Patent Application
20150375800
This disclosure relates to reinforcements for vehicle body structures that are assembled into interstitial spaces between components of the body structures.
Vehicle body structures are subject to vehicle crash safety testing and vehicles are designed to obtain superior test results without adding substantial weight to the vehicle. It is a substantial challenge to develop a vehicle architecture capable of withstanding frontal impact loads applied in frontal impact tests. Small Overlap Rigid Barrier (SORB) tests simulate a frontal impact of a vehicle with a rigid barrier outboard of the frame rails. SORB test loads are often channeled into a front hinge pillar area of the vehicle. Intrusion into the passenger compartment are measured at multiple locations in the SORB test.
One response to managing frontal impact loads is to add metal reinforcements that are welded or fastened to hinge pillar component parts or by incorporating thicker and heavier component parts. Adding metal reinforcements increases manufacturing costs and complexity. Adding metal reinforcements or using thicker panels to fabricate the component parts is directly counterproductive to weight reduction priorities that must be met to achieve fuel economy standards facing vehicle manufacturers.
While the problem of managing loads at the front hinge pillar area is important for SORB tests, other vehicle body structures that are redesigned to reduce weight are subject to other test and performance requirements that require a lightweight solution.
Pickup trucks are motor vehicles with a front passenger area, often referred to as a cab, and an open top rear cargo area, often referred to as a box. The cab and box are typically separate assemblies mounted on a ladder frame. However, cabs and boxes may be a singular body structure mounted on a frame or part of the same unibody structure. Pickup trucks are popular largely because the box allows them to be utilized in so many different ways, including carrying a variety of types of cargo and towing various types of trailers.
Traditionally, the majority of body structures on pickup trucks have been formed from steel alloys. Through years of experience, pickup truck designers have learned how to engineer steel truck body parts that withstand the variety of demanding pickup truck applications. The current regulatory and economic environments have increased the importance of making pickup trucks more fuel efficient as well as functional and durable. One way to reduce the fuel consumption of a vehicle is to reduce vehicle structure weight by using aluminum body components on the pickup truck.
Aluminum alloys typically have a higher strength to weight ratio than steel alloys. Consequently, replacing steel with aluminum offers the potential for weight reduction. However, the elastic modulus of aluminum is generally lower than the elastic modulus of steel. Thus it may be advantageous to design a vehicle architecture including an aluminium hinge pillar to obtain superior test results comparable to a vehicle architecture using traditional steel materials.
The above problems and other problems are addressed by this disclosure as summarized below.
According to one aspect of this disclosure, an impact absorbing reinforcement is provided that is received between facing surfaces of adjacent panels. In one embodiment, the reinforcement may include a reinforcement body including ribs that extend between the facing surfaces in a lattice arrangement and may define a plurality of cells. A first plurality of walls is provided on a first plurality of cells on one side of the ribs and a second plurality of walls is provided on a second plurality of the cells on a second side of the ribs.
According to other aspects of this disclosure, the first plurality of walls and the second plurality of walls are not provided on the same cells. A first set of the ribs may extend in a lateral direction and a vertical direction and a second set of ribs may extend in a lateral direction and a horizontal direction between facing surfaces of the adjacent panels that extend in a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction. The cells may be polygonal cells that are open on one lateral side. The first plurality of cells may be open on an inner lateral side and the second plurality of cells may be open on an outer lateral side. An adhesive may be provided on at least some of the first plurality of cells and on at least some of the second plurality of cells to adhere the reinforcement to the facing surfaces of the adjacent panels.
According to other aspects of this disclosure, the adjacent panels may include a hinge pillar outer panel and a hinge pillar reinforcement panel. The first plurality of cells may be open on a side facing the hinge pillar outer panel and closed by one of the walls on a side facing the hinge pillar reinforcement. The second plurality of cells may be open on the side facing the hinge pillar reinforcement and closed by one of the walls on the side facing the hinge pillar outer panel. An adhesive may be applied to the walls to permanently attach the reinforcement to the hinge pillar outer panel and the hinge pillar reinforcement panel. During installation, clips or other fasteners may be used to temporarily hold the reinforcement in place until the adhesive is expanded and activated in a paint oven. The reinforcement body and the first and second plurality of walls may be formed as a one-piece molded member.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a combination vehicle body structure is disclosed that includes a hinge pillar defining a receptacle, and an A-pillar/roof rail assembly received in the receptacle of the hinge pillar. The A-pillar/roof rail assembly includes an intermediate portion extending along on side of a roof, an upper portion extending along a lateral side of a windshield, and a lower extension portion.
According to other aspects of this disclosure the hinge pillar may further comprise a hinge pillar outer panel, a hinge pillar inner panel and at least one hinge pillar reinforcement panel that are assembled between the hinge pillar outer panel and the hinge pillar inner panel.
