Vehicle Rear Gate Corner Stiffening for Rigidity and Styling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rear gate structures in vehicles face challenges in achieving high rigidity while maintaining design aesthetics, particularly when forming a skeleton structure in both inner and outer panels, leading to potential flexing and bending during operation.
Innovation Solution
A rear gate structure that includes an outer panel, an inner panel, an outer peripheral skeleton part, and stiffening plates with a curved long plate shape, where the stiffening plates overlap and are joined to the outer peripheral skeleton part, enhancing rigidity by providing additional support to the inner panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a skeleton structure is formed in both inner panel and outer panel, then rigidity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases and design flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the skeleton structure from the outer panel, removing it and placing it only in the inner panel. This simplifies manufacturing by eliminating the need to form complex skeleton structures in both panels, while the stiffening plate compensates for the removed support in the outer panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening plate acts as an intermediary element that bridges the inner panel and outer panel. It is joined to both panels and provides additional rigidity support, compensating for the absence of skeleton structure in the outer panel while maintaining overall structural strength.
2Ease of manufacture
If skeleton structure is provided only in inner panel, then manufacturing is simplified, but rigidity and resistance to flexing is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening plate serves as an intermediary reinforcement element that connects the inner panel and outer panel. It provides additional rigidity support without requiring complex skeleton structures in the outer panel, thus maintaining manufacturing simplicity while enhancing overall rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening plate introduces a new dimensional element between the inner and outer panels. By positioning this plate to overlap with the inner panel's skeleton structure and join to both panels, it creates a three-dimensional reinforcement system that enhances rigidity without complicating the two-dimensional panel structures.
3Strength
If outer panel is deformed into hat cross-sectional shape, then rigidity is improved, but design flexibility and aesthetic conformity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the skeleton structure from the outer panel, allowing the outer panel to maintain its original flat or aesthetically designed shape without being deformed into a hat cross-sectional shape. The rigidity function is transferred to the inner panel and stiffening plate assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A rear gate structure of a vehicle includes an outer panel, an inner panel, an outer peripheral skeleton part, and a stiffening plate. The outer panel constitutes an outer surface of the vehicle by the rear gate. The inner panel is provided inside the vehicle with respect to the outer panel. The outer peripheral skeleton part is formed on the inner panel along an outer peripheral edge of the inner panel. The stiffening plate overlaps the outer peripheral skeleton part. The stiffening plate has a curved long plate shape having an outer shape that is provided to overlap an upper corner portion of the outer peripheral skeleton part. A portion surrounded by a frame part includes a curved upper edge junction, a curved lower edge junction curved, and an outer edge connecting surface portion and an inner edge connecting surface portion.