JP2607534Y2 - Vehicle pillar reinforcement structure - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for reinforcing a pillar of a vehicle, particularly a center pillar.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A center pillar of a vehicle is formed in a closed cross section by a pillar inner and a pillar outer, an upper end thereof is connected to a roof side rail having a closed cross section, and a lower end is connected to a side sill having a closed cross section. In general, a reinforcement is fixed from top to bottom, and the reinforcement generally increases the strength of the center pillar (see, for example, JP-A-3-27678).

[0003]

The center pillar is generally formed to have a shape in which the upper portion becomes narrower. In particular, in the case of a vehicle with a sashless door, the center pillar is located at the center of the center pillar, that is, at a height near the window shoulder of the door. In many cases, the structure has a structure in which the cross section changes relatively sharply. For this reason, the conventional structure in which the center pillar where the cross section changes suddenly at the time of a side collision is the weakest part in terms of strength is reinforced as a whole by reinforcing the center pillar continuously from top to bottom as described above. Therefore, there is a problem that buckling occurs, the central portion locally projects into the room, the projection amount is large, and the impact given to the occupant may increase.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a reinforcement for reinforcing a center pillar is provided at a predetermined position below a center pillar (at a substantially middle position between a center portion and a lower end portion of the center pillar or slightly below the center pillar). Position) is divided into an upper reinforcement above the position and a lower reinforcement below the predetermined position, and a predetermined gap is formed between a lower end of the upper reinforcement and an upper end of the lower reinforcement. The center pillar has the weakest part in strength formed by the gap.

[0005]

As described above, in the event of a side collision, the center pillar is bent inward at the weakest part of the strength that is positively formed at a predetermined position below the center pillar, and may cause a shock to the occupant. And the upper part is displaced almost uniformly inward as a whole without partial bending,
In addition, the displacement is relatively small, and the impact on the occupant can be minimized.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a center pillar having a closed section comprising a pillar inner 11 and a pillar outer 12, and an upper end of the center pillar 1 has a roof side rail having a closed section. 3 and the lower end is connected and fixed to a side sill 4 having a closed cross section.

A reinforcement 2 is fixed inside the center pillar 1. The reinforcement 2 is divided into an upper reinforcement 21, a central reinforcement 22, and a lower reinforcement 23,
The lower end of the upper reinforcement 21 and the upper end of the central reinforcement 22 are overlapped and integrally joined by spot welding or the like, and the lower end of the central reinforcement 22 and the lower reinforcement are joined together. A predetermined gap δ (for example, set to about 5 mm) is formed between the reinforcement 2 and the upper end portion of the reinforcement 23, and the reinforcement 2 is moved from the central reinforcement 22 to the lower reinforcement 23.
The portion where the gap, ie, the gap δ, constitutes the weakest part of the strength of the center pillar 1.

The weakest part of the center pillar 1 is located at a position near or slightly below the center between the center and the lower end of the center pillar 1, specifically, about 300 mm from the ground.
Height (about the height of the front bumper of a normal passenger car).

The upper reinforcement 21 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the cross-sectional shape is substantially the same as that of the upper portion of the pillar outer 12, and is disposed substantially along the upper inside of the pillar outer 12, and both side portions are spot-welded to both side surfaces of the pillar outer 12 and fixed. The upper portion of the pillar 1 is reinforced, and the reinforcement 22 at the center portion has a substantially U-shape having a top surface portion and both side surface portions substantially the same shape as the center portion of the pillar outer 12 as shown in FIG. The pillar outer 12 is disposed substantially along the inside of the center of the pillar outer 12, and both side surfaces thereof are fixed by spot welding to both side surfaces of the pillar outer 12. It is fixed to the lower end portion by spot welding and fixed to the upper door hinge mounting portion, the door striker mounting portion, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 (F), the lower reinforcement 23 has a substantially hat-shaped cross-sectional shape having a top surface, both side surfaces, and both side flanges substantially the same shape as the lower portion of the pillar outer 12, and the lower portion of the pillar outer 12 It is disposed substantially along the inner side, and is fixed by spot welding with both side flanges sandwiched between the joint flanges of the pillar inner 11 and the pillar outer 12, and the lower door hinge mounting portion,
This is to reinforce the anchor of the front seat belt or the mounting portion of the retractor.

In the illustrated embodiment, the top surface of the central reinforcement 22 and the top surface of the lower reinforcement 23 are connected by a flat plate that forms a plane substantially perpendicular to the load input direction at the time of a side collision. In this example, the connecting member 24 made of the flat plate has a very small reinforcing effect against the load in the vehicle width direction, so that the central reinforcement 22 and the lower reinforcement 23 are connected. Is the weakest portion of the center pillar 1 in terms of strength, but in the present invention, the connection by the connecting member 24 is not always necessary and may be omitted.

