An assembly of vehicle body members by injecting an adhesive into a predesigned channel cavity formed at the joint interface of the vehicle body members.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a division of pending application Ser. No. 08/326,908, titled "Vehicle Assembly Method" filed Oct. 21, 1994 by the same inventors as in the present application.
The joint reinforcement member for a hollow structure of an automotive vehicle has a carrier portion with an outer surface. The carrier portion has a base portion with a first extension having a first longitudinal axis and a second extension having a second longitudinal axis. The first longitudinal axis and second longitudinal axis correspond to the hollow structure. A thermally expandable adhesive layer is disposed on the outer surface of the carrier portion and substantially covers the outer surface. A method for forming the joint member includes providing a carrier having a plurality extensions extending from a base portion that correspond to the hollow structure a layer of thermally expandable adhesive materials applied to the carrier portion. The carrier portion is heated to activate the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer is cooled so that the adhesive layer is bonded to the structural member. The reinforcement member may be inserted into the hollow structure of an automotive vehicle before assembly of the vehicle so that during a paint bake operation, the adhesive portion is heated and bonded to the structure of the vehicle.
An inner fender structure having a set of pockets. Each member of the set of pockets has an opening. The openings of the adjacent pockets are disposed along different sides of the inner fender structure.
The present invention relates to a method of assembling a vehicle. The method comprises providing an open-top cab module comprising a metallic base frame, a plurality of exterior body panels secured to the base frame, and interior cab module trim component. A roof assembly is then provided. The roof assembly comprises a light metallic roof frame, at least one roof panel supported on the roof frame, glass components comprising at least a front windshield supported on the roof frame, and interior roof assembly trim components supported on the roof frame. The roof assembly is then secured to the cab module.
A lightweight cab/sleeper for a transport truck tractor is made of composite assembly panels and extrusion framing. A lightweight sleeper may be attached to a cab designed for that purpose by adhering the perimeter of a forward opening of the lightweight sleeper to the perimeter of a corresponding rear opening of the cab to form a single unified cab sleeper assembly.
