Integrated tunable front crash support structure

Details Integrated tunable front crash support structure Integrated tunable front crash support structure

2000-03-17

2001-08-14

Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)

Land vehicles: bodies and tops

Bodies

Structural detail

C296S190050, C296S203010, C296S203020

Reexamination Certificate

active

06273486

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally related to a support structure within a vehicle body. More particularly, the invention relates to a torque box within a vehicle body structure that connects the front or rear frame rails to the side rockers, thus forming the lower frame of the structure to provide a transition that directs forces during energy-absorbing events from the front or rear rails to the rocker. The torque box must have adequate strength to allow the front or rear rails to deform progressively and absorb energy, and must also have adequate stiffness to distribute the loads to the rest of the underbody structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Two important elements of the frame of a vehicle are the front rails and the rockers. The front rails provide support for components such as the engine and are the main energy-absorbing deformable members. Because of the wheels, the front rails are set somewhat close to the centerline of the vehicle. The rockers support the mid-section of the frame and are placed farther from the centerline of the vehicle than the front rails to maximize the interior occupant space. The rockers are also placed lower than the rails from a side-view perspective.
One way of distributing load to the underbody of a vehicle is to use underbody rails. These have the disadvantage of adding height to the vehicle on which they are used, and they require substantial length. A well-known alternative practice is to connect the front and rear rails to the rocker with torque boxes. The torque box rigidly connects the rail and the rocker and provides the mechanism to transfer longitudinal deforming force from the rails to the rocker.
It has been general practice to form a torque box from sheet metal that is stamped and welded or otherwise joined together. But this usual construction of a torque box from sheet metal requires more than one piece, resulting in multiple forming tools and complicating the assembly process. And the need to tune a torque box to withstand the initial peak impact force while still distributing such a force to the rocker may be a cumbersome process. It may also be difficult to vary the thickness to tune the conventional torque box that is made of stamped sheet metal, because stampings are typically of constant gage. In addition, adding ribs or gussets would require additional parts.
It would be desirable to have a support structure that would overcome the above problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disadvantages recited above are overcome by making a torque box of a single-piece large thin-wall casting. This provides the advantage of a relatively low-cost torque box that is stronger and more easily changed in shape than a spot-welded sheet-metal torque box. A cast torque box can be tuned by varying the thickness of the part in various regions or by adding or removing ribs or gussets. It may be desired to change the shape or configuration of the torque box both to tune the part to meet specifications during vehicle development and also to incorporate features such as brackets and other chassis interfaces. When the rails and the rockers are parallel to each other, as they often are, such a casting can be designed using a single-pull die, making it unnecessary to use die inserts or sleeves. The result is a torque box that is both cheaper to make and easier to assemble, making for more cost savings in production.
The invention provides the foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely descriptive, and do not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4673205 (1987-06-01), Drewk
patent: 5125715 (1992-06-01), Kijima
patent: 5806918 (1998-09-01), Kanazawa
patent: 0421277 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 0182177 (1989-07-01), None
patent: 404046875 A (1992-02-01), None

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