Reinforcing plate of a B-pillar

Abstract

Reinforcing plates (1) for a right and left B-pillar of a right and left side of a vehicle body, wherein the reinforcing plates (1) each consist of a hot-formed tailor rolled blank and extend over the entire height of the right and left B-pillars respectively, and at different heights of the right and left B-pillars respectively.The reinforcement plate (1) for the left side of the vehicle body and the reinforcement plate (1) for the right side of the vehicle body have different sheet thicknesses, characterized in that the areas (3-9) of different sheet thicknesses are arranged symmetrically over the height of the right and left B-pillars with respect to the area of ​​the greatest sheet thickness (6), so that the reinforcement plate (1) for the left side of a motor vehicle above the area of ​​the greatest sheet thickness (6) has the same thickness profile (11) as the reinforcement plate (1) for the right side of the motor vehicle below the area of ​​the greatest sheet thickness (6).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to reinforcement sheets for a right and left B-pillar of a right and left side of a vehicle body, each consisting of a hot-formed tailor rolled blank and extending over the entire height of the B-pillar and having different sheet thicknesses at different heights of the B-pillar.

[0002] A B-pillar of a vehicle body usually consists of an outer shell, which is often formed in one piece with a side frame, which simultaneously forms at least part of a door sill, a roof side frame, an A-pillar and possibly a C-pillar, as shown in the Fig. 1 of EP 1 621 453 A2.

[0003] The outer shell should be made of the thinnest possible sheet metal for weight reasons and to improve deformability. However, the B-pillar must be as strong as possible to mount the door hinges and locks, as well as to protect the occupants in the event of a side impact.

[0004] For this purpose, the B-pillar features a reinforcement plate that extends across its entire height. The requirements for this reinforcement plate are not the same in all areas. For example, the reinforcement plate in the lower section, where the B-pillar connects to the door sill, must meet only relatively low strength and rigidity requirements, while the requirements for the reinforcement plate in the upper half are significantly higher to ensure that the B-pillar deforms as little as possible into the passenger compartment in the event of a side impact.

[0005] From EP 1 912 849 B1, a reinforcement plate of a B-pillar of a vehicle body is known, which reinforcement plate consists of a formed tailor rolled blank, wherein the reinforcement plate extends over the entire height of the B-pillar, and wherein the reinforcement plate consists of a hot-formed tailor rolled blank which has different sheet thicknesses at different heights of the B-pillar.

[0006] A tailored blank is a sheet metal blank composed of various material grades or thicknesses. This prefabricated semi-finished product is then formed into the desired component, for example, by deep drawing. Tailored blanks were developed to produce sheet metal blanks that allow for any desired thickness distribution and / or composition of different materials or grades. This makes it possible to adapt various parts of the final component to local loads, which would otherwise require additional reinforcement parts. The advantages include weight savings and reduced manufacturing costs.

[0007] Tailor Rolled Blank (TRB), a special form of tailored blank, involves cold-rolling a sheet metal strip again. The rollers move up and down to create different thicknesses in the sheet metal strip. The advantage is the smooth transition between two thicknesses and the absence of joints in the sheet metal strip.

[0008] A B-pillar reinforcement plate made from such a tailor-rolled blank can therefore have different sheet thicknesses at different heights of the B-pillar. It can therefore be particularly thick in areas with particularly high strength and rigidity requirements, while being correspondingly thin in areas requiring lower strength and rigidity. This allows a single reinforcement plate to meet the different requirements in each individual area. On the other hand, the reinforcement plate is not always as thick as required in the area with the highest requirements.

[0009] However, further strength optimizations are desired to further improve occupant protection. At the same time, the tailor-rolled blank process results in a relatively large amount of waste due to the position of the sheet metal blanks on the sheet metal strip, making production expensive.

[0010] In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide a generic reinforcing sheet which is optimized in terms of its strength and at the same time can be produced particularly economically.

[0011] This object is achieved by the reinforcing plates for a right and left B-pillar of a vehicle body as set out in claim 1, as well as the method for producing corresponding reinforcing plates according to claim 5.

[0012] By arranging the areas of varying sheet thickness symmetrically across the height of the B-pillar, it is possible to combine optimal strength with weight reduction. This also makes it possible to optimize the blank cutting during the production of the reinforcement sheets, reducing waste and thus increasing production efficiency.

[0013] Investigations by the applicant have shown that the degree of material utilization of the sheet metal strip can be increased from 48% to 66% in a specific case.

[0014] It makes sense to place the area with the thickest sheet metal at approximately the level of the belt line, as this is the area of ​​the future B-pillar where there is a high risk of accidents and from which the B-pillar usually tapers off towards the top to improve visibility.

[0015] According to an embodiment not according to the invention, the reinforcing sheets in the lower section where the B-pillar connects to the door sill cannot be part of the symmetrical arrangement of the sheet thicknesses (see below).

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the maximum difference in sheet thickness between the thinnest and thickest areas is 50%. Preferably, the sheet thickness is less than 1.5 mm in the lower section where the B-pillar connects to the door sill. It is also preferred if the sheet thickness is greater than 2 mm in the thickest area. It is particularly preferred if the smallest sheet thickness is 1.35 mm and the thickest sheet thickness is 2.7 mm.

