Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&

THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

A SHOTGUN ASSEMBLY

MAHINDRA ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE LIMITED, HAVING ADDRESS IS MAHINDRA ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE LIMITED, MAHINDRA WORLD CITY, PLOT NO. 41/1, ANJUR PO, CHENGALPATTU, KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT, PIN : 603004. TAMIL NADU INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

A SHOTGUN ASSEMBLY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to a shotgun assembly for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, in a vehicle, a structural component known as a shotgun assembly is located at a front end of the vehicle proximate to an A-pillar. The shotgun assembly is used for mounting of various components such as fenders, headlamps, and hood etc. thereon. The hood of the vehicle is mounted on a hinge. Conventionally, a hinge reinforcement is separately welded or bolted on the shotgun assembly for mounting of the hinge. Generally, the hinge reinforcement is a simple L-bracket. The separate welding or bolting of the hinge reinforcement to the shotgun assembly increases overall assembly time, number of components, and cost of the shotgun assembly.
Further, the shotgun assembly includes an outer panel and an inner panel spot welded to each other. The shotgun assembly is connected to the A-pillar of the vehicle. Conventionally, the inner panel of the shotgun assembly smoothly merges with the A-pillar, whereas the outer panel is almost perpendicular to the A-pillar. The main function of the shotgun assembly is to absorb energy and transfer load to the A-pillar of the vehicle in case of a frontal crash. However, the arrangement of the inner panel and the outer panel fails to evenly transfer the load to the A-pillar of the vehicle when the frontal crash occurs. In certain cases, uneven load transfer to the A-pillar may lead to load being transferred to the door of the vehicle resulting in jamming of door which may affect the functioning of door and occupant may get trapped in the vehicle after the crash.
Therefore, there is a need for a shotgun assembly design which enables proper load transfer to the A-pillar in case of a frontal crash while also providing better mounting accommodations for the hinge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, a shotgun assembly for a vehicle is provided. The shotgun assembly includes an inner panel having a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end. The inner panel has a diverging shape structure from the front end to the rear end. The shotgun assembly also includes an outer panel having a front end corresponding to the front end of the inner panel and a rear end corresponding to the rear end of the inner panel. The diverging shaped structure of the inner panel and the outer panel of the shotgun assembly equally distribute and transfer a load from a frontal crash to an A-pillar of the vehicle.
According to the present invention, the outer panel has a stepped hat shaped cross section.
According to the present invention, the outer panel has an integral mounting for mounting a hinge to the shotgun assembly.
In another aspect of the present invention, a shotgun assembly for a vehicle is provided. The shotgun assembly includes an inner panel. The shotgun assembly also includes an outer panel having an integral hinge mounting for mounting a hinge to the shotgun assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective front view of a shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective rear view of the shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an inner panel of the shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an outer panel of the shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure:
FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a suspension mounting bracket of the shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure; and
FIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view of the shotgun assembly, according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments are provided to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to a person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth relating to specific components to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” or “in an implementation” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or implementation.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “consists,” “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a shotgun assembly (100) for a vehicle (not shown), according to the present disclosure. The shotgun assembly (100) includes an inner panel (102) having a front end (104) and a rear end (106) opposite to the front end (104). The shotgun assembly (100) also includes an outer panel (108) having a front end (110) corresponding to the front end (104) of the inner panel (102) and a rear end (112) corresponding to the rear end (106) of the inner panel (102). The inner panel (102) and the outer panel (108) of the shotgun assembly (100) are joined together through spot welding. Spot welding is a type of resistance welding. Spot welding involves passing an electrical current through electrodes attached to two separate metal surfaces pressed together, thereby generating heat that melts and fuses the pieces forming “spot welds” at one or more localized positions. It should be noted that, the inner panel (102) and the outer panel (108) of the disclosed embodiment can be joined using any other process without limiting the scope of what is disclosed. Further, the joined inner panel (102) and outer panel (108) are mounted to an A-pillar (not shown) of the vehicle. The shotgun assembly (100) further includes a hinge (114) mounted onto the outer panel (108). The shotgun assembly (100) further includes a suspension mounting bracket (116) assembled to the inner panel (102) of the shotgun assembly (100).
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the inner panel (102) has a diverging shape structure from the front end (104) to the rear end (106). The inner panel (102) includes a dent (118) thereon for providing space for a suspension (not shown) mounted to the suspension mounting bracket (116) of the vehicle.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the outer panel (108) has a divergent shape structure from the front end (110) to the rear end (112) corresponding to the shape of the inner panel (102).
FIG. 5 illustrates the suspension mounting bracket (116) of the shotgun assembly (100). The suspension mounting bracket (116) includes a plurality of holes (120) for mounting of the suspension of the vehicle.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the hinge (114) is mounted onto the outer panel (108) of the shotgun assembly (100) which has an integral hinge mounting (122). The hinge (114) is bolted onto the hinge mounting (122). It should be noted that the hinge (114) can be attached to the hinge mounting (122) in any other manner without limiting the scope of what is disclosed. The hinge (114) enables the mounting of a hood (not shown) on the vehicle. The outer panel (108) of the shotgun assembly (100) has a stepped hat shaped cross section.
The hinge mounting (122) is in the form of two holes (124) provided on the outer panel (108). It should be noted that the hinge mounting (122) can have any other form with any number of holes (124) without limiting the scope of what is disclosed. It should be noted that the inner panel (102) can also have holes (not shown) therethrough corresponding to holes (124) of the outer panel (108) for mounting of the hinge (114) to both the inner panel (102) and outer panel (108) without limiting the scope of what is disclosed.
The hinge mounting being integrally formed on the outer panel is enclosed by the outer panel and inner panel, thereby forming a complete box section. The formation of the complete box section enables the elimination of additional reinforcements for the hinge of the shotgun assembly, thereby, reducing overall assembly time, number of components, and cost of the shotgun assembly. The complete box section also provides a very high stiffness of the hinge mounting. The elimination of the additional reinforcements also makes the shotgun assembly simpler.
The present disclosure enables the inner panel and the outer panel of the shotgun to smoothly merge with the A-pillar of the vehicle. The smooth merging of the inner panel and the outer panel with the A-pillar enables an equal load transfer to the A-pillar in the case of a frontal crash and provides stability to the hinge in case of lateral loading. The equal load transfer ensures the A-pillar of the vehicle absorbs the load without transferring load to the door of the vehicle, thereby greatly reducing the risk of door jamming in the case of the frontal crash.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
Any discussion of devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
, Claims:
1. A shotgun assembly (100) for a vehicle, the shotgun assembly (100) comprising:
an inner panel (102) having a front end (104) and a rear end (106) opposite to the front end (104), the inner panel (102) having a diverging shape structure from the front end (104) to the rear end (106); and
an outer panel (108) having a front end (110) corresponding to the front end (104) of the inner panel (102) and a rear end (112) corresponding to the rear end (106) of the inner panel (102), the outer panel (108) having a divergent shape structure from the front end (110) to the rear end (112) corresponding to the shape of the inner panel (102),
wherein the diverging shaped structure of the inner panel (102) and the outer panel (108) of the shotgun assembly (100) equally distributes and transfers a load from a frontal crash to an A-pillar of the vehicle.
2. The shotgun assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer panel (108) has a stepped hat shaped cross section.
3. The shotgun assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outer panel (108) has an integral mounting (122) for mounting a hinge (114) to the shotgun assembly (100).

4. A shotgun assembly (100) for a vehicle, the shotgun assembly (100) comprising:
an inner panel (102); and
an outer panel (108) having an integral hinge mounting (122) for mounting a hinge (114) to the shotgun assembly (100).