JP2002337734A - Front pillar structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dispense with increase in a panel thickness and an enlargement of a pillar reinforce and increase strength and rigidity of a front pillar lower. SOLUTION: A collision input axially acting to a hood ridge upper reinforce 12 by a frontal impact is received as an axial force by a longitudinal closed cross section part 15 formed with a partition 14 of the pillar reinforce 13 in the upper part of the front pillar lower 1. Therefore, resistance of the front pillar lower 1 is high, dispersion and transmission of load to each frame member are efficiently performed, high crushing reaction is generated to adequately crush the hood ridge upper reinforce 12 to improve energy absorbing efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front pillar structure of an automobile, and more particularly to a structure of a front pillar lower present below a vehicle body waist line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a front pillar constitutes a vertical frame member at a front portion of a vehicle body. In particular, a front pillar lower present below a vehicle body waist line is disposed substantially vertically, and a lower end thereof is provided. The part is connected to a side sill which is a front-back direction frame member of the floor side, and is connected to a dash cross member which is a vehicle width direction frame member of the floor front, while the upper end of the front pillar lower is in front of the cabin. It is connected to a cowl box which is a vehicle width direction frame member at the waist portion of the portion, and forms a frame base of a front pillar.

[0003] The front pillar lower is also a main support member of the heavy front door, which connects and supports the front door via a door hinge.

[0004] For these reasons, the front pillar lower is required to have high strength and rigidity.
As shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 00-272538, a plurality of pillar reinforces are arranged to extend vertically along substantially the inner surface of the pillar outer in a closed cross section of the front pillar lower, and the pillar outer has a multi-layer structure. There has been known one that secures the strength and rigidity of the front pillar lower.

[0005]

At the upper end of the hood ridge panel forming the side walls on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the front compartment (engine room), a closed member forming the front-rear frame member of the upper end of the hood ridge panel is provided. A hood ridge upper reinforce having a cross section is provided, a rear end of the hood ridge upper reinforce is coupled to an upper end of the front pillar lower, and an axial crush input acting on the hood ridge upper reinforce at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle. Distributed transmission to the front pillar lower.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the pillar reinforce is merely joined and arranged along the inner surface of the pillar outer. Therefore, in order to resist the axial load input from the hood ridge upper reinforce,
In addition to the pillar outer and the pillar lower, the plate thickness of the pillar reinforce must be increased, or another means such as providing another pillar reinforce must be provided, which is disadvantageous in weight and cost.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a front pillar structure of an automobile capable of sufficiently resisting an axial load from a hood ridge upper reinforce without increasing a panel plate thickness or adding a pillar reinforce. It is.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a closed section of a front pillar lower formed by a pillar outer and a pillar inner in a closed section, the front pillar extends vertically along substantially the inner surface of the pillar outer. In the structure in which the existing pillar reinforce is disposed, a partition wall for vertically separating the closed cross section of the front pillar lower is provided at the upper end of the pillar reinforce, and the upper end of the hood ridge panel is provided on the upper part of the front pillar lower. A hood ridge upper reinforce extending in the front-rear direction with a closed cross-section formed in the portion is formed in the front-rear direction with a closed cross-section provided continuously on substantially an extension of the hood ridge upper reinforce.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the pillar reinforce according to the first aspect has a vertical rib wall extending vertically in a middle portion in the front-rear direction and having a tip end joined to the pillar inner. The vertical rib wall separates the front pillar lower into a closed cross section.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
The closed cross section of the front pillar lower described in (1) is characterized in that the lower side is enlarged in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper side.

In the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
A beam member extending in the front-rear direction is disposed in a closed cross section of the front pillar lower described in (1).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the beam member according to the fourth aspect is disposed at a required distance inward of the pillar reinforce in the vehicle width direction.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a collision input (axial crushing input) acting on the hood ridge upper reinforce in the axial direction at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle is provided with a pillar rain on the upper part of the front pillar lower. Since the closed cross-section in the front-rear direction formed by the force partition walls receives the axial force, the front pillar lower has a high drag, and the load can be efficiently distributed and transmitted from the front pillar lower to each of the skeleton members connected thereto. At the same time, a high crush reaction force is generated to appropriately crush and deform the hood ridge upper reinforcement, thereby increasing the energy absorption efficiency.

A partition is formed at the upper end of the pillar reinforce, and the partition forms a closed cross-section in the front-rear direction on the upper part of the front pillar lower so as to be continuous with the closed cross-section of the hood ridge upper reinforce. Since the strength and rigidity of the front pillar lower against a collision input from the front can be increased, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the pillar outer, the pillar inner, and the pillar reinforce, or to increase the pillar reinforce. And can be obtained in terms of cost.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the effects of the invention, a vertical rib wall straddling the pillar reinforce and the pillar inner exists in the closed cross section of the front pillar lower, and the vertical rib wall separates the closed cross section of the front pillar lower back and forth. Since the closed cross section is configured to be multiplexed before and after the collision input acting from the hood ridge upper reinforcement, the strength and rigidity of the front pillar lower with respect to the collision input can be further increased.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, the closed cross section of the lower portion of the front pillar lower is enlarged in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper portion. The rigidity at which the lower end of the front pillar lower is connected to the side sill and the dash cross member is increased, and the rigidity of the front pillar lower with respect to the collision input in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction is increased. The load can be distributed and transmitted to the dash cross member more effectively.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the inventions of (1) to (3), the presence of the beam members arranged in the front-rear direction in the closed cross section of the front pillar lower allows
The strength and rigidity of the front pillar lower with respect to the collision input can be further increased.

