JP2017170992A - Passenger protection structure at side collision of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve passenger protection performance at side collision.SOLUTION: A passenger protection structure at side collision of a vehicle includes a car body in which a side panel 4 which is to be a side surface of a car body is provided upright along an end edge in car width direction of a floor panel, a wheel house panel 5 which defines a wheel house 6 recessed into the inside in the car width direction from the side panel 4, above the floor panel, a seat 13 which is provided on the floor panel inside the car width direction of the wheel house 6, a wheel 7 pivoted by a car body for rotation in the wheel house 6, and a reinforcing member 51 which is provided on a car inside surface of wheel house panel 5, and extends along the car width direction so as to approach the side panel 4 from at least the floor panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  The automobile is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

JP 2001-239869 A JP 2003-335155 A JP 2004-114792 A

By the way, in these automobiles, wheel houses are located on both sides of the third row seat in the vehicle width direction. Wheels such as wheels and tires are arranged in the wheel house.
As a result, a wheel such as a wheel in the wheel house may be pushed inward in the vehicle width direction due to an impact load of another vehicle body. If the wheel house is deformed toward the inner side in the vehicle width direction by the pushed wheel, there is a possibility of hitting the lower limb of the occupant seated on the seat.

  Thus, in the vehicle body of a vehicle such as an automobile, it is required to improve the occupant protection performance at the time of a side collision.

  The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of a vehicle according to the present invention includes: a vehicle body on which a side panel serving as a side surface of the vehicle body is erected along an edge in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel; A wheel house panel defining a wheel house recessed inward in the vehicle width direction from the panel, a seat provided on the floor panel at the vehicle width direction inside of the wheel house, and rotatable to the vehicle body in the wheel house And a stiffening member provided on the vehicle inner surface of the wheel house panel and extending along the vehicle width direction so as to extend from the floor panel to the vicinity of the side panel.

  Preferably, the wheel is attached to a front end of an axle that extends in the vehicle width direction and is rotatably supported in the vehicle body, and is used as the stiffening member at the front and rear of the vehicle body with respect to the axle. It is good to have a pair of stiffening members provided in a distributed manner.

  Preferably, the outer ends on the side panel side of the pair of stiffening members are aligned with the outer surfaces of the wheels arranged in the wheel house.

  Preferably, the side panel side outer ends of the pair of stiffening members are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

  Preferably, the outer ends on the side panel side of the pair of stiffening members are arranged so as to be shifted from each other with a height aligned above the axle.

  Preferably, the wheel is attached to a front end of an axle that extends along the vehicle width direction and is rotatably supported in the vehicle body, and is formed wide in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body as the stiffening member. It is good to have the stiffening member made.

  Preferably, an inner end of the stiffening member on the floor panel side is provided so as to extend inward in the vehicle width direction along the floor panel and reach a side frame of the vehicle body, and the wheel Is preferably attached to the front end of an axle supported on the lower side of the side frame.

  In the present invention, a stiffening member extending along the vehicle width direction is provided on the vehicle inner surface of the wheel house panel defining the wheel house so as to extend from at least the floor panel to the vicinity of the side panel. Therefore, the stiffening member supports, for example, another vehicle body that collides with the wheel house from the side together with the wheel that is rotatably supported by the vehicle body in the wheel house, and the impact load of the other vehicle body entering the vehicle. Can be distributed. As a result, the wheel is less likely to be pushed inward in the vehicle width direction. Further, the wheel house panel is hardly deformed inward in the vehicle width direction by the pushed-in wheel. The deformed wheel house panel is less likely to hit the lower limb of the occupant seated on the seat.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view in the vehicle width direction of a vehicle body of an automobile according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision applied to the automobile of FIG. 1 in a cross section in the vehicle width direction. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision in FIG. 2 viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of an automobile according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view in the vehicle width direction of a vehicle body 2 of an automobile 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The automobile 1 is an example of a vehicle.

