JP3473729B2 - Body frame manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a body frame manufacturing technique. 2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional body frame of a four-wheeled vehicle.
1. Central ceiling cross member 102, rear ceiling cross member 103, front pillars 104, 104, center pillars 105, 105, rear pillars 106, 106, top longitudinal members 107, 107, bottom longitudinal members 108, 1.
The main frame members such as 08 and the intermediate members 109 and 109 are formed by punching a metal flat plate and press-bending the same. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a body frame of a conventional four-wheeled vehicle, and shows a front / center / rear ceiling cross member 101,1.
02, 103; front pillars 104, 104; center pillars 105, 105; rear pillars 106, 106; top longitudinal members 107, 107;
The main body members, such as 8, 108 and the intermediate members 109, 109, are joined by a method such as spot welding to manufacture the body frame 100. [0004] Conventionally, a metal flat plate is punched, so that scraps are generated and the yield is low. In addition, the number of components (members) is large in order to form a skeleton by combining members 101 to 109 based on a straight line. For this reason, manufacturing costs including drawings related to manufacturing, setup man-hours, man-hours for manufacturing members, tentative assembly man-hours, welding man-hours, and the like increase. [0005] The present inventors have continued research on reviewing the above-mentioned general frame manufacturing method, and have noticed that the vehicle body frame is a composite of hoops (frame bodies). Was. Thus, the following invention has been made. A first aspect of the present invention is a round pipe made of an aluminum alloy.
Using (41) as a material, this round pipe (41) is used as a product
A step of bending so as to be substantially the same contour as Jo, bent path
Forming a full <br/>-loop (45) of the annular member by joining the ends with each other type (41), the hoop (45)
Attaching a pressure pipe (43) and a hoop (4
5) into the cavity (19) of the blow mold (10)
Step of placing and blow mold (10) into heating furnace
(20), and in the heating furnace (20), the hoop (4)
5) heating to a temperature above its softening point and below its melting point
And the hoop (45) through the pressure pipe (43)
The pressurized fluid is fed into the inside, and the outer peripheral surface of
Hoop (4 ) until specified on the outer circumference of the tee (19)
5) Step of blow molding and frame obtained by blow molding
(51) and the frame (52) and abutting step, said abutment
Joining the parts by welding , the body frame (5
The method is characterized in that all or a part of 0) is manufactured. Since a hoop made from a round pipe is used as a base, almost no scrap is generated at the time of material removal, and the yield is extremely improved. One hoop or frame is the same as a conventional combination of about four linear members, and furthermore, by combining such a hoop or frame, the number of required members is greatly reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost including the drawings related to the manufacturing, the setup man-hours, the man-hours for manufacturing the members, the tentative assembly man-hours, and the welding man-hours. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The material is a "round pipe", and the round pipe is bent (with draw and press if necessary) to form a ring. The member is referred to as a "hoop", the molded product obtained by warm blowing the hoop is referred to as a "frame", and the combination of a plurality of the frames is referred to as a "body frame". In addition, the frame body which comprises a vehicle body frame is demonstrated taking the door mounting frame of a vehicle as an example. FIG. 1 is an external view of a door frame of a vehicle manufactured by the method of the present invention. The door mounting frame 1 includes an upper frame portion 2, a front inclined frame portion 3, a front vertical frame portion 4, a lower frame portion 5, and a rear inclined frame. It is a hollow annular body composed of a portion 6 and a rear vertical frame portion 7. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1. The front inclined frame portion 3 has a vehicle interior side surface 3a and a rear surface 3b formed as straight surfaces, and has stepped portions 3e and 3f on a vehicle outer surface 3c and a front surface 3d. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and the lower frame 5 has a vertically long rectangular cross section.
Steps 5c and 5d are provided at the front of the vehicle body a and at the rear of the vehicle outer surface 5b. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1. The rear inclined frame 6 has tapered surfaces 6a and 6b and a step 6c. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.
