JP2001301652A - Vehicle body and its molding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle body and its molding method capable of easily molding the vehicle body having a simple structure, good precision, and a good external appearance at a low cost, reducing the molding cost, and improving rigidity. SOLUTION: In this molding method for the vehicle body, a rough shape W is molded from a plate so that a portion for a roof panel R and portions for both side members S are adjacently connected via pad absorption sections P. The adjacent roof panel R and both side members S are continuously and integrally molded by bending the rough shape from the pad absorption sections P so that the pads of the rough shape W formed when edge sections at the boundaries between the roof panel R and the side members S are molded into a curve shape are absorbed by the pad absorption sections P.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body and a method of forming the same, and more particularly, to a vehicle body including a plurality of components and a method of forming the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle body includes a roof panel R, a side member S, an underbody U, or a dash panel D or a front fender panel constituting an engine compartment in a front body. F, front fender apron E, front cross member C, etc. Further, the body of the vehicle is provided with a part that opens and closes, such as an engine hood in a front body and a luggage compartment door behind the vehicle (not shown). Then, the body of the vehicle is formed such that the ridgeline L of each component is curved as required, depending on its design and the like. Especially when the body of the vehicle has a single structure without a frame,
Due to the need for rigidity and the like, there is a difference in the thickness of each component. Further, the body of the vehicle needs to be formed so as not to generate wrinkles in a portion (outer plate portion) outside the vehicle in terms of appearance and the like.

[0003] As a general technique for forming such a vehicle body, each component R, S, etc. is formed by pressing a plate having an appropriate thickness, and each component is spot-welded. Conventionally, such bonding is performed by performing such operations.

Another conventional vehicle body forming method is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2731777, which discloses a method for forming at least a part of a cylindrical surface having an open end. Having connected structural wall members of
A method for forming an integral vehicle body chamber structural member, comprising a moldable load-bearing material, wherein at least some of the diametrical dimensions are smaller than the diametrical dimensions of the cylindrical surface. Providing a tube having a portion and having an open end; and a molding step of diametrically expanding the portion of the tube to form the tube to conform to the shape of the wall member. There is known a method of molding a chamber structural member of an integrated vehicle body, characterized by comprising:

[0005] In this case, it should be noted that the axis of the tubular blank (tube) is parallel to the transverse axis of the vehicle. If desired, the cabin can be formed from a blank having an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, but, for the illustrated cabin configuration, is preferably formed from a blank having a transverse axis. ] (Paragraph number 0017).

[0006]

However, when joining each component formed from a plate material as described above, it is necessary to provide a press die for molding each component for each component. I do. Also, labor and equipment for joining after forming each component are required. Therefore, there is a problem that the molding cost of the body of the vehicle cannot be reduced. Furthermore, since the individually formed components are joined by spot welding or the like, there is a problem that the rigidity of the body cannot be increased. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the molded body is distorted due to a temperature change during welding for joining the components, and there is a limit in improving the molding accuracy.

On the other hand, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2731777, since the tube is expanded to form a structural member for the body, the body may be formed to a predetermined thickness. There was a problem that it was difficult. Further, in this case, there is a problem that it is necessary to prepare a tube having a size capable of forming a body, and it is necessary to use a large three-dimensional mold for forming a body structural member of the body. Furthermore, this article states that "if necessary, the cabin can be formed from a blank (tube) having an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle". Since the chamber structural member is formed from the tube, it is substantially impossible to form the chamber structural member including the side member from the tube, or to form an opening / closing portion such as an engine hood or a luggage compartment door. Difficult. As a result, "for the illustrated cabin configuration, it is preferred to form from a blank having a transverse axis. And there is a problem that the chamber structural members that can be formed are limited.

Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2731777, after a chamber structural member is formed from a tube, for example, a window opening and a wheel opening of a passenger compartment and a lower opening of a body are formed in an engine room and a load. The body compartment needs to be removed from the tube forming the chamber to bring it to its final configuration (paragraph number 0027). Therefore, there is a problem that not only the number of steps is increased, but also the molding accuracy is reduced, such as deformation of the molded room structural member when the opening of the cabin window is removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily form a vehicle body having good precision and good appearance at a low cost with a simple structure, and to reduce the molding cost and rigidity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body and a method of molding the same, which can improve the vehicle body.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body including a plurality of components. It is characterized in that adjacent components are integrally formed so as to be continuous by being bent via the meat absorbing portion.

