Vehicle awning reinforcing frame and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle awning reinforcing frame which at least comprises a front cross beam, a rear cross beam, a left side beam and a right side beam, wherein the left side beam and the right side beam are connected between the front cross beam and the rear cross beam. Wherein the front cross beam is thicker than the rear cross beam; the thickness of the head ends, close to the front beam, of the left beam and the right beam is larger than the thickness of the tail ends, close to the rear beam, of the left beam and the right beam, the thickness of the front beam is larger than or equal to the thickness of the head ends of the left beam and the right beam, and the thickness of the rear beam is smaller than or equal to the thickness of the head ends and the tail ends of the left beam and the right beam. The invention further discloses a manufacturing method of the vehicle awning reinforcing frame. The manufacturing method comprises the steps that the front cross beam, the rear cross beam, the left side beam and the right side beam are manufactured respectively; the cross beam, the rear cross beam, the left side beam and the right side beam are connected together through tailored blank laser welding to form an integrated plate; and the integrated plate is subjected to hot stamping, so that the vehicle awning reinforcing frame is manufactured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automobile component and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular to a vehicle reinforcement frame and a manufacturing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Skylight glass, also known as a fixed panoramic sunroof, is a large area of ​​safety glass installed on the vehicle's roof. Skylight glass eliminates the central roof crossbar of traditional sunroofs. Because it doesn't require a sunroof's opening function, skylight glass overcomes the size and field of view limitations of traditional sunroofs, providing passengers with a more spacious interior space.

[0003] Traditional automotive sunroof reinforcement frames can be categorized into three material types: plastic, partially plastic, and solid metal. They can also be categorized into three structural types: welded from four stamped parts (front and rear crossmembers and left and right side members), a single-piece stamped structure, and a one-piece laser-welded structure. However, sunroof reinforcement frames for skylight glass are currently primarily cold-stamped, using materials with low strength levels and resulting in relatively simple structures.

[0004] In order to meet the requirements of the side column impact performance and the roof compressive strength performance of the automobile, laser welding or hot stamping can be used to process automobile parts in the existing technology.

[0005] For example, the Chinese patent document with publication number CN111468887A and publication date July 31, 2020, entitled "Method for preparing a four-piece laser-welded automobile sunroof reinforcement frame and its reinforcement frame", discloses a method for preparing a four-piece laser-welded automobile sunroof reinforcement frame and laser-welded sheet materials, which are laser-welded by front crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam, taking into account the seam design and sequential welding or one-time welding processing technology.

[0006] For example, the Chinese patent document with publication number CN113210864A and publication date August 6, 2021, entitled "A laser-welded blank and manufacturing method for an automobile sunroof reinforcement frame", discloses a laser-welded blank and manufacturing method for an automobile sunroof reinforcement frame. It is also laser-welded by the front crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam. It clarifies that a piece of blank is used for one-time precision cutting when making the front crossbeam and the rear crossbeam to reduce processing costs.

[0007] However, the existing automobile sunroof reinforcement frame cannot meet the requirements of lightweight and structural strength at the same time. Summary of the Invention

[0008] One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame, which adopts a structural design with a thick front and a thin rear as a whole. The left and right side beams adopt a variable thickness structure with continuously changing wall thickness under the premise of structural integrity. While meeting the requirements of vehicle side column collision and roof strong pressure, the optimal performance and lightweight design of the vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame are achieved, and the material utilization rate can be greatly improved and the material cost can be reduced.

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a vehicle skylight reinforcement frame, which at least includes a front crossbeam, a rear crossbeam, and a left beam and a right beam connected between the front crossbeam and the rear crossbeam; wherein the thickness of the front crossbeam is greater than the thickness of the rear crossbeam; the thickness of the left beam and the right beam near the head end of the front crossbeam is greater than the thickness of the tail end near the rear crossbeam, the thickness of the front crossbeam is greater than or equal to the thickness of the head end of the left beam and the right beam, and the thickness of the rear crossbeam is less than or equal to the thickness of the head and tail ends of the left beam and the right beam.

