WO2008110347A1 - Improved reinforcing structure - Google Patents

Improved reinforcing structure Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2008110347A1
WO2008110347A1 PCT/EP2008/001957 EP2008001957W WO2008110347A1 WO 2008110347 A1 WO2008110347 A1 WO 2008110347A1 EP 2008001957 W EP2008001957 W EP 2008001957W WO 2008110347 A1 WO2008110347 A1 WO 2008110347A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
reinforcing material
material according
article
reinforced
reinforcing
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2008/001957
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Sylvain Gleyal
Jean Marie Hess
Serge Bieber
Original Assignee
Zephyros Inc
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Zephyros Inc filed Critical Zephyros Inc
Publication of WO2008110347A1 publication Critical patent/WO2008110347A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60J—WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES
    • B60J5/00—Doors
    • B60J5/04—Doors arranged at the vehicle sides
    • B60J5/042—Reinforcement elements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
    • B60N2/68—Seat frames
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
    • B60N2/68—Seat frames
    • B60N2/682—Joining means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D29/00—Superstructures, understructures, or sub-units thereof, characterised by the material thereof
    • B62D29/001—Superstructures, understructures, or sub-units thereof, characterised by the material thereof characterised by combining metal and synthetic material
    • B62D29/002—Superstructures, understructures, or sub-units thereof, characterised by the material thereof characterised by combining metal and synthetic material a foamable synthetic material or metal being added in situ

