IMPACT BEAM WITH BENT STRUCTURE AND BENDING APPARATUS

Abstract

An impact beam having a bent structure is provided. The impact beam is mounted at a lateral portion of each door in a vertical direction of a vehicle body and supports the door in the vertical direction. An upper end of the impact beam extends to support a roof panel and a lower end of the impact beam extends to a lower roller mounting portion. The impact beam is bent in an L shape and a T shape based on a curvature of the door.

Claims

1.-5. (cancelled)

6. An apparatus for bending an impact beam, comprising: an upper die including therein a first concave portion that is recessed in a hemispheric shape, and having a first inclined portion that is recessed to have a predetermined angle with respect to the first concave portion; and a lower die positioned below the upper die, having, at an upper side thereof, a second concave portion that is recessed in a hemispheric shape, and having, at an outer portion thereof, a second inclined portion that has an inclination that corresponds to the first inclined portion, wherein the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion bend in a T shape by downward force of the upper die to position the impact beam positioned between the upper die and the lower die, and the first concave portion and the second concave portion bend the impact beam in an L shape.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein an interval between the first concave portion and the second concave portion is determined based on an L-shaped curvature of a door of a vehicle.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein an inclination angle of the first inclined portion and an inclination angle of the second inclined portion are determined based on a T-shaped curvature of a door.

9. (cancelled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The above and other features of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given herein below by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a state in which an impact beam in the related art is mounted on a door;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which the impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a door;

[0018] FIGS. 4A-4B are views illustrating a bent structure of the impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which the impact beam is accommodated in a lower bracket according to the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 6A is a view illustrating a state in which a lower roller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the lower bracket;

[0021] FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a in FIG. 6A according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 7A is a view illustrating an apparatus for bending an impact beam in the related art;

[0023] FIG. 7B is a view illustrating the impact beam in the related art before the impact beam is bent;

[0024] FIG. 7C is a view illustrating the impact beam in the related art which is bent by the apparatus for bending the impact beam;

[0025] FIG. 8A is a view illustrating an apparatus for bending an impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 8B is a view illustrating the impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention before the impact beam is bent; and

[0027] FIG. 8C is a view illustrating the impact beam according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention which is bent by the apparatus for bending the impact beam.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, combustion, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum).

[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0030] Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.”

[0031] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not restricted or limited by exemplary embodiments. Like reference numerals indicated in the respective drawings refer to members which perform substantially the same functions.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 2, an impact beam 13 may be mounted at a lateral portion of each door 1 in a vertical direction of a vehicle body and may support the door 1 in the vertical direction. Accordingly, it may be possible to ensure collision rigidity during a broadside collision (e.g., a T-bone collision), ensure ceiling strength (e.g., roof crush resistance) for preventing collapse of a roof, and ensure bending rigidity (e.g., bending stiffness) of the door 1 which prevents deflective deformation of the door 1 that occurs when the door 1 sags downward.

[0033] In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 3, in the case of the B-pillarless vehicle from which the B-pillar is eliminated, there is a need for a member capable of substituting the B-pillar in the related art and reinforces collision rigidity, bending rigidity, and ceiling strength. Therefore, the impact beam 13 according to the present invention may be mounted on each of front and rear doors and may be substituted for the B-pillar in the related art to ensure collision rigidity.

[0034] An upper end of the impact beam 13 may be extended to support a roof panel 30, and as a result, it may be possible to ensure ceiling strength. The upper end of the impact beam 13 may directly support the roof panel 30. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4B, the upper end of the impact beam 13 may be accommodated in an upper bracket 11, and the upper bracket 11 may support a lateral surface of the roof panel 30 from below the roof panel 30, and thus, the impact beam 13 and the upper bracket 11 may consequently support the roof panel 30.

[0035] The upper end of the impact beam 13 may be accommodated in a bent portion 111 of the upper bracket 11. In particular, the upper end of the impact beam 13 may be compressed and then accommodated in the bent portion 111, and the upper bracket 11 may be mounted at an upper side of the door 1 while overlapping the impact beam 13. Since the impact beam 13 may be accommodated in the bent portion 111 and mounted on the door 1 while overlapping the upper bracket 11, connection rigidity of the impact beam 13 may be increased.

[0036] The impact beam 13 may be bent to correspond to a curvature of the door 1 in an L shape (e.g., front-rear shape of the vehicle) and a T shape (e.g., width shape of the vehicle). Particularly, the impact beam 13 may be bent in the L shape and the T shape in consideration of a parting line of the door 1 and a curvature of a window frame 20, which depends on a curvature of a window mounted on the vehicle, as well as a curvature of a lateral surface of the door 1. A degree of design freedom may be improved since the impact beam 13 may be bent in accordance with layouts of peripheral components even though the layouts of the peripheral components are variously changed.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which the impact beam 13 is accommodated in a lower bracket 15 according to the present invention. A lower end of the impact beam 13 may extend to a lower roller mounting portion to ensure bending rigidity of the door 1. The lower end of the impact beam 13 may be accommodated in an accommodating portion 151 of the lower bracket 15. In particular, the impact beam 13 may be seated in the accommodating portion 151, and the lower bracket 15 may be welded on the door 1. Accordingly, the impact beam 13 and the lower bracket 15 may be mounted on the door 1 while overlapping each other.

