Vehicle structural component with exterior stiffening channels

Abstract

A structural component of a vehicle may include an elongated beam having a seamless outer wall surrounding a hollow interior area along the length of the beam. The outer wall defines a closed-cross-sectional shape along the length of the beam and may be comprised of at least four outer wall sections. The outer wall of the elongated beam may include plurality of channels protruding into the hollow interior area and extending laterally from an inboard side to an outboard side on at least one section of the outer wall of the elongated beam. The outer wall includes a flat surface spanning between each of the plurality of channels. The elongated beam may be comprised of an extruded aluminum, and the channels may be formed after extrusion in an orthogonal direction to the direction of extrusion.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.