Automotive Reinforcement Carrier With Segmented Expandable Beads
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle reinforcement structures face challenges such as requiring complete sealing, leading to uneven coating coverage, high localized pressure from expandable materials causing deformation, and difficulty in designing reinforcements for cavities with changing cross-sections, which results in added weight and reduced rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A reinforcement system featuring a carrier member with a reinforced portion having multiple sections and ribs, where the reinforcement material is applied to match the shape of vehicle cavities, allowing for localized strength and expanded dimensions while maintaining clearance for coating flow, using heat-activated materials that expand and cure to provide structural reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If complete sealing is used about reinforcement peripheries, then structural reinforcement is achieved, but coating material flow is blocked resulting in uneven coating coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The sealant is applied selectively at specific locations such as corners and edges of the cavity rather than complete sealing of the entire periphery. This localized sealing approach provides structural reinforcement at critical stress points while leaving other areas open for proper coating material flow and uniform e-coat coverage.
2Strength
If expandable material is concentrated within plate structures, then structural reinforcement is achieved, but high localized pressure causes read-through effects deforming opposing sheet metal
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable material is divided into multiple discrete beads positioned at different locations within the cavity rather than concentrated in a single plate structure. This segmentation distributes the expansion pressure across multiple points, preventing high localized pressure that would cause read-through effects and deformation of opposing sheet metal.
3Strength
If large amount of expandable material is used, then structural reinforcement is achieved, but undesired weight is added to the part
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using large amounts of expandable material, the invention uses a partial amount distributed as multiple discrete beads. This provides sufficient structural reinforcement through strategic placement at critical locations while avoiding the undesired weight that would result from using excessive material throughout the entire structure.
4Shape
If reinforcement members are designed to correspond to cavities with changing cross-sections, then shape correspondence is achieved, but maintaining desired rigidity at various locations becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier member incorporates varying rib configurations at different locations to provide localized rigidity enhancement. The ribs are strategically positioned and sized to correspond to the changing cavity cross-sections while providing additional structural support where needed, maintaining both shape correspondence and desired rigidity throughout the reinforcement member.
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 system enhances the vehicle's structural integrity by providing localized strength and improved shape correspondence to cavities, allowing for even coating coverage and reduced weight, while maintaining the structural integrity and adaptability to varying cavity dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
Rigid carriers have a thermally expandable material carried thereon, which is expanded during exposure to heat in an automotive coating processing oven
Data Source
AI summary
A reinforcement member and reinforcement system for an article of manufacture (e.g., an automotive vehicle) are disclosed. The reinforcement member includes a carrier member and a reinforcement material and the carrier member includes one or multiple portions. The one portion or at least one of the multiples portions includes a reinforced portion that is divided into multiple sections.