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to improvements in or relating to reinforcements and in particular relates to lightweight reinforcements that can be used to strengthen seats particularly seats employed in transport systems such as automobiles, busses, trucks, railroad coaches and aircraft.
  • Seats are often based on a tubular structure that is provided with appropriate padding for the comfort of the user. It is important that the structure be sufficiently strong to support the user and it is also desirable that adequate strength be achieved with minimum increase in the weight of the article.
  • United States Patent 5,255,487 provides a reinforcement for a door comprising a tube which is locally strengthened by means of an internal welded insert. This however suffers from the disadvantage that the tube is difficult to manufacture with the need to provide the insert inside the core of the tube. Furthermore, the entire reinforcing tube must be replaced in the event of damage to the tube.
  • the present invention therefore provides a reinforcing material, preferably a double shell material, which may be fastened around the exterior of a structure and subsequently foamed to provide a reinforcement to the structure.
  • a reinforcing material preferably a double shell material
  • the inner layer is the foamable layer.
  • the invention therefore further provides a reinforcing material comprising an outer layer and an inner expandable layer and provided with means whereby the material may be fastened around an article to be reinforced whereby the inner layer may be foamed to provide reinforcement and to bond to the article to be reinforced.
  • the invention further provides an article having a reinforcing material as previously described fastened thereto and also provides such a reinforced article wherein the foamable material has been foamed.
  • the double shell is hinged so that it may be folded around the article to be reinforced and is provided with fastening means whereby it is held in place when it has been folded around the article to be reinforced.
  • the fastening means may comprise a clip, a clamp, a rivet or a protrusion and the means of fastening may be a self fastening action between parts of the reinforcing double shell or it maybe an action whereby the double shell is fastened to the structure to be reinforced.
  • the fastening means comprises a clip on one edge of the double shell which is a snap fit with a mating recess at the other edge when it is folded around the article to be reinforced.
  • the outer layer of the double shell is made of a rigid material such as metal for example aluminium or steel, or thermoplastic such as polypropylene or nylon, glass filled nylon is particularly preferred.
  • a double shell material is referred to as a composite.
  • the reinforcing material may be a single layer of foamable material which may be applied to and attached to the structure to be reinforced and subsequently foamed by these techniques.
  • the inner layer of the double shell material of this invention is of a foamable material and is preferably a heat activated foamable material and is preferably an epoxy foam.
  • the foamable material is selected so that it will foam at temperatures to which the seat is exposed during its manufacture, preferably it will foam at a temperature in the range 80 0 C to 240 0 C.
  • the heating may be accomplished by oven heating, infra red heating, ultrasound or microwave heating.
  • the foaming can be caused to occur at ambient temperature by physical activation.
  • the foamable material is preferably dry to the touch at ambient temperature and develops adhesive properties when it is heated to the foaming temperature.
  • the outer section of the reinforcing member may be made from any suitable material, for example it may be made of metal or plastic and the material will be chosen according to the preferred fabrication method. This in turn is driven by economics and the complexity of the shape of the article to be reinforced.
  • Reinforcing members for simple cross sections may be prepared by extrusion and the materials could be co-extruded whilst injection moulding may be required for more complex structures.
  • Metal members may be produced by stamping and/or forming. Where extrusion is used the members may be of metal or thermoplastics; where injection moulding is used thermoplastics are preferred. Polyamides, particularly glass filled polyamides are suitable materials due to their high strength to weight ratio. Alternatively injection moulding or die casting of metal alloys may be employed. Injection moulding is particularly preferred because this allows the segments to be moulded together with an integrally moulded, flexible, interconnecting piece to provide the desired degree of flexibility.
  • the outer section of the reinforcing member of the present invention when present, may be of any thickness depending upon the nature of the structure to be reinforced and the preferred shape and structure of the member will depend upon where it is to be located e and the reinforcing function it is to perform.
  • the outer member In the preferred embodiment for reinforcing tubular members the outer member is from 0.2 to 1 mm thick and is cylindrical.
  • the expandable adhesive material may be co-extruded with the outer section. Alternatively it may be injected, sprayed or coated onto the inner surface of the outer section.
  • the expandable material serves two main functions, it will expand to fill the space between the outer sleeve and the seat structure and it will also bond to the article to be reinforced.
  • the expandable material is preferably an expandable adhesive material which can be activated to both expand (typically foam) and to act as an adhesive. Accordingly, in order to provide reinforcement the expandable adhesive must expand at the desired temperature and be sufficiently adhesive to firmly bond the reinforcing member inside the vehicle structure. Once foamed it should be sufficiently strong that it does not contribute any weakness to the overall reinforcing effect provided.
  • the expandable adhesive material Prior to activation, is preferably dry and not tacky to the touch, since this facilitates shipping and handling and prevents contamination.
  • Examples of preferred expandable materials for the production of reinforcing materials include foamable epoxy-base resins and examples of such materials are the products L5206, L5207, L5208 and L5209, which are commercially available from
  • the product should be chosen according to the rate of expansion and foam densities required. It is further preferred that it expand at the temperatures experienced in the electrocoat baking oven, typically 13O 0 C to 200 0 C, preferably 130 0 C to 15O 0 C. If the invention is to be used to provide acoustic insulation as well as reinforcement the expandable material may be a thermoplastic such as copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate or an ethylene acrylate copolymer. The invention may be used to reinforce a variety of articles that are based on frame, particularly tubular frame structures.
  • Such structures include scaffolding as used in the construction industry and structures employed in transport systems such as automobiles, busses, trucks, military vehicles, railroad trucks, coaches, children's push chairs, wheelchairs, motorcycle frames, sports vehicles, ladders, locomotives, aircraft, trailers and sports equipment.
  • the invention is particularly useful in the reinforcement and strengthening of tubular frame in sealing such as automobile, but and aircraft seating.
  • Figure 1 shows a reinforcing double shell member according to the invention.
  • Figure 2 shows a tubular element of an automobile seat with the reinforcing member in an undipped state.
  • Figure 3 shows a reinforcing material clipped around the tubular element of Figure 2.
  • Figure 4 shows the tubular member of Figure 2 provided with the reinforcing member of Figure 1.
  • Figure 5 shows the frame of a vehicle seat provided with two reinforcing members according to the present invention.
  • Figure 1 shows the reinforcing member as two semi cylindrical sections (1) and (2) joined by a hinge (3).
  • Each section comprising an outer metal piece (4) provided internally with a foamable metal (5).
  • Section (2) is provided with a clip (6) which is a snap fit into locating groove (7) provided in section (1).
  • Figure 2 shows the reinforcing member placed around a tubular element (8) of an automobile seat and Figure 3 shows the reinforcing element (1) being applied to the tubular element (8).
  • Figure 4 shows the reinforcing element in place around the tubular element (8) with the foamable material having been foamed to provide a reinforcing foam layer (9) around the tubular member (8).
  • Figure 5 shows where a reinforcing member may be applied to the frame of an automobile seat in order to provide a reinforcement.
  • the invention therefore provides a simple to apply light weight reinforcing structure. It can be readily applied to the location it is desired to locate. No welding or tooling is required to secure the reinforcement and it requires little space to provide reinforcement in that the layers of the reinforcing material can be thin and thus can reduce the weight required of the seat for a given strength.
  • the reinforcement can be shaped to provide the desired reinforcement to any shape or size of member.

Abstract

An element for reinforcing a tubular structure (8) is provided which comprises a foamable material (5) which may be part of a double shell (1, 2) which can be fastened around the structure and in which the inner layer of the shell is a foamable material that can be foamed in place around the structure to bond to the structure and provide the reinforcement. The invention is particularly useful in providing reinforcement to vehicles such as automobiles, aircraft, trucks and busses and is particularly useful in the reinforcement of seat frames.

