This invention relates to a side wall module of a motor vehicle.
European Patent 0 839 704 B1 describes a supporting beam for vehicle body elements intended for mounting on the chassis of a motor vehicle. The supporting beam has a reinforcement on the side of the body element, the outside contour of this reinforcement being suitable for adaptation essentially to the internal shape of the vehicle body element in order to support it.
Furthermore, a vehicle body having a side wall made of plastic is known from DE 30 02 280 C2. The side wall is attached by screws to a beam system situated above the wheel. It is a disadvantage here that the clearance between the side wall and the wheel house is utilized very little or not at all as construction space.
The object of this invention is to create a side wall and/or a side wall module which will make it possible to effectively utilize the construction space between the side wall and the wheel house.
According to this invention, a side wall module of a motor vehicle consists of at least one mounting beam with which the side wall module can be attached to the motor vehicle and a side wall connected thereto. The side wall is self-supporting and the mounting bean is used only for fastening and not for large-area support of the side wall. The side wall module can be preassembled for mounting on the motor vehicle. The side wall intended here is also frequently referred to in general usage as a fender.
Construction parts which have previously been mounted on the vehicle online in the actual vehicle assembly can be attached to the side wall module as part of preassembly on the mounting beam. For example, a wheel house lining may additionally be attached to the mounting beam. Other components such as headlights, flashing lights, windshield wiper fluid container, coolant equalizing containers, etc. can also be attached to the mounting beam in preassembly.
Thus previously unused construction space or space that is difficult to access on the vehicle can be filled with additional components. Since the side wall is self-supporting, the construction space is not wasted, as is the case with the supporting beams known from EP 0 839 704 B1 to support the side wall over its entire contour. At the same time, the extent of assembly in the actual automotive assembly can be reduced. It is now necessary only to attach the completed side wall module to the vehicle and establish all the required media connections. Due to the more effective utilization of the available construction space, there is the possibility of reducing the height of the engine space package and expanding it in the width of the vehicle.
The side wall is preferably connected only to the upper area of the mounting beam in its upper area (the upper area of the side wall) which is adjacent to a front flap (also known as a hood). Therefore the mounting beam can be kept narrow and small accordingly so that it requires only a small amount of construction space. The mounting beam advantageously rests with its lower area at least partially on a part of the vehicle body. This part of the vehicle body may be a chassis beam in the engine space, for example. Thus an accurate positioning of the side wall in relation to the vehicle body and thus to other components connected to the vehicle body is possible. Ideally the mounting beam has an elongated shape extending mainly in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle by analogy with the side wall. The mounting beam preferably extends over large parts of the longitudinal extent of the side wall. This ensures optimum fastening of the self-supporting side wall.
The mounting beam advantageously is made at least in part of plastic, e.g., a fiber-reinforced polyamide or polypropylene. Therefore the mounting beam can be designed relatively freely and has a low weight in comparison with other materials. Furthermore the plastic is very corrosion-resistant. A hybrid design in which the mounting beam is made partially of plastic and partially of metallic materials is also conceivable. The mounting beam may also be designed in one or more parts. Therefore, the rigidity of the mounting beam may be designed to do justice to requirements in different directions because additional ribs and reinforcements can be produced with no problem.
The rigidity and/or the shape of the mounting beam is/are advantageously adjustable so as to achieve a targeted flexibility in the event of a collision with a pedestrian. The mounting beam may therefore have at least one upper chassis beam and one lower chassis beam, for example, interconnected by S-shaped webs. In the event of a pedestrian collision with the side wall, the impact forces are introduced into the upper chassis beam because the side wall is connected to the upper chassis beam. The lower chassis beam rests on a component of the vehicle body. Due to the impact forces, the upper chassis beam is forced down toward the lower chassis beam. In doing so the S-shaped webs undergo plastic deformation until the upper chassis beam rests on the lower chassis beam and/or on the completely collapsed webs on the block. Due to the plastic deformation, the impact energy is at least partially absorbed. The plastic deformation is also influenced to a significant extent by the properties of the material such as the rigidity of the mounting beam.
The side wall is advantageously made of plastic. This allows a greater design freedom in comparison with sheet metal components because it is also possible to produce undercuts, and yield limits are no obstacle in shaping.
The side wall module advantageously also has at least one reinforcing rib. The reinforcing rib increases the rigidity of the side wall module. It may be designed as a separate component or designed in one piece with the mounting beam and/or with the side wall.
In addition to the inventive side wall module, front-end modules including at least a bumper with a liner and optionally with flashing lights, etc. are already known in general. Such a front-end module is described in DE 198 56 350 A1, for example. In an advantageous embodiment of this invention, right and left side wall modules at the front are connected to one another and to a front-end module and together form a preassembly unit.
For attaching such a side wall module or preassembly unit, the front-end structure of the vehicle may also be designed differently than is necessary for a traditional assembly of all individual parts. Ideally, the side wall module and/or the preassembly unit may be attached to a beam which extends from the A pillar to a spring support and then ends in an acute angle in an engine mount. The beam advantageously runs in the area between the spring support and the opening into the engine mount practically above the engine mount without any lateral offset. To accommodate the side wall module or the preassembly unit, no additional supporting beams are necessary such as those that would be arranged above a wheel, for example, and are cantilevered freely toward the front. The side wall module and/or the preassembly unit may be attached to the vehicle exclusively on the beam, on the A pillar and/or on the engine mount.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The side wall module 1 is completely preassembled before being mounted on the actual vehicle. This increases the utilization of the available construction space because the construction space on the side wall module 1 between the side wall 3 and the wheel house lining 4, for example, is still readily accessible, whereas the same construction space is practically inaccessible after assembly on the actual vehicle.
When repairs are necessary, it is possible to dismantle either only the wheel house lining 4 or the wheel house lining 4 and the side wall 3 or the entire side wall module 1.
The rigidity and shape of the mounting beam 2 may be intentionally kept so that the side wall 3 can yield in a defined manner when a pedestrian or a cyclist strikes the side wall 3 with his head. The low rigidity of the mounting beam 2 may be ensured, e.g., by providing recesses, by eliminating ribs or by having lower material thicknesses locally. Furthermore it is also readily possible on the side wall module 1 to adjust the flexibility for a head impact and the flexibility for impact with a person's upper leg in the area of a headlight.
Due to the use of plastic as the material for both the mounting beam 2 and also for the sidewall 3, the weight of the vehicle is reduced in comparison with that of a conventional vehicle with a side wall made of sheet metal. Thus the side wall module 1 contributes to greater driving dynamics and lower fuel consumption.
The side wall module 1 and/or the preassembly unit 7 are fastened to a front-end structure 8 of the vehicle as depicted in
Due to the elimination of supporting beams which are situated above the wheel and are cantilevered freely forward, there is no rigid understructure just beneath the side wall and/or a front flap. Due to the clearance, a passive pedestrian impact protection is also possible in which the side wall 3 and/or the front flap can yield accordingly in the event of impact with a pedestrian or a cyclist.
The front-end structure 8 with the large clearance additionally permits easy differentiation of vehicles. Thus different side wall modules 1 and different front flaps 13 may be mounted on the same front-end structure 8, as shown in
This ease of variability of the visual appearance of a vehicle is advantageous in particular in revising models, for differentiation within a product family and for design changes within the series development process.
The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102 49 115.1 | Oct 2002 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2003/009844, filed Sep. 5, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Priority is claimed based on German Patent Application No. 102 49 115.1, filed Oct. 22, 2002.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP03/09844 | Sep 2003 | US |
Child | 11111865 | Apr 2005 | US |