[0010] In the present invention, to meet the vehicle's side column impact and roof pressure requirements while achieving optimal lightweight design, the vehicle's sunroof reinforcement frame is designed as a thicker front and thinner rear structure. That is, the sunroof reinforcement frame is thicker at the front than at the rear, resulting in a thicker front crossbeam than a thicker rear crossbeam. Furthermore, the thickness of the left and right beams near the front crossbeam is controlled to be thicker than their rear ends near the rear crossbeam. The thickness of the front crossbeam is greater than or equal to the thickness of the left and right beams at their front ends, while the thickness of the rear crossbeam is less than or equal to the thickness of the left and right beams at their front and rear ends.

[0011] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame described in the present invention, the left beam and the right beam are symmetrically arranged, and the left beam and the right beam respectively include, from their head end to their tail end: at least two equal-thickness sections and at least one transition section connected to the at least two equal-thickness sections, and the transition section has a variable thickness along its length direction.

[0012] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention, the thickness variation gradient of the transition section is 1:100 to 1:200.

[0013] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame described in the present invention, the front crossbeam, the rear crossbeam, and the left and right crossbeams connected between the front crossbeam and the rear crossbeam are connected by laser welding.

[0014] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention, the thickness of the left beam and the right beam is 0.8 to 3.0 mm.

[0015] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame described in the present invention, the front crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam are all made of coated steel plates, and the coated steel plates include a substrate and an aluminum coating or aluminum alloy coating coated on the substrate.

[0016] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention, the chemical composition weight percentage of the substrate is:

[0017] C: 0.08~0.5%, Si: 0.01~1.0%, Mn: 1.0~2.0%, P≤0.3%, S≤0.1%, Al≤0.3%, Ti≤0.5%, B≤0.1%, Cr≤3.0%, and the balance is Fe and other inevitable impurities.

[0018] Furthermore, in the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention, when the coating is an aluminum alloy coating, the mass percentage of the chemical elements of the aluminum alloy coating is:

[0019] Si: 5-11%, Fe: 0-4%; the balance is Al and other inevitable impurities.

[0020] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame, which uses four pieces of sheet metal to be laser welded into one sheet metal and the entire part to be processed and manufactured using a hot stamping process, thereby achieving the optimal performance and lightweight design of the vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame, and can greatly improve material utilization and reduce material costs.

[0021] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a vehicle skylight reinforcement frame, which comprises the steps of:

[0022] Four sheets of plate materials are respectively prepared: a front crossbeam, a rear crossbeam, a left beam and a right beam;

[0023] Laser welding is used to connect the four plates of crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam together to form an integrated plate;

[0024] The integrated sheet material is hot stamped to produce a vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame.

[0025] Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention, during the laser welding, the welding gap is set to 0.25 to 0.35 mm.

[0026] In some embodiments of the present invention, the front crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left crossbeam and right crossbeam of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame can be welded in two steps using linear laser welding equipment.

[0027] In some embodiments, when the substrate used in the present invention is hot stamping steel with an aluminum or aluminum alloy coating, during laser welding, the coating melts into the molten pool due to the welding heat, forming brittle and hard intermetallic compounds (Fe3Al, Fe2Al5, FeAl3) with iron. Furthermore, during post-weld heat treatment, these intermetallic compounds further grow, significantly reducing the strength and ductility of the weld joint, failing to achieve the expected performance.

[0028] Based on this, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention solves the above problem by controlling the weld butt gap to be maintained between 0.25 and 0.35 mm.

[0029] In some more specific embodiments, two servo motors can be added to the traditional linear laser welding equipment, so that the steel plates to be welded on the two positioning electromagnets are first tightened by the positioning electromagnets according to the traditional method, and then the servo motor drives the positioning electromagnets to open a certain gap, so that the weld butt gap is maintained between 0.25 and 0.35 mm.

[0030] In addition, welding wire can be added during laser wire welding to further increase the strength of the weld joint before and after heat treatment to be greater than the strength of the base material and ensure that the elongation of the weld joint is greater than 4%.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame and the manufacturing method thereof of the present invention have the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0032] The manufacturing method of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame described in the present invention can improve material utilization, reduce material costs, avoid excess material thickness in non-critical parts, and give full play to the effect of material thickness.

[0033] The vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame described in this invention is manufactured using a four-piece laser welding process and integrated hot stamping. The overall structure features a thicker front and thinner rear. The left and right side beams utilize a variable thickness structure with continuously varying wall thicknesses, ensuring structural integrity. This achieves optimal performance and lightweight design while meeting the requirements of side column impact and roof pressure.

