CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This PCT International Patent Application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/389,464, filed July 15, 2022, titled “Method of Manufacturing Vehicle Doors”, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a die assembly and related method of manufacturing vehicle parts, particularly vehicle doors.

2. Related Art

[0003] This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

[0004] As illustrated in Figures 1-2, a method of manufacturing vehicle doors is traditionally accomplished via an upper and lower die assembly collectively comprised of three major components, namely an upper die or punch in the upper die assembly, a lower die or punch and a lower binder in the lower die assembly. Each of the upper die, lower die, and lower binder are single, unitary pieces and thus as best illustrated in Figure 3, a depth of the vehicle door header is drawn to the same depth as the vehicle door main body (as illustrated by the vertical arrow Do) in order to keep a clean binder wrap around the formed vehicle door, namely because only a single binder is present. However, this manufacturing process generates material waste, particularly in an addendum formed around the vehicle door header, and also puts a lot of forming strain on the vehicle door. Accordingly, there is a continuing desire to further develop and refine methods of forming vehicle doors that reduces material requirements and resultant waste, as well as improves the forming process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] According to an aspect of the disclosure, the subject invention is generally directed to a method of manufacturing which reduces a draw depth of forming required at the header portion (illustrated as Di in Figure 6) compared to a draw depth of forming required at the main body portion (comparatively illustrated as D1+D2 in Figure 6). This is accomplished using a die assembly which splits the binder forming components of the upper and lower die assemblies into a plurality of separate components, namely an upper header binder, a lower main body binder, and a lower header binder.

[0006] More specifically, a die assembly for manufacturing vehicle doors in accordance with the subject method includes an upper die assembly having an upper die, and a lower die assembly including a lower die. The upper die and lower die are shaped complementary to one another for collectively forming a main body portion and a header portion of the vehicle door during a downward forming movement F of the upper die assembly. The lower die assembly includes a lower header binder configured to travel downwardly relative to the lower die an initial forming distance Di during the downward forming movement of the upper die assembly. The lower die assembly includes an additional lower main body binder configured to travel downwardly relative to the lower header binder and the upper die a longer forming distance D1+D2 during the downward forming movement of the upper die assembly. The upper die assembly includes an upper header binder separate from and compressible upwardly relative to the upper die by the lower header binder a compressing distance D _c during the downward forming movement of the upper die assembly. The separation of the binder forming components of the upper and lower die assemblies into the upper header binder, the lower main body binder, and the lower header binder reduces an overall travel and forming stroke of the upper header binder and the lower header binder relative to the upper die and the lower main body binder during manufacturing of the vehicle door.

[0007] With a shorter forming stroke for the header portion of the vehicle door, this enables a safer draw panel after forming as well as a significant material savings for the resultant vehicle door as compared to the vehicle doors formed via the traditional manufacturing processes since the forming depth is changed. (See e g., a comparison of the header portion in the vehicle door of Figure 3 formed in accordance with the prior art manufacturing method and the header portion of the vehicle door of Figure 6 formed in accordance with the subject die assembly and related manufacturing method). In other words, an addendum around the header portion of the vehicle door formed in accordance with the subject die assembly and related manufacturing method (Figure 6) is significantly reduced compared to the vehicle doors manufacturing in accordance with the prior art methods (Figure 3)

[0008] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The inventive concepts associated with the present disclosure will be more readily understood by reference to the following description in combination with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0010] Figure 1 illustrates a prior art upper die assembly; [0011] Figure 2 illustrates a prior art lower die assembly;

[0012] Figure 3 illustrates a vehicle door formed in accordance with the prior art upper and lower die assemblies;

[0013] Figure 4 illustrates an upper die assembly including an upper shoe, an upper die and an upper header binder in accordance with the subject disclosure;

[0014] Figure 5 illustrates a lower die assembly including a lower die, a lower main body binder and a lower header binder in accordance with the subject disclosure;

[0015] Figure 6 illustrates a vehicle door formed in accordance with the upper and lower die assemblies of Figures 4-5 and the related method of manufacturing;

[0016] Figure 7 illustrates a method of manufacturing the vehicle door in which the upper and lower die assemblies are initially disposed in spaced relationship to one another;

[0017] Figure 8 illustrates a sequential step in the method of manufacturing the vehicle door in which the upper die assembly is moved downwardly along a downward forming movement F towards the lower die assembly to initially dispose the upper header binder in abutting relationship with the lower header binder and the upper shoe and an upper main body binder surface of the upper die in abutting relationship with the lower main body binder;

[0018] Figure 9 illustrates a sequential step in the method of manufacturing the vehicle door in which upper shoe, upper die and upper header binder of the upper die assembly and the lower main body binder and the lower header binder of the lower die assembly all collectively travel downwardly by the first forming distance Di illustrated in Figure 8, while the lower die remains stationary within the lower die assembly to begin a forming of the vehicle door; and

