HEMMING STRUCTURE FOR HYBRID-TYPE DOOR

Abstract

Disclosed is a structure for a hybrid-type door, which is capable of preventing deformation caused by difference in thermal expansion coefficient between an outer panel of aluminum alloy and an inner panel of iron steel. The structure for a hybrid-type door may include an inner panel and an outer panel made of different material from the inner panel. In particular, an end portion of the inner panel and an end portion of the outer panel may be provided at a contact area, and the end portion of the inner panel may be hemmed by the end portion of the outer panel. A sealer may be applied to the contact areas at which the inner panel and the outer panel may be brought into contact with each other, and the contact area of the inner panel may include a non-contact space being free from contacting the sealer.

Claims

1. A structure for a door, comprising: an inner panel; and an outer panel made of different material from the inner panel, wherein an end portion of the inner panel and an end portion of the outer panel contact at a contact area, wherein the end portion of the inner panel is hemmed by the end portion of the outer panel, wherein the contact area at which the inner panel and the outer panel are brought into contact with each other comprises a sealer, and wherein the inner panel comprises a non-contact space at the contact area and the sealer is not applied to the non-contact space.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the non-contact space of the inner panel comprises a protrusion formed by being bent in a direction opposed to the contacting area with the outer panel.

3. The structure of claim 2, wherein the outer panel comprises a flange extending from the contact area of the outer panel to surround the contact area of the inner panel, and the flange is formed with a through-hole through which the protrusion of the inner panel is inserted.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein the inner panel comprises a plurality of the non-contact spaces arranged apart by a predetermined distance from each other.

5. The structure of claim 1, wherein the inner panel is made of an iron steel material, and the outer panel is made of an aluminum alloy.

6. The structure of claim 1, wherein the sealer comprises a resin having an elongation of about 20 to 40%.

7. A vehicle comprising a structure of claim 1.

8. A method of manufacturing a door for a vehicle, comprising: providing an inner panel comprising one or more protrusions and an outer panel made of different material from the inner panel, applying a sealer at a contact area on the outer panel, wherein the contact area is a surface that the inner panel contact with the outer panel and the sealer is not applied at least portions of the contacting area where the one or more protrusions of the inner panel locate, bring the inner panel and the outer panel at the contact area, heat treating the inner panel and the outer panel, and cooling the heat treated inner panel and the outer panel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more protrusions of the inner panel are formed by being bent in a direction opposed to the contacting area with the outer panel.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the outer panel comprises a flange extending from the contact area of the outer panel to surround the contact area of the inner panel, and the flange is formed with a through-hole through which the protrusion of the inner panel is inserted.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the inner panel is made of an iron steel material, and the outer panel is made of an aluminum alloy.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the sealer comprises a resin having an elongation of about 20 to 40%.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature of about 180 to 200? C.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising painting the inner panel and the outer panel during the heat treatment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0036] FIG. 1 shows sectional views of a hemming structure in the related art;

[0037] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary sectional view of an exemplary hemming structure for a hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary view of an exemplary method of manufacturing an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] FIG. 4 shows views of expansion and contraction during an exemplary painting process of an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary sectional view of an exemplary hemming structure for an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

[0041] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary view of an exemplary method of manufacturing an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. 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 comprise, include, have, etc. when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof.

[0043] 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, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

[0044] Further, 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.

[0045] Hereinbelow, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures and embodiments of the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of an exemplary hemming structure for an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 3 shows a view of an exemplary method of manufacturing an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] As shown in the drawings, a hemming structure for a hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include an inner panel 100 and an outer panel 200 made of different materials. For example, the inner panel 100 may be made of an iron steel material having a small thermal expansion coefficient and the outer panel 200 may be made of aluminum material having a high thermal expansion coefficient. Herein, the iron steel material may include an iron-based alloy, and the aluminum alloy may include an aluminum-based alloy.

[0048] The inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be parts constituting a vehicle door, and the shapes thereof may be variously changed depending on the shape of the vehicle door.

[0049] Preferably, each of the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be provided to contact at a contact area at which end portions thereof may be brought into contact with each other. The end portions of the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 refer to edges of the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200.

