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US 4,660,345 AGranted
Vehicle space frame, castings therefor and method for remote construction
AssigneeMr. Gasket Company
InventorJames R. Browning
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMr. Gasket Company
InventorJames R. Browning
Estimating the term…
There is provided a remotely constructible, three dimensional space frame for a motor vehicle which comprises a plurality of elongated, metal structural members with outer surfaces and having axially uniform cross sections and a plurality of thin walled, interconnecting metal castings of at least first and second types. These metal castings each have (a) a saddle portion with a contour matching a portion of the cross section for one of the structural members and are laterally engageable with that one structure for axial movement of the casting along the structure and (b) a receptacle with an elongated tubular portion having a cross section matching the cross section of another structural member and intersecting with the saddle portion of the casting at a given angle so that the thin walled metal casting can be moved axially along one of the structural members and will receive a second structural member by movement of that second member into the casting. The two structural members are held with respect to each other at a given angle. The saddle portion and tubular portion of the many castings each have outer peripheral edges lying along the outer surface of the two structural members. A welded bead is deposited along these peripheral edges of the two casting portions and between the edges and the two structural members. In this fashion, the thin walled metal casing provides a variable junction for use with the structural members at a given joint necessary to construct the three dimensional space frame of a motor vehicle. The metal castings used in this space frame have a uniform wall thickness and are formed by a unique metal casting process wherein molten metal is drawn into a cavity of a rigid, self supporting, gas permeable low temperature bonded, sand grain mold by a vacuum applied through the sand mold while the mold is partially submerged in a bath of the molten metal.
A remotely constructible, three dimensional space frame for a motor vehicle, said three dimensional space frame comprising:
A thin walled metal casting for interconnecting elongated metal structural members in a three dimensional vehicle space frame, said casting having a first portion adapted to move along one of said structural members and a second tubular portion to receive another of said structural members axially of said casting and each of said first and second portions having a weld bead receiving edge for mutually joining said first portion to said one structural member and said another structural member onto said casting.
A thin walled metal casting for interconnecting elongated metal structural members into a three dimensional vehicle space frame, said structural members having outer axial surfaces and said casting having at least a first tubular portion to receive one of said structural members in an axial direction and a second portion adapted to be mounted on other of said metal structural members, said first and second portions of said casting each having peripheral edges lying along said outer surface of one of said structural members and forming a weld bead path for joining said casting with said structural members.
A three dimensional space frame comprising:
A thin walled metal castings for interconnecting elongated metal structural members into a three dimensional vehicle frame, said structural members having outer axial surfaces and said casting having at least a first tubular portion to receive one of said structural members in an axial direction and a second portion adapted to be mounted on other of said metal structural members, and said casting being cast by drawing molten metal into a cavity of a rigid, self-supporting, gas permeable low temperature bonded, sand grain mold by a vacuum applied through said sand mold while said mold is partially submerged in said molten metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.