Flat Motor Vehicle Composite Structure Component Having a Metal Sheet Component and a Flat Inherently Rigid Reinforcement Component of Porous Plastic Connected to Same

Abstract

A flat motor vehicle composite structure component, comprising a metal sheet component having a shaped metal sheet and to which at least one flat, inherently rigid reinforcement component of porous plastic is connected on at least one side of the metal sheet, the surface of the reinforcement component is adhesively connected to a side of the metal sheet component which, in the fully installed state, is intended to face a motor vehicle functional space.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A flat motor vehicle composite structure component, comprising a metal sheet component having a shaped metal sheet and at least one flat, inherently rigid reinforcement component of porous plastic connected on at least one side of the metal sheet to the metal sheet component, the surface of the reinforcement component is adhesively connected to a side of the metal sheet component which, in the fully installed state, is intended to face an associated motor vehicle functional space.

16. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcement component includes porous plastic in the form of a thermoplastically bonded fiber material.

17. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 16, wherein the thermoplastically bonded fiber material includes a thermoplastically bonded fiber web.

18. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcement component includes at least one metal foil layer having a thickness of 0.03 mm to 1.3 mm which, under intermediate arrangement of a plastic layer of the reinforcement component extends essentially in parallel to the mounting surface of the metal sheet component, with which the reinforcement component is adhesively connected.

19. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 18, wherein the reinforcement component includes a plurality of metal foil layers, each having a thickness of 0.03 mm to 1.3 mm, each of which, under intermediate arrangement of a plastic layer between two adjoining metal foil layers, extends essentially in parallel to the mounting surface of the metal sheet component.

20. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 18, wherein at least one metal foil layer is perforated.

21. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 20, wherein that at least one metal foil layer that is perforated is the metal foil layer located most distant from the mounting surface and having perforation openings with dimensions in the range of 20 μm to 310 μm.

22. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 21, wherein perforation openings have dimensions in the range of 150 μm to 300 μm.

23. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 18, wherein one of the at least one metal foil layers, includes a surface texture.

24. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 23, wherein the one metal foil layer forms an exposed surface of the reinforcement component and the surface texture is calotted.

25. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein an exposed surface of the reinforcement component distant from the metal sheet component is formed by a fiber tangle layer.

26. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 25, wherein the fiber tangle layer includes at least one of a non-woven material and a carpet.

27. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcement component has a weight per unit area of between 2,900 g/m.sup.2 and 6,700 g/m.sup.2.

28. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcement component has a thickness of between 3.0 mm and 20 mm.

29. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the metal sheet is a steel sheet having a sheet thickness of not more than 0.35 mm or an aluminum sheet having a sheet thickness of not more than 0.55 mm.

30. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the metal sheet component has a cathodic electro-coated layer, which is located between the metal of the metal sheet and the reinforcement component.

31. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the metal sheet component has a coating which is located between the metal of the metal sheet and the reinforcement component.

32. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 31, wherein the coating includes a powder coating or a varnish.

33. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcement component is formed from a plurality of separately designed reinforcement component parts, which are arranged spaced apart from one another on the metal sheet component and adhesively connected to the metal sheet component.

34. The motor vehicle composite structure component according to claim 15, wherein an adhesive for adhesively connecting the reinforcement component to the metal sheet component is provided in a pattern or full surface between the reinforcement component and the metal sheet component.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a roughly schematic top view of a half of a motor vehicle underbody; and,

[0051] FIG. 2 shows a roughly schematic longitudinal sectional view through a part of the underbody of FIG. 1 along the section plane II-II in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0052] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle composite structure component depicted roughly schematically in a top view in the form of a vehicle underbody that is referred to in general by reference numeral 10. The observer of FIG. 1 in this case looks out from the passenger compartment side of a vehicle using the composite structure component 10 onto the vehicle underbody 10.

[0053] The vehicle underbody 10 as the motor vehicle composite structure component of the present invention includes a metal sheet component 12 and a reinforcement component 14 connected to the metal sheet component 12 on the inside 12a thereof which is directed toward the passenger compartment.

[0054] The reinforcement component 14 in the present exemplary embodiment is designed with three, actually six reinforcement component parts 14a, 14b, 14c, which are designed separately from one another and each of which is connected separately to the metal sheet component 12.

[0055] The motor vehicle composite structure component 10 shown in FIG. 1 is symmetrically identical to a mirror plane of symmetry SE orthogonal to the drawing plane of FIG. 1. For this reason, only a half of the motor vehicle composite structure component 10 is depicted. However, the half thereof not depicted appears identical to the depicted half under the cited mirror symmetry condition.

[0056] The metal sheet component 12 in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 has the following formations: a center tunnel 16 extending along the mirror plane of symmetry SE, side sills 18 running parallel to the center tunnel 16, seat cross-members 20 and 22 for mounting vehicle seats, which run essentially parallel to one another and orthogonally to the direction of extension of sills 18 and center tunnel 16, as well as a front wall 24 on the front longitudinal end of the metal sheet component 12 and a heel plate 26 situated at the rear end of the metal sheet component 12.

[0057] The front wall 24 may be used to arrange a partition between the vehicle underbody 10 and the engine compartment and to connect it to the vehicle underbody 10. Correspondingly, the heel plate 26 may be used to arrange a partition between the passenger compartment and a luggage compartment and to connect it to the vehicle underbody 10.

[0058] The metal sheet component 12 formed by deep drawing includes three essentially planar sections 28a, 28b and 28c between the cited functional formations 16 through 26 on each side of the plane of symmetry SE. One of the cited reinforcement component parts 14a through 14c each is arranged in each of these sections 28a through 28c.

