JP6266368B2 - Door beam made of extruded aluminum alloy - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a door beam used as a reinforcing material for doors of automobiles such as passenger cars and trucks. More specifically, the present invention relates to a door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded shape and subjected to a crushing process in a partial region in the length direction. .

  A door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded shape is attached inside the door (between the outer panel and the inner panel) for the purpose of protecting the passenger when the side of the automobile collides. Conventional doors are generally round in appearance (outer panel shape) in the longitudinal and vertical directions of the vehicle, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), a straight door beam 1 and an outer panel 2 having no bends. There is a gap between the two. In order to fill this gap, a mastic adhesive is filled between the door beam 1 and the outer panel 2 at regular intervals in the length direction of the door beam 1. When the roundness of the outer panel 2 is large and the gap between the door beam 1 and the outer panel 2 becomes larger than a certain level, it becomes difficult to fill the mastic adhesive. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5B, the door beam 1 is gently bent (with a small curvature) to reduce the gap between the door beam 1 and the outer panel 2.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes that both ends of a door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded profile are crushed, and the both ends are used as attachments. Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe crushing a partial region in the length direction of a door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded profile, thereby securing a storage space for components such as a motor in the door. Has been. In addition, the conventional door beam which consists of an aluminum alloy extrusion shape material generally consists of several web which connects an outer flange, an inner flange, and both flanges.

Japanese Patent No. 3465862 Japanese Patent No. 3919562 Japanese Patent No. 4111651

  In recent automobile doors, the outer panel, which is the exterior, is not only curved loosely outward, but also has a curved surface shape that curves inward with a relatively large curvature (the outer panel in FIG. 1). Panel 12). In order to bend the door beam and reduce the gap between the door beam and the outer panel for the outer panel having such a design, it is necessary to bend the door beam in a complicated manner with a large curvature according to the design of the outer panel. . However, a door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded shape is made of a high-strength material among aluminum alloys, so that cracking is likely to occur during bending, and it is difficult to bend with a large curvature.

On the other hand, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, if the door beam is crushed, the door beam is deformed according to the curved shape of the outer panel to reduce the gap between the door beam and the outer panel. be able to.
However, when a conventional door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded shape is crushed in a partial region in the length direction, the cross-sectional performance of the door beam deteriorates in that region. When the degree of crushing (section height reduction ratio) is large, the section modulus of the door beam is greatly reduced, and even when the degree of crushing is small, the bent web is easily bent and deformed at the time of collision. The function as a reinforcing material is greatly reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress deterioration in the cross-sectional performance of a door beam when crushing is performed on a partial region of the door beam made of an aluminum alloy extruded profile.

The present invention relates to an improvement in a door beam comprising a single aluminum alloy extruded profile and crushed in a partial region in the longitudinal direction, and a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the aluminum alloy extruded profile. but the outer flange, an inner flange, outer flange and arranged intermediate flange between the inner flange, the outer webs connecting the outer flange and the intermediate flange, and made from the inner web which connects the inner flange and the intermediate flange, wherein the aluminum alloy When the height from the inner flange to the intermediate flange of the extruded shape member is h1 and the height from the intermediate flange to the outer flange is h2, 0.2 ≦ h2 / h1 ≦ 0.5, The web is bent and the height from the outer flange to the intermediate flange is the original height. More decreases, the height from the inner flange to the intermediate flange, characterized in that it is maintained at the original height.

The door beam according to the present invention has a cross-sectional height (height from the intermediate flange to the outer flange) reduced by crushing between the outer flange and the intermediate flange in a partial region in the length direction. . Thereby, in the said area | region, the height of a door beam is matched with the curved surface shape of an outer panel, the clearance gap between door beam outer panels is reduced, or the storage space for installing components between outer panels is ensured. it can.
On the other hand, in the same region, the space between the inner flange and the intermediate flange is not crushed, and the cross-sectional height (height from the inner flange to the intermediate flange) maintains the height h1 of the original aluminum alloy extruded shape, and the inner web Is not deformed by crushing. For this reason, the part from an inner flange to an intermediate flange maintains the same cross-sectional performance as the original aluminum alloy extruded shape. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the cross-sectional performance of the entire door beam in the region.

