U.S. patent application number 13/718744 was filed with the patent office on 2013-11-07 for manufacturing apparatus of stiffener for center-pillar.
This patent application is currently assigned to SEOJIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, SEOJIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Youn-Il Jung, Jong-Hyun Lee.
Application Number | 20130291615 13/718744 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49384531 |
Filed Date | 2013-11-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130291615 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jung; Youn-Il ; et
al. |
November 7, 2013 |
MANUFACTURING APPARATUS OF STIFFENER FOR CENTER-PILLAR
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a manufacturing apparatus of a center pillar
stiffener having a closed section, including: a fixing shape plate;
a concave cavity formed on a bottom surface of the fixing shape
plate on which a blank is seated; a movable shape plate configured
to slide on the fixing shape plate; a convex shaped core formed on
the movable shape plate and configured to press and bend the blank
toward the cavity; a mandrel inserted into the cavity to fix the
bent blank; and a plurality of shape plates configured to slide
over the blank and bend both ends of the blank protruding from the
fixing shape plate to form a closed section.
Inventors: |
Jung; Youn-Il; (Gwangmyeong,
KR) ; Lee; Jong-Hyun; (Suwon, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
SEOJIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. |
Seoul
Gunpo |
|
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
SEOJIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Gunpo
KR
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
49384531 |
Appl. No.: |
13/718744 |
Filed: |
December 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
72/356 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21D 53/88 20130101;
B21D 5/10 20130101; B21D 22/025 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
72/356 |
International
Class: |
B21D 22/02 20060101
B21D022/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 4, 2012 |
KR |
10-2012-47292 |
Claims
1. A manufacturing apparatus of a center pillar stiffener, having a
closed section, comprising: a fixing shape plate; a concave cavity
formed on a bottom surface of the fixing shape plate on which a
blank is seated; a movable shape plate configured to slide onto the
fixing shape plate; a convex shaped core formed on the movable
shape plate and configured to press and bend the blank toward the
cavity; a mandrel inserted into the cavity to fix the bent blank;
and a plurality of shape plates configured to slide over the blank
and bend both ends of the blank protruding from the fixing shape
plate to form a closed section.
2. The manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mandrel
comprises at least two or more segments including a ball one side
of each segment and a fastening groove on the other side of each
segment, wherein the ball is fitted into the fastening groove of
the adjacent segment to form a ball joint movement between the ball
and the fastening groove.
3. The manufacturing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the segments
have different outer diameters according to a shape of the
cavity.
4. The manufacturing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the edge of each
segment is rounded to form a curved surface.
5. The manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mandrel
comprises: a first mandrel entering the cavity from a one side and
a second mandrel entering the cavity from an opposite direction to
the first mandrel.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority to Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2012-47292, filed on May 4, 2012, the entire
contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this
reference
BACKGROUND
[0002] (a) Technical Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing apparatus
of a center pillar stiffener to be molded having a closed section,
and more particularly, to a manufacturing apparatus of a center
pillar stiffener, capable of easily forming a center pillar
stiffener having a variable section along a longitudinal direction
in a blank state corresponding to a mandrel having ball joint
movement and extracted within a cast mold.
[0004] (b) Background Art
[0005] Generally, a stiffener is a component connected to a center
pillar of a vehicle body for preventing a side collapse of a seat
space toward the interior of the vehicle during a side
collision.
[0006] Accordingly, the center pillar stiffener is manufactured
with high tensile steel or ultra high tensile steel having high
tensile strength and yield strength wherein the stiffener has a
closed section, in other words, the inner part is opened lengthwise
to reduce weight and improve rigidity.
[0007] According to a prior method of manufacturing a center pillar
stiffener having a closed section, as shown in FIG. 1, flanges 3a,
3b facing each other are molded to the respective bent plates 2a,
2b and then welded while the flanges 3a, 3b are in close contact
with each other. In other words, to manufacture a center pillar
stiffener through a press processing that is generally used, two
blanks are necessary in comparison to manufacturing the stiffener
using a trimming process for cutting a product from the blank and
extracting it, wherein a piercing process for forming a bolt bore,
a flanging process for forming a welding portion (e.g., flange) and
a welding process of the flanges are necessary.
