Vehicles with exoskeletons

Abstract

A vehicle is described having an exoskeleton exterior panel that provides crashworthiness. The exterior panel may be formed from a monolithic metal sheet and attached to the exterior of the vehicle frame, and the exterior panel may not include additional support structure. At least one component may be attached directly to the exterior panel, and the exterior panel may support the load of the at least one component. A method of manufacturing the vehicle is also described.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicles, and more particularly, to exoskeleton exterior vehicle panels that are attached to a vehicle frame and provide crashworthiness and may be load-bearing. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional vehicles, such as automobiles, typically have doors formed from a paneling assembly including an outer panel, an inner panel, and a number of stamped stiffeners welded to the inner panel, which are then edged to the outer panel. Anti-intrusion bars, which are typically thick, durable steel or aluminum bars, may be included within a paneling assembly, such as a door assembly, to help protect occupants from side or rear impacts, such as from other vehicles. Anti-intrusion bars are included to provide crash protection because conventional outer panels that make up conventional panel assemblies lack strength.

[0003] However, such additional components that make up a panel assembly add additional cost and time to the overall manufacturing process, and they also increase the assembly requirements for installing and maintaining the components mounted within such panel assemblies. Summary of the Invention

[0004] For purposes of summarizing the disclosure and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the disclosure are described herein. Not all such objects or advantages may be achieved in any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, one skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or implemented to achieve or optimize one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

[0005] All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention disclosed herein. These and other embodiments will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the invention is not limited to any particular preferred embodiment disclosed.

[0006] In one aspect, a vehicle is described having a vehicle frame including an exterior panel formed from a monolithic metal sheet and attached to an exterior portion of the vehicle frame, and at least one component attached directly to the exterior panel, the exterior panel supporting a load of the at least one component, the exterior panel having no additional support structure.

[0007] In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of steel, aluminum, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the at least one component is selected from the group consisting of at least one hinge, at least one handle, at least one bolt, a motor, an interior trim panel, a windshield, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the additional support structure is selected from the group consisting of additional metal panels, support beams, stamped reinforcements, anti-intrusion bars, and combinations thereof.

[0008] In some embodiments, the outer panel provides side impact protection to the vehicle. In some embodiments, an exterior surface of the outer panel is paint-free. In some embodiments, the outer panel is selected from the group consisting of a door panel, a roof panel, a hood panel, a fender panel, a trunk panel, a liftgate panel, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the outer panel is a door panel. In some embodiments, the vehicle further comprises an electric motor.

[0009] In another aspect, a method of manufacturing an automobile is described, the method including the steps of providing a monolithic metal sheet, where the monolithic metal sheet is manufactured including providing an initial monolithic metal sheet, cutting the initial monolithic metal sheet to form a cut monolithic metal sheet, and shaping the cut monolithic metal sheet to form the monolithic metal sheet, attaching at least one component directly to the monolithic metal sheet to form an exterior panel, and attaching the exterior panel to an exterior portion of a vehicle body, where no additional support structure is added to the exterior panel.

[0010] In some embodiments, the initial monolithic metal sheet is a rolled metal sheet. In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet is not heat treated. In some embodiments, the outer panels are not bonded to other metal panels. In some embodiments, the cutting is performed by laser cutting. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of components in a conventional prior art door assembly.

[0012] [Diagram 2] 1 shows a prior art door assembly including a conventional B-pillar assembly.

[0013] [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a pickup truck with an outer panel exoskeleton.

[0014] [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of a pickup truck with an outer panel exoskeleton.

[0015] [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of one embodiment of a door with an exoskeleton outer panel.

[0016] [Figure 6] 1 illustrates one embodiment of a door assembly including an exoskeleton version of the B-pillar.

[0017] Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the following detailed description: Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elements shown in one or more of the figures, and it should be understood that the representations in the figures are for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The present disclosure may be understood by reference to the following detailed description: It should be noted that for clarity of illustration, certain elements in the various drawings may not be drawn to scale and may be represented diagrammatically or conceptually, or may not otherwise precisely correspond to particular physical forms of the embodiments.

