JP5619577B2 - Auto body frame structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body skeleton member structure including a panel forming member having a substantially hat cross section, such as a side sill or a center pillar of an automobile.

  A body skeleton member of an automobile, for example, a side sill that constitutes a lower part of a vehicle body of an automobile is a skeleton having a closed cross-sectional shape formed by joining an outer panel arranged on the vehicle exterior side and an inner panel arranged on the vehicle compartment side. It is configured with a main body, and both the outer panel and the inner panel are configured by panel forming members, but at least one of them is a long main body portion in which the cross section perpendicular to the axis is formed in a substantially U shape, A panel molding member configured in a substantially hat cross-sectional shape by a flange portion formed so as to protrude outward along the longitudinal direction at each one end portion of a pair of side walls constituting the main body portion. .

  The side sill as a vehicle body skeleton member of such an automobile needs to have a high rigidity and high strength structure as a basic skeleton of the vehicle body in order to safely protect passengers in the passenger compartment when the automobile encounters a frontal collision or a side collision. It is. Therefore, the panel forming member constituting the conventional side sill is generally U-shaped with a pair of side walls whose main body is formed long and a connecting wall to which one end of each side wall is connected. In addition to being formed, it may be configured by interposing a substantially hat cross-section reinforcing member extending in the longitudinal direction in the closed cross-sectional shape. However, the reinforcing member having such a configuration may increase the weight of the automobile.

  Therefore, conventionally, as part of weight reduction of an automobile, for example, a substantially L-shaped cross section is formed on a pair of ridge lines formed by connecting each side wall and a connecting wall in an inner panel formed in a substantially hat cross-sectional shape. The reinforcing member is installed. The reinforcing member attempts to reduce the weight of the automobile by reinforcing the main body portion by forming a closed cross-sectional portion together with the main body portion in the ridge line portion. However, depending on the reinforcing member, there are cases where the rigidity and strength are still insufficient from the viewpoint of occupant protection, and in order to further increase the rigidity and strength, such an inner panel includes both side walls and It is configured by arranging a plurality of reinforcing pieces called bulkheads side by side so as to bridge the connecting walls to each other, or it is configured by increasing the plate thickness or using ultra high strength steel plates (similar (See Patent Documents 1 and 2 for techniques to do this).

JP 2010-188802 A JP-A-5-208688

  The vehicle body skeleton member of the conventional automobile including the panel forming member configured as described above includes, for example, an inner panel including a reinforcing member and a reinforcing piece that is a bulkhead, and a thick plate. The cost increases due to an increase in vehicle weight and a significant change in molds and molding equipment. In addition, such a conventional automobile skeletal member has a panel forming member using an ultra-high-strength steel plate such as an inner panel, which may deteriorate the formability of the panel forming member and deteriorate the forming quality performance. In order to secure such molding quality, it may be necessary to increase the number of molding steps, which also increases the cost.

  Therefore, in view of such unsolved problems in the conventional technology, the present invention achieves high rigidity and high strength without using a reinforcing piece such as a super high strength steel plate, a thick steel plate, or a bulkhead. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body skeleton member structure for reducing the cost of the vehicle without reducing the weight of the vehicle and without drastically changing the mold and molding equipment.

The vehicle body skeleton member structure according to the present invention has a long main body portion whose cross section perpendicular to the axis is formed substantially in a U-shape, and a longitudinal portion at each end portion of a pair of side walls constituting the main body portion. A vehicle body skeleton member structure comprising a panel forming member having a substantially hat cross-sectional shape with a flange portion formed so as to protrude outwardly along a direction, and the main body portion the other end of the pair of side walls and respective side wall constituting the the pair of ridge portions formed by the respective linked connecting wall, each constructed by arranging mounting a reinforcing member of closed section shape Further, of the pair of reinforcing members, one reinforcing member has one end portion extending to one end portion in the long axis direction of the one ridge line portion among both ends in the long axis direction. And the other end in the long axis direction is pulled inward in the long axis direction. The other reinforcing member is arranged so as to stay in the recessed position, and the other reinforcing member has one end portion in the long axis direction retracted to the inner side in the long axis direction of the other ridge line portion. The other end portion in the major axis direction extends to the other end portion in the major axis direction of the other ridge line portion .

  In the invention having such a configuration, the reinforcing member is composed of a reinforcing member having a closed cross-sectional shape that is arranged and mounted on a pair of ridge lines formed by the pair of side walls and the connecting wall in the panel forming member. The member can be made to have high rigidity and high strength without using a component of the panel member, so that it is not necessary to use an ultra-high tensile steel plate or a thick plate material as a panel forming member. Reinforcing pieces such as a bulkhead can be eliminated, and as a result, the vehicle weight can be reduced and cost reduction can be achieved without requiring significant changes in molds and molding equipment.