Next, the case of a side collision will be described.

When the center pillar is reinforced by a reinforcement that is integrated or integrally continuous from top to bottom as in the conventional case, the weakest part against side collision is the central part where the cross section of the center pillar changes suddenly. In the event of a side collision, the center pillar bends at the center thereof as shown by the broken line in FIG. .

On the other hand, as described above, the present invention in which the weakest part of the strength is positively formed below the center pillar 1 at the discontinuity between the central reinforcement 22 and the lower reinforcement 23. When the inward collision load acts on the center pillar due to the side collision, the center pillar 1 bends inward at the weakest part provided below the center pillar, and the broken line in FIG. As shown in the above, from the central part to the upper part that impacts the occupant, it is almost uniformly displaced inward without changing its cross-sectional shape, and the amount of displacement is relatively small, minimizing the impact on the occupant. It can be suppressed to. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, if the central reinforcement 22 and the lower reinforcement 23 are connected by a connecting member 24 made of a flat plate, a higher speed can be achieved while maintaining the ease of bending. In the case of a side collision, the center pillar 1 can be prevented from being completely broken at the bent portion.

If the upper reinforcement 21 and the central reinforcement 22 are divided and overlapped with each other as described above, the reinforcements 21 and 22 are reduced in size, and the plate is reduced. 1 (A) and 1 (B), the position of the overlapped joint of the reinforcements 21 and 22 is adjusted to the position where the cross section of the center pillar 1 changes suddenly. The strength of the suddenly changing section can be improved, but the upper reinforcement 2
Even if the structure in which the reinforcement 1 and the central portion reinforcement 22 are integrally formed, the discontinuous portion of the reinforcement 2 is lower in strength than the suddenly changing section in the center portion of the center pillar, and becomes the weakest portion in strength. It cannot be functionally determined.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, at the weakest part of the center pillar 1 which is positively constituted by the discontinuous part of the reinforcement 2, the outer pillar is formed. A bead portion 5 is formed along the gap δ at the top surface of the inner pillar 12 (or the pillar inner 11), and the bead portion 5 allows the center pillar 1 to be more reliably bent at the weakest portion in a side collision. In FIG. 2, other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 represent the same portions, and the modification of the center pillar 1 at the time of a side collision is also as shown in FIG. , And has the same effect as that of FIG.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a strength discontinuous portion having no reinforcement is formed partially below the reinforcement provided inside the center pillar. Is the weakest part of the center pillar against side collision, the center pillar at the side collision is bent inward at the weakest part of the lower position,
The central portion and the upper portion of the center pillar, which may give an impact to the occupant, are displaced almost uniformly inward without local inward protrusion, and the displacement amount is small, and the impact on the occupant is minimized. In addition to the simple structure and the low cost, a great effect can be obtained in practical use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a front view of a center pillar portion of a vehicle, (B) is a longitudinal sectional view of the center pillar portion, and (C) is (A). CC sectional view,
(D) is a DD sectional view of (A), and (E) is E- of (A).
E is a sectional view, and (F) is an FF sectional view of (A).

2A and 2B show a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a front view of a main part of a center pillar portion, and FIG. 2B is BB of FIG.
It is sectional drawing.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing a deformation mode of a center pillar at the time of a side collision, and FIG.
(B) shows the case of the conventional configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 center pillar 2 reinforcement 3 roof side rail 4 side sill 5 bead section 11 pillar inner 12 pillar outer 21 upper reinforcement 22 central reinforcement 23 lower reinforcement 24 connecting material

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-8677 (JP, A) JP-A-5-16559 (JP, U) JP-A-61-196186 (JP, U) JP-A-3-163 113285 (JP, U)

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A center pillar of a vehicle having a closed cross-section comprising a pillar inner and a pillar outer, having an upper end fixed to a roof side rail and a lower end fixed to a side sill.
The reinforcement for reinforcement provided inside the center pillar is divided into a reinforcement above a predetermined position below the center pillar and a reinforcement below the center pillar, and a lower end and a lower end of the upper reinforcement are divided. A predetermined gap is formed between the upper end of the reinforcement and the reinforcement, and the gap forms a weakest part for side collision at a position below the center pillar. . 2. The vehicle pillar reinforcement structure according to claim 1, wherein a surface between a lower end of the upper reinforcement and an upper end of the lower reinforcement is substantially perpendicular to a load input direction at the time of a side collision. A pillar reinforcement structure for a vehicle, wherein the vehicle is connected by a connecting member made of a flat plate. 3. The pillar reinforcement structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pillar outer or the pillar inner is substantially along a gap between a lower end of the upper reinforcement and an upper end of the lower reinforcement. A pillar reinforcement structure for a vehicle, wherein a portion is formed.