[0034] The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame manufactured by the present invention has the characteristics of high strength, complex shape, good formability, high dimensional accuracy and small rebound, and can well improve the safety collision performance of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 The structure diagram of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention is schematically shown in one embodiment.

[0036] Figure 2The cross-sectional view of the variable thickness transition section of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention is schematically shown.

[0037] Figure 3 The figure schematically shows the integrated plate structure diagram of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention.

[0038] Figure 4 The figure schematically shows the process flow of plate welding of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention will be further explained and illustrated below in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, such explanation and illustration do not constitute an undue limitation to the technical solution of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 1 The structure diagram of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention is schematically shown in one embodiment.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention includes a front crossbeam 1 , a rear crossbeam 2 , a left beam 3 and a right beam 4 .

[0042] Among them, the thickness of the front cross beam 1 is greater than the thickness of the rear cross beam 2; the thickness of the left beam 3 and the right beam 4 near the head end of the front cross beam 1 is greater than the thickness of the tail end near the rear cross beam 2, the thickness of the front cross beam 1 is greater than or equal to the thickness of the head end of the left beam 3 and the right beam 4, and the thickness of the rear cross beam 2 is less than or equal to the thickness of the head and tail ends of the left beam 3 and the right beam 4.

[0043] That is to say, the overall thickness of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of the present invention is designed to be variable in thickness, and the thickness gradually decreases from the front to the back.

[0044] In the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame described in the present invention, the left beam and the right beam are symmetrically arranged, and the left beam and the right beam respectively include, from their head end to their tail end: at least two equal-thickness sections and at least one transition section connected to the at least two equal-thickness sections, and the transition section has a variable thickness along its length direction.

[0045] In some more specific embodiments, the overall thickness of the left beam and the right beam can be controlled to be between 0.8 and 3.0 mm.

[0046] Figure 1 A more specific embodiment is shown as an example. Figure 1As shown, the left beam includes a first constant thickness section 31, a first transition section 32, a second constant thickness section 33, a second transition section 34, and a third constant thickness section 35. Similarly, the right beam also symmetrically includes a first constant thickness section 41, a first transition section 42, a second constant thickness section 43, a second transition section 44, and a third constant thickness section 45.

[0047] Figure 2 The cross-sectional diagram of the variable thickness transition section of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to the present invention is schematically shown.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, the first transition section 42 is located between the first equal thickness section 41 and the second equal thickness section 43. The thickness of the first equal thickness section 41 is greater than the thickness of the second equal thickness section 43. The first transition section 42 has a varying thickness along its length, thereby connecting with the first equal thickness section 41 and the second equal thickness section 43.

[0049] In a specific example, the left beam and the right beam can be made by the following method:

[0050] First, a coil material having a thickness of 1.1 times or more than the first equal thickness section 31 (41) is selected, and the thickness of the coil material is obtained by rolling from the first equal thickness section 31 (41) through the first transition section 32 (42) to the second equal thickness section 33 (43), and then from the second equal thickness section 33 (43) through the second transition section 34 (44) to the third equal thickness section 35 (45). After the third equal thickness section 35 (45) is rolled, the next first equal thickness section 31 (41) can be rolled immediately, and then rolled to the third equal thickness section 35 (45) in sequence, and finally a roll of variable thickness coil material that meets the design requirements is obtained; then, the variable thickness coil material is sheared on a continuous shearing line to obtain a series of variable thickness plates with varying thicknesses.

[0051] In some more specific embodiments, the thickness variation gradient of the first transition section 32 (42) and the second transition section 34 (44) can be controlled between 1:100 and 1:200. That is, if the thickness variation is 0.1 mm, the length variation of the first transition section 32 (42), the second constant thickness section 33 (43), the second transition section 34 (44) and the third constant thickness section 35 (45) is between 10 and 20 mm.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a vehicle skylight reinforcement frame is also provided, comprising the steps of:

[0053] Step 100: According to the thickness distribution of the skylight reinforcement frame, the hot stamping simulation determines the size of the blank, and the following are made according to the position of the weld: Figure 3The four sheets shown are: front crossbeam B1, rear crossbeam sheet B2, left beam sheet B3, and right beam sheet B4. The front and rear crossbeam sheets B1 and B2 are blanked using dies or lasers; the left and right beam sheets B3 and B4 are rectangular sheets cut using dies to ensure the accuracy and quality of the weld edges. They are straight and clean, free of oil or water stains.