According to the invention set forth in claim 5, according to claim 4,
In addition to the effect of the invention of the present invention, in a sunroof specification vehicle, a drain hose inserted and routed vertically in a closed cross section of a front pillar is provided with a beam member in a closed cross section of a front pillar lower having a large closed cross sectional area. Therefore, the drain hose can be prevented from floating and the generation of abnormal noise can be prevented without using a dedicated component such as a clamp.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a front pillar lower formed in a closed cross section by a pillar outer 2 and a pillar inner 3.

The pillar outer 2 has a side wall 2a and front and rear walls 2a.
b and 2c are formed in a substantially hat-shaped cross section, and the lower end is externally fitted to and joined to a substantially upper half of a sill outer 5 of a side sill 4 constituting a front-back skeletal member of the floor side, and is subassembled. In addition, it is joined to the pillar inner 3 together with the sill outer 5 to form a closed cross section.

The upper ends of the pillar outer 2 and the pillar inner 3 are integrally formed with joints 2J, 3J that are inclined backward, and the front pillar upper 6 is fitted and joined via these joints 2J, 3J. It is fixed.

A door hinge mounting seat 7 for fastening and fixing a door hinge (not shown) is formed in the upper and lower portions of the side wall 2a of the pillar outer 2 near the rear wall 2c, and is connected to the joint 2J of the front wall 2b. A substantially horizontal hood hinge mounting seat 8 for fastening and fixing a hood hinge 9 is formed.

The front end of the pillar inner 3 is joined by overlapping a hood ridge panel 11 constituting left and right side walls of a front compartment (engine room).

At the upper end of the hood ridge panel 11, a hood ridge upper reinforce 12 having a substantially U-shaped cross-section is joined from the front end to the front end of the pillar inner 3, and a closed cross-section extending in the front-rear direction is formed. Has formed.

This food ridge upper reinforce 1
The rear end of the hood ridge 2 is fixedly joined to the upper front portion of the pillar outer 2.
The lower surface of the hood ridge upper reinforce 12 is joined to the front wall 2b of the pillar outer 2 in abutting manner.

The front pillar lower 1 is formed by enlarging the substantially lower half closed cross section in the front-rear direction with respect to the substantially upper half closed cross section. A sufficiently large coupling area with a dash cross member, which is a frame member in the vehicle width direction at the front of the outer floor, is ensured.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a pillar reinforce which extends vertically along substantially the inner surface of the pillar outer 2, and has a substantially U-shaped opening formed by the side wall 13a and the front and rear walls 13b, 13c. The side wall 13a and the front and rear walls 13b and 13c are formed in a cross section.
The corresponding side wall 2a of the pillar outer 2 and the front and rear walls 2b, 2
c and is fixed by bonding.

The pillar reinforce 13 is integrally provided with a partition wall 14 which vertically separates a closed cross section of the front pillar lower 1 at an upper end thereof, and the partition wall 14 and the pillar outer 2 form an upper part of the front pillar lower 1. The hood ridge panel 11 has a closed cross-section 15 formed in the front-rear direction, which is provided substantially on the extension of the hood ridge upper reinforce 12 having a closed cross-section at the upper end.

The partition wall 14 has an inclined wall 14a projecting from the side wall 13a toward the pillar inner 3, a vertical wall 14b rising upward from the inclined wall 14a, and an end bent from the vertical wall 14b toward the pillar inner 3. The upper surface of the pillar reinforce 13 is closed by the wall 14c.

In the present embodiment, the vertical wall 14b of the partition 14
And the end wall 14c are formed in a shape matching the joint 2J and the hood hinge mounting seat 8 so that they can be fitted to the respective inner surfaces of the joint 2J and the hood hinge mounting seat 8 of the pillar outer 2. The end wall 14c of the partition 14 is overlapped and joined to the hood hinge mounting seat 8 and the front and rear side walls of the joint 2J.

The side wall 1 of the pillar reinforce 13
The door hinge 3a is provided with a door hinge reinforcement 16 that is overlapped (fitted) on the back surface of the door hinge mounting seat 7 of the pillar outer 2 so as to increase the door hinge mounting rigidity.

In the present embodiment, the pillar reinforce 13 is divided into a front element 13F and a rear element 13R, and the rear end of the front element 13F is connected to the rear element 1F.
It is made to overlap and join on the front end of 3R.

A vertical rib wall 17 extending vertically is bent at the front end of the rear element 13R, and a flange 17a at the end of the vertical rib wall 17 is joined to the pillar inner 3,
The vertical rib wall 17 separates the closed section of the front pillar lower 1 back and forth.

Further, in the closed cross section of the front pillar lower 1, a plurality of cylindrical beam members 18 extending in the front-rear direction in the region between the upper and lower door hinge mounting seats 7, 7 are provided.