[0050] The inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be brought into contact with each other at the end portions thereof. Here, the end portion of the outer panel 200 may be provided with a flange 210 extending longer than the end portion of the inner panel 100 to surround the end portion of the inner panel 100. Accordingly, the flange 210 of the outer panel 200 may be bent to hem the end portion of the inner panel 100.

[0051] Here, each of the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be provided with an area at which the end portions thereof are brought into contact with each other, and hereinafter, this area is referred to as a contact area F.

[0052] Thus, a sealer 300 may be applied to the contact area F, at which the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 are brought into contact with each other, so as to improve the bonding force therebetween and to prevent moisture and foreign matter from penetrating into the contact area F.

[0053] As the sealer 300 used in the embodiment, a resin that may be curable at high temperature (e.g., 180 to 200? C.) may be used, and the curing may occur during the painting process after hemming the structure of the hybrid-type door. The high temperature curing sealer may include, for example, epoxy-type sealer. However, the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be attached to each other as the sealer 300 is cured. Because the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200, which are different materials having different thermal expansion coefficients, are expanded to different levels when exposed to the high temperature during the painting process, the sealer 300 with high elongation property may be suitably used in order to prevent distortion that may occur during contracting to different levels as they are cooled in this state. For example, the sealer 300 may suitably maintain the elongation of about 20 to 40%.

[0054] Even if the sealer 300 with high elongation is used, there may be differences in the contraction amount due to different thermal expansion coefficients when the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 contract by the sealer 300 cured in the painting process while being cooled in the state where the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 are bonded together. Preferably, a non-contact space 400 being free from contacting the sealer 300 may be provided at a part of the contact area F of the inner panel 100 to prevent distortion caused by the differences in contraction.

[0055] Accordingly, the non-contact space 400 may be provided on the inner panel 100 and may absorb the contraction amount of the outer panel 200 that contracts greater than the inner panel 100. As such, distortion between the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be prevented.

[0056] The non-contact space 400 provided on the inner panel 100 may be formed by a protrusion 110 that may be formed by being bent in a direction opposed to the contact area F or a surface contacting with the outer panel 200. As the protrusion 110 forming the non-contact space 400 may be provided in the contact area F of the inner panel 100, the volume of the inner panel 100 may be increased, and the expansion amount and the contraction amount of the outer panel 200 having a large thermal expansion coefficient may be complemented by the increased volume of the inner panel 100. For instance, the inner panel 100 of iron steel having a small thermal expansion coefficient may increase the volume of the contact area F to increase the expansion amount and the contraction amount, and the outer panel 200 of aluminum having a high thermal expansion coefficient has a volume less than that of the inner panel 100 in the contact area, therefore the expansion amount and the contraction amount of the outer panel 200 may be similar to those of the inner panel 100 in the contact area F. A plurality of the non-contact spaces 400 may be formed on the inner panel 100, which may be arranged apart by a predetermined distance from each other. For instance, the plurality of the non-contact spaces may be formed at uniform intervals or may be formed at various intervals on in the inner panel.

[0057] A method for manufacturing the hybrid-type door configured as described above according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 3, the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 for each shape may be prepared. Here, the inner panel 100 may be formed with the protrusion 110 bent to protrude upward from the contact area F.

[0059] When the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 are prepared, the sealer 300 may be applied onto the contact area F of the outer panel 200 by using an application tool A.

[0060] After applying the sealer 300, the inner panel 100 may be disposed on the outer panel 200 such that the contact area F of the inner panel 100 and the contact area F of the outer panel 200 may be brought into contact with each other.

[0061] Here, the sealer applied onto the contact area F of the outer panel 200 may be in contact with the remaining area except the protrusion 110 formed on the contact area F of the inner panel 100.

[0062] After bringing the inner panel 100 into contact the outer panel 200, the flange 210 of the outer panel 200 may be bent by using a hemming tool B to hem the end portion of the inner panel 100.

[0063] At the time of completion of hemming, the protrusion 110 formed on the contact area F of the inner panel 100 may form the non-contact space 400 being free from contacting the sealer.

[0064] Meanwhile, FIG. 4 shows views of expansion and contraction during an exemplary painting process of an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] As shown in {circle around (1)} of FIG. 4, after hemming, the inner panel 100 including the protrude non-contact space 400 where the sealer 300 is not applied and the outer panel 200 may be exposed to a high temperature (e.g., about 180 to 200? C.) for heat treatment during the painting process.

