KR102024776B1 - Cowl cross member with inserted plastic injection molding structure - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a cowl cross member with an insert injection molding structure. According to the present invention, the cowl cross member with an insert injection molding structure comprises: a core bar in which reinforcing fibers form a network structure in a resin, and which has a curved portion in a transverse section thereof; a column bracket surrounding the surface of the core bar and fastened to a steering column; and an upper bracket coupled to the column bracket and fastened to a dash panel. The upper bracket includes: an upper coupling portion coupled to the column bracket by a coupling member; a pair of upper fastening portions extending from the upper coupling portion, and fastened to the dash panels, respectively; and an upper connection portion connecting the pair of upper fastening portions. The present invention can provide the cowl cross member having the insert injection molding structure, which is configured to secure sufficient strength and a coupling structure while forming a bracket supporting the steering column and the dash panel by using plastic.

Description

Cowl cross member with insert injection molding structure {COWL CROSS MEMBER WITH INSERTED PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING STRUCTURE}

The present invention relates to a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure, and more particularly, to an insert injection molding structure formed of plastic to support a steering column and a dash panel, while ensuring sufficient strength and coupling structure. It relates to a cowl cross member having.

The COWL CROSS MEMBER is used as a skeleton to prevent the warping and distortion of the vehicle in the right and left directions and to enhance the durability of the vehicle body.It provides a guide surface on which various electrical components of the instrument panel are mounted and the passenger's safety in the event of a frontal collision. Is made to protect.

In general, cowl cross members are made of hollow pipes made of steel, and cowl cross bars are arranged in the front and rear sides of the driver's seat and front passenger's seat in the horizontal direction.The cowl cross members are formed by mounting brackets formed at both ends of the cowl cross bar. It is fixed inside the panel.

A cowl crossbar is coupled with a plurality of brackets for supporting a steering column, an instrument panel, an airbag device, and the like. Conventionally, a plurality of brackets are made of metal and welded to the cowl cross bar. However, in recent years, in the automobile manufacturing industry, plastic brackets are applied to solve weakening of welding strength due to vehicle vibration and to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. That's the trend.

In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-0017204 discloses a support bracket structure for fixing a steering column of a vehicle. Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-0017204 is a screw coupled at a certain position of a cowl cross plate and a support bracket made of plastic, and a support bracket composed of a reinforcing plate made of steel so as to reinforce the rigidity of the support plate and coupled to one side of the support plate. To form, but the lower portion of the support bracket is characterized in that the brake pedal is hingedly connected.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-0017204 has the advantage of reducing the number of parts by increasing the rigidity while reducing the weight of the support bracket for fixing the steering column and by hingeably coupling the brake pedal to the lower portion thereof.

In addition, the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 568710 discloses the structure of the center support bracket. Korean Patent No. 568710 has an upper end coupled with a cowl cross member; A pair of side portions extending downward from both ends of the upper portion; In the structure of the center support bracket that is integrally molded using a plastic material to the mounting of the sound system by connecting the middle portion of the side portion, the upper end has a bent shape to seat the cowl cross member The upper end is formed with a through hole, and the rivet penetrates the through hole and the cowl cross member through the washer to fix the cowl cross member to the upper end.

Patent Publication No. 568710 is integrally molded using plastic, which makes it possible to reduce the weight of parts and improves fuel efficiency, and also generates vibration damping effects due to the characteristics of the plastic material itself. It is improved, there is no mold design cost for designing a plurality of conventional plates has the advantage of reducing the cost of the product.

However, in Patent Publication Nos. 2005-0017204 and 568710, holes are formed in the cowl crossbar and the bracket to fasten the bracket formed of the heterogeneous material of the plastic to the cowl crossbar of the metal material, and bolts, nuts, or rivets, respectively. Although it is fastened by a separate physical fastening means, in the coupling structure by the physical fastening means, the stress of vehicle vibration and external impact is concentrated in the hole in which the fastening means is inserted or the physical fastening means itself, so that the strength of the fastening structure cannot be maintained for a long time There was a problem that noise easily occurred.

