A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle”.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] This invention relates to a reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on 5 resin part of vehicle. The resin part includes grill/bumper. The reinforcement is devised to avoid crack on said resin part during fatigue loading. It is particularly applicable to small/medium range four wheeler vehicles.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR ART 10
[002] A four wheeler, front exposed parts of which include front bumper, grill, lighting system, hood covering engine housing, out of which front bumper and grill constitute part made of resin.
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[003] Said front bumper and grill can be configured in various ways which can be discussed hereinbelow.
[004] Referring to fig. 1, bumper (1) is mounted on grill (2) in overhang condition, which is mounted on the underlying vehicle body (weld body) (3). 20
[005] According to another provision as in fig. 1A, bumper (1A) is directly mounted on the vehicle body (2A).
[006] According to still another provision as illustrated in the figure 1B, grill (1B) 25 is assembled to bumper (2B). The bumper assembly thus obtained is mounted on the vehicle body (weld body) (3B).
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[007] For styling or other purpose, customers may wish to fit additional mass on the resin part such as accessories so as to enhance aestheticness of vehicle. This adds load onto the resin part, which leads to failure of the same during fatigue loading (with usage) by developing cracks at/proximate to the mounting area of resin part.
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[008] In order to avoid the above issue, some solutions have been suggested in the art mentioned hereinunder.
[009] In accordance with one known art, for which reference may be made to figure 2A, multiple strengthening ribs (R) are integrally provided onto the resin part (P) 10 (Bumper/grill), in which the rib structured resin part is secured to weld body (B).
[0010] In accordance with another technology as best seen in figure 2B, additional part (A) is placed under the resin part (P) constituting a support for the same. The support is located at/near high stress area during fatigue loading. So that, stresses 15 from grill/bumper area will transfer to the underlying additional part and eventually to the vehicle body (B). Thus, the additional loading on the bumper/grill due to auxiliary mass thereon is shared between the support itself and the vehicle body.
[0011] In accordance with still another provision, profile of the bumper/grill is 20 modified to sustain additional load of the mass placed on the top surface thereof, wherein the bumper/grill is mounted on the vehicle body.
[0012] Thus, as per the existing solutions, either base resin part needs to be modified by addition of ribs or by change in shape or layout is required to be designed to 25 accommodate said additional part.
[0013] However, the end result can’t be ascertained without any tool change, which adds to cost. At times, design modification is not feasible in the base part.
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[0014] The disadvantages associated with the above can be briefly listed hereinbelow:-
- Tooling constraints 5
- Design layout constraints
- Additional cost of tooling
- Design change may not be feasible in base resin part
- Change in design of resin part may lead to other secondary molding defects
- Change in design of base resin part involves time consuming evaluation 10 owing to iterative process.
[0015] In view of the above, it is required to introduce a novel design which will not require alteration of resin part profile, addition of ribs or placement of additional part 15 under the resin part.
[0016] In order to cater to the above requirements, the present invention has been proposed.
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[0017] Now a patent WO 2015151549 can be referred to for study, which discloses vehicle body structure for automobile comprising a metal fuse member disposed between rear damper supporting member and upper end of the rear damper. So that the metal fuse member is plastically deformed when a load exceeding a particular value is applied through the rear damper. 25
[0018] Thus, the above technology involves metal fuse part at rear area of vehicle for damper, which is only applicable to CFRP material.
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[0019] Thus, this provision is kind of insert molding. The same can’t be implemented for fatigue loading in overhang condition of the resin part.
[0020] Thus, none of the currently available teachings can fulfill the requirements of 5 the instant invention, for which it is designed.
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OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Principal object of the invention is to propose a reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle which obviates shortcomings of the prior art. 15
[0022] Further object of this invention is to propose a reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle which is simple in construction.
[0023] Still further object of this invention is to propose a reinforcement to prevent 20 stress concentration on resin part of vehicle which involves flexible assembly.
[0024] Another object of this invention is to propose a reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle which is cost effective comparatively.
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SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0025] According to this invention, there is provided a reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle comprising a single structural piece placed on the resin part of vehicle at/near mounting area thereof, outer profile of 5 which follows the outer profile of adjacent parts thereto.
[0026] The thickness of the reinforcement is obtained relying on the maximum load of the auxiliary mass to be fitted onto the resin part. The size of the same is such that, 10 high stress concentration area on said resin part is entirely protected thereby.
[0027] It is placed on top surface of upper part of the resin part, which is covered by hood of vehicle. The reinforcement is atleast one in number.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0028] Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the ensuing description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of exemplary embodiments of invention and wherein: 20
Fig. 1 shows: Bumper mounted on grill of vehicle in overhang condition in prior art.
Fig.1A shows: Grill integrated to bumper mounted on vehicle body according to known art. 25
Fig. 1B shows: Bumper and grill assembly mounted on vehicle body in accordance with state of art.
Fig. 2A shows: Rib structure of grill of prior art.
Fig. 2B shows: Conventional provision of support for grill of vehicle. 30
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Fig. 3 shows: A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle according to present invention.
Fig.4 shows: Detail-A of fig. 3 of invention.
