JPH0867271A - Body upper structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide body upper structure for automobile having high rigidity further with capability of eliminating a four-sheet lap welding point. CONSTITUTION: Since a corner part 23, leading to a front roof rail corresponding part 11 from a side roof rail corresponding part 13 of a brace 22, is almost linearly shaped, this corner part 23 is formed in an artificial truss structure, to increase rigidity against external force F applied to a side roof rail 5. A main spot point (four-sheet lap point), unwillingly conventionally set to a front side, is eliminated to set a new main spot point (three-sheet lap point) A2 to a space part S to a rear side of the former spot point, consequently to facilitate setting uniformly spaces d1 to d4 between a series of main spot points A1 to A5 arranged along a longitudinal direction.

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 structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vehicle body upper structure,
For example, the ones shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 are known (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-78773).

As shown in FIG. 3, a roof panel 1 has a sunroof opening 2 formed at the center thereof. And 3
Is a front pillar, 4 is a front roof rail, and 5 is a side roof rail, each of which has a closed cross-section structure, and is a connecting portion 6 at an upper end of the front pillar 3 (a DA portion shown in FIG. 4).
Are connected to each other at.

Hereinafter, the structure of the connecting portion 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
Will be described. Reference numeral 7 denotes a brace, which is a member that substantially connects the front pillar 3, the front roof rail 4, and the side roof rail 5 at the connecting portion 6. That is, the brace 7 includes a front pillar-corresponding portion 9 to which an end portion of a front pillar inner 8 is connected, and a front roof rail-corresponding portion 11 to which an end portion of a front roof rail inner 10 pre-joined to the roof panel 1 is connected. , A side roof rail corresponding portion 13 to which an end of the side roof rail inner 12 is connected, and has a three-pronged shape.

The corner portion 14 between the side roof rail corresponding portion 13 and the front roof rail corresponding portion 11 of the brace 7 has a curved shape, and the corner portion 14 has a drain pipe 15 (for a sunroof). Figure 5
An opening 16 is formed for introducing (see). Further, a reinforcement 17 is joined to the brace 7 from above from the front pillar corresponding portion 9 to the side roof rail corresponding portion 13, and the reinforcement 17 is provided at the center of the brace 7 on the side step portion of the roof panel 1. Two working holes 18 and 19 used when welding 1a are formed, and an opening 20 for passing the drain pipe 15 is also formed in the reinforcement 17. After passing through the opening 16 of the brace 7 and the opening 20 of the reinforcement 17, the drain pipe 15 is guided to the inside of the front pillar 3 to lower the water in the sunroof opening 2 through the inner space of the front pillar 3 as a passage. The water can be drained into a wheel house (not shown).

The brace 7 having such a shape
To a part of the front pillar corresponding part 9, the side roof rail corresponding part 13, and the front roof rail corresponding part 11 of
The outer panel 21 is joined from the upper side, and the roof panel 1 which covers the front roof rail corresponding portion 11 from the upper side is further joined thereto. Further, the side step portion 1 a of the roof panel 1 corresponds to the side step portion 2 of the outer panel 21.
It is placed and bonded to 1d.

That is, the upper portion of the front pillar 3 has a closed cross-section structure by joining the front pillar corresponding portion 9 and the corresponding portion 21a of the outer panel 21 with the reinforcement 17 interposed, and the front roof rail 4 has the outer panel. 21 corresponding to the front roof rail corresponding part 11 and the roof panel 1
The side roof rail 5 has a closed cross-section structure by joining the side roof rail corresponding portion 13 and the corresponding portion 21c of the outer panel 21. The lower portion of the front pillar 3 has a closed cross-section structure by joining the front pillar inner 8 and the front pillar outer 8 ′ joined to the corresponding portion of the outer panel 21.

FIG. 7 shows main spot welding points in the joint portion 6. In the figure, A _{1 to} A ₇ points are main spot points which are overlapped and welded including the roof panel 1 which is the outermost surface member (however, only the A ₆ outermost surface member is the outer panel 21), and B _{1 to} B ₅ points. The point is a sub-spot point in which only the member below the roof panel 1 is polymer-welded before the roof panel 1 is polymerized. For example, the A ₁ point is a three-layer welding of the flange 12a of the side roof rail inner 12, the side step portion 21d of the outer panel 21, and the side step portion 1a of the roof panel 1, and the A ₂ point is the side roof rail corresponding portion 13 Flange 13a, reinforcement 17 flange 17
a, side step portion 21d of the outer panel 21, a four lap welding of the side step portion 1a of the roof panel 1, A _3, A
Reinforce 17 and outer panel 2 for ₄ points respectively
1, has a three-ply welding of the corresponding portion of the roof panel 1, A ₅ points three sheets of the flange 11a, the side step portion 21d of the outer panel 21, the roof panel 1 flange 1b of the front roof rail handling unit 11 It is welded.

