Shock absorption structure of a motor vehicle

Abstract

Title of the invention: Shock absorption structure for a motor vehicle. The present invention relates to a shock absorption structure (1) for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one profiled element (14) including a composite core and a reinforcing plastic structure, the shock absorption structure comprising at least one metallic fastening insert (38) configured for welding the profiled element (14) to a wall (4) of a hollow body (2), the metallic fastening insert (38) being mounted in a receptacle formed by the reinforcing plastic structure. Abstract figure: Figure 1

Description

[0054] The first embodiment will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In this first embodiment, the metal fixing insert 38 is a pin. The metal fixing insert 38 is disposed here at least partially through the profiled member 14. In the illustrated example, it is inserted within one of the cylindrical forms 16, so as to extend at least partially into the opening 26 defined by this cylindrical form.

[0055] As is particularly visible in Figures 2 and 3, the metal fixing insert 38 extends through the boss 36 which closes the first end 18 of the cylindrical shape 16, this boss 36 forming a receptacle for the metal fixing insert 38. It is understood from the above that the metal fixing insert 38 passes through the first longitudinal face 22 of the profiled member 14, where applicable by inserting itself into an opening provided for this purpose in the raised edge 36. The metal fixing insert 38 is thus slid within the opening 26 of the cylindrical shape, along the internal peripheral surface 28 of the latter, until it comes into contact with the boss 36. Such sliding is represented in [Fig. 3] by an arrow. According to one example, the orifice of the boss 36 has a diameter between 1 and 3 cm, while the metal fixing insert 38 has a diameter between 5 and 15 cm.Due to this adjustment of diameters between the boss orifice 36 and the metal fixing insert 38, the sliding of the metal fixing insert 38 within the raised edge 36 is a press fit.

[0056] Alternatively, the metal fixing insert 38 could be fitted by force into the boss 36 without the latter being originally provided with an orifice, the force fitting of the metal fixing insert having the effect of cutting material from the boss 36, possibly pre-cut locally, to create the orifice during insertion.

[0057] It is understood that during the assembly of the metal fixing insert 38, the latter comes to rest against the boss 36; more specifically, a bearing surface 40 of the metal fixing insert 38 abuts against the boss 36. The bearing surface 40 is here a shoulder within the metal fixing insert 38. When the bearing surface 40 is in contact with the boss 36, and in particular thanks to the offset of the boss relative to the closing wall 34, the metal fixing insert 38 is as close as possible to the bottom wall 4 of the hollow body 2 and spot welding is possible. This spot weld is carried out by placing a first electrode outside the The hollow body is held against the bottom wall 4 of the hollow body 2, and a second electrode is inserted into the cylindrical shape 16 until it is positioned against the metal retaining insert. The diameters of both the cylindrical shape 16 and the metal retaining insert 38 are sized to allow the second electrode to pass freely through the cylindrical shape 16 and to facilitate the welding operation. Once the spot weld is completed, the profiled element 14 is clamped between the hollow body 2 and the metal retaining insert 38 and held in position within the hollow body so as to be in a position as close as possible to the theoretical position desired during the impact. More specifically, the reinforcing plastic structure, and in particular the closing wall 34 and the boss 36, are engaged between the bottom wall 4 of the hollow body 2 and the bearing surface 40 of the metal retaining insert 38.

[0058] In the example shown in [Fig. 1], the profiled member 14 has a metal fixing insert 38 in one out of every two cylindrical shapes 16. Thus, along the main elongation direction D of the shock absorption assembly 1, there is an alternation between cylindrical shapes 16 having metal fixing inserts 38 and cylindrical shapes 16 without them, that is to say, along this main elongation direction D, with the exception of the end cylindrical shapes 16, each cylindrical shape 16 equipped with a metal fixing insert 38 is surrounded by two cylindrical shapes 16 without metal fixing inserts 38, and conversely, each cylindrical shape 16 without a metal fixing insert 38 is surrounded by two cylindrical shapes 16 having a metal fixing insert 38.

[0059] It is noteworthy that for reasons of cost and weight, cylindrical shapes which are not associated with a metal fixing insert are devoid of a closing wall to obstruct the opening.

[0060] The second embodiment will now be described in relation to [Fig. 4]. In this second embodiment, the metal fixing insert 38 is a plate disposed outside the opening 26 of the cylindrical shapes 16. As will be explained below, in the second embodiment, the metal fixing insert 38 is intended to secure the profiled member 14 to one of the rebates 10 of the hollow body 2.

[0061] As can be seen in [Fig. 4], the metal fastening insert 38 according to the second embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape or a generally rectangular shape extended by two tabs extending in the same plane as the general rectangular shape. A reinforcement 42, formed by a projection on the periphery of the profiled member, provides a receptacle for the metal fastening insert 38. The reinforcement 42 is thus an intermediate element formed within the plastic structure. reinforcement, which is associated with the external peripheral surface 30 of at least one cylindrical shape 16. The reinforcement 42 extends here, for a given cylindrical shape 16, between the two connecting portions 32 surrounding said cylindrical shape 16, and it presents for this purpose a wall whose shape is complementary to the cylindrical shape 16 in order to span this cylindrical shape 16.

[0062] In the illustrated example, the reinforcement 42 is formed in one piece with the plastic reinforcement structure of the profiled member, this protruding shape being easily obtained during the molding of the plastic material to form the profiled member 14. In order to stiffen the reinforcement 42 and allow it to remain intact during the transfer of forces between the hollow body, the metal fixing insert and the profiled member 14, the reinforcement 42 may have ribs 44 which extend, along the external peripheral surface 30 of the cylindrical shape 16, from a body of the reinforcement 42 to at least one longitudinal face 22, 24 of the profiled member 14.

