Arrangement of an exterior mirror on a vehicle door of a motor vehicle

Abstract

An exterior mirror (1) on a vehicle door (2) of a motor vehicle has a mirror foot (11) with a retaining portion (110) for securing the mirror foot (11) on the vehicle door (2). The vehicle door (2) has a door outer part (20), a door inner part (21) and a door well (23) between the outer and inner parts (20, 21). The door well (23) has a receiving opening (230) in the region of a door windowsill (22). The mirror foot (11) is angled to form the retaining portion (110) and the retaining portion (110) is inserted into the door well (23) through the receiving opening (230) and fixed within the door well (23).

Claims

1. An arrangement of an exterior mirror on a vehicle door of a motor vehicle, the exterior mirror having a mirror foot with a retaining portion for securing the mirror foot on the vehicle door, the vehicle door having a door outer part, a door inner part and a door well between the door outer part and the door inner part, a door well reinforcement arranged within the door well, the door well reinforcement being spaced apart from the door inner part and being configured to reinforce the door well in the region of the door outer part, the door well having a receiving opening in the region of a door windowsill, the mirror foot being angled to form the retaining portion and the retaining portion being inserted into the door well through the receiving opening and fixed within the door well.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein retaining portion of the mirror foot is secured on the door well reinforcement.

3. The arrangement of claim 2, wherein the retaining portion of the mirror foot is screwed to the door well reinforcement by at least one fastening screw.

4. The arrangement of claim 2, further comprising a holding part arranged within the door well reinforcement, the retaining portion of the mirror foot being secured to the holding part.

5. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the retaining portion of the mirror foot is screwed to the holding part by at least one fastening screw.

6. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the holding part is a casting or a forging.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a schematically greatly simplified vertical section through a vehicle door of a motor vehicle, and illustrates the installation space conditions for the installation of a mirror foot of an exterior mirror within a door well of the vehicle door.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a perspective, partially transparent view of an arrangement of an exterior mirror on a vehicle door according to a preferred illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle door 2 of a motor vehicle has a door outer part 20 and a door inner part 21 that are spaced apart so that a cavity in the form of a door well 23 is formed between the door outer part 20 and the door inner part 21. A window guide 24 is arranged above the door inner part 21, and a window guide cover 25 is provided on an outer side of the window guide 24. A door well reinforcement 26 is arranged within the door well 23 at a position spaced apart from the door inner part 21 and is designed to reinforce the door well 23 in the region of the door outer part 20. The door well reinforcement 26 preferably is hollow to reduce the weight of the vehicle door 2.

(4) An upper region of the door well reinforcement 26 has a receiving portion 260 of substantially U-shaped cross section, and an inward-bent free end 200 of the door outer part 20 engages in the receiving portion 260 in the region of a door windowsill 22. A door well sealing strip 27 is arranged above the door well reinforcement 26 and the free end 200 of the door outer part 20. The door well sealing strip 27 seals the door well 23 and decorates the door windowsill 22.

(5) With reference to FIG. 2, an exterior mirror 1 can be attached to the vehicle door 2, as shown in FIG. 2. The exterior mirror 1 has a mirror housing 10 and a mirror foot 11 that is attached to the mirror housing 10 or formed integrally with the mirror housing 10. The mirror foot 11 is angled and comprises a retaining portion 110 that is inserted into the door well 23 during assembly through an upper opening 230 in the door well 23 that is formed in the region of the door windowsill 22. The retaining portion 110 of the mirror foot 11 can be screwed directly to the door well reinforcement 26 by means of at least one fastening screw 3 to fix the mirror foot 11 within the door well 23. However, the mirror foot 11 also can be screwed to the door inner part 21.

(6) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a separate holding part 4 is attached within the hollow door well reinforcement 26 and receives the fastening screw 3 for fixing the retaining portion 110 of the mirror foot 11. The holding part 4 preferably is a casting and achieves secure retention of the retaining portion 110 while also preventing shaking of the exterior mirror 1 that can occur under some circumstances during driving the motor vehicle.

(7) The arrangement of the exterior mirror 1 on the vehicle door 2 offers the advantage that the retaining portion 110 of the exterior mirror 1 is not passed from the outside through an aperture within the door outer part 20 during assembly. Rather, the retaining portion 110 is inserted from above into the door well 23 and fixed in the door well 23. It is thus advantageously unnecessary to provide the door outer part 20 with an aperture through which the retaining portion 110 of the exterior mirror 1 is passed during assembly.