JP2002029448A - Impact energy absorbing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide vehicle body upper energy absorbing structure that can positively protect an occupant in a collision or an overturn without increasing the number of part items and contribute to the improvement of rigidity of a vehicle body. SOLUTION: A front pillar 5 is formed of a light metal extruded material so as to have closed cross-sectional structure extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. Partition walls 10, 12 are provided in the closed cross section of the front pillar 5. Since collision energy is absorbed to protect the occupant by an internal side wall part 5b of the front pillar 5, a demand for securing a cabin internal space S and a formative demand can be combined, and there is no need to provide a separate impact absorbing member for the protection of the occupant. The number of part items can thereby be reduced while being advantageous from the viewpoint of assembling property such as conformability of a connection part to peripheral parts. Further, since the first partition wall 10 is provided in the closed cross section of the front pillar 5, a contribution to the improvement of rigidity of the front pillar 5 is made to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body itself.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle impact energy absorbing structure, and more particularly to a vehicle impact energy absorbing structure having pillars and roof rails.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the event of a secondary collision of an occupant at the time of a collision or overturning (herein, the term "secondary collision" means that the occupant comes into contact with components such as pillars and a roof of the vehicle due to collision or overturning of the vehicle. ), There is a demand to reliably protect the occupant by absorbing the impact energy at the time of contact.

[0003] Therefore, as a conventional impact energy absorbing structure, a vehicle having the inner panel is provided in a space between an inner panel constituting a pillar and a roof rail and an interior material for hiding the pillar and the roof rail from an occupant in the vehicle. It is known that an energy absorbing panel is provided at intervals in the room, or an impact absorbing structure made of resin or the like is provided in the interior material to form an impact absorbing structure on the upper part of the vehicle body (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8 (1994)). -113160, JP-A-11
-245844).

[0004]

However, as in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the space between the inner panel forming the pillar and the roof rail and the interior material that hides the pillar and the roof rail from the occupant in the vehicle are provided. In the case where an energy absorbing panel is provided at an interval toward the vehicle interior of the inner panel or a shock absorbing material such as a resin is provided, the energy absorbing panel and the impact absorbing material are further disposed on the vehicle interior side of the pillar and the roof rail. Therefore, there is a problem that the shape of an energy absorbing panel or an impact absorbing member, such as an impact absorbing material, disposed on the interior side of the vehicle is limited due to a demand for securing the interior space of the vehicle or a requirement for molding.

In addition, in the structure in which the shock absorbing member is separately provided on the interior side of the pillar and the roof rail, an interior material (a garnish or the like) for hiding the shock absorbing member from the occupant is indispensable.

Further, in each case, in addition to the increase in the number of components, there is a problem that disadvantages arise in terms of assemblability such as matching of a connection portion between a separately provided shock absorbing member and peripheral components. Was.

Further, in such a structure in which the shock absorbing member is separately added, the function of these shock absorbing members contributes only to the shock absorption at the time of collision or overturn, and the rigidity of the pillar or the roof rail itself cannot be improved. .

Therefore, the present invention provides an upper body energy absorbing structure capable of reliably protecting an occupant at the time of a collision or falling without increasing the number of parts and contributing to improvement of the rigidity of the vehicle body. Is what you do.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automobile impact energy absorbing structure having a pillar and a roof rail, wherein the pillar and the roof rail are extruded with a metal extruded material so that the pushing direction is the front and rear of the vehicle. Formed so as to have a closed cross-section structure extending in the direction, in the closed cross-section of the pillar and the roof rail, provided a first partition wall connecting the vehicle body upper member support side and the vehicle body side member support side of the closed cross-section,
It is characterized in that collision energy is absorbed by deformation of a wall portion on the vehicle interior side of the first partition wall.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the impact energy absorbing structure according to the first aspect, the walls of the pillar and the roof rail are closer to the vehicle interior than the exterior of the first partition wall. Is characterized by being formed thin.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the impact energy absorbing structure according to the first or second aspect, wherein the first partition wall, the pillar and the roof rail are provided in a closed cross section of the pillar and the roof rail. To the car interior side wall,
A second partition wall having a lower rigidity than the first partition wall is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the impact energy absorbing structure according to the third aspect, a deformation promoting portion is provided on the second partition wall.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pillar and the roof rail are formed of a metal extruded material so as to have a closed cross-sectional structure in which the pushing direction extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the pillar and the roof rail are closed. In the cross section, a first partition wall is provided for connecting the upper body member supporting side and the vehicle body side member supporting side of the closed cross section, and the collision energy is absorbed by deformation of a wall portion on the vehicle interior side with respect to the first partition wall. , It is possible to satisfy both the demand for securing the cabin space and the demands for molding, and it is not necessary to provide a separate shock absorbing member to protect the occupants, so the number of parts can be reduced, Advantageously, it can be obtained in terms of assemblability, such as matching of a connection portion with a peripheral component.

