JPH08113160A - Occupant protective structure for upper body section of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the rising characteristics of specified load with no increase in the weight. CONSTITUTION: A pillar outer panel 20, a pillar inner panel 24 and a pillar reinforcing member 26 are formed into a structure in such a way that its cross section cut out at an imaginary surface which perpendicularly intersected with the longer direction, forms a closed cross section wherein their respective flange section 20A, 24A and 26A, and respective flange sections 20B, 24B and 26B are piled up respectively, and thereby spot-welded so as to be joined. An energy absorbing panel 28 is disposed in the pillar inner panel 24 at an interval 25 interspaced toward a cabine. The energy absorbing panel 28 is formed with paired opposite side surface sections 28B and 28C at both ends of its pressure receiving section 28A, and these paired side surface sections 28 B and 28C are spot-welded to the side surface sections 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24 respectively. The sheet thickness T1 of the energy absorbing panel 28 is made thicker than the sheet thickness T2 of the pillar outer panel 20 and the sheet thickness T3 of the pillar inner panel 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body upper occupant protection structure, and more particularly to a vehicle body upper occupant protection structure having a pillar and a roof rail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle occupant protection structure for an upper part of an automobile, there is one in which a pillar and a roof rail are covered with a garnish made of a resin material on the inner side in the vehicle width direction. Has been done.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure, a roof side rail 70 includes an outer panel 72, an inner panel 74 arranged at a distance 74 from the outer panel 72 toward the vehicle interior, The outer panel 72 and the inner panel 74 are provided with an energy absorption panel 76 having a thickness smaller than the thickness of the outer panel 72 and the thickness of the inner panel 74, and spaced apart toward the vehicle interior of the inner panel 74. And the flange portions 72A, 74A, 76A and the flange portions 72B, 74B, 76B of the energy absorbing panel 76 are overlapped and joined to each other, and a cross section cut along an imaginary plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a closed cross section. When the garnish 78 elastically deforms, the energy absorbing panel 76 also plastically deforms and absorbs energy.

[0004]

However, in this vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure of the automobile, the energy absorbing panel 76 has a hat-shaped cross section, and the flange portions 76A and 76B formed at the open ends are the inner panel. It is fixed to the flange portions 74A and 74B of 74. Therefore,
In order to obtain the rising characteristics of a predetermined load, it is necessary to secure the rigidity of the pair of side surface portions 76D and 76E formed at both ends of the general surface 76C of the energy absorbing panel 76.
Therefore, the plate thickness of the energy absorption panel 76 becomes thicker,
There is a problem that the weight increases.

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile, in which a predetermined load rising characteristic can be obtained without causing an increase in weight.

[0006]

The present invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure having a pillar and a roof rail, wherein the pillar and the roof rail are an outer panel and an inner panel from the outer panel. An inner panel having a pair of side surfaces arranged at a distance and opposed to both ends of a general surface, and having a plate thickness of the outer panel and a plate thickness smaller than the plate thickness of the inner panel toward the passenger compartment of the inner panel. A pair of side surface portions that are arranged at intervals and face each other at both ends of the pressure receiving portion that receives a load from the head of the occupant are formed, and the pair of side surface portions are respectively fixed to the pair of side wall portions of the inner panel. An energy absorbing panel, and a virtual portion that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction by overlapping and joining the flange portions of the outer panel and the inner panel. It is characterized in in that the section cut was closed cross section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the side surface portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed near the general surface of the side surface portion of the inner panel.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the general surface of the inner panel is set so as to be substantially perpendicular to the head position direction of the occupant, and the energy absorption is performed. It is characterized in that the pressure receiving portion of the panel has a shape having an apex with the head position direction as the apex and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the head position direction.

[0009]

In the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to the present invention, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the pressure receiving portion of the energy absorbing panel, the energy absorbing panel is deformed to the outside of the vehicle compartment to absorb the energy due to the load. . Further, since the pair of side wall portions of the energy absorbing panel are fixed to the pair of side wall portions of the inner panel, respectively, the pair of side wall portions of the energy absorbing panel is different from the configuration in which the flange portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed to the flange portion of the inner panel. The length of the part can be set short. Therefore, the rigidity of the energy absorbing panel is increased without increasing the plate thickness of the energy absorbing panel, so that the rising characteristics of a predetermined load can be obtained.

