JP4479243B2 - Front pillar reinforcement structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a reinforcing structure for a front pillar that is applied to a front pillar upper that constitutes the upper end side of the front pillar and that has a cross-section perpendicular to the axis when cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the member. About.

  Generally, a vehicle includes a number of vehicle structural members. The front pillar upper will be described as an example. The front pillar upper is composed of a pillar upper outer panel and a pillar upper inner panel, and has a closed cross-sectional structure by welding both terminal flange portions. Further, normally, a pillar reinforcement is disposed between the pillar upper outer panel and the pillar upper inner panel, and further cross-sectional reinforcement is made.

As a prior art of this type of vehicle structural member, in particular, a front pillar upper reinforcement example, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. In the prior art disclosed in this Patent Document 1, the resistance against the bending moment is increased by setting thick portions at the corners in the cross section of the front pillar upper formed by extrusion molding.
JP 2002-337735 A

  However, in the case of the above configuration, since the thick portion is provided without considering the inclination of the main shaft with respect to the input shaft of the bending moment of the cross section of the front pillar upper, the strength and rigidity of the cross section are such that the inclination α of the main shaft is 0 °. This is a few tens of percent lower than the cross-sectional ability at the time.

  In addition, when a reinforcing method having a low reinforcing efficiency is employed, useless reinforcing portions are increased in order to obtain a target bending strength, so that it is not possible to meet the demand for weight reduction of the body.

  In view of the above facts, the present invention has an object to obtain a reinforcing structure for a front pillar capable of ensuring both necessary bending strength and reducing the weight of the body.

In the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cross section perpendicular to the axis that forms the upper end side of the front pillar and is cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the member is a closed cross-sectional structure. A front pillar reinforcing structure applied to a front pillar upper , wherein the front pillar upper includes a pillar upper inner panel disposed on a vehicle interior side, a pillar upper outer panel disposed on a vehicle exterior side, and a pillar upper inner The pillar upper reinforcement is interposed between the panel and the pillar upper outer panel, and is arranged in an inclined state toward the rear side of the vehicle , and inputs a bending moment acting on the cross section perpendicular to the axis at the time of a frontal collision as strong axis of inclination of the axis perpendicular section with respect to the axis is smaller than in prior reinforcement, wherein Substantially at the bottom of the substantially upper and the compartment outer side of the vehicle interior side in the Ra upper reinforcement, cross reinforcement portion configured as a partial thickness portion is set, it is characterized in that.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the front pillar upper constituting the upper end side of the front pillar includes a pillar upper inner panel disposed on the vehicle interior side, a pillar upper outer panel disposed on the vehicle exterior side, and the pillar. The pillar upper reinforcement is interposed between the upper inner panel and the pillar upper outer panel, and is arranged in an inclined state on the vehicle rear side. A relatively large bending moment is input to the front pillar upper during a frontal collision. Therefore, it is necessary to reinforce the front pillar upper.

Here, in the present invention, the inclination of the strong axis of the section perpendicular to the axis with respect to the input axis of the bending moment acting on the section perpendicular to the axis when cut in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the member is greater than that before the reinforcement. Since the cross-section reinforcement part configured as a partial thick part is set in the upper part of the passenger compartment side and the lower part of the outer part of the passenger compartment side of the pillar apparel reinforcement so as to be smaller. Thus, the bending strength can be improved.

In addition, in the present invention, the relationship between the bending moment input axis and the inclination of the principal axis (strong axis) of the cross section perpendicular to the axis (that is, the greater the inclination of the sectional principal axis with respect to the input axis of the bending moment, the greater the strength and rigidity of the cross section). In consideration of the relationship of lowering the actual force), the pillar appli- ment reinforcement has a portion on the substantially upper part on the vehicle interior side and a substantially lower part on the outer side of the vehicle interior so that the inclination of the strong axis with respect to the input shaft becomes small. Since the cross-section reinforcing portion is configured as a typical thick-walled portion, the plate thickness of the front pillar upper is uniformly increased or over-reinforcement reinforcement is set without considering the above relationship. The bending strength can be improved efficiently while reducing the weight of the body (in other words, with a slight increase in weight) compared to the body.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the cross-sectional reinforcing portion is configured as a partial thick portion set at a substantially upper portion on the vehicle interior side and a substantially lower portion on the vehicle exterior side in the pillar upper reinforcement, the pillar upper inner panel and The pillar upper outer panel can be used as it is. Also, with regard to pillar reinforcement, for example, if an extruded material of an aluminum alloy is used, the setting of the thick portion is easy.

