JP2024069832A - Vehicle front pillar - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle front pillar which can secure sufficient rigidity even if its cross section is small.SOLUTION: A vehicle front pillar 101 includes an anterior front pillar 102 joined to a side edge of a windshield 112 of a vehicle 100. The anterior front pillar 102 is disposed forward of a predetermined posterior front pillar 104 with pillar glass 106 disposed therebetween. The anterior front pillar 102 includes an outer panel 120 and an inner panel 130 each having a substantially trapezoidal cross section in which an upper bottom 120A, 130A faces the vehicle outer side and a lower bottom 140 is open. The inner panel 130 is joined to the vehicle inner side of the outer panel 120 so as to form a closed cross section 134 with the outer panel 120.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a front pillar for a vehicle.

Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle pillar structure. According to this structure, the first pillar that constitutes part of the vehicle's front pillar is made thinner, allowing the driver to have a wider field of vision.

JP 2019-123363 A

However, if the pillars are made thinner as in Patent Document 1, the cross-sectional area of the pillars will be smaller and the rigidity of the pillars will decrease, which may lead to the pillars bending in response to an impact from the side of the vehicle, such as in a side impact.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle front pillar that can ensure sufficient rigidity even with a small cross-sectional area.

To solve the above problems, a representative configuration of the present invention is a vehicle front pillar that is joined to the side edge of the windshield of a vehicle and is arranged in front of a specified rear front pillar across pillar glass, the front front pillar includes an outer panel and an inner panel, each of which has a substantially trapezoidal cross section with an upper base facing the exterior side of the vehicle and an open lower base, and the inner panel is joined to the interior side of the outer panel so as to form a closed cross section between the outer panel and the inner panel.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a vehicle front pillar that can ensure sufficient rigidity even with a small cross-sectional area.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle front pillar according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the front pillar of FIG. 1 as viewed from the right side of the vehicle. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the front pillar taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the front pillar of FIG. 3 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the front pillar of FIG. 4 . 6 is a schematic diagram for comparing the visual field of an occupant in the embodiment of FIG. 5 with the visual field of an occupant in a comparative example.

One embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle front pillar that is joined to the side edge of a vehicle windshield and is disposed in front of a specified rear front pillar across pillar glass, the front front pillar includes an outer panel and an inner panel, each of which has a substantially trapezoidal cross section with an upper base facing the exterior side of the vehicle and an open lower base, and the inner panel is joined to the interior side of the outer panel so as to form a closed cross section between the outer panel and the inner panel.

According to the present invention, the front pillar constituting the vehicle front pillar has a double, approximately trapezoidal cross section, including a closed cross section, due to the outer panel and the inner panel. Therefore, the front pillar of the front pillar has higher rigidity even though its cross-sectional area is small. This makes it possible to more completely prevent deformation of the front pillar even when an impact is applied to the vehicle due to a side collision or rollover of the vehicle.

In addition, harnesses and other wiring can be routed inside the inner panel, which has an open bottom and a roughly trapezoidal cross section. This saves space and also protects the harnesses and other wiring from impacts.

The generally trapezoidal cross section of the outer panel and inner panel may each have a shape in which the upper base faces outward in the vehicle width direction, the front legs extend forward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper base, and the rear legs extend rearward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper base.

The outer panel and inner panel that make up the front front pillar have a roughly trapezoidal cross section, allowing for a high degree of freedom in changing the shape and posture, and the upper base can be oriented so as to face the outside in the vehicle width direction as described above, and the front and rear legs can also be shaped as described above. As a result, the upper base of the outer panel can be joined to the pillar glass parallel to the pillar glass, and the front leg of the outer panel can be joined to the windshield parallel to the windshield.

The upper bases of the generally trapezoidal cross sections of the outer and inner panels are not parallel to each other, but are spaced farther apart toward the rear, and the generally trapezoidal cross sections of the outer and inner panels each preferably have a lower base that is longer than the distance from the lower base to the upper base.

Compared to when the upper bases are parallel, the rigidity of the front front pillar is improved when they are not parallel. Also, compared to when the distance between the lower base and the upper base is shorter, the rigidity of the front front pillar is improved when it is longer.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values shown in the embodiment are merely examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid duplicated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle front pillar according to the present invention. In Figure 1 and all other figures, the front-rear direction of the vehicle is indicated by arrows F (Forward) and B (Backward), the left and right directions in the vehicle width direction are indicated by arrows L (Leftward) and R (Rightward), and the top and bottom directions of the vehicle are indicated by arrows U (Upward) and D (Downward).

