JP2010058530A - Frame structure body and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a frame structure body capable of being made thin and light while ensuring rigidity, and its manufacturing method. <P>SOLUTION: A front pillar 1 is provided with an inner structure body 2 having an annular part 22 annular in cross sectional view and having only one piece of a flange part 23 extending from the annular part 22; and an outer panel 3 having a flange part 31 at one end side joined to a front surface part 224 of the annular part 22 and a flange part 32 at the other end side joined to the flange part 23. The inner structure body 2 is manufactured by abutting one end side of a plate material on a middle part of the plate material by roll-molding or bending-molding a sheet of plate material and further line-joining the one end side to the middle part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a frame structure and a manufacturing method thereof. Specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle frame structure formed by joining an outer member to an inner structure, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  Conventionally, a front pillar is provided between a windshield of a vehicle and a front door. The front pillar is provided to support the edges on both sides of the windshield and to improve the rigidity of the vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional front pillar 80.
The front pillar 80 is a frame structure formed by joining an outer panel 84 to the inner structure 81 from the outside of the vehicle. More specifically, the front pillar 80 is formed by joining the flange portions 84 a and 84 b on both ends of the outer panel 84 to the two flange portions 81 a and 81 b of the inner structure 81. Further, the windshield 85 is bonded to the flange portion 84a of the outer panel 84 by the adhesive 86 from the outside of the vehicle with respect to the front pillar 80 formed in this way.

As shown in FIG. 9, conventionally, an inner structure 81 in which a closed cross section 81c is formed by joining stiffeners 83 to both ends of an inner panel 82 is used (see Patent Document 1). By using the inner structure 81 having such a closed cross-sectional structure, the rigidity of the vehicle can be improved.
JP 2001-146174 A

  By the way, although the front pillar 80 is necessary to improve the rigidity of the vehicle as described above, the front pillar 80 is located obliquely forward of the driver, and therefore, the front pillar 80 can be made as thin as possible in order to widen the driver's field of view. preferable. However, in the conventional inner structure 81 as shown in FIG. 9, by joining the stiffener 83 to the inner panel 82, in addition to the closed section 81c that greatly contributes to the improvement of the rigidity of the vehicle, two pieces are provided on both ends. The flange portions 81a and 81b are also formed. Accordingly, the front pillar 80 becomes thicker by the flange portions 81a and 81b, and the weight increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a frame structure that can be made thin and light while securing rigidity, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  The frame structure of the present invention (for example, a front pillar 1 described later) includes an annular portion (for example, an annular portion 22 described later) and a flange portion (for example, a flange portion described later) extending from the annular portion in a cross-sectional view. 23) an inner structure having only one piece (for example, inner structure 2 described later) and an outer member having one end joined to the annular portion and the other end joined to the flange portion (for example, outer panel 3 described later) And.

  According to the present invention, the inner structure has an annular portion that is annular in cross-sectional view and a single flange portion that extends from the annular portion, and one end side of the outer member is joined to the annular portion. And it forms by joining the other end side of an outer member to one piece flange part. Therefore, according to this frame structure, it is possible to make the frame structure thinner and lighter than the conventional frame structure having the two-piece flange portion while securing rigidity by the annular portion having the closed cross section.

  A manufacturing method of a frame structure (for example, a front pillar 1 described later) according to the present invention includes a substantially cylindrical inner structure (for example, an inner structure 2 described later), and an outer member extending along the inner structure. (For example, an outer panel 3 to be described later) A method for manufacturing a frame structure, in which one end side of the plate material is abutted against an intermediate portion of the plate material by roll forming or bending forming the plate material, An inner structure having only one piece of an annular portion (for example, an annular portion 22 described later) and a flange portion (for example, a flange portion 23 described later) extending from the annular portion in a cross-sectional view by line joining the intermediate portion. The inner structure manufacturing process for manufacturing the outer member, and joining one end side of the outer member to the annular portion and joining the other end side of the outer member to the flange portion. Characterized in that it comprises an outer member bonding step of bonding the outer member to the inner structure, a.