Further, the interior material (garnish or the like) can be eliminated.

Further, with this structure in which the partition wall is provided in the closed cross section of the pillar and the roof rail, the rigidity of the pillar and the roof rail can be improved, and the rigidity of the vehicle body itself can be improved.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the above effects, the pillar and the roof rail walls are formed so that the inside of the cabin is thinner than the outside of the cabin of the first partition wall. Energy can be effectively absorbed and occupants can be reliably protected.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
Or, in addition to the effect of claim 2, the first partition wall is connected to the interior wall of the roof rail in the closed section of the pillar and the roof rail, and the rigidity is set lower than that of the first partition wall. Since the second partition wall is provided, the impact energy can be controlled by the second partition wall, so that the degree of freedom in the shape of the pillar and the roof rail on the vehicle interior side can be increased.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 3,
In addition to the effect described above, since the deformation promoting portion is provided on the second partition wall, tuning of the impact energy absorption control can be easily performed by tuning the shape of the deformation promoting portion.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an impact energy absorbing structure to which the present invention is applied will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle body 1 of a motor vehicle, and roof side rails 3A, 3A are arranged on both sides of a roof 2 of the vehicle body 1 in a vehicle longitudinal direction. At the front end of the roof 2 of the vehicle body 1, a front roof rail 3B connected to the front ends of the roof side rails 3A, 3A, and at the rear end, a rear roof rail (not shown) are arranged.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a front shield glass, and front pillars 5, 5 are provided on both sides of the front shield glass 4.
The front pillars 5, 5 have their upper ends connected to the front ends of the roof side rails 2, 2. An upper end of a rear pillar (not shown) is connected to the rear ends of the roof side rails 2 and 2, and a center pillar 6 is connected to a substantially middle portion in the vehicle front-rear direction. In the figure, reference numeral 7 denotes a front door on the side of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the front pillar 5, showing a cross section taken along line AA of FIG.

The front pillar 5 is formed of extruded metal so that the extrusion direction has a closed cross-sectional structure extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. In particular, in this embodiment, the front pillar 5 is formed of light metal extruded material. Have been.

A front shield glass 4 is supported on the front side of the front pillar 5 through a seal member 8. On the other hand, when the front door 7 is closed, the interior of the vehicle interior is closed by closing the front door 7 behind the front pillar 5,
A weather strip 9 that supports the front door 7 is provided.

In the closed section of the front pillar 5, there is provided a first partition wall 10 connecting the support side of the front shield glass 4 which is the upper member of the vehicle body of the closed section and the support side of the front door 7 which is a side member of the vehicle body. Is provided, and the collision energy is absorbed by deformation of the wall portion 5b closer to the vehicle interior than the first partition wall 10.

Particularly in this embodiment, the front pillar 5
Is the thickness T of the wall 5a of the first partition wall 10 outside the cabin.
It is formed so that the plate thickness T2 of the wall portion 5b on the vehicle interior side is smaller than 1 (T1> T2).

In the figure, reference numeral 5c denotes a rib for mounting the weather strip 9, and reference numeral 11 denotes a garnish for hiding the front pillar 5 from an occupant.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, the front pillar 5 is formed of a light metal extruded material so as to have a closed cross-sectional structure in which the pushing direction extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. Since the first partition wall 10 is provided and the collision energy absorption for protecting the occupant is performed by the inner wall portion 5b of the front pillar 5, compatibility with the requirement for securing the vehicle interior space S and the requirement for molding is satisfied. Is possible, and it is not necessary to provide a separate shock absorbing member for protecting the occupant. Therefore, the number of components can be reduced, and the assembly can be advantageously obtained in terms of assemblability, such as matching of connection portions with peripheral components. .

Further, since the first partition wall 10 is provided in the closed cross section of the front pillar 5, the rigidity of the front pillar 5 can be improved, and the rigidity of the vehicle body itself can be improved.

According to the structure of this embodiment, in addition to the above-described effects, the front pillars 5 are located closer to the vehicle interior than the plate thickness T1 of the outer partition wall 5a of the first partition wall 10. Since the plate thickness T2 of the wall portion 5b is made thin (T1> T2), the impact energy is effectively absorbed when the occupant comes into contact with the front pillar 5 at the time of a collision or a fall, and the occupant is reliably protected. be able to.