[0019] The embodiments relate to vehicles, and in particular to automobiles (e.g., trucks and cars) that include exterior panels that provide crashworthiness. In some embodiments, the exterior panels provide crashworthiness similar to or greater than that which may be provided by anti-intrusion bars in conventional vehicles. In some embodiments, the exterior panels contribute to the primary structural performance of the vehicle. For example, in some embodiments, the exterior door panels provide the majority of the structural performance protecting against side impacts to the door area. In some embodiments, the vehicle includes an electric motor. In one embodiment, the vehicle is a truck, such as a pick-up truck, with an all-electric propulsion system connected to a battery pack.

[0020] In contrast to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 1 shows an exploded view of the complexity of parts used in a conventional door 100. As can be seen, there is an outer door panel 102 that covers an anti-intrusion bar 104, which provides side impact resistance to persons inside the vehicle. On the inner surface of the anti-intrusion bar 104 is a middle panel 106 that supports the load of one or more door components, and an interior trim panel 108 that is used to cover the inner workings of the door 100.

[0021] FIG 2 shows a prior art door assembly 200 including a conventional B-pillar of a vehicle located between or adjacent to a pair of doors. As shown, the outer side of the frame 202 includes two door openings. The outer side of the frame 202 is attached to an inner B-pillar support 204 and mates with a middle B-pillar support 206 using a set of brackets to form a single structural protection unit. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, conventional vehicle outer panels require multiple additional components to provide structural support, carry component loads, and provide crashworthiness.

[0022] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to vehicle architectures in which the exterior panels of the vehicle are also designed to contribute to the structural performance of the vehicle. Such exterior panels of a vehicle may be referred to as an "exoskeleton." Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams of a pickup truck embodiment with an exterior panel exoskeleton configuration. Some embodiments of the present disclosure eliminate the anti-intrusion bar and instead use a durable, one-piece exterior panel (e.g., door panel) to provide impact protection. Thus, the exoskeleton configurations described herein eliminate the inner door structure and protection system and use only a single external exterior panel. In this configuration, door components such as hinges and latches for opening and closing the door as well as windows and motors are attached directly to the exterior panel. This approach may be applied to the side doors, roof, hood, fenders, and trunk (or liftgate) assemblies of the vehicle. The exoskeleton approach may result in a significant reduction in manufacturing footprint and cost.

[0023] One example embodiment of a vehicle exoskeleton structure is a side door system configured to respond to door opening and closing loads. In some embodiments, the door also withstands abuse loads during over-opening, slam closure, torsional loads acting on the door, reaction forces on the seal, and reaction window operating loads, among others. In other embodiments, other exterior-facing portions of the vehicle also use the exoskeleton concept. For example, in a typical conventional vehicle, the welded closed vertical section between the vehicle's side doors acts as a beam to react against side impact forces applied to the body by the impacting vehicle, equally resist vertical loads applied to the roof, and react to seat belt loads on front seat occupants, among other lesser forces. In contrast, this body side structure configuration traditionally has a thin cosmetic outer panel welded to a structural closed section (typically one or more inner stamped sections welded to one or more outer stamped sections). However, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an exoskeleton configuration made from a single structural panel in which external structural reinforcements provide the same loading benefits as more complex conventional structures, but also serve a cosmetic function in the customer-facing areas of the vehicle.

[0024] Thus, a vehicle having a vehicle frame is disclosed, where the vehicle comprises an exterior panel. In some embodiments, the exterior panel is attached to an exterior portion of the vehicle frame. In some embodiments, the exterior panel provides crashworthiness to the vehicle due to its composition and / or structural properties. In some embodiments, the exterior panel provides side impact protection to the vehicle. In some embodiments, the exterior panel is or is formed from a monolithic metal sheet. In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of steel, aluminum, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the corrosion resistance of the monolithic metal sheet allows the vehicle's exterior panel to be utilized without the application of an anti-corrosion coating (e.g., paint). In some embodiments, the exterior surface of the exterior panel is paint-free.

[0025] The exterior panel can provide crashworthiness to the vehicle without the additional support structures required for conventional vehicles. In some embodiments, the exterior panel does not include additional support structures. In some embodiments, the additional support structures are selected from the group consisting of additional metal panels, support beams, stamped reinforcements, anti-intrusion bars, and combinations thereof.

[0026] The outer panel may have sufficient structural support such that additional components may be attached to and supported by the outer panel. In some embodiments, at least one component is attached to the outer panel. In some embodiments, at least one component is attached directly to the outer panel. In some embodiments, the outer panel supports or substantially supports the load of the at least one component. In some embodiments, the at least one component is selected from the group consisting of at least one hinge, at least one handle, at least one bolt, a motor, an interior trim panel, a windshield, and combinations thereof.

