Stiffeners for cast light-metal door headers
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsJon T. Carter, Anil K. SACHDEV
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Stiffeners are disclosed which can be added to the header section of cast light-metal door panels. The header section casting can be designed for manufacturability, and to meet nominal lateral stiffness specifications while making effective use of material. The stiffeners can be cast in place in the header or attached to the header section after casting via snap-fit features, adhesive or both. The stiffeners can themselves be made of a light-weight metal such as aluminum, and can be produced by roll forming, stamping or extrusion. By effectively yielding a closed-section door header shape, the stiffeners provide maximum incremental bending stiffness in the header while adding a minimum amount of incremental material and mass.
Claims20
A door header for a vehicle, said header comprising:
- a cast header section, said cast header section being part of a cast light-metal door inner panel, where the cast header section has an open cross-sectional shape defining a channel which is oriented with a concave surface facing toward an exterior of the vehicle, and the light-metal is either magnesium or aluminum;
- and
- a stiffener, said stiffener being attached to the cast header section so as to create a closed cross-sectional shape to provide additional bending stiffness to the cast header section.
A door inner panel assembly for a vehicle, said assembly comprising:
- a cast magnesium door inner panel, said cast magnesium door inner panel including a header region, a latch region, a rocker region, a hinge region and a beltline region, where the header region has an open cross-sectional shape defining a channel which is oriented with a concave surface facing toward an exterior of the vehicle;
- an aluminum stiffener, said stiffener being attached to the header region of the door inner panel so as to create a closed cross-sectional shape to provide additional bending stiffness to the header region.
A method for assembling a door inner panel for a vehicle, said method comprising:
- providing a cast light-metal door inner panel, said door inner panel including a cast header section, where the cast header section has an open cross-sectional shape defining a channel which is oriented with a concave surface facing toward an exterior of the vehicle, and the light-metal is either magnesium or aluminum;
- providing a stiffener which is designed to be attached to the cast header section of the door inner panel so as to create a closed cross-sectional shape to increase a bending stiffness of the cast header section;
- determining if the cast header section requires additional lateral bending stiffness in order to meet a lateral bending stiffness specification for a market in which the vehicle is to be sold;
- and
- attaching the stiffener to the cast header section if it is determined that the cast header section requires additional lateral bending stiffness.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.