Claims:CLAIMS
We claim
1. A reinforcement pad for reinforcing a panel, said reinforcement pad comprising:
a resin adapted for reinforcing said panel; and
a reinforcement element adapted for reinforcing said resin,
wherein
said reinforcement element includes a plurality of fiber filaments in biaxial configuration.
2. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resin is an epoxy resin.
3. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element is a glass fiber fabric.
4. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element is a non crimp type glass fiber fabric.
5. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element has a grammage of 400 GSM.
6. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of fiber filaments is at an angle of + 450, - 450 to each other.

Dated this 16th September 2015
Signature:

Name: Kalyan Chakravarthy
, Description:FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“REINFORCEMENT PAD FOR BODY PANEL OF A VEHICLE”

APPLICANTS:

Name Nationality Address
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited Indian Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.,
MRV, Mahindra World City (MWC),
Plot No. 41/1, Anjur Post, Chengalpattu,
Kanchipuram District – 603204 (TN) INDIA

The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature
of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein generally relate to reinforcement pads for body panels in vehicles, and more particularly but not exclusively to reinforcement pads for body panels in vehicles having contoured surfaces.

BACKGROUND
[001] Generally, the body of an automotive/vehicle is made up of sheet metal with various curves, bends and sharp feature lines for various functional and aesthetic purpose. The thickness of the sheet metal used in the construction of the automotive body plays a critical role as it affects the cost, weight and quality of the vehicle. Using optimal thickness of sheet metal for body construction helps in reducing the cost and weight while meeting the structural, safety and quality requirements. However certain portions of the body panel having contoured surfaces like corners, curvatures and sharp lines get weaken due to stress concentration and lead to crack formation and overall failure of the part.
[002] Conventionally in order to increase the strength in the body panel either sheet metal thickness is increased or the portions of the body panel that are weak are locally reinforced by attaching reinforcement pads. Reinforcement pads are generally composite materials having epoxy resin matrix with reinforcement such as aluminum sheet, stainless steel sheet etc. While increasing the thickness of the sheet metal for increasing the strength of the panel leads to additional cost and weight, the reinforcement pads are comparatively cheaper and light in weight and easy to apply.
[003] However using conventional reinforcement pads at contoured surfaces of body panels involving curvatures and sharp lines is not of much use as the reinforcement pad delaminates from the surface of the body panel as blow holes are formed during the baking/curing process of the reinforcement pad due to different behavioral response of the resin material with respect to the reinforcing material of the reinforcement pad. Hence the body panel with contoured surface does not get the desired strength as the reinforcement pad has already separated from the body panel surface during the curing process.
[004] Therefore, there exists a need for a reinforcement pad for a body panel of a vehicle having contoured surface. Further, there exists a need for a reinforcement pad that can eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks.

