Vehicular body structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10906594-B2
Application number	US-201916426086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2019
Priority date	May 30, 2019
Publication date	Feb 2, 2021
Grant date	Feb 2, 2021

Abstract

A vehicular body structure includes a polymeric deck panel. The deck panel includes adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween, crossbeam footprints crosswise to the adjacent ridges and valleys, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeam footprints and ending short thereof. The ribs project normally to the deck panel past the ridges, and have elongate cross-sectional shapes, with cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicular body structure, comprising:
a polymeric deck panel, the deck panel including adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween, crossbeam footprints crosswise to the adjacent ridges and valleys, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeam footprints and ending short thereof, the ribs projecting normally to the deck panel past the ridges, and having elongate cross-sectional shapes, with cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.

2. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , wherein the ribs have rectangular cross-sectional shapes.

3. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , wherein the ribs project normally to the deck panel past the ridges to continuously deepen the valleys as continuous extensions of the legs.

4. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , wherein the ribs include at least one of fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

5. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , wherein the ribs include fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

6. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , wherein the adjacent ridges and valleys correspond to adjacent valleys and ridges.

7. The vehicular body structure of claim 1 , further comprising:
hat-shaped crossbeams secured to the deck panel respectively along the crossbeam footprints, each crossbeam including a base, upturned sides extending from the base, and outturned rests respectively extending from the sides, the rests engaged with the ridges.

8. A vehicular body structure, comprising:
a polymeric deck panel, the deck panel including adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween, crossbeam footprints crosswise to the adjacent ridges and valleys, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeam footprints and ending short thereof, the ribs projecting normally to the deck panel past the ridges to continuously deepen the valleys as continuous extensions of the legs.

9. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ridges have angular transitions into the legs shared with adjacent valleys, and the ribs continuously deepen the valleys as angular but continuous extensions of the legs.

10. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ribs have squared cross-sectional shapes.

11. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ribs have rectangular cross-sectional shapes.

12. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ribs have cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.

13. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ribs include at least one of fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

14. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the ribs include fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

15. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , wherein the adjacent ridges and valleys correspond to adjacent valleys and ridges.

16. The vehicular body structure of claim 8 , further comprising:
hat-shaped crossbeams secured to the deck panel respectively along the crossbeam footprints, each crossbeam including a base, upturned sides extending from the base, and outturned rests respectively extending from the sides, the rests engaged with the ridges.

17. A vehicle, comprising:
metallic hat-shaped crossbeams, each crossbeam including a base, upturned sides extending from the base, and outturned rests respectively extending from the sides; and
a unitarily-formed polymeric bed box resting atop the crossbeams on the rests, with the crossbeams secured thereto, the bed box including a deck panel, side panels and a bulkhead panel, the deck panel including adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween crosswise to the crossbeams, with the ridges engaged with the rests, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeams and ending short thereof, the adjacent ridges and valleys having hollowed trapezoidal cross-sectional shapes, with the ridges having angular transitions into the legs shared with adjacent valleys, and the ribs projecting from the transitions normally to the deck panel past the ridges to continuously deepen the valleys as angular but continuous extensions of the legs, and having rectangular cross-sectional shapes, with cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 , wherein the ribs include at least one of fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

19. The vehicle of claim 17 , wherein the ribs include fillets into the ridges and fillets into the legs.

20. The vehicle of claim 17 , wherein the adjacent ridges and valleys correspond to adjacent valleys and ridges.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Jansma Matthew A
• Higgins Christopher M
• Meingast Herbert
• Jiang Wei
• Ashida Naoya
• Yoshimura Yuki

Classifications

• B62D33/0273 Primary

  Movable tailboards for vehicles comprising non-movable sideboards, e.g. pick-up trucks (B62D33/037 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62D25/2027 Primary

  the subunits being rear structures · CPC title

• B62D29/001

  characterised by combining metal and synthetic material · CPC title

• B60Y2200/141

  Light trucks · CPC title

• B62D33/02

  Platforms; Open load compartments {(flat wagons including posts or standards B61D3/08)} · CPC title