The vehicle body 2 of the automobile 1 in FIG. 1 has a floor panel 3 that constitutes the floor surface of the passenger compartment. A pair of side panels 4 are erected along the edges at both edges of the floor panel 3 in the vehicle width direction.
A wheel house panel 5 is provided between the floor panel 3 and the side panel 4. The wheel house panel 5 defines a wheel house 6 that is recessed inward in the vehicle width direction from the side panel 4 above the floor panel 3.
In the wheel house 6, wheels 7 made of wheels and rubber tires are stored. In the pair of wheels 7, the centers of the wheels are connected to each other at both ends of the axle 8. The axle 8 is axially supported rotatably by the cross member 10 attached to the lower side of the side frame 9 below the floor panel 3 and extending along the vehicle width direction on the lower side of the side frame 9. Thereby, the wheel 7 is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 2 in the wheel house 6.
A side trim 11 that covers the inside of the side panel 4 and the wheel house panel 5 is provided inside the side panel 4 and the wheel house panel 5.

  A third-row seat 12 of the automobile 1 is provided between the pair of left and right wheel houses 6 with a side trim 11 interposed therebetween. The third row sheet 12 is composed of a plurality of sheets 13 divided into left and right. Each seat 13 has a seat portion 14, a back portion 15, and a leg portion 16. The seat portion 14 is mounted on the floor panel 3 by the left and right leg portions 16 and is located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house 6. The back portion 15 is erected on the rear side of the seat portion 14. The upper surface of the seat portion 14 is located above the upper surface of the wheel house panel 5. The outer surface of the seat portion 14 faces the inner surface of the wheel house panel 5.

By the way, in such a vehicle body 2 of the automobile 1, the curtain airbag can be deployed from above along the side surface of the vehicle body 2. Further, in the first row seat or the second row seat, the wheel houses 6 are not positioned on both sides of the seat 13 in the vehicle width direction. For this reason, the first row sheet or the second row sheet can be arranged near the side panel 4. In this case, the upper body of the occupant can be supported by the curtain airbag that is deployed from above along the side surface of the vehicle body 2 while being swung relatively small toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. The upper body of the occupant can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the side surface of the vehicle body 2 and can be prevented from swinging greatly outward in the vehicle width direction.
However, in the third row seat 12 of the automobile 1, the wheel houses 6 are located on both sides in the vehicle width direction. Wheels 7 are arranged in the wheel house 6. For this reason, in the third row seat 12, a space is formed between the seat 13 and the side surface of the vehicle body 2.
As a result, when another vehicle body collides with the side surface of the vehicle body 2, the upper body of the passenger seated on the third row seat 12 can swing greatly in the vehicle width direction. The upper body of the occupant may hit the side panel 4 that directly collides with another vehicle body at a high speed when the upper body of the occupant is shaken greatly and falls down. The lowered upper body may slip out from the lower side of the curtain airbag and hit the side surface of the vehicle body 2.
Thus, in the curtain airbag that is deployed from above along the side surface of the vehicle body 2, the upper body of the occupant who sits on the third row seat 12 and falls greatly in the vehicle width direction is appropriately protected. I can not say.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision applied to the automobile 1 of FIG. 1 in a cross section in the vehicle width direction.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision in FIG.
2 and FIG. 3 includes a pair of stiffening members 51 provided in a distributed manner on the front and rear of the vehicle body 2 with respect to the axle 8.

The stiffening member 51 may be, for example, a metal steel plate formed in a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section. The wheel house panel 5 can be stiffened by welding the stiffening member 51 having an inverted U-shaped cross section to the vehicle inner surface of the wheel house panel 5.
The stiffening member 51 formed from one metal steel plate has an upper horizontal portion 52, a vertical portion 53, and a lower horizontal portion 54.
The upper horizontal portion 52 extends along the vehicle width direction on the upper surface of the wheel house panel 5. The outer end of the upper horizontal portion 52 is located near the inside of the side panel 4. By separating from the inner surface of the side panel 4, the stiffening member 51 can be prevented from affecting the design of the vehicle body 2.
The vertical portion 53 extends along the vertical direction of the vehicle on the side surface of the wheel house panel 5. The vertical portion 53 connects the inner end portion of the upper horizontal portion 52 and the outer end portion of the lower horizontal portion 54.
The lower horizontal portion 54 extends along the vehicle width direction on the upper surface of the floor panel 3. An inner end portion of the lower horizontal portion 54 is located above the side frame 9. Thereby, the lower horizontal part 54 and the side frame 9 are connected from above and below with the floor panel 3 interposed therebetween.
Such a stiffening member 51 extends along the vehicle width direction from the floor panel 3 to the vicinity of the side panel 4.

