FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to a structure of dash side panel of vehicles, and, in particular, to a three part dash side panel structure 5 for crash performance and to avoid material wastage. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to a three part dash side panel structure having box sections along joineries of the parts to improve strength and crash performance. BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] Dash side panel is provided near front pillars of the vehicle to give shape 10 to cabin area and instrument panel. Other object of the dash side panel is to absorb impact force applied on the vehicle body via wheels during collision. Further, the dash side panel absorbs impact force during frontal collision of the vehicle. The dash side panel is joined with the Front pillar and dash to define inner cabin area of the vehicle. 15
[003] Fig. 1 illustrates structure of conventional dash side panel structures as known in the art. Figure 1 shows location of the dash side panel structure 100 at front side of the vehicle in cabin area. Figure 3 illustrates cross section AA of the dash panel as marked in the figure 2. As illustrated in the figure 3, the dash side panel structure 100 is two part structure, i.e., upper part 100a and the lower part 20 100b. The upper part 100a is joined with the hinge pillar of the vehicle whereas the lower part is connected with the vehicle lower body.
[004] The existing dash side panels with two part structure are weak dash side panels for crash performance of the vehicle. Further, wastage of sheet material is high in manufacturing of the existing dash side panel structure due to two part 25 construction.
[005] In order to provide strong dash side panel structure and to meet crash performance requirement, a strong dash side panel structure is required which can efficiently meets the crash performance of the frontal collision of the vehicle. The
3
dash side panel structure should be inexpensive, reliable, and simple in manufacturing. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a strong dash side panel structure to meet crash performance and to avoid wastage of sheet material.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[006] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a dash side 5 panel structure with better crash performance of the vehicle.
[007] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a dash side panel structure which can reduce wastage of sheet material during manufacturing of the dash side panel structure.
[008] Yet another object of the present subject matter is to provide a simple, 10 effective, and efficient dash side panel structure with better crash performance for vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[009] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a dash side panel structure for absorbing impact force during front vehicle crash and to improve crash 15 performance of the vehicle. The dash side panel structure is a three part structure. The dash side panel structure has an upper part, middle part, and lower part which are joined in sequence to provide strength to the structure. The upper part has a rectangular bent profile at lower portion with a flange. The middle part has a rectangular bent profile at upper portion and at lower portion with flanges at upper 20 side and lower side. The lower part also has a rectangular bent profile at upper portion with a flange. The rectangular bent profile is a bead structure provided in rectangular shape in the upper, middle and lower parts at optimized locations for joining of the parts. The rectangular bent profile of the lower portion of the upper part matches with the rectangular bent profile of the upper portion of the middle 25 part to form a box section along length of joint of the upper part and the middle part. Further, the flange of the upper part is joined with the middle part via spot welding. Further, the flange of the middle part is joined with the upper part. Further, the lower portion of the upper part and lower portion of the middle part
4
has bent joint section to provide equal surface at inner side of the vehicle cabin after joining.
[0010] The rectangular bent profile of the lower portion of the middle part matches with the rectangular bent profile of the upper portion of the lower part to form another box section along length of joint of the middle part and the lower 5 part. The flange of the lower portion of the middle part joined with the upper portion of the lower part via spot welding. The lower part joined with middle part such that inner surface of the dash side panel remains smooth without any step of sheet material. The flange of the lower part joined in the bent joint section of the middle part to provide smooth surface at inner side. The box section formed along 10 the joineries of the upper and middle part, and middle and lower part provides strength to the dash side panel structure for better crash performance. Due to three part structure, there is reduction in Wastage of the sheet material during manufacturing, especially, during cutting process of sheet material for manufacturing of the dash side panel structure. 15
[0011] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20
[0012] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number 25 identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: 30
5
[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates location and structure of dash side panel structure as known in the art;
[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates zoom view of the dash side panel structure with cross section line AA as known in the art;
[0015] Fig. 3 illustrates cross section AA of the dash side panel structure as 5 known in art;
[0016] Fig. 4 illustrates structure of dash side panel, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0017] Fig. 5 illustrates open view of all three parts of the dash side panel, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; 10
[0018] Fig. 6 illustrates cross section view along line BB as marked in figure 4 of the dash side panel, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0019] Fig. 7 illustrates exploded view or Zoom out view of the joint between the two parts of the dash side panel with formed box section, in accordance with an 15 embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0020] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles 20 of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0021] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a dash side panel structure for absorbing impact force during front vehicle crash and to improve crash performance of the vehicle. The dash side panel structure is a three part structure. 25 The dash side panel structure has an upper part, middle part, and lower part which are joined in sequence to provide strength to the structure. The upper part has a rectangular bent profile at lower portion with a flange. The middle part has a
6
rectangular bent profile at upper portion and at lower portion with flanges at upper side and lower side. The lower part also has a rectangular bent profile at upper portion with a flange. The rectangular bent profile is a bead structure provided in rectangular shape in the upper, middle and lower parts at optimized locations for joining of the parts. The rectangular bent profile of the lower portion of the upper 5 part matches with the rectangular bent profile of the upper portion of the middle part to form a box section along length of joint of the upper part and the middle part. Further, the flange of the upper part is joined with the middle part via spot welding. Further, more the flange of the middle part is joined with the upper part. Further, the lower portion of the upper part and lower portion of the middle part 10 has bent joint section to provide equal surface at inner side of the vehicle cabin after joining.
