Foldable substrates for motor vehicles and methods for making the same

摘要

Embodiments of foldable substrates and methods for making foldable substrates for a motor vehicle are provided herein. The foldable substrate comprises a first wall that has a first outer surface. The first wall comprises a first natural fiber-resin impregnated blank section that is overmolded with a first quantity of polymeric resin that forms at least a portion of the first outer surface. A second wall has a second outer surface. The second wall comprises a second natural fiber-resin impregnated blank section that forms at least a portion of the second outer surface. The first and second walls are hingedly connected together.

主权项

1. A foldable substrate for a motor vehicle, the foldable substrate comprising:
a first wall having a first outer surface and comprising a first natural fiber-resin impregnated blank section that is overmolded with a first quantity of polymeric resin that forms at least a portion of the first outer surface; a second wall having a second outer surface and comprising a second natural fiber-resin impregnated blank section that forms at least a portion of the second outer surface, wherein the first and second walls are hingedly connected together; and a hinge section that hingedly connects the first and second walls and that defines at least one fold-initiating groove to facilitate folding of the foldable substrate from an unfolded condition to a folded condition, wherein the hinge section comprises a portion of a continuous natural fiber-resin impregnated blank defining the at least one fold-initiating groove, wherein the continuous natural fiber-resin impregnated blank further comprises the first and second natural fiber-resin impregnated blank sections, wherein the continuous natural fiber-resin impregnated blank has a flexural modulus of about 90 MPa or less, wherein the hinge section has a hinge outer surface and defines the at least one fold-initiating groove configured as a wide-base channel that is formed through the hinge outer surface, wherein the wide-base channel is defined by a first sidewall surface, a second sidewall surface, and a recessed-base surface that extends between the first and second sidewall surfaces, and wherein when the hinge section is in the unfolded condition the recessed-base surface extends from the first sidewall surface to the second sidewall surface as a substantially planar surface at an incline in which a lowest-most portion of the wide-base channel corresponds to a hinge line and defines a fold-initiator thickness y that is less than an average thickness of the first and second walls, and the lowest-most portion of the wide-base channel is positioned at or immediately adjacent to where the second sidewall surface merges with the recessed-base surface and is spaced apart from the first sidewall surface such that when the hinge section is in the folded condition the first sidewall surface is disposed directly over the hinge outer surface.