JP3567772B2 - Unequal thickness center pillar members - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an unequal-thickness center pillar member used to partition a vehicle entrance into a front side and a rear side.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In automobiles, panel parts called side panels are used, which are formed by molding the outer panel part of each part of the vehicle body side such as the roof side rail outer part, front pillar outer part, center pillar outer part and side sill outer part from a single panel, Assembling the body has been done.
[0003]
By the way, since the center pillar is disposed at the center of the entrance opening to the vehicle compartment, it is required to have a strength for protecting the vehicle compartment from a collision force applied from the outside, particularly for ensuring safety.
[0004]
However, since the side panel is a panel structure in which each part (outer panel part) is formed by press-forming a metal panel having the same thickness, it is difficult to increase the strength of only the center pillar outer part. It is difficult to secure the strength.
[0005]
Therefore, in the side panel, a center pillar reinforcement having substantially the same shape as the shape of the center pillar outer portion is fitted inside the pillar portion of the center pillar outer portion having a hat-shaped cross section along the inner surface of the pillar portion. Attachment is performed by welding, and only the strength of the center pillar outer portion is reinforced to improve collision safety.
[0006]
Conventionally, for such a center pillar reinforce, a panel member formed by pressing a metal panel having a predetermined thickness determined by selecting a portion requiring the most strength and forming a shape to be combined with the center pillar outer portion is used. Specifically, the center pillar reinforcement has a T-shaped roof-side connection portion that can be joined to the roof side at the upper end so that it has the same shape as the center pillar outer portion, and a side sill at the lower end. It has a connectable inverted T-shaped side sill side connection part, and has a hat-shaped cross section that bends into the vehicle interior from the middle to the roof side connection between these two parts. A panel structure having a striker recess formed by recessing one side wall of the pillar into the pillar is adopted. The pillar is inserted into the center pillar outer part and is fixed to the inner surface of the outer part by welding, so that the entire center pillar outer from the roof side connection part to the side sill side connection part is reinforced. Perform
[0007]
By the way, as is well known, the outer shape of the center pillar outer portion on the roof side is narrow to secure the area of the door window as much as possible, and the outer shape on the side sill side is for storing the retractor of the seat belt device. The center pillar reinforcement has a thin T-shaped profile on the roof side and a thick inverted T-shaped profile on the side sill side so that it fits inside the center pillar outer part. It is.
[0008]
However, when the center pillar outer part with the same thickness is combined with the center pillar outer part where the section modulus on the upper side is low and the section coefficient on the lower side is large, the upper part of the center pillar outer part is reinforced to the desired strength. However, in the lower part of the center pillar outer part, the difference in the section modulus between the upper part and the lower part of the outer part is excessively reinforced.
[0009]
For this reason, the weight of the reinforced center pillar outer portion tends to be excessive, and the body weight of the automobile may be unnecessarily increased.
[0010]
Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-60873 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-218540, a blank member in which ends of sheet materials having different thicknesses are joined by continuous continuous welding (mash seam welding). Using the technology of press forming the blank member, the thickness of the upper side with the roof side connection part with a low section modulus is increased, and the lower side thickness with the side sill side connection part with a high section coefficient is increased. Forming a thinned unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement (corresponding to a center pillar member) and combining the unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement with the center pillar outer part ensures that the desired strength is obtained in the entire outer part. It can be considered.
[0011]
The use of the center pillar reinforce formed from a blank member in which plate members having different thicknesses are joined has the advantages of not only reducing the weight but also improving the material yield (material removal).
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the portion where the plate material is welded is likely to extend in the horizontal direction along the joining line, but is unlikely to extend in a direction perpendicular to the joining line, that is, in the vertical direction.
[0013]
However, the center pillar reinforce, which is press-formed from a blank member, is formed not only by extending laterally from the panel like a hat-shaped cross section, but also by extending vertically such as a pillar portion bent into the vehicle interior. There are many parts.
[0014]
For this reason, if a center pillar reinforce formed by a blank member is adopted, there is a possibility that a crack may be generated in a welded portion after forming due to vertical elongation in press forming, and a center pillar excellent in reliability and quality is obtained. Reinforce may not be obtained.
[0015]
This is the same for the center pillar outer panel component formed only of the center pillar outer.
[0016]
The technique of forming the center pillar member from such a blank member is excellent in the weight and cost as described above, and therefore, it is desired to eliminate the distortion of the welded portion in order to take advantage of the advantages.