[0009]

However, in such a conventional technique, since the corner portion 14 between the side roof rail corresponding portion 13 and the front roof rail corresponding portion 11 of the brace 7 has a curved shape, it has a structure. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain rigidity when an external force F is applied to the side roof rails 5. Therefore, conventionally, in order to enhance the rigidity against such an external force F, the brace 7 and the outer panel 2 are made of materials.
It is necessary to increase the plate thickness of No. 1, resulting in an increase in vehicle body weight.

Of the main spot points A _{1 to} A ₇ , point A ₂ is “4” of the side roof rail corresponding portion 13, the reinforcement 17, the outer panel 21, and the roof panel 1.
Since it is `` single lap welding '', compared to other spot welding,
It is very difficult to adjust the amount of welding current, the applied pressure, the welding time, etc. when welding the A ₂ point, which is disadvantageous in terms of welding work efficiency. In the unlikely event that adjustment fails and a deep weld dent occurs, further finishing with a grinder or the like is required after welding, further lowering work efficiency.

The main spot point A₁~ A₇Nou
Chi, A₁~ A_Five5 points are on a straight line along the front-back direction
Although they are lined up, each main spot point A₁~ A_Fivewhile
Interval d₁~ D_FourAre not even. That is, A₁, A₂,
A₃Interval d₁, D₂Is very large, but A₃,
A_Four, A_FiveInterval d₃, D_FourIs extremely small. Original
Mackerel A₃, A_FourMove the point slightly backwards,
According to A₂The points also move to the rear side and each spot point A₁~ A
_FiveInterval d₁~ D_FourWhere you want to be as even as possible
Yes, but A₃, A_FourIf you move the point backward, A₃, A_Four
The working holes 18 and 19 at the points are corners 1 of the brace 7.
4 and the corner portion 14 is notched.
Therefore, the rigidity will be drastically reduced.
Then A₃, A _FourNo more points can be set backwards. this
Like A₃, A_FourSince the position of the point cannot be moved backward,
A₂If the position of the point is not the current position, A₃Distance d between points
₂Will open too much. In short, the work
A welded using holes 18, 19₃, A_FourPoints and that
Adjacent to₂Move the point position forward of the desired position
Must be set to each spot point A₁~ A
_FiveInterval d₁~ D_FourIs uneven, ensuring uniform rigidity
Is not preferable in terms of.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides a vehicle body upper structure having high rigidity and capable of eliminating the four-lap welding point.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The corner portion between the side roof rail corresponding portion and the front roof rail corresponding portion of the brace has a substantially linear shape which is obliquely connected to both.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the reinforcement on the side roof rail corresponding portion side is shortened to form a gap between the end of the reinforcement and the side roof rail inner, and the gap is formed. In the portion, three pieces, a roof panel, a side roof rail corresponding portion, and an outer panel, are overlapped and welded.

According to the third aspect of the invention, a working hole for welding is formed at a position close to the corner portion of the brace.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a drain pipe for a sunroof is introduced from a work hole for welding close to a corner portion of a brace.

[0017]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the corner portion between the side roof rail corresponding portion and the front roof rail corresponding portion of the brace is formed substantially linearly, the corner portion becomes a pseudo truss structure, and the side The rigidity against the external force applied to the roof rail is increased.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the length of the reinforcement on the side roof rail corresponding portion side is shortened, a gap portion is formed between the end portion of the reinforcement and the side roof rail inner. In this gap portion, the welding point of this portion, which was the sub-spot point in the related art, can be changed to the main spot point, and three-layer welding can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to change the main spot point of the four-ply stack located at the adjacent position on the front side of this point to the sub-spot point of the three-ply stack, and to completely eliminate the welding point of the four-ply stack. It is possible to improve efficiency.
In addition, the main spot point (four-sheet overlapping point), which was conventionally set to the front without help, was abolished, and a new main spot point (three-sheet overlapping point) was set in the gap near it, so that the front-back direction It becomes easy to equalize the intervals between a series of main spot points arranged along the line.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the corner portion itself is located rearward by making the corner portion substantially linear, the position of the working hole for welding is located at this corner portion. It is possible to set the position of this post-working hole to the rear side by approaching to. Therefore, it is possible to set the main spot point, which was conventionally restricted to the position of this working hole and was positioned in the front, to the rear position, and between the main spot points arranged in the front-rear direction. It becomes easier to make the intervals even.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the drain pipe for the sunroof is introduced from the welding work hole close to the corner of the brace, the dedicated introduction opening conventionally provided can be eliminated. This is advantageous in terms of moldability and strength of the brace.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