In the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the present invention according to the first aspect, the side surface portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed near the general surface of the side surface portion of the inner panel. The length of the side surface portion can be shortened. Therefore, the cross-sectional area of the inner panel can be reduced, and the inner panel can be prevented from protruding into the vehicle interior.

In the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to the third aspect of the invention, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied from the head position direction to the top of the pressure receiving portion of the energy absorbing panel, the energy absorbing panel is plastically deformed to the outside of the passenger compartment. And absorbs the energy due to the load. On the other hand, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the inclined surface of the pressure receiving portion of the energy absorbing panel while deviating from the head position direction, the energy absorbing panel plastically deforms to the action side of the load to absorb the energy due to the load and Energy can also be absorbed by rotation of the occupant's head by the surface. Therefore, regardless of the contact direction of the occupant's head,
Energy can be absorbed efficiently.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In each of the drawings, an arrow F is shown as appropriate.
R indicates the vehicle front side, arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side,
The arrow IN indicates the inner side of the vehicle width.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of left and right roof side rails 12 are arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body at both ends in the upper vehicle width direction of the vehicle body 10, and the front end portion of the roof side rail 12 is arranged. A front roof rail 13 is arranged in the. A rear roof rail 15 is arranged at the rear end of the roof side rail 12, and a front pillar 14 is provided at the front end of the roof side rail 12.
The upper ends of are joined together. An upper end of a rear pillar 16 is connected to a rear end of the roof side rail 12, and an upper end of a center pillar 18 is connected to an intermediate part of the roof side rail 12 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front pillar 14
Is a pillar outer panel 20 forming an outer side portion of the vehicle body of the front pillar 14, a pillar inner panel 24 arranged at a distance 22 from the pillar outer panel 20 toward the vehicle interior, and between the pillar outer panel 20 and the pillar inner panel 24. Pillar reinforcements 26 placed in
It has. The pillar outer panel 20, the pillar inner panel 24, and the pillar reinforcements 26 have flange portions 20A, 24A, 26A, and a flange portion 20, respectively.
B, 24B, and 26B are overlapped and joined by spot welding, and the cross section cut along an imaginary plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a closed cross section.

The flange portion 20 of the pillar outer panel 20
An intermediate portion 20C between A and the flange portion 20B has a convex shape that protrudes toward the outer side of the vehicle compartment, and an intermediate portion 26C between the flange portion 26A and the flange portion 26B of the pillar reinforcement 26 also protrudes toward the outer side of the vehicle compartment. It is shaped. In addition, the flange portion 24A of the pillar inner panel 24
The intermediate portion between the flange portion 24B and the flange portion 24B has a hat-shaped cross section having a general surface 24C and a pair of side surface portions 24D and 24E facing both ends of the general surface 24C.

An energy absorbing panel 28 is arranged at a space 25 toward the passenger compartment of the pillar inner panel 24. The energy absorbing panel 28 includes a pair of side surface portions 28 opposed to both ends of a pressure receiving portion 28A that receives a load from the occupant's head.
B and 28C are formed in a U-shaped cross section, and the pair of side surface portions 28B and 28C are spot-welded to the side surface portions 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24, respectively.

The plate thickness T1 of the energy absorbing panel 28
Is thinner than the plate thickness T2 of the pillar outer panel 20 and the plate thickness T3 of the pillar inner panel 24.

A garnish 30 is arranged in the interior of the pillar inner panel 24, and the front pillar 14 is
It covers the inner side of the passenger compartment. The garnish 30 has a substantially arcuate cross section taken along a virtual plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Further, the garnish 30 has the flange portion 2
Buffer ribs 30A are formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction at the portions facing the joints of 0B, 24B, and 26B and the side surface portion 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28.

