JP2020147071A - Vehicle body reinforcing structure for convertible vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To enhance the strength and rigidity of a vehicle body reinforcing structure that connects right and left side vehicle body structures of a convertible vehicle to each other.SOLUTION: A vehicle reinforcing structure 30 includes: a pair of right and left side posts 38 placed so as to divide a passenger room from a luggage room; and a reinforcing cross member 40 which extends in the horizontal direction and which couples the right and left side posts 38 to each other. The reinforcing cross member 40 includes two rectangular portions 48 and 50 each having a rectangular cross section, and the rectangular portions 48 and 50 include respective brace plates 48e and 50e placed along diagonal lines.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a body structure of a convertible vehicle, and more particularly to a structure for reinforcing the body.

Vehicles without a roof and vehicles with a removable or retractable roof are known. Hereinafter, such a vehicle will be referred to as a convertible vehicle. In a convertible vehicle, it cannot be expected that the roof bears the strength and rigidity of the vehicle body, so the parts of the vehicle body other than the roof are reinforced to obtain the required strength and rigidity.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for increasing vehicle body rigidity by a roll bar device (20) that connects left and right center pillars (10). Further, in Patent Document 2 below, the left and right center pillars (B pillars) are connected by a coupling arm (6,6'), a rollover protection cassette (3,3'), and a coupling profile (5). The structure is shown. The reference numerals in parentheses above are the reference numerals used in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, and are not related to the reference numerals used in the description of the embodiments of the present application.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-28322 U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0085337

In recent years, the demand for strength and rigidity of vehicles has increased. There is room for improvement in the body strength and body rigidity of convertible vehicles.

An object of the present invention is to improve the vehicle body strength and vehicle body rigidity of a convertible vehicle.

The present invention relates to a vehicle body reinforcement structure that is arranged so as to separate the passenger compartment of a convertible vehicle from the rear vehicle body space formed behind the passenger compartment and is coupled to the left and right side vehicle body structures. This body reinforcement structure includes a pair of vertically extending lateral posts that are placed adjacent to the left and right side body structures and are directly or indirectly coupled to the corresponding side body and floor structures. A reinforcing cross member that extends in the left-right direction and connects a pair of side posts. The reinforcing cloth member has a closed cross-sectional structure having a brace plate.

By making the cross member a closed cross-sectional structure having a brace plate, deformation of the cross member can be suppressed and the rigidity of the vehicle body is improved.

It is a side view of the body of a convertible vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows the body reinforcement structure and the structure around it. It is a top view of the joint part of a side post and a reinforcing cloth member. It is a cross-sectional view of a reinforcing cloth member. It is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcing cloth member of another aspect.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the terms indicating the direction and direction such as front-back, left-right, up-down, etc. indicate the direction and direction with respect to the vehicle. Further, in the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle, the side closer to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is described as the inside in the vehicle width direction, and the far side is described as the outside in the vehicle width direction. In each figure, the direction of the arrow FR is forward, the direction of the arrow UP is upward, the direction of the arrow LH is to the left, and the direction of the arrow IN is inside in the vehicle width direction.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a side surface of a vehicle body 10 of a convertible vehicle according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the convertible vehicle is shown with the roof retracted. The convertible vehicle has a luggage compartment 12 on which the occupants board and a luggage compartment 14 behind the passenger compartment 12, and the roof is stored in the luggage compartment 14. The convertible vehicle shown is a four-seat vehicle having a small rear seat 18 in addition to the front seat 16, but may be a two-seat vehicle having only the front seat 16. Further, the vehicle may have an engine chamber behind the passenger compartment 12.

The vehicle body 10 has a floor structure 20 that forms the floors of the passenger compartment 12 and the luggage compartment 14, and a side vehicle body structure 22 that is erected on the left and right side edges of the floor structure 20 and extends along the side edges. The side body structure 22 has an opening corresponding to the door 24 for getting on and off, and a center pillar 26 is provided along the trailing edge of the opening. The center pillar 26 is erected on a rocker 28 forming the left and right side edges of the floor structure 20. At the boundary between the guest room 12 and the luggage compartment 14, a vehicle body reinforcing structure 30 is arranged so as to separate the guest room 12 and the luggage compartment 14. The vehicle body reinforcing structure 30 is connected to the left and right side vehicle body structures 22 at a position higher than the floor structure 20, and these are connected. By connecting the left and right side vehicle body structures 22, the strength and rigidity of the vehicle body are improved.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a vehicle body reinforcing structure 30, a floor structure 20 around the vehicle body reinforcing structure 30, and a side vehicle body structure 22. The portion shown in FIG. 2 is the structure of the right side portion of the vehicle body 10, and the left side portion has a structure symmetrical to the right side portion. The floor structure 20 includes a floor side member 32 extending along the left-right side thereof in the front-rear direction and a floor cross member 34 extending along the left-right direction as a vehicle body skeleton member. The floor side member 32 and the floor cross member 34 are connected to the post base 36, which is a part of the vehicle body reinforcing structure 30, respectively. The floor cross member 34 and the post base 36 integrally extend along the left-right direction to form a vehicle body skeleton member that connects the left and right floor side members 32. The post base 36 is a cast part and can be made of die-cast aluminum, for example.

In addition to the post base 36, the vehicle body reinforcing structure 30 includes a side post 38 erected on the post base 36 and a reinforcing cross member 40 connecting the left and right side posts 38. Further, the vehicle body reinforcing structure 30 includes a front connecting member 42 that connects the side post 38 and the center pillar 26, and a side connecting member 44 that connects the side post 38 to the side vehicle body structure 22 on the side thereof. Includes a rear connecting member (not shown) that connects the luggage compartment 14 portion of the floor side member 32 to the side post 38. With these connecting members, the side posts 38 are tightly coupled to the side body structure 22 in the front, side and rear.