  According to the present invention, by rolling or bending the plate material, one end side of the plate material is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate material, and further, the one end side and the intermediate portion are line-joined to thereby form the annular portion and this An inner structure having only one piece of flange portion extending from the annular portion is manufactured. Next, one end side of the outer member is joined to the annular portion with respect to the inner structure, and the other end side of the outer member is joined to the flange portion of the inner structure to manufacture a frame structure. Therefore, according to this manufacturing method, it is possible to manufacture a frame structure that is thinner and lighter than the above-described frame structure having the two-piece flange portion while ensuring rigidity by the annular portion having the closed cross section. .

  Also, in the inner structure manufacturing process, by manufacturing the inner structure by wire joining the one end side and the intermediate part of the plate material, for example, a frame structure having a higher rigidity than the case of joining by spot welding. Can be manufactured. Further, by wire bonding, the time required for manufacturing can be shortened and the cost required for manufacturing can be reduced as compared with the frame structure having the two-piece flange portion described above.

  In this case, in the outer member joining step, a welding electrode (for example, described later) is applied from one end side of the outer member to the annular portion while pressing a ground electrode (for example, ground electrode 53 to be described later) against the annular portion. It is preferable that one end side of the outer member is welded to the annular portion on one side by pressurizing the welding electrode 54).

  According to the present invention, the one end side of the outer member is joined to the annular portion by pressing the welding electrode toward the annular portion from the one end side of the outer member while pressing the ground electrode against the annular portion, and performing one-side welding. . Here, as described above, the annular portion is integrally formed by roll forming or bending the plate material. Therefore, when energizing between the welding electrode and the ground electrode, the outer member and the annular portion can be stably welded on one side because the portion joined by welding is not straddled.

  According to the frame structure of the present invention, it is possible to make the frame structure thinner and lighter than the above-described conventional frame structure having the two-piece flange portion while securing rigidity by the annular portion having the closed cross section.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a front portion of a vehicle skeleton 9 to which a front pillar 1 as a frame structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  The front portion of the vehicle skeleton 9 includes a side sill 91 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, a center pillar 92 joined to the center portion of the side sill 91, a roof panel 93 joined to the upper end portion of the center pillar 92, and the side sill 91. A front pillar lower 94 joined to the front end of the front pillar, a dashboard upper 95 joined to the front end of the front pillar lower 94, and a front pillar 1 joined to the upper end of the front pillar lower 94. Composed.

  The center pillar 92 extends upward from the side sill 91. The roof panel 93 is a plate joined to the upper end of the center pillar 92 and constitutes the roof of the vehicle. The front pillar lower 94 extends upward from the side sill 91, curves from the approximate center thereof to the center pillar 92 side, and is joined to the center pillar 92 side of the front end of the roof panel 93. The dashboard upper 95 extends in the vehicle width direction from the vehicle front end of the front pillar lower 94. The front pillar 1 extends along the vehicle front-rear direction from the front end portion of the roof panel 93 to the upper end portion of the front pillar lower 94. A windshield (not shown) is attached along an opening edge formed by the roof panel 93, the front pillar 1, and the dashboard upper 95.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the front pillar 1. FIG. 2 shows a part of the front pillar 1 that is partially broken on the lower end side.
The front pillar 1 is formed by joining an outer panel 3 as an outer member extending along the inner structure 2 to the substantially cylindrical inner structure 2 extending along the vehicle longitudinal direction from the outside of the vehicle. The

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1 and is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the front pillar 1.
The inner structure 2 includes an annular annular portion 22 having a closed section 21 and a flange portion 23 extending outward from the annular portion 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner structure 2 is formed by processing a single plate material. Therefore, the annular portion 22 and the flange portion 23 are integrally formed of one material.