Fig. 4A shows: Sectional view B-B of fig. 4 of invention. 5
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:
[0029] The present invention pertains to reinforcement for prevention of stress 10 concentration on resin part of vehicle.
[0030] In order to provide an effective solution to the existing problems of currently available arts, the instant invention introduces a reinforcement so as to reinforce the grill/bumper which is required to be loaded with the additional mass for catering to 15 the customer’s need. The grill/bumper can also be called as resin part.
[0031] The following description will explain in detail only the reinforcement for the resin part (grill/bumper) of vehicle comprising a single structural piece placed on the resin part of vehicle at/near mounting area thereof, outer profile of which follows the 20 outer profile of adjacent parts thereto without illustrating further constructional details of the resin part/adjacent parts thereto.
[0032] The invention is applicable to any configuration of bumper/grill as already disclosed under the head ‘Background/Prior Art’. 25
[0033] Now, reference may be made to fig. 3 depicting placement of reinforcement of invention on the grill/bumper at/near the mounting area (M) of the same which usually develops high stress concentration during fatigue loading resulting in cracks. 30
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[0034] Now, referring to fig. 4, the reinforcement (T) forms a single piece of required thickness. The thickness is determined according to the maximum value of load which it needs to sustain due to mounting of additional mass (for ex: accessories) on the bumper/grill. 5
[0035] The size of the reinforcement is such that high stress concentration area on said bumper/grill is completely covered by the same.
[0036] However, the reinforcement does not possess a definite shape as the profile of 10 outer periphery thereof is designed according to the outer profile of adjacent parts maintaining required clearance (if required) i.e. outer profile of the reinforcement follows the outer profile of adjacent parts thereto.
[0037] As in the exemplary embodiment, it can be observed that, the outer edge (E) 15 of reinforcement directing outwards follows the profile of edge of grill placed thereunder.
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[0038] The material of the reinforcement can be selected from sheet metal, plastic, fiber without limiting scope of the invention to the same. Thus, other materials readily apparent to a person skilled in the art are understood to be within purview of the invention. 25
[0039] The reinforcement is detachably fixed to the bumper/grill (P) with the help of double sided tape or by fastener such as screws, bolt, rivet or a combination of both
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double sided tape and fastener. As depicted in fig. 4A, the grill/bumper together with reinforcement is secured to the weld body (vehicle body) (B) in an exemplary embodiment of invention.
[0040] The aforediscussed reinforcement is positioned on the top surface of upper 5 part of grill/bumper (resin part) (P) as illustrated in the figure 3. So that the reinforcement is covered by the hood of vehicle without being exposed outside.
[0041] The reinforcement can be manufactured by the method of stamping/moulding. However, other methods can also be adopted by a person skilled 10 in the art without restricting scope of the invention to the same.
[0042] The reinforcement can be one or provided in plural depending upon number of high stress area present on the resin part of vehicle in the course of fatigue loading. 15
[0043] The invention has the advantage of flexible assembly. For instance, in case it is required to have the feature of reinforcement for additional loading post manufacturing of motor vehicle, the same can be conveniently attached onto the resin part without having to remove any other vehicle parts. 20
[0044] In contrast to the above, in case of prior art providing additional support under the resin part, post manufacturing accommodation of the support in the vehicle necessitates removal of whole of the grill/bumper, which is quite tedious.
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[0045] Further, the invention does not require change in design layout of vehicle or any alteration in the existing resin part.
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[0046] Thus, it is not associated with any layout or tool modification constraint for modification in base resin part.
[0047] Further it does not involve any additional countermeasure in base resin part. Again, it saves time as compared to prior art leading to faster evaluation of 5 countermeasures.
[0048] The aforementioned advantageous features of invention can be summarized as follows.
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- No requirement of additional countermeasure in base resin part.
- Cost effective
- Faster evaluation
- No layout or tool modification constraint for modification in base resin part
- Flexible assembly post manufacturing even. 15
[0049] It is to be noted that the present invention is susceptible to modifications, adaptations and changes by those skilled in the art. Such variant embodiments employing the concepts and features of this invention are intended to be within the scope of the present invention, which is further set forth under the following claims:- 20
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WE CLAIM:
1. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle comprising a single structural piece placed on the resin part of vehicle at/near mounting area thereof, outer profile of which follows the outer profile of adjacent parts thereto. 5
2. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reinforcement, thickness of which is determined according to maximum load of the additional mass to be mounted on the resin part. 10
3. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the reinforcement, size of which is such that high stress concentration area at/near mounting area of said resin part is completely covered thereby. 15
4. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement, material of which can be sheet metal, plastic, fiber.
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5. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement is secured to the underlying bumper/grill constituting said resin part by means of double sided tape or fastener or a combination thereof.
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6. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement is placed
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on the top surface of upper part of said resin part to be covered by hood of vehicle.
7. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the reinforcement can be one 5 or plural in number according to number of high stress area on the resin part of vehicle.
8. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle as claimed in any of the preceding claims is associated with the advantageous 10 features such as herein described.
9. A reinforcement to prevent stress concentration on resin part of vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.