OBJECTS
[005] The principle object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a reinforcement pad for a body panel of a vehicle having contoured surface for increasing the strength of the body panel.
[006] Another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a reinforcement pad that prevents the delamination of reinforcement pad from the body panel of the vehicle.
[007] Yet, another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a reinforcement pad that prevents blow hole formation during the curing process of the reinforcement pad.
[008] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[009] The embodiments of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a reinforcement pad assembled to a panel according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein; and
[0011] FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the reinforcement pad assembled to the panel according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed 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.
[0013] The embodiments herein achieve a reinforcement pad for a body panel of a vehicle having contoured surface for increasing the strength of the body panel. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 2, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0014] FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a reinforcement pad assembled to a panel according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the reinforcement pad assembled to the panel according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. In an embodiment the reinforcement pad 100 includes a resin 102 and a reinforcement element 104. The reinforcement pad 100 is used for reinforcing/strengthening the panel 200.
[0015] In an embodiment the resin 102 serves as a base for the reinforcement element 104 and for reinforcing the panel 200. In an embodiment the resin 102 is an epoxy resin. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide any other type of resin without otherwise deterring the intended function of the resin 102 as can be deduced from the description.
[0016] In an embodiment the reinforcement element 104 is used for reinforcing the resin 102. In an embodiment the reinforcement element 104 includes a plurality of fiber filaments (not shown) in biaxial configuration. In an embodiment the angle between the fiber filaments (not shown) in the reinforcement element 104 is + 450, - 450. In an embodiment the reinforcement element 104 has a grammage of 400 GSM. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide the reinforcement element 104 at any other grammage values without otherwise deterring the intended function of the reinforcement element 104 as can be deduced from the description. In an embodiment the reinforcement element 104 is a glass fiber fabric. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide carbon fiber fabric or any other type of fabric without otherwise deterring the intended function of the reinforcement element 104 as can be deduced from the description. In an embodiment the fiber fabric of the reinforcement element 104 is a non-crimp type fabric. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide a crimp type fabric without otherwise deterring the intended function of the reinforcement element 104 as can be deduced from the description. In an embodiment the reinforcement pad 100 is configured based on the shape and size of the panel 200.
[0017] In an embodiment the reinforcement pad 100 is made as follows. The reinforcement element 104 of the reinforcement pad 100 is cut into desired size and shape, and the resin 102 is applied on one of the side of the reinforcement element 104. Thereafter, the reinforcement pad 100 is assembled to the panel 200 such that the resin 102 of the reinforcement pad 100 is provided in communication with the panel 200. Thereafter, the panel 200 assembled with the reinforcement pad 100 is heated in an oven at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined amount of time. During this process, the resin 102 cures & expands and the reinforcement element 104 gets stretched by taking in the expansion of the resin 102 and the reinforcement pad 100 conforms to the shape of the panel 200 without compromising the strength & adhesion to the panel 200. The reinforcement element 104 gets stretched in sync with the resin 102 and stays homogeneous right through the baking cycle in oven and remains strongly bonded to the panel 200.
[0018] In an embodiment the panel 200 assembled with the reinforcement pad 100 is heated in the oven (not shown) at a temperature of 160 degree celsius for twenty minutes. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to heat the panel 200 with the reinforcement pad 100 in the oven at any other temperature and for any other duration of time. As the plurality of fiber filaments in the reinforcement element 104 are in biaxial configuration the reinforcement element 104 uniformly stretches with the resin 102 and firmly adheres to the panel 200 without blow hole formation thereby eliminating delamination of the reinforcement pad 100 from the panel 200. Further, the reinforcement pad 100 reinforces the panel 200.
[0019] In an embodiment the panel 200 is a body panel of a vehicle (not shown). However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide any other panel of vehicle or any other panel for any other product, machine or article of manufacture. In an embodiment the panel 200 is a sheet metal panel. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide panel made from plastic or any other material without otherwise deterring the intended function of the reinforcement pad 100 as can be deduced from the description. In an embodiment the reinforcement pad 100 is used for reinforcing a panel having contoured surfaces like, curves, sharp lines etc., However it is also within the scope of the invention to provide the reinforcement pad 100 for reinforcing panels having flat surface or any other shape.
[0020] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

CLAIMS
We claim
1. A reinforcement pad for reinforcing a panel, said reinforcement pad comprising:
a resin adapted for reinforcing said panel; and
a reinforcement element adapted for reinforcing said resin,
wherein
said reinforcement element includes a plurality of fiber filaments in biaxial configuration.
2. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resin is an epoxy resin.
3. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element is a glass fiber fabric.
4. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element is a non crimp type glass fiber fabric.
5. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement element has a grammage of 400 GSM.
6. The reinforcement pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of fiber filaments is at an angle of + 450, - 450 to each other.

Dated this 16th September 2015
Signature:

Name: Kalyan Chakravarthy
ABSTRACT
Reinforcement pad for body panel of a vehicle includes, a resin adapted for reinforcing a panel and a reinforcement element adapted for reinforcing the resin. The reinforcement element includes a plurality of fiber filaments in biaxial configuration.
Fig. 1