A battery box for an electric vehicle includes an Al casting that extends between and joins to a BIW or chassis rails of the electric vehicle. The Al casting includes a bottom wall, a side wall with a pair of rails that are securely attached to the BIW or chassis rails of the vehicle, and a plurality of cross members. The bottom wall, the side wall, and the plurality of cross members define a structural enclosure with a plurality of battery compartments and at least one crush zone, and the structural enclosure is load bearing member of the electric vehicle.

In an automotive structural member, weight efficiency of impact resistance is improved. An automotive structural member includes: a hollow member having plane portions; and an FRP member joined to at least one section of the plane portions, wherein: the FRP member is joined to a region of at least 0.1L1 to 0.9L1 of a length L1 in a longitudinal direction of the hollow member; the plane portion is formed with an FRP joint portion being a portion to which the FRP member is joined and an FRP non-joint portion being a portion to which the FRP member is not joined, in the region of 0.1L1 to 0.9L1; a total width of the FRP joint portion is 8 to 60% of a full width of the plane portion, in the plane portion; and a flexural rigidity of the FRP member in the FRP joint portion is 30 times or more a flexural rigidity of the plane portion excluding the FRP member in the plane portion.

The present invention relates to a chassis (10) for a vehicle comprising a plurality of sandwich plate elements (100) and a plurality of connection elements (200, 200′, 200a-c) for connecting said plurality of sandwich plate elements (100). Each connection element (200, 200′, 200a-c) comprises two or more recesses (210, 220) configured to receive an edge portion (160) of one of the plurality of sandwich plate elements (100). The plurality of connection elements (200, 200′, 200a-c) comprises at least one connection element (200′, 200a-c) which has at least one external surface (202a-e) provided with a connection configuration (250a-e) for a mortise and tenon type joint. A method (20) for forming a chassis (10) for a vehicle is also provided.

An embodiment floor structure of a vehicle includes a pair of side seals disposed to face each other in a vehicle width direction, and respectively disposed in a vehicle length direction, a floor frame disposed between the pair of side seals and including a pair of longitudinal frames respectively arranged along the pair of side seals and at least one transverse frame mounted between the pair of longitudinal frames in the vehicle width direction, and at least one core structural member disposed in a space provided by the floor frame and including a material for absorbing impact.

Presented are protective covers for weldable fasteners, methods for making/using such cover-protected weldable fasteners, and motor vehicles with such covered fasteners welded to load-bearing structural members. A weldable fastener assembly includes a fastener, such as a weld-on nut or clip retainer, that is fabricated with a shank and a flange. One end of the shank has a fastener hole that receives therethrough a mating fastener, such as a bolt, screw, stud, or clip. The flange is formed, in whole or in part, from a weldable material for welding to a load-bearing panel or other structural support member. The flange may be integrally formed with and project radially outward from the shank. A protective cover is attached to the flange and covers the fastener hole. The protective cover is frangible and formed, in whole or in part, from a material designed to withstand the temperature at which the weldable material melts.

A surveillance robot is adapted with a light-weight body formed with light-weight foam, wheel motors arranged within the light-weight foam and connected to wheels extending out from the body and drivable by the wheel motors, a sensor system at least partially arranged within the light-weight foam for picking up any of image, audio and environmental data, an electronic controller arranged within the light-weight foam, connected to the sensor system and wheel motors, and including a memory and a set of computer instructions that provide for surveillance robot operation, and a transceiver section connected to the electronic controller and including an antenna for transmitting and receiving commands, the image data, the audio data and/or the environmental data to or from the electronic controller. The light-weight foam substantially surrounds, supports and protects the wheel motors, sensor system, electronic controller and transceiver from mechanical shock as the robot traverses obstacles.

A surveillance robot is adapted with a light-weight body formed with light-weight foam, wheel motors arranged within the light-weight foam and connected to wheels extending out from the body and drivable by the wheel motors, a sensor system at least partially arranged within the light-weight foam for picking up any of image, audio and environmental data, an electronic controller arranged within the light-weight foam, connected to the sensor system and wheel motors, and including a memory and a set of computer instructions that provide for surveillance robot operation, and a transceiver section connected to the electronic controller and including an antenna for transmitting and receiving commands, the image data, the audio data and/or the environmental data to or from the electronic controller. The light-weight foam substantially surrounds, supports and protects the wheel motors, sensor system, electronic controller and transceiver from mechanical shock as the robot traverses obstacles.

A siderail member for a subframe assembly of a vehicle, including: an elongate body, wherein the elongate body includes a hollow extruded structure including an inboard wall, an outboard wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and one or more internal walls. Optionally, the bottom wall has a thickness that is greater than a thickness of the top wall. Optionally, the outboard wall has a thickness that is greater than a thickness of the inboard wall. Optionally, the one or more internal walls include a top internal wall and a bottom internal wall forming a plurality of horizontally-disposed cells within an interior of the elongate body. The bottom internal wall has a thickness that is greater than a thickness of the top internal wall. The hollow extruded structure is manufactured from an aluminum material. Optionally, the top wall of the hollow extruded structure defines a flexure recess.

A subframe assembly for a vehicle utilizing straight, parallel extruded longitudinal siderail members. This subframe assembly provides front-end (or rear-end) crash energy absorbance by plastically deforming, crumpling, and bending down to avoid the stackup and occupant cabin intrusion of components, such as the attached engine/motor, engine/motor mounts, steering components, and suspension components. The laterally disposed longitudinal siderail members each provide a straight, substantially uninterrupted lower load path to transfer crash energy from the lower load path crash management system beam and crashboxes or the like to a rear upper load path body in white bracket, and ultimately to the battery frame in the event of a crash, with the siderail members and crashboxes optionally being longitudinally coaxially aligned.

A structural reinforcement for an article including a carrier that includes: (i) a mass of polymeric material having an outer surface; and (ii) at least one consolidated fibrous insert (14) having an outer surface and including at least one elongated fiber arrangement having a plurality of ordered fibers arranged in a predetermined manner. The fibrous insert is envisioned to adjoin the mass of the polymeric material in a predetermined location for carrying a predetermined load that is subjected upon the predetermined location (thereby effectively providing localized reinforcement to that predetermined location). The fibrous insert and the mass of polymeric material are of compatible materials, structures or both, for allowing the fibrous insert to be at least partially joined to the mass of the polymeric material. Disposed upon at least a portion of the carrier may be a mass of activatable material.