[0017] The invention also encompasses a method for producing two mirror-image body panels for a motor vehicle, in particular two for a B-pillar reinforcement panel according to one of the above embodiments, in which areas of different sheet thickness are produced in a sheet metal strip by rolling (tailor rolled blank process), sheet metal blanks with areas of different sheet thickness are punched out of this sheet metal strip, and finally these sheet metal blanks are hot-formed in a press to form the two mirror-image body panels, wherein two sheet metal blanks for the left and right sides of a vehicle are offset in the sheet metal strip in the rolling direction, next to each other and aligned oppositely, so that the sheet metal blank for the left side of a motor vehicle has the same thickness profile above an area of ​​the greatest sheet thickness,Such as the sheet metal blank for the right side of the vehicle, below the area of ​​the thickest sheet metal thickness. This allows for a significant reduction in the waste of the sheet metal strip when cutting the sheet metal blanks, while simultaneously ensuring a good adaptation of the thickness distribution to the required strengths of the body sheet in certain areas.

[0018] This process works particularly well when two sheet metal blanks with essentially similar but mirror-image outlines are to be punched out of the sheet metal strip. This is particularly the case when a right and a left sheet metal part of a vehicle body are to be produced, since these parts are predominantly symmetrical, i.e. the right and left parts are largely identical when viewed as a mirror image. The offset arrangement of the sheet metal blanks next to one another means that when cut out of the sheet metal strip, the blanks are arranged next to one another in the rolling direction, but the ends of the two sheet metal blanks are offset by a certain amount in the rolling direction. Arranged opposite one another means that the two sheet metal blanks are arranged head and foot opposite one another in the rolling direction. This means that sheet metal blanks for the body panels in particular can be cut out of the sheet metal strip or stamped with little waste.which have an irregular trim, especially if the width of the sheet metal blank varies in the rolling direction.

[0019] The offset in the rolling direction of the two sheet metal blanks is advantageous, so that areas of equal sheet thickness are identical on the mirrored sheet metal blanks. This ensures that the two body panels on the left and right have the same thickness distribution along their length.

[0020] Preferably, the two sheet metal plates for a reinforcement plate of a B-pillar are arranged offset from one another in such a way that the lower sections of the respective sheet metal plate, where the B-pillar adjoins the door sill, and these sections when viewed together as a whole, are arranged symmetrically. Thus, the wide lower region of the B-pillar reinforcement plate can take up almost the entire width of the sheet metal strip, while in the remaining region the two sheet metal plates are arranged side by side on the sheet metal strip. Particularly advantageously, the two sheet metal plates are arranged offset from one another in such a way that the lower section of one sheet metal plate borders the upper section of the other sheet metal plate.

[0021] It is particularly efficient if the two sheet metal plates are arranged rotated by approximately 180 degrees to each other and, if necessary, are also offset from each other in such a way that the lower section of the respective sheet metal plate, in which the B-pillar connects to the door sill, and these are arranged symmetrically when viewed together as both sheet metal plates.

[0022] The sheet metal blanks can then be arranged in a nested fashion, achieving significant material utilization. It is also possible to roll both sheet metal blanks simultaneously.

[0023] Further details, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 a perspective schematic view of a B-pillar reinforcement plate, and Fig. 2 shows a schematic plan view of a sheet metal strip with two sheet metal blanks to be cut out of it.

[0024] Fig. 1 shows a perspective schematic view of an inventive B-pillar reinforcement plate 1 which was produced by rolling a sheet metal strip according to the tailor rolled blank process with different thicknesses, punching out a sheet metal blank from the sheet metal strip 2 and then hot-forming this blank to form the reinforcement plate.

[0025] The reinforcement plate 1 comprises areas 3-9 of different sheet thicknesses, which are arranged symmetrically over the height of the B-pillar or the reinforcement plate 1 to form an area of ​​the thickest sheet thickness 6.

[0026] The reinforcement plate 1 comprises a lower flange 2 - seen in the installed position on the B-pillar - at which the B-pillar connects to the door sill, which is excluded from this symmetrical arrangement of the areas 3-9 to the area 6 of the sheet thickness.

[0027] The area of ​​symmetrical arrangement of the reinforcement sheet 1 comprises a lower area 3, which adjoins the lower flange 2, and an upper flange 9, to which the B-pillar adjoins the roof frame, which have the same sheet thickness.

[0028] Arranged further inwards are two areas 4 and 8 of the same sheet thickness, which decreases slightly compared to the sheet thickness of areas 3, 9, and correspondingly arranged further inwards are two further areas 5 and 7 of the same sheet thickness, which increases greatly compared to the sheet thickness of areas 4, 8 and slightly compared to areas 3, 9, between which area 6 of the thickest sheet thickness is arranged, which corresponds approximately to the belt line.

