U-Shaped Reinforcement Bracket for Vehicle Door Side Impact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle door designs face challenges in effectively absorbing side impact kinetic energy without significant weight increases, leading to potential intrusion into the passenger compartment during collisions.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a reinforcement element between the inner and outer door panels, supported by the vehicle rocker, which extends from the inner to the outer door panel to absorb and distribute collision energy, thereby enhancing safety and reducing weight penalties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the thickness of materials forming the side impact beam and inner door panel is increased, then the strength of the door against lateral impacts is improved, but the weight of the door increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure combining a side impact beam, inner door panel, and reinforcement element made of different materials and configurations. The reinforcement element is selectively positioned at the height of the rocker to create a composite load-bearing structure that achieves enhanced strength without proportionally increasing overall door weight, as the reinforcement is concentrated where most needed rather than uniformly thickening all components.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement element is strategically placed in a specific location (at the height of the rocker in the lower portion of the door) rather than uniformly distributing material throughout the door structure. This localized reinforcement provides maximum strength where the rocker can most effectively support it during side impacts, avoiding unnecessary weight increases in other areas of the door.
2Area of stationary object
If a side impact beam extends from the front end to the rear end of the door, then the coverage and protection area is improved, but the bending loads in the central portion increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement element acts as an intermediary structural component between the side impact beam and the rocker. It provides additional support at the critical location where the rocker intersects the door structure, helping to distribute and reduce bending loads in the central portion of the side impact beam while maintaining the beam's full longitudinal extent for comprehensive protection.
3Stress or pressure
If support members are added between the side impact beam and inner door panel, then the bending loads are reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement element is integrated into the existing door structure, merging the functions of lateral impact resistance and bending load reduction into a single combined component. Rather than adding separate support members as distinct elements, the reinforcement element is positioned and configured to work synergistically with the side impact beam and rocker, reducing overall structural complexity while achieving multiple protective functions.
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
The solution significantly increases energy absorption during side impacts, reduces door intrusion into the passenger compartment, and distributes collision loads across the vehicle body, while maintaining a relatively low weight increase.
Implementation Method 1
The reinforcement element is thus able to deform and absorb at least part of the kinetic energy involved in the collision thus avoiding or at least substantially reducing the risk of intrusion of the door into the vehicle body
Implementation Method 2
Furthermore, since the vehicle rocker extends longitudinally along the length of the vehicle body, transferring the collision kinetic energy to the rocker further involves distributing of the collision loads to the whole vehicle body
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door for use in a vehicle body comprising a rocker (20) is described. The vehicle door comprises an inner door panel (11) and an outer door panel (13), wherein the door further comprises a reinforcement element (12) arranged in a lower portion of the door such that when the door is mounted in the vehicle body, the reinforcement element (12) is at the height of the rocker (20) and such that when a side impact is received by the door the reinforcement element with the inner door panel is supported by the vehicle rocker. The reinforcement element (12) is a U-shaped bracket that extends from the inner door panel (11) to the outer door panel (13), the U-shaped bracket (12) being arranged with an open side facing the inner panel. The disclosure further relates to a vehicle having a vehicle body that comprises a rocker and such a door.