Vehicle Door Reinforcement for Collision Load Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle-body structures face challenges in reducing weight while maintaining or enhancing collision load absorption performance during side collisions, as they often require additional frame and reinforcement members that increase weight.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle-body structure incorporates a side door design with reinforcement portions that overlap with key frame members, such as the floor cross member and center pillar, to suppress deformation and effectively transmit collision loads, thereby reducing weight and increasing collision load absorption without the need for additional frame members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If frame portion and reinforcement portion are provided to prevent door intrusion, then collision load absorption is improved, but vehicle weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the frame portion and reinforcement portion into a single integrated reinforcement structure. The reinforcement structure includes a first reinforcement extending in the vehicle width direction and a second reinforcement extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, which are integrally formed to work together with the door panel to absorb collision loads without requiring separate frame and reinforcement components.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated reinforcement structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the frame structure and the reinforcement element, providing structural support while also absorbing collision loads. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate components and reduces overall weight.
2Reliability
If additional frame members are added to improve collision performance, then door intrusion is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the frame structure and reinforcement structure into a single integrated component that works together with the door panel. This consolidation reduces the number of separate parts and simplifies the overall door structure while maintaining effective intrusion prevention through the coordinated action of the reinforcement elements.
3Strength
If center pillar is made stronger to prevent intrusion, then collision load absorption is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies reinforcement locally at critical areas rather than uniformly strengthening the entire center pillar. The first reinforcement extends in the vehicle width direction and the second reinforcement extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction, concentrating structural strength where collision loads are most likely to apply pressure, thereby preventing intrusion without adding excessive weight.
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided a vehicle-body frame member forming an opening portion for entrance at a vehicle side part and a front side door provided so as to open and close the opening portion. The vehicle-body frame member comprises a side sill, the front side door comprises a door panel portion provided with an inner lower portion which overlaps with the side sill in a vehicle wide view and reinforcement portions provided at two side-portions of a peripheral part of the door panel portion which are continuous and include the inner lower portion such that the reinforcement portions overlap with the vehicle-body frame member in a vehicle side view.