The beam members 18 are formed to extend over the front and rear walls 13b and 13c of the pillar reinforce 13, and brackets 19 and 20 are fixed to the front and rear portions thereof, respectively. Are fixedly joined to the front wall 13b of the pillar reinforce 13 and the pillar inner 3 via the inner wall.

The beam member 18 is arranged at a required distance from the side wall 13a of the pillar reinforce 13 inward in the vehicle width direction.

In order to dispose the beam member 18 in the front-rear direction, a plurality of notches 17b are formed in the vertical rib wall 17.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, a collision input (axial crushing input) acting on the hood ridge upper reinforcement 12 in the axial direction at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle is applied to the upper portion of the front pillar lower 1 by the pillar reinforcement. The front pillar lower 1 has a high drag because the front-rear closed cross-section 15 formed by the thirteen partition walls 14 receives axial force, and the side sill 4 is provided from the front pillar lower 1 to the lower end thereof. The load can be efficiently dispersed and transmitted to the dash cross member and a main skeleton member such as a cowl box (not shown) connected to the upper end portion, and a high crush reaction force is generated to appropriately crush the hood ridge upper reinforcement 12. It can be deformed to increase energy absorption efficiency.

Further, as described above, the partition wall 14 is formed at the upper end of the pillar reinforce 13, and the partition wall 14 is provided on the upper portion of the front pillar lower 1 so as to be connected to the closed cross section of the hood ridge upper reinforcement 12. By forming the portion 15 in the front-rear direction, the front pillar lower 1
Of the pillar outer 2, pillar inner 3, and pillar reinforce 13 does not need to be increased, and the pillar reinforce 13 is not required to be increased. And can be obtained in terms of cost.

Here, according to the present embodiment, in particular, the pillar reinforcement 1 is provided in the closed cross section of the front pillar lower 1.
There is a vertical rib wall 17 straddling the inner 3 and the pillar inner 3,
The vertical rib wall 17 separates the front cross section of the front pillar lower 1 back and forth, and the front cross section of the front pillar lower 1 is multiplexed with respect to the collision input acting from the hood ridge upper reinforcement 12. 1 can further enhance the strength and rigidity with respect to the collision input.

Further, since the closed cross section on the lower side of the front pillar lower 1 is enlarged in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper side, the lower end of the front pillar lower 1 and the side sill 4
The rigidity of the front pillar lower 1 against the collision input in the front-rear direction and the lateral rigidity in response to the collision input are increased, and the rigidity of the front pillar lower 1 with respect to the collision input is increased. The load can be distributed and transmitted more efficiently.

Further, the presence of the plurality of beam members 18 arranged in the front-rear direction on the closed cross section of the front pillar lower 1 can further increase the strength and rigidity of the front pillar lower 1 against the collision input.

Further, since the beam member 18 is arranged at a required distance inward of the pillar reinforce 13 in the vehicle width direction, the closed cross section of the front pillar (front pillar upper 6, front pillar When the drain hose 21 is inserted and routed vertically in a continuous closed cross section of the pillar lower 1),
Is inserted between the beam member 18 and the pillar reinforce 13 in the closed cross section of the front pillar lower 1 having a large closed cross section, so that the drain hose 21 can be inserted without using a dedicated clamp or the like. Idle movement can be prevented to prevent generation of abnormal noise.

In the above embodiment, the pillar reinforcement 13 is divided into front and rear parts. However, when the pillar reinforcement 13 is cast using a lightweight metal material such as an aluminum alloy, the pillar reinforcement 13 may be integrally formed including the vertical rib wall 17. It is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front pillar lower 2 Pillar outer 3 Pillar inner 11 Food ridge panel 12 Food ridge upper reinforce 13 Pillar reinforce 14 Partition wall 15 Closed section 17 Vertical rib wall 18 Beam member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shinsuke Nakatani F-term in Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. 2 Takaracho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 3D003 AA01 AA04 AA05 AA06 BB02 CA09 CA17 CA33

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A structure in which a pillar reinforcement that extends vertically along substantially the inner surface of the pillar outer is disposed in a closed cross section of a front pillar lower formed by a pillar outer and a pillar inner in a closed cross section. A partition is formed at the upper end of the reinforcement to vertically separate the closed cross section of the front pillar lower, and a closed cross section is formed at the upper end of the hood ridge panel on the upper part of the front pillar lower and extends in the front-rear direction. A front pillar structure for an automobile, wherein a closed cross-section part of the hood ridge upper reinforcement is formed in the front-rear direction. 2. The pillar reinforce has a vertical rib wall vertically extending at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction and having a front end portion joined to a pillar inner. 2. The front pillar structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the front pillar structure is separated. 3. The front pillar structure of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a closed cross section of the front pillar lower is enlarged in a front-rear direction on a lower side with respect to an upper side. 4. The front pillar structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a beam member extending in the front-rear direction is disposed in a closed cross section of the front pillar lower. 5. The front pillar structure for an automobile according to claim 4, wherein the beam members are arranged at a required distance inward in the vehicle width direction from the pillar reinforce.