Description

IMPROVED REINFORCING STRUCTURE
The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to reinforcements and in particular relates to lightweight reinforcements that can be used to strengthen seats particularly seats employed in transport systems such as automobiles, busses, trucks, railroad coaches and aircraft.
Seats are often based on a tubular structure that is provided with appropriate padding for the comfort of the user. It is important that the structure be sufficiently strong to support the user and it is also desirable that adequate strength be achieved with minimum increase in the weight of the article.
United States Patent 5,255,487 provides a reinforcement for a door comprising a tube which is locally strengthened by means of an internal welded insert. This however suffers from the disadvantage that the tube is difficult to manufacture with the need to provide the insert inside the core of the tube. Furthermore, the entire reinforcing tube must be replaced in the event of damage to the tube.
There therefore remains a need for a lightweight reinforcement that can be readily applied and removed and which can be easily replaced in the event of damage.
The present invention therefore provides a reinforcing material, preferably a double shell material, which may be fastened around the exterior of a structure and subsequently foamed to provide a reinforcement to the structure. When the material is a double shell the inner layer is the foamable layer.
The invention therefore further provides a reinforcing material comprising an outer layer and an inner expandable layer and provided with means whereby the material may be fastened around an article to be reinforced whereby the inner layer may be foamed to provide reinforcement and to bond to the article to be reinforced.
The invention further provides an article having a reinforcing material as previously described fastened thereto and also provides such a reinforced article wherein the foamable material has been foamed.
In a preferred embodiment the double shell is hinged so that it may be folded around the article to be reinforced and is provided with fastening means whereby it is held in place when it has been folded around the article to be reinforced. The fastening means may comprise a clip, a clamp, a rivet or a protrusion and the means of fastening may be a self fastening action between parts of the reinforcing double shell or it maybe an action whereby the double shell is fastened to the structure to be reinforced. In a preferred embodiment the fastening means comprises a clip on one edge of the double shell which is a snap fit with a mating recess at the other edge when it is folded around the article to be reinforced. In a further embodiment the outer layer of the double shell is made of a rigid material such as metal for example aluminium or steel, or thermoplastic such as polypropylene or nylon, glass filled nylon is particularly preferred. In some instances such a double shell material is referred to as a composite. In a further embodiment the reinforcing material may be a single layer of foamable material which may be applied to and attached to the structure to be reinforced and subsequently foamed by these techniques.
The inner layer of the double shell material of this invention is of a foamable material and is preferably a heat activated foamable material and is preferably an epoxy foam. In a preferred embodiment when the reinforcement is used for the reinforcement of automobile seats the foamable material is selected so that it will foam at temperatures to which the seat is exposed during its manufacture, preferably it will foam at a temperature in the range 800C to 2400C. The heating may be accomplished by oven heating, infra red heating, ultrasound or microwave heating. In some instances the foaming can be caused to occur at ambient temperature by physical activation. The foamable material is preferably dry to the touch at ambient temperature and develops adhesive properties when it is heated to the foaming temperature.
When the reinforcing material is a double shell material the outer section of the reinforcing member may be made from any suitable material, for example it may be made of metal or plastic and the material will be chosen according to the preferred fabrication method. This in turn is driven by economics and the complexity of the shape of the article to be reinforced. Reinforcing members for simple cross sections may be prepared by extrusion and the materials could be co-extruded whilst injection moulding may be required for more complex structures. Metal members may be produced by stamping and/or forming. Where extrusion is used the members may be of metal or thermoplastics; where injection moulding is used thermoplastics are preferred. Polyamides, particularly glass filled polyamides are suitable materials due to their high strength to weight ratio. Alternatively injection moulding or die casting of metal alloys may be employed. Injection moulding is particularly preferred because this allows the segments to be moulded together with an integrally moulded, flexible, interconnecting piece to provide the desired degree of flexibility.
The outer section of the reinforcing member of the present invention, when present, may be of any thickness depending upon the nature of the structure to be reinforced and the preferred shape and structure of the member will depend upon where it is to be located e and the reinforcing function it is to perform. In the preferred embodiment for reinforcing tubular members the outer member is from 0.2 to 1 mm thick and is cylindrical.
The expandable adhesive material may be co-extruded with the outer section. Alternatively it may be injected, sprayed or coated onto the inner surface of the outer section. The expandable material serves two main functions, it will expand to fill the space between the outer sleeve and the seat structure and it will also bond to the article to be reinforced. Accordingly, the expandable material is preferably an expandable adhesive material which can be activated to both expand (typically foam) and to act as an adhesive. Accordingly, in order to provide reinforcement the expandable adhesive must expand at the desired temperature and be sufficiently adhesive to firmly bond the reinforcing member inside the vehicle structure. Once foamed it should be sufficiently strong that it does not contribute any weakness to the overall reinforcing effect provided.
Prior to activation, the expandable adhesive material is preferably dry and not tacky to the touch, since this facilitates shipping and handling and prevents contamination.
Examples of preferred expandable materials for the production of reinforcing materials include foamable epoxy-base resins and examples of such materials are the products L5206, L5207, L5208 and L5209, which are commercially available from
L & L Products of Rome, Michigan, USA, and the Betacore Products BC 5204, 5206, 5205 and 5208 available from L & L Products Europe, Strasbourg, France. The product should be chosen according to the rate of expansion and foam densities required. It is further preferred that it expand at the temperatures experienced in the electrocoat baking oven, typically 13O0C to 2000C, preferably 1300C to 15O0C. If the invention is to be used to provide acoustic insulation as well as reinforcement the expandable material may be a thermoplastic such as copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate or an ethylene acrylate copolymer. The invention may be used to reinforce a variety of articles that are based on frame, particularly tubular frame structures. Examples of such structures include scaffolding as used in the construction industry and structures employed in transport systems such as automobiles, busses, trucks, military vehicles, railroad trucks, coaches, children's push chairs, wheelchairs, motorcycle frames, sports vehicles, ladders, locomotives, aircraft, trailers and sports equipment. The invention is particularly useful in the reinforcement and strengthening of tubular frame in sealing such as automobile, but and aircraft seating.
The invention is illustrated but in no way limited by reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 shows a reinforcing double shell member according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a tubular element of an automobile seat with the reinforcing member in an undipped state.
Figure 3 shows a reinforcing material clipped around the tubular element of Figure 2.
Figure 4 shows the tubular member of Figure 2 provided with the reinforcing member of Figure 1.
Figure 5 shows the frame of a vehicle seat provided with two reinforcing members according to the present invention.
Figure 1 shows the reinforcing member as two semi cylindrical sections (1) and (2) joined by a hinge (3). Each section comprising an outer metal piece (4) provided internally with a foamable metal (5). Section (2) is provided with a clip (6) which is a snap fit into locating groove (7) provided in section (1).
Figure 2 shows the reinforcing member placed around a tubular element (8) of an automobile seat and Figure 3 shows the reinforcing element (1) being applied to the tubular element (8).
Figure 4 shows the reinforcing element in place around the tubular element (8) with the foamable material having been foamed to provide a reinforcing foam layer (9) around the tubular member (8). Figure 5 shows where a reinforcing member may be applied to the frame of an automobile seat in order to provide a reinforcement.
The invention therefore provides a simple to apply light weight reinforcing structure. It can be readily applied to the location it is desired to locate. No welding or tooling is required to secure the reinforcement and it requires little space to provide reinforcement in that the layers of the reinforcing material can be thin and thus can reduce the weight required of the seat for a given strength. The reinforcement can be shaped to provide the desired reinforcement to any shape or size of member.