As shown in FIG. 1, the right front pillar 101 of the vehicle 100 is composed of a front front pillar 102 that spans between the roof 108 and the fender panel 110, a rear front pillar 104 that spans between the roof 108 and the side door panel 114, and a pillar glass 106. Note that the left front pillar of the vehicle 100 has a symmetrical structure to the right front pillar 101, so a description of it will be omitted.

Figure 2 is a side view of the front pillar 101 in Figure 1 as viewed from the right side of the vehicle 100, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the front pillar 101 in Figure 2 taken along line A-A. As shown in Figure 2, the pillar glass 106 is fixedly disposed between the front front pillar 102 and the rear front pillar 104. That is, as shown in Figure 3, the front front pillar 102 is disposed in front of the rear front pillar 104, separated by the pillar glass 106. As shown in Figure 3, the front front pillar 102 is joined not only to the front end of the pillar glass 106, but also to the side edge of the windshield (front glass) 112.

(Front pillar)
Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the front pillar 102 of Fig. 3. The front pillar 102 includes an outer panel 120 and an inner panel 130 each having a substantially trapezoidal cross section. The front pillar 102 also includes a pillar trim 131 that is located on the vehicle interior side of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 and that houses these panels 120, 130. A cushioning material 133 is also arranged inside the pillar trim 131.

The outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 have a generally trapezoidal cross section, which allows for a high degree of freedom in changing the shape and posture. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the generally trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 each have the upper base 120A, 130A, which is the first side, facing outward in the vehicle width direction, i.e., the right side of the vehicle in FIG. 4. The upper base 120A of the outer panel 120 is parallel to the pillar glass 106 and is joined to the pillar glass 106 with adhesive 135.

On the other hand, the lower base 140, which is the second side of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 that corresponds to the opposite side of the upper base 120A, 130A, is open toward the inside of the vehicle, that is, toward the inside in the vehicle width direction (left side of the vehicle). This lower base 140 is common to the roughly trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130, and is therefore indicated by the common reference numeral 140.

In this embodiment, both the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 have a cross section that is approximately trapezoidal, but they may be any quadrilateral shape and are not limited to an approximately trapezoidal shape.

The roughly trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 each have the following shape. That is, the front legs 120B, 130B extend forward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper bases 120A, 130B, and the rear legs 120C, 130C extend rearward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper bases 120A, 130B. The rear legs 120C, 130C are inserted into the cushioning material 133. The front leg 120B of the outer panel 120 is parallel to the windshield 112 and is joined to the windshield 112 with adhesive 137.

The inner panel 130 is joined to the vehicle interior side of the outer panel 120. That is, the two front legs 120B, 130B are parallel to each other, and leg 130B is joined to the vehicle interior side of leg 120B. The two rear legs 120C, 130C are also parallel to each other, and leg 130C is joined to the vehicle interior side of leg 120C. The two upper bases 120A, 130A are also approximately parallel, but are spaced apart from each other.

(Closed cross section of front pillar)
As described above, the front pillar 102 is characterized in that the inner panel 130 is joined to the vehicle interior side of the outer panel 120 to form a closed cross section 134 between the inner panel 130 and the outer panel 120. The closed cross section 134 is surrounded by the two upper bases 120A, 130A and the front and rear leg portions 120B, 120C of the outer panel 120.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the front pillar 102 in FIG. 4 constituting the front pillar 101 has a double, approximately trapezoidal cross section including a closed cross section 134 due to the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130. Therefore, the front pillar 102 has higher rigidity even though its cross-sectional area is small. This makes it possible to more completely prevent deformation of the front pillar 101, and particularly the front pillar 102, even if an impact is applied due to a collision such as a side collision with the vehicle 100 or a rollover of the vehicle 100.

In addition, harnesses and the like (not shown) can be wired inside the inner panel 130, which has an open bottom 140 and a generally trapezoidal cross section. This saves space and also protects the harnesses and the like from impacts.

