JP2008143246A - Structure of vehicle body strength member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of a vehicle body strength member capable of suppressing the deformation of a strength member body when inputting a load from a forward side to a vehicle body, and preventing a steering column from being moved backwardly in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The structure of the vehicle body strength member has side brackets 8 fitted to right and left vehicle body panels on both ends of a strength member body 7 extending substantially in the vehicle width direction 6. The side bracket 8 has a double structural body 27 having an inner bracket 25 and an outer bracket 26. A forward release and connection mechanism part 41 for connecting the inner bracket 25 to the outer bracket 26 to be released in a substantially forward direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body strength member structure.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a dash panel 3 serving as a partition wall between the engine room 1 and the vehicle compartment 2 is provided. Dash side panels 4 constituting at least a part of left and right side surfaces (vehicle body panels) of the passenger compartment 2 are integrally provided at both ends of the dash panel 3.

  A vehicle body strength member 5 is installed between the left and right dash side panels 4. The vehicle body strength member 5 includes side brackets 8 for attachment to the left and right dash side panels 4 at both ends of a strength member main body 7 extending substantially in the vehicle width direction 6.

  A steering column 10 is supported via a column bracket 9 at a lower portion of the strength member main body 7 on the driver seat side. Further, the strength member main body 7 and the column bracket 9 are supported by the dash side panel 4 via a post bracket 12 that extends substantially forward in the vehicle longitudinal direction 11 and the like.

  And according to such a structure, when the load 15 is input into the vehicle body from the front, the dash panel 3, the dash side panel 4 and the like are retracted, and accordingly, the strength member body 7 includes the post bracket 12 and The deformation energies 16 and 17 are input through the side bracket 8. For example, when the load 15 is offset input, as shown in FIG. 8, the deformation energy 17 input from the side bracket 8 is larger on the driver seat side than on the passenger seat side. There is a tendency.

  In this case, the post bracket 12 functions to absorb and disperse the input load 15 and to suppress deformation of the strength member main body 7 by being deformed by itself.

  On the other hand, since the side bracket 8 is restrained in the vehicle width direction 6 by the strength member main body 7, it is difficult for the side bracket 8 to deform by itself. There is a risk that the strength member main body 7 may be displaced or deformed by accompanying the backward movement in the direction 11. In this case, the steering column 10 is moved rearward in the vehicle front-rear direction 11 along with the displacement / deformation of the strength member main body 7.

On the other hand, a technique has been proposed in which a side bracket 8 is pivotally attached to the dash side panel 4 so that the steering column 10 is allowed to escape downward when a load 15 is input to the vehicle body from the front. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-42932

  However, in the vehicle body strength member structure described in Patent Document 1, when a load 15 is input to the vehicle body from the front, as described above, the dash side panel 4 itself is also deformed to move backward in the vehicle longitudinal direction 11. In actuality, there is a possibility that the steering column 10 cannot be released downwardly.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the invention described in claim 1, in a vehicle body strength member structure provided with side brackets for attachment to left and right vehicle body panels at both ends of a strength member body extending substantially in the vehicle width direction. The side bracket is a double structure having an inner bracket and an outer bracket, and when the load is applied to the vehicle body from the front between the outer bracket and the inner bracket, It is characterized in that a front detachment coupling mechanism for detachably coupling the bracket to the front is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body strength member structure provided with side brackets for attachment to the left and right vehicle body panels at both ends of the strength member main body extending substantially in the vehicle width direction, the side bracket is an inner bracket. In addition to a double structure having an outer bracket, the inner bracket is connected between the outer bracket and the inner bracket so that the inner bracket can be detached from the outer bracket when the load is applied to the vehicle body from the front. By providing the front detachment coupling mechanism portion, when the load is applied to the vehicle body from the front, the front detachment coupling mechanism portion causes the inner bracket to detach substantially forward from the vehicle body panel and the outer bracket, Suppresses deformation of the strength member body and moves the steering column supported by the strength member body to the rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction. It is possible to make not to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described together with illustrated examples.

