Expandable Filler Insert for Vehicle Pillar Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for filling and sealing hollow structures in vehicles, such as vehicle pillars, face challenges including the need for carriers or supports that can lead to inconsistent and costly manufacturing, as well as difficulties in fully sealing cavities with irregular shapes or acute corners due to limitations in foamable material expansion and adhesion.
Innovation Solution
An expandable filler insert made from a self-supporting polymer matrix with latent blowing agents, which includes a fixing element that secures the insert to the cavity without a separate carrier, allowing for complete sealing and filling of cavities by expanding to match the cavity shape and filling corners effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If carriers or supports are used to hold foamable materials in place, then the materials can be secured during activation, but the adhesion between foamable material and carrier is inconsistent and manufacturing becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the carrier and foamable material into a single integrated component. The foamable material is applied directly to the inner surface of the carrier, eliminating the need for separate attachment mechanisms and reducing manufacturing complexity while ensuring consistent adhesion throughout the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure where the carrier is made of heat-resistant rigid synthetic resin and the foamable material is applied as a coating layer. This composite approach ensures strong, consistent adhesion between the two materials while maintaining the structural integrity of the carrier and the expanding capability of the foamable material.
2Ease of manufacture
If foamable material is applied as a thin sheet, then it can be easily manufactured and positioned, but it cannot fully seal or fill cavities with irregular shapes or acute corners
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static thin sheet into a dynamic expanding structure. The foamable material is activated by heat during the electrodeposition or baked finish process, causing it to expand and fill irregular cavities and acute corners that cannot be reached by thin sheets alone, while maintaining ease of initial positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the foamable material by applying heat, transforming it from a thin, flexible state to an expanded, rigid foam structure. This parameter change allows the material to adapt to irregular cavity shapes and achieve complete sealing while starting from an easily manufacturable thin sheet configuration.
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 enables reliable, cost-effective, and complete sealing of hollow structures without the need for carriers, ensuring consistent and durable filling and sealing, even in complex cavity shapes, by using a self-supporting polymer matrix that expands to match the cavity dimensions and includes protrusions for corner filling.
Implementation Method 1
an expandable (also referred to as foamable) material is supported and fixed to predetermined sites in the cavity of a hollow structure until it is foamed and expanded by external heat
Implementation Method 2
external heat of about 120 degrees Celsius to about 210 to 220 degrees Celsius (°C) to the automobile body in the electrodeposition or baked finish process
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A carrier-free expandable filler insert (10) for filling or sealing a hollow space or cavity (2) is provided. The insert comprises a self-supporting continuous structure (11) that may be produced by contour extrusion molding or injection molding a polymer matrix containing a polymer and/or polymer precursor and a latent blowing agent. The expandable filler insert is secured to the interior surface of a vehicle pillar (1), for example, using a fixing element (12) that may be integral with the self-supporting continuous structure, the polymer matrix thereafter being activated and expanded by heating.