A flooring member comprising: a structural member having one or more ducts extending along a length of the flooring member, each of the one or more ducts forming a hollow cavity extending along a length of each duct, the one or more ducts being integrally formed with the flooring member.

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.

A structural reinforcement device for insertion into a cavity of a structure and method for making the same including a first reinforcement section that has at least one projection of a first expandable polymeric material secured to it; and a separate second reinforcement section mated with the first reinforcement section, the second reinforcement section being configured to include at least one cavity, into which the at least one projection penetrates upon mating, and at least one aperture defined therein through which the expandable material flows during expansion and where it will remain upon curing of the material, thereby causing the first reinforcement section to be coupled with the second reinforcement section.

A reinforcing, baffling, or sealing device for a vehicle structure, the device comprising a carrier, an expandable material applied to the carrier, and openings formed in the carrier. The expandable material is formed of a heat activated material having foamable characteristics. The openings are formed in a repetitive pattern and perpendicular to a horizontal axis of the device. The device is stretched along the horizontal axis.

The present invention relates to a vehicle with a structure, which comprises connection-means and a reinforcement member.

Energy absorption at the time of load input is improved with high mass efficiency. A hollow member includes: a hollow metal member having a bending induction portion in a portion thereof in a longitudinal direction; and a resin material which is disposed in close contact with the metal member on both sides of the bending induction portion in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed in at least a part of a range of less than ⅚ of a cross-sectional height of the metal member from an end portion of the bending induction portion toward an outside in the longitudinal, in which an amount of the resin material per length in the longitudinal direction is larger on the outside of the bending induction portion than on an inside of the bending induction portion.

A structural reinforcement for a vehicle comprising: a) a carrier having a base wall from which a plurality of projections extend, the plurality of projections including at least one first projection and at least one second projection and the at least one first projection having a height greater than a height of the at least one second projection; b) an activatable material which is heat activatable and affixed to the carrier, configured to secure the carrier in a cavity of the vehicle; wherein in event of an impact, the at least one first projection and second projection are configured to deform toward the base wall and/or in a direction of an impact load in response to the impact load; and the at least one first projection is configured to receive the impact load and deform before the at least one second projection receives the impact load and deforms.

A method of producing a reinforcement element for reinforcing a structural element in a motor vehicle includes the following steps: pultruding a support element having a longitudinal axis that extends, when in use, along a longitudinal axis of the structural element, the support element having a plurality of outer faces that extend in the direction of the longitudinal axis; placing an adhesive on at least one of the outer faces of the support element; and cutting the pultruded support element to size

A vehicle frame structural member assembly method includes an elongated frame member and a reinforcement member. The reinforcement member is complementarily arranged adjacent the elongated frame member.

A structural reinforcement for an article including a carrier that includes: (i) a mass of polymeric material having an outer surface; and (is) at least one consolidated fibrous insert 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 will be a mass of activatable material.