first elongate recess at a first face of the seal carrier rail configured to accommodate a waist seal within the first elongate recess; and a second elongate recess at a second face of the seal carrier rail opposite the first face, wherein the second elongate recess is located between the seal carrier rail and the outer door panel skin.

An outer door panel and an inner door panel are fixed to one another defining a cavity therebetween. A door handle assembly is fixedly attached to the outer door panel, with at least a portion of the door handle assembly overlaying an inboard surface of the outer door panel within the cavity. An inboard portion of the door handle assembly has a connection structure. An upwardly extending bracket within the cavity is fixed to an upper end and a lower end of at least one of the inner door panel or the outer door panel. The upwardly extending bracket is spaced apart from the door handle assembly. A vibration absorbing member has a first end fixed to the connection structure of the door handle assembly and a second end attached to the upwardly extending bracket at a location spaced apart from upper and lower ends of the upwardly extending bracket.

Various accessories for motor vehicles with removable doors are described herein. In particular, the accessories may be mounted to a motor vehicle when a traditional, or factory, door is removed. Example accessories include covers, grab handles, tube doors, and pieces of furniture, each of which may include one or more lights or other electrically powered devices.

An exterior panel structure for a vehicle prevents unevenness caused by distortion of an outer surface of the exterior panel and keeps dents small even when a user presses the exterior panel from the outside. The exterior panel structure includes the exterior panel, and a reinforcing member having joint sections and coupling sections. The joint sections are separated from each other along an inner surface of the exterior panel, and each is joined to the inner surface of the exterior panel. The coupling section follows the inner surface of the exterior panel and couples the adjacent joint sections. The inner surface of the exterior panel and the coupling section abut each other when a pressing force equal to or larger than a specified value is applied inward in a thickness direction of the exterior panel from an outer surface of the exterior panel, and are otherwise separated from each other.

An exterior panel structure for a vehicle prevents unevenness of an outer surface of an exterior panel material caused by joining of a reinforcing member to the exterior panel. The reinforcing member is joined to the exterior panel material such that rigidity is maintained, thereby keeping dents in the exterior panel material small even when a user presses on the exterior panel material during waxing of the vehicle, or the like. The exterior panel structure includes a door outer panel, a reinforcing member, and a bracket. In the bracket, a joint surface which follows an inner surface of the door outer panel is joined to an outer peripheral edge of the door panel which is separated from the inner surface of the door outer panel in a thickness direction of the door outer panel, and another joint surface is joined to a reinforcing outer peripheral edge of the reinforcing member.