Hollow component, a method of manufacturing the same, and an apparatus for manufacturing the same
AssigneeYorozu Corporation
InventorShuichiro Kawaguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hollow component made of thin sheet metal members is described, along with a method of manufacturing such hollow component. The method involves applying a flow drilling process on one sheet metal member of a pair of sheet metal members having a gap G between them to form a first collar part. A flow drilling process is applied on the other sheet metal member of the pair to form a second collar part as well as to cause an inner tip of the second collar part to fuse with an inner tip of the first collar part. A cylindrical connection member is formed to strengthen a flat sheet metal members.
Claims2
A hollow component formed by joining and connecting together a first sheet metal member and a second sheet metal member in a process comprising:
- forming a first collar part by applying a flow drilling process inwardly from an outside of said first sheet metal member;
- forming a second collar part by applying the flow drilling process inwardly from an outside of the said second sheet metal member;
- fusing together a first inner tip of the first collar part and a second inner tip of the second collar part, when the second collar part is formed, to form a cylindrical connection member that connects said first sheet metal member and second sheet metal member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.