[0038] The connection rigidity between the door 1 and the impact beam 13 may be increased since the accommodating portion 151 may be formed in the lower bracket 15 to couple the impact beam 13 to the door 1. The impact beam 13 according to the present invention may be mounted on opposite sliding doors 1 including front and rear doors that slide in opposite directions. To move the front door and the rear door, each of the opposite sliding doors 1 may include a center rail mounted at a center in the vertical direction of the door 1, a center roller mounted on the vehicle body to correspond to the center rail, a lower rail 50 mounted at a lower side of the vehicle body, and a lower roller 40 mounted at a lower side of the door 1 to correspond to the lower rail 50.

[0039] Referring to FIGS. 6A-6B, the lower roller 40 may be mounted on the lower roller mounting portion positioned at a position opposite to the accommodating portion 151 of the lower bracket 15. The connection rigidity of the lower roller 40 may be increased since the lower roller 40 may be mounted on the lower roller mounting portion and thus mounted on the door 1 while overlapping the lower bracket 15 and the impact beam 13.

[0040] Additionally, the impact beam 13 may be bent in the T shape, the upper end of the impact beam 13 may be fixed to the upper bracket 11, the lower end of the impact beam 13 may be fixed to the lower bracket 15, and the impact beam 13 may extend in the vertical direction based on a curvature of the door 1. Accordingly, the roof panel 30 may be effectively supported at an upper side of the impact beam 13, and the overlap with a side sill 2 may be increased and support rigidity of the door 1 may be ensured at a lower side of the impact beam 13.

[0041] FIGS. 8A-8C are views illustrating an apparatus for bending the impact beam 13 which is configured to bend the impact beam 13 according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8A, the apparatus for bending the impact beam 13 according to the present invention may include an upper die 60 and a lower die 70.

[0042] Particularly, the upper die 60 may include therein a first concave portion 61 which is recessed in a hemispheric shape, and a first inclined portion 63 which is recessed to have a predetermined angle with respect to the first concave portion 61. The lower die 70 may be positioned below the upper die 60. Additionally, the lower die 70 may include, at an upper side thereof, a second concave portion 71 which is recessed in a hemispheric shape, and the lower die 70 may include, at an outer portion thereof, a second inclined portion 73 which has an inclination that corresponds to the first inclined portion 63. As the upper die 60 is pressed downward, the first inclined portion 63 and the second inclined portion 73 bend, in the T shape, an impact beam 13a positioned at an initial position between the upper die 60 and the lower die 70 (e.g., the impact beam may be moved to a position denoted with 13b). The impact beam 13, positioned between the first concave portion 61 and the second concave portion 71 by the bending operations of the first inclined portion 63 and the second inclined portion 73, may be bent in the L shape by the first concave portion 61 and the second concave portion 71 as the upper die 60 moves downward (e.g., the impact beam may be moved to a position denoted with 13c), and thus, the impact beam 13 may be finally positioned in the second concave portion 71.

[0043] An interval between the first concave portion 61 and the second concave portion 71 may be determined based on an L-shaped curvature of the door 1, and an inclination angle of the first inclined portion 63 and an inclination angle of the second inclined portion 73 may be determined based on a T-shaped curvature of the door 1. The interval between the first concave portion 61 and the second concave portion 71 may be determined based on a position of the upper bracket 11 and a position of the lower bracket 15 as well as the L-shaped curvature of the door 1, and the interval between the first concave portion 61 and the second concave portion 71 may be changed in accordance with factors, such as the L-shaped curvature of the window frame 20, which are used to determine the L-shaped curvature of the impact beam 13.

[0044] The inclination angle of the first inclined portion 63 and the inclination angle of the second inclined portion 73 may also be changed by factors, such as a position of the upper bracket 11, a position of the lower bracket 15, and a T-shaped curvature of the window frame 20 as well as the T-shaped curvature of the door 1, which are used to determine the T-shaped curvature of the impact beam 13. The impact beam before being bent as illustrated in FIG. 8B may be three-dimensionally bent in the L shape and the T shape as illustrated in FIG. 8C through the bending process by the apparatus for bending the impact beam 13 according to the present invention.

[0045] An object and an effect of the present invention may be understood or may become clearer from the above description, and the object and the effect of the present invention are not restricted only by the above description. In addition, in the description of the present invention, the specific descriptions of publicly known technologies related with the present invention are omitted when it is determined that the specific descriptions may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention.