JP2014031130A - Front pillar - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front pillar capable of securing sufficient welding strength while improving the strength by an added reinforcement panel.SOLUTION: A front pillar 100 includes: a side body outer panel 110; a dash side panel 120; a hinge reinforce 130; and a pillar lower reinforce 140. An inner front flange 124b of the dash side panel 120, a front flange 144 of a pillar lower reinforce 140, and an outer front flange 134b of the hinge reinforce 130 are connected. A front end of a side body outer panel 110 is fastened to an area near a front end of a hat shaped top surface 132a of the hinge reinforce 130.

Description

  The present invention relates to a front pillar constituting a front side of a front door opening of a vehicle.

  In the front part of the vehicle, a front pillar constitutes a front portion of a front door opening (front door opening). Generally, a front pillar is constituted by an outer panel having a shape that swells outward in the vehicle width direction and constituting the outer surface, and an inner panel having a shape that swells inward in the vehicle width direction and constituting the inner surface. (For example, patent document 1). And the closed cross section by this outer panel and inner panel is formed by joining the flange provided in each vehicle front side and vehicle rear side of an outer panel and an inner panel.

  In the front pillar, a space located in front of the front end portion of the closed section formed by the outer panel and the inner panel functions as a so-called crushable zone that absorbs an impact by being crushed at the time of collision. On the other hand, the closed cross section by the outer panel and the inner panel contributes to securing the rigidity of the front pillar, that is, the collision strength, and does not cause deformation in the event of a collision, thus ensuring the safety of the passengers riding in the front of the vehicle Is done.

  In order to improve the impact absorption performance at the time of a collision, it is effective to extend the crushable zone rearward. For this purpose, it is necessary to narrow the width in the vehicle front-rear direction of the closed cross section by the outer panel and the inner panel. Also, in front pillars, it is desired to enlarge the door opening in order to improve occupant ease of getting on and off, and for this reason, a request to reduce the width in the vehicle front-rear direction of the closed cross section by the outer panel and the inner panel is required. There is.

  However, if the width in the vehicle front-rear direction of the closed section is simply narrowed, the above-described collision strength is reduced. For this reason, when narrowing the width of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the closed cross section, it is necessary to compensate for the collision strength by some method. As one of them, the thickness of the existing panel constituting the front pillar such as the outer panel or the inner panel is increased. It is possible to increase it. However, this method significantly increases the weight and cost of the existing panel and thus the vehicle.

  Another method is to add a reinforcing panel (reinforcing panel). Adding a reinforcing panel to a place where high strength (rigidity) is required has been conventionally performed. Also in Patent Document 1, an outer ring force and an inner line force are within the closed cross section of the outer panel and the inner panel. The rigidity is improved by adding a reinforcing panel such as a ment.

JP 2008-114728 A

  Here, when adding a reinforcement panel as mentioned above, the joining method becomes a problem. Although it depends on the thickness of the panel, the number of panels that can be welded at the same location at the same time is limited to three, and if four or more panels are welded at one time, sufficient welding strength is secured due to poor bonding. This is because there is a risk that it will not be possible. This is also taken into consideration in Patent Document 1, and at the welding position on the front side of the vehicle where four panels are overlapped, the outer three panels and the inner three panels are alternately welded in the longitudinal direction. By doing so, welding of four or more panels at the same location is avoided.

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the two panels sandwiched between the outermost panel and the innermost panel are welded at all welding points, but the outermost panel and the innermost panel are respectively It can be welded only at the welding points. Therefore, in order to have the same bonding strength in the outermost panel and the innermost panel, the welding of the three outer panels and the welding of the three inner panels are performed the same number of times as before. Must be done. For this reason, with the structure of patent document 1, the frequency | count of a welding operation will increase significantly and the fall of manufacturing efficiency will be caused.

  In view of such problems, the present invention secures sufficient welding strength without reducing manufacturing efficiency and causing poor welding, while improving the strength by adding a reinforcing panel and thus narrowing the closed section. The aim is to provide a possible front pillar.

