US2430437A - Method of making vehicle inner door panels - Google Patents

Description

. Nov. 4; 1947. G'. TRAU VETTER 2,430,437

METHOD OF MAKING VEHICLE INNER DOOR PANELS Fi led March 19 1941 FICIL INVENTOR BY I George Trau'kveter ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 4, 1947 METHOD OF MAKING VEHICLE INNER DOOR PANELS George Trautvetter, Philadelphia Pa assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplieationMarch 19, 1941, Serial No. 384,075

1 Claim.

The invention relates to a method for-making a stamping, especially of sheet metal. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of making a panel surrounding an opening which opening coverspnly a part of said panel,- and which panel is provided alongits outer margins with transversely extending and comparatively wide flanges. Such panels are outstandingly used for automobile doors, where they form at the same time the inner wall and the door frame.

The outstanding object of the invention is the saving of material needed for the manufacture of the indicated type of panels, while. retaining the well-known advantages of the so-called monopiece construction in which the marginal flanges form a continuous frame.

The object of the invention is principally achieved by providing in a blank an opening which extends considerably beyond the region of an opening to be surrounded by the panel in its final form, the margins of said opening being preferably about equidistant from the outer margins of the blank; by then die drawing from the blank the stamping having the marginal flanges, during which operation, the marginal portions of the blank are firmly kept between margin holders and the material for the flanges is substantially or at least to a considerable extent drawn from the material of the blank surrounding the open-.

ing; and by finally connecting the stamping with a member which separates the openingof the final product from the rest of the opening initially provided in the blank.

Further objects and advantages as well as the details of the invention will become apparent from the embodiments shown in the attached drawings when read togetherwith the following description thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of a piece of sheet material such as sheet metal.

Figure 2 is a plan View of a blank cut from the piece shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a piece cut out from the blank shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of three members of pieces cut from the piece shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic section through a set of drawing dies and a blank therein before the start of the drawing operation proper.

Figure 6 is a section similar to Figure .5, yet after the end of the die drawing operation and before the withdrawal of the upper die and the removal of the stamping.

Figure 7 is a section of a part of the stamping shown within the die in Figure 6 and indicating the trimming of the outer'margin of the stamping.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an inner door panel composed of a frame formed in accordance with Figures 1, 2, 5, 6 and '7 and supplemented by some of the pieces shown in Figure 4.

Figure 9 is an elevation of a slightly modified form of a door made in accordance with the invention.

In making panels of the indicated type, either one of two principal known ways are usually followed.

The one known way consists in forming the framework and the remainder of the inner panel of a number of rails-and transverse braces which are then united, such as by Welding, into one integral structure. The disadvantage of this manufacturing method resides in the need for a set of dies for each single member entering into the final structure and therein that the dimensions and the form of the ultimate article depends largely upon the skill andthe diligence of the workman who puts the members together. Moreover, thiswayv of manufacturing is expensive due 'to the time needed for handling the separate members and due to the many connections which have to be made.

The other known and widely practiced way consists in stamping from one single blank the entire inner panel with marginal flanges constituting do not depend any more on the skill and the. diligence ofworkmen but exclusively on the form of the dies which can, of course, be made accurately,- so that no subsequent fitting operations are required when, for instance, the panel is a door panel which must fit into a door opening.

Formanufacturing panels in accordance with the second way, comparatively large blanks are required, -.this not only owing to the extent of the finished panel as such, but also because the material for the marginal flanges has to be drawn in from the marginal portions of the blank especially in the regions remote from the opening in the panel. Indeed, the blank must be so wide at the outset that after the final forming operation comparatively wide marginal sections have to be cutaway so as to bring the outer margins of the stamping into the desired final configuration.

From the following description of an embodimentof the invention it will be seen that the procedure according to the invention allows the use ofsmaller blanks than hitherto needed.

Figures .1 to 8 illustrate diagrammatically the manufacture of the inner panel and frame of an automobile. door which is wider at the bottom than at the top. A strip of sheet material shown in Figure 1 is out along .the. dotted lines 15 and it into a number of substantially identical blanks H. A piece I8 is then cut out of the blank ll,

3 providing in the latter an opening 19, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The out-out blank l8 is suitably out along the dotted line 20 of Figure 3 into a number of pieces 2|, 22 and 23 shown separately in Figure 4, for a purpose to be described later. The width of the portions of the blank l1 surrounding the opening 19 is throughout of about the same order.