The outer ends on the side panel 4 side of the pair of stiffening members 51 are aligned with the outer surface of the wheel 7 disposed in the wheel house 6. Line up.
The outer ends on the side panel 4 side of the pair of stiffening members 51 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axle 8 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2. The axle 8 is located on the middle line. The pair of stiffening members 51 are arranged at an interval in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2.
The outer ends on the side panel 4 side of the pair of stiffening members 51 are shifted upward from the axle 8 (wheel 7), and are arranged with the same height. Together with the axle 8, the arrangement is an inverted isosceles triangle.

  Next, an occupant protection operation at the time of a side collision will be described.

First, another vehicle body collides with the side surface of the vehicle body 2 from the vehicle width direction. The other vehicle body collides with the pair of stiffening members 51 and the outer ends of the wheels 7. The pair of stiffening members 51 and the wheels 7 or the axles 8 are compressed and deformed by being supported by the side frames 9 and are pushed inward in the vehicle width direction.
Therefore, the load acting on the wheel 7 and the axle 8 is reduced by the amount of the load acting on the pair of stiffening members 51, and the wheel 7 and the axle 8 are hardly pushed inward in the vehicle width direction.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the vehicle interior surface of the wheel house panel 5 that defines the wheel house 6 extends along the vehicle width direction so as to extend from the floor panel 3 to the vicinity of the side panel 4 at least. An existing stiffening member 51 is provided. Accordingly, the stiffening member 51 supports, for example, another vehicle body that collides with the wheel house 6 from the side together with the wheel 7 that is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 2 in the wheel house 6 and enters. The impact load of the vehicle body can be distributed and received. As a result, it is difficult for the wheel 7 to be pushed inward in the vehicle width direction. Further, the wheel house panel 5 is hardly deformed toward the inner side in the vehicle width direction by the pushed wheel 7. The deformed wheel house panel 5 is difficult to hit the lower limb of the occupant seated on the seat 13.

  In the present embodiment, the stiffening member 51 includes a pair of stiffening members 51 provided to be dispersed in the front and rear of the vehicle body 2 with respect to the axle 8. Therefore, the pair of stiffening members 51 and the wheel 7 attached to the tip end of the axle 8 that extends along the vehicle width direction and is rotatably supported in the vehicle body 2 are side by side with respect to the wheel house 6. For example, a wide load receiving surface that can receive the load of another vehicle body that collides from the other side can be formed. The three rigid members can form a wide impact load receiving surface in the front-rear direction.

  In the present embodiment, the outer ends of the pair of stiffening members 51 on the side panel 4 side are aligned with the outer surfaces of the wheels 7 disposed in the wheel house 6. Therefore, a planar load receiving surface can be formed by the outer ends of the pair of stiffening members 51 and the outer surface of the wheel 7 at the tip of the axle 8. For example, a load of another vehicle body colliding with the wheel house 6 from the side can be received by the plane. The other vehicle body that collided becomes difficult to tilt, and the load of the other vehicle body is easily received straight.

  In the present embodiment, the outer ends on the side panel 4 side of the pair of stiffening members 51 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axle 8 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2. Accordingly, for example, another vehicle body that collides with the wheel house 6 from the side becomes difficult to tilt during or after the collision, and the load of the other vehicle body is easily absorbed by the compression deformation of the three rigid members.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the outer ends on the side panel 4 side of the pair of stiffening members 51 are arranged above the axle 8 so as to be shifted in height. Therefore, for example, another vehicle body that collides with the wheel house 6 from the side becomes difficult to tilt during or after the collision, and the load of the other vehicle body is easily absorbed by the compression deformation of the three rigid members.