  In order to solve the above problems, a typical structure of a front pillar according to the present invention is a front pillar that constitutes a front side of a front door opening of a vehicle, and a side body outer panel that constitutes an outer surface of the front pillar. A dash side panel disposed on the inner side of the side body outer panel and constituting the inner surface of the front pillar, and a hinge ring disposed between the side body outer panel and the dash side panel and having a height from the lower end to the upper end of the dash side panel. Force and a pillar lower reinforcement disposed between the hinge reinforcement and the dash side panel, and at least in the horizontal section of the area where the pillar lower reinforcement of the front pillar is disposed, the dash side panel is Swelling inward in the width direction The pillar-loin reinforcement is formed from the vicinity of the rear end of the hat-shaped top surface of the dash side panel to the front side of the vehicle. The hinge reinforcement has at least a first L-shaped portion corresponding to the shape up to the base of the inner flange, and a front flange extending from the first L-shaped portion toward the front of the vehicle along the inner flange on the front side of the vehicle. It is a hat shape having an outer bulge portion that bulges outward in the vehicle width direction and an outer flange on the vehicle front and rear side of the outer bulge portion, and the side body outer panel is a front end of a hinge-shaped hat-shaped top surface To the rear of the vehicle so as to extend along the outer flange on the rear side of the vehicle from the second L-shaped portion. A front flange of the dash side panel, a front flange of the pillar lower reinforcement, and an outer flange of the hinge reinforcement on the front side of the vehicle, and a front end of the side body outer panel. It is characterized in that it remains in the vicinity of the front end of the top surface of the hinge shape of the hinge reinforcement.

  According to the above configuration, by adding the hinge reinforcement and pillar lower reinforcement which are reinforcing panels to the side body outer panel and the dash side panel (outer panel and inner panel), the strength of the front pillar is improved, and the vehicle longitudinal direction It is possible to narrow the closed cross-section of. At this time, in the above configuration, even when the hinge reinforcement and the pillar lower reinforcement which are the reinforcing panels are added, there is no place where the four panels overlap in the front pillar. Therefore, the operation | work which welds four panels alternately in a longitudinal direction is unnecessary, and will weld three or less panels in all the places like the past. Therefore, it is possible to ensure sufficient welding strength without causing a reduction in manufacturing efficiency and poor welding due to the addition of the reinforcing panel.

  In the above configuration, the side body outer panel is not coupled to the dash side panel at the front of the cross section. For this reason, the front flange provided in the conventional outer panel and the side surface that makes it continuous with the hat-shaped top surface are also unnecessary. Therefore, they can be abolished, and the width of the closed cross section in the vehicle front-rear direction can be reduced by that amount, which can contribute to the expansion of the crushable zone and the door opening.

  Of the side body outer panel, the dash side panel, the hinge reinforcement, and the pillar lower reinforcement, the side body outer panel may have the smallest thickness, and the pillar lower reinforcement may have the largest thickness. As in such a configuration, the thickness of the member constituting the outer surface of the front pillar, that is, the thickness of the side body outer panel that is a member having a large area, is thinned, and the thickness of the pillar lower reinforcement that is a locally disposed member having a small area By increasing the thickness, it is possible to reduce the weight while securing high rigidity.

  According to the present invention, a front pillar capable of ensuring sufficient weld strength without causing a reduction in manufacturing efficiency or causing poor welding while improving strength by narrowing the closed section by adding a reinforcing panel. Can be provided.

It is a figure which illustrates the front part of a vehicle provided with the front pillar concerning this embodiment. It is a side view of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the front pillar of FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a front portion of a vehicle 102 including a front pillar 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. In order to facilitate understanding, the front door 104 and the like shown in FIG. 1 are not shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the front pillar 100 of FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. In the drawing, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the arrow RR indicates the rear of the vehicle, the arrow L indicates the inner side in the vehicle width direction (inward of the vehicle), and the arrow indicates the outer side in the vehicle width direction (outward of the vehicle).

  In the present embodiment, the cabin of a light truck (cab over vehicle) is illustrated as an example of the vehicle 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Further, since the front portion of the vehicle 102 has a bilaterally symmetric configuration, in this embodiment, the front pillar 100 disposed on the right side of the vehicle 102 will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 102 is provided with a front door 104. As shown in FIG. 2, the front side of the front door opening (hereinafter referred to as the door opening 104a) where the front door 104 is disposed is shown. Is constituted by the front pillar 100. The front pillar 100 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of members shown in FIG. 3 and is configured by connecting them by welding or the like.

