The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 18, 1989
Filed:
Apr. 27, 1987
Delbert D DeRees, Romeo, MI (US);
American Motors Corporation, Southfield, MI (US);
Abstract
A rail assembly which is especially advantageous for use in constructing the frame and underbody of a motor vehicle comprises an upper channel member, a lower channel member and an intermediate member or web in the form of a corrugated sheet secured between the channel members and whose margins abuttingly engage the peripheral walls of the channels. Each furrow and ridge preferably comprises a planar panel portion. Each planar panel portion is interconnected by a web panel portion which is preferably angled at an acute angle with respect to the transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rail. Preferably, each planar panel portion has a trapezoidal shape to maximize resistance to bending moments along the longitudinal axis of the rail. The rail design can also be incorporated into other structural elements in a vehicle, i.e. in a pillar arch or a vehicle body, to provide additional rigidity to the vehicle structure. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pair of assembled frame rails are sandwiched between upper and lower flooring panels configured to form hollow transverse and longitudinal beams. In addition, the hollow beams formed by the flooring panels support a pillar arch and a cowl structure which are interconnected by a cross bar.