[0027] In some embodiments, the vehicle is an automobile. In some embodiments, the automobile is a truck or a car (e.g., a sedan). In some embodiments, the exterior panel is selected from the group consisting of a door panel, a roof panel, a hood panel, a fender panel, a trunk panel, a liftgate panel, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the exterior panel is a door panel.

[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates an exploded view of one embodiment of a door 500 with an exoskeleton outer panel 502. The outer panel 502 is configured to be mounted directly to a vehicle body via hinges (not shown). Adjacent to the outer door panel is an electric window assembly 510 including a window 512 and a motor 514. The electric window assembly 510 is attached directly to the outer panel 502 by an internal latch mechanism (not shown), and an internal trim panel 508 is used to cover the inner workings of the door 500. Because the outer panel 502 is formed from a durable material (e.g., steel, aluminum, or other metal), no internal anti-intrusion bars or other elements are needed to protect occupants from side door impacts found in conventional vehicle door assemblies such as the door shown in FIG. 1, which includes additional components such as the anti-intrusion bar 104 and intermediate panel 106.

[0029] FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a door assembly 600 with an exoskeleton version of the B-pillar. The door assembly 600 includes an exterior portion of a frame 602 that includes two door openings. Furthermore, the exterior portion of the frame 602 only requires a single interior B-pillar support 604 attached to the exterior portion of the frame 602 to form a structural protection unit. The structural strength and impact resistance of the door assembly 600 is due in part to the exterior portion of the frame 602 being designed and constructed from materials such as aluminum or steel that provide a protective barrier from side impacts. Thus, the door assembly 600 does not require a second B-pillar section, such as the middle B-pillar support 206 of FIG. 2, because the exterior portion of the frame 602 already includes sufficient structural support to protect the occupants from side impacts.

[0030] Some advantages of the exoskeleton configuration to the manufacturing process include the elimination of assembly lines required to bond various reinforcements prior to bonding to the body / underbody structure. In some embodiments, this concept can replace one or more framing processes where the body side structure is bonded to the underbody structure. In some embodiments, the exterior panels of the vehicle can be designed to replace both structural inner and outer reinforcements with a single panel.

[0031] Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a vehicle, such as an automobile. In some embodiments, a monolithic metal sheet is provided, at least one component is attached directly to the monolithic metal sheet to form an exterior panel, and the exterior panel is attached to the exterior of the vehicle body. In some embodiments, no additional support structure is added to the exterior panel. In some embodiments, the exterior panel is not bonded to another metal panel.

[0032] The monolithic metal sheet may be manufactured by providing an initial monolithic metal sheet, cutting the initial monolithic metal sheet to form a cut monolithic metal sheet, and shaping the cut monolithic metal sheet to form the monolithic metal sheet. In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet is in the shape of a door panel. In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet is in the shape of an exterior portion of a frame. In some embodiments, the initial monolithic metal sheet is a rolled metal sheet. In some embodiments, the monolithic metal sheet is not heat treated. In some embodiments, the cutting is performed by laser cutting.

[0033] Although specific embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made in the systems and methods described herein without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0034] It is to be understood that any feature, material, property, or group described in connection with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example is applicable to any other aspect, embodiment, or example described in this section or elsewhere in this specification, unless inconsistent therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings), and / or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations in which at least some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive. Protection is not limited to the details of any of the foregoing embodiments. Protection extends to any novel one or any novel combination of features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings), or any novel one or any novel combination of steps of any method or process so disclosed.

[0035] Moreover, certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in a particular combination, one or more features from the claimed combination can, in some cases, be deleted from the combination, and the combination can be claimed as a subcombination or a variation of the subcombination.

[0036] Furthermore, although operations may be depicted in the figures or described herein in a particular order, such operations need not be performed in the particular order depicted or in sequential order, or all of the operations need not be performed, to achieve desirable results. Other operations not depicted or described may be incorporated into the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the described operations. Furthermore, in other implementations, operations may be rearranged or reordered. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in some embodiments, the actual steps performed in the illustrated and / or disclosed processes may differ from those shown in the figures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps described above may be omitted and other steps may be added. Furthermore, the features and attributes of certain embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form further embodiments, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, it should be understood that the separation of various system components in the above implementations does not require such separation in all implementations, and that the described components and systems may generally be incorporated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products. For example, any of the components for the energy storage systems described herein may be provided separately or integrated with one another (e.g., packaged together or attached to one another) to form an energy storage system.