And stepped portions 7c and 7d at the front of the vehicle outer surface 7b. Thus, the cross-sectional shape of the door mounting frame 1 differs from part to part. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a blow mold according to the present invention. The blow mold 10 is a lower mold 1 as a fixed mold.
1 and an upper mold 12 as a movable mold. The lower mold 11 has a groove 13 and rocket pins 14 and 14, the upper mold 12 has a groove 15, pin receiving holes 16, 16 and a blow pipe insertion hole 17, The upper mold 12 is superimposed on the lower mold 11 and the groove 13 and the groove 15 are combined to form a cavity as a molding space for blow molding. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cavity of the blow mold, which is for obtaining the cross section of FIG. 2 described above. The groove 15 of the upper mold 12 is superimposed on the groove 13 of the lower mold 11. The necessary cavity 19 is formed by setting the placing die 18 as needed. The contour of the cavity 19 matches the outer peripheral surface of the cross section of FIG. Cavities 19 for each location
Are different, but the description is omitted. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the principle of the blow equipment and the heating equipment according to the present invention.
And heaters 23, 23 attached to the furnace wall,
4 are provided with piers 25, 25, 25 and a temperature sensor 26 (for example, a thermocouple), a temperature signal of the temperature sensor 26 is received by a furnace temperature control unit 27, and the furnace temperature control unit 27 is controlled to a predetermined value. To control the temperature. Reference numeral 28 denotes a power supply control unit. The heating temperature is 480-550 ° C. The blow facility 30 includes a compressor 31, a pressure regulating valve 32, a heat-resistant flexible tube 33, and the like, and supplies compressed air to the mold 10. In this embodiment, the pressurized medium is air, but if oxidation is not desired, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is used, and the compressor 31 is changed to a gas cylinder. A method of manufacturing the door mounting frame 1 using the above-described equipment will be described below. FIG. 9 (a)-
(D) is a manufacturing process diagram (first half) of the door attachment frame according to the present invention. In (a), a predetermined length of aluminum alloy round pipe 41 is cut out from a fixed-length Al-Mg-based aluminum alloy round pipe. In (b), vendor 4
Bending at 2 (C) shows a step of turning the round pipe 41 into an elliptical cross-section pipe by pressing, and (d) shows a step of reducing the diameter of the round pipe 41 by drawing, and these steps are added as necessary. FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are views (middle stage) of manufacturing steps of the door mounting frame according to the present invention. (A) shows a state in which both ends of a bent pipe are joined by welding, and a pressure pipe 43 is attached. 44 is a bead.
The obtained hoop 45 has substantially the same contour as the product shape. 8 (b), the hoop 45 is placed in the cavity 19 of the blow molding die 10, and the heating furnace 20 shown in FIG.
At temperatures above the softening point (below the melting point) (480-550)
(A temperature selected from the range of ° C.) and then blown by sending a pressurized fluid. FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (f) are manufacturing process diagrams (late stage) of the door mounting frame according to the present invention. In (a), the hoop 45A formed into an oval shape in the cavity 19 of the mold.
And warm blow molded. (B) shows a molded product W1 (part of the door mounting frame 1) after blow molding,
The outer peripheral surface of the molded product W1 is defined by the outer peripheral surface of the cavity 19 of the mold. Thus, the cross section shown in FIG. 2 can be formed. In (c), the hoop 45B is housed in the cavity 19 of the mold, and is subjected to warm blow molding.
(D) shows a molded product W2 after blow molding, and the cross section shown in FIG. 5 can be molded. In (e), the hoop 45C is housed in the cavity 19 of the mold, and is warm blow-molded. (F) shows a molded product W3 after blow molding, and the cross section shown in FIG. 3 can be molded. As described above, when the aluminum alloy round pipe cannot be stored in the cavity as it is, the aluminum alloy round pipe is made elliptical or reduced in diameter. 2 to 5 by the above warm blow molding.