[0019] Figure 10 illustrates a sequential step in the method of manufacturing the vehicle door in which the lower header binder bottoms out and stops downward travel (after having traveled the distance Di) to compress and move the upper header binder relative to the upper shoe and the upper die by the compressing distance D _c illustrated in Figure 9 while the upper shoe, the upper die and the lower main body binder continue travelling downwardly relative to the stationary lower die the additional forming distance D2 illustrated in Figure 9 to establish a shorter binder travel equal to Di at the vehicle door header than a longer binder travel equal to Di + D2 at the vehicle main body, such as shown in Figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general, the subject embodiments are directed to a method of forming vehicle doors. However, the example embodiments are only provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices and methods to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In particular, although the method of forming vehicle parts is described in relation to vehicle doors, it should be appreciated that the method could also be applied to other vehicle parts without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. In some example embodiments, well- known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0021] Referring to the Figures, the subject disclosure is generally directed to a method of manufacturing vehicle doors using a die assembly 10 having an upper die assembly 12 and a lower die assembly 14 for collectively forming a vehicle door 16 having a main body portion 18 and a header portion 20 (See Figure 6). Although the Figures illustrate the die assembly 10 arranged to form vehicle doors double-out (i.e., two vehicle doors formed simultaneously, with one arranged and formed on the left side of the die assembly 10 and the other arranged and formed on the right side of the die assembly 10), the remaining description will be directed to and focused on describing manufacture of a single vehicle door which can be duplicated within the die assembly 10 as shown in the Figures.

[0022] As best illustrated in Figure 4, the upper die assembly 12 includes an upper shoe 22 having an upper shoe surface 23 and an upper die or punch 24 fixed to the upper shoe 22. The upper die 24 includes an upper main body forming portion 26, an upper header forming portion 28, and an upper main body binder surface 30 extending outwardly from the upper main body forming portion 26 and overlaying a portion of the upper shoe surface 23. The upper die assembly 10 also includes an upper header binder 32 that is separate from and compressible upwardly relative to the upper shoe 22 and the upper die 24 by a compressing distance D _c (See Figures 7-9) during a downward forming movement F of the upper die assembly 12, which as will be described in more detail below reduces an overall travel and shorter forming stroke of the upper header binder 32 relative to the upper shoe 22 and upper die 24 during formation and manufacturing of the vehicle door 16.

[0023] As best illustrated in Figure 5, the lower die assembly 14 includes a lower die or punch 36 having a lower main body forming portion 38 and a lower header forming portion 40 which are complementarily shaped to and designed to mate with the upper main body and header forming portions 26, 28 of the upper die 24 during the manufacturing process to form the main body and header portions 18, 20 of the vehicle door 16. The lower die 36 remains fixed or stationary in the lower die assembly 14 during the method of forming and manufacturing the vehicle door 16. The lower die assembly 14 includes a lower main body binder 42 and a lower header binder 44 which each travel independently and downwardly relative to the lower die 36 by different respective forming distances (a longer forming distance D1+D2 for the lower main body binder 42 and a shorter initial forming distance Di for the lower header binder 44, as shown collectively in Figures 8-10) during the manufacturing of the vehicle door 16 to reduce an overall travel and shorter forming stroke of the lower header binder 44 relative to the lower main body binder 42 during formation of the vehicle door 16.

[0024] As will be described in more detail immediately below, and as illustrated in Figure 6, the shorter collective forming stroke of the upper header binder 30 and the lower header binder 44 significantly reduces an addendum 34 formed around the header portion 20 of the vehicle door 16 relative to the prior art methods of manufacturing vehicle doors (See comparison of Figures 3 and 6), that provides significant material savings and reduces forming strain on the resultant vehicle door 16.

[0025] More specifically, and as best illustrated in Figure 7, the method of manufacturing the vehicle door 16 begins by disposing the upper and lower die assemblies 12, 14 in spaced relationship to one another. As illustrated in Figure 8, the method of manufacturing proceeds by moving the upper die assembly 12 downwardly along a downward forming movement F and towards the lower die assembly 14 to initially dispose the upper header binder 32 in abutting relationship with the lower header binder 44 and the upper shoe surface 23 of the upper shoe 22 (and thus the upper main body binder surface 30 of the upper die 22) in abutting relationship with the lower main body binder 42. In this position, the upper main body forming portion 26 and the upper header forming portion 28 of the upper die 24 are disposed in adjacent and slightly spaced relationship with the respective lower main body forming portion 38 and the lower header forming portion 40 of the lower die 36.