  The front pillar 100 according to the present embodiment has an outer surface constituted by a side body outer panel (hereinafter referred to as an outer panel 110) extending in the vehicle height direction, and an inner surface constituted by a dash side panel 120 arranged inside the outer panel 110. . A hinge reinforcement 130 is disposed between the outer panel 110 and the dash side panel 120 as a reinforcing member.

  In addition, although the hinge reinforcement 130 of this embodiment is a shape extended further upwards from the upper end of the dash side panel 120, it is not limited to this. In the front pillar 100, a load is applied mainly in a region below the cowl panel 106 (see FIG. 1) during a collision. Therefore, the hinge reinforcement 130 may have at least a height from the lower end to the upper end of the dash side panel 120 disposed in the region below the cowl panel 106, in other words, in the region in the vehicle height direction.

  Between the hinge reinforcement 130 and the dash side panel 120, a pillar lower reinforcement (hereinafter referred to as a lower reinforcement 140) is disposed as a second reinforcing member. In the present embodiment, the lower reinforcement 140 has a vertical dimension (height) that is about half the height of the area below the cowl panel 106 in the front pillar 100, and is disposed at the position of the lower half of the area. This is only an example. The vertical dimension and installation position of the lower reinforcement 140 can be appropriately set according to the range where the impact strength is required.

  As a feature of this embodiment, the outer panel 110, the dash side panel 120, the hinge reinforcement 130, and the lower reinforcement 140 are at least the shapes shown in FIG. 4 in a horizontal section of the region where the lower reinforcement 140 of the front pillar 100 is disposed. Have The details will be described below.

  The dash side panel 120 includes an inner bulging portion 122 that bulges inward in the vehicle width direction (inward of the vehicle) indicated by an arrow L, and an inner flange (inner side) that is provided on each of the front and rear sides of the inner bulging portion 122. It has a hat shape consisting of a front flange 124b and an inner rear flange 124c). The inner bulging portion 122 includes a top surface 122a (a hat-shaped top surface of the dash side panel 120) that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a front side surface 122b and a rear side surface that extend outward from the both ends of the top surface 122a. 122c. An inner front flange 124b (an inner flange on the front side of the vehicle) extends from the end of the front side 122b toward the front of the vehicle, and an inner rear flange 124c (the vehicle toward the rear of the vehicle) from the end of the rear side 122c. The rear inner flange) extends.

  The lower reinforcement 140 has a first L-shaped portion 142 and a front flange 144. The first L-shaped portion 142 has a shape corresponding to the shape from the vicinity of the rear end of the top surface 122a of the inner bulging portion 122 of the dash side panel 120 to the root of the inner front flange 124b, that is, the top surface 122a of the inner bulging portion 122. And a shape corresponding to the front side surface 122b. The front flange 144 extends from the end of the first L-shaped portion 142 on the vehicle front side toward the vehicle front along the inner front flange 124b.

  The hinge reinforcement 130 includes an outer bulging portion 132 that bulges outward in the vehicle width direction (outward of the vehicle) indicated by an arrow R, and an outer flange (outer side) provided on each of the front and rear sides of the outer bulging portion 132. It has a hat shape composed of a front flange 134b and an outer rear flange 134c). The outer bulging portion 132 includes a top surface 132a (a hat-shaped top surface of the hinge reinforcement 130) extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, a front side surface 132b and a rear side surface extending from both ends of the top surface 132a toward the inside of the vehicle. 132c. An outer front flange 134b (vehicle front outer flange) extends from the end of the front side 132b toward the front of the vehicle, and an outer rear flange 134c (vehicle) from the end of the rear side 132c toward the vehicle rear. The rear outer flange) extends.

  The outer panel 110 has a second L-shaped portion 112 and a rear flange 114. The second L-shaped portion 112 has a shape corresponding to the shape from the front end of the top surface 132a of the outer bulge portion 132 of the hinge reinforcement 130 to the root of the outer rear flange 134c, that is, the top surface 132a and the rear surface of the outer bulge portion 132. It has a shape corresponding to the side surface 132c. The rear flange 114 extends from the end of the second L-shaped portion 112 on the vehicle rear side toward the rear of the vehicle along the outer rear flange 134c.

