RECYCLABLE, LOW-COST, COLLISION-RESISTANT AUTOMOBIRECYCLABLE, LOW-COST, COLLISION-RESISTANT AUTOMOBILE CHASSIS AND BODY LE CHASSIS AND BODY

摘要

An automobile chassis (40) and a one-piece body (180) integrated into a unitary structure, and a method for fabricating, assembling and integrating the chassis and body. The body includes interior panels, a cockpit, an engine enclosure module, and an underbody. The chassis/body structure, comprised of a single type of aluminum alloy and a single type of thermoplastic, is resistant to high-stress loads and is substantially recyclable into industrial-quality constituents. A first preferred embodiment includes a body rotomolded from a reinforced polycarbonate, polycarbonate/ABS blend, or polyimide thermoplastic, seven aluminum alloy bulkheads (42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54), and stacks of thin-wall aluminum honeycomb cell panels (165A, 165V) embedded in an unreinforced foam of the thermoplastic (189). A second preferred embodiment includes a body rotomolded from a reinforced liquid crystal polymer thermoplastic, seven aluminum alloy bulkheads (42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54), and stacks of thin-wall aluminum honeycomb panels (165A-165). A third preferred embodiment includes a body rotomolded from a reinforced polycarbonate thermoplastic, seven aluminum alloy bulkheads (42, 44, 46,48, 50, 52, 54), and aggregated sub-assemblies of polycarbonate micro-honeycomb blocks (260) having cells filled with a foam of the unreinforced polycarbonate thermoplastic.