In this embodiment, an example in which the garnish 11 as an interior material is provided is shown. However, the front pillar 5 is formed of an extruded material, and a shock absorbing member or the like is separately provided on the wall 5b on the vehicle interior side. Because there are no protrusions
Abolishing the garnish 11 does not impair the appearance.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the front pillar 5
The first partition wall 10 and the front pillar 5
And second partition walls 12 and 12 having a lower rigidity than the first partition wall 10 are provided.

A deformation accelerating portion 13 is provided at a substantially central portion of the second partition wall 12, and in the second embodiment,
A substantially central portion of the second partition wall 12 is formed in a crank shape so that the second partition wall 12 is easily deformed when an impact load is input from the vehicle interior side.

According to the structure of the above-described second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described first embodiment, the first partition wall 10 and the wall portion 5b are connected to each other within the closed cross section of the front pillar 5. Since the second partition wall 12 having a lower rigidity than the one partition wall 10 is provided, the absorption of impact energy can be controlled by the second partition wall 12. The degree of freedom can be increased.

In addition, since the deformation promoting portion 13 is provided on the second partition wall 12, tuning of the impact energy absorption control can be easily performed by tuning the shape of the deformation promoting portion 13. .

Particularly, in this embodiment, since the substantially central portion of the second partition wall 12 is formed in a crank shape as the deformation promoting portion 13, it is suitable for tuning for absorbing and absorbing relatively small impact energy. ing.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the above-described first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the shape of the deformation promoting portion 13 provided substantially at the center of the second partition wall 12 is different.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the third embodiment, the deformation promoting portion 13 is formed by a notch provided substantially at the center of the second partition wall 12.

According to the structure of the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

According to the third embodiment, since the notch is formed in the substantially central portion of the second partition wall 12 as the deformation promoting portion 13, the crank-shaped deformation promoting portion of the second embodiment is provided. Compared to the part, it does not absorb and deform to the relatively small impact energy at the time of initial movement, and is suitable for tuning to absorb and deform when a certain amount of impact energy is input (can be set arbitrarily by notch shape) I have.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the above-described first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, the same structure as the front pillar 5 of the second embodiment is applied to the roof side rail 3A. FIG.
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1.

In the fourth embodiment, the roof panel 2 is supported above the roof side rail 3A on the vehicle, while the roof panel 2 is in close contact with the roof side rail 3A below the vehicle when the front door 7 is closed. A weather strip 9 (not shown) for closing the vehicle interior and supporting the front door 7 is provided on the rib 5c.

According to the structure of the fourth embodiment, the same effects as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

In the case where the present invention is applied to the roof side rails 3A, 3A as in the fourth embodiment, as in the first to third embodiments described above, the entirety in the longitudinal direction is provided. A wall portion 5b closer to the vehicle interior than the thickness T1 of the wall portion 5a outside the vehicle interior of the first partition wall 10 of the roof side rail 3A.
May be formed thin (T1> T2), but in the vicinity of the joint of the center pillar 6, the wall 5b on the vehicle interior side
May be increased to the same thickness as the wall thickness of the outer wall portion 5a to increase the rigidity of the vehicle body and increase the rigidity at the time of a side collision.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a vehicle body of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 3A Roof side rail (roof rail) 5 Front pillar (pillar) 5A, 5B Wall 10 First partition 12 Second partition 13 Deformation promotion part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An impact energy absorbing structure for an automobile having a pillar and a roof rail, wherein the pillar and the roof rail are formed of a metal extruded material so as to have a closed cross-sectional structure in which an extruding direction extends in a vehicle front-rear direction. A first partition wall is provided within the closed cross section of the pillar and the roof rail to connect the vehicle body upper member support side and the vehicle body side member support side of the closed cross section, and the wall portion closer to the vehicle interior than the first partition wall is deformed. An impact energy absorbing structure characterized by absorbing collision energy by means of a shock absorber. 2. The wall of the pillar and the roof rail,
2. The impact energy absorbing structure according to claim 1, wherein the first partition wall is formed to be thinner on the vehicle interior side than on the vehicle exterior side. 3. A second partition wall, which connects the first partition wall and a side wall portion of the vehicle interior of the pillar and the roof rail and has a lower rigidity than the first partition wall, in a closed cross section of the pillar and the roof rail. The impact energy absorbing structure according to claim 1, wherein the impact energy absorbing structure is provided. 4. The impact energy absorbing structure according to claim 3, wherein a deformation promoting portion is provided on the second partition wall.