It should be noted that when the front side door 31 is closed, the front side door 31 is closed by the pillar outer panel 2.
The weather strip 32 attached to No. 0 and the opening weather strip 34 attached to the joints of the flange portions 20B, 24B, and 26B are in close contact with each other. Reference numeral 36 in FIG. 1 indicates a windshield glass, and reference numeral 38 indicates a wire harness.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure of the first embodiment, the load in the direction of arrow F of FIG. 1 acts on the garnish 30 due to the pressure contact with the occupant, and the garnish 30 is flexibly deformed and pressed against the energy absorbing panel 28. When a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the pressure receiving portion 28A of the energy absorbing panel 28, the plate thickness T2 of the pillar outer panel 20 and the pillar inner panel 24.
The energy absorption panel 28 having a plate thickness T1 smaller than the plate thickness T3 is crushed to the outside of the vehicle compartment and absorbs energy due to the load.

Further, in the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure of the first embodiment, the pair of side wall portions 28B and 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28 are connected to the side surface portion 2 of the pillar inner panel 24.
Since spot welding is performed on 4D and 24E, respectively, the lengths L1 and L2 of the pair of side wall portions 28B and 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28 are set to be shorter than the configuration in which the flange portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed to the flange portion of the inner panel. it can. Therefore, even if the plate thickness T1 of the energy absorbing panel 28 is not increased, the rigidity of the energy absorbing panel 28 is increased, so that a predetermined load rising characteristic can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, the side surface portions 28B and 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28 are fixed to the side surface portions 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24 by spot welding, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the side surface portions 28B and 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28 may be fixed to the side surface portions 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24 by screws 41, respectively. In this case, the energy absorbing panel 28 can be easily removed by removing the screw 41.
It is easy to repair and replace.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the joint portion of the flange portion of the front pillar 14 on the front side door 31 side is eliminated, and the end portion 2 of the pillar outer panel 20 on the vehicle interior side is eliminated.
0D and the vehicle cabin outer side end 24D of the pillar inner panel 24 may be joined by arc welding. In this case, since the flange portion of the front pillar 14 on the side of the front side door 31 is not provided, the rib 30A of the garnish 30 can be made small, and the portion 30B facing the joint portion is shown in FIG.
Since the garnish 30 can be moved from the position of the imaginary line to the position of the solid line on the joint side, the weight and cost of the garnish 30 can be reduced and the amount of protrusion of the garnish 30 toward the vehicle interior can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the second embodiment,
Side portions 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24 are provided near the ends of the side portions 28B and 28C of the energy absorbing panel 28.
Are fixed by arc welding to the respective portions in the vicinity of the general surface 24C. In addition, the flange portion 24B of the pillar inner panel 24 and the flange portion 2 of the pillar reinforcement 26.
The notch 40 is formed in 6B at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, since the lengths L3 and L4 of the side surface portions 24D and 24E of the pillar inner panel 24 can be shortened, the sectional area S3 of the pillar inner panel 24 can be reduced and the flange Part 20
Since the ribs 30 can be made smaller because the notch 40 is formed in the joint portion of B, 24B, and 26B so as to be easily deformed, the position of the garnish 30 is changed from the position of the imaginary line in FIG. Since the garnish 30 can be moved to a position, the weight and cost of the garnish 30 can be reduced, and the amount of protrusion of the garnish 30 toward the vehicle interior can be reduced, so that the vehicle interior space can be expanded and the forward visibility can be expanded.

Next, a third embodiment of the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the third embodiment,
The general surface 24C of the energy absorption panel 28 is set to be substantially perpendicular to the head position direction of the occupant (direction of arrow H in FIG. 6). Further, in the pressure receiving portion 28A of the energy absorbing panel 28, the head position direction is the top portion 28D, and the surfaces sandwiching the top portion 28D have a predetermined angle α with respect to the head position direction.
The inclined surfaces 28E and 28F are inclined by 1 and α2, and have a substantially pentagonal cross section.

Therefore, in the third embodiment, when a load (arrow N1 in FIG. 6) of a predetermined value or more is applied from the head position direction to the top portion 28D of the pressure receiving portion 28A of the energy absorbing panel 28, the energy absorbing panel 28 is shown. Absorbs energy due to the load by plastically deforming to the outside of the vehicle compartment within the range of the maximum stroke M1. On the other hand, the pressure receiving portion 28A of the energy absorbing panel 28
When a load of a predetermined value or more (arrow N2 or arrow N3 in FIG. 6) is applied to the inclined surface 28E or the inclined surface 28F of the above from a direction deviated from the head position direction, the energy absorbing panel 28 is plastically deformed to the acting side of the load. Energy is absorbed by the load, and the energy can also be absorbed by contacting the inclined surface 28E or the inclined surface 28F and rotating the head of the occupant. Therefore, energy can be efficiently absorbed regardless of the contact direction of the occupant's head.