Claims

1. A reinforcing material which may be fastened around the exterior of a structure and subsequently foamed to provide a reinforcement to the structure.
2. A reinforcing material according to Claim 1 in which the reinforcing material is a double shell material and the inner layer is foamable.
3. A reinforcing material according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising an outer layer and an inner expandable layer and provided with means whereby the composite may be fastened around an article to be reinforced whereby the inner layer may be foamed to provide reinforcement and to bond to the article to be reinforced.
4. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims which is hinged so that it may be folded around the article to be reinforced and is provided with fastening means whereby it is held in place when it has been folded around the article to be reinforced.
5. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the fastening means comprise a clip, a clamp, a rivet or a protrusion.
6. A reinforcing material according to Claim 5 in which the means of fastening is a self fastening action between parts of the reinforcing material.
7. A reinforcing material according to any of Claims 1 to 5 in which the means of fastening is an action whereby the material is fastened to the structure to be reinforced.
8. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the fastening means comprises a clip on one edge of the material which is a snap fit with a mating recess at the other edge when it is folded around the article to be reinforced.
9. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the outer layer of the material is made of a rigid material such as metal for example aluminium or steel or thermoplastic such as polypropylene or nylon, particularly glass filled nylon.
10. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the foamable material is an epoxy based resin.
11. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the foamable material is selected so that it will foam at temperatures to which the seat is exposed during its manufacture.
12. A reinforcing material according to Claim 11 in which the foam will foam at a temperature in the range 800C to 2400C.
13. A reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims in which the foamable material is dry to the touch at ambient temperature and develops adhesive properties when activated.
14. An article having a reinforcing material according to any of the preceding claims fastened thereto.
15. A reinforced article wherein the foamable material has been foamed.
16. A article according to Claim 14 or Claim 15 comprising a tubular structure.
17. A tubular structure according to Claim 16 which is the frame of a seat.
PCT/EP2008/001957 2007-03-12 2008-03-12 Improved reinforcing structure WO2008110347A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0704728.5 2007-03-12
GB0704728A GB0704728D0 (en) 2007-03-12 2007-03-12 Improved reinforcing structure

