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US 7,065,850 B2Granted
Hardened motor-vehicle part with repair point
AssigneeBenteler Automobiltechnik GmbH
InventorHans-Jürgen Knaup
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hardened metal part is created having a pair of opposite faces and a dimple open at one of the faces and forming a pocket. This hardened metal part is installed in a motor vehicle over an element of the vehicle with the one face turned toward and the dimple aligned with a specific region of the element. Then at a later date when the region needs to be accessed, the dimple is ground off so as to form the pocket into a throughgoing hole and thereby expose the region through the hole so that a tool can act on the region through the hole.
Claims4
A method comprising the steps of:
- forming a metal part having a pair of opposite faces and a dimple open at one of the faces, projecting from the other of the faces, and forming a pocket open only at the one face;
- subsequently hardening the metal part with the dimple;
- subsequently installing the hardened metal part in a motor vehicle over an element of the vehicle with the one face turned toward a specific region of the element and the dimple aligned with the specific region of the element;
- and
- subsequently for repair purposes machining off the dimple so as to form the pocket into a throughgoing hole and thereby expose the region through the hole, whereby a tool can act on the region through the hole.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.