JP2010143333A - Front pillar - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front pillar with a high rigidity, especially of a folding part. <P>SOLUTION: A reinforcement panel 16 welded to an inner face of a front pillar outer panel 12 has a slit 20 along a folding part 22. When the reinforcement panel 16 is welded, it is fillet-welded 30 to inside of a folding part 12b of the front pillar outer panel 12 via the slit 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a front pillar of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a front pillar disposed on the front side of a front door of a large vehicle such as a bus.

Conventionally, instead of using a reinforcement reinforcement panel as a front pillar of a vehicle, a structure in which a front pillar inner panel is divided into two along its longitudinal direction and the divided parts are overlapped and spot-welded. A front pillar having such a structure is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Thereby, the same effect as the case where the reinforcement panel is overlapped and welded to the inner wall of the front pillar can be obtained, and the rigidity of the front pillar can be increased. In addition, if this structure is adopted, the front pillar can be reduced in weight by the amount that the reinforcement panel is omitted, thereby contributing to the reduction in the weight of the vehicle.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-105575

  However, in the front pillar of Patent Document 1 described above, the inner panel divided into two parts is bent according to the closed cross-sectional shape of the front pillar, and the bent parts are overlapped and spot welded. A minute gap is formed between the two panels. Since the gap is not welded, for example, the torsional stress is concentrated and the panel is likely to crack.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a front pillar having a particularly high bending portion rigidity.

  In order to achieve the above object, the front pillar of the present invention is formed in a pipe shape in which a reinforcing plate is welded to the inner surface, and the reinforcing plate has a bent portion that is bent in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the front pillar, A slit is provided along the bent portion, and fillet welded to the inner surface of the front pillar through the slit.

  Further, the front pillar of the present invention welds the flange portion of the front pillar outer panel having the bent portion extending in the vertical direction and the flange portion of the front pillar inner panel so that the pipe-shaped front pillar outer panel and front pillar inner panel are welded. A front pillar that is welded by bringing a reinforcing plate into contact with the inner surface of the panel, wherein the reinforcing plate is formed along the bent portion of the front pillar outer panel, and the bent portion is formed along the bent portion. In addition, at least one slit is provided, and fillet welded to the inside of the bent portion of the front pillar outer panel through the slit.

  According to the above invention, since the reinforcing plate is fillet welded to the inner surface of the front pillar through the slit formed in the bent portion of the reinforcing plate, the gap of the bent portion where the two plates overlap is filled by welding. The thickness of the welded portion can be increased, and the rigidity of the bent portion can be increased. As a result, for example, when a torsional stress is applied to the front pillar, it is possible to prevent the stress from being concentrated on the bent portion of the front pillar, and it is possible to prevent a problem that a crack occurs near the bent portion.

  (Claim 1) According to the present invention, the rigidity of the bent portion of the front pillar can be increased.

  (Claim 2) According to the present invention, the rigidity of the bent portion of the front pillar outer panel can be increased, and the rigidity of the front pillar can be increased.

  (Claim 3) According to the present invention, the stress acting on the bent portion can be reduced to less than half compared with the case where the reinforcing plate is not provided.

  (Claim 4) According to the present invention, stress concentration is mitigated by plug welding, and adhesion between the reinforcing plate and the front pillar outer panel and adhesion between the reinforcing plate and the front pillar inner panel are improved. It is possible to increase the rigidity against torsional load.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a body frame 1 of a bus as an example of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left side.

  This bus has an opening 2 on the front left side for a front door (not shown). The vehicle body frame 1 has a front pillar 10 on the front side of the opening 2. As described in detail later, the front pillar 10 is formed in a pipe shape having a front pillar outer panel 12, a front pillar inner panel 14, and a reinforcement panel 16 (reinforcing plate). The front pillar 10 extends substantially vertically up and down over substantially the entire height of the vehicle body.

  FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view in which the region R in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the front pillar 10 in FIG. 1 is partially enlarged. In FIG. 2, the illustration of the front pillar inner panel 14 of the front pillar 10 is omitted, and only the front pillar outer panel 12 is shown.

  According to this, the end portion 18a of the stiffener 18 disposed on the upper end side of the opening 2 is abutted against the surface 12a of the front pillar outer panel 12 on the vehicle rear side. The front end 18 a of the stiffener 18 is welded to the rear surface 12 a of the front pillar outer panel 12. A steel plate 19 (FIG. 1) is attached above the stiffener 18.

  Since this stiffener 18 is provided around the relatively large opening 2 for the front door together with the front pillar 10, when the vehicle body frame 1 is twisted during traveling of the vehicle, the end 18a of the stiffener 18 and the front A relatively large torsional stress acts on the welded portion W between the pillar outer panel 12 and the rear surface 12a. At this time, if the rigidity on the front pillar 10 side is low, the front pillar 10 may be cracked.

