An apparatus for a vehicle body including a rocker insert is provided. The apparatus includes a vehicle body including a plurality of metallic structure members and a lower portion operable to provide support to a floor surface within a passenger compartment of a vehicle and a rocker insert mounted to an in-vehicle side portion of the lower portion. The rocker insert includes an elongated bar portion including a hollow center portion including internal reinforcing web features. The rocker insert is oriented with respect to the vehicle body such that a longitudinal axis of the elongated bar portion of the rocker insert is parallel to an in-vehicle forward direction of the vehicle body.

Light-weight beam assembly and truck trailer using the same are disclosed herein. The light-weight beam assembly is a beam being a single unitary continuous piece comprising at least two cutouts cut through, at least one vertically extending supporting member and a plurality of reinforcement members. Two beams may be connected by a plurality of transversal members for use in a truck trailer.

A chassis assembly having mixed material for reduced mass is provided. The assembly comprises an upper structure comprised of metal. The upper structure has a plurality of first bond surfaces, each of which is parallel with each other at varying elevations relative to a z-axis of a 3-dimensional coordinate thereof. The assembly further comprises a lower structure made of a polymer composite. The lower structure has a plurality of second bond surfaces, each of which is parallel with each other at varying elevations relative to the z-axis thereof. The second bond surfaces are arranged to align with the first bond surfaces in complementing relation such that the lower structure is joined with the upper structure at the first and second bond surfaces. The assembly further comprises an adhesive disposed between the first and second bond surfaces to join the lower and upper structures at the first and second bond surfaces, defining a bond gap between the first and second bond surfaces.

A vehicle floor structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a floor pan, an upper surface-side reinforcing member joined to an upper surface of the floor pan, and a lower surface-side reinforcing member joined to a lower surface of the floor pan. The floor pan is formed of a resin-coated steel plate, and a resin layer of the resin-coated steel plate includes a first resin layer formed on the upper surface of the floor pan and a second resin layer formed on a part of the lower surface of the floor pan that is in contact with the lower surface-side reinforcing member.

The invention relates to a load-bearing structure for automobiles and the like, including a chassis (2), a shell (3), a floorpan or other components, at least a part of which (13, 15, 16) is made by using composite honeycomb panels (20).

According to the invention, such panels (20) are provided with an external reinforcing layer (25, 26) made of a high-strength polymeric material such as carbon fiber, aramid fiber, fiberglass or the like.

A vehicle floor structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle floor structure including: a floor pan; an upper surface-side reinforcing member joined to an upper surface of the floor pan; and a lower surface-side reinforcing member joined to a lower surface of the floor pan. The floor pan is formed of a resin-coated steel plate, and a resin layer of the resin-coated steel plate is formed on the upper surface thereof but is not formed on the lower surface thereof. The lower surface-side reinforcing member is formed of a resin-coated steel plate, and a resin layer of the resin-coated steel plate is formed on a surface thereof in contact with the floor pan.

The present disclosure relates to reinforcing a vehicle pillar. The vehicle pillar includes a corner member and a reinforcement member. The reinforcement member is additively manufactured and may utilize functionally graded materials. The reinforcement member may be directly deposited on the corner member or may be manufactured separately and coupled thereafter to the corner member. The reinforcement member includes a first component, and a second component. Additionally, the reinforcement member may include a third component that extend angularly from the first and second component to form a Y-shaped structure. The reinforcement member can include multiple attachment joints that facilitate consolidating and coupling the reinforcement member with various vehicle components.

An embodiment plastic composite material panel includes an outer plate portion bent in a predetermined shape and configured to be bonded to a vehicle body frame through an adhesive, and a material filling portion integrally formed with the outer plate portion, the material filling portion being thicker than the outer plate portion.

A vehicle floor panel is provided in which a honeycomb core made of metal sandwiched and adhered between two CFRP plates is one in which a large number of core units formed into a polygon shape are continuous within one plane so as to share a side of the polygon. Since closed-section parts formed by a hat-shaped cross section part formed along the side and one CFRP plate are continuous with each other at a vertex of the polygon of the adjacent core units, not only is it possible to lighten the weight by opening the interior of the polygon (P) shape core unit, but it is also possible to enhance the energy-absorbing performance by dispersing and transmitting a collision load inputted into one direction of the floor panel toward a plurality of other directions because the high strength load transmission path is continuous with other load transmission paths.

A cowl cross bar assembly with a reduced weight and an increased stiffness and a method of manufacturing a pipe of the cowl cross bar assembly. The cowl cross bar assembly includes a pipe disposed laterally inside a chassis and a winding material which is wound at different winding ratios around a surface of a first section of the pipe which needs stiffness and a surface of a second section of the pipe which needs flexibility. The method includes transferring, by a transfer device, a pipe disposed laterally inside a chassis to a winding device and winding, by the winding device, a winding material around only a surface of a section of the pipe which needs stiffness.