  In the present embodiment, the inner end of the stiffening member 51 on the floor panel 3 side extends inward in the vehicle width direction along the floor panel 3 and reaches the side frame 9 of the vehicle body 2. Therefore, the stiffening member 51 and the axle 8 pivotally supported on the lower side of the side frame 9 are coupled to the side frame 9. By being commonly connected to the high-rigidity side frame 9, the stiffening member 51, the axle 8 and the wheel 7 are similarly easily compressed and deformed in the vehicle width direction. The deformation inward in the vehicle width direction is difficult to shift between the stiffening member 51 and the axle 8 and the wheel 7, and for example, the load of another vehicle body that collides with the wheel house 6 from the side is suitably used with these. Can be absorbed.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an occupant protection structure during a side collision of the automobile 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the second embodiment, descriptions of configurations and operations similar to those of the first embodiment are omitted, and differences from the first embodiment are mainly described.

The occupant protection structure of the automobile 1 in FIG. 4 includes a wide stiffening member 55 formed wide in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2.
The stiffening member 55 that is wide in the front-rear direction may have a cross-sectional shape in which, for example, both edges of the metal steel plate are bent in the same direction. By welding this wide stiffening member 55 to the inner surface of the wheel house panel 5, the wheel house panel 5 can be stiffened.
Then, the outer end on the side panel 4 side of the stiffening member 55 wide in the front-rear direction is arranged in an inverted isosceles triangle together with the axle 8.
Thus, the wide stiffening member 55, the axle 8 and the wheel 7 can form a load receiving surface capable of receiving, for example, the load of another vehicle body colliding with the wheel house 6 from the side. .

  The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 ... Automobile (vehicle)
2 ... Vehicle body 3 ... Floor panel 4 ... Side panel 5 ... Wheel house panel 6 ... Wheel house 7 ... Wheel 8 ... Axle 9 ... Side frame 10 ... Cross member 11 ... Side trim 12 ... Third row seat 13 ... Seat 14 ... Seat Part 15 ... Back part 16 ... Leg part 51 ... Stiffening member 52 ... Upper horizontal part 53 ... Vertical part 54 ... Lower horizontal part 55 ... Stiffening member

Claims (7)

A vehicle body on which a side panel serving as a side surface of the vehicle body is erected along an edge in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel;
On the upper side of the floor panel, a wheel house panel that defines a wheel house that is recessed inward in the vehicle width direction from the side panel, and
A seat provided on the floor panel in the vehicle width direction inside of the wheel house;
Wheels rotatably supported by the vehicle body in the wheel house;
A stiffening member provided on the vehicle inner surface of the wheel house panel and extending along the vehicle width direction so as to extend from at least the floor panel to the vicinity of the side panel;
Having
Occupant protection structure at the time of vehicle side collision. The wheel is attached to a front end of an axle that extends in the vehicle width direction and is rotatably supported in the vehicle body,
As the stiffening member, a pair of stiffening members provided to be distributed in the front and rear of the vehicle body with respect to the axle,
The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of the vehicle according to claim 1. The outer ends on the side panel side of the pair of stiffening members are aligned with the outer surfaces of the wheels arranged in the wheel house,
The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of the vehicle according to claim 2. Outer ends on the side panel side of the pair of stiffening members are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
The occupant protection structure at the time of a vehicle side collision according to claim 2 or 3. The outer ends on the side panel side of the pair of stiffening members are arranged above the axle and shifted in height.
The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of the vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The wheel is attached to a front end of an axle that extends in the vehicle width direction and is rotatably supported in the vehicle body,
As the stiffening member, having a stiffening member formed wide in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body,
The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of the vehicle according to claim 1. The inner end of the stiffening member on the floor panel side is provided so as to extend inward in the vehicle width direction along the floor panel and reach the side frame of the vehicle body,
The wheel is attached to the tip of an axle that is pivotally supported on the lower side of the side frame.
The occupant protection structure at the time of a side collision of the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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