The side post 38 has a rectangular tubular shape with a rectangular cross section, and can be, for example, an extruded aluminum material. Inside the cylinder of the side post 38, a rollover bar (not shown) that protrudes upward in an emergency is housed. Two reinforcing cloth members 40 are arranged one above the other. The reinforcing cloth member 40 can be, for example, an extruded aluminum material. When the side post 38 and the reinforcing cloth member 40 are made of aluminum, they can be joined by welding. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the joint portion between the side post 38 and the reinforcing cloth member 40. A contact wall 46 is provided integrally with the side post 38 on the front edge of the side post 38 facing the reinforcing cloth member 40. The reinforcing cloth member 40 is welded to the side post 38 in a state of being in contact with the contact wall 46.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the shape of the cross section of the reinforcing cloth member 40. When the reinforcing cloth member 40 is an extruded material, the cross-sectional shape of the reinforcing cloth member 40 is constant with respect to the longitudinal direction.

The cross section of one reinforcing cloth member 40 has a shape in which two quadrangles having different sizes are combined. The larger quadrangular portion 48 (hereinafter referred to as the large quadrangular portion 48) of the upper reinforcing cloth member 40A includes a horizontally arranged upper surface plate 48a, a front plate 48b orthogonal to the upper surface plate 48a, and a rear surface plate, respectively. 48c and a lower surface plate 48d located on the opposite side of the upper surface plate 48a are included. The bottom plate 48d is diagonally arranged so that the rear surface is lowered. Further, the large rectangular portion 48 includes a brace plate 48e arranged diagonally so as to connect the upper rear corner and the lower front corner. The smaller quadrangular portion 50 (hereinafter referred to as a small quadrangular portion 50) is formed after the upper surface plate 50a, which is a part of the lower surface plate 48d of the large quadrangular portion 48, and the rear surface plate 48c of the large quadrangular portion 48 are extended. Includes a face plate 50c, a front plate 50b parallel to the rear surface plate 50c and located behind the front plate 48b of the large quadrangular portion 48, and a bottom plate 50d located on the opposite side of the top plate 50a. Further, the small square portion 50 includes a brace plate 50e arranged diagonally so as to connect the upper rear corner and the lower front corner. The cross-sectional shape of the lower reinforcing cloth member 40B is symmetrical with that of the upper reinforcing cloth member 40A.

By providing the brace plates 48e and 50e on the reinforcing cloth member 40, the strength and rigidity of the reinforcing cloth member 40, particularly the torsional rigidity, is increased. As a result, the strength and rigidity of the vehicle body reinforcing structure 30 are increased, and the strength and rigidity of the entire vehicle body 10 are improved.

Instead of providing the brace plates on all of the quadrangular portions 48 and 50, the brace plates may be provided on some of the quadrangular portions 48 and 50. Further, two brace plates may be provided along two diagonal lines for one quadrangular portion 48, 50.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another aspect of the reinforcing cloth member. The reinforcing cloth members 52 and 54 each have a rectangular shape, particularly a rectangular or square cross-sectional shape, and are arranged vertically apart from each other. The reinforcing cloth members 52 and 54 can be, for example, an extruded aluminum material. The left and right side posts 38 and the upper and lower reinforcing cloth members 52 and 54 form a quadrangular opening, and the reinforcing wall 56 is arranged so as to cover the opening. The edges of the reinforcing wall 56 are welded to the side posts 38 and the reinforcing cloth members 52 and 54.

The reinforcing cloth member 52 arranged on the upper side includes an upper surface plate 52a, a front surface plate 52b, a rear surface plate 52c, and a lower surface plate 52d forming a quadrangle in the cross section, and a brace plate 52e arranged along the diagonal line of the quadrangle. including. The reinforcing cloth member 54 arranged on the lower side includes an upper surface plate 54a, a front surface plate 54b, a rear surface plate 54c, and a lower surface plate 54d that form a quadrangle in the cross section, and is not provided with a brace plate.

The cross-sectional shape of the reinforcing cloth member is not limited to the above-mentioned shape, and by providing the brace plate, it is possible to form a shape in which a triangular portion is formed in the cross-sectional shape. Strength and rigidity are improved by forming a triangular portion.

In the above-described embodiment, the side posts 38 are connected to the floor structure 20 via the post base 36, but may be directly connected to the floor structure 20. For example, the floor cross member 34 may be extended to the left and right and directly connected to the floor side member 32, and the side post 38 may be connected to the extended portion of the floor cross member 34.

10 car body, 12 guest rooms, 14 luggage compartment, 16 front seats, 18 rear seats, 20 floor structure, 22 side car body structure, 24 doors, 26 center pillars, 28 lockers, 30 car body reinforcement structure, 32 floor side members, 34 floors Cross member, 36 post base, 38 side post, 40, 52, 54 reinforcing cross member, 42 front connecting member, 44 side connecting member, 46 contact wall, 48 large square part, 48e, 50e brace plate, 50 small Square part, 56 reinforcing walls.

Claims (1)

It is a vehicle body reinforcement structure that is arranged so as to separate the passenger compartment of the convertible vehicle from the rear vehicle body space formed behind the passenger compartment and is connected to the left and right side vehicle body structures.
A pair of side posts that are located adjacent to the left and right side body structures, are directly or indirectly coupled to the corresponding side body structures and floor structures, and extend in the vertical direction.
Reinforcing cloth members that extend in the left-right direction and connect the pair of side posts,
With
The reinforcing cloth member has a closed cross-sectional structure with a brace plate,
Body reinforcement structure for convertible vehicles.