The door mounting frame 1 shown in FIG. The order of the processing steps described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9D can be changed. For example, (a) → (c) and / or
Or (d) → (b). Or, FIG.
(A) → (b) → FIG. 10 (a) → FIG. 9 (c), (d). Next, a description will be given of a technique for manufacturing a vehicle body frame by combining the above-mentioned frame (door mounting frame 1). A method of manufacturing the vehicle body frame for a four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the four-wheeled vehicle body frame according to the present invention.
Door frames 51, 51, rear upper frames 52, 52, rear lower frames 53, 53, a ceiling frame 54, a front window frame 55, a front bonnet frame 56, and a rear door (not shown) It consists of a frame. The chassis 57 (side members 58, 58, cross members 59, 6)
1, 62, 63, and sub-members 64, 64, etc.) should also be included in the body frame, but will not be described in this embodiment. The door mounting frame 1 manufactured by the method described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 corresponds to the door frame 51.
The other frames 52 to 56 are also manufactured from aluminum alloy round pipes in the same manner. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a method of joining frames according to the present invention. For example, a door frame 51 and a rear lower frame 5 are shown.
3 and the both ends of the contact portion are welded by a laser torch 67. Since the bead 68 is continuous in the front and back direction of the drawing,
The bonding strength is large enough. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a four-wheeled vehicle body frame according to the present invention, which includes door frames 51, 51, upper rear frames 52, 52, lower rear frames 53, 53, and a ceiling frame. The vehicle body frame 50 is formed by mutually connecting a body 54, a front window frame 55, and a front bonnet frame 56 by welding. FIGS. 15 (a) and 15 (b) are views showing another embodiment of the four-wheel body frame according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15 (a), large side frames 81, 81 are shown in FIGS. It is manufactured by blow molding the aluminum alloy round pipe described in 11 above. In addition, the front ceiling cross member 8
2. Central ceiling cross member 83, rear ceiling cross member 8
4. Prepare center pillars 85, 85, sub-members 86, 86 and tail members 87, 87. These members 82 to 84, 86, 87 and the center pillar 85 may be formed by bending an aluminum alloy round pipe material or a conventional pressed product. (B) shows the frame 81,
The body frame 8 completed by combining and welding the members 82 to 84, 86, 87 and the center pillar 85
Indicates 0. In this example, a hoop-based frame is used as a part of the vehicle body frame 80. FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b) are views showing still another embodiment of the four-wheel body frame according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. It is manufactured by including a tail pipe in the shape of a letter. Such a side frame body 91 has a large hoop as shown in FIGS.
It is manufactured by the blow molding method described with reference to FIG. 11, and is manufactured by cutting one portion of the obtained molded body and re-bending it into a “-” shape. Alternatively, the molded body manufactured by the blow molding method is appropriately divided into "half hoops", and these half hoops are joined together, or one part of the molded body manufactured by the blow molding method is cut, and one end thereof is cut off. A tail pipe may be joined to the fin. In short, the side frame 91
The method of the present invention may be employed in the process of producing Separately, a front ceiling cross member 92, a center ceiling cross member 93, a rear ceiling cross member 94, center pillars 95 and 95, and sub members 96 and 96 are prepared.
