JPH09118258A - Space frame structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of molding dies or part items to reduce the cost of a space frame structure of vehicle body. SOLUTION: A frame member of vehicle body is formed of a front side member 22, and an upper side frame 26 and lower side frame 28 mutually connected in the rear side through a connecting member. As at least the upper side frame 26 of them, a member integrally molded by bending the same closed sectional aluminum extruded material is used. The upper side frame 26 includes a front pillar 26a, a side roof rail 26b and a rear pillar 26c.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a space frame structure in which a hollow member is used to form a frame member of a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The weight reduction of a vehicle body is advantageous for reducing fuel consumption and improving exercise performance, and one of the means is to make the vehicle body aluminum (hereinafter referred to as aluminum).

In order to make the vehicle body aluminum, it is possible to use an aluminum extruded material for the frame member. However, since the aluminum extruded material has the same cross-sectional shape due to manufacturing restrictions, in the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, for example, the front pillar 1, the side roof rail 2, and the rear pillar 3 having different cross-sectional shapes are used. Joining members 4 and 5 matching the respective cross-sectional shapes are interposed between the joining members to form an upper side frame 6 serving as a skeleton member on the side surface of the vehicle body.

Reference numeral 7 in the drawing is a windshield,
Reference numeral 8 is a roof panel, 9 is a side panel, and 10 is a rear panel.

[0005]

However, as described above, in the case of the upper side frame 6 in which the front pillar 1, the side roof 2 and the rear pillar 3 having different cross-sectional shapes are connected by the connecting members 4 and 5, the aluminum extrusion is used. Since as many molding dies as the number of materials and connecting members which are cast parts are required, there is a problem that the cost is increased accordingly.

Further, since the number of parts is large, there is a disadvantage that man-hours are required for parts management and assembly.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a space frame structure for a vehicle body which can reduce the cost by reducing the number of molding dies and parts.

[0008]

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a first invention is a front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of a passenger compartment,
A joint member connected to the rear end of the front side member, an upper side frame connected to the joint member and integrally formed with a front pillar, a side roof rail, and a rear pillar, and a lower side frame connected to the joint member and extending rearward. And a space frame structure.

In this case, the upper side frames have the same closed cross section, and the upper side frames are made of an extruded aluminum material having a closed cross section.

A second aspect of the present invention is a front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of a passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, and a front pillar connected to the connecting member. And an upper side frame integrally formed with a side roof rail and a rear pillar, a lower side frame connected to the coupling member and extending rearward, and a rail guide formed in the upper side frame for inserting and engaging other members. In the space frame structure characterized by the above, the rail guide in this case is characterized by being formed in a concave groove shape.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of the passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, and a front pillar connected to the connecting member. An upper side frame integrally formed with a side roof rail and a rear pillar; a lower side frame connected to the coupling member and extending rearward; and a rail guide formed in the lower side frame for inserting and engaging other members. It is characterized by a space frame structure, and in this case, the rail guide is formed in a concave groove shape.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a front side member extending in a vehicle front-rear direction in front of a passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, and a front pillar connected to the connecting member. An upper side frame integrally formed with a side roof rail and a rear pillar, a lower side frame connected to the coupling member and extending rearward,
And a cross member joined to the left and right upper side frames via a joining member.

In this case, the joining member is characterized in that it is attached to the upper side member by adhesion and one-way riveting, and a recess is formed on the joining surface of the joining member.

[0014]

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

FIGS. 1 to 4 are views for explaining an embodiment of the first invention, in which a side frame member of a space frame vehicle body 20 is a front part extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of a vehicle compartment. The side member 22, a connecting member 24 connected to the rear end of the front side member 22, an upper side frame 26 connected to the connecting member 24 and extending obliquely toward the upper rear part of the vehicle body, and the connecting member 24.
And a lower side frame 28 connected to the vehicle body and extending toward the rear of the vehicle body. In this embodiment, the front side members 22 are arranged so as to be located above the tires of the left and right front wheels and on the outer side in the vehicle width direction. The upper side frame 26 is a slender rod-shaped member integrally formed with a front pillar 26a, a side roof rail 26b, and a rear pillar 26c, which form a side upper skeleton of the vehicle body. The tip of the pillar 26 a is connected to the coupling member 24.
Similarly, the lower side frame 28 that forms the lower side frame of the vehicle body includes the side frame 28a and the rear side member 2.
8b is a rod-shaped member connected via a connecting member 28c, and the tip end of a side frame 28a located on the front end side (front of the vehicle body) is connected to the connecting member 24.
The upper side frame 26 and the lower side frame 2
8 and the rear side member 28b located on the rear end (rear side of the vehicle body) of the lower side frame 28 and the rear pillar 26c located on the rear end (rear side of the vehicle body) side of the upper side frame 26. It is also connected by connecting to.