The corner portion 23 of the brace 22 in this embodiment is not curved as in the conventional case, but has a linear shape that is obliquely connected to the front roof rail corresponding portion 11 and the side roof rail corresponding portion 13. The corresponding edge portion 24 of the outer panel 21 also has a linear shape corresponding to the corner portion 23. Further, in the vicinity of the corner portion 23 of the brace 22, a dedicated introduction opening for introducing a drain pipe (not shown) is eliminated. Therefore, by eliminating the exclusive introduction opening, the brace 22 of this embodiment has improved moldability and rigidity as compared with the conventional one. Then, instead of eliminating the exclusive introduction opening, two work holes 25, 26 for welding are provided in a state of approaching to the corner portion 23, and the corner portion 2
The work hole 25 closer to 3 is used as an introduction opening for the drain pipe after the welding work.

Further, according to this embodiment, as described above, since the working holes 25 and 26 of the brace 22 are in the state of approaching the linear corner portion 23, the working holes 25 and 26 are It is in a state of being located more rearward than in the past.
That is, since the corner portion 23 itself moves rearward by making the corner portion 23 linear, by bringing the working holes 25 and 26 close to the corner portion 23, the working holes 25 and 26 can be moved. The position of is behind. Therefore, the positions of the main spot points A ₃ and A ₄ to be welded by using the working holes 25 and 26 are also moved rearward together with the working holes 25 and 26 (note that 18 and 19 in FIG. The positions of the conventional main spot points A ₃ and A ₄ are shown).

The main spot points A ₃ and A ₄
Since the main spot point A ₂ can also be moved to the rear side by moving to the rear side, it is possible to perform the three-piece lap welding for the following reason, which was a situation where the four-piece lap welding was conventionally performed without help. That is, since the main spot point A ₂ can be set rearward from the conventional one, the flange 13a of the side roof rail corresponding portion 13 other than the roof panel 1 and the reinforcement ₂ are located forward of the main spot point A 2.
7, flange 27b, outer panel 21 side step 2
It is possible to set the sub-spot point B ₃ for 1d triple-layer welding. This sub-spot point B ₃ causes reinforcement 2
No. 7 flange 27b and side roof rail corresponding portion 13
Since the joint with the flange 13a is secured, the rear side of the reinforcement 27, which is rearward of the sub-spot point B _3, is not particularly necessary. Therefore, the reinforcement 27 in this embodiment has a shorter length on the rear side than the conventional one, and the rear end 27a of the reinforcement 27 is located on the front side of the position of the conventional rear end 27a '. 27
A gap S is formed between the rear end 27a and the side roof rail inner 12 by the length of the reinforcement 27. Therefore, by setting the main spot point A ₂ in the gap portion S, the flange 1 of the main spot point A ₂ is a side roof rail corresponding section 13
3a, the side step portion 21d of the outer panel 21, and the side step portion 1a of the roof panel 1 are welded points of three layers. The sub-spot point referred to here is, as in the conventional case, when the vehicle body frame is formed by the front pillar inner 8, the brace 22, the reinforcement 27, the front pillar outer 8 ′, the outer panel 21, and the side roof rail inner 12.
This is a part of the spot-welded point, and the main spot point is spot-welded when the roof panel 1 to which the front roof rail inner 10 and the like are previously joined is joined to the assembled vehicle body side frame as in the conventional case. Some of the points are shown.

As described above, conventionally, the main spot point is
A₂, A₃, A_FourWas unavoidably located at the front
Therefore, each main spot point A₁~ A_FiveInterval d₁~ D_FourBut
In this example, the main
Point A₂, A₃, A_FourFor the reasons mentioned above,
Since it can be set, each main spot point A₁~ A_FiveInterval of
d₁~ D_FourIs almost even. Therefore, the Mei
Spot point A₁~ A _FiveA well-balanced arrangement is possible
Therefore, the rigidity weakness of the joint 6 disappears,
The body rigidity can be improved.

Further, according to this embodiment, as described above, since the corner portion 23 of the brace 22 is formed linearly, the corner portion 23 has a pseudo truss structure, and the external force F applied to the side roof rail 5 is applied. Increases rigidity. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the plate thickness of the brace 22 and the outer panel 21 that form the joint portion 6, and the weight of the vehicle body can be reduced.