  1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that the overall configuration is basically substantially the same as that described with reference to FIG. 7, and therefore, these drawings will be referred to as necessary. At this time, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a dash panel 3 serving as a partition wall between the engine room 1 and the vehicle compartment 2 is provided. Dash side panels 4 constituting at least a part of left and right side surfaces (vehicle body panels) of the passenger compartment 2 are integrally provided at both ends of the dash panel 3.

  A vehicle body strength member 5 is installed between the left and right dash side panels 4. The vehicle body strength member 5 includes side brackets 8 for attachment to the left and right dash side panels 4 at both ends of a strength member main body 7 extending substantially in the vehicle width direction 6.

  Here, the strength member main body 7 is usually composed of a metal round pipe or the like. The strength member main body 7 has a configuration in which two types of pipes having different diameters are connected so that the driver's seat side becomes thicker and the passenger's seat side becomes thinner corresponding to the required strength. The strength member main body 7 includes a linear member and a bent member. The side bracket 8 is usually composed of a pressed metal plate or the like. The strength member main body 7 and the side bracket 8 are usually fixed by welding. The side bracket 8 is fixed to the dash side panel 4 from the outside by using a vehicle body fastening bolt 19 (see FIG. 3 and the like).

  A steering column 10 is supported via a column bracket 9 at a lower portion of the strength member main body 7 on the driver seat side. Further, the strength member main body 7 and the column bracket 9 are supported by the dash side panel 4 via a post bracket 12 that extends substantially forward in the vehicle longitudinal direction 11 and the like.

  The above configuration is almost the same as that of the conventional example described above.

  And in the thing of this Example with respect to the above basic structures, as shown in any of FIGS. 1-3, the double structure which has the side bracket 8, the inner bracket 25, and the outer bracket 26 is shown. The body 27 is assumed. 1 to 3 show only one end side.

  In this case, the inner bracket 25 and the outer bracket 26 are each configured by a pressed metal plate or the like. The inner bracket 25 is fixed to the strength member main body 7 by welding. The outer bracket 26 is disposed in contact with the outer surface of the inner bracket 25. That is, the outer bracket 26 and the inner bracket 25 are arranged so as to overlap each other. On the inner side surface of the outer bracket 26, an abutting surface 28 for abutting on the outer surface of the inner bracket 25 is formed. The contact surface 28 is formed so as to protrude inward from the other general surfaces. Corresponding hole portions 29 are formed in the contact surface 28 at positions corresponding to the end portions of the strength member main body 7. The hole 29 has substantially the same diameter as the strength member main body 7. The inner bracket 25 and the abutting surface 28 have substantially the same shape and size (the abutting surface 28 is slightly larger), and have an approximately inverted triangular shape in side view. Bolt holes 30 through which the vehicle body fastening bolts 19 are passed are formed in the vicinity of each corner portion of the contact surface 28 having an inverted triangular shape of the outer bracket 26. The bolt hole 30 is formed so as to protrude outward from the contact surface 28. The outer bracket 26 has a mounting guide portion 31 for the vehicle body at the front portion thereof, a hook portion 32 at the upper portion thereof, and a bracket portion 33 at the rear portion thereof. Further, reinforcing ribs 35 are formed on the peripheral edge of the outer bracket 26 and the like. The reinforcing rib 35 is bent inward.

  When the load 15 is input from the front to the vehicle body between the outer bracket 26 and the inner bracket 25, the front detachment connecting mechanism 41 that connects the inner bracket 25 to the outer bracket 26 so as to be detachable substantially forward. Is provided.

  The front detachment coupling mechanism 41 includes a detachment notch 42 that is formed at a position corresponding to the bolt hole 30 in the vicinity of each corner of the inner bracket 25 and extends substantially rearward. In the case where there is an interfering object or the like on the rear side, such as the upper and front detachment notch portion 42, and the detachment notch portion 42 cannot be opened rearward, it is almost the same as the other detachment notch portions 42. After extending backward by the length, it is opened upward or downward.

  Further, the front detachment coupling mechanism 41 is disposed on the inner surface side of the inner bracket 25, and is provided with a nut portion 43 that is screwed to the vehicle body fastening bolt 19 and an outer periphery of the nut portion 43. A nut member 45 integrally including a nut holder portion 44 to be held is provided. In this case, the nut portion 43 is a square nut and the nut holder portion 44 is substantially a square frame shape, but is not limited thereto.

