JPH09118257A - Connecting structure of space frame body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the higher rigidity and higher strength of a connecting structure of space frame body without increasing the thickness of a connecting member. SOLUTION: A rear side member 12 and a rear pillar 13 which are frame members of a space frame body are mutually connected by a connecting member 50. Each of the frame members 12, 13 has a hollow closed section differed in form, and each section is partitioned into a plurality of sections by a bulkhead 15. Opening end parts 52, 54 having forms insertable to the end parts of the frame members 12, 13, respectively, are formed on both end parts of the connecting member 50. After the opening end parts 52, 53 are inserted into the end parts of the frame members 12, 13, they are surely connected and fixed by welding in proper positions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a space frame vehicle body joint structure in which members having a hollow closed cross section are joined together to form a vehicle body skeleton structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows an outline of a space frame vehicle body structure. For example, a skeleton member having a hollow closed cross section such as a side frame 1, a rear side member 2 and a rear pillar 3 has connecting members 4 and 5, respectively. Are connected through. Hollow members are used as the connecting members 4 and 5 from the viewpoint of weight reduction, and an example of the shape of the connecting member 5 that connects the rear side member 2 and the rear pillar 3 in a substantially L shape is expanded. Is shown.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned hollow structure connecting member having only the outer shell, particularly in the case of the space frame formed by the extruded material, when the rigidity and strength are to be improved, the wall thickness is increased. However, there is a problem in that it is uneconomical because of a significant increase in weight. Further, since the main reason for adopting the space frame structure is to reduce the weight of the vehicle body, there is a demand for a joint structure capable of achieving high rigidity and high strength without increasing the wall thickness and significantly increasing the weight. .

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a joint structure for a space frame vehicle body which can achieve high rigidity and high strength without increasing the thickness of the joint member which receives an input of bending stress from the skeletal member. To do.

[0005]

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and forms a skeleton of a space frame vehicle body and has a hollow closed cross section divided into a plurality of sections by partition walls. A space frame vehicle body joint structure comprising: a member; and a joint member having an opening end portion inserted into an end portion of the skeleton member.

A rib is formed inside the coupling member, and the rib in this case is preferably formed in a cross shape. Further, the skeleton member is formed of an aluminum extruded material, and the coupling member is formed of an aluminum casting.

[0007]

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

In the space frame vehicle body structure of FIG. 1 (a), frame members such as a side frame 11 having a hollow closed cross section, a rear side member 12 and a rear pillar 13 are coupled through coupling members 14 and 50 having a hollow structure, respectively. There is. Aluminum (hereinafter referred to as aluminum) extruded material, which is advantageous for weight reduction, is suitable for each frame member. However, each skeletal member
Since the required strength and other connecting members differ depending on the position used, the optimum hollow closed cross-sectional shape for each skeleton member naturally also differs. Further, in order to increase the strength and rigidity of the skeleton member itself, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable to employ a skeleton member 18 having hollow closed cross sections 16 and 17 divided into two sections by a partition wall 15 as shown in FIG. Note that the number of sections of the hollow closed cross section that reinforces each skeleton member may be three or more as necessary.

For this reason, the joining member for joining the skeleton members having different hollow closed cross-sectional shapes divided into a plurality of sections by the partition wall is, for example, the rear side member 12 and the rear pillar 13 shown in FIG. 1 (c). Like the connecting member 50 between them, an opening end portion 52 that is inserted into the end portion of the rear side member 12 is formed on the side of the rear side member connecting portion 51 that is connected to the rear side member 12, and is similarly connected to the rear pillar 13. An open end 54 to be inserted into an end of the rear pillar 13 is formed on the side of the rear pillar connecting portion 53. These open end portions 52, 54 are shaped such that their outer peripheral surfaces are in contact with the inner peripheral surface (hollow closed cross section inner wall) of the skeleton member into which they are inserted. That is, FIG. 1 (b)
When the skeleton member 18 having the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 is joined to the open end portion 54, the left open end portion 54a is inserted into the inner peripheral surface of the hollow closed cross section 16 so that the outer peripheral surface thereof is in contact with the hollow closed cross section. The opening end portion 54b on the right side is inserted into the inner peripheral surface of 17 so that the outer peripheral surface thereof is in contact. As a result, the partition wall 15 is fitted between the opening end portions 54a and 54b, and the skeleton member 18 provided with the partition wall 15 for the purpose of reinforcement or the like.
However, it is not necessary to perform an extra work such as cutting out the end portion, and the coupling member 50 can be easily coupled. The rear side member connecting portion 51 and the rear pillar connecting portion 53 are connected to the rear side member 12 and the rear pillar 1.
After inserting the open end portions 52 and 54 into the hollow closed cross section of No. 3, they are securely connected and fixed by welding in proper places.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a welded structure of the skeleton member A and the joining member B. (a) is welded all around along the joining line generated by the insertion of the opening end. 60 is a welded part. Next, (b) is the entire circumference welded portion 6 of (a).
In addition to 0, the weld portion is extended to the ridge line portion 61. In this case, the ridge line portion of the skeleton member A needs to be cut in advance. With such a welded structure, it is possible to disperse the stress acting on the welded portion. Therefore, compared to the structure (a) with only full circumference welding, the joint rigidity and the durability and yield strength of the jointed portion (strength against impact load) Is improved. Also, (c),
(D) and (e) show a welding structure in which a spot-shaped welded portion 62 is added to the entire-circumferentially welded portion 60, and although there is a difference depending on the position of the spot-shaped welded portion 62, in all cases, the entire periphery is welded. The joint rigidity and the strength of the joint are improved as compared with the structure (a) having only welding. It is known that among the five types of welded structures shown in (a) to (e), the structure shown in (b) gives the best results.