Applicant of the present invention has applied for a high strength injection material insert type cowl cross member and its manufacturing method in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above.

Patent No. 1797460 discloses a base material forming step of forming a plate-like base material by applying a compressive load in a stacking direction after stacking a plurality of UD tapes; A core bar forming step of hot pressing the base material to form a curved core bar in a transverse section; And insert inserting the core bar and the bracket into the injection mold, and inserting the resin to restrict the flow between the core bar and the bracket while covering the surface of the core bar with the resin injected into the injection mold.

Patent No. 1797460 can easily manufacture a high-strength core bar made of a resin material, there is an advantage that the core bar is easily combined with brackets of the same type and different materials, but also forms a strong bonding force.

However, Patent Publication No. 1797460 describes only the structure of the high strength core bar and does not describe the improvement of the strength of the bracket. Therefore, the applicant of the present invention is to propose a method for securing a sufficient strength and coupling structure while forming a bracket for supporting the steering column and the dash panel made of plastic.

Patent Application Publication No. 1797460 (Registration Date: 2017.11.08) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2005-0017204 (published: 2005.02.22) Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 568710 (Registration Date: March 31, 2006)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure which is formed of plastic to form a bracket for supporting the steering column and the dash panel, while ensuring sufficient strength and coupling structure.

The object is, according to the present invention, the reinforcing fibers form a network structure in the resin, the core bar is curved in cross-section; A column bracket surrounding the surface of the core bar and fastened to the steering column; And an upper bracket coupled to the column bracket and fastened to the dash panel, wherein the upper bracket includes: an upper coupling part coupled to the column bracket by a coupling member; A pair of upper fastening portions extending from the upper coupling portions and fastened to the dash panels, respectively; And it is achieved by a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure comprising an upper connecting portion for connecting the pair of upper fastening portion.

The core bar has a concave portion formed by the bending, and the column bracket includes: a first contact portion surrounding the surface of the core bar from the outer side of the concave portion; A second contact portion surrounding the surface of the core bar in the recess; And a reinforcing rib connecting the second close contact portion in the concave portion.

The column bracket is formed with a first female screw portion and a second female screw portion, and the coupling member includes: a head caught by the upper coupling portion; A coupling body which is screwed into the first female screw portion by forward rotation with the head and has a slide groove; And a movable body which is slidably inserted into the slide groove and screwed to the second female screw part, and the relative rotation between the coupling body and the movable body may be constrained by an inner surface of the slide groove.

The lead of the first female screw portion is longer than the lead of the second female screw portion, and the coupling member includes: an elastic member that pushes the movable body toward the opposite side of the head; And a blocking member that prevents a slide movement opposite to the head of the movable body, wherein when the head is rotated forward, the movable body slides toward the head while being screwed to the second female threaded portion, and the head is reversed. In the rotation, the movable body may be made to block the opposite movement of the head by the blocking member to restrain the reverse rotation of the head.

The blocking member, the annular mounting portion mounted to the coupling body; And a tip portion protruding toward the moving body from the annular mounting portion and protruding obliquely toward the head, and the moving body may be formed such that a groove portion is caught at the end of the tip portion.

According to the present invention, while the core bar and the column bracket are manufactured by insert injection, the upper bracket forms a rigid structure, so that the bracket supporting the steering column and the dash panel is formed of plastic, while ensuring sufficient strength and coupling structure. It is possible to provide a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure.

1 and 2 are a perspective view of a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 and 4 are partially enlarged views of a cowl cross member having the insert injection molding structure of FIG.
5 is a view illustrating a bolting structure of a cowl cross member and a steering column having the insert injection molding structure of FIG. 1;
6 and 7 are views showing the coupling member of the cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 and 9 are views showing the use state of the coupling member of the cowl cross member having the insert injection molding structure of FIG.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in describing the present invention, descriptions of already known functions or configurations will be omitted to clarify the gist of the present invention.

The cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure of the present invention is formed to ensure sufficient strength and coupling structure while forming a bracket for supporting the steering column and the dash panel from plastic.

1 and 2 are perspective views of a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are partially enlarged views of the cowl cross member having the insert injection molding structure shown in FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a bolting structure of a cowl cross member and a steering column having the insert injection molding structure of FIG. 1.

1 to 5, while the cowl cross member 10 having an insert injection molding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, while forming the bracket for supporting the steering column (SC) and the dash panel made of plastic Is made to ensure a sufficient strength and coupling structure, and comprises a core bar 100, column bracket 200 and the upper bracket 300. In the present invention, the core bar 100 should be understood to mean a cowl cross bar.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the core bar 100 is disposed in the vehicle left and right transverse directions in front of the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and is formed in a curved shape in a cross section. The core bar 100 may be manufactured in the same manner as the core bar disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1797460 high-strength injection material insert-type cowl cross member and its manufacturing method.

As disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 1797460, the core bar 100 may be manufactured through a base material forming step and a core bar forming step. Referring to Korean Patent Publication No. 1797460, the base material forming step is a step of forming a plate-like base material made of a resin and reinforcing fibers, and is performed by applying a compressive load in a stacking direction after stacking a plurality of UD tapes.

UD tape is an intermediate material manufactured by impregnating reinforcing fibers such as glass and carbon fiber in one direction with thermoplastic resins such as PP and PA6 in one direction, and is generally used as a local reinforcing material in low physical properties of injection molded products.

In addition, the UD tape is manufactured in a continuous process to enable uniform adjustment of the resin content, uniform properties, and high reinforcing fiber content compared to Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics (LFT) to enable the production of high performance molded products. There is an advantage. In addition, the strength, rigidity and impact resistance are very excellent.

The plurality of UD tapes are cut in a shape similar to the longitudinal bending of the corebar 100 prior to lamination. After cutting, the plurality of UD tapes are laminated in such a manner that the impregnation directions of the reinforcing fibers are crossed with each other. The plurality of UD tapes are cut in different directions so that the impregnating directions of the reinforcing fibers cross each other when cutting.

The laminated UD tapes form a plate of constant thickness. Then, when the compressive load is applied in the lamination direction by press molding (not shown), the laminated UD tapes are firmly bonded to each other by the compressive load and processed into a plate-like base material having a constant strength.

That is, in the matrix forming step, a plurality of UD tapes are alternately laminated with the impregnating directions of the reinforcing fibers, thereby forming a plate-like base material by compressive load, thereby forming a mesh structure in which the reinforcing fibers in the base material cross each other.

Referring to Patent Publication No. 1797460, when the base material forming step is completed, the core bar forming step is performed. The core bar forming step is to form a curved core bar 100 in the transverse section, the plate-like base material is processed into a curved core bar 100 by hot press molding (hot press) .

The laminated UD tape forming the plate-shaped base material is bonded to each other by the heat energy transferred from the mold in the process of processing the plate-shaped base material into the curved core bar 100 by the high temperature pressing of the upper die and the lower die. The strength of the core bar 100 is improved.

In addition, the resin of the UD tape is micro-compressed in the stacking direction of the UD tape by the pressing force of the upper and lower molds, and the core bar 100 by inducing a form in which the mesh structure of the reinforcing fiber protrudes from the surface of the core bar 100. Bonding force of the resin layer and the core bar 100 surrounding the surface of the is improved. That is, in the present invention, the bonding force with the column bracket 200 surrounding the surface of the core bar 100 is improved by insert injection molding.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the core bar 100 is coupled to the lower bracket 500, the side bracket 600, and the like in addition to the column bracket 200 by insert injection molding. The present invention has technical features in the core bar 100, the column bracket 200 and the upper bracket 300. Therefore, hereinafter, detailed descriptions of the lower bracket 500 and the side bracket 600 will be omitted for easy understanding of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the concave portion 101 is formed in a horizontal cross section of the core bar 100 by hot press molding. Preferably, the cross-section of the core bar 100 forms the shape of the U-shaped open toward the rear, and form a structure that is more resistant to compression deformation, bending deformation and torsional deformation than the plate-shaped base material.

