JPH0748444Y2 - Joining structure of upper part of pillar in automobile - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a joint structure of an upper part of a pillar in an automobile, and more particularly to increasing rigidity of a connecting part between an upper part of a center pillar and a roof side rail.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a structure in which a pillar of an automobile, in particular, an upper portion of a center pillar and a roof side rail are joined together, in order to keep the roof support strength of the center pillar high, for example, an actual opening 62
The structure shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 13778 is adopted.

That is, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a conventional automobile to which the above joining structure is applied, FIG. 3 (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view of a portion A of FIG. 2 seen from inside the vehicle, and FIG. Fig. 3 (a)
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line IIIb-IIIb of FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a roof side rail composed of a rail outer panel 2 and a rail inner panel 3, and an upper end portion of a center pillar 4 is connected to a part of a lower surface portion of the roof side rail. The center pillar 4 includes a pillar outer panel 5 and a pillar inner panel 6, and the pillar outer panel 5 is formed integrally with the rail outer panel 2. Further, the pillar inner panel 6 is extended upward along the inner side surface of the rail inner panel 3, and the tip end portion 6a of the extension portion 6b is extended.
Is the inner edge portions 2a, 3a of the rail outer and inner panels 2, 3
It is sandwiched between and fixed by spot welding or the like. The inner edge portions 2a and 3a of both panels are provided with side edge portions 7 of the roof panel 7.
a is also fixed.

Thus, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the pillar inner panel 6
Is extended to the joint between the roof side rail 1 and the roof panel 7, thereby increasing the joint rigidity between the center pillar 4 and the roof side rail 1.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional joint structure of the pillar upper part in the automobile, the center pillar 4 and the roof side rail 1 are connected.
The rigidity with respect to the rotation direction X in the vehicle body side surface centering on the joint portion with is strong, but the rigidity is weak in the vehicle width direction Y, and the displacement in this direction could not be suppressed.

That is, when viewed from the front of the vehicle body, the entire center pillar 4 is curved in a chord shape (see FIG. 3 (b)). Therefore, vibration in the vertical direction Z of the vehicle body causes expansion / contraction, and FIG. 3 (b).
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line, the vehicle vibrates in the vehicle width direction Y. This vibration cannot be effectively suppressed by the extension portion 6b of the inner panel 6 because it is a flat plate shape. Therefore, due to stress concentration, for example, the bead portion B of the rail outer panel 2 is cracked, In addition, there is a problem that vibration noise of the vehicle is generated, which causes deterioration of the durability of the vehicle body and NVH performance.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to suppress the vibration of the pillar in the vehicle width direction due to the vertical vibration of the vehicle body, so that the connecting portion between the center pillar and the roof side rail can be suppressed. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a joint structure for the upper part of a pillar in an automobile that can prevent damage due to stress concentration in the vehicle and reduce vehicle body noise.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention is a joint structure of a pillar upper part in a vehicle in which a lower end of a roof side rail composed of a rail inner and an outer panel is connected to upper ends of pillars composed of a pillar inner and an outer panel, and is fixed to the pillar below the pillar. A pillar reinforcement provided with a vertical wall portion having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction and a horizontal wall portion having a predetermined width in the vehicle front-rear direction and having a closed cross section with the pillar is provided with the roof side rail. The pillar reinforcement is extended to the connecting portion, the upper end of the lateral wall portion of the pillar reinforcement is bent inward in the vehicle width direction, and is fixed to the upper flange portion of the roof side rail, and the vertical wall portion is fixed to the roof side rail. Along the lower flange of the roof side rail, the curved part is formed so as to expand in the front and rear directions. It is characterized in that was boss.

[Action]

In this invention, the pillar reinforcement having a closed cross-section having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction with the pillar is extended to the connecting portion between the roof side rail and the upper end portion of the pillar. The cross-sectional modulus in the plane substantially perpendicular to is greatly increased. Therefore, the rigidity of the connecting portion in the vehicle width direction is increased, and vibration in that direction can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the panel from being damaged (cracked) at the connecting portion due to the vibration in the vehicle width direction, and to suppress the vibration noise of the vehicle body.

