Reverse Door Ring Assembly for Vehicle Body Side Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door ring designs for passenger vehicles face challenges in achieving a balance between weight reduction, enhanced roof crush strength, and side impact resilience while maintaining manufacturability and cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
The reverse door ring assembly features a structural metal design with a door ring member having a thickness between inner and outer bodysides, including a sill, bulkhead, A-pillar base, and B-pillar base, along with an elongate member and B-pillar outer member, which provides structural unity and reinforcement, allowing for a lighter weight structure with improved crash performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional door ring designs are used, then structural strength is maintained, but weight increases and manufacturability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The door ring assembly is divided into multiple discrete members including the door ring member, elongate member, and B-pillar outer member. Each member is optimized independently for its specific structural function, allowing weight reduction while maintaining overall strength through strategic placement and configuration of each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structural design combining different metal components with varying properties. The door ring member, elongate member, and B-pillar outer member are constructed from materials optimized for their specific structural roles, creating a composite assembly that achieves superior strength-to-weight ratio compared to traditional homogeneous structures.
2Strength
If traditional door ring designs are used, then structural strength is maintained, but material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each component of the door ring assembly is designed with local quality optimization - the door ring member has specific thickness variations, the elongate member has targeted reinforcement zones, and the B-pillar outer member has strategic coverage areas. This ensures material is placed only where structurally necessary, reducing overall material consumption while maintaining side impact performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The design extracts and separates the reinforcement function into distinct components (elongate member along the A-pillar base, B-pillar outer member covering the B-pillar base) rather than using excessive material throughout the entire door ring. This targeted approach reduces total material quantity while achieving equivalent or superior structural performance.
3Strength
If complex structural designs are used, then crash performance improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the door ring into separate manufacturable components (door ring member, elongate member, B-pillar outer member), each piece can be manufactured using standard processes and then assembled. This approach achieves complex crash performance requirements through modular construction rather than requiring complex monolithic manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple structural functions into a coordinated assembly of simpler components. The elongate member combines reinforcement and structural continuity functions, while the B-pillar outer member integrates coverage and structural support functions, achieving complex crash performance through functional merging of manufacturable parts.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A reverse door ring assembly includes a door ring member of stamped metal with a generally ring shape to define an opening for a front door of a vehicle. The door ring member defines an A-pillar as a first sloping generally -upright portion extending to a roof edge and a B-pillar extending generally upright and transverse to the roof edge. The reverse door ring assembly includes an elongate member having a generally tubular shape extending along an exterior-facing side of the A-pillar of the door ring member on the door ring member. The reverse door ring assembly also includes a B-pillar outer member secured on an exterior-facing side of the B-pillar. The reverse door ring assembly also includes a front reinforcement upper-outer member mounted on an exterior-facing side of the second door ring member at a lower end of the A-pillar, together defining a Y-shaped cradle holding the A-pillar tube.