[0008] However, since the center pillar stiffener manufactured as
described above has a closed section through a welding process,
quality deviation of the product due to welding quality may
occur.
[0009] The description provided above as a related art of the
present invention is just for helping understanding the background
of the present invention and should not be construed as being
included in the related art known by those skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0010] The present invention provides a manufacturing apparatus of
a center pillar stiffener, capable of forming a product from a
blank without a joint welding process.
[0011] A manufacturing apparatus of a center pillar stiffener,
having a closed section in a blank of a plate shape, according to
the present invention includes: a fixing shape plate on which a
concave cavity is seated; a movable shape plate configured to slide
on the fixing shape plate (e.g., having a closed state and an
opened state) and on which a convex shaped core is formed to press
the blank toward the cavity to bend the blank creating a closed
section; a mandrel inserted into the cavity to fix the bent blank
after the movable shape plate is opened; and two facing shape
plates configured to slide to a closed state and an opened state,
and bend both ends of the blank protruding from the fixing shape
plate to form a closed section.
[0012] The mandrel includes at least two or more segments wherein
on one side of each segment a ball is formed and on the other side
of the segment a fastening groove is formed and the ball is fitted
into the fastening groove of the adjacent segment forming a ball
joint movement between the ball and the fastening groove. Further,
the segments have different outer diameters according to the shapes
of the cavities and the edges of the segments are rounded to form a
curved surface. In addition, the mandrel includes a first mandrel
entering from a one side of the cavity and a second mandrel
entering from an opposite direction of to the first mandrel.
[0013] [NOTE: This section was moved to the Detailed
Description.]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The above and other features of the present invention will
now be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments
thereof illustrated the accompanying drawings which are given
hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not
limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is an exemplary view illustrating a manufacturing
method of a stiffener according to a prior art;
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exemplary view illustrating a manufacturing
apparatus of a center pillar stiffener according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exemplary view illustrating manufacturing steps
of a center pillar stiffener according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an exemplary enlarged view illustrating step D in
FIG. 3 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is an exemplary view illustrating a mandrel according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is an exemplary view illustrating a point .beta.
where a sectional area is decreased abruptly due to a bent shape
when the stiffener is manufactured, according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 7 is an exemplary view illustrating a first mandrel and
a second mandrel entering into a first side and a second side of a
fixing shape plate to manufacture a stiffener having a point .beta.
where a sectional area is decreased abruptly, according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are
not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified
representation of various preferred features illustrative of the
basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of
the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example,
specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be
determined in part by the particular intended application and use
environment.
[0023] In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or
equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several
figures of the drawing.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0024] It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or
other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in
general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility
vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles,
watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and
the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles,
combustion, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered
vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived
from resources other than petroleum).
[0025] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and
"the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood
that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this
specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude
the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As
used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of
one or more of the associated listed items.
[0026] Additionally, it is understood that the term controller
refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor.
The memory is configured to store the modules/units and the
processor is specifically configured to execute said modules to
perform one or more processes which are described further
below.
[0027] Hereinafter reference will now be made in detail to various
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below.
[0028] FIG. 2 is an exemplary view illustrating a manufacturing
apparatus of a center pillar stiffener according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, a fixing
shape plate 10 may be disposed on a lower side of the apparatus and
a movable shape plate 30 configured to move vertically toward the
fixing shape plate 10 may be disposed above the fixing shape plate
10. A plurality of shape plates 40, 50 may be disposed toward each
other on both sides of the apparatus so the fixing shape plate 10
is entered over from a side when the movable shape plate 30 is
opened (an opened state).
[0029] Further, a first mandrel 60 and a second mandrel 70 may
enter the fixing shape plate 10 from both sides of a cavity 11
formed on the fixing shape plate 10. In particular, the fixing
shape plate 10, the movable shape plate 30 and the shape plates 40,
50 may move by a hydraulic or pneumatic device, controlled
according to electric signal from a controller 80.