Moreover , in the invention having such a configuration, one of the pair of reinforcing members is such that one of the long-side ends of one reinforcing member extends to one long-side end of one ridge line portion. It is extended and arranged so that the other end portion in the long axis direction stays at the position retracted inward in the long axis direction, and the other reinforcing member has both end portions in the long axis direction. Among them, one side end portion is extended and arranged so as to remain in a position retracted inward in the long axis direction of the other ridge line portion, and the other long side end portion is the long axis of the other ridge line portion. It is arranged so as to extend to the other end in the direction, so that the required rigidity and strength can be changed drastically by cutting the ends of both reinforcing members and shortening the overall length. to be able to reduce the cost and without requiring expensive molding equipment, that with the aim of further weight reduction.

The vehicle body frame member structure for an automobile in the embodiment of this invention, that make up the reinforcing member in cross-section round the pipe member.

In the embodiment having such a configuration, a commercially available general-purpose pipe member can be selectively applied as the round cross-section pipe member, and further cost reduction can be expected, and because of the round cross-section, both side walls constituting the panel molding member and Even if there is a slight molding error on the connecting wall, it can always be brought into contact by point contact or line contact, and such a contact portion can be firmly attached by welding or the like, which is required. the stiffness and strength can be achieved without the need for significant changes or expensive molding equipment mold it is possible to reduce the cost, Ru can be accomplished weight reduction of further vehicle weight.

In addition, the use of a pipe member as a reinforcing member means that the required performance varies depending on the vehicle model and model, etc., by appropriately selecting the pipe specifications such as the diameter, thickness or length of the material of the pipe member, and the material strength. ing to be addressed in the design range.

  Furthermore, the vehicle body skeleton member structure in the embodiment of the present invention may be configured as an inner panel or an outer panel of a side sill that constitutes a lower part of the vehicle body of the vehicle, using the panel forming member configured as described above. it can.

  In the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, in the panel forming member, the reinforcing member having the closed cross-sectional shape is arranged and mounted on each of the pair of ridge lines formed by the pair of side walls and the connecting wall. The reinforcing member constitutes the reinforcing portion having the closed cross-sectional shape at the ridge line portion without using the constituent elements of the panel member. As a result, the side sill can be configured with a highly rigid and high-strength panel molding member, eliminating the need to use ultra-high-strength steel plates or thick plate materials, and reinforcing pieces such as conventional bulkheads. As a result, the required rigidity and strength can be achieved without requiring major changes in molds or expensive molding equipment, which makes it possible to reduce costs. The weight of the vehicle can be reduced.

  The skeletal member structure of an automobile according to the present invention is configured by a reinforcing member having a closed cross-sectional shape that is disposed and mounted on a pair of ridge lines formed by a pair of side walls and a connecting wall of the panel forming member. Therefore, the reinforcing member can be made to have high rigidity and high strength without using the component of the panel member, and it is not necessary to use an ultra-high-strength steel plate or a thick plate material. Such a reinforcing piece can be abolished, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the cost without reducing the weight of the vehicle and drastically changing the mold and molding equipment.

1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a vehicle body skeleton member structure in which a side sill of an automobile is connected to a center pillar to form a lower part of a vehicle body. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inner panel in which the side sill shown in FIG. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an inner panel that constitutes the side sill shown in FIG. It is BB sectional drawing in FIG.

  The vehicle body skeleton member structure in the embodiment according to the present invention achieves high rigidity and high strength without using a reinforcing piece such as a super high strength steel plate, a thick steel plate or a bulkhead. The vehicle weight can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  Next, the structure of the skeleton member of an automobile according to one embodiment employing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, an embodiment in which the vehicle body skeleton of an automobile according to the present invention is employed in a side sill constituting a lower side portion of a vehicle body will be described.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a side sill 1 as a body frame member of an automobile has a long shape so as to extend in the front-rear direction on a lower body side portion of the automobile, and a center as a body center frame. The lower end of the pillar 10 is connected. The side sill 1 is configured to have a closed cross-sectional shape by joining the outer panel 2 disposed on the vehicle exterior side and the inner panel 3 disposed on the vehicle compartment side to each other.

  The inner panel 3 has an elongated main body 31 in which a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is formed in a substantially U shape, and one end of each of the pair of side walls 31a and 31b constituting the main body 31. A panel forming member having a substantially hat cross-sectional shape is formed by the flange portion 32 formed to protrude outward along the longitudinal direction.