The combination may further comprise a reinforcement received between facing surfaces, for example, facing surfaces of the hinge pillar outer panel and the hinge pillar reinforcement panel. The reinforcement may further comprise a reinforcement body including intersecting ribs that extend between the facing surfaces in a lattice arrangement defining a plurality of cells and a first plurality of walls on a first plurality of cells on one side of the ribs and a second plurality of walls on a second plurality of the cells on a second side of the ribs. The first plurality of cells may be open on a side facing the hinge pillar outer panel and closed by one of the walls on a side facing the hinge pillar reinforcement. The second plurality of cells may be open on the side facing the hinge pillar reinforcement and closed by one of the walls on the side facing the hinge pillar outer panel or hinge pillar inner panel. An adhesive may be applied to the walls to adhere the reinforcement to the hinge pillar outer panel and the hinge pillar reinforcement panel. It should be understood that the reinforcement could be configured to be inserted in a space between other body structures to increase impact resistance.
According to other aspects of this disclosure, the A-pillar/roof rail assembly may be a hydro-formed tubular member that is formed in one piece to include an intermediate portion, an upper portion, and a lower extension portion. The intermediate portion may extend in an angular orientation downwardly and forwardly relative to the upper portion. The lower extension portion may extend vertically downwardly from the intermediate portion. The lower extension portion may extend into a receiving area, or receptacle portion, formed within the hinge pillar.
The above aspects of this disclosure and other aspects are described below with reference to the drawings.
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
Reinforcement 20 is shown in phantom lines in
Referring to
The reinforcement 20 is formed by a plurality of cells 28 that are open on one side. The cells 28 shown in
Facing walls 36 may be provided on some of the cells 28. The facing walls 36 may be aligned in a substantially vertical pattern, a substantially horizontal pattern, or in a random arrangement. For example, facing walls 36 may be located on a first side of the reinforcement 20 facing the first hinge pillar panel 22 or on a second side of the reinforcement 20 facing the second hinge pillar panel 24. The facing walls may be provided on any combination of the cells 28, and some cells 28 may not have a facing wall 36. The facing walls 36 are provided on the opposite side of the cell 28 from an open end of the cell 28. The cells 28 generally do not have two facing walls 36 on both sides of the cell 28, effectively closing the cell 28.
The adhesive 38 may be injection molded onto a molded nylon carrier 39 as part of the reinforcement 20. The nylon carrier 39 is designed to fit with an otherwise open space within the hinge pillar 14 and A-pillar/roof rail assembly 16 or other environments. The nominal thickness of the reinforcement 20 is governed by design gaps between the panels.
The adhesive 38 may be injection molded onto the carrier 39 or may be applied prior to installation of the reinforcement 20. For example, an injection molded layer 3 mm thick may be provided in its “green” or unexpanded state. The adhesive is expanded when heated in the paint bake ovens to fill in the design gap around the reinforcement 20. The thickness of the adhesive is optimized to avoid bridging large gaps between the reinforcement 20 and an adjacent panel because expanding the adhesive to fill large gaps may result in an unwanted reduction in strength.
An adhesive 38, shown by stippling in
Referring to
It should be understood that the composite reinforcement 20 may be used in any location in a vehicle body where additional strength or impact absorption is required and where a pocket may be formed between two adjacent body panels to receive the reinforcement. The reinforcement 20 may also be used in other areas of the vehicle body, such as a B-pillar, C-pillar, cowl structure, a running board, or the like.
Referring to
Referring to
The composite reinforcement 20 is formed by the cells 28 and is generally open. The mass of the reinforcement is minimized by the cell structure that is formed of a resilient nylon or other material that provides substantial impact absorption capabilities. The openings in the reinforcement 20 reduce the mass of the reinforcement 20 and limit the extent that the reinforcement functions as a heat sink in the paint bake ovens.
Referring to
The area including the upper portion of the hinge pillar and the lower extension portion 58 of the A-pillar/roof rail assembly is a natural inflection point where loads are applied to the roof structure. With aluminum structures, the reduced thickness and strength of the aluminum sheet metal parts require additional reinforcement to comply with load test requirements. By extending the lower extension portion 58 into the hinge pillar, a stronger joint is provided within the hinge pillar structure 14 that better resists and provides a more continuous load transfer from the roof structure.
The hydro-formed roof rail tube 17 extends vertically downwardly into the hinge pillar structure to produce a more continuous and efficient load transfer in roof tests. The lower extension portion 58 extends down from the curved intermediate portion 56 to transition to the lower extension portion 58 received in the hinge pillar. The efficiency of the joint is optimized by assembling the A-pillar roof rail into the strong hinge pillar structure that is further reinforced by the reinforcement 20 and the reinforcement panels attached to the hinge pillar and the A-pillar.
The embodiments described above are specific examples that do not describe all possible forms of the discourse. 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.
