Reinforced Rocker Panel Beams for Electric Vehicle Lateral Impact Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Motor vehicles with electric traction suffer significant damage and safety risks during lateral pole impacts, particularly due to the sinking of the body structure at the location of the batteries, which can lead to dangerous penetration and damage to the batteries and associated components.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle's body structure is enhanced with longitudinally extending beams featuring internal and external compression reinforcements, a rear profile reinforcement, and a longitudinal reinforcement that extends beyond a projection, designed to absorb impact and prevent sinking, thereby reducing damage and improving passenger safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the rocker panel beams use a lightweight construction with ultra-high-strength steel sheets, then the vehicle structure becomes lighter, but the structure lacks sufficient reinforcement to prevent sinking during lateral pole impacts, especially at the battery location
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nested reinforcement elements within the rocker panel beam structure. Longitudinal reinforcements are positioned inside the beam, with additional transverse reinforcements nested within them, creating a multi-layer protective system that enhances strength without significantly increasing overall structure weight
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines ultra-high-strength steel sheets with additional reinforcement elements (longitudinal and transverse reinforcements) to create a composite structure. This composite approach maintains the lightweight benefit of the base material while adding targeted strength where needed for impact resistance
2Ease of manufacture
If the rocker panel beams use a simple structure, then manufacturing is easier and cost is reduced, but the structure provides insufficient protection to the battery area during lateral impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning specific reinforcement elements at critical locations. Transverse reinforcements are placed within longitudinal reinforcements at the battery location to provide localized protection where it is most needed, rather than uniformly reinforcing the entire beam structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the reinforcement system into distinct functional elements: longitudinal reinforcements for overall beam strength, transverse reinforcements for localized battery area protection, and step reinforcements for structural transitions. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
Disclosed is a motor vehicle with a body structure comprising a floor with a rear portion forming a projection, and two beams (107) extending longitudinally to either side laterally of the floor, at least one of the beams (107) comprising: an inner longitudinal member (115) and an outer longitudinal member assembled together and defining an internal volume; and a longitudinal reinforcement (121) arranged in the internal volume, the longitudinal reinforcement (121) extending rearwards beyond the projection; and the at least one beam (107) further comprising: a compression reinforcement, referred to as an internal reinforcement (123), positioned longitudinally at the projection and arranged in a hollow section of the inner longitudinal member (115) so as to act as a support for the longitudinal reinforcement (121) in the event of a lateral impact against a rear end (107A) of the beam (107).