JP2617060B2 - Car upper body structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an upper body structure of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a structure in which a reinforcing panel is additionally provided at a corner portion connecting a plurality of panels of a vehicle body to reinforce the panel is known from Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-48295.

[0003] That is, in this conventional source, as a prior art, a first reinforcement joined to a header inner and a roof outer has a node for closing a closed cross section of the header at a forked portion where the pillar, the header, and the roof rail are connected. A structure including a panel, a second reinforcing panel joined to each outer of a pillar, a header, and a roof rail, and a first reinforcing panel is shown.

[0004]

By the way, the applicant of the present application has proposed a luggage compartment behind a driver's cab (front of the passenger compartment) in which a driver's seat is provided in order to enhance the space utilization efficiency of the passenger compartment. (The rear part of the cabin) has proposed a vehicle body structure in which the height of the roof and the width of the vehicle in the upper part of the cabin are larger.

[0005] In this vehicle body structure, the front side of the fender panel constituting the side wall of the luggage compartment is curved so that the front side thereof is disposed closer to the center of the vehicle body so as to correspond to the dimensional difference in the vehicle width from the driver's cab. An upper vehicle body structure is formed in which a front end curved portion is formed, and a front end portion of the front end curved portion is coupled to a rear end portion of a roof side rail disposed in a front-rear direction at upper right and left ends of an operator's cab.

In such an upper body structure, a curved shape is formed at an intermediate portion of the vehicle body, which is a connection portion between the driver's seat (the front portion of the vehicle body) and the luggage compartment (the rear portion of the vehicle body). If an excessive impact is input or a small load such as running vibration is input over time, this portion may be deformed. In particular, at the time of a collision, the weight of the load in the luggage compartment may be concentrated on the front end curved portion from the luggage compartment side. In this case, large deformation occurs.

Therefore, it is necessary to reinforce the joint between the driver's seat (the front part of the vehicle body) and the luggage compartment (the rear part of the vehicle body). However, the conventional reinforcing structure has the following problems. However, this structure cannot be applied to this part as it is.

Hereinafter, problems of the conventional structure will be described.

[0009] The first reinforcing panel and the second reinforcing panel are required, which is disadvantageous in terms of the number of parts, weight, cost, and manufacturing labor.

Since the second reinforcing panel is joined to the outer panel, when spot welding is performed, welding marks appear on the panel surface, and it is necessary to perform post-processing.

By the way, when the prior art described in the conventional source is applied, a reinforcing panel is joined to the rail inner and the fender inner, and the reinforcing panel is joined to the joint and the fender for closing the closed cross section of the roof side rail. It will form a node that closes the closed section of the panel, but in this structure,
The cross-sectional shape of the joint between the roof side rail and the fender panel changes only by an increase in the thickness of the reinforcing panel, and a sufficient reinforcing effect cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the number of parts, weight, cost, and manufacturing labor are reduced at the joint between the rear end portion of the roof side rail and the front end curved portion of the fender panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide an upper body structure of an automobile which is excellent in the above and can obtain a sufficient reinforcing effect.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, at least an upper part of a vehicle width at a front portion of a vehicle compartment is formed smaller than a vehicle width at a rear portion of the vehicle compartment, and a fender outer member is provided. And at least an upper portion of a front end portion of a fender panel which forms a closed cross-section by a fender inner and forms a side wall of a rear portion of the vehicle cabin, the vehicle body is disposed closer to the front toward the front side in accordance with a dimensional difference in a vehicle width direction from a vehicle front portion. A front end curved portion curved so as to be formed, a window is opened in the fender panel behind the front end curved portion, and a fender outer and a fender inner are respectively bent at an edge of the window. A roof side lay joined by welding formed flanges, extending in the front-rear direction along both left and right ends of the roof at the front of the vehicle compartment, and formed in a closed cross section by a rail inner and a rail outer. The upper end of the roof side rail and the front end of the fender panel are joined together with the rail inner and the fender inner, and the rail outer and the fender outer are joined together. At the joint with the front end of the curved part,
A reinforcing panel having a front end joined to the rail outer, and a rear end joined together between the fender outer and the fender inner flange at the front edge of the window to form a roof side rail; And a fender inner to form a closed section.

