Presented are fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite components for motor vehicles, methods for making and using such components, and motor vehicles with unitary FRP-composite vehicle roof rail-and-panel structures. A vehicle body structure for a motor vehicle includes one or more elongated support rails, each of which includes at least two contoured rail panels that are joined together to define therebetween an internal rail cavity. At least one of these contoured rail panels is formed with an FRP material. The vehicle body structure also includes a body panel that is formed with the same FRP material. The body panel includes a main panel section with one or more stepped interfaces that each projects transversely from a respective side of the main panel section and mounts thereon one of the contoured rail panels. The body panel and a contoured rail panel of each support rail are integrally formed as a single-piece, unitary structure.
Integrated fiber-reinforced polymer vehicle rail-and-panel structures and methods of making the same
2022-07-12
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B62D MOTOR VEHICLES , Motorfahrzeuge |
European Patent Office | 2022
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