Vehicle body-in-white panel with reinforcing and energy absorbing structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11117620-B2
Application number	US-201916433001-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2019
Priority date	Jun 6, 2019
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus, according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a body-in-white member having an inboard side and an outboard side, a reinforcing structure molded on the inboard side, and an energy absorbing structure molded on the outboard side. A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, providing a body-in-white member having an inboard side and an outboard side, molding a reinforcing structure on the inboard side, and molding an energy absorbing structure on the outboard side.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a body-in-white member having an inboard side and an outboard side;
a reinforcing structure molded on the inboard side; and
an energy absorbing structure molded on the outboard side,
wherein the reinforcing structure includes a first ribbed structure that is configured differently from a second ribbed structure of the energy absorbing structure.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the body-in-white member comprises a sheet metal stamping.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the reinforcing structure comprises material that is overmolded on the inboard side of the sheet metal stamping and includes a plurality of reinforcing members.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the energy absorbing structure comprises material that is overmolded on the outboard side of the sheet metal stamping and includes a plurality of energy absorbing members.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the reinforcing structure comprises material that is overmolded on the inboard side of the sheet metal stamping and includes a plurality of reinforcing members, and wherein the energy absorbing structure comprises material that is overmolded on the outboard side of the sheet metal stamping and includes a plurality of energy absorbing members.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the plurality of reinforcing members and the plurality of energy absorbing members include one or more of straight ribs, honeycombs, cellular ribs, and/or bionic ribs.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the material that is overmolded on the inboard and outboard sides comprises a plastic or composite material.

8. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the body-in-white member comprises a vehicle pillar, and further wherein the sheet metal stamping comprises a monolithic blank.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the pillar has an upper end and a lower end, and wherein the first ribbed structure is located at the upper end but not the lower end and is enclosed between the inboard side of the body-in-white member and an inner pillar member, and wherein the second ribbed structure is located at the lower end but not the upper end and is enclosed between the outboard side of the body-in-white member and a body outer panel.

10. An apparatus comprising:
a vehicle rocker outer panel;
a vehicle body outer panel;
a vehicle pillar body having an inboard side and an outboard side separated from an inner surface of the vehicle body outer panel by a gap,
wherein the vehicle body outer panel is received in abutting contact with a portion of the outboard side of the vehicle pillar body and is further received in abutting contact with a portion of the vehicle rocker outer panel;
a reinforcing structure molded on the inboard side; and
an energy absorbing structure molded on the outboard side to reduce a size of the gap.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the reinforcing structure and the energy absorbing structure are comprised of a plastic and/or composite material.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the pillar body comprises a sheet metal structure, and further wherein the vehicle body outer panel comprises a lower strength material than that of the sheet metal structure.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the reinforcing structure and the energy absorbing structure are comprised of straight ribs, honeycombs, cellular ribs, and/or bionic ribs.

14. A method comprising:
providing a body-in-white member having an inboard side and an outboard side;
molding a reinforcing structure on the inboard side; and
molding an energy absorbing structure on the outboard side,
wherein the reinforcing structure includes a first ribbed structure that is configured differently from a second ribbed structure of the energy absorbing structure.

15. The method according to claim 14 including forming flow holes in the body-in-white member to allow molding material to flow through the body-in-white member to reach both the inboard and outboard sides.

16. The method according to claim 14 including forming the body-in-white member as a sheet metal panel and including overmolding a plastic or composite material on both the inboard and outboard sides in a single shot injection molding process to form the reinforcing and energy absorbing structures, and further wherein the body-in-white member comprises a pillar.

17. The method according to claim 16 wherein the pillar has an upper end and a lower end, and wherein the first ribbed structure is located at the upper end but not the lower end and is configured to face an inner pillar member, and the second ribbed structure is located at the lower end but not the upper end and is configured to absorb impact energy due to an external force applied to a body outer panel that faces the outboard side of the pillar.

18. The method according to claim 16 including forming the reinforcing structure and the energy absorbing structure as straight ribs, honeycombs, cellular ribs, and/or bionic ribs.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the first ribbed structure is asymmetric relative to the second ribbed structure about a vertical axis of the body-in-white member.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the first ribbed structure and the second ribbed structure each include honeycomb ribs and/or cellular ribs.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Telukunta Rohit
• Mueller Todd
• Munjurulimana Dinesh
• Tiwari Anil
• Bekou Jack
• Perucca Steven

Classifications

• B62D65/14

  the sub-units or components being passenger compartment fittings, e.g. seats, linings, trim, instrument panels · CPC title

• B62D25/04 Primary

  Door pillars {; windshield pillars} · CPC title

• B60R19/023

  Details · CPC title

• B29C45/14311

  using means for bonding the coating to the articles (B29C45/14795 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29C2045/14327

  anchoring by forcing the material to pass through a hole in the article · CPC title