JPH0139393B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an improvement in the rear body structure of an automobile.

(Prior art) In order to effectively distribute the load from the rear wheel suspension system, some parts of the rear body structure of an automobile are equipped with the
As shown in Publication No. 57-9770, there is a model in which a reinforcement (pillar reinforcement) extending from a reinforcing member provided on the rear side frame to the roof rail is provided inside the quarter pillar located above the rear wheel house. .

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the above-mentioned conventional rear body structure of an automobile cannot effectively disperse the load from the rear wheel suspension device. To explain this point in detail, the quarter pillar is bent to match the shape of the rear edge of the rear side door because it is located between the rear side door opening and the rear quarter window opening. The shape is inclined with respect to the upward extension of the thrust load from the rear wheel suspension system.
The intersection of this upward extension line and the quarter pillar is
This is the base end of the quarter pillar located approximately at the lower end of the rear quarter window opening, and while the uplift load is concentrated on this base end, the strength of this base end is reinforced by pillar reinforcement. This alone was insufficient, and it was not possible to effectively distribute the uplifting load from this base end through the quarter pillar to the roof side.

In addition, the thrust load from the rear wheel suspension system does not simply act directly upwards, but also generates a force component that acts toward the inside of the vehicle interior, so this component force acts on the quarter. An attempt is made to deform the base end of the pillar toward the inside of the vehicle interior.

On the other hand, there is a strong demand for preventing deformation of the passenger compartment in the event of a collision, but since the quarter pillar area is located at the rear of the vehicle body, it is difficult to meet this requirement from the perspective of preventing deformation of the passenger compartment in the event of a rear collision. It would be convenient if possible.

(Object of the Invention) Therefore, the object of the present invention is to improve the rigidity of the base end of the quarter pillar, which is the turning point when the uplift load escapes to the roof side, and to prevent the deformation of the vehicle interior in the event of a rear collision. The present invention provides a rear body structure for an automobile that can sufficiently accomplish the following.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the following structure. That is, a rear body structure of an automobile having a closed-section quarter pillar provided above a rear wheel house between a rear side door opening and a rear quarter window opening, the interior of the quarter pillar being a pillar reinforcement installed at the rear wheel house, whose upper end is joined to the roof rail and whose lower end extends to approximately the lower edge of the rear quarter window opening; a rear suspension reinforcement extending into the base end; and a belt line reinforcement disposed at the lower peripheral edge of the rear quarter window opening and extending in the front-rear direction, the lower part of the pillar reinforcement. and the upper part of the rear suspension reinforcement are overlapped with each other at the base end of the quarter window to form a double-structured reinforcing joint within the closed cross section of the quarter pillar, and the overlap is also performed. The front end portion of the belt line reinforcement is joined to the portion.

(Operations and Effects of the Invention) With the above-described configuration, the base end of the quarter pillar is The rigidity of the part is dramatically improved.

As a result, the base end portion of the quarter pillar is prevented from deforming toward the interior of the vehicle interior due to the uplifting load. Further, this thrust load is widely and reliably distributed not only upwardly through the pillar reinforcement, but also widely and reliably toward the rear of the vehicle body through the beltline reinforcement. Furthermore, the collision load at the time of a rear collision is firmly received at the base end of the quarter pillar via the belt line reinforcement, thereby preventing deformation of the vehicle interior.

(Example) The present invention will be described below based on an example and the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the rear part of a light van type automobile equipped with the rear body structure according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the rear part of the vehicle body with outer panels and the like removed. A quarter pillar 6 is provided between the opening 4 for the rear side door 2 and the opening 5 for the rear quarter window 3, and as shown in FIG. The panel 8 forms a closed cross-sectional shape. The base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6 is located above a substantially intermediate portion of the rear wheel house 19 in the longitudinal direction, and is inclined so as to gradually move toward the front as it goes upward.

9 is a pillar reinforcement, and 10 is a rear suspension reinforcement. The pillar reinforcement 9 is provided inside the quarter pillar 6, has an upper end joined to the roof rail 11, a lower end extending to approximately the lower edge of the rear quarter window opening 5, and a lower peripheral edge of the opening 5. The belt line reinforcement 12 is connected to the front end of a belt line reinforcement 12 which is disposed in the belt line reinforcement 12 and extends in the front-rear direction. This pillar reinforcement 9 has both its front and rear joining flanges joined to the quarter pillar 6, except for its upper and lower ends, that is, the outer panel 7
The three panels are sandwiched between the front and rear joining flanges of the inner panel 8 and the inner panel 8, and are joined together. The lower end of this pillar reinforcement 9 is open so that the upper part of the rear suspension reinforcement 10 can enter therein.

