Ford Motor Company Limited

Hans Vogt

Herbert Kloppe

Erwin Spiegel

Oskar Hurten

Derek F Gentle

Martin Ufrecht

Erich Altdorf

Siegfried Lorenz

Paul Stutenkemper

Richard C McKechnie

Malcom H Russell

The invention relates to a plastic construction member, in particular an impact-absorbing external body panel, such as an engine hood or mudguard for a motor vehicle. The body panel is formed of a sandwich construction having inner and outer skins bonded to a soft core of, for example, hard foam, a honeycomb structure or paper webs. The connection between the surface of the skins and that of the core is selectively interrupted. In this way, crumple zones are formed in selected regions of the body panel.

Plastic construction member for a motor vehicle

A double-walled, plastic, structural body panel for motor vehicles, such as a door or tailgate, comprises an outer part and an inner part, both preferably injection-molded of a thermoplastic synthetic material, which are joined together along edge areas. Both the outer edge areas (4) and the inner edge areas (5) have adjacent flat joining areas (7/8 and 9/10, respectively). A web or flange (11 and 12, respectively) extends approximately at right angles to the adjacent flat joining areas. An adhesion coating (6) or an adhesion welding joint is formed at the adjacent flat joining areas.

Double-walled structural body panel for motor vehicle

In a method for the preliminary and/or final mounting of a vehicle door on a part of the bodywork by means of a hinge comprising two stop members, the following method steps are carried out: (a) fastening one hinge member 5 of the hinge to part of the bodywork 2; (b) fastening the other hinge member 7 to the door 3; (c) hanging the vehicle door by plugging the pin 7 on one hinge member into the socket 15 on the other hinge member and aligning the vehicle door with respect to the opening in the bodyshell using a jig; and (d) injecting a hardening plastic substance 18 into the socket surrounding the pin and subsequently sealing the injection opening.

Method of mounting a vehicle door

A motor vehicle scuttle-dash instrument panel component of plastics material having an integrated ventilating and heating unit comprising (i) a first part extending between the inner walls of the motor vehicle bodywork and having integrally formed hollows and walls adapted to receive components of the ventilating and heating unit, (ii) a second part likewise extending between inner walls with correspondingly matching shaped hollows and walls. When the two parts are adjacent they form together a unit having spaces and channels of a specific shape. The first and second parts can be inserted in the bodywork as a pre-assembled structural member supplemented by the corresponding components of the ventilating and heating unit and additional covering elements and being connected to the bodywork by way of lateral flanges. Both the first part (2) and the second part (3) are constructed as fibre-reinforced rigid polyurethane foam-material moulded articles, being securely joined to one another by adhesive in their peripheral regions along a substantially horizontal junction plane (6) to form a box-like transverse support member which cooperates in force-transmitting manner with the bodywork structure by way of the aforesaid lateral flanges, e.g., bead or wedge-shaped edges ( 8 and 9) which are formed on the lateral edges of the support member lying in the approximately horizontal junction plane (6). The lateral flanges are received and secured by adhesive approximately horizontally in guide channels (10) which have an appropriate cross-section and are provided on the inner wall (11) of the bodywork.

Motor vehicle scuttle-dash instument panel component of plastics

A side member support is provided for the front part of a self-supporting motor vehicle bodywork of the type having a floor panel comprising a tunnel. On each side of the front part of the vehicle, front side members which are formed from side member panels and have a box-type section and which are each divided in the region of the dashboard or the front part of the floor panel into two bifurcate side member arms. In conjunction with the floor panel the arms form box-type sections, and the side member arm towards the inside of the vehicle adjoins the vehicle tunnel and the side member arm towards the outside of the vehicle adjoins the sill. The front side members are formed from two side member panels integrally with the bifurcate side member arms, and the two side member arms are joined in the lower region of their forking by means of a strongly profiled reinforcement panel.

Side member support

A body side wall for motor vehicles, in particular for passenger cars and station wagons, which includes a rear side door opening and a rear pillar formed adjacent the vehicle rear wheel opening from inner and outer panels of the side wall together with a reinforcement panel. The invention wall construction includes a one-piece reinforcement panel which is formed in a U-shape and is positioned adjacent the door opening extending from the roof frame along the rear pillar and the front part of the wheel housing, the reinforcement panel being connected to the side wall inner panel and the side wall outer panel to form a box support extending from the roof frame to the sill.

Motor vehicle body side wall

In a sandwich component, in particular for hoods, deck lids or the like, for the bodywork of a motor vehicle, comprising a core layer interposed between covering layers and a reinforcement member adjacent which the core layer is recessed and which is joined to the covering layers and the core layer by means of plastic foam, the reinforcement member being made dish-shaped and provided with a base having openings and with a projecting flange having openings, and the flange being adjacent to one covering layer from the inside and the base being adjacent to the other covering layer from the inside.

Sandwich component for the bodywork of a motor vehicle

A sealing arrangement for an automotive body closure such as a sliding roof comprises a sealing member including a tubular sealing portion and a shorter reservoir portion. The two portions are filled with hydraulic fluid and communicate with one another. When the closure member is closed, the sealing portion is not under pressure and offers little resistance to the movement of the closure member. After closing, an actuator such as a crank is retracted and in so doing acts through a rack and pinion on an actuating device which compresses the reservoir portion and thus pressurizes the sealing member to improve the sealing of the joint.

Sealing arrangement for a vehicle

A composite sandwich formed by enclosing a central resilient layer of a soft compressible material between two plate-shaped parts of foamable synthetic material and inserting the assembly into a cavity formed from two shells of prefabricated sheet metal. The resultant composite is subjected to a heat treatment for about 10 minutes at about 200.degree. C. so that the foamable material expands to fill the cavity.

Composite components of sandwich construction

In a motor vehicle body, a rigidly fastened roof (10) of composite material rests upon a frame rigid with the body as a complete prefabricated component. The roof (10) is formed as a composite component which is produced in a hot pressing process and is formed by an air-tight and rain-proof outer layer (11), an intermediate structural layer (12) and a semi-rigid, porous inner layer (13) with a padding and/or decorative layer (14). The continuous edge around the roof is shaped by hot pressing deformation of all the layers to form joining flange areas of different cross-sections which are joined to the areas of the frame rigid with the body by a permanently resilient, vibration-absorbing adhesive bead and by additional screw connections at strategic points.

Motor vehicle roof of composite material

The invention relates to a sliding roof for a motor vehicle in which a plurality of louvre-like roof sections 1, 2a, 2b and 3 are provided for closing the roof opening. An actuating device is operative when first actuated to tilt the roof sections by raising their rear edges so as to provide a ventilation position. Upon further operation of the actuating device, the roof sections move backwards and stack in their tilted up position (FIGS. 1, 1a and 1b). In an alternative embodiment, the front roof section is hinged and remains in position to act as a draft reflector while the remaining roof sections slide and stack at the rear of the roof opening. (FIG. 1c)

Growing community of inventors

Overath, Germany

Hans Vogt