Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Shaikh Akhlaque-e-rasul

Zhenyan Gao

William Moore Sherwood

Cheng Luo

Bill Moore Sherwood

A rocker assembly, or an elongated beam, for a vehicle that includes an outer panel, a side sill and an insert disposed in a cavity. The insert includes a plurality of layers of reinforcements made up of hexagonal cells having interconnected walls defining a plurality of transversely extending open cells that define openings extending perpendicularly relative to the length of the rocker assembly. The plurality of layers of reinforcements may further comprise a first layer of cells assembled to the outer panel, a second layer of cells assembled to the side sill and a third layer of cells disposed between the first and second layers of cells. A wall thickness and bending strength of one of the plurality of layers of reinforcements is different than a wall thickness and bending strength of another of the plurality of layers of reinforcements. The insert is structured to deform progressively.

Stepped honeycomb rocker insert

A rollover mitigation device for a motor vehicle comprises a frame mounted to a roof assembly within which is disposed a transversely mounted deployable rollover protector shaft. The frame comprises a pair of lateral mounting rails mounted to the roof assembly and a tubular cross member extending between the pair of lateral mounting rails. The deployable rollover protector shaft is substantially disposed within the tubular cross member when in the stowed position and is actuated from the stowed position to a locked deployed position by a spring disposed within the tubular cross member. A controller actuates a release lock to release the deployable rollover protector shaft to the deployed position upon a sensor detecting a roll angle of the motor vehicle exceeding a predetermined value. A deployment lock restrains the deployable rollover protector shaft in the deployed position.

Active rollover protection

An elongated beam, or rocker assembly, is disclosed that includes a first panel and a second panel attached to the first panel to define a cavity. A reinforcement is disposed in the cavity that includes a first tubular member adhesively connected to the first panel inside the cavity and a pair of tubular members are connected with an adhesive to the second panel, to each other, and the first tubular member. The tubular members are arranged in a triangular array within the cavity and extend along the length of the elongated beam. The wall thickness and bending strength of the tubular members are selected to provide an insert that collapses preferentially with the outer tubular member of the insert collapsing before the inner tubular members.

Rocker insert formed by connected tubular members

A frame assembly for a vehicle includes a rocker elongated along an axis and defining a tubular cavity elongated along the axis. The vehicle frame assembly includes a sealed pressurized insert disposed in the cavity and elongated along the axis. The sealed pressurized insert increases the stiffness of the rocker, i.e., decreases the likelihood of deformation of the rocker during an impact of the vehicle, such as a side impact.

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Windsor, CA, United States of America

Shaikh Akhlaque-e-rasul