[0017]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high-quality member that does not leave distortion in a welded portion, and cannot secure an effective pillar strength corresponding to the roof side and the side sill side. An object of the present invention is to provide an equal thickness center pillar member.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the unequal thickness center pillar member according to claim 1 is characterized in that a welding line of a blank member formed by welding ends of plate members having different thicknesses is welded to the center pillar member. While forming the pillar of the main body part, it is a pillar part with a striker recess with a uniform cross section, and passes through the bottom of the recess, avoiding the mounting position where the striker that acts with high load is attached The structure is set at a position crossing the column.
[0019]
As a result, an unequal thickness center pillar member in which cracks are less likely to occur in the welded portion is obtained. In addition, a thick plate is placed on the roof side where strength is required, and a thin plate is placed on the side seal side where low strength is required. An effective pillar strength can be obtained by using the member.
[0020]
According to the unequal thickness center pillar member described in claim 2, in addition to the above object, the welding joint line is formed by the striker recess so that the vertical flow (elongation) of the material that causes distortion is suppressed. By setting the position to pass near the lower corner portion and cross the column portion, a higher quality unequal thickness center pillar member can be obtained.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on one embodiment shown in FIGS.
[0022]
1 indicates a part of a body structure of a passenger car (automobile), for example, a side panel. In the side panel 1, for example, an outer panel portion such as a front pillar outer portion 2, a roof side outer portion 3, a center pillar outer portion 4, a side sill outer portion 5, and the like are formed from a single (same thickness) panel.
[0023]
The center pillar outer portion 4 that defines the center of the entrance 6 is narrow at the upper end on the roof side to secure a door window area, and the lower end on the side sill side stores a retractor (not shown) of the seat belt device. It is formed from a pillar 4a having a hat-shaped cross section. Among the side walls of the column 4 facing each other, a concave portion 7 is formed on the middle side wall 4b on the front side (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) so as to be depressed inwardly of the column. The column portion 4c narrowed by the concave portion 7 is a portion extending straight in the vertical direction without any change in the cross-sectional area, and a latch (not shown) mounted on the front door on the bottom surface of the concave portion 7 ) Is attached.
[0024]
On the other hand, reference numeral 10 denotes an uneven thickness center pillar reinforcement (corresponding to an uneven thickness center pillar member) for reinforcing the center pillar outer portion 4.
[0025]
In the main body 10a of the center pillar reinforce 10, the ends of two plates 11, 12 (corresponding to the first plate and the second plate) having different thicknesses as shown in FIG. A technique is used in which a blank member 14 joined in a laterally continuous manner by welding is prepared and press-formed to form a panel structure having the same shape as the center pillar outer portion 4.
[0026]
More specifically, the blank member 14 is made of a T-shaped plate member 11 (for example, having a plate thickness t1 of 1.2 mm), which is made of material according to the pillar shape from the center of the center pillar outer portion 4 to the upper end on the roof side. ) Is disposed on the upper side, and a thin T-shaped inverted-T-shaped plate material 12 (for example, a plate thickness t2 of 0.9 mm) is taken out according to the pillar shape from the center of the center pillar outer portion 4 to the lower end on the side sill side. ) Is arranged on the lower side, and the lower end of the plate 11 and the upper end of the plate 12 are joined by mash seam welding (t1> t2). Then, the blank member 14 is subjected to press forming to form an unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement 10 that can be fitted into the center pillar outer portion 4. More specifically, the unequal thickness center pillar reinforce 10 has a small-diameter T-shaped roof side connection portion 16 (corresponding to a first connection portion) that can be joined to the roof side at the upper end, and a side sill at the lower end. has a side-sill-side connecting portion 17 inverted T-shaped of connectable large diameter (corresponding to the second connecting portion) and the roof side from the middle connecting the connection unit 1 6,17 between these connecting portions 16 and 17 It has a pillar portion 18 having a hat-shaped cross section that bends into the vehicle interior toward the connecting portion 16, and a part of the front side wall 18 a is recessed into the pillar portion in the middle of the pillar portion 18, following the recess portion 7. It is formed to have a striker recessed portion 19.
[0027]
Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pillar portion 18 is inserted through the opening of the center pillar outer portion 4. In addition, the flanges 4c and 18b at the opening edges of the overlapping columns 4a and column 18 are welded to each other.