[0030] The cavity 11 of a concave shape on the fixing shape plate
10 is configured may have a predetermined pattern according to the
shape of the stiffener to be manufactured. Further, a core 31, as
shown in FIG. 3, may be formed in a convex shape on the movable
shape plate 30 and may be configured to press the blank 1 disposed
on the fixing shape plate 10 and bend the blank to form a desired
shape when the movable shape plate 30 is lowered (e.g., a closed
state).
[0031] In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the
blank 1 of a plate shape may be bending molded to manufacture a
center pillar stiffener according to the steps as shown in FIG. 3.
In other words, when the blank 1 is seated on the fixing shape
plate 10 above the cavity 11, the blank 1 may be bent when the
movable shape plate 30 is opened (A) and the core 31 is lowered
toward the cavity 11 while the movable shape plate 30 is closed at
a predetermined pressure (B). As a result, the blank 1 may be bent
on a surface of the cavity 11 and the core 31 may retract away from
the cavity 11 when the movable shape plate 30 is opened (C).
[0032] After the core 31 retracts, the first mandrel 60 and the
second mandrel 70 may enter into the cavity 11 from one side (or
both sides) of the fixing shape plate 10 (D) to fix the blank 1 to
a bottom surface of the cavity 11 (E). Further, both ends of the
blank 1 protruding over the top edges of the fixing shape plate 10
while fixed by the mandrels 60, 70 may be bent by sliding the shape
plates 40, 50 toward the cavity 11, over the fixing shape plate 10
to form a closed section of the blank 1 (F).
[0033] Additionally, after the shape plates 40, 50 retract to their
original locations (G), the mandrels 60, 70 may be removed in
sequence (H) and the blank 1 may be extracted from the interior of
the fixing shape plate 10 as the center pillar stiffener having a
closed section.
[0034] The entering step of the first mandrel 60, is shown in
detail in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the shapes of the fixing
shape plate 10 and the cavity 11 are not a flat configuration and
thus, the mandrels 60, 70 may have ball joint movement. In other
words, the mandrels 60, 70 may be connected by ball joints to
substantially conform to the shape of the cavity 11 in the fixing
shape plate 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the first mandrel 60 may
include a plurality of segments 60a, 60b, 60c. A ball 61 may be
formed on one side of each segment and a fastening groove 62 may be
formed on the other side of each respective segment 60a, 60b,
60c.
[0035] Each ball 61 of the segments (e.g., a ball joint) may be
fitted into a corresponding fastening groove 62 of the adjacent
segment to join the segments forming a ball joint movement between
the ball and the fastening groove. Additionally, the configuration
of the second mandrel 60 is similar to that of the first mandrel
60. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, due to the joint connection
between the segments, the mandrels 60, 70 may easily slide over the
bent portion a formed on a stiffener (e.g., even though an inner
peripheral surface of the cavity may be bent).
[0036] Furthermore, the segments 60a, 60b, 60c may have different
outer diameters according to the shape of the cavity 11 and the
edges of the segments may be rounded to avoid scratching the blank
1 when entering into the cavity 11.
[0037] Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a jaw .beta. may be
formed on one side of the center pillar stiffener according to a
design of a vehicle body, where an inner diameter decreases
abruptly. Accordingly, in the present invention, the blank 1 may be
fixed stably by the two mandrels 60, 70. In other words, the first
mandrel 60 and the second mandrel 70 may enter the cavity 11
separately so the stiffener having the jaw .beta. and bent portion
a may be manufactured more efficiently.
[0038] According to the present invention, the closed section of
the stiffener may be formed using one blank to reduce material cost
and further formation and welding processes for forming a flange
may be omitted to shorten manufacturing time and lower
manufacturing unit cost.
[0039] The mandrel may move in a ball joint motion and be used to
form a stiffener having a bent tubular shape. Furthermore, the
segments of the mandrel may have different outer diameters and the
edges thereof may be rounded, respectively to prevent scratching
when entering the cavity or when being extracted from a fixing
shape plate. In addition, the mandrel may include a first mandrel
and a second mandrel, which enter from both sides of a cavity so
the mandrel may be easily extracted when a stiffener having various
shapes is manufactured.
[0040] The invention has been described in detail with reference to
exemplary embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by
those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these
embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the
invention, the scope of which is defined in the accompanying claims
and their equivalents.
* * * * *