[0063] The reinforcement 42 has a slot in which the metal fixing insert 38 is inserted, in a direction perpendicular to the main elongation direction D of the shock absorption assembly 1. Once positioned in the reinforcement, the metal fixing insert 38 extends in a plane substantially parallel to the first and second longitudinal faces 22, 24 of the profiled member 14.

[0064] The metal fixing insert 38 is dimensioned so that a portion is housed in the reinforcement 42, press-fitted into the slot, and so that a portion is freed from the reinforcement to have a sufficiently large metal surface to allow fixing by spot welding.

[0065] The metal fixing insert 38 is thus easily accessible for carrying out the spot welding operation. During such an operation, the profiled element 14 is positioned within the receiving housing 12 of the hollow body 2 so that the metal fixing insert 38 is aligned with one of the rebates 10. If there are multiple metal fixing inserts 38, they can be distributed within the shock-absorbing structure 1 so that at least one metal fixing insert 38 is aligned with the rebate 10 bordering the lower cover wall 6 and at least one metal fixing insert 38 is aligned with the rebate 10 bordering the upper cover wall 8. For each metal fixing insert 38, the spot weld is performed by positioning the first electrode aligned with the rebate 10 of the hollow body 2 and the second electrode aligned with said metal fixing insert 38.It is understood that in this context, the positioning of the second electrode is simplified compared to the first embodiment described previously.

[0066] According to an alternative not illustrated in the figures, the metal fixing insert 38 can further extend through the profiled member 14 outside of the cylindrical shapes 16. In this case, the metal fixing insert 38 is a rod which extends, for example, through the second longitudinal face 24 of the profiled member 14. The metal fixing insert 38 is more precisely engaged through the second longitudinal face 24 between two adjoining cylindrical forms 16, i.e. at the level of a connecting portion 32. According to this alternative, the metal fixing insert 38 is offset with respect to a straight line passing through the centers of the two adjoining cylindrical forms 16; thus, the metal fixing insert 38 extends through either the first corrugated portion 17A, or the second corrugated portion 17B, and through the reinforcing plastic structure, but not in the opening defined within the cylindrical forms. Where appropriate, the metal fixing insert 38 has a step shape, or any other suitable shape to permit welding onto one of the rebates 10 of the hollow body 2.

[0067] As described above through several embodiments, the present invention achieves its objective, namely to provide a shock-absorbing structure and assembly that is particularly effective in its function of protecting the vehicle or a specific vehicle component in the event of a collision, whether through the use of materials that absorb forces or through the implementation of positioning means that fix the position of the shock-absorbing structure within the assembly. The present invention thus provides a shock-absorbing structure for a motor vehicle in which the presence of a metallic fixing insert facilitates the attachment of a profiled element dedicated to energy absorption to a structural element of the vehicle, by allowing spot welding between this profiled element and this structural element.

[0068] The present invention is not limited to the means and configurations described and illustrated herein and also extends to any equivalent means and configuration as well as to any technically operative combination of such means.

Claims

Demands

1. Shock absorption structure (1) of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one profiled member (14) comprising a composite core and a reinforcing plastic structure, the shock absorption structure comprising at least one metallic fixing insert (38) configured for welding the profiled member (14) to a wall (4) of a hollow body (2), the metallic fixing insert (38) being mounted in a receptacle formed by the reinforcing plastic structure.

2. Shock absorption structure (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) comprises a bearing surface (40) against the profiled member (14).

3. Shock absorption structure (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) extends at least partially through the profiled member (14).

4. Shock absorption structure (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the profiled member (14) is formed of a row of cylindrical shapes (16).

5. Shock absorption structure (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) extends within at least one of the cylindrical forms (16).

6. Shock absorption structure (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) extends alternately within a cylindrical shape (16) on two.

7. Shock absorption structure (1) according to any one of claims 4 and 5, wherein the receptacle formed by the plastic reinforcement structure of the profiled member (14) is a raised edge (36) disposed across the opening defined in the cylindrical shape (16) in which the metal fixing insert (38) extends.

8. Shock absorption structure (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein an orifice formed in the raised edge (36) has a diameter of between 1 and 3 cm, a metallic fixing insert (38) extending into the orifice of said raised edge (32) having a diameter of between 5 and 15 cm.

9. Shock absorption structure (1) according to claim 3, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) is arranged between two successive cylindrical forms (16).

10. Shock absorption structure (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the metal fixing insert (38) is offset from a straight line passing through the centers of the two cylindrical forms (16).

11. Shock absorption structure (1) according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with claim 4, wherein the receptacle formed by the plastic reinforcement structure is a reinforcement (42) attached to the external peripheral surface (30) of at least one of the cylindrical shapes (16), the reinforcement (42) having a slot in which the metal fixing insert (38) is inserted.

12. Shock absorption assembly comprising at least one shock absorption structure (1) according to any one of the preceding claims and a hollow body (2), the profiled member (14) being disposed at least partially within the hollow body (2).

13. Shock absorption assembly according to the preceding claim, wherein the hollow body (2) comprises a bottom wall (4) opposite which extends a longitudinal face of the profiled member, the profiled member (14) being fixed to the hollow body (2) by welding the metal fixing insert (38) onto this bottom wall (4).

14. Shock absorption assembly according to any one of claims 12 or 13, wherein the hollow body (2) comprises at least one rebate (10), the profiled member (14) being fixed to the hollow body (2) by welding the metal fixing insert (38) onto said rebate (10).

15. Motor vehicle comprising at least one shock absorption assembly according to any one of claims 12 to 14.

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