VEHICLE BODY IN WHITE AND METHOD FOR ITS MANUFACTURING

Abstract

A vehicle BIW sub-assembly comprising two or more structural members each having at least one engaging portion. The engaging portions of at least two of the structural members being connected to each other by a node unit formed of two or more shell members assembled with each other. The node unit having at least two designated sockets, each snugly receiving one engaging portion of one of the structural members, wherein at least one of said designated sockets is an interior socket formed between the two or more shell members.

Claims

1-21. (canceled)

22. A vehicle, comprising: a wall; and a body in white (“BIW”) comprising two or more structural members having two or more respective engaging portions; wherein the two or more respective engaging portions of at least two of the two or more structural members being connected to each other by a node unit formed of two or more shell members assembled with each other, the node unit having at least two designated sockets, each of the at least two designated sockets snugly receiving one of the two or more engaging portions of one of the two or more structural members; wherein at least one of said at least two designated sockets is an interior socket formed between the two or more shell members, wherein one of the two or more shell members constitutes a part of the wall of the vehicle.

23. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein at least the engaging portion received within said interior socket is made of a composite material.

24. The vehicle of claim 23, wherein the two or more shell members are fastened to each other over the engaging portion made of a composite material.

25. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein two or more of the at least two designated sockets of the node unit are interior sockets defined between at least two of the two or more shell members, and the at least two of the two or more shell members are fastened to each other over the respective engaging portions.

26. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the two or more structural members are beams or pillars of the BIW of the vehicle.

27. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the two or more shell members are configured to be pressed at least against the engaging portion of at least one of the two or more structural members so that the corresponding interior socket is rendered a shape conforming to the shape of this engaging portion.

28. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the engaging portion of at least one of the two or more structural members constitutes a middle engaging portion disposed between side portions of the structural member, and the corresponding socket constitutes an embracing socket receiving therein the middle engaging portion so that the side portions of the structural member protrude therefrom.

29. The vehicle of claim 28, wherein the embracing socket is the interior socket.

30. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the two or more designated sockets are interior sockets formed between two or more of the two or more shell members.

31. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the designated sockets have such mutual orientation that, when the engaging portions are received therewithin they have a load bearing interface between them.

32. The vehicle of claim 31, wherein the load bearing interface is a partition at least partially separating between the sockets.

33. The vehicle of claim 22, wherein the two or more shell members are configured to be fastened to one another by an adhesive.

34. A method for manufacturing a vehicle with a wall and a body in white (“BIW”), the method comprising: providing two or more structural members having two or more respective engaging portions; providing a node unit comprising two or more shell members, which when assembled with each other form the node unit having at least two designated sockets each configured to snugly receive a respective engaging portion of the two or more engaging portions, wherein at least one of said at least two designated sockets is an interior socket formed between the two or more shell members, and the two or more shell members are configured to be fastened to each other over at least one of the engaging portions, to fixedly secure at least that engaging portion within the interior socket of the node unit, wherein one of the two or more shell members constitutes a part of the wall of the vehicle; and fastening at least two of the two or more shell members to each other over at least one engaging portion to fixedly secure at least that engaging portion within an interior socket of the node unit.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising snugly inserting a second engaging portion to a second designated socket, and fastening this engaging portion therewithin.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein said fastening of the two or more shell members is performed by an adhesive.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0049] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one example of a BIW of a vehicle, where different node units according to the presently disclosed subject matter are used;

[0050] FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of one shell member of a node unit according to one example of the presently disclosed subject matter, with associated structural members received therein, before another shell member of the node unit has been fixed thereto for use in the BIW shown in FIG. 1;

[0051] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the interior of the shell member shown in FIG. 2;

[0052] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the interior of the other shell member configured to be fixed to the shell member shown in FIG. 2, to form a node unit;

[0053] FIG. 4A is a side perspective view of the node unit, whose shell members are shown in FIGS. 2 to 3B, in an assembled state;

[0054] FIG. 4b is a front perspective view of a node unit according to another example of the presently disclosed subject matter;

[0055] FIG. 5 is a perspective bottom view of one node unit attached with another node unit, according to a further example of the presently disclosed subject matter;

[0056] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a BIW of a vehicle with a side wall of the vehicle constituting a shell member for a node unit of the BIW;

[0057] FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a node unit with an independent socket, according to a further example of the presently disclosed subject matter, shown with three structural members connected thereby;

[0058] FIG. 7B is a cross section view of the node unit and structural members shown in FIG. 7A taken along the line A-A;

[0059] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a node unit comprising fasteners, according to a still further example of the presently disclosed subject matter; and

[0060] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a foldable node unit, according to a still further embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0061] FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle Body In White (BIW), which is a vehicle spaceframe structure 1 consisting of structural members in the form of beams connected to each other by node units at intersection/meeting areas. Each node unit has at least two designated sockets node unit, each configured to snugly receive therein a portion of a different beam, referred to herein as an engaging portion of the beam, so as to fixedly secure in place this engaging portion and thus the beam, and thereby adjoin the two different beams into a unified structure while maintaining their desired mutual orientation.