In this embodiment, the two front legs 120B, 130B and the two rear legs 120C, 130C are joined parallel to each other, but they do not need to be parallel to each other as long as they form a closed cross section 134. Furthermore, the upper bases 120A, 130A do not need to be parallel to each other.

In fact, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper bases 120A, 130A are not parallel to each other, but are spaced farther apart toward the rear. Also, the lower base 140 common to the roughly trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 is longer than the distance from the lower base 140 to each of the upper bases 120A, 130A.

Compared to when the upper bases are parallel, the upper bases 120A and 130A, which are not parallel to each other as in this embodiment, improve the rigidity of the front pillar 102 in front of the front pillar 101. Also, compared to when the lower base is shorter than the distance from the lower base to the upper base, the rigidity of the front pillar 102 in front of the front pillar 101 is improved when it is longer as in this embodiment.

(Rear leg of front pillar)
4, the front pillar 101 further includes a pillar glass molding 150 that covers the pillar glass 106. The pillar glass molding 150 may be made of resin, for example. The front pillar 102 and the pillar glass 106 are joined together via the pillar glass molding 150.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing the front pillar 102 of Figure 4. As shown in Figure 5, the rear legs 120C, 130C of the approximately trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 do not intersect the line of sight 154 connecting the occupant's eyes 152 (Figure 6) and the rear end 150A of the pillar glass molding 150. In other words, the legs 120C, 130C do not block the line of sight 154.

In this way, by extending the rear legs 120C, 130C so that they do not intersect with the line of sight 154, the field of vision of the occupant is prevented from being narrowed. Note that although there is a possibility that the pillar trim 131 may block the line of sight 154, since the rear legs 120C, 130C stored in the pillar trim 131 do not intersect with the line of sight 154, it is possible to configure the pillar trim 131 so that it does not block the line of sight 154.

The line of sight 154 can vary. That is, the position of the occupant's eyes 152 (Figure 6) can vary up and down depending on the physique of the occupant, and there are an infinite number of patterns of the line of sight 154 depending on what height position on the front front pillar 102 the occupant's eyes 152 are looking at. Regardless of the height at which the occupant's eyes 152 are looking and what height on the front front pillar 102 they are looking at (not only in the A-A cross section of Figure 3 but also in any cross section taken through the front front pillar 102 at any height), it is desirable that the rear legs 120C, 130C do not intersect with the line of sight 154.

(Windshield molding)
4 again, the front pillar 101 further includes a windshield molding 160 that covers the windshield 112. The windshield molding 160 may be made of, for example, resin.

As shown in FIG. 4, the windshield molding 160 continuously covers the inner side 112A, end face 112B and outer side 112C of the windshield 112. The front legs 120B, 130B of the roughly trapezoidal cross sections of both the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130 extend along the inner side 112A of the windshield 112. The front leg 120B of the outer panel 120 is bonded to the inner side 112A of the windshield 112 with adhesive 137.

As shown in FIG. 5, the windshield molding 160 is characterized in that it covers the windshield 112 only up to a position not exceeding the front legs 120B, 130B of both the outer panel 120 and the inner panel 130.

In this way, by not having the windshield molding 160 protrude inward in the vehicle width direction more than necessary, the size of the windshield molding 160 is minimized, preventing the occupant's field of vision from being narrowed. The line of sight 164 shown in FIG. 5 is a tangent line extending from the occupant's eye 152 (FIG. 6) to the front front pillar 102 inward in the vehicle width direction. As described above, because the windshield molding 160 does not protrude inward in the vehicle width direction more than necessary, the windshield molding 160 does not block this line of sight 164, and the occupant's field of vision is not impaired.

(Pillar glass molding)
4 again, the pillar glass molding 150 covers the pillar glass 106 from its front end surface 106A to its outer side 106B, and an upper base 120A of the outer panel 120 having a substantially trapezoidal cross section is directly bonded to the pillar glass 106.

In other words, the pillar glass molding 150 is only present on the outer side 106B from the front end face 106A of the pillar glass 106, and is not present on the inner side 106C of the pillar glass 106. In this way, the front front pillar 102 prevents the occupant's field of vision from being narrowed by minimizing the thickness of the pillar glass molding 150. If the pillar glass molding 150 were also present on the inner side 106C of the pillar glass 106, the cross-sectional area of the front front pillar 102 would be larger, which would narrow the occupant's field of vision accordingly.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the pillar glass molding 150 does not protrude rearward beyond the upper bottom 120A of the outer panel 120.