[0014]

The input in the front-rear direction to the fender panel or the roof side rail is transmitted to the roof side rail or the fender panel via the reinforcing panel connected to the both, and is transmitted to the connecting portion between the front end curved portion and the roof side rail. Stress concentration can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, the rear end of the reinforcing panel is joined together with the joint between the fender inner and the fender outer of the fender panel to form a closed section with the rail inner, the rail outer and the fender inner. Therefore, a sufficient reinforcing effect can be obtained.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an automobile C employing the upper body structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This automobile C has a luggage compartment behind a driver's cab provided with a driver's seat (not shown). It has a formed structure. A door D that opens and closes the door opening 1 (see FIG. 1) is provided on the side of the driver's seat. Further, the roof R is formed with a roof front portion RF constituting a driver's cab and a roof rear portion RR constituting a luggage compartment. Further, a front end portion of the roof rear portion RR is inclined forward and downward. An upright wall RT is formed.
In addition, as shown in the figure, the upright wall RT is disposed slightly behind the door D and the door opening 1.

That is, the roof front part RF is formed by the front roof panel 3. On the other hand, the upright wall RT and the roof rear part RR are formed by a rear roof panel 4, and a front edge of the rear roof panel 4 and a rear edge of the front roof panel 3 are joined.

On the left and right sides of the rear roof panel 3, fender panels 5 forming side panels SP of the luggage compartment are provided, that is, both left and right edges of the rear roof panel 4 and an upper edge of the fender panel 5 are provided. Are joined.

The fender panel 5 is formed in a closed cross-sectional structure by a fender inner 51 and a fender outer 52 (see FIG. 4), and a window W2 and a window W3 are formed above and below.

The door D is mounted so as to be inclined toward the center of the vehicle as it goes upward, whereas the side panel SP is erected almost vertically, that is, The portion below the window W1 and the portion below the window W3 of the side panel SP form substantially the same plane, but the positions of the window W1 and the windows W2 and W3 are different in the vehicle width direction. The front windows of the fender panel 5 are formed with a front end curved portion 5a which is curved so as to be closer to the center of the vehicle body and lower toward the front side. (See FIG. 4). In the drawing, reference numeral 2 denotes a drip, which extends straight from the upper edge of the door D to the rear through right and left ends of the upright wall RT and the roof rear portion RR.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line S3-S3 of FIG. 2 showing a main part of the structure of the first embodiment. In the drawing, reference numeral 6 denotes a roof side rail. The roof side rail 6 extends in the front-rear direction at both left and right ends of the roof front part RF, and is formed in a closed cross-sectional structure by a rail inner 61 and a rail outer 62. As shown, the drip 2 is formed on the edge of the front roof panel 3 along the roof side rail 6.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line S4-S4 of FIG. 2 showing a main part of the structure of the first embodiment, wherein the rear end of the roof side rail 6 is a front end of the fender panel 5. It is connected to the front end of the curved portion 5a. That is, at the rear end of the rail outer 62, a flange 62a is formed by being bent outwardly of the vehicle. The flange 62a, the flange 52a formed at the front end of the fender outer 52, and the rear end of the front roof panel 3 The formed flange 3a is joined in three layers.

On the other hand, the rail inner 61 also has a flange 61a bent outwardly of the vehicle. The flange 61a, the flange 51a formed at the front end of the fender inner 51, and a rain hose side rail (FIG. 1) 7) are joined in three layers.

The fender inner 51 and the fender outer 52 have flanges 51b and 52b formed by bending each of them at the periphery of the window W2 and the window W3 (FIG. 4 shows a portion of the window W2). Only shown).

At the joint of the flanges 51b and 52b, a triple-layer joint is formed between the flanges 51b and 52b with the rear end of the lane force panel (reinforcement panel) 8 interposed therebetween. The front end of the reinforcement panel 8 is joined to the rear end of the rail outer 62, and the rail inner 61, the rail outer 62, and the fender inner 51 form a closed section (H) by the reinforcement panel 8. I have.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part showing the structure of the first embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a front roof panel 3, a rear roof panel 4, and a fender outer 52 have been removed. The reinforce panel 8 is formed in a shape as shown in the figure, and a joining piece 8a is bent at the front end, and the joining piece 8a is joined to the inner surface of the rail outer 62. Further, the rear end of the reinforcement panel 8 is cut out so that the upper and lower corners match the shapes of the windows W2 and W3, and the upper and lower sides are joined to the flange 51b. The mark * in the drawing indicates the spot welding point of the reinforcement 8. A channel-shaped reinforce 81 is set on the back surface of the reinforce panel 8 to increase the rigidity of the reinforce panel 8 itself.

A channel-shaped roof rail 9 extends in the vehicle width direction in the vehicle width direction from the joint between the roof side rail 6 and the front end curved portion 5a. And
A reinforcement rear rail 10 for connecting the roof rail 9 and the roof side rail 6 is provided, and the reinforcement side rail 7 for connecting the roof rail 9 and the fender panel 5 is provided. The reinforcement 7 is disposed on the vehicle side of the fender inner 51 and the roof rail 9, and
And the joint strength between the roof rail 9 and the roof rail 9 are concealed, and the appearance is improved. This is a particularly effective means when an interior trim or the like is not provided according to specifications. In addition, about the joining structure of this part,
See FIG. 5, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line S5-S5 in FIG.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

When the inertial force of the luggage loaded in the luggage compartment when the vehicle is running acts on the fender panel 5 of the luggage compartment in the front-rear direction, or at the time of a vehicle collision, the inertia force of the luggage or the impact of the collision is reduced by the fender. Panel 5 or roof side rail 6
, The input is transmitted from the front end curved portion 5a of the fender panel 5 to the roof side rail 6 or, conversely, the input is transmitted from the roof side rail 6 to the front end curved portion 5a of the fender panel 5. Such input transmission is performed between the rear end of the roof side rail 6 and the joint between the fender inner 51 and the flanges 51b, 52b of the fender outer 52 via the reinforcement panel 8, and the shape change is performed. Stress concentration hardly occurs at the front end curved portion 5a of the large fender panel 5.

Further, even when there is an input that causes a twist near the front end curved portion 5a, the reinforcement panel 8, the rail inner 61, the rail outer 62,
Since the rigidity is ensured because the closed cross section H is formed by the fender inner 51, the transmission is transmitted from the roof side rail 6 and the fender panel 5 to the roof rail 9 via the reinforcement rear rail 10 and the reinforcement side rail 7. Similarly, stress concentration hardly occurs in the front end curved portion 5a itself.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the effect that the rigidity of the joint between the roof side rail 6 and the front end curved portion 5a can be sufficiently improved by the reinforcement panel 8 is obtained. In the embodiment, the front-rear direction in a vehicle body structure having a peculiar shape having a peculiar shape front end curved part 5a curved downward and toward the inside of the vehicle body toward the roof side rail 6 and disadvantageously rigid. The rigidity is improved by setting only one reinforcement panel 8.

Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that it is very reasonable and is excellent in the number of parts, weight, cost and manufacturing labor.

In addition, in the first embodiment, since the reinforcement panel 8 itself is not a molding having a large change in shape, the formation of the reinforcement panel 8 is easy, and thus the cost and the manufacturing labor are not required.

Further, in the first embodiment, since the spot welding point when joining the reinforcement panel 8 is not exposed to the outside of the vehicle, the finish is good.