[0062] In the BIW shown in FIG. 1, there is a plurality of such beams with their engaging portions received in respective node units, of which for the purpose of brevity, only one node unit which is designated as 15, and only two beams which are designated as 11 and 13, will be referred to in the description below, whilst the description is fully applicable to all other node units and beams connected thereby.

[0063] In the illustrated example, as seen in FIG. 2, each beam 11,13 comprises engaging portions 111 and 113, while the node unit 15 comprises two designated sockets 17 and 19, each configured to snugly receive the respective engaging portion 111,113. As can be understood from FIG. 2, the engaging portion 111 constitutes a middle engaging portion as it is disposed between side portions 11a and 11b of the structural member 11. Suitably, as seen in FIG. 1, the corresponding socket 17 accommodating this engaging portion 111, constitutes an embracing socket as it has two opposed and aligned openings 17′ and 17″, which render it suitable for receiving therein the middle engaging portion 111 in a manner which allows the side portions of the beam 11 to protrude from the openings 17′ and 17″.

[0064] The node unit 15 consists of two shell members 15a and 15b, shown separately from each other in FIGS. 3A and 3B, configured to be fastened to each other to form the node unit 15 with the designated sockets 17 and 19 thereof. Each shell member 15a,15b constitutes one half of the node unit 15, such that socket portions 154a and 154b form together the designated socket 19, while portions 155a and 155b form together the designated socket 17. These designated sockets are interior sockets formed between the two shell members 15a and 15b, as best seen in FIG. 4A with respect to the interior socket 17.

[0065] In other embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, at least one socket can be a non-interior, independent socket, formed in one of the shell members, and more than two shell members can be required for forming a single interior socket and thus a complete node unit.

[0066] Reverting to FIG. 2, the structural members 11 and 13 are initially positioned in one of the shell members, e.g. the member 15a such that their engaging portions 111 and 113 are oriented in 90 degrees with respect to each other, and the shell members 15b is then fastened to the shell member 15a, so as to fixedly secure the engaging portions 111, 113 in place.

[0067] As seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the shell members 15a and 15b comprise mating pairs of auxiliary flanges 151a and 151b, respectively. When the shell members 15a and 15b are assembled together to form the node unit 15, the mating pairs of the auxiliary flanges contact each other.

[0068] To fixedly secure the two shell members 15a and 15b to each other along the above pairs of flanges, and thereby the two engaging portions 111,113 within the designated sockets 17,19, any suitable fixation techniques can be used. One example of this is gluing the flanges to each other by an adhesive which can be applied at the contact areas thereof. In this example, the contact area between the auxiliary flanges of the two shell members constitutes a majority of the total contact area between the shell members, which allows applying a relatively large amount of adhesive thereon, so as to create a strong bond between the two shell members 15a and 15b.

[0069] In order to increase the integrity of the connection, the auxiliary flanges 151a, 151b can be pressed against each other after the application of the adhesive, and the adhesive can also be applied between portions 153a and 153b located on an inner surface of the shell member 15a, and on an outer surface of shell member 15b, respectively, as well as within the sockets 17 and 19.

[0070] The above manner of connection allows the beams 11 and 13 together with their engaging portions 111 and 113, to be made of any material including a composite material. The same is correct regarding the node 15, i.e. the shell members 15a and 15b, which in this example can be made of pressed aluminum sheet.

[0071] Whilst the shell members 15a and 15b described above are shown as being pre-formed to have their interior of the desired configuration, this does not need to be the case. Thus, for example, the shell members can be forced to receive the desired configuration by pressing a flat aluminum sheet against the corresponding structural members arranged in a desired disposition, at their intersection area, so that the corresponding interior sockets 17 and 19 are formed, conforming in shape to that of the engaging portions 111,113.

[0072] Regarding the mutual disposition of structural members with respect to each other and, consequently, of their engaging portions with the corresponding node unit, these portions can be in contact with each other within the node unit.