As shown in Figure 4, during insert injection, the various brackets are connected to a plurality of ribs (R) connecting the bend in the recess (101). The cowl cross member 10 of the present invention is improved in resistance to bending deformation and torsional deformation by a plurality of ribs (R).

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the column bracket 200 is fastened to the steering column SC, and is formed by a resin layer surrounding the surface of the core bar 100 by insert injection molding.

The column bracket 200 includes a first contact part 210, a second contact part 220, a reinforcing rib 230, and a column fastening part 240. A plurality of female thread portions N are formed in the column bracket 200 to be coupled to the upper bracket 300 by the coupling member 400.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the first contact part 210 surrounds the surface of the core bar 100 at the outside of the recess 101, and the second contact part 220 is the recess 101. The surface of the core bar 100 is wrapped within. The reinforcing rib 230 connects the second close contact portion 220 in the recess 101.

As shown in FIG. 5, the column fastening part 240 forms a shape extending from the first contact part 210. The column fastening part 240 is provided with a pair of through holes 241 to be fastened to the steering column SC by bolts (not shown) and nuts (N).

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper bracket 300 is fastened to the dash panel, and is formed by injection molding separate from the column bracket 200. The upper bracket 300 includes an upper coupling part 310, an upper fastening part 320, and an upper connection part 330.

The upper coupling part 310 is configured to be coupled to the column bracket 200 by the coupling member 400, and a plurality of through holes 311 into which the coupling member 400 is inserted is formed. Coupling member 400 is provided with a common bolt, the head 410 is screwed to the female threaded portion (N) through the through hole 311 in the state caught in the upper coupling portion (310).

The upper fastening part 320 is configured to be fastened to the dash panel by bolts, and is provided as a pair to form a shape extending from the upper coupling part 310, respectively. The pair of upper fastening portions 320 are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction. The upper fastening part 320 forms a thickness of the vertical direction to form the rigidity of the upper bracket 300. The upper fastening part 320 is formed with an assembly hole 321 to which the bolt is screwed. The insert nut may be coupled to the assembly hole 321.

The upper connector 330 connects the pair of upper fasteners 320. The upper connection part 330 connects a pair of upper fastening parts 320 to prevent deformation of the upper bracket 300. Although not shown in detail, ribs for preventing deformation may be formed below the upper fastening part 320 and the upper connection part 330.

6 and 7 are views illustrating a coupling member of a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are views of the cowl cross member having the insert injection molding structure of FIG. 6. A diagram showing a state of use of the coupling member.

6 to 9, in the cowl cross member 10 having an insert injection molding structure according to another embodiment of the present invention, the coupling member 400 is a head 410, coupling body 420, It comprises a moving body 430, the elastic member 440 and the blocking member 450. The head 410 is configured to be caught by the upper coupling portion 310 and is substantially the same as the head 410 of the known bolt.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the first female screw portion N1 and the second female screw portion N2 are formed in the column bracket 200. The first female screw portion N1 forms a female screw to which the coupling body 420 is screwed, and the second female screw portion N2 forms a female screw to which the moving body 430 is screwed. The second female screw portion N2 may be inserted into the first female screw portion N1.

Coupling body 420 is configured to be screwed to the first female screw portion (N1), it is made integral with the head 410 to rotate with the head 410. Coupling body 420 is screwed to the first female screw portion (N1) during the forward rotation of the head 410. That is, the coupling body 420 is released from the first female screw portion N1 during the reverse rotation of the head 410.

