Patent Publication Number: US-2022219764-A1

Title: Plastic Composite Material Panel and Manufacturing Method Thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0003308, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jan. 11, 2021, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     An embodiment of the present invention relates to a plastic composite material panel and a manufacturing method thereof. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Recently, the vehicle industry has been introducing a new concept of future mobility vision for realizing a human-centered and dynamic future city. One of these future mobility solutions is a purpose built vehicle (PBV) as purpose-based mobility. 
     The PBV is an environment-friendly mobility solution that provides a customized service for passengers during a period in which they travel on the ground to their destination, and it may use electric vehicle (EV)-based artificial intelligence to set an optimal route for each situation and may also group-drive. 
     A vehicle body of the PBV includes an under body (referred to as a rolling chassis or skateboard in the art) and an upper body mounted on the under body. Here, the upper body may be configured of a space frame. 
     The upper body, in order to reduce a weight of the vehicle body, includes a vehicle body frame made of an aluminum or steel material, and a plastic composite material panel bonded to the body frame with an adhesive. 
     Such a plastic composite material panel is manufactured by molding the plastic composite original material into a shape set through a mold. However, in the prior art, a bent shape portion (undercut portion) of the plastic composite material panel is caught in a molding part of the mold, and thus there is a problem that the plastic composite material panel may not be smoothly taken out from the mold. 
     The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of the present invention relates to a plastic composite material panel and a manufacturing method thereof. Particular embodiments relate to a plastic composite material panel bonded to a vehicle body of a purpose built vehicle (PBV) and a manufacturing method thereof. 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a plastic composite material panel and a manufacturing method thereof that may provide excellent moldability and prevent a cross-section of a vehicle body frame from being reduced. 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a plastic composite material panel including (i) an outer plate portion bent in a predetermined shape and bonded to a vehicle body frame through an adhesive, and (ii) a material filling portion integrally formed with the outer plate portion and thicker than the outer plate portion. 
     The plastic composite material panel may further include a first bonding flange integrally formed with a lower portion of the outer plate portion and bonded to a first flange portion extending from a body portion of the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     A second bonding flange may be integrally formed with the material filling portion. 
     The second bonding flange may be bonded to a second flange portion extending from the body portion of the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     The outer plate portion and the material filling portion may be configured of a side outer panel that is able to be bonded to the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     A roof panel flange portion made of a plastic composite material may be joined to the second bonding flange through an adhesive. 
     The material filling portion may be bonded to the body portion of the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     The material filling portion may be bonded to a protruding surface extending upward from the body portion of the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     The material filling portion may be connected through a seal strip to a roof panel flange portion bonded to the second flange portion extending from the body portion of the vehicle body frame through an adhesive. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention provides a manufacturing method of a plastic composite material panel bonded to a vehicle body frame including (a) providing a gel type of plastic composite material, (b) loading the gel type of plastic composite material onto a fixed die having a first molding surface of a flat shape for molding a material filling portion and a second molding surface for molding an outer plate portion, (c) combining a first movable die having a third molding surface for molding the material filling portion and a fourth molding surface for molding the outer plate portion and a second movable die having a molding groove for molding the material filling portion to the fixed die, (d) forming the outer plate portion by the second and fourth molding surfaces, and integrally forming the material filling portion thicker than the outer plate portion with the outer plate portion by the first and third molding surfaces and the molding groove. 
     The manufacturing method of the plastic composite material panel may further include (e) releasing the first and second movable dies from the fixed die and taking out the plastic composite material panel. 
     In the (e) step, the plastic composite material panel may be taken out through the first molding surface in a moving direction of the first movable die. 
     According to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to increase moldability of a plastic composite material panel, to secure a quality of the plastic composite material panel, to secure a mounting space of a roof panel and the like, and to expand a cross-section of a vehicle body frame. 
     In addition, effects that may be obtained or expected from embodiments of the present invention are directly or suggestively described in the following detailed description. That is, various effects expected from embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These drawings are for reference only in describing exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, the technical idea of the present invention should not be limited to the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a vehicle body applied to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6  are drawings for explaining a manufacturing method of a plastic composite material panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a mold for molding a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     The following elements may be used in connection with the drawings to describe embodiments of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 1: under body 
                 3: upper body 
               