The lower end of the rear suspension reinforcement 10 is welded to the upper surface of the rear wheel house 16, and the upper end is located at the base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6 and extends into the lower part of the pillar reinforcement 9.

In this way, the lower part of the pillar reinforcement 9 and the rear suspension reinforcement 1 are connected to each other.
The upper part of the quarter pillar 6 overlaps in the vehicle width direction at the base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6, forming a double-layered reinforcing joint as shown in FIG. At the reinforcement section shown in Figure 3, rear suspension reinforcement 1
0, the outer panel 7, and the inner panel 8, the three rear joining flanges are joined together (this joining point is indicated by α), and the front joining of both panels 7, 8 and pillar reinforcement 9 is Three flange portions are joined to each other (this joint location is indicated by β). The rear end of the pillar reinforcement 9 is connected to the joint α as a free end.
The front end of the rear suspension reinforcement 10 is located near the joint β as a free end.

Note that it is also possible to eliminate the above-mentioned free end by joining together the four joining flanges of both panels 7, 8 and both reinforcements 9, 10, but the joining strength, that is, the welding strength, can be maintained. For this reason, it is preferable to use a combination of three sheets.

Next, the rear wheel suspension system will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. Reference numeral 18 indicates a strut housing joined to the upper surface of the rear wheel house 16 and the inner end surface in the vehicle width direction of the inner panel 8, and 19 indicates a rear wheel. The strut housing 18 is connected to a suspension arm (not shown) that holds a rear wheel 19 via a strut bar 22, which serves as a rear wheel suspension system and includes a hydraulic shock absorber 20 and a coil spring 21. As a result, the thrust load is input to the strut housing 18 via the strut bar 22.

In the above-described configuration, the uplift load input from the strut bar 22 to the strut housing 18 is transmitted from the rear wheel house 16 to the base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6 via the rear suspension reinforcement 10. The upthrust load is applied from this base end 17 to the upper side, that is, to the roof side, via the pillar reinforcement 9, and to the belt line reinforcement 12.
It is also transmitted to the rear of the vehicle via. The base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6 has sufficient rigidity due to the double reinforcement joint structure as described above, and in addition, the front end of the belt line reinforcement 12 is joined to the base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6. As a result, the rigidity of this portion is dramatically increased, and the thrust load can be widely and reliably distributed upward and rearward as described above. This improvement in rigidity also prevents the base end 17 of the quarter pillar 6 from deforming inwardly into the vehicle interior due to an uplifting load.

Further, in the event of a rear collision, the belt line reinforcement 12 firmly absorbs the collision load on the base end portion 17, which has the extremely high rigidity described above, and prevents deformation of the vehicle interior.

In the embodiment described above, the case where the inner panel 8 of the quarter pillar 6 and the rear wheel house 16 (the panel in which they are formed) are integrally molded is shown, but the two are vertically separate from each other with the base end 17 as a boundary. It may also be formed as Similarly, the outer panel 7 of the quarter pillar 6 may also be configured as upper and lower parts separated by the base end 17 portion.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear side view of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a rear side view of the automobile in FIG. 1 with the outer panel, rear side door, rear quarter window, and rear fender removed. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1. 1: Automobile, 4: Rear side door opening,
5: Rear quarter window opening, 6: Quarter pillar, 7: Outer panel, 8: Inner panel, 9: Pillar reinforcement, 10: Rear suspension reinforcement, 11: Roof rail, 12: Belt line reinforcement,
16: Rear wheel house, 17: Base end, 1
8: Strut housing, 19: Rear wheel, 20: Hydraulic shock absorber, 21: Coil spring, 22: Strut bar.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A rear body structure for an automobile having a closed-section quarter pillar provided above a rear wheel house between a rear side door opening and a rear quarter window opening, comprising: a pillar reinforcement provided inside the quarter pillar, whose upper end is joined to the roof rail and whose lower end extends approximately to the lower edge of the rear quarter window opening; and whose lower end is joined to the upper surface of the rear wheel house and whose upper has a rear suspension reinforcement extending into the base end of the quarter pillar, and a belt line reinforcement arranged at the lower peripheral edge of the opening for the rear quarter window and extending in the front-rear direction. The lower part of the reinforcement and the upper part of the rear suspension reinforcement overlap each other at the proximal end of the quarter window to form a double-structure reinforcing joint within the closed cross section of the quarter pillar, A rear body structure for an automobile, characterized in that a front end portion of the belt line reinforcement is joined to the overlapping portion.