Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Patent
1990-05-09
1991-01-22
Song, Robert R.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
296203, 296204, 29412, 29425, 72369, 52730, B62D 2100
Patent
active
049865978
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure, and more particularly to a load-bearing space frame, and to a method of manufacturing thereof.
A space frame for a motor vehicle, comprising a plurality of elongated metal structural members having axially uniform cross-sections joined together by a plurality of interconnecting metal castings, is known from the prior art, e.g. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,355. Specially designed castings, having a saddle portion with a contour matching a portion of the cross-section of the structural member, ensure a joint of two or several structural members at a given angle. Furthermore, the saddle portion and a tubular portion of the casting are provided with outer peripheral edges lying along the outer surface of the structural members, where a welded bead is deposited along these edges in order to reinforce the joint areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,844 discloses another load-bearing structure for a motor vehicle based on tubular members (girders) joined together by connectors composed of shell elements of thin sheet metal, provided with longitudinal flanges having a plurality of tubular connection stubs. Another construction of the vehicle space frame is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0146716. This frame comprises hollow shapes extruded from light metal and forming elongated structural members, connectors of different shapes or configurations adapted to the shape of the structural members and optionally provided with protruding/recessing parts in order to incorporate other parts of the vehicle body and finally plate (blanket) parts of different materials (light metals, steel, plastic) to complete the frame structure.
All the disclosed space frames are assembled from a large number of individually designed and dimensioned parts and members. The obvious disadvantages of such space frames are the large number of joints, the necessity to provide costly, specially made connectors and secondary use of reinforcing means in order to achieve satisfactory stiffness and strength of the frame. All these factors adversely affect the vehicle weight, the assembly cost of the space frame, as well as the of the frames ability to absorb certain amounts of energy for attaining predictable collision performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automobile space frame which is simple in construction, light in weight, has few joints generally and no joints situated in critical frame areas and at the same time providing improved collision strength of the construction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method based on simple assembling of specially designed load-bearing structural members with no need for specially designed connectors or supplementary reinforcement means. Still another object is to provide a frame assembled from extruded light metal hollow shapes cut and formed to required lengths and configurations from substantially endless stock.
According to the present invention the above and other objects can be accomplished, in a preferred embodiment, by provision of a vehicle space frame, the supportive structure of which comprises load-bearing structural members and secondary complementary shaped structural members where the load-bearing members include an integral multicavity shape being longitudinally split at its ends and reshaped to form several integrated structural parts of the supportive structure.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention the multicavity shape is longitudinally split from both ends into two individual sections, the upper sections being upwardly bent to form parts of the front and rear pillars, and the lower sections being reshaped to a stepped configuration of a side structure of the space frame.
In a further embodiment of the invention the multicavity shape is also provided with a laterally projecting and longitudinally extending protrusion that is partially removed from the shape and bent perp
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Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 11, No. 296, M627, abstract of JP 62-88675, published Apr. 23, 1987, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Norsk Hydro a.s.
Song Robert R.
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