[0026] As sequentially illustrated in Figure 9, the upper die assembly 12 continues to travel in the downward forming movement F during which the upper die 24 and the upper header binder 32 of the upper die assembly 12 and the lower main body binder 42 and the lower header binder 44 of the lower die assembly 14 all collectively travel downwardly by an initial forming distance Di illustrated in Figure 8, while the lower die 36 remains stationary to begin forming the vehicle door 16. In other words, the downward forming movement F of the upper die assembly 12 forces each of the lower main body binder 42 and the lower header binder 44 to travel downwardly the initial forming distance Di relative to the lower die 36 (via the abutting relationship of the upper header binder 32 with the lower header binder 44 and the abutting relationship of the upper shoe surface 23 of the upper shoe 22 with the lower main body binder 42), while the upper main body and header forming portions 26, 28 of the upper die 24 engage the lower main body and header forming portions 38, 40 of the lower die 36 to begin forming the vehicle door 16.

[0027] As best illustrated in Figures 8-9, the lower header binder 44 includes a stop 46 for bottoming out against an engagement surface 48 of the lower die assembly 14 to stop downward travel of the lower header binder 44 after the initial forming distance Di and establish an upward compressing force on the upper header binder 32. Thus, as illustrated in Figure 10, the manufacturing method proceeds with the lower header binder 44 compressing and moving the upper header binder 31 upwardly relative to the upper shoe 22 and the upper die 24 by the compressing distance D _c illustrated in Figures 8-9, while the upper shoe 22, the upper die 24 and the lower main body binder 42 continue travelling downwardly relative to the stationary lower die 36 the additional forming distance D2 illustrated in Figure 9 to establish a shorter binder travel of the upper and lower binder header binders 32, 44 equal to Di at the vehicle door header portion 20 than a longer binder travel equal to Di + D2 for the lower main body binder 42 at the vehicle main body portion 26, such as shown in Figure 6. This results in a significant reduction of the addendum 34 formed around the header portion 20 relative to the prior art methods of manufacturing vehicle doors.

[0028] Applicant has found that the binder wrap of the resultant vehicle door 16 is nice and even when the upper and lower header binder 32, 44 are split from and independent components from the upper die 24 and the lower main body binder 42. Additionally, since the upper and lower header binders 32, 44 are split from and can travel independently (and less) than their respective upper die 24 and the lower main body binder 42 used to form the main body portion 18, the upper header binder 32 will clamp with the lower header binder 44 and in the stroke of forming, the header portion 20 of the vehicle door 16 will dwell out while the main body portion 20 continues to form.

[0029] With reference to Figures 8-9, the compressing distance D _c of the upper header binder 32 is approximately equal to the longer binder travel Di + D2 of the lower main body binder 42 minus the initial first forming distance Di. In an exemplary arrangement, the longer binder travel Di + D2 is equal to 165mm, the shorter initial forming distance Di is equal to 65mm, and the compressing distance D _c is equal to 100mm. As a result, in this exemplary arrangement, the upper and lower die assemblies 12, 14 effectuate 100mm of less draw depth at the header portion 20. However, other travel and compressing distances could be utilized without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. [0030] As will be appreciated in view of the previous detailed disclosure, the forming of the binder for the main body portion 18 and the header portion 20 using separate components from the upper die 24 and the lower die 36 (namely separating the lower binder into the lower main body binder 42 and the lower header binder 44, plus the additional upper header binder 32) provides for a reduced draw depth of forming required at the header portion 20 (See Di in Figure 6) which reduces the material requirement for forming the vehicle door 16 relative to the traditional manufacturing processes, such as the prior art vehicle door shown in Figure 3. Put another way, modifying the lower die assembly 14 to include a lower main body binder 42 that mates with the upper die 24 to form a binder/addendum for the main body portion 18 and a lower header binder 44 that mates with the upper header binder 32 to form a binder/addendum for the header portion 20 allows for a different travel and a shorter forming stroke for the header portion (e.g., 65 mm, as represented by the arrow Di shown on the right side of Figure 6) as compared to the rest of the panel (e.g., 165 mm, as represented by the arrow D1+D2 shown on the left side of Figure 6) that results in material savings for the formed vehicle door 16. Additionally, the split lower binder (i.e., the lower main body binder 42 separate from the lower header binder 44) of the lower die assembly 14 in combination with the upper header binder 32 of the upper die assembly 12 improves formability of the vehicle door 16, because the manufacturing process affords the ability to draw the header close to home as a result of the draw depth being reduced locally. This manufacturing process also reduces springback because the vehicle door 16 is formed all in the draw and no post forming is required.

[0031] It should be appreciated that the foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration. In other words, the subject disclosure it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varies in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of disclosure.