[0029] Flange 2 for the door sill is particularly thin, with a sheet thickness of just 1.35 mm. The two sections 3 and 9 are thin-rolled and have a sheet thickness of 2.3 mm. Sections 4 and 8 have a sheet thickness of 2.1 mm, and sections 5 and 7 have a sheet thickness of 2.4 mm. The thickest section, section 6, has a sheet thickness of 2.7 mm.

[0030] In Fig. 2 shows a schematic plan view of a sheet metal strip 10 with two sheet metal blanks 1A, 1B to be punched out from it, which is superimposed with a diagram (contour lines) of the thickness profile 11 of the sheet thickness D (in mm) over the length L (in mm), in which the symmetrical arrangement of the sheet thickness areas 3-9 to area 6 is once again clearly visible.

[0031] It can be seen that the arrangement of the later sheet metal blanks 1A, 1B in the sheet metal strip 10 is adjacent to one another and such that the symmetrical arrangement of the areas 3-9 of different sheet thickness to the area of ​​the thickest sheet thickness 6 over the height of the B-pillar is the same for both adjacent sheet metal blanks 1A, 1B.

[0032] The two sheet metal blanks 1A and 1B have the basic shape for the right and left B-pillar reinforcement plates. They are arranged in opposite directions, rotated approximately 180 degrees relative to each other, and simultaneously offset from each other in the rolling direction W of the sheet metal strip 10 such that the lower region 2 of the respective sheet metal blank, where the B-pillar connects to the door sill, is not part of the symmetrical arrangement of the sheet thicknesses. Due to the large-area shaping for a better connection of the B-pillar to the door sill, this region extends almost across the entire width B of the sheet metal strip 10.

[0033] Furthermore, the two sheet metal blanks 1A, 1B are arranged offset from one another in such a way that the lower region 2 of one sheet metal blank 1A adjoins the upper section 9 of the other sheet metal blank 1B, so that these are again arranged symmetrically when viewed together as both sheet metal blanks 1A, 1B, so that the sheet metal strip 10, viewed in the rolling direction W, has a symmetrical thickness distribution with respect to the region of greatest thickness in and against the rolling direction W. List of reference symbols 1A, 1B sheet metal board 1 B-pillar reinforcement plate 2 Flange, thinnest area 3 - 9 areas of different sheet thickness 6 Area of ​​greatest sheet thickness 10 sheet metal strip 11 Thickness gradient L length D Sheet thickness B Width of the sheet metal strip W rolling direction

Claims

[1] Reinforcing plates (1) for a right and left B-pillar of a right and left side of a vehicle body, wherein the reinforcing plates (1) each consist of a hot-formed tailor rolled blank and extend over the entire height of the right or left B-pillar and have different sheet thicknesses at different heights of the right or left B-pillar, wherein the reinforcing plate (1) for the left side of the vehicle body and the reinforcing plate (1) for the right side of the vehicle body have mirror-image outlines, characterized bythat the areas (3-9) of different sheet thickness are arranged symmetrically over the height of the right and left B-pillars relative to the area of the thickest sheet thickness (6), so that the reinforcement plate (1) for the left side of a motor vehicle above the area of the thickest sheet thickness (6) has the same thickness profile (11) as the reinforcement plate (1) for the right side of the motor vehicle below the area of the thickest sheet thickness (6). [2] Reinforcing sheets according to claim 1, characterized by that the area of the greatest sheet thickness (6) is arranged approximately at the level of the belt line of the motor vehicle. [3] Reinforcing sheets according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the sheet thickness is less than 1.5 mm in the lower section (2), where the B-pillar connects to the door sill. [4] Reinforcing sheets according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the sheet thickness is greater than 2 mm in the thickest area (6). [5] Method for producing two mirror-image body panels (1) for a motor vehicle, in particular two mirror-image reinforcing panels for a right and left B-pillar according to one of the preceding claims, in which areas of different sheet thickness are produced in a sheet metal strip by rolling, sheet metal blanks with areas of different sheet thickness are punched out of this sheet metal strip and finally these sheet metal blanks are hot-formed in a press in order to form the two mirror-image body panels (1), characterized bythat two sheet metal blanks (1A, 1B) for the left and right sides of a vehicle are offset in the sheet metal strip in the rolling direction, next to one another and aligned oppositely, so that the sheet metal blank (1A, 1B) for the left side of a motor vehicle has the same thickness profile (11) above an area of the greatest sheet thickness (6) as the sheet metal blank (1B, 1A) for the right side of the motor vehicle below the area of the greatest sheet thickness (6). [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by that the offset in the rolling direction of the two sheet metal blanks (1A, 1B) is such that areas of the same sheet thickness on the mirrored sheet metal blanks (1A, 1B) are identical. [7] Method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized bythat the two sheet metal plates (1A, 1B) for each reinforcement plate of a B-pillar are arranged offset from one another in such a way that the lower sections (2A, 2B) of the respective sheet metal plate, in which the B-pillar adjoins the door sill, and these in the joint view of both sheet metal plates (1A, 1B) are arranged symmetrically. [8] Method according to claim 7, characterized by that the two sheet metal plates (1A, 1B) are arranged offset from one another in such a way that the lower section (2A) of one sheet metal plate (1A) adjoins the upper section (9B) of the other sheet metal plate (1B).

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