As described above, the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the first aspect of the present invention is such that the inclination of the strong axis of the cross section perpendicular to the input axis of the bending moment acting on the cross section perpendicular to the axis at the time of frontal collision is before the reinforcement. Since the cross-section reinforcement part configured as a partial thick part is set in the upper part of the passenger compartment side and the lower part of the outer part of the passenger compartment in the pillar apparel reinforcement so that it becomes smaller than the required time, the required bending strength It has an excellent effect that it is possible to achieve both of ensuring the weight and reducing the weight of the body.

Further, in the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the first aspect of the present invention, the front pillar upper includes a pillar upper inner panel disposed on the vehicle interior side, a pillar upper outer panel disposed on the vehicle exterior side, and a pillar upper. A pillar upper reinforcement disposed between the inner panel and the pillar upper outer panel, and a partial upper portion of the pillar upper reinforcement that is set at a substantially upper portion on the vehicle interior side and a substantially lower portion on the outer side of the vehicle interior. Since the cross-sectional reinforcing portion is configured as the thick-walled portion, the number of parts is increased, but there is an excellent effect that manufacture is easy.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment is a reference example not included in the present invention. In these drawings, an arrow FR appropriately shown indicates the vehicle front side, an arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side, and an arrow IN indicates the vehicle width direction inner side.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the body 10. As shown in this figure, a front pillar 12, a center pillar 14, and a rear pillar 16 are erected in this order from the front side on the cabin side of the body 10. The front pillar 12 disposed at the foremost side includes a front pillar upper 18 disposed in an inclined state at both ends in the width direction of the windshield glass, and a substantially vertical direction from the lower end of the front pillar upper 18 to the vehicle lower side. The front pillar lower 20 is suspended.

  Note that both end portions of a cowl 22 extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower edge of the windshield glass are coupled to the inner side surfaces of the upper end portions of the pair of left and right front pillar lowers 20. In addition, a front end portion of a rocker 26 that is disposed on both sides of the vehicle body floor 24 with the vehicle longitudinal direction as a longitudinal direction is coupled to the rear end portion of the front pillar lower 20. Further, an apron upper member 28, a rear end portion of the front side member 30 and the like, which are arranged with the vehicle longitudinal direction as a longitudinal direction, are coupled to the front side of the front pillar lower 20 directly or via a member.

  FIG. 1 shows a cross section perpendicular to the axis when the above-described front pillar upper 18 is cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof. As shown in this figure, the front pillar upper 18 includes a pillar upper inner panel 32 disposed on the vehicle interior side and a pillar upper inner panel 32 disposed on the vehicle exterior side and constituting a closed cross section. 34.

  Both the upper end flange portion 32A of the pillar upper inner panel 32 and the upper end flange portion 34A of the pillar upper outer panel 34 are bent substantially inward in the vehicle width direction, and are fixed by welding in a state where both the upper end flange portions 32A and 34A are superposed. Has been. The upper end flange portions 32A and 34A are supported by attaching an end portion of a windshield glass (not shown) in the vehicle width direction with an adhesive. On the other hand, the lower end flange part 32B of the pillar upper inner panel 32 and the lower end flange part 34B of the pillar upper outer panel 34 are both bent substantially downward in the vehicle, and are welded in a state where both the lower end flange parts 32B and 34B are superposed. It is fixed. Note that a door opening trim (not shown) is elastically fitted to these lower end flange portions 32B and 34B.

  In addition, since the front pillar upper 18 has a cross section perpendicular to the axis, it is called “upper end flange portions 32A, 34A” and “lower end flange portions 32B, 34B”. In the case of taking a horizontal cross section, it is more appropriate to refer to “front end flange portions 32A, 34A” and “rear end flange portions 32B, 34B”.

  Here, in this embodiment, the pillar upper inner panel 32 constituting one of the above-described front pillar uppers 18 has a general portion 32C set to a predetermined plate thickness similar to the conventional one, and a thickness larger than that of the general portion 32C. And a thick portion 32D as a thick cross-section reinforcing portion. The thick wall portion 32D includes an upper end flange portion 32A, and is formed in a substantially L shape at a substantially upper portion of the pillar upper inner panel 32 on the vehicle interior side.

  On the other hand, a pillar upper outer panel 34 constituting the other side of the front pillar upper 18 includes a general portion 34C set to a predetermined plate thickness as in the prior art, and a thick portion 34D as a cross-sectional reinforcing portion having a plate thickness larger than that of the general portion 34C. , 34E. One thick portion 34D is set linearly so as to be continuous with the thick portion 32D of the pillar upper inner panel 32 at a substantially upper portion of the pillar upper outer panel 34 on the vehicle interior side. The other thick wall portion 34E includes a lower end flange portion 34B, and is formed in a substantially step shape at a substantially lower portion outside the passenger compartment in the pillar upper outer panel 34.