(B) shows the vehicle body frame 90 completed by combining and welding the frame body 91, the members 92 to 94 and 96, and the center pillar 95. Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, a method of manufacturing a motorcycle body frame according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 17 is an exploded view of a motorcycle body frame according to the present invention. The motorcycle body frame 70 includes a main pipe frame 72 extending rearward from a head pipe 71 and a head pipe 71 similarly. Down tube frames 73, 73 extending rearward, a bottom tube frame 74 for connecting the lower ends of the down tube frames 73, 73, and a seat rail frame extending rearward from the main pipe frame 72. 75 and a sub-tube frame body 76. Except for the head pipe 71,
The frame bodies 72 to 76 are manufactured by blow molding the aluminum alloy round pipe described in FIGS. 9 to 11. And these frames 72-7
6 are connected to each other by the laser welding method. FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a motorcycle body frame according to the present invention, showing a completed appearance of the body frame 70 after welding. The motorcycle body frame 70 extends rearward from the head pipe 71. A main pipe frame 72 to be output;
Similarly, the down tube frames 73, 73 extending rearward from the head pipe 71, and the down tube frames 7
A bottom tube frame 74 for connecting the lower ends of 3, 73;
It comprises a seat rail frame 75 extending rearward from the main pipe frame 72, and sub-tube frames 76,76. It is preferable that all the main parts of the vehicle body frame are formed by a frame manufactured by a blow molding method according to the method of the present invention. For example, the sub pipe frames 76, 76 in FIG. The shape of the sub-pipe may be changed, and the point is that at least a part of the vehicle body frame may be manufactured by the frame manufactured by the method of the present invention. According to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited by the above configuration. Claim 1 uses a round pipe made of aluminum alloy as a material, forms the hoop by bending the round pipe three-dimensionally, warm blow-molds the hoop to produce a frame, and combines the frame. Thus, the whole or a part of the body frame is manufactured, and since the hoop is made of a round pipe, almost no scrap is generated at the time of material removal, and the yield is extremely improved. 1
The number of required members is greatly reduced by combining such a hoop or frame with the same number of hoops or frames as those obtained by combining approximately four conventional linear members. As a result, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost including the drawings related to manufacturing, the setup man-hours, the man-hours for manufacturing the members, the tentative assembly man-hours, the welding man-hours, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an external view of a door frame of a vehicle manufactured by the method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1 FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a blow molding mold according to the present invention FIG. FIG. 8 is a principle view of the blow equipment and heating equipment according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a manufacturing process diagram of the door mounting frame according to the present invention (first half). FIG. 10 is the door mounting frame according to the present invention. Manufacturing process diagram (middle stage) FIG. 11 Manufacturing process diagram of door mounting frame according to the present invention (late stage) FIG. 12 Exploded view of four-wheeled vehicle body frame according to the present invention FIG. 13 Frame according to the present invention FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a body frame for a four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a body frame for a four-wheeled vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 16 is an exploded view of a four-wheeled vehicle body frame according to the present invention. FIG. 17 is an exploded view of a two-wheeled vehicle body frame according to the present invention. FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional four-wheeled vehicle body frame. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a conventional four-wheeled vehicle body frame. , 19 ... cavity, 20 ... heating furnace, 30 ... blow equipment, 41 ... aluminum alloy round pipe, 42 ... bender, 45, 45A, 45B, 45C ...
Hoop, 50, 70, 80, 90 ... body frame, 51
~ 56, 72 ~ 76, 81, 91 ... frame.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-219321 (JP, A) JP-A-59-176165 (JP, A) JP-A-2-93275 (JP, A) JP-A-6-71364 (JP) , A) JP-A-2-108674 (JP, U) JP-A-7-22888 (JP, U) JP-A-6-18674 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) B62D 25/00 B21D 26/02 B62D 65/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] A round pipe (41) made of an aluminum alloy is used as a raw material, and the round pipe (41) has almost the same shape as a product.
Flip a step of bending so that the contour, and the annular member are joined at both ends to each other bend pipe (41)
Attached forming a hoop (45) of, and the pressure pipe (43) to the hoop (45)
Process and cavity of blow mold (10) with hoop (45)
(19) and the blow molding die (10) is placed in a heating furnace (20),
In the heating furnace (20), the hoop (45) is softened.
A step of warming to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point and lower than the melting point;
Pressurized fluid is sent, and the outer peripheral surface of the hoop (45) is cavity
Until the outer peripheral surface of (19) is defined, the step of blow molding the hoop (45), and the frame (51) and the frame (52) obtained by blow molding are brought into contact with each other.
And manufacturing the whole or a part of the vehicle body frame (50) by the step of performing welding and the step of joining the contact portions by welding .