Further, in the third embodiment, since the pressure receiving portion 28A of the energy absorbing panel 28 has a substantially pentagonal sectional shape, the position of the garnish 30 is changed from the position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. Since the garnish 30 can be moved to a position, the weight and cost of the garnish 30 can be reduced, and the amount of protrusion of the garnish 30 toward the vehicle interior can be reduced, so that the vehicle interior space can be expanded and the forward visibility can be expanded.

The above-mentioned respective embodiments can be applied in combination. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the front pillar 14 is provided with the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure of the automobile of the present invention.
However, the vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile of the present invention is also applicable to the rear pillar 16, the center pillar 18, the roof side rail 12, the front roof rail 13, and the rear roof rail 15.

[0035]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle upper body occupant protection structure having a pillar and a roof rail, wherein the pillar and the roof rail are arranged at an outer panel and at a distance from the outer panel toward a vehicle interior. And an inner panel having a pair of side surfaces facing each other at both ends of the general surface, and having a plate thickness of the outer panel and a plate thickness smaller than the plate thickness of the inner panel and arranged at a distance toward the passenger compartment of the inner panel. An outer panel having a pair of side surfaces facing each other at both ends of a pressure receiving portion that receives a load from the head of the occupant, the pair of side surfaces being fixed to a pair of side wall portions of the inner panel, respectively. In addition, the flanges of the inner panel and the inner panel are overlapped and joined together, and the cross section cut along an imaginary plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a closed cross section. Rising characteristics of the predetermined load without incurring having an excellent effect that can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, since the side surface portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed near the general surface of the side surface portion of the inner panel, the effect of the invention of claim 1 is achieved. In addition, it has an excellent effect that the cross-sectional area of the inner panel can be reduced and the inner panel can be prevented from protruding into the vehicle interior.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the inner surface of the inner panel is set to be substantially perpendicular to the head position direction of the occupant, and the pressure of the energy absorbing panel is received. In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, in addition to the effect of the invention, the contact direction of the head of the occupant It has an excellent effect that energy can be efficiently absorbed regardless of the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2 showing a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a vehicle body of an automobile.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a vehicle body upper portion occupant protection structure for an automobile according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic horizontal sectional view of a vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vehicle Body 12 Roof Side Rail 13 Front Roof Rail 14 Front Pillar 15 Rear Roof Rail 16 Rear Pillar 18 Center Pillar 20 Pillar Outer Panel 20A Flange Part 20B Flange Part 24 Pillar Inner Panel 24A Flange Part 24B Flange Part 24C General Surface 24D Side Part 24E Side Part 28 Absorbing part 28A Pressure receiving part 28B Side part 28C Side part 28D Top part 28E Inclined surface 28F Inclined surface 30 Garnish

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure having a pillar and a roof rail, wherein the pillar and the roof rail are arranged at an outer panel and at a distance from the outer panel toward the vehicle interior and face both ends of a general surface. An inner panel having a pair of side portions, a plate thickness of the outer panel and a plate thickness smaller than the plate thickness of the inner panel, which are arranged at a distance toward the vehicle interior of the inner panel and from the head of the occupant. The outer panel and the inner panel are provided with a pair of side surfaces facing each other at both ends of a pressure receiving portion that receives a load, and an energy absorbing panel having the pair of side surfaces fixed to a pair of side walls of the inner panel. Characterized by the fact that the flanges of each panel are overlapped and joined together, and the cross section cut along a virtual plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a closed cross section. The occupant protection structure for the upper part of the car body. 2. The vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a side surface portion of the energy absorbing panel is fixed near a general surface of the side surface portion of the inner panel. 3. The general surface of the inner panel is set to be substantially perpendicular to the head position direction of the occupant, and the pressure receiving portion of the energy absorbing panel has the head position direction as the top and the head position direction. 2. The vehicle body upper part occupant protection structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure has an inclined surface which is inclined at a predetermined angle.