  In addition, the said thick part 32D, 34D, 34E is comprised by the tailored blank (TWB or TB).

  Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  First, the solution principle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A shows the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis of the arbitrary member 38. The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis of this member is a hollow rectangular cross section, with the X axis being a strong axis and the Y axis being a weak axis. As shown in FIG. 3B, assuming that the L-shaped thick portion 38A is provided by increasing the thickness of the peripheral portions of the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant of the hollow rectangular cross section, the weak axis Y rotates to the plate thickness increasing region side (counterclockwise side). Conversely, when it is desired to rotate the weak axis Y in the clockwise direction, the thick portion may be set by increasing the thickness of the first quadrant and the third quadrant of the hollow rectangular cross section. In this way, the inclination of the cross-sectional principal axis can be controlled.

  Next, the state of the cross-sectional main shaft of the front pillar upper 40 before reinforcement in a type without pillar reinforcement will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in this figure, the front pillar upper 40 before reinforcement is constituted by a pillar upper inner panel 42 and a pillar upper outer panel 44. The plate thicknesses of the pillar upper inner panel 42 and the pillar upper outer panel 44 are all constant. In the case of this cross-sectional structure, the strong axis X having a cross section perpendicular to the axis is already inclined by ∠α1 with respect to the input axis m of the bending moment acting on the front pillar upper 40 at the time of frontal collision. The greater the inclination ∠α1 of the bending moment of the cross-section principal axis (strong axis X) with respect to the input axis m, the lower the strength and rigidity of the cross section. For example, when ∠α1 is about 30 °, the actual power of the cross section (when ∠α1 = 0 °) is reduced by several tens of percent. In order to solve this, according to the above principle, it is only necessary to increase the thickness of the portions P and Q located in the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant of the coordinate system (XY coordinate system) constituted by the cross-sectional principal axes. become. In the figure, the n-axis represents the neutral axis perpendicular to the axis.

  As described above, in the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a substantially L-shaped thick portion 32 </ b> D is set at a substantially upper portion of the pillar upper inner panel 32 on the vehicle interior side. At the same time, the linear thick outer portion 34D is provided on the substantially upper portion of the pillar upper outer panel 34 on the vehicle interior side, and the substantially staircase thick portion 34E is provided on the substantially lower portion of the pillar upper outer panel 34 on the outer side of the vehicle interior. Compared to that shown in FIG. 4 before reinforcement, the weak axis Y of the cross section perpendicular to the axis is rotated to the plate thickness increasing region side (counterclockwise side). Therefore, the inclination ∠α2 of the strong axis X in the cross section perpendicular to the input axis m of the bending moment becomes small. As a result, according to the present embodiment, the bending strength can be improved.

  Moreover, in the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the present embodiment, the relationship between the bending moment input axis m and the inclination of the principal axis (strong axis X) perpendicular to the axis (ie, the bending moment input axis m) Considering the relationship between the strength of the cross section when the inclination ∠α of the axis X) increases, and the strength of the cross section when ∠α = 0 °), the strong axis X with respect to the input axis m of the bending moment Since the thick wall portions 32D, 34D, and 34E are set so that the inclination ∠α is reduced, the thickness of the front pillar upper can be uniformly increased or over-reinforcement reinforcement can be performed without considering the above relationship. The bending strength can be improved efficiently while reducing the weight of the body (in other words, with a slight increase in weight) compared to the setting.

  Incidentally, when the front pillar upper 48 provided with the pillar upper reinforcement 46 shown in FIG. 5 and the front pillar upper 18 provided with the thick portions 32D, 34D, and 34E shown in FIG. 1 were verified by CAE analysis, The result shown in FIG. 6 was obtained. From this graph, it can be seen that even the front pillar upper 18 according to the present embodiment can obtain a bending strength equivalent to that of the front pillar upper 48 provided with the reinforcement 46. In addition, the front pillar upper 18 of the present embodiment is 24% lighter than the front pillar upper 48 shown in FIG.

  In summary, according to the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve both the securing of the bending strength necessary for the frontal collision and the weight reduction of the body.

  Further, in the front pillar reinforcing structure according to the present embodiment, the front pillar upper 18 is constituted by the pillar upper inner panel 32 disposed on the vehicle interior side, and the pillar upper outer panel 34 disposed on the vehicle exterior side. In the case where there is no pillar apparel reinforcement, the thick parts 32D, 34D, and 34E are partially provided, so that the number of parts does not increase. Therefore, the cost is not increased. Further, since the front pillar upper 18 has a two-part configuration, it is possible to apply laser welding when welding, and it is possible to further improve the strength and rigidity.

