Collinear Laser Weld Lines for Vehicle Door Panel Blanks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tailor-welded blanks for front and rear vehicle doors lack common characteristics, leading to inefficient material distribution and increased weight due to unnecessary material on the J-plane, and require separate tooling investments and manufacturing lines for each type.
Innovation Solution
A multiple-piece, welded door panel blank with standardized weld line geometry, where components for both front and rear doors are interconnected by laser welding along collinear weld lines, allowing for shared tooling investments and optimized material usage across different vehicle architectures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate tailor-welded blanks are produced for front and rear doors with different geometries, then each door can be optimized for its specific shape, but tooling investment costs increase and manufacturing lines cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a standardized weld configuration that can be used for both front and rear door blanks. The common weld line geometry allows the same tooling and manufacturing processes to serve multiple door types, eliminating the need for separate specialized tooling for each door configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the door blank into multiple pieces that are joined by welding. This segmentation allows flexible arrangement of components to accommodate different door geometries while maintaining standardized weld configurations, enabling the same welding process to be applied universally across different door types.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional welded blanks are used for door panels, then manufacturing is simplified, but material distribution is inefficient and door weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by optimizing material distribution in specific areas of the door blank, particularly reducing unnecessary material on the J-plane while maintaining adequate material where structurally required. This localized optimization reduces overall weight without compromising manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary material from the door blank design, specifically eliminating excess material on the J-plane that does not contribute to structural integrity. This extraction reduces weight while maintaining the simplicity of the welding manufacturing process.
3Device complexity
If standardized weld configurations are used for both front and rear doors, then tooling investment is reduced and manufacturing lines can be reused, but flexibility in optimizing each door's specific geometry is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the door blank into multiple weldable components that can be arranged in standardized configurations. This segmentation allows the same weld technology and processes to be applied universally while accommodating different door geometries through flexible component arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes by varying the arrangement, size, and positioning of blank components while maintaining standardized weld line geometries. This allows adaptation to different door types through parameter variation rather than fundamental design changes, preserving tooling reuse.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes weight, optimizes material usage, reduces piece costs, and enables reuse of manufacturing lines across different vehicle models, significantly lowering production costs by using identical weld configurations for both front and rear doors.
Implementation Method 1
welds produced by a laser, connecting the components along weld lines at the adjacent edges
Data Source
AI summary
A blank for a vehicle door includes components arranged in the form of a blank for a front door or a rear door, each component including an edge that is adjacent to an edge of another one of the components, and welds produced by a laser, connecting the components along weld lines at the adjacent edges, each weld line of the blank for a front door being collinear with a corresponding weld line of the blank for a rear door.