Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090162138 | LONGITUDINAL MEMBER ASSEMBLY WITH JOINT - A longitudinal member assembly having a primary loading direction, including an interior longitudinal member and an exterior longitudinal member, and a method of assembly, is disclosed. The interior longitudinal member has a boxed-section shape including a first side and an opposed second side parallel to the first side. The exterior longitudinal member has a boxed shape including a first exterior side and an opposed second exterior side parallel to the first exterior side. The interior member is telescopically received in the exterior member creating an overlap area, the first exterior side includes a first side welding hole, and the second exterior side includes a second side welding hole. A first side hole weld extends around the first side welding hole, and a second side hole weld extends around the second side welding hole. The first and second holes are parallel to the primary loading direction. | 06-25-2009 |
20090200786 | Welded Joint and Method for Forming the Joint - A welded joint includes a cross member, a web having an extruded hole that extends through a thickness of the web and conforms to a cross sectional shape of the cross member, a collar surrounding the hole, formed from material extruded from the web in a direction such that the collar extends along the cross member and away from the web, the cross member extending through the hole and into the collar, and a weld for mutually connecting the collar and the cross member. | 08-13-2009 |
20090236877 | Vehicle Frame Assembly And Method Having Flexible Modular Architecture - A method of constructing vehicle frames of varying lengths from a flexible modular architecture is provided. The method comprises: providing substantially identical front and rear modules, and providing middle modules with constant-section longitudinal rails that are formable to a variety of desired lengths. The components are selected by trimming or forming a first middle module to a first longitudinal length and selecting one each of the substantially identical front and rear modules. A first frame, having a first frame length, is then assembled from the formed first middle module and substantially identical front and rear modules. After forming another middle module to a second length; a second frame, having a different frame length, may then be assembled from the second formed middle module and a second pair of substantially identical front and rear modules. An assembly for constructing frames of varying lengths from a flexible modular architecture is also provided. | 09-24-2009 |
20110198890 | CLOSED-SECTION STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR A VEHICLE - A member is characterized by an external form, a length, and a boxed cross-section having a substantially uniform shape along the length of the member. The member includes a single joining portion arranged along the length of the member to maintain each of the external form and the boxed cross-section. The member additionally includes two fastening portions, each of the fastening portions arranged proximate to each end of the length, and each fastening portion configured for attachment to one of two substantially parallel rails spaced apart by a distance. The member is configured such that the length is sufficient to span the distance. Additionally, the member is formed out of high-grade steel by a process that enables the use of high-grade steel without employing a re-strike operation to alleviate material spring-back. | 08-18-2011 |
20140191105 | ENGINE CRADLE WITH DEFLECTOR DEVICE - A cradle for mounting an engine in a vehicle has left and right side members, and a rear cross member and front cross member extending between the left and right side members. The cradle has left and right front body mounts. Left and right deflector devices are mounted respectively on the cradle adjacent the left and right body mounts and forwardly of the vehicle wheels. Each of the left and right deflector devices including an impact receiving member that projects outwardly and rearwardly from the cradle to receive an impact load offset outboard from the body mounts. Each impact receiving member has an upper and lower sheet metal shell providing a top wall welded to a top wall of the cradle and a bottom wall welded to the bottom wall of the cradle, and a front impact receiving wall extending vertically between the top wall and the bottom wall. | 07-10-2014 |
20150108793 | CARBON FIBER CROSS MEMBER FOR AUTOMOTIVE CHASSIS STRUCTURE - A cross member for an automotive chassis structure includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion extends along a longitudinal axis, and includes a generally U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The second portion extends along the longitudinal axis, and includes a generally inverted U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The first portion and the second portion are attached together to define a tubular structure that extends along the longitudinal axis, and defines a hollow interior region. The first portion and the second portion each include and are manufactured from a thermoplastic material reinforced with carbon fiber. | 04-23-2015 |
20150274209 | VEHICLE LOAD TRANSFER APPARATUS - A load transfer apparatus for a vehicle includes a first deflector member that is securable both to a body mount bracket that extends from a frame rail and to the frame rail so that a first portion of the frame rail is between the body mount bracket and the bumper, and a second portion of the frame rail is between the body mount bracket and the first deflector member. The first deflector member at least partially forms a load path from the bumper to the frame rail under a sufficient offset load applied to the bumper. The load transfer apparatus may also include a second deflector member securable to the bumper to extend from the bumper such that the second deflector member is spaced from and free from contact with the body mount bracket and the first deflector member prior to application of the sufficient offset load to the bumper. | 10-01-2015 |