  The main body 31 has a pair of ridge portions 31d and 31e formed by a pair of side walls 31a and 31b and a connecting wall 31c to which the other ends of the side walls 31a and 31b are respectively connected. Yes. Although the polygonal closed cross-sectional shape may be sufficient as both the ridgeline parts 31d and 31e, in this Example, the reinforcement members 4 and 5 comprised from the pipe member of a cross-sectional substantially round shape are each arrange | positioned and mounted.

  One reinforcing member 4 is arranged and mounted on the ridge line portion 31d side located on the upper side of the automobile among the pair of ridge line portions 31d and 31e. One reinforcing member 4 has one side end portion (the front end portion on the front side of the vehicle) extending to one end portion in the long axis direction of the ridge line portion 31d (the front end portion on the front side of the vehicle). And the other end in the long axis direction (the rear end portion on the rear side of the vehicle) stays in the position retracted inward from the other end in the long axis direction (the rear end portion of the vehicle) of the ridge line portion 31d. It is arranged to extend.

  The other reinforcing member 5 is disposed and mounted on the side of the ridge line portion 31e located on the lower side of the automobile among the pair of ridge line portions 31d and 31e. The other reinforcing member 5 has one side end portion (vehicle front side end portion) out of the both ends in the long axis direction from the one side end portion (vehicle front end portion) of the ridge line portion 31e. The other end (the rear end of the vehicle) extends to the other end in the major axis direction of the ridgeline portion 31e (the rear end of the vehicle). It is arranged to exist.

  Both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are respectively brought into contact with the side walls 31a and 31b and the connecting wall 31c in point contact or line contact with the ridges 31d and 31e therebetween, and then the side walls 31a and 31b and the connecting wall 31c. At the same time, they are joined by performing laser welding 7 (see FIG. 3). Such laser welding 7 is performed by spot welding or line welding.

  In one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are formed on a pair of ridge portions 31d and 31e formed by the pair of side walls 31a and 31b and the connecting wall 31c in the inner panel 3. Each of the reinforcing members 4 and 5 is a pipe member having a closed cross-sectional shape, which is arranged and mounted. As a result, both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 can be made to have high rigidity and high strength without using the components of the inner panel 3, and as a panel forming member, an extremely high strength steel plate or a thick plate material. This eliminates the need to use a reinforcing piece such as a conventional bulkhead, resulting in the required rigidity and strength without requiring major changes in the mold or expensive molding equipment. This can be achieved and the cost can be reduced, and the vehicle weight can be further reduced.

  In addition, the use of pipe members as the reinforcing members 4 and 5 varies depending on the vehicle model and model used by appropriately selecting the pipe specifications such as the diameter, thickness or length of the material of the pipe member and the material strength. Different performance requirements can be handled within the design range.

  In addition, since both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are configured using a pipe member having a round cross section, a commercially available general-purpose pipe member can be selectively applied, and further cost reduction can be expected. Even if there is a slight molding error in the long axis direction, the side walls 31a, 31b and the connecting wall 31c constituting the inner panel 3 can always be brought into contact with each other by point contact or line contact. Can be firmly attached by performing laser welding 7.

  Furthermore, in the one embodiment described above, one reinforcing member 4 has one side end portion extending to one end portion in the long axis direction of one ridge line portion 31d of both ends in the long axis direction, The other end in the long axis direction is extended and disposed so that the other end in the long axis direction stays at a position retracted inward from the other end in the long axis direction of the ridge line portion 31d. Among them, the other side end portion extends and is arranged so as to remain in the position retracted inward along the major axis direction of the other ridge line portion 31e, and the one side end portion of the other ridge line portion 31e By being arranged so as to extend to the other end portion in the long axis direction, the ends of both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 can be cut to shorten the overall length, thereby further reducing the weight. .

  The flange portion 32 of the inner panel 3 is joined to the flange portion 2a of the outer panel 2 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section by spot welding. As a result, the outer panel 2 and the inner panel 3 are closed. The side sill 1 having a shape is formed.

  Next, another embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the other embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, both reinforcing members 4 and 5 each made of a pipe member having a round cross section are arranged and mounted over the entire region in the major axis direction of both ridge line portions 31d and 31e. The reinforcing members 4 and 5 are attached to the side walls 31a and 31 and the connecting wall 31c of the main body 31 of the inner panel 3 by arc welding 8. The side wall walls 31a and 31b and the connection wall 31c are preliminarily drilled in the vicinity of the ridgeline portions 31d and 31e in a state where a plurality of through-holes 6 for welding are appropriately separated from each other. 6, by performing arc welding 8, both the reinforcing members 4 and 5, the side walls 31 a and 31, and the connecting wall 31 c are attached.