As shown in Figure 7 (a), 8 and 9, the coupling body 420 is formed with a slide groove 421. The slide groove 421 is a portion in which the movable body 430 is inserted to be slidably movable, and is formed in an asymmetrical cross-sectional shape. As shown in FIG. 7A, the slide groove 421 may be formed in a rectangular cross-sectional shape. The relative rotation between the coupling body 420 and the moving body 430 is constrained by the inner surface of the slide groove 421.

As shown in FIGS. 7D, 8, and 9, the moving body 430 slides in the slide groove 421 and is screwed to the second female threaded portion N2. ), A screw portion 432, and a groove portion 433.

The moving part 431 is configured to be slidably inserted into the slide groove 421 and is formed in an asymmetric cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the slide groove 421. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7D, when the slide groove 421 is formed in a square cross-sectional shape, the moving part 431 is formed in a square cross-sectional shape. Accordingly, the moving part 431 slides in the slide groove 421 in a state in which rotation is prevented by the shape restriction.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the screw portion 432 is screwed to the second female screw portion N2 and forms a shape protruding toward the second female screw portion N2 from the moving portion 431. do. The groove portion 433 is a configuration that is caught by the blocking member 450 and forms a form for connecting the moving portion 431 and the screw portion 432. The groove portion 433 forms a plurality of grooves at which the ends of the tip portion 452 of the blocking member 450 are caught.

The elastic member 440 is configured to push the moving body 430 to the opposite side to the head 410, it may be provided as a compression spring. The elastic member 440 forms an elastic recovery force that pushes the moving body 430 to the opposite side to the head 410 in the inserted state in the slide groove 421.

As shown in FIGS. 7 (c), 8 and 9, the blocking member 450 is configured to prevent the slide movement opposite to the head 410 of the moving body 430, and has an annular mounting portion 451 and a tip portion ( 452).

The annular mounting portion 451 is a portion mounted to the coupling body 420, and is formed in a ring shape as it is. As shown in Figure 7 (b), 8 and 9, the coupling body 420 is assembled with a cap member 460 for mounting the annular mounting portion 451. The cap member 460 is screwed to the inlet of the slide groove 421. The annular mounting portion 451 is fixed between the cap member 460 and the stepped portion of the coupling body 420 in a state where the cap member 460 is screwed to the inlet of the slide groove 421.

The tip part 452 protrudes toward the moving body 430 from the annular mounting part 451 but obliquely protrudes toward the head 410. Accordingly, the tip portion 452 is easily bent and deformed by being pushed by the groove portion 433 when the moving body 430 moves toward the head 410. On the other hand, the tip part 452 blocks the movement of the moving body 430 when the moving body 430 tries to move in the opposite direction to the head 410.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the head 410 is rotated forward, the coupling body 420 is screwed to the first female screw portion N1. At this time, since the moving part 431 rotates together with the coupling body 420, the thread part 432 is screwed to the second female thread part N2.

The lead of the first female screw portion N1 is formed longer than the lead of the second female screw portion N2. Therefore, when the head 410 is rotated in the forward direction, the movable body 430 is screwed to the second female threaded portion N2 to slide toward the head 410. At this time, the elastic member 440 is deformed compression.

In the state shown in FIG. 9, when the head 410 is rotated in the reverse direction, the movable body 430 is blocked by the blocking member 450 so that the slide movement opposite to the head 410 is blocked to restrain the reverse rotation of the head 410. do. Since the coupling body 420 and the moving body 430 form a structure that rotates at the same time, in order for the coupling body 420 to rotate in the reverse direction, the moving body 430 should also be rotated in the reverse direction.

Since the lead of the first female screw portion N1 is formed longer than the lead of the second female screw portion N2, when the coupling body 420 rotates in the reverse direction, the movable body 430 moves in the head (s) in the slide groove 421. Slide 410 to the opposite side. However, the slide movement opposite to the head 410 of the moving body 430 is blocked by the blocking member 450. Therefore, even if the reverse rotation force is applied to the coupling member 400 by the vibration energy of the vehicle, the coupling member 400 is not released. Therefore, the loosening phenomenon of the coupling member 400 due to the vibration or shock of the vehicle is firmly prevented.

