# US 12,759,377 B2 · Vehicle side door bolster

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- Number: US 12,759,377 B2
- Document ID: US12759377B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/454,419
- Filed: 2023-08-23
- Published: 2025-02-27
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2023-08-23
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Mario Martin Avila Rodriguez; Ruben Gallardo; Gabriel Perez Lopez; Alan Cardenas; Victor Manuel Delgado Romero; Francisco Mauricio Munoz; Jorge Aurelio Martinez
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12759377B2

## CPC

- B60J 5/0451: {Block or short strip-type elements (beams B60J5/0443, position thereof B60J5/0423)}
- B60J 5/0426: {the elements being arranged at the beltline}
- B60J 5/0443: {Beams}
- B60R 21/0428: {associated with the side doors or panels, e.g. displaced towards the occupants in case of a side collision}
- B60R 2021/0414: {using energy absorbing ribs}
- B60J: WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES (fastening, suspending, closing, or opening of such devices E05)
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A vehicle side door assembly includes a first beam, a second beam, and a bolster spanning from the first beam to the second beam. The bolster can be nylon. The bolster can include a grid of ribs that establish an array of pockets on an outboard side of the bolster, and a grid of ribs that establish another array of pockets on an inboard side of the bolster.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle side door assembly, comprising:
a first beam;
a second beam; and
a bolster spanning from the first beam to the second beam, the bolster directly attached to both the first beam and the second beam using a plurality of mechanical fasteners that extend through the bolster to engage the first beam or the second beam,
wherein the bolster has an inboard side having an array of inboard pockets and an outboard side having an array of outboard pockets,
wherein the array of inboard pockets is a first array of inboard pockets within a first bolster section and the array of outboard pockets is a first array of outboard pockets within the first bolster section, and further comprising a second array of inboard pockets within a second bolster section and a second array of outboard pockets within the second bolster section, the first bolster section spaced a distance from the second bolster section,
wherein first and second grids of inboard ribs respectively define the first and second arrays of inboard pockets, wherein first and second grids of outboard ribs define the first and second arrays of outboard pockets, and further comprising a connecting arm that connects the first bolster section to the second bolster section, the connecting arm lacking rib-defined cavities.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first beam is a vertically upper beam, and the second beam is a vertically lower beam, wherein at least one of the mechanical fasteners extends through a first aperture in the bolster into the vertically upper beam, and at least one of the mechanical fasteners extends through a second aperture in the bolster into the vertically lower beam.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the inboard pockets and the outboard pockets have a rectangular profile.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a side door inner panel and a side door outer panel, wherein the first beam, the second beam, and the bolster are disposed between the side door inner panel and the side door outer panel.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first beam and the second beam are a metal or metal alloy, wherein the bolster is a polymer-based material.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The assembly of claim 5, wherein the bolster is nylon-based.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a snap-fit feature of the bolster configured to snap-fit the bolster to the first beam or the second beam.