[0037] For purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features are described herein. Not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the present disclosure may be embodied or implemented to achieve one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

[0038] Conditional language such as "can," "could," "might," or "may," unless otherwise specified or understood otherwise within the context in which it is used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or steps, but other embodiments do not. Thus, such conditional language does not generally imply that the features, elements, and / or steps are in any way required by one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining whether those features, elements, and / or steps should be included in or performed in any particular embodiment, with or without user input or prompting.

[0039] Conjunctions such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, and Z," unless otherwise noted, are understood in the context in which they are generally used to convey that an item, term, etc. can be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctions are generally not intended to imply that a particular embodiment requires the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

[0040] As used herein, language of degree, such as "approximately," "about," "generally," and "substantially," describes a value, amount, or characteristic that is close to a stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms "approximately," "about," "generally," and "substantially" can refer to amounts that are less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 1%, less than 0.1%, and less than 0.01% of the stated amount, depending on the desired function or result.

[0041] Headings included herein, if any, are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the apparatus and methods disclosed herein.

[0042] The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosure of preferred embodiments in this section or elsewhere herein, but may be defined by the claims, as presented in this section or elsewhere herein, or as presented in the future. The language of the claims should be interpreted broadly based on the language used in the claims, and not limited to the examples or during the prosecution of the application described herein, and the examples should be interpreted as non-exclusive.

Claims

1. A vehicle, A vehicle frame having an exterior portion; an outer panel formed from a monolithic metal sheet and attached to the exterior portion of the vehicle frame; at least one component attached directly to the outer panel, the outer panel supporting the load of the at least one component, the outer panel having no additional support structure; and Equipped with The vehicle, wherein the further support structure is selected from the group consisting of further metal panels, support beams, stamped reinforcements, anti-intrusion bars, and combinations thereof.

2. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the monolithic metal sheet comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of steel, aluminum, and combinations thereof.

3. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one component is selected from the group consisting of at least one hinge, at least one handle, at least one bolt, a motor, an interior trim panel, a windshield, and combinations thereof.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the outer panel provides side impact protection to the vehicle.

5. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the exterior surface of the exterior panel is paint-free.

6. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the exterior panel is selected from the group consisting of a door panel, a roof panel, a hood panel, a fender panel, a trunk panel, a liftgate panel, and combinations thereof.

7. 7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the exterior panel is the door panel.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising an electric motor.

9. 1. A method of manufacturing a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of: Providing a monolithic metal sheet, comprising: The monolithic metal sheet is Providing an initial monolithic metal sheet; cutting the initial monolithic metal sheet to form a cut monolithic metal sheet; shaping the cut monolithic metal sheet to form the monolithic metal sheet; attaching at least one component directly to the monolithic metal sheet to form an outer panel; attaching the exterior panel to an exterior portion of a vehicle body, the exterior panel having no additional support structure attached thereto; Including, The method of claim 1, wherein the additional support structure is selected from the group consisting of additional metal panels, support beams, stamped reinforcements, anti-intrusion bars, and combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the initial monolithic metal sheet is a rolled metal sheet.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the monolithic metal sheet is not heat treated.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the outer panel is not joined to other metal panels.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cutting is performed by laser cutting.

14. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the exterior panel is directly attached to the exterior portion of the vehicle via a joint.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the coupling comprises a hinge, a latch, or a bolt.

16. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the internal skeleton is a unitary internal structural vehicle frame.

17. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the exterior panel is configured to define a passenger compartment of the vehicle.

18. 8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the door panel is a passenger door panel.

19. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the exterior panel is attached at one end to a pillar of the exterior portion of the vehicle frame such that the exterior panel is configured to rotate about the pillar.

20. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle frame comprises a pillar assembly, the pillar assembly consisting essentially of an interior support structure and a pillar of the exterior portion of the vehicle frame.

21. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of attaching the outer panel includes attaching one end of the outer panel to a pillar of the exterior portion of the vehicle body, the outer panel being configured to rotate about the pillar.

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