Outer Skin Component for a Motor Vehicle and Method for Producing an Outer Skin Component

Abstract

An outer skin component for a motor vehicle is designed as a shell component with an outer shell and an inner shell, which are in each case designed as fiber-reinforced plastics shells with a fiber reinforcement embedded into a thermosetting plastic matrix. The fiber reinforcement of the outer shell consists of one or more layers of nonwoven material.

Claims

1.-10. (canceled)

11. An outer skin component for a motor vehicle, comprising: a shell component having an outer shell and an inner shell, which are each configured as fiber-reinforced plastics shells having a fiber reinforcement embedded in a thermoset plastics matrix, wherein the fiber reinforcement of the outer shell is composed of one or more plies of nonwoven material.

12. The outer skin component according to claim 11, wherein the fiber reinforcement of the outer shell is formed of glass fibers.

13. The outer skin component according to claim 11, wherein the fiber reinforcement of the outer shell is formed of carbon fibers.

14. The outer skin component according to claim 11, wherein the fiber reinforcement of the outer shell is formed of carbon fibers and glass fibers.

15. The outer skin component according to claim 11, wherein the fiber reinforcement of the inner shell comprises one or more plies of directed reinforcing fibers.

16. The outer skin component according to claim 15, wherein the inner shell further comprises least one local reinforcement.

17. The outer skin component according to claim 11, wherein the outer skin component is a vehicle hatch or a side wall.

18. A method for producing an outer skin component which is configured as a shell component having an outer shell and an inner shell, the method comprising: producing the outer shell, by subjecting a thermoset plastics matrix having a fiber reinforcement composed of one or more plies of nonwoven material to compression in a compression mold and curing; producing the inner shell as a fiber-reinforced plastics component having a fiber reinforcement embedded in a thermoset plastics matrix; and durably joining the outer shell to the inner shell to form the shell component.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the outer shell is produced by an RTM process or by a liquid resin process.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the outer shell and the inner shell are adhesively bonded to one another to form the shell component.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 shows an illustrative shell component in an exploded representation; and

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the shell component from FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows an illustrative shell component 1 in the form of a front hatch of a motor vehicle. The shell component has an outer shell 10 and also an inner shell 20, which are joined to one another, preferably by adhesive bonding. The shell component 1 may comprise further elements, not represented, such as hinges or pockets, for example, which may be provided additionally or may be integrated, for example, in the inner shell 20. The outer shell 10 forms an outer face 12 of the shell component 1, which in the installed state on the vehicle faces outward. The inner shell 20 is arranged on the outer shell 10 side facing away from the outer face 12.

[0031] The outer shell 10 is configured as a fiber-reinforced plastics shell, and comprises a fiber reinforcement 13 composed of nonwoven materials, which is embedded in a thermoset plastic matrix 14. FIG. 2 shows a sectional view for illustrating the ply construction. Shown purely illustratively therein are four piles 16, 17, 18, 19 of a nonwoven material; the number may of course vary according to the requirements.

[0032] The inner shell 20 is likewise a fiber-reinforced plastics shell having reinforcing fibers embedded in a thermoset plastics matrix 22. The inner shell 20 comprises a fiber reinforcement 23 having a ply construction of multiple plies 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 (here, illustratively, 5 plies) of directed reinforcing fibers. The inner shell 20 additionally comprises at least one local reinforcement 29. For this purpose, in a locally confined region, additionally to the above-described construction, a prepreg strip having further reinforcing plies of directed continuous fibers and matrix material is also formed onto the inner shell 20.

[0033] For producing the shell component, the outer shell 10 and the inner shell 20 are first produced separately and then bonded adhesively to one another. The outer shell is produced preferably by the RTM process or by the liquid resin process; the inner shell may likewise be produced by these processes or in a hybrid molding process.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0034] 1 Shell component [0035] 10 Outer shell [0036] 12 Outer face [0037] 13 Fiber reinforcement [0038] 14 Plastics matrix [0039] 16, 17, 18, 19 Nonwoven plies [0040] 20 Inner shell [0041] 22 Plastics matrix [0042] 23 Fiber reinforcement [0043] 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Plies of reinforcing fibers [0044] 29 Local reinforcement