  Therefore, in another embodiment of the present invention, as in the first embodiment, both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are formed by a pair of side walls 31a and 31b and a connecting wall 31c in the inner panel 3. It is comprised by both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 which consist of the pipe member of the closed cross-sectional shape each arrange | positioned and mounted to the ridgeline parts 31d and 31e. As a result, both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 can be made to have high rigidity and high strength without using the components of the inner panel 3, and as a panel forming member, an extremely high strength steel plate or a thick plate material. This eliminates the need to use a reinforcing piece such as a conventional bulkhead, resulting in the required rigidity and strength without requiring major changes in the mold or expensive molding equipment. This can be achieved and the cost can be reduced, and the vehicle weight can be further reduced.

  In addition, since both the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are configured using a pipe member having a round cross section, a commercially available general-purpose pipe member can be selectively applied, and further cost reduction can be expected. Even if there is a slight molding error in the long axis direction, the side walls 31a, 31b and the connecting wall 31c constituting the inner panel 3 can always be brought into contact with each other by point contact or line contact. Can be firmly attached by performing arc welding 8.

  In the other embodiment, the reinforcing members 4 and 5 are arranged and mounted over the entire area in the major axis direction of the ridge line portions 31d and 31e, respectively, thereby forming a highly rigid and high strength skeleton structure. Realized.

  Furthermore, in such another embodiment, in order to attach the main body 31 of the inner panel 3 and the two reinforcing members 4 and 5 by performing arc welding 8, the side walls 31a and 31b and the connecting wall 31c are previously penetrated for welding. Even if the long hole 6 is drilled, the through-hole 6 for welding is disposed in the vicinity of the ridgeline portions 31d and 31e, so that the ridgeline portion 31d and the ridgeline portion 31d of the main body portion 31 of the inner panel 3 are provided. 31e is secured over the entire length, and the rigidity of the inner panel 3 itself due to the drilling of the welding through-hole 6 does not change.

  In addition, in the said Example, although it limited to the case where it applies to the inner panel 3 among the side sills 1 as a press molding member, this invention is not limited to this, The outer panel 2 is demonstrated. In addition to the side sill 1, the present invention can also be applied to a press-forming member constituting a member such as a pillar such as a center pillar or a side member.

  In addition, the reinforcing members 4 and 5 in each of the above embodiments use not only pipes having the same diameter, the same thickness, and the same length as the pipe member as the material, but also the material strength and diameter of each other. Further, by appropriately selecting different specifications such as thickness or length, it is possible to appropriately select within a design range for various required performances depending on the vehicle type and model to be applied.

  The present invention described above achieves a panel member having high rigidity and high strength without using a reinforcing piece such as a super high strength steel plate, a thick steel plate, or a bulkhead, and reduces the weight of the vehicle. Therefore, it can be said that it is suitable for a vehicle body skeleton member structure including a panel forming member having a substantially hat cross section, such as a side sill or a center pillar of an automobile.

1 Side sill 2 Outer panel 3 Inner panel
31 Body
31a, 31b Side wall
31c connecting wall
31d, 31e Ridge line part 4 One reinforcing member 5 The other reinforcing member

Claims (3)

An elongated main body portion having a substantially perpendicular U-shaped cross-section and a pair of side walls constituting the main body portion and projecting outward along the longitudinal direction respectively. A vehicle body skeleton member structure including a panel forming member having a substantially hat cross-sectional shape with a flange portion formed as described above, wherein the pair of side walls constituting the main body portion and the respective side surfaces A pair of ridges formed by connecting walls to which the other ends of the walls are respectively connected are arranged and mounted with reinforcing members having a closed cross-sectional shape, and among the pair of reinforcing members, One reinforcing member has one end portion extending to one end portion in the long axis direction of the one ridge line portion, and the other end portion in the long axis direction is the long axis among both end portions in the long axis direction. It is arranged so as to stay in the position retracted inward in the direction. The other reinforcing member extends and is arranged so that one end portion in the major axis direction stays at the position retracted inward in the major axis direction of the other ridge line portion, and the other in the major axis direction, etc. A vehicle body skeleton member structure for an automobile, wherein a side end portion is arranged to extend to the other end portion in the major axis direction of the other ridge line portion .   The vehicle body skeleton member structure according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is a pipe member having a substantially round cross section. Vehicle body frame member structure for an automobile according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the panel forming member, characterized in that it is a inner panel or outer panel of the side sill constituting the underbody side of an automobile.

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