Further, conventionally, the main spot points A ₂ and A
The main spot point A ₂ of 4-layer lap welding, which had to be set to the front side inevitably in order to close the gap with ₃ , was moved to the rear side, and the conventional sub-spot point B ₃ was replaced to move it to the front side. However, since the rear side of the reinforcement 27 was shortened, the gap S could be formed there. Therefore, by using that as the main spot point for three-layer welding, the welding point that was conventionally four-layered can be abolished, and the adjustment of the welding current amount, pressure, welding time, etc. becomes easy. , The welding work efficiency is improved.

As in the above embodiment, it is most preferable to move both the main spot point A ₂ and the main spot points A ₃ and A ₄ backward, but only one of them is moved backward. Even if only, the conventional intervals d _{1 to} d at a series of main spot points A _{1 to} A ₅ arranged in the front-rear direction
_Since the variation of ₄ is improved to some extent, the main spot point A ₂ and the main spot point A are
_It is not always necessary to move both ₃ and A ₄ backward.

[0029]

According to the invention described in claim 1, since the corner portion between the side roof rail corresponding portion and the front roof rail corresponding portion of the brace is formed substantially linearly, the corner portion becomes a pseudo truss structure. , The rigidity against the external force applied to the side roof rail is increased.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the reinforcement on the side roof rail corresponding portion side is shortened to form a gap between the end of the reinforcement and the side roof rail inner. In this gap portion, the welding point of this portion, which was the sub-spot point in the related art, can be changed to the main spot point, and three-layer welding can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to change the main spot point of the four-ply stack located at the adjacent position on the front side of this point to the sub-spot point of the three-ply stack, and to completely eliminate the welding point of the four-ply stack. It is possible to improve efficiency.
In addition, the main spot point (four-sheet overlapping point), which was conventionally set to the front without help, was abolished, and a new main spot point (three-sheet overlapping point) was set in the gap near it, so that the front-back direction It becomes easy to equalize the intervals between a series of main spot points arranged along the line.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the corner portion itself is located rearward by making the corner portion substantially linear, the position of the work hole for welding is located at this corner portion. It is possible to set the position of this post-working hole to the rear side by approaching to. Therefore, it is possible to set the main spot point, which was conventionally restricted to the position of this working hole and was positioned in the front, to the rear position, and between the main spot points arranged in the front-rear direction. It becomes easier to make the intervals even.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the drain pipe for the sunroof is introduced from the welding work hole close to the corner portion of the brace, the dedicated introduction opening conventionally provided can be eliminated. This is advantageous in terms of moldability and strength of the brace.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an upper body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a vehicle body upper structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SA-SA shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an automobile showing a conventional example.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SB-SB shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional vehicle body upper structure.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional vehicle body upper structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Roof Panel 8 Front Pillar Inner 9 Front Pillar Corresponding Part 10 Front Roof Rail Inner 11 Front Roof Rail Corresponding Part 12 Side Roof Rail Inner 13 Side Roof Rail Corresponding Part 21 Outer Panel 22 Brace 23 Corner 25, 26 Work Hole 27 Reinforce S S Gap Part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A three-pronged brace having a front pillar corresponding portion connected to the front pillar inner, a front roof rail corresponding portion connected to the front roof rail inner, and a side roof rail corresponding portion connected to the side roof rail inner. Reinforcement that is joined from above from the front pillar corresponding portion of the brace to the side roof rail corresponding portion, and part of the front pillar corresponding portion, side roof rail corresponding portion, and front roof rail corresponding portion from each above from the above reinforcement. And a roof panel joined to the front roof rail corresponding portion and the side roof rail corresponding portion from above the outer panel, respectively. Vehicle superstructure of a motor vehicle, wherein the corner portion between the side roof rail corresponding portion and the front roof rail corresponding portion is a substantially linear shape which is coupled at an angle to both. 2. A gap portion is formed between an end portion of the reinforcement and a side roof rail inner by shortening a length of the reinforcement portion on a side roof rail corresponding portion side, and a roof panel is formed in the gap portion. The vehicle body upper structure according to claim 1, wherein the side roof rail corresponding portion and the outer panel are superposed and welded together. 3. The vehicle body upper structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a work hole for welding is formed at a position close to a corner portion of the brace. 4. The vehicle body upper structure according to claim 3, wherein a drain pipe for a sunroof is introduced through a welding work hole close to a corner portion of the brace.