It is a top view of the door beam which concerns on this invention which consists of the aluminum alloy extrusion shape material arrange | positioned inside the outer panel of a door. It is sectional drawing of the door beam in the II cross section of FIG. A broken line shows the cross section of the outer web and outer flange in the II-II cross section of FIG. It is a top view of another door beam which concerns on this invention which consists of the aluminum alloy extrusion shape material arrange | positioned inside the outer panel of a door. It is sectional drawing which shows the other form of the cross-sectional shape (perpendicular to a length direction) of the aluminum alloy extrusion shape material which concerns on this invention. It is the top view (left figure) of the conventional door beam which consists of the aluminum alloy extrusion shape material arrange | positioned inside the outer panel of a door, and sectional drawing (right figure) of the said door beam. (A) is an example of a door beam without bending, and (b) is an example of a door beam that is loosely bent.

Hereinafter, the door beam according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
1 and 2, a door beam 11 is obtained by cutting an aluminum alloy extruded shape member into a predetermined length and crushing it. As shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, the cross section of the aluminum alloy extruded profile (the portion not subjected to the crushing process) is flat, and the outer flange 13, the inner flange 14, the intermediate flange 15, and each flange are parallel to each other. Each pair of outer web 16 and inner web 17 perpendicular to each other. The outer flange 13, the inner flange 14, and the intermediate flange 15 all have projecting flanges projecting left and right from the web at both ends. The outer web 16 connects the outer flange 13 and the intermediate flange 15, the inner web 17 connects the inner flange 14 and the intermediate flange 15, and the outer web 16 and the inner web 17 are connected in a row.

The aluminum alloy extruded profile has a total cross-sectional height of h, an inner height (height from the inner end of the inner flange 14 to the intermediate flange 15) h1, and an outer height (from the intermediate flange 15 to the outer flange 13). The height to the end is h2, h = h1 + h2.
The door beam 11 is disposed in a substantially vertical plane inside the outer panel 12 of the door, with the outer flange 13 facing outward in the vehicle width direction and the inner flange 14 facing inward in the vehicle width direction. Both ends of the door beam 11 are fixed to an inner panel (not shown) of the door directly or via a bracket (not shown) (see FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1). The outer panel 12 is gently curved outward as a whole, and a part thereof is curved inward with a relatively large curvature (curved portion 18).

The door beam 11 has a straight shape with no bending as a whole, and is crushed in a partial region A in the length direction from the outer flange 13 side toward the inner flange 14 side. This region A is a region substantially corresponding to the curved portion 18 of the outer panel 12.
By this crushing process, in the region A, the space between the outer flange 13 and the intermediate flange 15 is crushed. As shown by the broken line in FIG. 1, the inner height of the door beam 11 is h3 at the lowest height from the original h2. It has decreased to. The degree of crushing (the size of h3) can be arbitrarily selected. In the region A, the outer web 16 is bent and deformed and bent outward. On the other hand, in the region A, the space between the intermediate flange 15 and the inner flange 14 is not crushed, and the inner height of the door beam 11 maintains the height h1 of the original aluminum alloy extruded shape. Further, the inner web 14 is not bent and deformed.

  The door beam 21 shown in FIG. 3 is made of an aluminum alloy extruded profile having the same cross-sectional shape as that of the door beam 11 (see FIG. 2), and is arranged inside the outer panel 12 of the door. Similarly to the door beam 11, the door beam 21 is crushed between the outer flange 13 and the intermediate flange 15 in a partial region (region B). On the other hand, the door beam 21 differs from the door beam 11 in that the door beam 21 is bent with a small curvature as a whole and is gently curved outward, whereby the gap with the outer panel 12 is reduced compared to the door beam 11 and It is uniform along the longitudinal direction.

  The door beam 21 is different from the door beam 11 in that one end 22 is cut off obliquely and the other end 23 is crushed from the outer flange 13 side toward the inner flange 14 side. At the end 23, the space between the outer flange 13 and the intermediate flange 15 and the space between the intermediate flange 15 and the inner flange 14 are crushed, and the outer web 16 and the inner web 15 are both bent and deformed and bent outward. As shown in FIG. 8 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-94844, the end 22 is an attachment portion of the door to an inner panel (not shown) as shown in FIG. It becomes. By forming such end portions 22 and 23, the door beam 21 can be bracketless.