[0022] The rectangular bent profile of the lower portion of the middle part matches with the rectangular bent profile of the upper portion of the lower part to form another box section along length of joint of the middle part and the lower 15 part. The flange of the lower portion of the middle part joined with the upper portion of the lower part via spot welding. The lower part joined with middle part such that inner surface of the dash side panel remains smooth without any step of sheet material. The flange of the lower part joined in the bent joint section of the middle part to provide smooth surface at inner side. The box section formed along 20 the joineries of the upper and middle part, and middle and lower part provides strength to the dash side panel structure for better crash performance. Due to three part structure, there is reduction in Wastage of the sheet material during manufacturing, especially, during cutting process of sheet material for manufacturing of the dash side panel structure. 25
[0023] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those 30
7
skilled in the art that by devising various assembly that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts 5 contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when 10 considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0024] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise 15 various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0025] Fig. 4 illustrates structure of the dash side panel structure, in accordance with the present subject matter. The dash side panel structure 400 is a three part structure. The dash side panel structure 400 has an upper part 401, middle part 20 402, and lower part 403 which are joined in sequence to provide strength to the structure. As shown in the figure 5, the upper part 401 has a rectangular bent profile 401a at lower portion with a flange 401b. The middle part 402 has a rectangular bent profile 402a at upper portion and at lower portion with flanges 402b at upper side and lower side. The lower part 403 also has a rectangular bent 25 profile 403a at upper portion with a flange 403b. The rectangular bent profile 401a, 402a, 403a of each part is a bead structure provided in rectangular shape in the upper, middle and lower parts at optimized locations for joining of the parts with each other.
8
[0026] The rectangular bent profile 401a of the lower portion of the upper part 401 matches with the rectangular bent profile 402a of the upper portion of the middle part 402 to form a box section 404 along length of joint of the upper part 401 and the middle part 402. Further, the flange 401b of the upper part 401 is joined with the middle part 402. The flange 401b is joined via spot welding with 5 the middle part 402. The flange 402b of the middle part 402 is joined with the upper part 401. The lower portion of the upper part 401 has bent joint section 401c to provide equal surface at inner side of the vehicle cabin after joining the middle part 402 with the upper part 401. The lower portion of the middle part 402 also has a bent joint section 402c to provide equal surface at inner side of the 10 vehicle cabin after joining the middle part 402 with the lower part 403.
[0027] The rectangular bent profile 402a of the lower portion of the middle part 402 matches with the rectangular bent profile 403a of the upper portion of the lower part 403 to form another box section 405 along length of joint of the middle part 402 and the lower part 403. The flange 403b of the upper portion of the lower 15 part 403 joined with the middle part 402 via spot welding. Similarly lower flange of the middle part 402 is spot welded with the lower part 403. The lower part 403 joined with middle part 402 in such a manner that inner surface of the dash side panel remains smooth without any step of sheet material. The flange 403b of the lower part 403 joined in the bent joint section 402c of the middle part 402 to 20 provide smooth surface at inner side. The box section 404, 405 formed along the joineries of the upper and middle part, and middle and lower part provides strength to the dash side panel structure for better crash performance.