  According to the above configuration, even if the front pillar 100 is provided with the hinge reinforcement 130 and the lower reinforcement 140 (two reinforcing panels) in addition to the outer panel 110 and the dash side panel 120 (inner panel), it is shown in FIG. Thus, the four members do not overlap. Therefore, at the front part, the inner front flange 124b of the dash side panel 120, the front flange 144 of the lower reinforcement 140, and the outer front flange 134b of the hinge reinforcement 130 can be well coupled by welding. Similarly, at the rear portion, the inner rear flange 124c of the dash side panel 120, the rear flange 114 of the outer panel 110, and the outer rear flange 134c of the hinge reinforcement 130 can be joined by welding.

  Further, at locations other than the front and rear flanges, the top surface 122a of the dash side panel 120 and the first L-shaped portion 142 of the lower reinforcement 140 are joined together by welding, and the top surface 132a of the hinge reinforcement 130 and the outer panel 110 are connected. The 2nd L-shaped part 112 is couple | bonded by the fixing tool (not shown) in the fixing holes 136 * 116 formed in them. Thereby, the joint strength of the outer panel 110 and the lower reinforcement 140 having a flange only at one end can be increased. In the present embodiment, the top surface 132a of the hinge reinforcement 130 and the second L-shaped portion 112 of the outer panel 110 are coupled by a fixture, but the present invention is not limited to this, and they are coupled by welding. It is also possible.

  As described above, according to the front pillar 100 of the present embodiment, by providing the hinge reinforcement 130 and the lower reinforcement 140 that are the reinforcing panels, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of poor welding while improving the strength, Sufficient welding strength can be ensured at the location. Therefore, the width of the front pillar 100 in the front-rear direction of the closed cross section in the front pillar 100 can be reduced, thereby contributing to the expansion of the crushable zone and the door opening 104a.

  Preferably, among the four members constituting the front pillar 100 (the outer panel 110, the dash side panel 120, the hinge reinforcement 130, and the lower reinforcement 140), the outer panel 110 is made the thinnest, and the lower reinforcement 140 is removed. The thickness of the plate should be the largest. Thus, by reducing the thickness of the outer panel 110, which is a member constituting the outer surface of the front pillar 100, that is, a member having a large area, the weight of the front pillar 100 can be reduced. By increasing the plate thickness of the lower reinforcement 140, which is a small member, it is possible to ensure high rigidity at the lower portion of the front pillar 100 where rigidity is required while minimizing the overall weight increase.

  Note that, in the front portion of the front pillar 100 of the present embodiment, the end portions of the outer front flange 134b and the front flange 144 are in the same position, and the end portion of the inner front flange 124b is positioned slightly forward of them. At the rear part of the front pillar 100, the end portions of the inner rear flange 124c and the outer rear flange 134c are at the same position, and the end portion of the rear flange 114 is positioned slightly rearward from them. The positions of the end portions of these flanges are merely examples, and are not limited thereto.

  In the present embodiment, the end of the outer panel 110 on the front side of the vehicle is curved outward (extends away from the hinge reinforcement 130), but this is not a limitation. The shape of is not excluded.

  As in the prior art, flanges are also provided on the vehicle front side of the outer panel in the front pillar (shown by broken lines in FIG. 4), and the flanges at both ends of the outer panel and inner panel (corresponding to the dash side panel 120 of this embodiment) are provided. In the case of welding, a space S surrounded by the reinforcing panel (corresponding to the hinge reinforcement 130 of the present embodiment) and the front side portion of the outer panel indicated by a broken line is formed at the front part of the front pillar. The front of this space was acting as a crushable zone.

  On the other hand, in the front part of the cross section of the front pillar 100 of the present embodiment, the outer panel 110 is not coupled to the dash side panel 120, and the front flange and the hat-shaped top surface provided in the conventional outer panel are provided. In this part, the hinge reinforcement 130 is the outermost part of the cross section. The front end of the outer panel 110 stays in the vicinity of the front end of the top surface 132a of the hinge reinforcement 130, and a space surrounded by the outer panel 110 and the hinge reinforcement 130 is not formed at the front portion of the front pillar 100. As a result, the width in the vehicle front-rear direction of the closed cross section can be reduced by the amount of the space S that has been generated conventionally, and the crushable zone can be enlarged.