  For this reason, a reinforcement panel 16 (FIG. 3) as a reinforcing plate is generally attached to a portion of the front pillar 10 with which the stiffener 18 is abutted. The reinforcement panel 16 has a bent portion 22 (described later) that is bent in accordance with the bent portion 12 b of the front pillar outer panel 12, and is welded to the inner surface side of the front pillar outer panel 12. In this way, when two folded steel plates are overlapped and welded, a gap is formed between the bent portions 12b and 22.

  That is, even if the reinforcement panel 16 is welded to the front pillar outer panel 12 and reinforced, a gap is formed in the bent portion, so that the rigidity of this portion becomes insufficient. In particular, since the torsional stress is concentrated at the portion where the stiffener 18 is contacted and welded as described above, there is a possibility that a crack may occur in the bent portion 12b.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to increase the rigidity of the bent portions 12 b and 22, the slit 20 is formed in the bent portion 22 of the reinforcement panel 16, and the reinforcement panel 16 is moved to the front via the slit 20. The inner surface of the pillar outer panel 12 is welded. Hereinafter, the characteristic structure of the present invention will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 3 is a development view of the reinforcement panel 16 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the reinforcement panel 16. When the reinforcement panel 16 is bent to the back side of the drawing sheet by the two bent portions 22 and 24 shown in the development view of FIG. 3, the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. In the present embodiment, the reinforcement panel 16 is designed to have a thickness of 2.3 mm.

  FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the reinforcement panel 16 is welded to the inner surface side of the front pillar outer panel 12. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the reinforcement panel 16 is welded to the inner surface of the front pillar inner panel 14. Further, FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the front pillar 10 with the reinforcement panel 16 welded therein. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14 is designed to be 1.6 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the front pillar 10 is welded to the flange portions 12c and 12d of the front pillar outer panel 12 and the flange portions 14a and 14b of the front pillar inner panel 14 to form a closed cross-sectional shape, that is, a pipe. It is formed in a shape. A reinforcement panel 16 is welded to the pipe-shaped inner surface.

  The front pillar outer panel 12 includes a bent portion 12b that is bent between the rear surface 12a and the left surface 12L in the vehicle width direction. The bent portion 12b extends in the vertical direction. The front pillar outer panel 12 has a plurality of through-holes 12e for plug welding the reinforcement panel 16 at a plurality of locations. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of holes 12 e are provided at four locations that are separated in the vertical direction in two rows on the rear surface 12 a of the front pillar outer panel 12, that is, a total of eight locations.

  The front pillar inner panel 14 also has a plurality of through holes 14c for plug-welding the reinforcement panel 16 at a plurality of locations. The plurality of holes 14c in the front pillar inner panel 14 are provided in only one row so as to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.

  The number of plug welds between the front pillar outer panel 12 and the reinforcement panel 16 and the number of plug welds between the front pillar inner panel 14 and the reinforcement panel 16 can be arbitrarily designed. The front pillar outer panel 12 and the reinforcement panel 16 are plug welded at least at one location on one side with a slit 20 (described later), and the front pillar inner panel 14 and reinforcement panel on the other side with the slit 20 interposed. 16 may be plug welded at least at one location.

  On the other hand, the reinforcement panel 16 has a bent portion 22 that is bent in accordance with the bent portion 12b of the front pillar outer panel 12, as shown in FIGS. Further, the reinforcement panel 16 has another bent portion 24 extending substantially in parallel with the bent portion 22. As shown in FIG. 7, the other bent portion 24 faces the welded portion of the flange portion 12 c of the front pillar outer panel 12 and the flange portion 14 a of the front pillar inner panel 14. These bent portions 22 and 24 also extend vertically.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the three plate portions 21, 23, and 25 (development view shown in FIG. 3) that are apparently divided by the above-described two bent portions 22 and 24 of the reinforcement panel 16 are as shown in FIG. 7. The inner surface of the rear surface 12 a of the front pillar outer panel 12, the inner surface of the left side surface 12 </ b> L of the front pillar outer panel 12, and the inner surface of the front pillar inner panel 14 are arranged in contact with each other.

  Then, the reinforcement panel 16 and the front pillar outer panel 12 are plug-welded through the plurality of holes 12 e of the front pillar outer panel 12 in contact with the plate portion 21 of the reinforcement panel 16, so that the plate of the reinforcement panel 16 is The reinforcement panel 16 and the front pillar inner panel 14 are plug-welded through the plurality of holes 14c of the front pillar inner panel 14 in contact with the portion 25, and the reinforcement panel 16 is connected to the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel. It is welded to the panel 14.

