Joints and connections – Interfitted members – Enlarged head in complementary recess – e.g. – dovetail – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-09
2004-06-15
Sandy, Robert J. (Department: 3677)
Joints and connections
Interfitted members
Enlarged head in complementary recess, e.g., dovetail, etc.
C403S294000, C403S270000, C403S364000, C280S124134
Reexamination Certificate
active
06749360
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a motor vehicle component as it can be used, e.g., for suspension arms or also subframes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The need to save fossil fuels, which also include fuels for motor vehicles, is necessary not only for environmental reasons but for economic reasons as well in order to take measures in light of the dwindling resources and the accompanying increase in the cost of these energy sources.
One possibility of saving fuel in the automobile industry is, e.g., to design vehicles with reduced weight. Components with the lowest possible own weight are therefore increasingly used. One possible solution is to use alternative materials, such as aluminum or magnesium, for the motor vehicle components instead of the usual steel design variants.
The necessary safety requirements must, of course, be nevertheless met, which actually appears to be conflicting in the case of the use of these materials. One way out is sandwich components with foam cores or latticework designs.
Forging methods, which are comparatively expensive and also have the drawback that, e.g., flat designs with thin wall thicknesses and latticework constructions can be manufactured with an unusually great effort only, are frequently used to manufacture of the motor vehicle components from aluminum or magnesium.
Moreover, suspension arms, which consist of an extruded latticework construction, have been known in the manufacture of motor vehicles. However, these embodiments have the drawback that the cores necessary for manufacturing the hollow bodies must be held by webs. The webs leave behind extrusion seams in the structure of the suspension arm. Such extrusion seams imply the risk of defects in the structure, which can be identified at an unusually great quality testing effort only. For example, a nondestructive material testing (ultrasonic testing) can be used for this purpose, which is, however, time-consuming and therefore expensive in the manufacturing process. If these tests are not performed on each component, the possible defects in the extrusion seams imply safety risks, which are not acceptable for safety-critical components in the manufacture of motor vehicles.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The basic technical object of the present invention is to provide motor vehicle components which can be manufactured at a low effort in terms of material and nevertheless meet the necessary safety requirements.
Thus, a motor vehicle component according to the present invention comprises at least two frame parts, which have a plurality of profiles that are complementary to one another and can be inserted into one another for establishing a positive-locking connection of the frame parts.
The decisive advantage of the solution according to the present invention is consequently that the individual frame parts can be produced separately from one another and optionally according to different manufacturing methods in order to be subsequently united, which can be carried out, e.g., by means of a single plug-type or snap-in connection.
As a consequence of their positive-locking connection, after treatment of the frame parts can be eliminated. Any desired profile design is conceivable. Furthermore, a latticework construction can be implemented, which advantageously accommodates the requirement for lightweight construction.
Thus, in a variant of the idea of the present invention, it is proposed that the frame parts be designed as extruded profiles of lightweight design. The extrusion method is a highly economical manufacturing method with which the motor vehicle components can also be manufactured in large series.
In addition, it is advantageous to design the mutually complementary profiles as guides, which may be flat guides, dovetail guides, prismatic guides or the like. A press fit is available for connecting the profiles detachably to one another, so that a first seating is achieved already when the frame parts are fitted into one another. The press fit comprises, in the known manner, a fitted connection, in which a slightly undersized component accommodates an oversized one.
Other connection methods may, of course, be used as well. These include, e.g., welding, bonding or a partial material deformation in the area of the profiles engaging one another.
Furthermore, securing the connection of the two frame parts against one another in the area of the profiles that can be inserted into one another by means of a clamp is also within the scope of the inventive idea. This clamp is pushed over the corresponding parts after the fitting together of the frame parts and may be secured or fixed itself.
Corresponding to the stated object of manufacturing a motor vehicle component that meets the highest safety requirements, it is proposed according to another embodiment of the present invention that stiffening ribs in the form of a latticework structure be provided between the frame parts. The stiffening ribs may be made directly in one piece with individual frame parts or be subsequently inserted into the frame parts that had already been fitted into one another. Manufacturing the motor vehicle component in the form of a modular system is particularly advantageous in this connection, in which case the stiffening ribs may have wall thicknesses differing depending on the load and consist of, e.g., different materials. The number of stiffening ribs may thus vary for the individual applications of the motor vehicle components according to the present invention.
Moreover, it is advantageous to manufacture the motor vehicle component as a whole or in part from aluminum or magnesium or plastic, and a connection of a plurality of types of material is, of course, within the scope of the idea of the invention. For example, it would be conceivable to manufacture the frame parts from extruded aluminum profiles and to fit stiffening ribs made of plastic between these frame parts.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.
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McGlew and Tuttle , P.C.
Rodriguez Ruth C.
Sandy Robert J.
ZF Lemförder Metallwaren AG
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