  The annular portion 22 includes a joint portion 221 formed by bending an end portion of a plate member, a rear surface portion 222 extending from the joint portion 221 along the vehicle width direction, and a side surface portion 223 extending from the rear surface portion 222 along the vehicle front-rear direction. A front surface portion 224 extending from the side surface portion 223 along the vehicle width direction, and a side surface portion 225 extending from the front surface portion 224 along the vehicle front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the closed section 21 formed by the rear surface portion 222, the side surface portion 223, the front surface portion 224, and the side surface portion 225 has a substantially rectangular shape. Further, the joint portion 221 is bent to the inner side of the closed cross section 21 and is joined to the surface of the side surface portion 225 on the closed cross section 21 side. Here, the joint portion 221 and the side surface portion 225 are line-joined along the direction in which the front pillar 1 extends.
A specific procedure for manufacturing the inner structure 2 from a single plate will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

The outer panel 3 is formed by processing a single plate material. Flange portions 31 and 32 are formed on both ends of the outer panel 3, respectively. The outer panel 3 is joined to the inner structure 2 by joining the flange portion 31 on one end side along the front surface portion 224 of the annular portion 22 and joining the flange portion 32 on the other end side along the flange portion 23. Is done.
A specific procedure for joining the outer panel 3 to the inner structure 2 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  With respect to the front pillar 1 configured as described above, the windshield 7 is bonded to the flange portion 31 of the outer panel 3 with an adhesive 71.

Next, the manufacturing method of the front pillar 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
The manufacturing method of the front pillar 1 includes two processes, an inner structure manufacturing process for manufacturing the inner structure 2 and an outer panel bonding process for bonding the outer panel 3 to the manufactured inner structure 2.

With reference to FIG. 4, an inner structure manufacturing process will be described.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the inner structure 2.
First, one end of the plate is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate by roll forming or bending the plate. In other words, by roll-forming or bending a single plate material from one end side, the joining portion 221, the rear surface portion 222, the side surface portion 223, the front surface portion 224, and the side surface portion 225 are sequentially formed from the one end side toward the intermediate portion side. Form. Furthermore, the substantially rectangular closed section 21 is formed by abutting the joint portion 221 against the side surface portion 225. As a result, an annular portion 22 having a closed cross section 21 and a single flange portion 23 extending from the annular portion 22 are integrally formed. That is, one end side from the intermediate portion of the plate material becomes the annular portion 22, and the other end side of the plate material from the intermediate portion becomes the flange portion 23.

Next, the joint part 221 bent to the inner side of the closed section 21 and the side part 225 are line-joined along the direction in which the front pillar 1 extends. Here, specifically, laser welding or arc welding is preferable as a welding method for wire-joining the joint portion 221 and the side surface portion 225.
As described above, the inner structure 2 having the annular portion 22 and the flange portion 23 is manufactured.

The outer panel joining process will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the front pillar 1.
First, the outer panel 3 having flange portions 31 and 32 formed on both end sides is prepared, the flange portion 31 on one end side is joined to the front surface portion 224 of the annular portion 22, and the flange portion 32 on the other end side is connected to the flange portion 23. To join. Specifically, as shown by “x” marks in FIG. 2, the outer panel 3 is joined to the inner structure 2 by spot welding at predetermined intervals along the direction in which the front pillar 1 extends.

In particular, here, spot welding is performed in the flange portion 31 and the flange portion 32 according to different procedures.
When the flange portion 32 of the outer panel 3 and the flange portion 23 of the inner structure 2 are joined by spot welding, as shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion is formed by the ground electrode 51 and the weld electrode 52 facing the ground electrode 51. 23 and the flange part 32 are pressurized. Thereby, the flange part 32 and the flange part 23 are welded.

On the other hand, when the flange portion 31 of the outer panel 3 and the front surface portion 224 of the inner structure 2 are joined by spot welding, the ground electrode 53 is pressed against the rear surface portion 222 of the annular portion 22 as shown in FIG. The welding electrode 54 is pressurized from the portion 31 side toward the front surface portion 224 side of the annular portion 22. Thereby, the flange part 31 and the front part 224 are welded on one side.
As described above, the front pillar 1 is manufactured.

According to this embodiment, there are the following effects.
(1) The inner structure 2 has a flange portion on one end side of the outer panel 3 with respect to the inner structure 2 having an annular portion 22 that is annular in a cross-sectional view and a single flange portion 23 that extends from the annular portion 22. 31 is joined to the annular portion 22, and the flange portion 32 on the other end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the single flange portion 23. Therefore, according to the front pillar 1, the rigidity is ensured by the annular portion 22 having a closed cross section, and the front pillar 1 is thinner than the conventional front pillar 80 having the two flange portions 81a and 81b shown in FIG. And can be lightened.

