JP2000085619A - Front pillar joint structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide front pillar joint structure of an automobile preventing a front pillar from being deformed at collision without causing increase of weight and cost to enable a front door to be opened. SOLUTION: In the front pillar joint structure of an automobile constituted so that a lower reinforcement 10 is arranged on the lower half part in a front pillar extending in the vertical direction of a vehicle body and forming the front edge of a front door opening, an upper reinforcement 11 is arranged on the upper half part, the lower end 11b of the upper reinforcement 11 and the upper end 10b of the lower reinforcement 10 are joined together, and the rear end 13a of a support member 13 extending in the longitudinal direction of the body is connected to the front wall of the front pillar, the joint part A of the upper reinforcement 11 and the lower reinforcement 10 is provided on the position upward apart from the joint part of the rear end 13a of the apron member 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint structure around a front pillar which forms a front edge of a front door opening of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a front pillar which forms a front edge of a front door opening of an automobile has a structure in which a pillar outer and a pillar inner are joined to form a rectangular closed cross section. In such a front pillar, a rein hose may be provided in order to increase the rigidity of the door opening.

As a structure for disposing such a rein hose, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a door hinge is provided in a lower half portion of a front pillar (not shown), so that a large thickness of a lower-in hose 50 is used. In the upper half, an apparel hose 51 having a smaller plate thickness is provided, and the upper end 50a of the lower in hose 50 and the apparel hose 5 are attached.
In some cases, the lower end portion 51a of the first and second lower portions 51a is overlapped and joined.

A rear end 53a of a support member 53 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is connected to a front wall of the front pillar. The support member 53 supports a spring or the like of the suspension.

[0005]

By the way, as in the prior art, the lower hose 50 and the upper hose 51 are different from each other.
In the case where the rear end 53a of the support member 53 is connected to the joint 55 of the support member 53, an input at the time of a frontal offset collision is directly applied to the joint 55 through the support member 53. As a result, there is a concern that the joint portion 55 becomes a break point on rigidity, which causes the front pillar to bend backward and be deformed, and that the front door cannot be opened in some cases.

In order to prevent such rearward deformation of the front pillar, a rein hose 56 is provided at a door belt line in the front door, or the joint 5 is provided.
It is conceivable that the bulkhead 57 is provided in 5 to increase the rigidity of the front pillar. However, there is a problem that the weight is increased by the addition of the rein hose and the bulkhead, and the cost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and it is possible to prevent a front pillar from being deformed and prevent a front door from being opened without causing an increase in weight or cost. It is intended to provide a pillar junction structure.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a lower-in hose is provided in a lower half of a front pillar which extends in a vertical direction of a vehicle body and forms a front edge of a front door opening, and a lower-in hose is provided in an upper half. A front end of an automobile having an appari in hose connected thereto, joining the appari in hose and the lower in hose, and connecting a rear end of a support member extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction to a front wall of the front pillar. In the pillar joining structure, the joining portion between the above-mentioned apparel hose and the lower in hose is provided at a position above or below the connecting portion of the support member, or provided so as to pass from above the connecting portion to below. It is characterized by that.

[0009]

According to the joint structure of the front pillar according to the present invention, the joint portion between the appariin hose and the lower joint hose is provided at a position distant from the connection portion of the support member, or is provided above the connection portion. , The input from the support member at the time of a frontal collision is mainly borne by the upper portion or the portion with high sectional rigidity of the lower-in hose, and the input to the joint is reduced accordingly. . This can prevent the front pillar from being bent rearward and prevent the front door from opening due to a collision.

In particular, when the joint is provided so as to extend from above to below the support member, an input from the support member is a portion having a higher cross-sectional rigidity such as a wrap portion between an apparel hose and a lower in hose. And the bending deformation of the front pillar can be more reliably prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned effect can be realized only by shifting the position of the joint between the appari in hose and the lower in hose upward or downward or by extending the polymerization length. Thus, it is not necessary to add a belt line rein hose or a bulkhead as described above, and the problems of an increase in the number of parts, an increase in weight, and an increase in cost can be avoided.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3 are views for explaining a front pillar joining structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a front pillar joining portion, and FIG. 2 is a front view forming a front door opening. FIG. 3 is a side view of a side panel of a vehicle, and FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a side panel of an automobile, which is connected to a front end of a rocker panel 2 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and a lower end of a front pillar 3 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The lower end of a center pillar 4 extending in the vertical direction is connected to the center in the direction, and the upper end of the center pillar 4 and the upper end of the front pillar 3 are connected by a roof side rail 5 extending in the front-rear direction. It is. A front door opening 1a is formed by the roof side rail 5, the center pillar 4, the front pillar 3, and the rocker panel 2.