[0054] Step 200: Using a linear laser welding device with two servo motors, a one-piece sheet is obtained by a two-step sequential welding method. The one-piece sheet structure is as follows: Figure 3 shown.

[0055] Preferably, in order to ensure the welding quality of the aluminum-silicon coating or the aluminum coating, the butt gap of each weld is controlled to be maintained between 0.25 and 0.35 mm.

[0056] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the sheet metal welding process is shown schematically.

[0057] like Figure 4 As shown, the welding process can be as follows: First, the front crossbeam B1, the left beam sheet B3, and the right beam sheet B4 are laser welded into a "U" shape, creating welds 1 and 2. A fine shearing device is then used to trim the right ends of the left and right beam sheets B3 and B4 to ensure the required straightness for laser welding. Then, the sheet is laser welded with the rear crossbeam sheet B2 to create welds 3 and 4, resulting in a single-piece sheet.

[0058] Step 300: After laser welding is completed, the integrated sheet material is hot stamped to produce a vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame.

[0059] Examples 1-5

[0060] The vehicle skylight reinforcement frames of Examples 1-5 of the present invention are all manufactured by the following steps:

[0061] (1) A front crossbeam, a rear crossbeam, a left crossbeam, and a right crossbeam are respectively manufactured; wherein the front crossbeam, the rear crossbeam, the left crossbeam, and the right crossbeam are all made of hot-formed steel coated with aluminum silicon, the composition of the substrate is shown in Table 1, and the composition of the coating is shown in Table 2;

[0062] The thickness of the left beam and the right beam is 0.8 to 3.0 mm, and the thickness change gradient of the transition section is controlled between 1:100 and 1:200.

[0063] (2) Use laser welding to connect the front crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam together to form an integrated sheet material, and control the welding gap to be 0.25 to 0.35 mm;

[0064] (3) The integrated sheet material is hot stamped to produce a vehicle skylight reinforcement frame.

[0065] Table 1 lists the mass percentages of the chemical elements in the hot-formed steel of the vehicle sunroof reinforcement frames of Examples 1-5 of the present invention.

[0066] Table 1. (wt%, the balance is Fe and unavoidable impurities)

[0067] serial number C Si Mn P S Al Ti B Cr Example 1 0.08 1.00 1.60 0.025 0.006 0.03 0.070 0.0050 0.32 Example 2 0.25 0.23 1.20 0.015 0.005 0.05 0.030 0.0040 0.27 Example 3 0.34 0.01 1.00 0.014 0.004 0.04 0.030 0.0031 0.20 Example 4 0.39 0.36 1.90 0.018 0.007 0.05 0.050 0.0040 0.27 Example 5 0.50 0.48 2.00 0.021 0.010 0.06 0.040 0.0050 0.30

[0068] Table 2 lists the mass percentages of chemical elements in the aluminum alloy coating when the coating of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of Examples 1-5 of the present invention is an aluminum alloy coating.

[0069] Table 2. (wt%, the balance is Al and other inevitable impurities)

[0070] serial number Si Fe Example 1 6.00 0 Example 2 7.50 2.50 Example 3 8.80 3.00 Example 4 9.50 3.30 Example 5 11.0 3.80

[0071] Table 3 lists the specific process parameters of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of Examples 1-5 of the present invention in the above process steps.

[0072] Table 3.

[0073]

[0074] Note: In the above Table 3, “ / ” is used to distinguish the thickness of each equal thickness section.

[0075] In order to verify that the vehicle sunroof reinforcement frames of Examples 1-5 of the present invention have good performance, the vehicle sunroof reinforcement frames of Examples 1-5 were subjected to side column collision tests and roof crush performance tests, and the experimental results are recorded in Table 4.

[0076] Side Pole Impact Test: A side pole impact test evaluation was conducted in accordance with GB / T 37337-2019 Occupant Protection in Side Pole Impacts. Based on the side pole impact test requirements, a side pole impact model of the sunroof reinforcement frame and the vehicle was established. The vehicle's impact speed was 32 km / h, with the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle forming a 75-degree impact angle with the direction of vehicle motion. A dummy was placed in the front driver's seat to measure occupant injury. In a side pole impact, the sunroof reinforcement frame's front crossmember, left beam, and right beam in front of the B-pillar significantly impact side pole impact performance.