According to a second aspect of the invention for a vehicle body, in order to achieve the above object, in the first aspect of the invention, a reinforcing portion is integrally formed inside the body from the excess thickness absorbing portion. It is assumed that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a body of a vehicle comprising a plurality of components, the method comprising the steps of: The present invention is characterized in that a plate material is formed so as to extend over the constituent elements, the plate material is bent from the excess thickness absorbing portion, and adjacent constituent elements are continuously and integrally formed via ridge lines including a curved shape.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a single plate material formed so as to extend over adjacent components is formed between the components with a simple configuration in which the plate is bent via the excess-absorbing portion. Even if the ridgeline is curved, the edge of each component forming the ridgeline is formed in a curved shape, and the excess thickness caused by a difference in line length or a difference in interval is absorbed by the excess thickness absorbing portion. Therefore, a plurality of components adjacent to each other have a good appearance at once without generating wrinkles and the like, and an integrally molded vehicle body with improved rigidity is provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a single plate material formed so as to extend over adjacent components is bent,
By integrally forming the reinforcing portion inside the body by the excess thickness absorbing portion, a vehicle body with further improved rigidity is provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sheet material formed so as to extend over the adjacent components via the excess thickness absorbing portion is bent from the excess thickness absorbing portion, and the adjacent components are formed via the ridge line including the curved shape. The edge of each component that forms the ridge line is formed into a curved shape, and the extra thickness generated by the line length difference or the difference in the interval is absorbed by the extra thickness absorbing part. A method for forming a vehicle body having improved rigidity by integrally forming a plurality of components adjacent to each other without causing wrinkles or the like is provided.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the body of the vehicle includes a roof panel R and a side member S, or a front fender panel F, a front fender apron E, a front cross member C, a hood H, and an underbody U in the front body. It is composed of components such as a dash panel D. Curved ridgelines L are formed at the boundaries between these components as necessary according to the design of the vehicle.

The body of the vehicle according to the present invention is generally formed by integrally bending a plate material extending over adjacent components (R, S) into a continuous shape by bending the plate material through a surplus absorption portion P. Things. Further, the reinforcing portion Q is integrally formed from the excess thickness absorbing portion P to the inside of the body.

In the method of molding a vehicle body according to the present invention, the roughly formed material W is formed so as to extend from the plate material to the adjacent components (R, S) via the excess thickness absorbing portion P. The rough material is removed from the excess absorption portion P so that the excess thickness of the coarse material W caused by the edge formed as the boundary of the element (R, S) is formed in a curved shape is absorbed by the excess thickness absorption portion P. By bending, adjacent components are formed into a continuous and integral structure.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the present invention will be described mainly in the case where a roof panel R and both side members S are integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the thicknesses of the roof panel R and the side members S are tr, t
s is set to be different (see FIG. 5). Therefore, when molding the body, first, as the plate material in this embodiment, a plate material having the set thickness tr of the roof panel R and a plate material having the plate thickness ts of the side member S are used. Is welded or the like to provide a so-called tailored blank (also referred to as a differential pressure plate) formed so that the plate thickness is different depending on the portion as necessary. In FIG. 4, a dashed line indicates a welding line V where the two plate-shaped materials are butt-joined. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, by pressing a differential pressure plate or the like,
A roof panel R is provided via a surplus absorption portion P having a configuration described later.
And the size and shape of the rough material W over the portion to be the two side members S, so that the portion to be the roof panel R and the portion to be the two side members S are substantially parallel to each other. Molding.

At this time, the part to be the roof panel R is
The edge of the vehicle in the front-rear direction (arrow X direction in FIG. 1) and in the left-right direction (arrow Y direction in FIG. 1) is formed to be curved. Further, both side edges of the portion to be the roof panel R are formed in accordance with a curve of a ridge line L formed between the side panel S and the side member S later.

On the other hand, a portion to be the side member S is formed with an opening G at a portion where a front door and a rear door (not shown) are attached, and a center pillar J is formed in the opening, and the rear of the opening G is formed. A quarter panel K having a rear wheel house is formed. As shown in FIG. 1, the periphery of the opening G has a roof side rail and a roof drip (not shown) on the upper Ga, and a rocker panel (not shown) on the lower Gb.
A front pillar (not shown) is formed in the upper front Gc, and a quarter lock pillar (not shown) is formed in the lower rear Gd. It is formed in a bent state. Also, the upper edge of the portion that will be the side member S
It is formed in accordance with a curve of a ridge line L formed later with the roof panel R.

As shown in FIG. 4, a welding line V formed by butt-joining plate-like materials having different thicknesses is arranged in a surplus absorbing portion P provided between the roof panel R and the side member S. ing. As shown in FIG.
In the case of the present embodiment, the groove is formed in a concave shape with respect to the surface serving as the outer plate portion of the roof panel R and the side member S. An aperture joint Pa formed to be curved with a relatively large curvature toward the opening of the meat absorbing portion P
And a positioning portion Pb formed in a step shape on the bottom side.