(2) As described above, in the conventional front pillar 80 shown in FIG. 9, the two pieces of flange portions 81a and 81b of the inner structure 81 and the flange portions 84a and 84b on both ends of the outer panel 84 are, for example, Joined by spot welding. Here, when the joint strength is insufficient only by spot welding, an adhesive is conventionally used in addition to spot welding. However, in this case, it takes time and effort to apply the adhesive, which may increase the time required for manufacturing.
On the other hand, the inner structure 2 of the present embodiment is configured such that one end of the plate is abutted against an intermediate portion of the plate by roll-forming or bending a single plate, and further, the one end and the intermediate Are line-joined by laser welding or arc welding. In particular, by manufacturing the inner structure 2 by wire bonding, the rigidity can be improved as compared to the case of bonding by spot welding as described above. In addition, since sufficient bonding strength can be obtained without using an adhesive or the like, the time required for production can be shortened as compared with the conventional case.

By the way, even with the conventional inner structure 81 as shown in FIG. 9, the inner panel 82 and the stiffener 83 can be line-joined by laser welding or arc welding. However, in this case, it is necessary to wire-join two places on the flange portion 81a side and the flange portion 81b side.
On the other hand, the inner structure 2 of the present embodiment only needs to be line-joined at one place on the flange portion 23 side. Therefore, compared with the conventional inner structure 81, the time and cost for manufacturing can be reduced.

  (3) As shown in FIG. 10, in the conventional front pillar 80, when spot-welding the flange portion 84a of the outer panel 84 to the flange portion 81a of the inner structure 81, the ground electrode 55 and the ground electrode 55 are opposed to each other. The flange portion 81a and the flange portion 84a are pressurized with the welding electrode 56 to be performed. Thereby, the flange part 81a and the flange part 84a are welded. However, when energizing between the welding electrode and the ground electrode, the joint 87 formed by welding between the inner panel 82 and the stiffener 83 of the inner structure 81 is straddled. For this reason, the bonding strength between the outer panel 84 and the inner structure 81 varies depending on the state of the bonding portion 87.

  On the other hand, in the front pillar 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 described above, the ground electrode 53 is pressed against the rear surface portion 222 of the annular portion 22 and the front portion of the annular portion 22 from the flange portion 31 side. The welding electrode 54 is pressurized toward the 224 side. Therefore, when energizing between the welding electrode 54 and the ground electrode 53, the outer panel 3 and the annular portion 22 are stably welded on one side because the joint portion formed by welding as described above is not straddled. be able to.

  Below, the some modification of the front pillar 1 of the said embodiment is demonstrated, referring drawings. In the description of the following modified examples, the same constituent elements as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

<Modification 1>
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the front pillar 1A of the first modification.
The front pillar 1A of Modification 1 is manufactured by the following procedure.
First, one end of the plate is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate by roll forming or bending the plate. That is, the side surface portion 225A, the front surface portion 224A, the side surface portion 223A, and the rear surface portion 222A are formed in order from one end side to the intermediate portion side by roll forming or bending forming one plate material from one end side. Furthermore, a substantially rectangular closed section 21A is formed by abutting the side surface portion 225A against the rear surface portion 222A. Thereby, the annular portion 22A having the closed section 21A and the single flange portion 23A extending from the annular portion 22A are integrally formed.

  Next, the end portion of the side surface portion 225A and the rear surface portion 222A are line-joined along the direction in which the front pillar 1A extends. Thereby, the inner structure 2A having the annular portion 22A and the flange portion 23A is manufactured.

  Next, the flange portion 31 on one end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the front surface portion 224A of the annular portion 22A, and the flange portion 32 on the other end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the flange portion 23A. Thereby, the front pillar 1A is manufactured.

<Modification 2>
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the front pillar 1B of the second modification.
The front pillar 1B of Modification 2 is manufactured by the following procedure.
First, one end of the plate is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate by roll forming or bending the plate. That is, by performing roll molding or bending molding of one sheet material from one end side, the joining portion 221B, the side surface portion 225B, the front surface portion 224B, the side surface portion 223B, and the rear surface portion 222B are sequentially formed from the one end side toward the intermediate portion side. Form. Furthermore, a substantially rectangular closed section 21B is formed by abutting the joint portion 221B against the rear surface portion 222B. As a result, the annular portion 22B having the closed cross section 21B and the single flange portion 23B extending from the annular portion 22B are integrally formed.

