GB2345302A - Vehicle panel material - Google Patents
Vehicle panel material Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2345302A GB2345302A GB0007424A GB0007424A GB2345302A GB 2345302 A GB2345302 A GB 2345302A GB 0007424 A GB0007424 A GB 0007424A GB 0007424 A GB0007424 A GB 0007424A GB 2345302 A GB2345302 A GB 2345302A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- thermo
- panel
- formable
- sheet
- mat
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
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- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
- D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
- D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
- D04H1/58—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties by applying, incorporating or activating chemical or thermoplastic bonding agents, e.g. adhesives
- D04H1/60—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties by applying, incorporating or activating chemical or thermoplastic bonding agents, e.g. adhesives the bonding agent being applied in dry state, e.g. thermo-activatable agents in solid or molten state, and heat being applied subsequently
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
- B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
- B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
- B29B17/0026—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics by agglomeration or compacting
- B29B17/0042—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics by agglomeration or compacting for shaping parts, e.g. multilayered parts with at least one layer containing regenerated plastic
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
- B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
- B29C70/06—Fibrous reinforcements only
- B29C70/10—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres
- B29C70/16—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres using fibres of substantial or continuous length
- B29C70/18—Fibrous reinforcements only characterised by the structure of fibrous reinforcements, e.g. hollow fibres using fibres of substantial or continuous length in the form of a mat, e.g. sheet moulding compound [SMC]
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
- B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
- B29C70/28—Shaping operations therefor
- B29C70/40—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied
- B29C70/42—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied for producing articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles
- B29C70/46—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied for producing articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles using matched moulds, e.g. for deforming sheet moulding compounds [SMC] or prepregs
- B29C70/465—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied for producing articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles using matched moulds, e.g. for deforming sheet moulding compounds [SMC] or prepregs and impregnating by melting a solid material, e.g. sheets, powders of fibres
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
- D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
- D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
- D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
- D04H1/4209—Inorganic fibres
- D04H1/4218—Glass fibres
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
- D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
- D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
- D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
- D04H1/4274—Rags; Fabric scraps
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
- D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
- D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
- D04H1/54—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties by welding together the fibres, e.g. by partially melting or dissolving
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C43/00—Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor
- B29C43/003—Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor characterised by the choice of material
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
- B29K2101/00—Use of unspecified macromolecular compounds as moulding material
- B29K2101/10—Thermosetting resins
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
- B29K2105/00—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped
- B29K2105/06—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped containing reinforcements, fillers or inserts
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
- B29L2031/00—Other particular articles
- B29L2031/30—Vehicles, e.g. ships or aircraft, or body parts thereof
- B29L2031/3005—Body finishings
- B29L2031/3041—Trim panels
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
- B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
- B60R13/0212—Roof or head liners
- B60R13/0225—Roof or head liners self supporting head liners
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
- B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
- B60R13/0237—Side or rear panels
- B60R13/025—Pillars; Roof rails
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
- B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
- B60R2013/0287—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners integrating other functions or accessories
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
- Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
- Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
- Y02W30/62—Plastics recycling; Rubber recycling
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Composite Materials (AREA)
- Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
- Vehicle Interior And Exterior Ornaments, Soundproofing, And Insulation (AREA)
Abstract
A vehicle panel material comprises a mixture of recycled shredded thermo-formable material and reprocessed headliner material which includes fibrous bats with polyester fibres, glass fibres and a thermo-setting resin. The method of manufacturing such material includes the steps of shredding (40) thermo-formable material into strips; shredding (50) thermo-formable fibrous bats, glass fibres and thermo-setting resin; mixing and carding (45) into a mat (46); heating (48) the mat to at least partially melt the thermo-formable material; and shaping the mat into a vehicle panel. The material may form an impact-absorbent member for a pillar in the form of a flanged member with sinusoidal projections or it may form a corrugated sheet bonded to a flat sheet of the same or different material.
Description
2345302 PANEL MEMBER The present invention relates to a panel member
including those used for impact absorption in the event of an accident.