  The front detachment coupling mechanism 41 has nut holder mounting holes 46 and 47 formed so as to communicate with positions corresponding to the upper and lower portions of the bolt holes 30 on the inner bracket 25 and the contact surface 28 of the outer bracket 26. And a planned breaking breaker 49 having a breaking claw portion 48 that is projected outward from the nut holder portion 44 and can be inserted and locked into the nut holder mounting holes 46 and 47. . Here, the breaking claw portion 48 to be broken is set to have a strength that can be broken when the load 15 is input.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  When a load 15 is input to the vehicle body from the front, the dash panel 3, the dash side panel 4, and the like are retracted, and accordingly, the strength member body 7 is subjected to deformation energy 16, via the post bracket 12 and the side bracket 8. 17 is input (see FIG. 7 above). For example, when the load 15 is offset input, as shown in FIG. 8, the deformation energy 17 input from the side bracket 8 is larger on the driver seat side than on the passenger seat side. There is a tendency.

  In this case, the post bracket 12 functions to absorb and disperse the input load 15 and to suppress deformation of the strength member main body 7 by being deformed by itself.

  On the other hand, since the side bracket 8 is restrained in the vehicle width direction 6 by the strength member main body 7, it is difficult to deform itself.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the load 15 is input to the vehicle body from the front, the front detachment connecting mechanism 41 functions, and from the state shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner bracket is disengaged from the nut holder mounting holes 46 and 47 and the vehicle body fastening bolt 19 and the nut 43 are screwed together. 25, the notch 42 for detachment is displaced with respect to the vehicle body fastening bolt 19. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle body fastening bolt 19 is detached from the notch 42 for detachment of the inner bracket 25. The outer bracket 26 and the dash side panel 4 are separated forward.

  As a result, the strength member main body 7 is not accompanied by the rearward movement of the vehicle in the front-rear direction 11 accompanied by the deformation of the corresponding dash side panel 4, thereby preventing the deformation of the strength member main body 7. At the same time, the rearward movement of the steering column 10 in the vehicle longitudinal direction 11 is prevented.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, the side bracket 8 is the double structure 27 having the inner bracket 25 and the outer bracket 26, and between the outer bracket 26 and the inner bracket 25 from the front. When the load 15 is input to the vehicle body, the front detachment connecting mechanism 41 that connects the inner bracket 25 to the outer bracket 26 so as to be detachable substantially forward is provided, so that the load 15 is input to the vehicle body from the front. In some cases, the front detachment coupling mechanism portion 41 detaches the inner bracket 25 substantially forward from the vehicle body panel and the outer bracket 26, thereby suppressing deformation of the strength member main body 7 and being supported by the strength member main body 7. It is possible to prevent the steering column 10 from moving backward in the vehicle longitudinal direction 11.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the embodiments are only examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. Needless to say, design changes and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the invention are included in the present invention. For example, when each embodiment includes a plurality of configurations, it goes without saying that possible combinations of these configurations are included. In addition, when a plurality of embodiments and modifications are shown, it is needless to say that possible combinations of configurations straddling these are included.

It is a perspective view of the edge part of the vehicle body strength member concerning the Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1. It is an expansion side sectional view of the front separation connecting mechanism part of Drawing 1. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the operation state when a load is input from the front. FIG. 5 is an operation diagram following FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram following FIG. 5. It is a top view of the vehicle body strength member used for description of a prior art example. In FIG. 7, it is a top view which shows the state into which the load was input from the front.

Explanation of symbols

6 Vehicle width direction 7 Strength member main body 8 Side bracket 25 Inner bracket 26 Outer bracket 27 Dual structure 41 Front release coupling mechanism

Claims (1)

In the vehicle body strength member structure provided with side brackets for attaching to the left and right vehicle body panels at both ends of the strength member body extending substantially in the vehicle width direction,
The side bracket is a double structure having an inner bracket and an outer bracket, and when the load is applied to the vehicle body from the front between the outer bracket and the inner bracket, the inner bracket is opposed to the outer bracket. A vehicle body strength member structure provided with a front detachment coupling mechanism that detachably couples the vehicle to the front.

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