A hollow member having the same closed cross section is suitable for the above-mentioned upper side frame 26, and in particular,
Aluminum extruded material having a hollow closed cross section is also a preferable material for weight reduction of the vehicle body. That is, the front pillars 26a, the side roof rails 26b, and the rear pillars 26c forming the upper part of the side surface of the vehicle body are formed by a continuous rod-shaped integrally molded member without using any connecting members. For 26, it is preferable to use an aluminum extruded material from which a linear hollow member having the same closed cross section can be easily obtained, which is formed into a desired shape by bending. In addition, aluminum extruded material having a hollow closed cross section is used for other rod-shaped vehicle body constituent members such as the front side member 22 and the lower side frame 28.
Further, the weight of the space frame vehicle body 20 is further promoted by using hollow aluminum castings for the joining members 24, 28c, 28d and the like required for joining aluminum extruded materials having different cross-sectional shapes.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, in which the windshield 7 is attached to the front pillar 26a. FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along the line BB of FIG. 1, in which the roof panel 8 is attached to the side roof rail 26b having the same closed cross sectional shape as the front pillar 26a.
In FIG. 4, which also shows the CC cross section of FIG. 1, the rear pillar 26 has the same closed cross sectional shape as the front pillar 26a and the side roof rail 26b.
A side panel 9 and a rear panel 10 are attached to c. Therefore, when determining the optimum closed cross-sectional shape for the upper side frame 26, it is necessary to consider the difference in attachment members (parts) such as the windshield 7 and the roof panel 8 and the attachment structure thereof.

The lower side frame 28 described above is used.
Is a cross-sectional shape in which a side frame 28a, which is a strength member for securing a living space for an occupant at the time of a collision, and a rear side member 28b, which is a crushable zone constituent member for absorbing collision energy, have different functions. Therefore, the connecting member 28c is interposed between both members.
The structure is such that they are connected by interposing. However, if it is not necessary to separate the strength member and the energy absorbing member, that is, if the same closed cross-sectional shape can be adopted,
Similarly to the upper side frame 26 described above, it is also possible to employ an integrally formed member formed by bending an aluminum extruded material having the same closed cross section, which is suitable for the lower side frame 28.

Next, the second invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present invention shows a structure for attaching other members and parts to the above-described frame member of the space frame vehicle body, that is, the upper side frame 26. FIG. 5 is BB of FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view, resulting in another embodiment of FIG. In this embodiment, since the roof panel 8 is attached to the upper side frame 26, the rail guide 30 is formed on the outer surface of the upper side frame 26, and the rail 32 protruding from the roof panel 8 side is inserted and engaged. Is configured to let. It is preferable that the rail guide 30 is formed in a groove shape, and in this case, the cross-sectional shapes of the rail guide 30 and the rail 32 allow the rail 32 to slide along the longitudinal direction of the rail guide 30. It is preferable that the rail 32 is locked so that the rail 32 does not come out of the rail guide 30 in the vertical direction. The rail guide 30 having such a shape can be easily provided by extrusion molding simultaneously with molding the upper side frame 26 of aluminum extruded material. For this reason, no special mounting member is required, the number of parts can be reduced, and the positioning can be facilitated to reduce the man-hours required for assembly. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the space frame vehicle body can be reduced. This is an effective mounting structure. After the rail 32 is fitted to the rail guide 30 and the roof panel 8 is mounted at a predetermined position, the proper position may be fixed by bolting or the like.

Next, an embodiment of the third invention will be described with reference to FIG. This drawing shows a DD cross section of FIG. 1 and shows rail guides 30a, 30 similar to those of the second invention.
b are provided on the two outer surfaces of the lower side frame 28. Rail guide 30 provided on the inner side surface of the vehicle body
For example, a seat rail support member 34 is attached to a by inserting and engaging the rail 32a. Further, the rail guide 30b provided on the lower surface is provided with, for example, the resin component 3
6 is attached by inserting and engaging the rail 32b. Such rail guides 30a and 30b are preferably formed in a groove shape like the second invention described above, and the cross-sectional shape of the rail guides 30a and 30b is the same as that of the second invention described above. Rails 32a, 3 along the direction
It is possible to slide 2b and the rail guide 30
It is preferable that the rails 32a, 32b be locked so as not to come out of the a, 30b. Since the rail guides 30a and 30b in this case can be easily provided by extrusion molding at the same time when the aluminum extruded material forming the lower side frame 28 is molded, a special mounting member is not required and the number of parts can be reduced. Further, the mounting structure can be reduced, and further, the positioning can be facilitated and the man-hour required for assembling can be reduced. Therefore, the mounting structure is effective for reducing the manufacturing cost of the space frame vehicle body. In addition, the code | symbol 3 in a figure
8 is a seat rail, 40 is a floor panel,
The seat supporting member 34 attached at a predetermined position by the insertion engagement is bolted on, and the resin component 36 is press-fitted into the rail guide 30b, so that the lower side frame 2 is inserted.
It should be fixed to 8.

Finally, the fourth invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. According to the present invention, for example, a front roof rail 42 or a rear roof rail 44 (Fig. 1)) and the like in the vehicle width direction (hereinafter collectively referred to as a cross member).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a separate connecting member 42 is attached to the inner surface of the upper side frame 26 in the vehicle width direction, and is made of an aluminum extruded material having a closed cross section through the connecting member 42. One end of the cross member is joined to one of the upper side frames 26 (for example, the left side of the vehicle body). Similarly, by connecting the other end of the cross member to the other of the upper side frames 26 (right side of the vehicle body), the left and right upper side frames 26 are connected via the cross members. Even when using an integrally molded member that does not need to be used, it is possible to form the skeleton of the space frame vehicle body.