[0028] Fig. 6 illustrates the cross section view along line BB of figure 4, in accordance with the present subject matter. The dash side panel assembly with the 25 vehicle body 600 is illustrated in the figure 6. The dash side panel has three parts as illustrated in the figure 4. The three parts are joined with each other through spot welding. Further, joinery of each joint has a box section along the length to provide strength to the structure along horizontal direction or in direction of frontal crash of the vehicle during collision. The upper part 401 of the dash side 30
9
panel 400 is connected with hinge pillar 406. Further, the lower part 403 of the dash side panel 400 is connected with the vehicle lower body. After assembly the dash side panel 400, side body 407 is mounted on the vehicle structure.
[0029] Fig. 7 illustrates exploded view or Zoom out view of the joint between the two parts of the dash side panel with formed box section, in accordance with an 5 embodiment of the present subject matter. The sheet material or flange of the middle part 402 overlaps the sheet material of the upper part 401. Similarly, flange of the upper part overlaps the middle part; flange of the middle part over laps the lower part. The overlapped flanges are spot welded 408 along the length of the joint. Further, the rectangular profile of the parts placed to face each other 10 so that a box section 404, 405 can be formed along the length of the joint. The box section 404, 405 provide strength to the dash side panel structure 400 for better crash performance.
[0030] The present dash side panel structure is made of three part or three pieces of panel, therefore, there is reduction in Wastage of the sheet material during 15 manufacturing, especially, during cutting process of sheet material for manufacturing of the dash side panel structure. Further, the rectangular profile in the parts is rectangular bead structure which can be provided by a simple die mechanism which is well known to a person skilled in the art. The present structure, further, involves a spot welding process at three locations. Therefore, 20 the present subject matter, i.e., dash side panel structure is easy to manufacture.
[0031] The term “vehicle” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to any moving vehicle that is capable of carrying one or more human occupants and is powered by any form of energy. The term “vehicle” is a motor vehicle which includes, but is not limited to: cars, trucks, vans, minivans, 25 hatchback, sedan, MUVs, and SUVs.
[0032] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. 30
10
Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of 5 other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also 10 contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.
[0033] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, 15 the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter. 20

We claim:
1. A dash side panel structure (400) for absorbing impact force during front vehicle crash, the dash side panel structure (400) comprising:
a upper part (401) having a rectangular bent profile (401a) at lower portion with a flange (401b); 5
a middle part (402) having a rectangular bent profile (402a) at upper portion and at lower portion with flanges (402b); and
a lower part (403) having a rectangular bent profile (403a) at upper portion with a flange (403b);
wherein the upper part (401) is joined with the middle part 10 (402) with flange (402b); and
wherein the middle part (402) is joined with the lower part (403) with flange (403b) to form the dash side panel structure (400).
15
2. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rectangular bent profile (401a) of the lower portion of the upper part (401) matches with the rectangular bent profile (402a) of the upper portion of the middle part (402) to form a box section (404) along length of joint of the upper part (401) and the middle part (402), wherein the box section (404) 20 provide strength to the dash side panel structure (400).
3. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flange (401a) of the upper part (401) joined with the middle part (402) and the flange (402b) of the middle part (402) joined with the upper part (401). 25
4. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rectangular bent profile (402a) of the lower portion of the middle part (402) matches with the rectangular bent profile (403a) of the upper portion of the lower part (403) to form a box section (405) along length of joint of the 30
12
middle part (402) and the lower part (403), wherein the box section (405) provide strength to the dash side panel structure (400).
5. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flange (402b) of the lower portion of the middle part (402) joined with the 5 lower part (403).
6. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flanges of the upper part (401), the middle part (402), and the lower part (403) are spot welded. 10
7. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 2 or 4, wherein the box section (404 or 405) along the length of joint provides strength to the dash side panel structure ().
15
8. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper part (401) and the middle part (402) has bent joint sections (401c, 402c) for smooth inner surface and to receive the flanges.
9. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dash 20 side panel structure (400) has two box sections (404, 405) along joinery of the upper part (401) and middle part (402), and the middle part (402) and the lower part (403).
10. The dash side panel structure (400) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 25 rectangular profiles (401a, 402a, 403a) are rectangular bead structures.