The blocking member 450 is a consumable member and is made of a thin metal plate (or plastic plate). Therefore, when the upper bracket 300 needs to be separated as in the maintenance, when the operator rotates the head 410 in the reverse direction (with a force greater than the vibration energy of the vehicle) through the tool, the tip portion 452 is plastically deformed. Coupling member 400 is released from the first female screw portion (N1) and the second female screw portion (N2).

According to the present invention, while the core bar and the column bracket are manufactured by insert injection, the upper bracket forms a rigid structure, so that the bracket supporting the steering column and the dash panel is formed of plastic, while ensuring sufficient strength and coupling structure. It is possible to provide a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is self-evident to those who have. Therefore, such modifications or variations are not to be understood individually from the technical spirit or point of view of the present invention, the modified embodiments will belong to the claims of the present invention.

10: cowl cross member
100: core bar 400: coupling member
101: recess 410: head
200: column bracket 420: coupling body
210: first contact portion 421: slide groove
220: second close contact portion 430: the moving body
230: reinforcement rib 431: moving part
240: column fastening portion 432: screw portion
241 through hole 433 groove
N: female thread 440: elastic member
N1: first female threaded portion 450: blocking member
N2: 2nd female thread part 451: annular mounting part
300: upper bracket 452: tip portion
310: upper coupling portion 460: cap member
320: upper fastening part 500: lower bracket
330: upper connection 600: sieve bracket
311: through hole R: rib
321: assembly hole SC: steering column

Claims (5)

delete Reinforcing fibers form a network structure in the resin, the core bar is curved in cross section;
A column bracket surrounding the surface of the core bar and fastened to the steering column; And
It is coupled to the column bracket, and includes an upper bracket coupled to the dash panel,
The upper bracket,
An upper coupling part coupled to the column bracket by a coupling member;
A pair of upper fastening portions extending from the upper coupling portions and fastened to the dash panels, respectively; And
An upper connection part connecting the pair of upper fastening parts,
The core bar is formed with a recess due to the bending,
The column bracket,
A first contact portion surrounding the surface of the core bar at an outer side of the recess;
A second contact portion surrounding the surface of the core bar in the recess; And
Cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure comprising a reinforcing rib connecting the second close contact in the recess. Reinforcing fibers form a network structure in the resin, the core bar is curved in cross section;
A column bracket surrounding the surface of the core bar and fastened to the steering column; And
It is coupled to the column bracket, and includes an upper bracket coupled to the dash panel,
The upper bracket,
An upper coupling part coupled to the column bracket by a coupling member;
A pair of upper fastening portions extending from the upper coupling portions and fastened to the dash panels, respectively; And
An upper connection part connecting the pair of upper fastening parts,
The column bracket is formed with a first female thread portion and a second female thread portion,
The coupling member,
A head caught in the upper coupling part;
A coupling body which is screwed into the first female screw portion by forward rotation with the head and has a slide groove; And
A movable body inserted into the slide groove to be slidably movable and screwed to the second female screw part;
A relative cross between the coupling body and the movable body is a cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure, characterized in that it is restrained by the inner surface of the slide groove. The method of claim 3,
The lead of the first female thread portion is longer than the lead of the second female thread portion,
The coupling member,
An elastic member that pushes the movable body toward the opposite side of the head; And
It includes a blocking member for preventing the slide movement opposite to the head of the movable body,
When the head is rotated forward, the movable body slides toward the head while being screwed to the second female screw portion,
Cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure when the head is rotated in reverse direction, the movable body is blocked by the blocking member slide movement opposite the head to restrain the reverse rotation of the head. The method of claim 4, wherein
The blocking member,
An annular mounting portion mounted on the coupling body; And
A tip portion protruding toward the moving body from the annular mounting portion and protruding obliquely toward the head,
Cowl cross member having an insert injection molding structure, characterized in that the movable body is formed with a groove portion is applied to the end of the tip.

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