The front pillar 3 comprises a vertical portion 3a having a hinge for supporting a front door (not shown) so as to be openable and closable, and an inclined portion 3b extending obliquely rearward from the vertical portion 3a. A windshield (not shown) is supported by 3b.

The front pillar 3 has a structure in which a front edge portion and a rear edge portion of a pillar outer 6 and a pillar inner 7 having a hat-shaped cross section are joined to form a rectangular closed cross section. A front end of the pillar inner 7 is integrally formed with a fender portion 7a extending forward, and a lower end of the fender portion 7a is formed with a curved wheel arch portion 7b for covering a front wheel (not shown). Here, the pillar outer 6 has a structure integrally formed over the entire circumference of the front door opening 1a.
The outer panel of the rocker panel 2, the center pillar 4, and the roof side rail 5 is also used.

In the lower half of the front pillar 3, there is provided a lower-in hose 10 having a hat-shaped cross section, and in the upper half thereof, there is provided an apparel hose 11 also having a hat-shaped cross section. The lower in hose 10 and the upper in hose 1
1 is the front edge of the front pillar 3, and the rear edge is
It is overlapped and joined to the trailing edge.

The lower end 10a of the lower hose 10
The front end of the rocker-in hose 2a of the rocker panel 2 is joined to the lower end of the pillar-in hose 4a of the center pillar 4 is joined to the rocker-in hose 2a. Also, the rear end 11 of the above-mentioned appari in hose 11
a is a rail rein hose 5a of the roof side rail 5
Is joined to the rear end of the rail rein hose 5a, and the upper end of the pillar rein hose 4a is joined to the rear end of the rail rein hose 5a.

The upper end 10b of the lower in hose 10
Extends to the upper end of the vertical portion 3a of the front pillar 3, and the lower end 11b of the apparel hose 11 is overlapped and joined to the upper end 10b.

The thickness of the lower-in hose 10 is set to be larger than the thickness of the apparel hose 11. The rigidity of the door hinge is ensured by the thicker lower-in hose 10, and the thin appli-in hose is secured. The hose 11 reduces the weight.

A rear end 13a of a support member 13 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is welded to an upper portion of the vertical portion 3a of the front pillar 3, more specifically, to an upper portion of a front wall of the pillar outer 6. The support member 13 has a hat-like cross section that opens inward, and a suspension bracket (not shown) is provided inside the support member 13.
A fender apron and the like are joined, and a radiator support and the like are joined at a front end.

The joint A between the upper end 10b of the lower hose 10 and the lower end 11b of the upper hose 11 is located at a position separated by a distance L above the connection of the rear end 13a of the support member 13. Is provided. Here, the dimension L is set to such a size that the load at the time of the front offset collision hardly acts on the joint.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the joint structure of the present embodiment, the joint A between the upper end 10b of the lower hose 10 and the lower end 11b of the upper hose 11 is connected to the rear end 13a of the support member 13.
The load from the support member 13 at the time of a frontal collision or an offset collision is mainly borne by the portion of the lower rigid hose 10 having a high cross-sectional rigidity, and the input to the joint A is accordingly increased. Is reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the cross section of the front pillar 3 from collapsing, prevent the rear pillar from being bent, and prevent a front door from being unable to be opened due to a collision.

Further, in this embodiment, since it is sufficient to simply offset the joint A from the support member 13 to a position above the support member 13, it is not necessary to add a conventional belt line rein hose or bulkhead, and the number of parts can be reduced. The problem of increased weight, increased weight, and increased cost can be avoided.

In the above embodiment, the case where the joint A is provided above the connecting portion 13a of the support member 13 has been described. However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. The lower end may be extended downward, and the upper end 10b of the lower-in hose 10 may be joined to the extension 11b, whereby the joint A1 may be provided below the support member 13.

Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
May be provided so as to extend from above the support member 13 to below.

When the connecting portion is provided so as to extend from above the support member 13 to below, the connecting portion of the rear end 13a of the support member 13 is connected to both the rein hoses 10 and 1
1, the sectional rigidity is further increased, and deformation due to impact force can be more reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining a front pillar joining structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view around the front pillar.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a side panel of the automobile.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a front pillar joint for explaining a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional general front pillar joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Front door opening 3 Front pillar 10 Lower in hose 10b Upper end 10c Extension 11 Appari in hose 11b Lower end 13 Support member 13a Rear end connection A, A1 joint

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lower-in hose is provided in a lower half of a front pillar forming a front edge of a front door opening, and an apparel in hose is provided in an upper half thereof. A front pillar joint structure for an automobile, comprising joining the apparel in hose and the lower in hose, and connecting a rear end of a support member extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction to a front wall of the front pillar; The joint of the in-hose and the lower-in-hose is provided at a position above or below the connecting portion of the support member, or is provided so as to extend from above to below the connecting portion. Front pillar joint structure.