PP MATERIAL DOOR PANEL ENERGY ABSORBER

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a PP material door panel energy absorber which is provided in vehicle doors and which enables to absorb the force in the event of an impact (collision) acting on the door and to attenuate the force acting on the door.

Background of the Invention Door systems provided in vehicles enable the passengers to mount in and dismount from the vehicle. Since the vehicle doors differ from the whole body of the vehicle as a system which is opened and closed, they may get more affected in the event of a collision than the other parts of the vehicle. Since there are the vehicle doors at the parts of the vehicle outer body to which the vehicle driver and the passengers are closest, energy absorbing systems are provided on the vehicle doors for passenger safety and to minimize the impact of the forces acting on the vehicle doors.

The vehicle door energy absorbing systems in the state of the art are placed between the panels that form the inner and outer surfaces of the vehicle doors. The energy absorbing systems are formed by ridges which are connected to each other. Multiple ridges connected onto each other move together in the event of any collision force and ensure that the coming force acts on the door with minimum intensity. In the ridge materials of the state of the art vehicle door energy absorbing systems, EPP (Expanded Polypropylene Foam), which has flexible absorbing features, is used. The EPP material, which is used in the state of the art vehicle door energy absorbing systems of EPP (Expanded Polypropylene Foam) material including consecutive ridges, is a very expensive material and furthermore sufficient rigidity cannot be attained at the connection points of its flexible structure and sufficient efficiency cannot be achieved in energy absorbing. Additionally, design of the consecutive ridges which work in connection with each other is difficult and formation of the ridges, which are produced in different sizes for different areas of the door, as connected to each other cannot be realized; and this problem negatively affects the vehicle door energy absorbing systems in terms of production difficulty and cost increase.

United States patent document no. US7708313B2 discloses a system which absorbs the impact forces acting on the door during vehicle accidents by means of the ridges and grooves provided thereon. The system is comprised of a surface and grooves that are formed in an order. In the event of an impact, the grooves of the door bracket move against the force together as they are located near each other. Problems Solved by the Invention

An objective of the present invention is to provide a PP material door panel energy absorber by which impact forces that may act on the vehicle door are absorbed and any damage in the event of an impact to the door is minimized.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a PP material door panel energy absorber wherein the stretching feature of the absorber element from its connection points on the surface that it is connected to is reduced by means of the PP (Polypropylene) material. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a PP material door panel energy absorber wherein production cost is reduced with the PP (Polypropylene) material that is used. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a PP material door panel energy absorber which enables the absorber elements to be fixed bidirectionally and wherein boss connections, temperature increase and melting method are used for the fixing method. Detailed Description of the Invention

A PP material door panel energy absorber developed to fulfill the objective of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure 1. is a top view of the PP material door panel energy absorber of the present invention.

Figure 2. is a top perspective view of the PP material door panel energy absorber of the present invention.

Figure 3. is a bottom perspective view of the PP material door panel energy absorber of the present invention.

Figure 4. is a side view of the mounting of the PP material door panel energy absorber of the present invention.

The components shown in the figures are each given reference numbers as follows:

1. Energy absorber

2. Base surface

3. First Absorber

31. Discharge channel

32. Connection hole 33. Upper hole

4. Second absorber

K. Door panel

P. Panel sheet metal

The energy absorber (1) which is provided in vehicle doors and which enables to absorb the force in the event of an impact acting on the door and to attenuate the force acting on the door, basically comprises

at least one base surface (2) which is fixed on the panel sheet metal located in the inner part of the door,

at least one first absorber (3), which extends from the base surface (2) towards the door panel and forms a ridge having a hollow inner part on the base surface (2), enables to absorb the forces coming onto the door by means of its stretching feature, and has a corrugated structure on the base surface (2),

at least one discharge channel (31), which is in the form of a hollow between the first absorber (3) and the base surface (2), and which helps the air within the hollow inside the first absorber (3) to be discharged in the event of sudden and high speed impacts and to absorb the impact force by means of the resistance force produced during discharge of the air, at least one connection hole (32), which is provided in the form of a bore at the parts of the first absorber (3) that contact the door panel (K), and which provides connection between the first absorber (3) and the door panel (K) when the boss parts provided on the door panel (K) fit into it and the boss parts are brought to melting temperature,

at least one upper hole (33) which is located at the part of the first absorber (3) that extends towards the door panel (K) and enables to increase the stretching ability of the first absorber (3) when the impact force comes, at least one second absorber (4) which is in the form of a ridge having the same features with the first absorber (3) on the base surface (2) and has different corrugation directions in order to reach from the base surface (2) to the desired places on the door panel (K).