In the door beam according to the present invention, when the total cross-sectional height h (= h1 + h2) is large, the distance from the cross-section neutral shaft of the outer flange and the inner flange becomes large. For this reason, when the door beam is bent and deformed at the time of a collision, the compressive force and the tensile force applied to the outer flange and the inner flange are increased, and the door beam is easily broken. Therefore, the cross-sectional height h (= h1 + h2) cannot be increased too much.
In the door beam according to the present invention, if the outer height h2 of the aluminum alloy extruded shape is too large, the door beam may be twisted and deformed at the time of collision. In addition, as described above, when the total cross-sectional height h is limited, if the outer height h2 is large, the inner height h1 is relatively small, and the cross-sectional performance of the door beam is lowered, and as a door reinforcement. The function of is reduced. On the other hand, if the outside height h2 is too small, crushing processing becomes difficult, and it is difficult to obtain a predetermined shape after crushing processing.
By comprehensively judging the above points, the aluminum alloy extruded profile according to the present invention has a ratio (h2 / h1) between the inner height h1 and the outer height h2 of the cross section of 0.2 ≦ h2 / h1. It is preferable to set ≦ 0.5.

  The cross-sectional shape of the aluminum alloy extruded shape for door beams according to the present invention can take various forms other than the one shown in FIG. For example, the outer flange may not be parallel to the other flanges, and the protruding flange may not be formed on each flange. The outer web may not be perpendicular to each flange, and a plurality of inner webs are required, but one or more outer webs may be used. Further, the outer web and the inner web may not be connected in a line in the inner and outer directions of the door, and the inner web may be bent or curved from the beginning.

  4 (a) to 4 (i) show other examples of the cross-sectional shape of the aluminum alloy extruded profile for a door beam according to the present invention. These cross-sectional shapes are constituted by an outer flange, an inner flange, an intermediate flange, a pair of outer webs, and a pair of inner webs, similarly to the aluminum alloy extruded material shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are given to substantially the same parts as the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2.

The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4A is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that the outer flange 13 is inclined with respect to the inner flange 14 and the intermediate flange 15.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4B is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that the outer web 16 is curved outward from the beginning.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4C is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that the distance between the pair of outer webs 16 and 16 is set wider than the distance between the pair of inner webs 17 and 17.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4D is that there are three inner webs, and the distance between the pair of outer webs 16 and 16 is set narrower than the distance between the inner webs 17 and 17 on both sides. Different from the cross-sectional shape shown.

The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 (e) is such that the interval between the pair of outer webs 16 and 16 is set wider than the interval between the pair of inner webs 17 and 17, and no protruding flange is formed on the outer flange 13. 2 is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 (f) is that the interval between the pair of outer webs 16 and 16 is set to be narrower than the interval between the pair of inner webs 17 and 17, and no protruding flange is formed on the outer flange 13. 2 is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4G is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that both outer webs 16 and 16 are inclined.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 (h) is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that both the outer webs 16 and 16 are inclined and no protruding flange is formed on the outer flange 13.
The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4I is different from the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 2 in that there is one outer web 16.

  As a material of the aluminum alloy extruded shape for door beams according to the present invention, a heat-treatable aluminum alloy of 6000 (Al—Mg—Si (—Cu)) or 7000 (Al—Zn—Mg (—Cu)) is preferable. After this aluminum alloy is extruded into a predetermined cross-sectional shape, a door beam is produced by the following process, for example. The aluminum alloy extruded shape is bent with a curvature corresponding to the shape of the door outer panel as necessary, and then the natural age-hardened material is softened by heating to a temperature higher than the normal age-hardening temperature. After improving the moldability, crushing is performed and age hardening is performed.

11, 21 Door beam 12 Outer panel of door 13 Outer flange 14 Inner flange 15 Intermediate flange 16 Outer web 17 Inner web

Claims (1)

It is a door beam made of a single aluminum alloy extruded shape and crushed in a partial region in the length direction, and a cross section perpendicular to the length direction of the aluminum alloy extruded shape has an outer flange and an inner A flange, an intermediate flange disposed between the outer flange and the inner flange, an outer web connecting the outer flange and the intermediate flange, and a plurality of inner webs connecting the inner flange and the intermediate flange . When the height from the inner flange to the intermediate flange is h1, and the height from the intermediate flange to the outer flange is h2, 0.2 ≦ h2 / h1 ≦ 0.5, and the outer web is bent and deformed in the region. As a result, the height from the intermediate flange to the outer flange is less than the original height. Door beam, characterized in that the height from the inner flange to the intermediate flange is maintained to the original height.

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