Next, an upper vehicle body structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In describing the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the front end curved portion 5a is formed by one reinforce panel 11 as in the first embodiment.
Is improved in the front-rear direction and torsional rigidity in the vicinity of, and the left and right ends of the standing wall RT are also reinforced at the same time. That is, the reinforcement panel 11 is formed in a shape having five arms as shown in the figure, and each of them has a rail outer 62, a roof rail 9, an upper part of the fender panel 5, a window W2 and a window W3 of the fender panel 5. Are joined to a flange 51b (52b) which forms the periphery of.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section taken along line S7-S7 of FIG. 6, and as shown in this figure, the reinforcement panel 11 is provided at the joint portion between the fender inner 51 and the fender outer 52. It is joined between.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the first
The reinforce side rails 7 and the reinforce rear rails 10 of the embodiment are eliminated, which is advantageous in terms of the number of parts, cost, and labor for manufacturing. In the second embodiment, the number of the reinforcement panels 11 is one, but the shape is determined by the shapes or positions of the rail outer 62, the roof rail 9, the fender panel 5, and the windows W2, W3. If the molding is difficult, it may be appropriately divided.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment. Although an example is shown in which it is formed so as to increase upward and expand in the vehicle width direction, it may be formed so as to expand only in the vehicle width direction.

[0041]

As described above, in the upper body structure of the automobile according to the present invention, the reinforcing panel is provided at the joint between the rear end of the roof side rail and the front end of the front end curved portion of the fender panel. While being joined to the rail outer, the rear end is joined together between the fender outer and the flange of the fender inner at the front edge of the window to form a rail inner, and a closed section formed by the rail outer and the fender inner. With this configuration, a sufficient reinforcing effect is obtained at the joint between the roof side rail having a peculiar shape and the curved portion of the fender panel, and the rigidity of the joint having a large shape change can be improved. At the same time, since such a reinforcing effect can be obtained without forming a node or the like by one reinforcing panel and without particularly changing the shape of the fender panel, it is very reasonable,
The effect of being excellent in the number of parts, weight, cost, and manufacturing labor is obtained. In addition, since the reinforce panel is joined to the roof side rail that is not exposed to the outside inside the roof and to the joint between the fender inner and the fender outer, welding marks are not exposed to the outside and the finish is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an upper body structure of an automobile according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an automobile to which the structure of the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (S3-S3 in FIG. 2) showing a main part of the structure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view (S4-S4 in FIG. 2) showing a main part of the structure of the first embodiment.

5 is a cross-sectional view (S5-S5 in FIG. 2) showing a main part of the structure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of an upper body structure of an automobile according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a main part of the structure of the second embodiment (S7 in FIG. 6);
-S7).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 5 fender panel 5a front end curved portion 51 fender inner 52 fender outer 51b flange 52b flange 6 roof side rail 61 rail inner 62 rail outer 8 reinforcement panel (reinforcement panel) 11 reinforcement panel (reinforcement panel) SP side panel (side wall) W2 window W3 Window H Closed cross section

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A side wall of a rear part of a vehicle compartment, wherein a vehicle width dimension of at least an upper part of a vehicle front part is formed smaller than a vehicle width dimension of a vehicle rear part, and is formed in a closed cross section by a fender outer and a fender inner. A front end curved portion is formed at least at an upper portion of a front end portion of the fender panel, the front end curved portion being curved so as to be disposed closer to the center of the vehicle body toward the front side in accordance with a difference in the vehicle width direction from the front portion of the vehicle body. A window is opened behind the front end curved portion, and at the edge of the window, the fender outer and the fender inner are joined by welding bent flanges formed respectively, and The roof side rails, which extend in the front-rear direction along the left and right ends of the roof and are formed in a closed cross section by the rail inner and the rail outer, are used when the rail inner and the fender inner are joined. In the upper body structure of an automobile in which the rail outer and the fender outer are joined to each other and connected to the front curved portion, reinforcement is provided at a joint between the rear end of the roof side rail and the front end of the front curved portion of the fender panel. The panel has a front end joined to the rail outer, while a rear end joined together between the fender outer and the fender inner flange at the front edge of the window to form a roof inner rail and a rail outer. An upper body structure of an automobile, wherein the upper body structure is provided so as to form a closed cross section with a fender inner.