A wide variety of materials have been employed in vehicles for panels such a headliners, door panels and the like. U.S. Patent No. 4,828,910 discloses one such material.
Behind decorative panels padding or other impact absorbing techniques are employed for minimizing injuries in the event of an accident. Although air bags are now becoming commonplace, areas of the vehicle, such as the A-pillars and the headliner, need to meet or exceed the federally mandated head injury criterion (IRC(d)) performance which will be required for such areas in future vehicles. In the past, a variety of open and closed cell foam materials have been employed for areas such as the instrument panel. In order to provide head impact absorption in contemporary vehicles, padded visors are sometimes employed as shown in U.S. Patent No. 4,958,878 for protecting the occupants in the front windshield area.
In recent years, headliners for vehicles have been integrally molded and have a variable thickness depending upon the area of the headliner. In some instances, efforts have been made to increase the thickness of headliners in areas where impact absorption may be important. With such increased thickness, however, the cost of manufacturing the headliner through a molding process increases as does the complexity of the size and shapes of the molds employed. Further, modem vehicles do not allow space for a significant additional conventional padding or cushioning materials in view of the more compact interior design and sharply slanting windshield.
The system -of the present invention provides yet an even more economical solution to the formation 6f decorative panels including those for impact absorption by utilizing recycled material and waste material from headliner manufacturing and, in addition, provides a moldable material which can be configured to provide differing panel shapes and/or impact absorption characteristics. According to tlie present invention there is provided a panel member as set out in the independent claim; with optional features set out in the claims dependent thereto.
Panel material according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a panel made of about 40-60% recycled, reground thermo-plastic fibers mixed with about 60 40% reprocessed thermo-formable fibrous bats including polyester fibers, glass fibers and a thermo-setting resin used in the manufacture of headliners. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the material comprises a 50% mixture of reground fibers and reprocessed - -I- headliner material which is carded to produce a mat which is compression moldable.
The reground fibers are shredded, and the resultant mat is heated and compression formed in a cold tool to the desired panel shape. In one embodiment of the invention, the preformed shape is superimposed on a base which is an elongated arch-shaped member to conform to the shape of an A-pillar. In a preferred embodiment, the curvilinear projections are sinusoidal shaped. In another embodiment, a face sheet of planar material is bonded to a preformed shape including such sinusoidal projections.
Thus, with the panel material of one embodiment of the present invention, a relatively inexpensive material is employed and can be shaped to fit any desired area of the vehicle including those where impact absorption is desirable and molded to specifically fit tubular members such as an A-pillar of a vehicle or other structural members. These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following qescription thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, of which:
Fig. I is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle including a panel in the form of an impact absorption member of one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the impact absorption member taken along section line 111-H of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the impact absorption member shown in Figs. 2 and 3; Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the method of manufacturing a panel of the present invention; Fig. 6 ls_a G-force deceleration diagram of comparative tests; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention; Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 7 mounted to a sheet metal vehicle body part; and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the impact absorption member.
Referring initially to Fig. 1, there is shown a vehicle 10, such as an automobile, including a windshield 12, a roof 14 supported to the vehicle body by a structural steel A-pillar 16 extending between the windshield 12 and the side window 18. The A-pillar extends, thus, from the vehicle frame at the side of the instrument panel 19 to the roof 14.
The A-pillar 16 is covered by an impact absorption member 20 of the present invention which, in turn, is covered by a molded, decorative cover 22 to provide a clean trim appearance to the interior of the vehicle. Roof 14 is covered by a molded headliner 15 which can be an integral one-piece structure. The roof beam area above windshield 12 an other locations may also include a preformed impact absorption member such as that shown in Figs.