[0077] Roof Crush Test: Roof crush performance is evaluated according to the roof crush test method specified in "GB26134-2010 Passenger Car Roof Compression Strength." A roof crush rating of four times the vehicle's weight is considered "Excellent." A roof crush resistance model of the canopy reinforcement frame and vehicle is constructed based on the roof crush test requirements. The test loading device consists of a 1829 x 762 mm rectangular rigid plate. In the longitudinal plane, the plate is angled downward 5 degrees with respect to the Y-axis; in the transverse plane, the plate is angled downward 25 degrees with respect to the X-axis. The distance from the front end of the plate to the front end of the roof A-surface is 254 mm. The rating is based on the ratio (SWR) of the maximum load-bearing capacity (with a downward displacement of no more than 127 mm below the lower surface of the loading device) to the vehicle's curb weight.

[0078] Table 4 lists the side column collision test and roof crush performance test results of the vehicle skylight reinforcement frame of Examples 1-5 of the present invention.

[0079] Table 4.

[0080]

[0081] As can be seen from Table 4 above, the vehicle skylight reinforcement frames of Examples 1-5 of the present invention have undergone side column impact assessments, and the corresponding target head intrusion values ​​are all within 15% of the Y-distance between the left and right B-pillar inner panels and the front door inner panel, all meeting the collision requirements; and the maximum load-bearing capacity is between 75452 and 113829N, and the SWR is between 4.05 and 6.11. All of them can obtain excellent roof compressive strength ratings and have good performance.

[0082] It should be noted that the combination of the various technical features in this case is not limited to the combination described in the claims of this case or the combination described in the specific embodiments. All technical features recorded in this case can be freely combined or combined in any way unless there is a contradiction between them.

[0083] It should also be noted that the embodiments listed above are merely specific embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and similar changes or modifications made therefrom that can be directly derived from or easily conceived by those skilled in the art based on the disclosure of the present invention are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle skylight reinforcement frame, characterized in that: It at least includes a front crossbeam, a rear crossbeam, and a left beam and a right beam connected between the front crossbeam and the rear crossbeam; the thickness of the front crossbeam is greater than the thickness of the rear crossbeam; the thickness of the left beam and the right beam near the head end of the front crossbeam is greater than the thickness of the tail end near the rear crossbeam, the thickness of the front crossbeam is greater than or equal to the thickness of the head end of the left beam and the right beam, and the thickness of the rear crossbeam is less than or equal to the thickness of the head and tail ends of the left beam and the right beam.

2. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 1, wherein: The left beam and the right beam are symmetrically arranged, and the left beam and the right beam respectively include: at least two equal-thickness sections and at least one transition section connected to the at least two equal-thickness sections from their head end to their tail end, and the transition section has a variable thickness along its length direction.

3. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 2, wherein: The thickness variation gradient of the transition section is 1:100 to 1:

200.

4. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 1, wherein: The front crossbeam, the rear crossbeam, and the left and right crossbeams connected between the front crossbeam and the rear crossbeam are connected by laser welding.

5. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the left beam and the right beam is 0.8-3.0 mm.

6. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 1, wherein: The front cross beam, the rear cross beam, the left beam and the right beam are all made of coated steel plates, and the coated steel plates include a substrate and an aluminum coating or an aluminum alloy coating coated on the substrate.

7. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 6, wherein: The chemical composition mass percentage of the substrate is: C: 0.08~0.5%, Si: 0.01~1.0%, Mn: 1.0~2.0%, P≤0.3%, S≤0.1%, Al≤0.3%, Ti≤0.5%, B≤0.1%, Cr≤3.0%, and the balance is Fe and other inevitable impurities.

8. The vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to claim 6, wherein: When the coating is an aluminum alloy coating, the mass percentage of the chemical elements of the aluminum alloy coating is: Si: 5-11%, Fe: 0-4%; the balance is Al and other inevitable impurities.

9. The method for manufacturing a vehicle skylight reinforcement frame according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: Including steps: Four sheets of plate materials are respectively prepared: a front crossbeam, a rear crossbeam, a left beam and a right beam; Laser welding is used to connect the four plates of crossbeam, rear crossbeam, left beam and right beam together to form an integrated plate; The integrated sheet material is hot stamped to produce a vehicle sunroof reinforcement frame.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, wherein: When performing laser welding, the welding gap is set to 0.25 to 0.35 mm.

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