Further, both side edges of the portion to be the roof panel R and upper end edges of the portion to be the side members S are formed in accordance with the curve of the ridge line L formed between them later. As shown in FIG. 4, there is a difference between the respective line lengths LR and LS, and the distances MF and M between the openings of the excess thickness absorbing portion P depend on the position of the vehicle in the front-back direction.
Temporary changes occur in C and MR.

As shown in FIG. 6, the rough shaped material W thus formed is supported by positioning rollers 10, 10 in which a pair of positioning portions Pb formed in a step shape of the excess absorption portion P are formed. . Further, a portion serving as one side member S facing the excess thickness absorbing portion P and a portion serving as the roof panel R, which is an opposite edge of the excess thickness absorbing portion P or a portion serving as the side member S on the other side. Is held by a robot arm (not shown) or the like.

From this state, the drawing joint portion Pa formed to be curved with a relatively large curvature of the surplus absorbing portion P is sandwiched between the drawing forming rollers 11 and 11 while being pressed toward the positioning portion Pb. The positioning roller 10 and the drawing roller 11 are relatively moved along the meat absorbing portion P. Positioning roller 10 and drawing roller 1
As shown in FIG. 3, the first movement can be made to move toward the front Xa and the rear Xb of the vehicle from a substantially central position of the excess thickness absorbing portion P. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the vehicle can be moved from the front to the rear of the vehicle along the excess thickness absorbing portion P, or vice versa. Further, the draw forming roller 11 is not limited to the present embodiment in which a pair of rollers having a rotation axis extending in a direction perpendicular to a rib (described later) Pc formed by the draw joint Pa is used. P
or a configuration in which a rotation axis substantially parallel to c is used, or a drawing roller 11 having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to these ribs Pc and a drawing roller 11 having a rotation axis parallel to the rib Pc are used as a surplus absorbing portion. It is also possible to adopt a configuration of combination and arrangement along P.

As the positioning roller 10 and the drawing forming roller 11 relatively move while pressing the excess thickness absorbing portion P, as shown in FIG. 7, the distances MF, The drawn joint Pa is joined to each other so that MC and MR are eliminated over the entire length. In this embodiment, the drawn joints Pa are joined to each other to form the ribs Pc, and the drawn joints Pa are moved by the draw forming rollers 11 to the positioning rollers 1.
By pressing toward the positioning portion Pb positioned by 0, a structure portion Pd having a closed cross-sectional shape is formed between the rib Pc and the positioning portion Pb so as to be integrally located inside the body. The rib Pc and / or the closed-section structure portion Pd functions as a reinforcing portion. When the drawn joints Pa are joined to each other, the line lengths LR,
In this embodiment, the difference in LS is absorbed by changing the height formed by the rib Pc or the closed-section structure Pd and / or the width formed by the closed-section structure Pd. Then, even if wrinkles may be generated due to a difference in the line lengths LR and LS when the excess thickness absorbing portion P is pressed or bent, since the excess thickness absorbing portion P is located inside the body, However, the appearance of the outer plate does not deteriorate.

Then, when the drawn joints Pa are joined to each other, the drawn joints Pa are bent, that is, the roof panel R and the side members S are relatively bent via the excess absorption portion P. Then, the roof panel R and the side member S having the predetermined curved ridge line L formed therebetween are continuously and integrally formed.

At this time, that is, as shown in FIG. 2, the positioning roller is formed from the rough material W formed so that the portion serving as the roof panel R and the portions serving as both side members S are substantially parallel to each other. With the relative movement of the draw-forming roller 10 and the draw-forming roller 11, it is bent to a state as shown in FIG. 3, and further bent and finally between the roof panel R and the side member S as shown in FIG. Until the ridge line S is formed, the robot arm (not shown) follows the bending of the roof panel R and the side member S so that the angle between the roof panel R and the side member S is appropriate. Is held so as to change the posture. Also,
The positioning roller 10 and the drawing roller 11 are controlled so that their postures are changed in accordance with the movement of the positioning portion Pb of the excess thickness absorbing portion P accompanying the bending of the rough material W.