Further, the upper end of the lateral wall portion of the pillar reinforcement is fixed to the upper flange portion of the roof side rail, and the vertical wall portion is curved so as to expand in the front and rear directions along the roof side rail. Since the expanded portion is fixed to the lower flange portion of the roof side rail, the vertical wall portion and the horizontal wall portion are continuous from the pillar to the roof side rail, and the connecting portion is centered while increasing the rigidity in the vehicle width direction. The rigidity against the rotational force in the side surface of the vehicle body can be further improved as compared with the conventional case.

〔Example〕

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 (a) is a sectional perspective view showing a joint structure of a pillar upper portion in an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b).
Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Ib-Ib of FIG. 1 (a), and FIG.
It is the Ic-Ic sectional view taken on the line of Fig.3 (a), and the same code | symbol as FIG. 3 shows the same or an equivalent part in the figure. 1 is a roof side rail, which is the upper and lower flange portions 2a, 2b of the rail outer panel 2 and the upper and lower flange portions 3a, 2a of the rail inner panel 3.
3b and 3b are spot welded (marked with x in the figure) to form a closed cross-section structure. In addition, the rail outer panel 2 described above
Although it is omitted in this figure, the side edge 7a of the roof panel 7 is located on the upper flange portion 2a of the rail outer panel 2 and the rail inner panel 3 as shown in FIG. It is welded to the overlapping portion with the flange portion 3a.

On the other hand, the center pillar 4 is connected so as to extend downward from the center portion of the vehicle body of the roof side rail 1. The center pillar 4 includes a pillar outer panel 5 and a pillar inner panel 8. The pillar outer panel 5 is formed integrally with the rail outer panel 2 or by being joined by welding, and the pillar inner panel 8 is arranged so as to face the inside of the pillar outer panel 5. The upper portion 8b of the pillar inner panel 8 is shown in FIG. 1 (b).
As shown in (4), the rail inner panel 3 and the lower end portion of the rail inner panel 3 are slightly overlapped with each other, and the two are simply in a close contact state. Further, the flanges 5a and 8a at the front and rear edges of these panels 5 and 8 are overlapped and welded to each other, thereby forming the center pillar 4 main body having a closed cross-section structure.

A center rail reinforcement (not shown) is arranged below the pillar body. The pillar reinforcement is extended upward, and the extension portion 9 is located at a connecting portion between the center pillar 4 and the roof side rail 1. The extension 9 has a hat-shaped cross section along the inner surface of the outer panel 5 as in the case of the pillar reinforcement body (see FIG. 1 (c)). That is, the extension portion 9 includes a vertical wall portion 9a and a horizontal wall portion 9b having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction.
And a flange 9c is formed on the inner edge of the vertical wall portion 9a, and the flange 9c is sandwiched between the flanges 5a and 8a of the pillar outer and inner panels 5 and 8 by spot welding. It is fixed. As a result, a closed cross section is formed with the pillar inner panel 8. Further, the vertical wall portion 9a is located in the roof side rail 1 at the front,
In the rearward direction, that is, along the lower flange portions 2b and 3b of the rail outer and inner panels 2 and 3, it is horizontally curved so as to be expanded forward and backward, and the flange portion of the curved expanded portion 9a 'is formed.
9c is sandwiched between the lower flange portions 2b and 3b of the rail outer panel and the rail inner panel and fixed by spot welding. The lateral wall portion 9d is further extended upward as it is, and the upper end portion 9b thereof is bent horizontally. Further, the upper end 9b is formed by the rail outer and inner panel 2,
It is sandwiched between the upper flange portions 2a, 3a of 3 and fixed by spot welding. Here, 10 is a reinforcing bead portion formed in the central portion of the extension portion 9.

Next, the function and effect will be described.