  Next, the joint portion 221B and the rear surface portion 222B bent to the inner side of the closed cross section 21B are line joined along the direction in which the front pillar 1B extends. Thereby, the inner structure 2B having the annular portion 22B and the flange portion 23B is manufactured.

  Next, the flange portion 31 on one end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the front surface portion 224B of the annular portion 22B, and the flange portion 32 on the other end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the flange portion 23B. Thereby, the front pillar 1B is manufactured.

<Modification 3>
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a front pillar 1C of Modification 3.
The front pillar 1C of Modification 2 is manufactured by the following procedure.
First, one end of the plate is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate by roll forming or bending the plate. That is, by forming one sheet of material from one end side by roll molding or bending, the joining portion 221C, the side surface portion 225C, the front surface portion 224C, the side surface portion 223C, and the rear surface portion 222C are sequentially formed from the one end side toward the intermediate portion side. Form. Furthermore, the substantially rectangular closed cross section 21C is formed by abutting the joint portion 221C against the rear surface portion 222C. As a result, an annular portion 22C having a closed cross section 21C and a single flange portion 23C extending from the annular portion 22C are integrally formed.

  Next, the joint portion 221C bent to the outside of the closed cross section 21C and the flange portion 23C are line joined along the direction in which the front pillar 1C extends. Thereby, the inner structure 2C having the annular portion 22C and the flange portion 23C is manufactured.

  Next, the flange portion 31 on one end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the front surface portion 224C of the annular portion 22C, and the flange portion 32 on the other end side of the outer panel 3 is joined to the flange portion 23C. Thereby, the front pillar 1C is manufactured.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
In the said embodiment, although the shape of the closed cross section 21 of the annular part 22 was made into the substantially rectangular shape, it does not restrict to this. Any shape may be employed as long as the rigidity of the front pillar can be secured and the outer panel can be joined.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the inner structure 2 was manufactured by roll forming or bending forming a board | plate material, it does not restrict to this. For example, the inner structure may be manufactured by press molding, or may be manufactured by using press molding in combination with roll molding or bending molding.

It is a perspective view showing the composition of the front part of the vehicle frame to which the front pillar concerning one embodiment of the present invention was applied. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the front pillar which concerns on the said embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the inner structure which concerns on the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the front pillar which concerns on the said embodiment. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a front pillar according to Modification Example 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a front pillar according to Modification 2. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the front pillar which concerns on the modification 3. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the conventional front pillar. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the conventional front pillar.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1A, 1B, 1C ... Front pillar (frame structure)
2, 2A, 2B, 2C ... Inner structure 21 ... Closed section 22 ... Annular part 23 ... Flange part 3 ... Outer panel (outer member)
31 ... Flange part 32 ... Flange part 53 ... Ground electrode 54 ... Welding electrode

Claims (3)

An inner structure having only one piece of an annular portion that is annular in cross-sectional view and a flange portion that extends from the annular portion;
An outer member having one end side joined to the annular portion and the other end joined to the flange portion. A substantially cylindrical inner structure, and a method of manufacturing a frame structure including an outer member extending along the inner structure,
By rolling or bending the plate material, one end side of the plate material is abutted against the intermediate portion of the plate material, and further, the one end side and the intermediate portion are line-joined to each other so that the ring-shaped annular portion and the ring An inner structure manufacturing process for manufacturing an inner structure having only one piece of a flange portion extending from the portion;
An outer member joining step of joining the outer member to the inner structure by joining one end side of the outer member to the annular portion and joining the other end side of the outer member to the flange portion. A manufacturing method of a frame structure characterized by the above.   In the outer member joining step, by pressing a welding electrode from one end side of the outer member toward the annular portion while pressing a ground electrode against the annular portion, one end side of the outer member is brought into contact with the annular portion. The method for manufacturing a frame structure according to claim 2, wherein one-side welding is performed.

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