The technical field generally relates to motor compartment rails for vehicles, and more particularly to multi-cell motor compartment rails for vehicles.
The motor compartment of a vehicle is often configured with an energy absorbing device, sometimes referred to as a crush box, located between a bumper and a longitudinally-extending motor compartment rail (commonly called a mid-rail). The crush box is configured to deform in the event of an impact force from a collision to minimize deformation and energy transfer rearward to the motor compartment rail. While functional, crush boxes are expensive, have a large number of parts (increasing vehicle mass) and require additional handling and installation.
In frontal crash events, the mid-rail plays an important role. However, conventional mid-rail designs have not been efficient for use without crush boxes because the mid-rail is often compromised to accommodate packing requirements of the powertrain and chassis components. Typically, the mid-rail cross-section is reduced, which limits load carrying capacity of the mid-rails. Accordingly, ultra-high strength steel is sometimes used to increase mid-rail capacity. Unfortunately, ultra-high strength steel does not provide a robust axial crush mechanism. That is, it is desirable to control the deformation of the mid-rail in an axial (fore-aft) direction so that the motor compartment rail may deform and absorb energy in a collision situation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a motor compartment rail for a vehicle. Also, it is desirable to provide a motor compartment rail that can be used without the added complexity, mass and expense of a crush box. Additionally, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments, a multi-cell motor compartment rail is provided for a vehicle. The system comprises an inner rail member and an outer rail member. Partition members couple to the inner rail member and outer rail member and are configured to form multiple cells within the engine compartment rail system when the inner rail member and outer rail member are coupled together.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments, a method for forming a multi-cell motor compartment rail is provided. The method comprises coupling a first partition member to an inner rail member of an engine compartment rail system and coupling a second partition member to an outer rail member of an engine compartment rail system. Next, the inner rail member and the outer rail member are coupled together to form the multi-cell motor compartment rail.
The subject matter will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the subject matter of the disclosure or its uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.
In this document, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Numerical ordinals such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. simply denote different singles of a plurality and do not imply any order or sequence unless specifically defined by the claim language.
Additionally, the following description refers to elements or features being “connected” or “coupled” together. As used herein, “connected” may refer to one element/feature being directly joined to (or directly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. Likewise, “coupled” may refer to one element/feature being directly or indirectly joined to (or directly or indirectly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. However, it should be understood that, although two elements may be described below, in one embodiment, as being “connected,” in alternative embodiments similar elements may be “coupled,” and vice versa. Thus, although the schematic diagrams shown herein depict example arrangements of elements, additional intervening elements, devices, features, or components may be present in an actual embodiment.
Finally, for the sake of brevity, conventional techniques and components related to vehicle mechanical parts and other functional aspects of the system (and the individual operating components of the system) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the invention. It should also be understood that
Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to like components,
According to exemplary embodiments, the vehicle 10 includes a frame, a motor compartment rail 12 portion of which is shown. The motor compartment rail 12 comprises two materials joined together. A first section 14 is made from ultra high strength (UHS) steel, while a second section 16 is made from high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel. The UHS steel section 14 provides increased mid-rail capacity due to the strength of the material. However, UHS steel does not generally offer a robust axial crush mechanism. Accordingly, the HSLA steel section 16 of the present disclosure provides controlled deformation of the motor compartment rail 12 in an axial (fore-aft) direction, so that the motor compartment rail of the exemplary embodiments may deform and absorb energy in a collision, as will be discussed in more detail below.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Accordingly, a multi-cell motor compartment rail is provided for a vehicle. The multi-cell motor compartment rail of the present disclosure offers sufficient collision mitigation that it can be used without the added mass, expense or assembly time of a conventional crush box.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing summary and detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4272114 | Hirano et al. | Jun 1981 | A |
5370438 | Mori et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
5431445 | Wheatley | Jul 1995 | A |
5868457 | Kitagawa | Feb 1999 | A |
5876078 | Miskech et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
6199937 | Zetouna et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6354654 | Lee | Mar 2002 | B2 |
6474709 | Artner | Nov 2002 | B2 |
6648385 | Frank | Nov 2003 | B2 |
6808039 | Roehringer et al. | Oct 2004 | B2 |
6808215 | Sakuma et al. | Oct 2004 | B2 |
6929297 | Müller et al. | Aug 2005 | B2 |
7044515 | Mooijman et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
7066509 | Kollaritsch et al. | Jun 2006 | B2 |
7185945 | Dandekar et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7270368 | Aonuma et al. | Sep 2007 | B2 |
7357432 | Roll et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7389860 | Abu-Odeh et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
7677617 | Stewart et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
7862105 | Tan et al. | Jan 2011 | B2 |
8083387 | Soellner et al. | Dec 2011 | B2 |
20040084820 | Kato et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
20060237976 | Glasgow et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20080106107 | Tan et al. | May 2008 | A1 |