Plastic Tailgate Assembly with Integrated Bonding Tracks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The high manufacturing costs of motor vehicle tailgates, primarily due to the sheet metal forming process, and the need for a cost-effective solution that maintains sealing and design freedom while being lighter than traditional tailgates.
Innovation Solution
A tailgate assembly featuring a plastic box with open-profile lateral uprights and additional bonding tracks, allowing for molding in a single operation without moving parts, and incorporating walkways that fill interruptions in the bonding track for enhanced sealing, reducing the need for a single bodywork skin and enabling cost-effective production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sheet metal forming process is used for tailgate box, then sealing and structural strength are ensured, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive sheet metal forming with injection-molded plastic components. The tailgate box and walkways are manufactured as disposable plastic parts through molding, eliminating the need for costly metal forming processes while maintaining functional requirements for sealing and structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from metal to plastic, fundamentally altering the manufacturing approach. This material substitution enables the use of injection molding instead of sheet metal forming, reducing manufacturing costs while achieving the required sealing performance through integrated bonding tracks and seal elements.
2Reliability
If single bodywork skin is used to cover the box, then sealing is ensured, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the bodywork coverage into multiple separate elements instead of using a single continuous skin. The walkways are segmented components that attach to the box at specific locations, creating sealed zones without requiring a complete single-piece bodywork covering. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The walkways serve multiple functions: they provide structural support, create sealed zones through integrated bonding tracks, and eliminate the need for extensive bodywork skin coverage. By making the walkways multi-functional, the patent reduces the complexity and cost of the bodywork skin requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If open-profile uprights are used in the box, then manufacturing cost decreases through single molding operation, but sealing capability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces bonding tracks and seal elements as intermediary components that bridge the gap created by the open-profile uprights. These intermediaries provide the necessary sealing function at the interfaces where the open profile would otherwise compromise tightness, allowing the simple molded structure to achieve reliable sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies sealing features locally at critical interfaces rather than throughout the entire structure. The bonding tracks and seal elements are positioned specifically at the upright interfaces and bodywork contact points, providing sealing only where needed. This localized approach maintains the simplicity of the open-profile molded uprights while ensuring sealing capability at critical locations.
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 results in a cheaper, lighter, and more design-friendly tailgate with improved sealing capabilities, achieved through the use of plastic molding and integrated sealing mechanisms, which reduce manufacturing costs and ensure long-term tightness without additional components.
Implementation Method 1
the seal works in compression between the bezel and the box
Implementation Method 2
The bezel is attached to the box by gluing, the box comprising for this purpose a continuous bonding track
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to an assembly of a tailgate shell (10) made of plastic and of at least one component (32a, 32t), 34a., 34t>) intended to be attached to the shell. The shell is intended to accept a component attached to the shell by adhesive bonding, the said shell for that purpose comprising a bonding track (30, 31a, 31b), and at least a lateral upright (26) comprising a profile of open cross section the opening of which interrupts the bonding track. The passageway comprises a complementary portion of bonding track (30 bis, 31 bis, 31 ter), the passage and the upright being shaped such that the passage can be attached to the upright in such a way as to close the cross section of the profile and in such a way that the complementary portion closes the gap in the bonding track.