The energy absorber (1) of the present invention comprises a base surface (2) positioned on the panel sheet metal (P); a first absorber (3) which is provided on the base surface (2) as a ridge and includes a discharge channel (31), a connection hole (32), and upper hole (33); at least one second absorber (4) which is located on the base surface (2) together with the first absorber (3) and has the same features as the first absorber (3). When an impact force comes onto the door, the force acts on the energy absorber (1) over the door panel (K), and the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) provided on the energy absorber (1) stretch and enable to absorb all or a part of the force. The first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) provided on the energy absorber

(1) of the present invention are provided in the form of ridges on the base surface

(2) . The inner part of the ridge that is formed is hollow so as to enable stretching. When a force comes onto the first absorber (3), the air in the ridge makes a sudden exit through the discharge channel (31) provided on the first absorber (3) and thus produces a resistance force and thereby helps the flexible first absorber

(3) and second absorber (4) to absorb the energy. As a result of the coming impact force, the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) ridges having flexible structures stretch from the door panel towards the base surface (2) and absorb the force. When the impact force is cleared, the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) 111!!!! from the base surface (2) towards the door panel (K).

The first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) provided on the energy absorber

(1) of the present invention are provided in a corrugated form on the base surface

(2) . The base surface (2) can be provided in different sizes and the first absorber (3) and the second absorbers (4) can reach any desired point on the base surface

(2) alone or together by their corrugated structure. Furthermore, their corrugated structure enables the coming force to contact the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) from more points and thus enables the force to be distributed more for absorbing it. The energy absorber (1) of the present invention is connected onto the panel sheet metal (P) via the base surface (2) and is fixed to the door panel (K) by means of the connection hole (32) provided on the first absorber (3). This way, it forms a more rigid structure against the coming force. The boss parts provided on the door panel (K) for connection fit into the connection holes located on the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4), and upon applying heat on the boss parts, the boss parts change form and spread on the connection hole (32) and thus the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) are fixed on the door panel (K).

In one embodiment of the invention, there is an upper hole (33) on the parts of the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) that extend to the door panel (K). By means of the upper hole (33), stretching abilities of the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) are increased, and deformation of the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) in the event of a possible expansion is prevented. In one embodiment of the invention, the energy absorber (1) is produced from polypropylene material. Thanks to the fact that the energy absorber (1) is made of polypropylene material, stretching feature of the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) at the connection points where they are connected to the base surface (2) is reduced and thus, the first absorber (3) and the second absorber (4) are enabled to absorb more force. By means of the fact that the energy absorber (1) is produced from polypropylene material, sufficient flexibility and sufficient strength balance is established and the forces resulting from the impact/collision are enabled to be absorbed. In one embodiment of the invention, the first absorber (3) forms an S-shaped ridge on the base surface (2). By means of the S-shape, the forces coming onto the energy absorber (1) act on the first absorber (3) at more locations. Furthermore, thanks to the S-shape, the first absorber (3) can reach the desired areas on the base surface (2) and can receive the forces coming from different areas of the door.

In one embodiment of the invention, the second absorber (4) forms a corrugated ridge around the area where the first absorber (3) is located on the base surface (2). By means of the said corrugated structure, there is at least one ridge shaped second absorber (4) having the same features as the first absorber (3) which can reach the areas that cannot be reached by the first absorber (3), and it helps to absorb the forces coming onto the door together with the first absorber (3).

In one embodiment of the invention, the second absorber (4) is S shaped. By means of the S-shape, the forces coming onto the energy absorber (1) act on the second absorber (4) at more locations. Furthermore, thanks to the S-shape, the second absorber (4) can reach the desired areas on the base surface (2) and can receive the forces coming from different areas of the door.