  As a result, it is possible to reduce the weight of the outer panel 110 and the front pillar 100, which have little contribution in securing strength and rigidity. Since the lower reinforcement 140 is disposed at the portion where the front end of the outer panel 110 remains in the vicinity of the front end of the top surface 132a of the hinge reinforcement 130, the strength of the region is sufficiently secured.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the front pillar 100, a gap is provided between surfaces extending in the vehicle width direction between the dash side panel 120 and the lower reinforcement 140. Similarly, the outer panel 110 and the hinge are hinged. A gap is provided between the surfaces extending in the vehicle width direction even between the reinforcements 130. Thereby, compared with the case where the surfaces extending in the vehicle width direction of the dash side panel 120 and the lower reinforcement 140 and the outer panel 110 and the hinge reinforcement 130 are brought into contact with each other, a margin can be provided in dimensional accuracy. Quality control becomes easy.

  Although not mentioned in the above embodiment, the above-described technique may be applied to the center pillar and the rear pillar (not shown) of the vehicle 102. Thereby, the strength of the center pillar and the rear pillar can be increased, and the width of the door opening formed by them can be increased in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  The present invention can be used for a front pillar constituting the front side of a front door opening of a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Front pillar, 102 ... Vehicle, 104 ... Front door, 104a ... Door opening, 106 ... Cowl panel, 110 ... Outer panel, 112 ... 2nd L-shaped part, 114 ... Rear flange, 116 ... Fixing hole, 120 ... Dash side Panel 122, inner bulged portion 122 a, top surface 122 b, front side surface 122 c, rear side surface 124 b, inner front flange 124 c, inner rear flange 130, hinge reinforcement 132 132 outer bulged portion 132 a ... top, 132b ... front side, 132c ... rear side, 134b ... outer front flange, 134c ... outer rear flange, 136 ... fixing hole, 140 ... lower reinforcement, 142 ... first L-shaped part, 144 ... front flange

Claims (2)

A front pillar constituting the front side of the front door opening of the vehicle,
A side body outer panel constituting the outer surface of the front pillar;
A dash side panel disposed inside the side body outer panel and constituting an inner surface of the front pillar;
A hinge reinforcement disposed between the side body outer panel and the dash side panel and having a height from at least a lower end to an upper end of the dash side panel;
A pillar lower reinforcement disposed between the hinge reinforcement and the dash side panel;
At least in the horizontal section of the area where the pillar lower reinforcement of the front pillar is arranged,
The dash side panel has a hat shape having an inner bulging portion that bulges inward in the vehicle width direction, and an inner flange on the vehicle front and rear side of the inner bulging portion,
The pillar lower reinforcement includes a first L-shaped portion corresponding to a shape from the vicinity of the rear end of the hat-shaped top surface of the dash side panel to the root of the inner flange on the front side of the vehicle, and further from the first L-shaped portion to the vehicle. And at least a front flange extending toward the front of the vehicle along the inner flange on the front side,
The hinge reinforcement is a hat shape having an outer bulging portion that bulges outward in the vehicle width direction, and an outer flange on the vehicle front-rear side of the outer bulging portion,
The side body outer panel includes a second L-shaped portion corresponding to a shape from a front end of the hinge-shaped hat-shaped top surface to a base of an outer flange on the rear side of the vehicle, and further on the vehicle rear side from the second L-shaped portion. At least a rear flange extending toward the rear of the vehicle along the outer flange of the
An inner flange on the vehicle front side of the dash side panel, a front flange of the pillar lower reinforcement, and an outer flange on the vehicle front side of the hinge reinforcement are combined,
The front pillar, wherein the front end of the side body outer panel remains in the vicinity of the front end of the hinge-shaped hat-shaped top surface. Of the side body outer panel, the dash side panel, the hinge reinforcement, and the pillar lower reinforcement,
2. The front pillar according to claim 1, wherein the side body outer panel is thinnest and the pillar lower reinforcement is thickest.

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