[0066] Then, as shown in {circle around (2)} of FIG. 4, the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may expand according to the thermal expansion coefficient thereof, respectively. Here, the outer panel 200 of aluminum having a large thermal expansion coefficient may be expanded by a predetermined amount in the contact area, and the inner panel 100 of steel having a small thermal expansion coefficient may be expanded less than the outer panel 200 in the contact area F. Since the volume of the contact area is increased by the protrusion 110, the expansion amount may be increased, such that the inner panel may be expanded to a level similar to the expansion amount of the outer panel 200. In this state, the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 may be bonded by curing of the sealer 300.

[0067] Further, as shown in {circle around (3)} of FIG. 4, when the cooling process proceeds after the painting process, contrary to the case of expansion, the outer panel 200 of aluminum having a large thermal expansion coefficient may be contracted by a predetermined amount in the contact area, and the inner panel 100 of steel having a small thermal expansion coefficient may be contracted less than the outer panel 200 in the contact area. Since the volume of the contact area is increased by the protrusion 110, the contraction amount may be increased, such that the inner panel may be contracted to a level similar to the contraction amount of the outer panel 200.

[0068] Further, when the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 are contracted, an area where the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 200 are joined together by the sealer 300 may be reduced by the non-contact space 400 formed by the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100, thereby reducing distortion due to different contraction amounts.

[0069] Meanwhile, FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a hemming structure for a hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 shows a view of an exemplary method for manufacturing an exemplary hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hemming structure for a hybrid-type door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a modification in which the shape of the outer panel in the above described embodiment is modified.

[0071] The hemming structure for a hybrid-type door according to the embodiment of FIG. 5, as in the above described embodiment, may include the inner panel 100 provided with a protrusion, and an outer panel 500 hemming the end portion of the inner panel 100. The sealer 300 may be applied to a contact area, at which the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 may be brought into contact with each other, and the non-contact space 400 may be formed by the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100.

[0072] However, the outer panel 500 may be provided with a flange 510 extending from the contact area F thereof to surround the contact area F of the inner panel 100. Particularly, the flange 510 may be formed with a through-hole 511 into which the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100 may be inserted.

[0073] Preferably, the through-hole 511 may have a size equal to or greater than that of the protrusion 110 formed in the inner panel 100. Accordingly, as the flange 510 of the outer panel 500 may be hemmed around the end portion of the inner panel 100, the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100 may be inserted into the through-hole 511 of the outer panel 500, thereby mechanically coupling the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 together.

[0074] A hemming method for the hybrid-type door as show in of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 6, the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 for each shape may be prepared. Here, the inner panel 100 may be formed with the protrusion 110 bent to protrude upward from the contact area. Further, the flange of the outer panel 500 may be formed with the through-hole 511 into which the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100 may be inserted.

[0076] When the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 are prepared, the sealer 300 may be applied onto the contact area F of the outer panel 500 by using the application tool A.

[0077] After applying the sealer 300, the inner panel 100 may be disposed on the outer panel 500 such that the contact area F of the inner panel 100 and the contact area F of the outer panel 500 are brought into contact with each other.

[0078] Here, the sealer 300 applied onto the contact area F of the outer panel 500 may be in contact with the remaining area except the protrusion 110 formed on the contact area F of the inner panel 100.

[0079] After bring the inner panel 100 into contact the outer panel 500, the flange 510 of the outer panel 500 may be bent by using the hemming tool B to hem the end portion of the inner panel 100. Thereby, as the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100 may be inserted into the through-hole 511 of the outer panel 500, the mechanical bonding force between the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 may be increased.

[0080] At the time of completion of hemming, the protrusion 110 formed on the contact area F of the inner panel 100 may form the non-contact space 400 being free from contacting the sealer 300.

[0081] As the non-contact space 400 is formed at the time of completion of hemming, during the expansion and contraction occurring in the painting process as in the above described embodiment, differences in the expansion amount and the contraction amount caused by difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 may be reduced.

[0082] Further, in an exemplary embodiment, as the protrusion 110 of the inner panel 100 is inserted into the through-hole 511 of the outer panel 500, the mechanical bonding force between the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 may be increased and the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500 may be mechanically fastened to each other during the contraction, whereby it is possible to reduce distortion between the inner panel 100 and the outer panel 500.

[0083] Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.