By the way, the above-mentioned connecting member 42 is preferably a cast aluminum part from the viewpoint of weight reduction and the like, and the connecting member 42 has a shape in which a convex portion 42b is projected from a substrate 42a. The convex portion 42b is a portion to be inserted and fitted into the hollow closed cross section of the cross member, and the cross member is fixed by an appropriate method after the fitting state. The board 42a is provided with two rivet holes 42c, and mounting holes 44 corresponding to the rivet holes 42c are provided at predetermined positions of the upper side frame 26, whereby the coupling member 4 is formed.
Positioning when mounting 2 becomes easy. A concave portion 42d for applying an adhesive is provided on the rear surface of the surface of the substrate 42a on which the convex portion 42b serving as an adhesive surface is provided. The depth t of the recess 42d is a value at which the adhesive force of the adhesive becomes maximum,
In reality, for example, 0.3 mm
The degree is preferable, and by applying the adhesive 46 to the concave portion 42d, the thickness becomes uniform and a good adhesive force can be obtained. Although the one-way rivet 48 is inserted into the rivet hole 42c and the mounting hole 44 to fix the rivet, the one-way rivet 48 can be used to easily rivet the upper side frame 26 having a closed cross section.

As described above, since the joining member 42 is attached to the upper side frame 26 by adhesion and one-way riveting, there is no such thing as a weld bead that deteriorates the appearance so that a good appearance can be obtained. Become.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of the outline of a space frame vehicle body in which the frame members of the vehicle body are constructed by adopting the above-mentioned inventions, and doors, side panels, etc. are omitted in the figure. . In this case, the rear glass 50 and the rear end panel 52 are usually installed at the position where the tailgate is attached.
To provide a closed cross section, which improves the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body.

[0026]

According to the above-described space frame structure of the present invention, the number of parts constituting the space frame vehicle body is reduced by the use of integrally molded members, and as a result, it is necessary for molding aluminum extruded materials and aluminum castings. This has the effect of reducing the number of molding dies that are used. Therefore, the reduction of the number of particularly expensive molds is advantageous for the cost reduction of the space frame vehicle body.

Further, when other members are attached to the skeleton member such as the upper side frame and the lower side frame, the rail guide provided at the same time as the extrusion molding is used for the skeleton member to reduce the number of parts required for the attachment of the other members. Also, since it has effects such as easy positioning during mounting work, it is also advantageous in reducing the cost of the space frame vehicle body.

Since the connecting member for attaching the cross member is adhered to the frame member integrally formed and fixed by one-way rivet, a good appearance without welding beads and a reliable fixing can be achieved. In addition, the rivet hole has an effect that the attachment position of the connecting member can be easily determined, and also in this respect, it is possible to reduce the cost by reducing the number of working steps.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part perspective view showing an embodiment of a space frame structure for a vehicle body according to the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an essential part showing an embodiment of a fourth invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic example of a space frame vehicle body that constitutes a frame member of the vehicle body according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional structure.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF of FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line GG of FIG.

13 is a sectional view taken along line HH of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Space Frame Vehicle Body 22 Front Side Member 24 Coupling Member 26 Upper Side Frame 28 Lower Side Frame 30 Rail Guide 42 Coupling Member 46 Adhesive 48 One Way Rivets

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Masayoshi Kusuhara 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Hideko Kobayashi 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Isamu Hirono 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of a passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, a front pillar, a side roof rail, and a rear pillar connected to the connecting member. A space frame structure comprising: an integrally molded upper side frame; and a lower side frame connected to the coupling member and extending rearward. 2. The space frame structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper side frames have the same closed cross section. 3. The space frame structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper side frame is formed of an aluminum extruded material having a closed cross section. 4. A front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in the front of the passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, a front pillar, a side roof rail, and a rear pillar connected to the connecting member. A space frame structure including an integrally molded upper side frame, a lower side frame connected to the coupling member and extending rearward, and a rail guide formed in the upper side frame for inserting and engaging another member. . 5. A front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in front of a passenger compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, a front pillar, a side roof rail, and a rear pillar connected to the connecting member. A space frame structure having an integrally molded upper side frame, a lower side frame connected to the above-mentioned coupling member and extending rearward, and a rail guide formed in the lower side frame for inserting and engaging other members. . 6. The space frame structure according to claim 4, wherein the rail guide is formed in a concave groove shape. 7. A front side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in the front of a vehicle compartment, a connecting member connected to a rear end of the front side member, a front pillar, a side roof rail, and a rear pillar connected to the connecting member. A space frame structure comprising: an integrally molded upper side frame; a lower side frame that is connected to the connecting member and extends rearward; and a cross member that is connected to the left and right upper side frames via a connecting member. . 8. The space frame structure according to claim 7, wherein the connecting member is attached to the upper side member by adhesion and one-way riveting. 9. The space frame structure according to claim 8, wherein a recess is formed on the bonding surface of the coupling member.