In this way, the pillar glass molding 150 does not protrude further rearward than necessary. In other words, the pillar glass molding 150, which covers the outer side 106B of the pillar glass 106, is provided to the minimum extent necessary to prevent the occupants' field of vision from being narrowed.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram comparing the occupant's field of view in this embodiment of Figure 5 with the occupant's field of view in a comparative example. Figure 6(a) shows the occupant's field of view in the front pillar 101 of this embodiment equipped with the front front pillar 102 of Figure 5. Figure 6(b) shows the field of view in the front pillar 170, which is a comparative example. Figure 6(c) is a diagram comparing the occupant's field of view in Figures 6(a) and (b). Note that in Figures 6(a) to (c), elements common to this embodiment of Figure 6(a), such as the pillar glass 106, windshield 112, and occupant's eyes 152, are indicated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), in this embodiment, the front front pillar 102 impairs the occupant's visibility between the outside and inside lines of sight 154, 164, also shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, the front pillar 170, which is a comparative example shown in FIG. 6(b), has a front front pillar 172 and a rear front pillar 174. As shown in FIG. 6(b), in the comparative example, the front front pillar 172 impairs the occupant's visibility between the outside and inside lines of sight 176, 178.

However, the front front pillar 172 in the comparative example in FIG. 6(b) is a combination of two panels with a roughly M-shaped cross section, and is not designed to restrict the occupant's field of vision, as is the front front pillar 102 in this embodiment. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6(c), although the inner lines of sight 164, 178 are almost the same in both this embodiment and the comparative example, when comparing the outer lines of sight 154, 176, line of sight 176 protrudes further outward than line of sight 154. In other words, it can be seen that the front front pillar 172 in the comparative example in FIG. 6(b) restricts the occupant's field of vision more.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a vehicle 100 that has a front pillar including two pillars, that is, a front pillar 101 that is composed of a front front pillar 102 and a rear front pillar 104 that sandwich a pillar glass 106 from the front and rear. However, the present invention may also be applied to the front pillar of a vehicle that has only a single front pillar, or may be applied to a center pillar or a rear pillar other than the front pillar.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the examples described. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

This invention can be used in vehicle front pillars.

100 ... vehicle 101 ... front pillar 102 ... front front pillar 104 ... rear front pillar 106 ... pillar glass 106A ... front end surface of pillar glass 106B ... outer side of pillar glass 106C ... inner side of pillar glass 108 ... roof 110 ... fender panel 112 ... windshield 114 ... side door panel 120 ... outer panel 120A ... upper bottom of outer panel 120B ... front leg portion of outer panel 120C ... rear leg portion of outer panel 130 ... inner panel 130A ... upper bottom of inner panel 130B ... front leg portion of inner panel 130C ... rear leg portion of inner panel 131 ... pillar trim 133 ... cushioning material 134 ... closed cross section 135, 137 ... adhesive 140 ... lower bottom of outer panel and inner panel 150 ... pillar glass molding 150A ... rear end of pillar glass molding 152 ...Occupant's eyes 154, 164 ...Gaze 160 ...Windshield molding

Claims (3)

A vehicle front pillar is a front pillar joined to a side edge of a windshield of a vehicle, the front pillar being disposed in front of a predetermined rear front pillar across a pillar glass,
The front pillar includes an outer panel and an inner panel each having a substantially trapezoidal cross section with an upper base facing the vehicle exterior and a lower base being open,
A vehicle front pillar, wherein the inner panel is joined to an inner side of the outer panel so as to form a closed cross section between the inner panel and the outer panel. The substantially trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel and the inner panel are each
The upper base faces the outside in the vehicle width direction,
The front leg portion extends forward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper bottom,
2. The vehicle front pillar according to claim 1, wherein the rear leg portion extends rearward and inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper base. The upper bases of the generally trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel and the inner panel are not parallel to each other but are spaced apart from each other toward the rear,
3. The vehicle front pillar according to claim 1, wherein the substantially trapezoidal cross sections of the outer panel and the inner panel each have a shape in which a lower base is longer than a distance from the lower base to an upper base.

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