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:
Jun. 08, 2004
Filed:
Feb. 23, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
Assignee:
Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K 2/012 ; B24C 1/00 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K 2/012 ; B24C 1/00 ;
Abstract
Plural extrusion members , each having plural ribs formed on one surface of a face plate , are mounted on a frame with the surface not having the ribs facing downward, and with the end regions of the adjacent members being butted to each other. Then, the end regions of said members are welded using friction stir welding from the upper direction with a rotary body , and then a hairline finish is applied to said surface not having the ribs, which constitutes the exterior surface of the vehicle body. In this way, there is substantially no need to cut off the joint bead, which improves the appearance of the vehicle body and reduces the manufacturing cost.