The blank I1 is then placed in and formed by drawing dies as diagrammatically illustrated by Figures and 6. The set of dies comprises a matrix 24, a margin holder 25 and patrix 26. The margins of the blank I! are firmly gripped between the die members 24, 25, and sliding of the blank is effectively counteracted by the provision of registering ridges 27 and grooves 28 on these members. While the blank is clamped between the die members 25 and 26, the patrix is forced down until it reaches the position shown in Figure 6. This results in the formation of an angular flange 29, 30 around the opening 19. The material for the transversely extending flange portion 29 is drawn from the material of the blank around the opening 19, its supply from the outer portions of the blank being prevented or at least limited by the margin holding means 25, 21, 28.

After the stamping leaves the'dies shown in Figures 5 and 6, it may be subjected to further forming operations as they are usual in the die drawing art, and the margins are trimmed as shown in Figure 7 by cutting off the outer marginal portion 3| which had been held by ridge 2'! and groove 28, leaving a narrow marginal flange 32 in the original plane of the blank 11.

The portions .29, 30 and 32 of the stamping form together a closed figure door frame generally Z- shaped in cross section. The transverse webs 29 constitute the jamb portions of the door rails and the flanges 32 constitute the usual overlap flanges.

The strips 2 1 and 22 which are out from the blank I8 are connected with each other and with flanges 36 of the door frame in the arrangement illustrated in Figure 8. The member 21 defines the lower edge of the window opening and constitutes preferably the lock and window regulator panel whereas the member 22 constitutes a reinforcement. In some cases the member 22 may support a portion of the lock and/or the window regulator.

' Flanges 30 and the parts 2! and 22 form together the inner door panel below the window opening. Around the window opening 33, flange 30 is given any appropriate cross section as is usual for automobile doors so as to guide the edges of the window pane or so as to hold a separate removable window retainer. These last mentioned features are so well-known that their illustration appears superfluous.

The remaining part 23 of the cut-out blank I8 is not needed for the door shown in Figure 7 and may be used for any appropriate purpose.

The new method of manufacture and the new structural featurts may, of course, be used'for different types of doors. One of such other types of doors is shown in Figure 9. This door differs from the door shown in Figure 7 therein that it is recessed at 34 for the rear wheel housing and that a different type of inner panel members 35, 36 and 3'! are employed. These members may, of course, again be supplied by the blank which is cut out from the original blank serving for the formation of the door frame.

While two specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it has to be understood that the invention is liable to many modifications. The invention may not only be applied to automobile doors, but also to other portions of vehicle body walls. Moreover, the portion cut out may under some circumstances more advantageously be used for the production of parts unrelated to the door or the like and the supplementary inner panel members may in such cases be derived from another source.

The modifications specifically referred to and all other modifications falling within the spirit of the invention are intended to be covered by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a method of making a vehicle wall panel and frame such as an inner door panel and frame, which panel and frame comprises in its finished state integrally two major portions: an upper portion surrounding a window opening on three sides and a lower portion; said window opening extending close to said three sides but being spaced a considerable distance from the fourth side of the panel, said lower portion extending over a large part of the area of the panel and defining the fourth side of said opening; said panel being furthermore provided with comparatively wide flanges extending substantially uninterruptedly along the outer edges and around the corners of the panel and transversely to the main plane thereof, said flanges constituting frame members; the method comprising: (a) The step of forming in a blank an oversize-opening, being not only generally coextensive with said window opening but covering also a considerable part of the area of said lower panel portion so that the oversize opening is surrounded by portions of the blank which all have a width of about the same order; (1)) The further step of forming by die drawing said transverse flanges by drawing material of the blank outwardly from the regions surrounding said oversize opening while holding the outer margins of the blank firmly between margin holders; and (c) The final step of connecting said formed blank with a separately formed member which later forms a considerable part of said lower panel portion and constitutes the lower margin of said window opening.

GEORGE. TRAU'I'VETTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,720,913 McDowell July 16, 1929 1,569,725 Doehler et al. Jan. 12, 1926 1,876,589 Ball Sept. 13, 1932 2,176,192 Widman Oct. 17, 1939 1,804,607 Groehn May 12, 1931 2,205,555 Krogh May 14, 1940 1,706,649 Breneman Mar. 26, 1929 1,680,467 D/Iatheson Aug. 14, 1928 2,002,097 Peterson May 21, 1935 2,198,069 Widman Apr. 23, 1940 1,697,517 Sullivan Jan. 1, 1929 1,808,731 Ireland June 2, 1931 2,033,900 Ireland Mar. 10, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 361,069 Great Britain Nov. 19, 1931

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