In the joint structure of the pillar upper portion of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the pillar reinforcement provided at the lower portion of the center pillar 4 and having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction is connected to the roof side rail 1 and the center pillar 4. Since it is extended to the connecting portion, the section modulus in a plane substantially perpendicular to the pillar in the connecting portion is significantly increased. As a result, the rigidity of the connecting portion in the vehicle width direction is increased, and thus vibration in that direction can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent cracks in the panel at the connecting portion due to vibration in the vehicle width direction, and suppress vibration noise of the vehicle body. Moreover, since the reinforcing bead portion 10 is formed in the extension portion 9 of the pillar reinforcement, the rigidity of the extension portion 9 itself can be increased, and thereby the vibration can be prevented more effectively. You can Further, since the rigidity is increased by extending the existing member, it is not necessary to provide a new reinforcing member and the cost of parts is not increased.

Since the vertical wall portion 9a of the pillar reinforcement 9 is formed so as to be expanded along the roof side rail 1,
The vertical wall portion 9a and the horizontal wall portion 9d have a continuous structure from the center pillar 4 to the roof side rail 1, and the rigidity with respect to the rotation direction within the side surface of the vehicle body around the connecting portion of the both can be further improved.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the joint structure of the upper pillar of the vehicle according to the present invention, the pillar reinforcement provided at the lower part of the pillar and having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction is connected to the roof side rail and the upper end of the pillar. Since it extends to the connecting portion, the section modulus of the connecting portion in a plane substantially perpendicular to the pillar increases, and the rigidity of the connecting portion in the vehicle width direction increases. As a result, vibration of the pillar in the vehicle width direction due to vertical vibration of the vehicle body can be suppressed by simply extending the existing reinforcing member, and as a result, damage due to stress concentration at the connecting portion between the pillar and the roof side rail is prevented. In addition to this, there is an effect that the vehicle body noise can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, the upper end of the lateral wall portion of the pillar reinforcement is fixed to the roof side rail, and the vertical wall portion is curved along the roof side rail so as to widen in the front and rear directions. Since the portion is fixed to the roof side rail, there is an effect that the rigidity with respect to the rotational direction force within the vehicle body side surface centering on the connecting portion can be further improved while increasing the rigidity in the vehicle width direction.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are views for explaining a joint structure of a pillar upper portion in an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a sectional perspective view and FIG. 1B is FIG. 1A. ) Ib
-Ib line sectional view, FIG. 1 (c) is an Ic-Ic line sectional view of FIG. 1 (a), and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an entire vehicle for explaining a conventional pillar upper joint structure, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a conventional joining structure of the upper part of the pillar, FIG. 3 (a) is a sectional perspective view, and FIG. 3 (b) is a sectional view taken along line IIIb-IIIb in FIG. 3 (a). is there. In the figure, 1 is a roof side rail, 2 is a rail outer panel, 3 is a rail inner panel, 4 is a center pillar, 5 is a pillar outer panel, 8 is a pillar inner panel, and 9 is an extension of a center pillar reinforcement.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A joint structure of a pillar upper part in an automobile in which an upper end of a pillar composed of a pillar inner panel and a pillar outer panel is connected to a lower surface of a roof side rail composed of a rail inner panel and a rail outer panel, and a lower part of the pillar is joined to the lower part of the pillar. A pillar reinforcement that is fixedly arranged on the pillar and includes a vertical wall portion having a predetermined height in the vehicle width direction and a horizontal wall portion having a predetermined width in the vehicle front-rear direction, and forms a closed cross section with the pillar. The roof side rail and the pillar are extended to a connecting portion, the upper end of the lateral wall portion of the pillar reinforcement is bent inward in the vehicle width direction, and is fixed to the upper flange portion of the roof side rail, and the vertical wall portion is formed. Is curved so as to expand in the front and rear directions along the roof side rail, and Structure for joining the top pillar in an automobile, characterized in that fixed to the flange portion.