7 and 8 described below. Turning now to Figs. 2 and 3, the impact absorption member's geometric shape is first: described followed by a description of its composition and method of manufacturing.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line H-H in Fig. I and shows the impact absorption -member 20 as having a base 24 which is shaped to conform to the. crosssectional configuration of the generally rectangular A-pillar 16. Thus, base 24 includes a pair of outwardly projecting lower flanges 26, 28, upwardly extending walls 25, 27 and a top 29 all integrally formed. The flanges 26, 28 extend continuously along the length of the impact absorption member 20 as seen in Fig. 3; however, the sidewalls 25, 27 and top 29 are interrupted by integrally formed curvilinear projections 30 which, in the preferred embodiment, have a sinusoidal shape when viewed from the side (Fig. 3) and a generally rounded arch shape as viewed in Fig. 2.
In Figs. 1-6, the sinusoidal wavelength (the distance from one peak 32 to the next adjacent peak 32) of the curvilinear projections 30 was I" (15.4mm). 1%'depth of the projections from the top 29 of base 24 and peak 32 was, in the preferred imbodiment, 1.2" (30-5mm), while the overall width from edge to edge of the flanges 26 and 28 was 3.2" (81.3mm). The thickness of the material was substantially g uniform and comprises about 1/16" (1.6mm). The width of each of the rounded projections from one sidewall 34 to an opposite sidewall 36 (Fig. 4) was approximately S' (12.7mm) with the edges 38 of the curvilinear projections being generally arch- shaped, as seen in Fig.
2, and rounded, as also seen in the top view of Fig. 4.
The material employed for manufacturing the impact absorption member 20 or other panels including decorative panels, such as headliners, door panels and the Ue, is preferably made of a mixture of recycled thermo-formable material in combination with waste material from the manufacture of a headliner from the material disclosed in U.S. Patent No.
4,958,878. The headliner manufacturing involves the trimming of the final headliner shape and the scrap material from such trimming process is employed with the recycled thermo formable material to form the crushable material employed for the impact absorption member 20. The method of manufacturing the material is now described in connection with Fig. 5.
In Fig. 5, recycled thermo-formable material, such as waste fibers from carpet manufacturing is employed. The fiber density can be from 1-10 denier and be made of polypropylene, polyethylene, Nylo& or PET. This material is employed as shown by block and is shredded into strips of about 1/2-2" (12.7-50.8mm) in length depending on the material being recycled. This step is indicated by the shredding step of block 42 utilizing a commercially available shredding machine. At the same time, a supply of scrap or waste headliner material is employed as indicated by block 50 and is stretched and separated into strips by pairs of rollers having needle-like projections as indicated by the step of bIOCI52.
The somewhat similar size and shapes of the thermo-formable material and headliner material are mixed and carded in a carding machine and process as indicated by block 45 to form a mat, as indicated by block 46, of, in the preferred embodiment, a mixture of about 50% reground thermo-formable mat ' erial. and about 50% of reprocessed headliner material. The thermo-formable material serves as a binder for the glass fibers of the headliner material and the blend of thermo-formable material and headliner material can vary from about 40-60%, respectively, to about 60-40%, respectively.
The resultant mat of blended material has a thickness of about 3/4-1" (19. 1-25.4mm) and a mat area density of about 1800 g/&. The mat is heated to a temperature of about 42011F (21611C) in surface heaters which beat opposite sides of the mat sufficiently to melt and fuse the thermo-formable material with glass fibers. The heated blend retains the mat-like shape and is fed into a compression mold tool at room temperature (about 72"F (22"Q) which forms the final shape of the panel as indicated by block 54. If the panel is a decorative panel, such as a door panel, upholstery is bonded or laminated to the panel either simultaneously with the molding step 54 or as a separate step as indicated by block 55.
It has been discovered that the curvilinear projections 30, such as shown in Fig. 1-4, which are made of the material of the manufacturing process represented in Fig. 5 provide a slower and controlled deceleration of a head form eliminating sharp spikes in G-force loading in the event of an impact during an accident. The material itself is crushable and, although shaped to retain its configuration during incidental bumping, deforms and crushes during an' impact which would otherwise cause head injuries. The decorative covering 22 hides the arch-like curvilinear projections 30 from view. Fig. 6 shows the impact force of a 10-pound head form under a simulated 15 m.p.h. crash. Waveform A represents the spike-shaped fatal deceleration encountered when the head form strikes a naked steel Apillar. Waveform B shows the dramatic effect of the use of the impact absorption material of the present invention where the maximum G-force is less than - that of the uncovered A-pillar and exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201 requiring an XQd) < 1000.
Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which an impact absorption member 65 includes elements 60 and 70.
Element 60 is a planar sheet 60 of material, of the same type as manufactured by the process shown in Fig. 5, is made and has a thickness of about 111C (1.6min). Bonded to the sheet 60 of such materiat'is'a washboard patterned sheet 70 of die same material also hivm-a a thickness of 111C (1.6mm) and which has a sinusoidal pattern, of peaks 72 and troughs 74 with the troughs 74 being bonded to the upper surface 62 of sheet 60 by any number of bonding steps such as hot melt glue, ultrasonic welding. heat staking or the like. The composite structure forms an impact absorbing member which, as seen in Fig. 8, can be attached to a sheet metal member 80 on a vehicle, such as vehicle 10 shown in Fig- 1.
Member 80 can be one of the roof beams or other area requiring impact absorption. The absorption characteristics of member 65 is similar to that shown in the diagram B of Fig. 6.
In the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the distance between adjacent peaks of the patterned sheet 70 is about 1" (25-4min) while the distance between the peaks 72 and troughs 74 is approxiinately 31C (19Amm). This construction is particularly well suited for mounting to planar surfaces such as a wide sheet metal beam 80 of a vehicle roof.
Pinna sheet 60 in one embodiment comprises the same thickness of material as manufactured by the process shown in Fig. 5, however, in some embodiments, a significantly thicker, lower density material could also be employed. Sheet 60, as manufactured by the process shown in Fig. 5, is a relatively stiff and rigid thin sheet. A relatively thick resilient sheet also could be employed, such a sheet having a thickness of, for example, 31C (19Amm) and a significantly lower area density than sheet 60, which is the same as that described in connection with Figs. 2-4, namely 1800 glrw.
Yet another embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 9 in which an impact absorption member 90, of the material made according to the process shown in Fig. 5, is formed in a three-dimensional or curved configuration to mate with a similarly curved body part of a vehicle. Member 90 is an integral sheet including A sinusoidal pattern of peaks 92 and valleys 94 which peaks can be spaced approximately I" (25.4mm) apart with the height between the peaks and valleys being approximately 3/4" (19.1mm) as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, however, the sheet alone is attached by bonding to a mating curvilinear surface of a vehicle.
Although in one embodiment of the invention the reprocessed waste headliner material is employed, the shredded recycled thermo-formable material could be mixed with a similar percentage blend of glass fibers or polyethylene tetra fluoride (PET) fibers in some applications.
Claims (6)
1. A panel member for a vehicle comprising a sheet of material made of a heated and compressed blend of about 40-60% thermo-formable material and about 6040% of shredded filler material, said sheet formed in the shape of a panel.
2. The panel as defined in claim I wherein said thermo-formable material comprises fibers made of one of the group of polypropylene, polyethylene, Nylon or PET.
3. The panel as defined in claim I wherein said sheet has a thickness of about 1/16" (1.6mm).
4. The panel as defined in claim I wherein said fiffer comprises scrap headliner material comprising plastics and glass fibers bonded by a thermo-setting resin.
5. The panel as defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet is shaped to have a varying thickness from about 1/16" (1.6mm) to about 3/4" (19. Imm).
6. The panel as defined in claim 5 wherein said thermo-formable material comprises fibers made of one of the group of polypropylene, polyethylene, Nylon of PET.