The ribs Pc formed by joining the drawn joints Pa to each other can be fixed to each other by spot welding or the like as necessary. However, in the present invention, since the roof panel R and the side member S are integrally formed, the spot welding spot required when both the R and S are separately formed and joined as in the related art is smaller than the spot welding point. Thus, they can be securely fixed to each other with significantly less spot welding points (that is, with less labor and cost). Then, in order to absorb the difference between the line lengths LR and LS by the excess thickness absorbing portion P, adjacent components (the roof panel R and both side members S in this embodiment) are forced through the curved ridge line L. And a rib P is provided inside the body of the ridge line portion L.
The rigidity of the body can be increased in order to form c and the closed-section structure portion Pd. Further, a press die (not shown) is used to form the rough material W so as to extend from the plate material to the adjacent components (the roof panel R and the both side members S) via the excess thickness absorbing portion P. In this case, it is only necessary to prepare a smaller number of molds, and it is possible to reduce the number of steps as compared with a case where the respective components (the roof panel R and the both side members S) are separately formed. The production cost of the body can be reduced.

As described above, the present invention has been described in the case where the roof panel R and both side members S are integrally formed as described above, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The present invention includes, as components of a vehicle body, for example, an underbody U and both side members S as shown in FIG. 8, and a hood H and both front fender panels in a front body as shown in FIG. 1 or 10, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 10, the front cross member C and the underbody U, both front fender aprons E, the front fender panel F and the radiator support T (only shown in FIG. 10). ), Or, as shown in FIG. 1, the underbody U including the front floor and the center floor and the dash panel D can be integrally formed.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plate material extending over the adjacent components is bent through the excess thickness absorbing portion, whereby the adjacent components are integrally formed so as to be continuous. In the configuration, even if the ridgeline formed between the components is curved, the edges of the components forming the ridgeline are formed in a curved shape, and due to a difference in line length or a difference in spacing. The surplus generated is absorbed by the surplus absorbing portion, so that a plurality of components adjacent to each other have a good appearance at once without generating wrinkles and the like, and the integrally molded body of the vehicle has improved rigidity. Can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when a single plate material formed so as to extend over adjacent components is bent, the inside of the body is formed by the excess thickness absorbing portion. By molding the reinforcement part integrally,
Further, it is possible to provide a vehicle body having improved rigidity.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plate material is formed so as to extend over the adjacent components via the excess thickness absorbing portion, and the plate material is bent from the excess thickness absorbing portion, and is bent through the ridge line including the curved shape. A simple configuration in which adjacent components are formed continuously and integrally.The edges of each component that forms the ridgeline are formed in a curved shape, leaving extra space due to differences in wire length or differences in spacing. Provided is a method of molding a body of a vehicle, in which a plurality of components adjacent to each other have good appearance at once and are integrally molded to improve rigidity without causing wrinkles or the like because the meat absorbing portion absorbs them. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a body of a vehicle formed according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a rough material in which a part to be a roof panel and a part to be both side members via a surplus absorption part are formed in parallel according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a part serving as a roof panel and a part serving as both side members are relatively bent from the excess absorption portion.

FIG. 4 shows a difference in the line length between the shape of the side edge of the roof panel and the shape of the upper end edge of the side member of the rough material formed as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining that the difference is caused by a portion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before a surplus absorbing portion of the coarse material formed as shown in FIG. 2 is bent.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the positioning portion of the excess thickness absorbing portion shown in FIG. 5 is supported by a positioning roller, and the drawn joint portion is being pressed and joined by a drawing forming roller.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the positioning roller and the draw-forming roller are further pressed from the state shown in FIG. 6 to form a rib at the drawn joint portion, and a closed-section structure portion is formed between the rib and the positioning portion. FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment in which an underbody and both side members are integrally formed as components of a vehicle body.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment in which a hood and both front fender panels in a front body are integrally formed as components of a vehicle body.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment in which a front cross member, an underbody, both front fender aprons, and a front fender panel and a radiator support are integrally formed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Coarse material L Ridge line Q Reinforced part P Surplus absorption part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B62D 25/06 B62D 25/06 A 25/08 25/08 C 25/20 25/20 G 65/00 65 / 00 Q (72) Inventor Shinobu Okuma 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Koichi Kani 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Toshitaka Miyagi 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Chiemi Nagasaka 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation F term (reference) 3D003 AA01 AA10 BB05 CA04 CA05 CA09 CA14 CA15 CA17 CA33 CA34 CA35 CA36 CA37 CA38 CA48 CA53 CA55 3D114 AA05 BA03 CA03 EA04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A body of a vehicle comprising a plurality of components, wherein a plate material extending over adjacent components is integrally formed so that adjacent components are continuous by bending the plate through an excess absorption portion. A vehicle body characterized by being formed. 2. The vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein a reinforcing portion is integrally formed inside the body from the excess thickness absorbing portion. 3. A method of forming a vehicle body comprising a plurality of components, wherein a plate is formed so as to extend over adjacent components via a surplus absorbing portion, and the plate is bent from the surplus absorbing portion. A method for forming a body of a vehicle, wherein adjacent components are continuously and integrally formed via a ridge including a curved shape.