  In the above-described embodiment, the thick portions 32D, 34D, and 34E are provided by the tailored blank. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another part set to a predetermined plate thickness is separately welded to a necessary portion. A configuration may be adopted.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the front pillar reinforcing structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the front pillar upper 50 according to the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, pillar upper reinforcement formed by extruding an aluminum alloy between a pillar upper inner panel 42 and a pillar upper outer panel 44 constituting the front pillar upper 50. 52 is disposed.

  More specifically, the pillar upper reinforcement 52 includes a cylindrical main body 52A disposed in a closed section 54 formed by the pillar upper inner panel 42 and the pillar upper outer panel 44, and the main body 52A. The upper end flange portion 52B formed on the upper end side of the main body portion 52 and the lower end flange portion 52C formed on the lower end side of the main body portion 52A. The upper end flange portion 52B is sandwiched between the upper end flange portion 42A of the pillar upper inner panel 42 and the upper end flange portion 44A of the pillar upper outer panel 44, and is welded in a state where these three are overlapped. Similarly, the lower end flange portion 52C is sandwiched between the lower end flange portion 42B of the pillar upper inner panel 42 and the lower end flange portion 44B of the pillar upper outer panel 44, and is welded in a state of overlapping these three sheets.

  Further, a thick portion 52D as a cross-sectional reinforcing portion is continuously set in a substantially upper portion on the vehicle interior side and a substantially lower portion on the vehicle exterior side in the main body portion 52A of the pillar apparel reinforcement 52. In addition, the range illustrated by shading the pillar apparel reinforcement 52 in FIG. 7 is a range in which the thick portion 52D is set.

  Also with the above configuration, the inclination ∠α3 of the cross-section principal axis (strong axis X) with respect to the input axis m of the bending moment is smaller than the same inclination ∠α1 in FIG. Therefore, the same operation and effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In the reinforcing structure of the front pillar according to the present embodiment, the thick portion 52D can be integrally and continuously formed when the pillar apparel reinforcement 52 is extruded. Therefore, although the number of parts is increased by providing the pillar apparel reinforcement 52, the manufacture is easy.

  Furthermore, by using the pillar apparel reinforcement 52 as an extruded product of an aluminum alloy, the plate thickness can be freely changed within the cross section of one part, and the inclination of the cross-section principal axis can be easily controlled. Moreover, the elastic strength of the front pillar upper 50 can be improved from this.

  In addition, since the pillar upside reinforcement 52 having a closed cross section can be set, the cross section of the front pillar upper 50 can be suppressed or prevented at the time of a frontal collision. Moreover, from this, the total plastic strength of the front pillar upper 50 can be improved.

  Further, by joining the pillar upper inner panel 32 and the pillar upper outer panel 34 made of steel plates and the pillar upper reinforcement 52 made of aluminum alloy using a self-piercing rivet, a welding strength higher than that of spot welding between the steel plates is secured. be able to.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2 showing a cross-sectional structure perpendicular to the axis of a front pillar upper according to a first embodiment (reference example) . It is a perspective view of the whole body of a vehicle. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the solution principle. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating what happens when the solution principle shown by FIG. 3 is applied to a front pillar upper. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis corresponding to FIG. 1 showing the inclination of the cross-sectional principal axis of a normal front pillar upper provided with a pillar upper reinforcement. It is a graph which shows the CAE analysis result in the case of the cross-sectional structure of 1st Embodiment (reference example) and the cross-sectional structure of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a cross-sectional structure perpendicular to the axis of a front pillar upper according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

12 Front pillar
42 pillar upper inner panel
44 Pillar upper outer panel 50 Front pillar upper 52 Pillar upper reinforcement 52D Thick part (section reinforcement)
54 Closed section

Claims (1)

A front pillar reinforcing structure applied to a front pillar upper that forms an upper end side of the front pillar and that has a cross section perpendicular to the axis when cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the member,
The front pillar upper includes a pillar upper inner panel disposed on the vehicle interior side, a pillar upper outer panel disposed on the vehicle exterior side, and a pillar upper reinforcement disposed between the pillar upper inner panel and the pillar upper outer panel. And arranged in a state inclined to the rear side of the vehicle,
A substantially upper portion of the pillar upper reinforcement on the vehicle interior side so that the inclination of the strong axis of the section perpendicular to the axis with respect to the input axis of the bending moment acting on the section perpendicular to the axis at the time of frontal collision is smaller than that before the reinforcement. A cross-sectional reinforcing portion configured as a partial thick portion is set in a substantially lower portion outside the passenger compartment .
This is a reinforcing structure for the front pillar.

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