               
                 5: chassis frame 
                 7: vehicle body frame 
               
               
                 7a: front body portion 
                 7b: rear body portion 
               
               
                 7c: protruding surface 
                 7d: rear extension member 
               
               
                 7e: panel mounting surface 
                 8: side outer panel 
               
               
                 9: roof panel 
                 9a: roof panel flange portion 
               
               
                 10: outer plate portion 
                 11: first bonding flange 
               
               
                 30: material filling portion 
                 31: second bonding flange 
               
               
                 41: adhesive 
                 51: first flange portion 
               
               
                 52: second flange portion 
                 61: windshield glass 
               
               
                 71: gel type plastic composite material 
                 81: fixed die 
               
               
                 82: first molding surface 
                 83: second molding surface 
               
               
                 84: first movable die 
                 85: second movable die 
               
               
                 86: third molding surface 
                 87: fourth molding surface 
               
               
                 88: first molding groove 
                 89: second molding groove 
               
               
                 91: seal strip 
               
               
                 100, 200: plastic composite material panel 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
     In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts that are irrelevant to the description are omitted, and identical or similar constituent elements throughout the specification are denoted by the same reference numerals. 
     Since the size and thickness of each configuration shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of description, the present invention is not necessarily limited to configurations illustrated in the drawings, and in order to clearly illustrate several parts and areas, enlarged thicknesses are shown. 
     Further, in the following detailed description, terms of elements, which are in the same relationship, are divided into “the first”, “the second”, etc., but the present invention is not necessarily limited to the order in the following description. 
     Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. 
     Furthermore, terms such as “. . . unit”, “. . . means”, “. . . part”, “. . . portion”, and “. . . member” described in the specification mean a unit of a comprehensive configuration having at least one function or operation. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a vehicle body applied to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a plastic composite material panel  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention may be applied to a vehicle body of, for example, an electric vehicle-based purpose built vehicle (PBV). 
     Here, the PBV may be an environment-friendly vehicle that provides a customized service required for an occupant during a time it takes to travel on the ground to a destination. The PBV may set the optimal path for each situation, enable group driving, and furthermore, may be a box-type of vehicle with a large interior space. 
     The vehicle body of the PBV may include an under body  1  of a skateboard type and an upper body  3  as a monocoque type of vehicle body mounted on the under body  1 . 
     The under body  1  is also referred to as a rolling chassis in the art, and may include a chassis frame  5  on which a battery assembly (not shown in the drawing) may be mounted. 
     In addition, the upper body  3  is a body coupled onto the under body  1 , and may include a vehicle body frame  7  forming a cabin. The upper body  3  may be, for example, a space frame in which a frame is formed by connecting a plurality of members such as a steel plate or a pipe. 
     In the art, a vehicle width direction (full width direction) is referred to as an L direction, a vehicle body length direction (front/rear direction or full length direction of a vehicle body) is referred to as a T direction, and a height direction of a vehicle body is referred to as an H direction. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, instead of setting the L, T, and H directions as described above as the reference directions, the following constituent elements will be described by setting the reference directions to a vehicle width direction, a vehicle body front/rear direction, and a vertical direction. 
     In addition, hereinafter, an end (one side end or the other end) may be defined as any one end, or may be defined as a predetermined portion (one end portion or the other end portion) including the end. 
     On the other hand, the vehicle body frame  7  of the upper body  3  is formed by connecting frames made of a steel or aluminum material, and may include a side inner mounted on both sides of the chassis frame  5  of the under body  1  and a roof rail connected to the side inner portion. 
     In the vehicle body frame  7 , the plastic composite material panel  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention is bonded to a side surface thereof, and a roof panel  9  made of a plastic composite material is bonded to an upper surface thereof. Hereinafter, a body portion positioned at the front in the vehicle body frame  7  is referred to as a front body portion  7   a,  and a body portion positioned at the rear therein is referred to as a rear body portion  7   b.    
     The plastic composite material is a reinforcing material impregnated with a resin in a fiber material, and may be molded into a predetermined shape by a mold. Further, the plastic composite material may be one of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP). 