[0028]
As a result, the center pillar reinforcement 10 is fixed to the entire inner surface of the center pillar outer portion 4, and the roof side X of the center pillar outer portion 4 having a low section modulus is reinforced by a thick portion, and the center pillar having a high section modulus is strengthened. The side sill side Y of the outer portion 5 is reinforced by a thin portion, and the entire center pillar outer portion 5 from the roof side to the side sill side is reinforced so as to have a desired strength.
[0029]
At this time, the welding joint line 13 formed by the plate material 11 and the plate material 12 of the unequal thickness center pillar reinforce 10, that is, the welded portion passes through the bottom surface 19 a of the striker recess 19 as shown in FIG. 1. It is formed in the position. That is, the joining line 13 of the blank member 14 is positioned at a position such that it passes through the bottom surface avoiding the mounting position where the striker 8 acting with a high load is attached and crosses the pillar portion 18c narrowed by the striker recess 19. More specifically, the joining line 13 is formed at a position passing through the vicinity of the lower corner portion 19b (R end) formed by the striker recess 19 and crossing the column portion 18c.
[0030]
Here, the middle pillar portion 18c in which the striker recess 19 is formed has a small change in the cross-sectional shape in the vertical direction, that is, when press forming is performed, the material expands in the horizontal direction, but the material expands in the horizontal direction. Since a hat-shaped section having a constant cross-section that does not require material elongation is formed, the joining line 13 is defined at a position passing through the bottom surface 19a of the striker recess 19 and crossing the column portion 18c. In addition, cracks due to press forming are less likely to occur in the welded portion (joining line 13).
[0031]
Therefore, not only can an effective pillar strength corresponding to the roof side and the side sill side be obtained, but also an uneven thickness center pillar reinforce 10 excellent in reliability and quality in which cracks in a welded portion are suppressed can be provided. In particular, by setting the joining line 13 so as to pass near the lower corner portion 19b, the vertical flow (elongation) of the material causing distortion at the same corner portion is suppressed. The center pillar reinforce 10 of high quality having a low elongation and a high quality that does not easily generate cracks can be provided.
[0032]
In addition, since the same effect can be obtained only by setting the joining line 13 without requiring a separate structure, the effect is simple and the cost does not increase.
[0033]
In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the center pillar reinforcement. However, the unequal thickness structure of the present invention may be applied to a center pillar outer panel component in which only the center pillar outer portion is formed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the unequal thickness center pillar member has a thick plate material disposed on the roof side and a thin plate material disposed on the side seal side. Since the joint line for welding the plate material is set at the point where there is a striker recess with a constant cross section that avoids the striker mounting position where a high load acts, reliability and quality that prevent cracks from occurring in the welded part are excellent. With the members, an effective pillar strength corresponding to the roof side and the side sill side can be secured.
[0035]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, the corners of the striker recess suppress the vertical flow of the material that causes distortion, so that the vertical expansion is small, and the cracks are reduced. This is advantageous in that an unequal thickness center pillar member which is less likely to be generated and which is more excellent in quality can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an unequal thickness center pillar reinforce according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with a structure in which the reinforce is incorporated into a center pillar outer part.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement along the line AA in FIG. 1 is being assembled into a center pillar outer portion.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement is incorporated into a center pillar outer part.
[Explanation of symbols]
4 center pillar outer part 8 striker 10 unequal thickness center pillar reinforcement (unequal thickness center pillar member)
11: Plate material (first plate material)
12 ... plate material (second plate material)
13 ... joining line (welded part)
14 blank member 16 roof connection part (first connection part)
17 ... side sill side connection part (second connection part)
18 ... pillar part 19 ... concave part 19a for striker ... bottom face 19b ... lower corner.

Claims (2)

Press forming is performed on a blank member formed by joining the ends of a first plate member disposed on the upper side and a second plate member having a smaller thickness than the first plate member disposed on the lower side by continuous welding. been, has a first connecting portion capable of bonding with the roof side to the upper part, and the bar portion of the cross-sectional hat-shaped to have a second connecting portion capable of joining the side sill to the lower end,
A striker recess formed on one of the opposed side walls in the middle of the pillar portion, wherein the wall portion is recessed into the pillar portion;
Unequal to said joining line of the weld, characterized in that the striker has to Ru through the bottom surface of the striker for recess avoiding the attachment rather attachment position cross section is formed at a position across a certain pillar portion Thick center pillar member. The unequal thickness center pillar according to claim 1, wherein the welding joint line is formed at a position passing near a lower corner portion forming the striker recess and crossing the pillar portion. Element.

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