US Patent 9821852 Pressurized air insert for side impacts

A frame assembly for a vehicle includes a rocker elongated along an axis and defining a tubular cavity elongated along the axis. The vehicle frame assembly includes a sealed pressurized insert disposed in the cavity and elongated along the axis. The sealed pressurized insert increases the stiffness of the rocker, i.e., decreases the likelihood of deformation of the rocker during an impact of the vehicle, such as a side impact.