7
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US08/713,001 US5879802A (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1996-09-12 | Vehicle panel material |
GB9719537A GB2317189B (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1997-09-12 | Vehicle panel material |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB0007424D0 GB0007424D0 (en) | 2000-05-17 |
GB2345302A true GB2345302A (en) | 2000-07-05 |
GB2345302B GB2345302B (en) | 2001-01-24 |
Family
ID=26312243
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB0007423A Expired - Fee Related GB2345301B (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1997-09-12 | Vehicle panel |
GB0007424A Expired - Fee Related GB2345302B (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1997-09-12 | Panel member |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB0007423A Expired - Fee Related GB2345301B (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1997-09-12 | Vehicle panel |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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GB (2) | GB2345301B (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE10206127A1 (en) * | 2002-02-14 | 2003-09-04 | Wacker Polymer Systems Gmbh | Process for the cold pressing of particulate materials |
WO2010151627A2 (en) | 2009-06-24 | 2010-12-29 | Federal-Mogul Powertrain, Inc. | Nonwoven sheet material, panel constructed therefrom and methods of construction thereof |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2003070523A1 (en) * | 2002-02-19 | 2003-08-28 | Intier Automotive Inc. | Dimpled recyclable substrate for an interior trim panel |
FR2887561A1 (en) * | 2005-06-22 | 2006-12-29 | Saertex France Soc Par Actions | Manufacturing procedure and material for insulation made from new and/or recycled waste fibres consists of carding, matting, bonding and corrugating |
WO2017179086A1 (en) * | 2016-04-13 | 2017-10-19 | 黒田精工株式会社 | Method of manufacturing magnet-embedded core |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2096195A (en) * | 1981-04-06 | 1982-10-13 | Dresser Corp | Autogeneously bonded mat |
JPS6357355A (en) * | 1986-08-27 | 1988-03-12 | Kotobukiya Furonte Kk | Trimming material for vehicle |
US4946738A (en) * | 1987-05-22 | 1990-08-07 | Guardian Industries Corp. | Non-woven fibrous product |
US5049439A (en) * | 1990-05-25 | 1991-09-17 | Fibre Converters, Inc. | Thermoformable article |
WO1993025609A1 (en) * | 1992-06-09 | 1993-12-23 | Baker Richard D | Recycled fibre reinforced resin containing product and method and apparatus therefor |
-
1997
- 1997-09-12 GB GB0007423A patent/GB2345301B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-09-12 GB GB0007424A patent/GB2345302B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2096195A (en) * | 1981-04-06 | 1982-10-13 | Dresser Corp | Autogeneously bonded mat |
JPS6357355A (en) * | 1986-08-27 | 1988-03-12 | Kotobukiya Furonte Kk | Trimming material for vehicle |
US4946738A (en) * | 1987-05-22 | 1990-08-07 | Guardian Industries Corp. | Non-woven fibrous product |
US5049439A (en) * | 1990-05-25 | 1991-09-17 | Fibre Converters, Inc. | Thermoformable article |
WO1993025609A1 (en) * | 1992-06-09 | 1993-12-23 | Baker Richard D | Recycled fibre reinforced resin containing product and method and apparatus therefor |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE10206127A1 (en) * | 2002-02-14 | 2003-09-04 | Wacker Polymer Systems Gmbh | Process for the cold pressing of particulate materials |
US6774161B2 (en) | 2002-02-14 | 2004-08-10 | Wacker Polymer Systems Gmbh & Co. Kg | Process for the cold molding of particulate materials |
WO2010151627A2 (en) | 2009-06-24 | 2010-12-29 | Federal-Mogul Powertrain, Inc. | Nonwoven sheet material, panel constructed therefrom and methods of construction thereof |
EP2446078A2 (en) * | 2009-06-24 | 2012-05-02 | Federal-Mogul Powertrain, Inc. | Nonwoven sheet material, panel constructed therefrom and methods of construction thereof |
EP2446078A4 (en) * | 2009-06-24 | 2013-05-15 | Federal Mogul Powertrain Inc | Nonwoven sheet material, panel constructed therefrom and methods of construction thereof |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB2345301B (en) | 2001-01-10 |
GB2345302B (en) | 2001-01-24 |
GB0007423D0 (en) | 2000-05-17 |
GB2345301A (en) | 2000-07-05 |
GB0007424D0 (en) | 2000-05-17 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20070912 |