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2008110347A1 true WO2008110347A1 (en) 2008-09-18

Family

ID=37988810

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2008/001957 WO2008110347A1 (en) 2007-03-12 2008-03-12 Improved reinforcing structure

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB0704728D0 (en)
WO (1) WO2008110347A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2010000371A1 (en) * 2008-06-09 2010-01-07 Zephyros Inc. Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of seats
US8020924B2 (en) 2007-12-26 2011-09-20 Sika Technology Ag Integrated reinforcing crossmember
US8133929B2 (en) 2008-04-15 2012-03-13 Sika Technology Ag Method for incorporating long glass fibers into epoxy-based reinforcing resins

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5255487A (en) 1990-08-17 1993-10-26 Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft Door reinforcement tube
WO2001041950A2 (en) * 1999-12-10 2001-06-14 L & L Products, Inc. Heat-activated structural foam reinforced hydroform
US6290179B1 (en) * 1997-11-05 2001-09-18 Alfred P. Kerns Airplane kites and method
WO2002055923A2 (en) * 2001-01-16 2002-07-18 Daimlerchrysler Ag Structural element reinforced with metal foam
DE10158627A1 (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-06-26 Fraunhofer Ges Forschung Bearer structure to receive forces and deforming energy has layer structure with at least two layers, one of foamed metal foam and other being bearer layer

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5255487A (en) 1990-08-17 1993-10-26 Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft Door reinforcement tube
US6290179B1 (en) * 1997-11-05 2001-09-18 Alfred P. Kerns Airplane kites and method
WO2001041950A2 (en) * 1999-12-10 2001-06-14 L & L Products, Inc. Heat-activated structural foam reinforced hydroform
WO2002055923A2 (en) * 2001-01-16 2002-07-18 Daimlerchrysler Ag Structural element reinforced with metal foam
DE10158627A1 (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-06-26 Fraunhofer Ges Forschung Bearer structure to receive forces and deforming energy has layer structure with at least two layers, one of foamed metal foam and other being bearer layer

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8020924B2 (en) 2007-12-26 2011-09-20 Sika Technology Ag Integrated reinforcing crossmember
US8133929B2 (en) 2008-04-15 2012-03-13 Sika Technology Ag Method for incorporating long glass fibers into epoxy-based reinforcing resins
WO2010000371A1 (en) * 2008-06-09 2010-01-07 Zephyros Inc. Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of seats

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB0704728D0 (en) 2007-04-18

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8530015B2 (en) Reinforcement of hollow profiles
US6905745B2 (en) Structural foam
CA2424041C (en) Hydroform structural reinforcement system
US9033404B2 (en) Encapsulated aluminum honeycomb structural stiffener
US7695040B2 (en) Structural reinforcement member and method of use therefor
US7025409B2 (en) Automotive rail/frame energy management system
EP1607204A2 (en) Manufacture of laminar mouldings
CA2467259C (en) Automotive composite structure part with specificated impact energy absorption
US20070122510A1 (en) Components
CA2410764A1 (en) Structural reinforcement system having modular segmented characteristics
WO2004043668A1 (en) Lightweight member for reinforcing, sealing or baffling
WO2003020574A1 (en) Adjustable reinforced structural assembly and method of use therefor
EP1931555A1 (en) Structural reinforcement for vehicles
US20080202674A1 (en) Structural reinforcements
KR20110042335A (en) Reinforcement assembly
WO2009049886A1 (en) Multifunctional vehicle components
WO2008110347A1 (en) Improved reinforcing structure
US20070200047A1 (en) Expandable reinforcing member
WO2003093064A1 (en) Vehicle body cavity filler
EP1650112A2 (en) Structural reinforcement system having modular segmented characteristics

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 08716463

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 08716463

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1