     The plastic composite material panel  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention may be configured of a side outer panel  8  bonded to the vehicle body frame  7  through an adhesive. The plastic composite material panel  100  has good moldability, and has a structure that may prevent the cross-section of the vehicle body frame  7  from being reduced. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the plastic composite material panel  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an outer plate portion  10 , and a material filling portion  30 . 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the outer plate portion  10  is a portion bonded through an adhesive  41  to an outer side of the vehicle body frame  7 , and is molded into a bent shape corresponding to an outer of the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     A first bonding flange  11  integrally formed with the outer plate portion  10  is formed under the outer plate portion  10 . The first bonding flange  11  is bonded to a first flange portion  51  extending from the front body portion  7   a  of the vehicle body frame  7  through the adhesive  41 . 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the material filling portion  30  is thicker than the outer plate portion  10 , and is integrally formed with the outer plate portion  10 . Further, the material filling portion  30  is integrally formed with the outer plate portion  10  at an upper portion of the outer plate portion  10  based on the drawing. 
     The material filling portion  30  is a portion in which a fiber material is stacked in a predetermined shape on a surface of the outer plate portion  10  based on the surface thereof, and is provided in a rounded shape in the surface of the outer plate portion  10 . 
     A second bonding flange  31  having the same thickness as the outer plate portion  10  is integrally formed with the material filling portion  30 . The second bonding flange  31  is bonded to a second flange portion  52  extending from the front body portion  7   a  of the vehicle body frame  7  through the adhesive  41 . An edge portion of a windshield glass  61  may be bonded to the second bonding flange  31  through the adhesive  41 . 
     Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a flange portion  9   a  of the roof panel  9  mentioned above may be bonded to the second bonding flange  31  through the adhesive  41 . In addition, the edge portion of the windshield glass  61  may be bonded to the flange portion  9   a  of the roof panel  9  through the adhesive  41 . 
     Hereinafter, a manufacturing method of the plastic composite material panel  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6  are drawings for explaining a manufacturing method of a plastic composite material panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , first, an embodiment of the present invention provides a gel-type plastic composite material  71  made of a fiber material. 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the gel-type plastic composite material  71  is loaded on a fixed die  81 . 
     Here, the fixed die  81  includes a first molding surface  82  having a flat shape for forming the material filling portion  30 , and a second molding surface  83  for forming the outer plate portion  10 . 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 6 , first and second movable dies  84  and  85  are combined with the fixed die  81 , and the gel-type plastic composite material  71  is pressed. 
     The first movable die  84  includes a third molding surface  86  for forming the material filling portion  30 , and a fourth molding surface  87  for forming the outer plate portion  10 . 
     In addition, the second movable die  85  includes a first molding groove  88  for forming the material filling portion  30 , and a second molding groove  89  for forming the second bonding flange  31 . 
     Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the outer plate portion  10  may be molded by the second and fourth molding surfaces  83  and  87 , and by the first and third molding surfaces  82  and  86  and the first molding groove  88 , the material filling portion  30  thicker than the outer plate portion  10  may be molded in the plastic composite material panel  100  integrally formed with the outer plate portion  10 . 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the second bonding flange  31  integrally connected to the material filling portion  30  may be molded in the plastic composite material panel  100  by the second molding groove  89  of the second movable die  85  and the first molding surface  82  of the fixed die  81 . 
     In the state of molding the plastic composite material panel  100  as described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first and second movable dies  84  and  85  are released from the fixed die  81 , and the plastic composite material panel  100  is taken out. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the plastic composite material panel  100  may be taken out along a moving direction of the first movable die  84  through the first molding surface  82  of the fixed die  81 . 
     In this case, in the embodiment of the present invention, since no undercut is formed in the plastic composite material panel  100  by integrally molding the above-mentioned material filling portion  30  to the outer plate portion  10 , the plastic composite material panel  100  may be smoothly taken out through the first molding surface  82  of the fixed die  81 . 
     The plastic composite material molding mold including the fixed die  81 , the first movable die  84 , and the second movable die  85  as described above consists of a mold device of a known technology for molding a plastic composite material panel of a predetermined shape, so a more detailed description will be omitted herein. 
     According to the plastic composite material panel  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention as described so far, it is integrally formed in the outer plate portion  10 , and includes the material filling portion  30  that is thicker than the outer plate portion  10 . 
     Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the plastic composite material panel  100  may be easily taken out from the mold during the molding process of the plastic composite material panel  100  through the mold. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to increase the moldability of the plastic composite material panel  100 , and to secure the quality of the plastic composite material panel  100 . 
     In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, as the material filling portion  30  is integrally formed with the outer plate portion  10 , when considering the thickness increase and the adhesive thickness compared to a steel or aluminum material, it is possible to secure a mounting space for the roof panel and the windshield glass without reducing the cross-section of the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since it is not necessary to reduce the cross-section of the vehicle body frame  7 , it is possible to prevent deterioration of a vehicle front, an offset, and small overlap collision performance. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are denoted to the same components as in the above embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , in a plastic composite material panel  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention, the second bonding flange  31  described above in the previous embodiment is removed, and the material filling portion  30  bonded to the front body portion  7   a  of the vehicle body frame  7  may be formed. 
     The first bonding flange ii of the outer plate portion  10  is bonded to the first flange portion  51  of the front body portion  7   a  through the adhesive  41 . In addition, the material filling portion  30  according to the embodiment of the present invention is bonded to the front body portion  7   a  of the vehicle body frame  7  through the adhesive  41 . 
     The flange portion of the roof panel and the edge portion of the windshield glass, while not shown in the drawing, may be bonded to the second flange portion  52  of the front body portion  7   a  through an adhesive. 
     Therefore, in another embodiment of the present invention, by configuring the material filling portion  30  of a flangeless type, it is possible to secure the mounting space of the roof panel and the windshield glass for the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     On the other hand, the plastic composite material panel  200  in which the flangeless type of the material filling portion  30  is formed on the outer plate portion  10  as described above may be molded through a plastic composite material molding mold including, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the fixed die  81 , the first movable die  84 , and the second movable die  85 . 
     The plastic composite material molding mold basically includes the constituent elements described in the previous embodiment, and the molding groove portion for forming the second bonding flange described in the previous embodiment on the fixed die  81  and the second movable die  85  is removed. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are denoted to the same components as in the above embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the plastic composite material panel  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention may include the material filling portion  30  bonded to a protruding surface  7   c  extending upward from the front body portion  7   a  of the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     Here, the first bonding flange ii of the outer plate portion  10  is bonded to the first flange portion  51  of the front body portion  7   a  through the adhesive  41 . In addition, the material filling portion  30  is bonded to the protruding surface  7   c  of the front body portion  7   a  through the adhesive  41 . Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, by bonding the material filling portion  30  to the protruding surface  7   c  of the front body portion  7   a,  it is possible to increase the cross-section of the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     Further, the flange portion  9   a  of the roof panel  9  may be bonded to the second flange portion  52  of the front body portion  7   a  through the adhesive  41 . The flange portion  9   a  of the roof panel  9  is connected to the material filling portion  30  through a seal strip  91 . Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to secure the thickness of the flange portion  9   a  while securing the mounting space of the roof panel  9 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of  FIG. 1  illustrating a plastic composite material panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are denoted to the same components as in the above embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the plastic composite material panel  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention may include the material filling portion  30  bonded to the rear body portion  7   b  of the vehicle body frame  7 . 
     Here, the rear body portion  7   b  may include a rear extension member  7   d.  A panel mounting surface  7   e  is formed on an upper portion of the rear body portion  7   b.  In the embodiment of the present invention, the material filling portion  30  is bonded to the panel mounting surface  7   e  through the adhesive  41 . 
     Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present invention, a loading property of the plastic composite material panel  200  may be secured by bonding the material filling portion  30  to the panel mounting surface  7   e  of the rear body portion  7   b.    
     The remaining configuration and effect of the plastic composite material panel  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention as described above are the same as the previous embodiment, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
     While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.