By the way, the above-mentioned joining member 50 joins the rear side member 12 and the rear pillar 13 in a substantially L-shape, and as shown in FIG. 1 (a), has rigidity against bending stress F acting from the rear pillar 13. This is a part that is particularly required to be improved. In such a case, it is general to increase the wall thickness of the connecting member 50 to cope with such a case, but in another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, the connecting member 55 having a hollow shape is used. Ribs 56 are formed inside to improve rigidity and strength. As a particularly preferable example of installation of the rib 56, as shown in FIG. 3, a first rib 57 formed in the vehicle body front-rear direction in the same direction as the bending stress F acts, and a vehicle crossing the first rib 57 are formed. It is preferable that the ribs are formed in a cross shape by the second ribs 58 formed in the width direction.

By forming the cross-shaped rib 56 as described above, the load acting on the connecting member 55 is dispersed and local deformation can be suppressed. In particular, the rear pillar 13, the connecting member 55 and the rear side member can be suppressed. The bending rigidity in the L-shaped plane formed by 12 is greatly improved. Further, aluminum casting is preferable for the connecting members 50 and 55 because it is advantageous for weight reduction of the vehicle body. Although the weight of the joining member 55 is increased by forming the ribs 56, compared with the case where the thickness of the joining member 50 composed only of the outer shell is increased to improve the rigidity to the same degree, The increase is small.

In the above description, the connecting member 5 for connecting the rear side member 12 and the rear pillar 13 together.
However, the coupling structure of the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the coupling structure of the present invention is also applicable to the coupling structure at other places constituting the space frame vehicle body.

[0014]

According to the above-described connecting structure of the present invention, it is possible to achieve high rigidity and high strength of the connecting portion without a significant increase in weight. Moreover, the joining member of the present invention has an advantage that the end portions can be easily joined even if a skeleton member provided with a partition wall for reinforcement is used. By using an aluminum space frame vehicle body structure that uses a casting connecting member and adopts the above connecting structure, it is possible to easily provide a space frame vehicle body that is lightweight and has high rigidity and high strength.

Further, if the ribs formed inside the connecting member are formed in a cross shape, it is possible to expect a particularly great improvement in rigidity against bending stress received from the skeleton member connected in a substantially L shape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing an outline of a space frame vehicle body structure, and (b) is a skeleton member having a hollow closed cross section divided into a plurality of sections by partition walls. Sectional drawing, (c) is an enlarged perspective view showing a structural example of a coupling member.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a welded structure of a skeleton member and a joining member.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing another embodiment of the coupling member.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a conventional example of a space frame vehicle body structure and a connecting member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 rear side member (frame member) 13 rear pillar (frame member) 15 partition wall 18 frame member 50, 55 coupling member 52, 54 opening end 56 rib A frame member B coupling member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Masayoshi Kusuhara 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Hideshi Kobayashi 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Isamu Hirono 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A skeleton member forming a skeleton of a space frame vehicle body and having a hollow closed cross section divided into a plurality of sections by partition walls, and a coupling member having an open end inserted into an end of the skeleton member. A space frame vehicle body joint structure characterized by comprising: 2. The coupling structure for a space frame vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein ribs are formed inside the coupling member. 3. The coupling structure for a space frame vehicle body according to claim 2, wherein the rib is formed in a cross shape. 4. The joint structure for a space frame vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein the skeleton member is formed of an aluminum extruded material. 5. The joint structure for a space frame vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein the joint member is made of cast aluminum.