[0059] The reinforcement component parts 14a through 14c are adhesively connected to the side 12a of the metal sheet component 12a directed toward the vehicle interior.

[0060] FIG. 2 shows a roughly schematic longitudinal section through the motor vehicle structural component 10 in the area of the first planar section 28a of the metal sheet component 12.

[0061] The view of FIG. 2 is merely roughly schematic and serves to illustrate the invention. Only those components are delineated in FIG. 2 that are located in the section plane II-II. Component segments located beyond section plane II-II, which would be apparent in technical drawings in a customary sectional representation, are not depicted in FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity. Thus, FIG. 2 does not show the center tunnel 16, for example, which is located beyond the section plane of FIG. 2.

[0062] In the area of the planar section 28a, the reinforcement component 14a is preferably fully connected to the metal sheet component by means of an adhesive layer 30. The adhesive layer is located between the mounting surface 13 on the inside 12a of the metal component 12 and a layer 30 of the reinforcement component 14a made of porous plastic.

[0063] The metal component 12 has undergone cathodic electro-coating preferably before being connected to the reinforcement component 14, so that it includes a cathodic electro-coated layer, which is not specifically depicted in FIG. 2. An additional coating of the metal component 12 may be provided between the cathodic electro-coated layer and the adhesive layer 30, for example, a powder coating or a varnish.

[0064] Instead of full-surface application of the adhesive, a partial surface application is also possible, wherein, for reasons of a preferably homogenous adhesive affect, the adhesive is applied preferably in a pattern. A grid-like adhesive application for the second reinforcement component part 14B and a dot-like adhesive application for the third reinforcement component part 14c, each in a regular pattern, are depicted for example by dashed lines in FIG. 1. The lines of the grid pattern display merely the course of the applied adhesive traces, but not their width.

[0065] At least 30% of the surface of a reinforcement component part abutting the metal sheet component 12 is preferably moistened with adhesive and connected to the metal component 12. Even more preferably, the portion of the cited surface moistened with adhesive is even larger.

[0066] A possible adhesive is, for example, the polyurethane adhesive previously cited in the introduction of the description.

[0067] The dimensions of the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2 are not to scale. The component thickness of the metal sheet component 12 is highly exaggerated compared to its other dimensions. In addition, the component thickness of the metal sheet component 12 is not proportional to the component thickness of the reinforcement component part 14a. Even the heights of the front wall 24 and the seat cross-members 20 above the planar area of the section 28a are not to scale compared to other dimensions apparent in FIG. 20, in particular, component thicknesses.

[0068] The reinforcement component part 14a in the exemplary embodiment depicted has three layers 32, 34 and 36—in their stack sequence away from the metal component 12, which are formed from thermoplastically bonded fiber material, in particular glass fiber material. The layers 32, 34 and 36 are partially compacted and therefore porous. A polyolefin, in particular polypropylene, is used as a binder.

[0069] The porous plastic layers 32, 34 and 36 thus form an LWRT material in the conventional sense. The layers 32, 34 and 36 may differ from fiber material, on the one hand, and from binder material, on the other hand, with respect to degree of compaction and mass proportions. In the case of differing degrees of compaction, it is preferable to design the layer 32 situated closest to the metal component 12 with greater compaction, since this layer in the present example is already covered by a solid metal foil layer 38 relative to the vehicle interior, and is therefore able to provide less to no sound-absorbing effect for absorbing sound originating from the vehicle interior, compared to the next closest porous plastic layer 36 to the vehicle interior.

[0070] The porous plastic layers 34 and 36 may also be separated from one another by a solid metal foil layer 40.

[0071] Finally, the reinforcement component part 14a may also have an additional metal foil layer 42, which may be located on the outside on the side directed away from the metal component 12 and may thus form an outer surface of the composite structure component 10.

[0072] This metal foil layer 42 located next to the vehicle interior is preferably perforated and has perforation openings 44, which fully permeate the metal foil layer 42. As a result, the metal foil layer 42 is sound-permeable in its thickness direction, so that the underlying porous plastic layer 36 may act as a sound absorber.

[0073] The perforation openings 44 are preferably circular and have a diameter of 150 μm to 300 μm, wherein, for reasons of strength, preferably not more than one hole is provided per square millimeter.

[0074] If necessary, the reinforcement component part 14a may be protected against mechanical properties on its exposed outer side with a non-woven material or carpet 46. This non-woven material or carpet layer 46 shown merely by dashed lines in FIG. 2 may be arranged on the metal layer 42.

[0075] The metal sheet of the metal sheet component 12 may, for example, have a thickness of 0.3 mm if it is a steel sheet or of 0.4 mm if it is an aluminum sheet, wherein the sheet thickness, reduced compared to the same underbody without reinforcement component 14, results in a significant weight reduction of the vehicle underbody. Although weight is added again with the reinforcement component 14, it is less than what was previously removed as a result of the sheet thickness reduction. A reduced rigidity need not be feared, since the inherently rigid reinforcement component 14, in the form of its inherently rigid partial components 14a through 14C in the present example, with its simultaneously sharply increased thickness, more than compensates for a reduced rigidity due to the high inherent rigidity of the introduced component. The reinforcement component 10 is more rigid, despite the significantly lower sheet thickness, than the previously used underbody component without a reinforcement component, but with a steel sheet having a thickness of 0.7 mm.

[0076] While considerable emphasis has been placed on the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that other embodiments, and equivalences thereof, can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above can be combined to form yet other embodiments of the invention of this application. Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.