  At this time, fillet welds 30 are made on the curved inner surface of the bent portion 12b of the front pillar outer panel 12 through the slit 20 formed along the bent portion 22 of the reinforcement panel 16, and the two pieces are welded. The gap between the bent portions 12b and 22 of the steel plate is at least partially filled. Thereby, the plate | board thickness of the two steel plates in bending part 12b, 22 can be made thick, and the rigidity of especially bending part 12b of the front pillar 10 can be improved.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, fillet welds 30 a, 30 b, and 30 c divided into three parts are performed instead of fillet welds over the entire length of the slit 20. The number of divisions and the length can be arbitrarily designed and can be changed according to the required rigidity. Moreover, although the width | variety, length, or formation position of the slit 20 can also be designed arbitrarily, it is not preferable to form the slit 20 over the full length of the reinforcement panel 16 in consideration of workability.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, fillet welding is performed on the inner surface side of the bent portion 12b of the front pillar outer panel 12 through the slit 20 formed in the bent portion 22 of the reinforcement panel 16. The gaps formed in the bent portions 12b and 22 can be filled by welding, the thickness of the two steel plates in the bent portion can be increased, and the rigidity of the bent portions 12b and 22 can be increased.

  In particular, when attention is paid to the front pillar outer panel 12, when the vehicle body frame 1 is twisted during traveling of the vehicle, the rear surface portion 12a and the left side surface portion 12L are in different directions around the bent portion 12b of the front pillar outer panel 12. Since the screw is bent, a high stress concentration occurs in the bent portion 12b. For this reason, it is effective to increase the rigidity of the bent portion 12b as in the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the reinforcement panel 16 is made thicker than the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14, so that the front panel is not provided with the reinforcement panel 16. The stress acting on the pillar outer panel 12 can be reduced to less than half, and the strength and durability of the front pillar 10 can be increased.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness of the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14 is designed to be 1.6 mm, and the thickness of the reinforcement panel 16 is designed to be 2.3 mm. The reinforcement panel 16 may be made thicker than the pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14, and the thickness can be set arbitrarily.

  In the present embodiment, since the welding between the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14 and the reinforcement panel 16 is plug welding, when torsional stress acts on the front pillar 10, the stress is plugged. It will be transmitted evenly along the circumference of the weld and stress concentration can be reduced. In addition, by adopting plug welding, the amount of welding can be increased, the adhesion between the front pillar outer panel 12 and the front pillar inner panel 14 and the reinforcement panel 16 can be improved, and cooperation with torsional load can be achieved. The reinforcement property by the reinforcement panel 16 can fully be exhibited.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment mentioned above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the reinforcement panel 16 is welded to the inner surface of the front pillar 10 to increase the rigidity has been described. However, the present invention is applied to all other pipe structures of the vehicle body frame 1. Applicable.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a body frame of a bus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a region R of FIG. 1 partially enlarged. FIG. 3 is a development view of the reinforcement panel according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an external perspective view of the reinforcement panel of FIG. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the reinforcement panel of FIG. 4 is welded to the inner surface of the front pillar outer panel. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the reinforcement panel of FIG. 4 is welded to the inner surface of the front pillar inner panel. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the front pillar to which the reinforcement panel of FIG. 4 is attached.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body frame, 2 ... Opening part, 10 ... Front pillar, 12 ... Front pillar outer panel, 14 ... Front pillar inner panel, 16 ... Reinforcement panel, 18 ... Stiffener, 20 ... Slit, 28 ..., 28b ..., 42 ...

Claims (4)

A pipe-shaped front pillar with a reinforcing plate welded to its inner surface,
The reinforcing plate has a bent portion bent according to the cross-sectional shape of the front pillar, and has a slit along the bent portion, and fillet welded to the inner surface of the front pillar through the slit. The front pillar is characterized by The flange portion of the front pillar outer panel and the flange portion of the front pillar inner panel having bent portions extending in the vertical direction are welded, and the reinforcing plate is brought into contact with the inner surfaces of the pipe-shaped front pillar outer panel and front pillar inner panel. Welded front pillar,
The reinforcing plate has a bent portion bent along the bent portion of the front pillar outer panel, and at least one slit formed along the bent portion, and the front pillar outer through the slit. A front pillar that is fillet welded inside the bent portion of the panel.   The front pillar according to claim 2, wherein a thickness of the reinforcing plate is thicker than a thickness of the front pillar outer panel.   The reinforcing plate is joined to the inner surface of the front pillar outer panel by plug welding at at least one location off the slit, and the front pillar inner at least at one location sandwiching the slit between the welding location. The front pillar according to claim 2, wherein the front pillar is joined to the inner surface of the panel by plug welding.

Images