Patent ID: 8402804

Claim:
A method of forming a tailored blank plate, the tailored blank plate including a thin plate and a thick plate integrally connected to one another at a stepped part of the tailored blank plate, the forming method comprising: providing a first punch part adapted to be at least partially received in a first die part, the first punch part including a pair of first punch protruding parts that protrude from a top surface of the first punch part toward the first die part and extend generally parallel to one another along the top surface; positioning the tailored blank plate on the first punch part so that the stepped part of the tailored blank plate extends from one of the first punch protruding parts to the other of the punch protruding parts of the first punch part; pressing a plate part of the tailored blank plate including a connecting surface of the thin plate and the thick plate, by making the first die part contact the positioned tailored blank plate, displacing the first die part with respect to the first punch protruding parts, and pressing a pressing part of the first die part to the plate part; press-forming the tailored blank plate by moving the first punch part and the first die part to relatively come close to each other while fixing the stepped part of the tailored blank plate between the first punch protruding parts of the first punch part and a first punch recessed part of the first die part; and re-striking the press-formed tailored blank plate.