[0073] In example shown in FIG. 2, the engaging portions 111 and 113 of the respective beams 11 and 13 are received within the respective designated sockets 17 and 19 so that they contact each other at an interface area 12. In this case the interface 12 is a load bearing interface, allowing the load transfer between the beams 11 and 13 within the node unit 15. However, when such load transfer between two structural members connected by a node unit is not desired, the can be spaced from each other, e.g. by the body of the node unit.

[0074] The description above exemplifies how two structural members can be adjoined, at a mutually perpendicular orientation, by a node unit assembled of two shell members. However, the number of structural members connected by a single node unit in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter can be any desired and they can have any desired mutual orientation. One example this option is a ‘star like’ configuration wherein structural members extend radially from a common central area disposed within a node unit. Also, node units according to the presently disclosed subject matter can be assembled from any number of shell members and/or can be connected to each other to form a combined node structure. node unit

[0075] One example of such combined node structure is shown in FIG. 5 illustrating two connected node units 25 and 35, the former configured to connect engaging portions of two beams 21 and 22 of the vehicle BIW shown in FIG. 1, and the latter configured to connect engaging portions of two beams 23 and 24. The connection between the two node units can be performed by welding or otherwise fixing them to each other at a zone 30.

[0076] Node units according to the presently disclosed subject matter can be connected or constitute a part of a component of a vehicle, which does not necessarily has to constitute a part of its BIW.

[0077] One example of such an option is shown in FIG. 6, which illustrates a BIW of a vehicle 50 together with a side wall 52 of the vehicle. The side wall 52 is integrally connected with a shell member [not seen], which is formed as a mate to shell member 51, in the node unit 45. The two shell members are configured to be fastened to each other over the structural members 56a, 56b and 56c, and thereby form the node unit 45.

[0078] Having a shell member integrally connected to the wall 52 of the vehicle, allows the vehicle BIW to be assembled in layers together with the wall 52. The first layer includes the wall 52 together with the node integral therewith [not seen], the second layer includes the structural members 56a, 56b and 56c, and the third layer includes the shell member 51. The layers can be assembled to each other, for example, by means of an adhesive being applied between at least some of their contact areas.

[0079] A node unit with its shell members according to the presently disclosed subject matter can have, in addition to at least one interior socket such as those described above, which is formed by the assembly of the shell members, at least one exterior socket constituting a part of one of the shell members independently of any other shell member. A structural member received within such exterior socket or at least its engaging portion can be made of a material different from that of which the structural members received in the interior sockets or at least their engaging portions can be made. For example, the latter material can be a metal or an allow and the latter can be a composite material.

[0080] FIG. 7A illustrates one example of such node unit 55 having two shell members 55a and 55b, and three designated sockets 56, 57, and 58, each snugly receiving an engaging portion of a beam 60, 61 and 62, respectively. The sockets 57 and 58 are interior sockets defined between the shell members 55a and 55b, whereas the socket 56 is an exterior, independent socket formed merely in the shell member 55a.

[0081] To assemble such connection of the beams 60, 61 and 62, the shell members 55a and 55b can firstly be assembled and fastened to each other over the engaging portions of the beams 60 and 62, so as to fixedly secure these beams within the interior sockets 57 and 58, while the beam 61 can be subsequently inserted into, and be fixed within, the socket 56.

[0082] As seen in FIG. 7B the beam 62 is disposed along a vertical plane and appears to be leaning on the beam 61 via an interface 60′, while the beam 61 is disposed on a horizontal plane and appears to be leaning merely on the body of the node unit 55. In this example, the node unit 55 should have such integrity which allows it to support the beam 61.

[0083] In the above structure, the beam 61 or at least its engaging portion can be made of metal, e.g. aluminum, while the beams 60 and 62 or at least their engaging portions can be made of composite material.

Though as mentioned above, shell members of node units of the presently disclosed subject matter can be fixed to each together by an adhesive, other fastening techniques can be used as well, instead or in combination with an adhesive. One example of this option is shown in FIG. 8 which illustrates a node unit 65 assembled of two shell members 65a and 65b, fastened to each other by two fasteners 66 and 68, at their auxiliary flanges, fixedly securing them to each other.

[0084] It can also be appreciated that shell members according to the presently disclosed subject matter can be connected to each other at one side thereof prior to their being assembled to form a node unit. Such connection can be a result of the shell members being formed as a unitary body in which two shell members are constituted by two shell portions of the body connected at along a folding line.

[0085] FIG. 9 shows one example of such option, in which a unitary node unit body 75 comprises two shell portions 75a and 75b connected along 75′. The node unit body 75 is shown in its unfolded state in FIG. 9. When folded, the shell portions 75a and 75b form designated sockets in a similar manner to that described above for the node unit 15.