JPH09277888A - Support structure of impact energy absorbing material for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an energy absorbing performance planed at the beginning sufficiently by preventing the slip of a lattice shape energy absorbing material. SOLUTION: A support structure of the energy absorbing material 14 of an automobile is provided with a front pillar 10 formed in a closed section structure by joining an outer panel 18 with an inner panel 20, a pillar garnish 12 arranged at a clearance required for the energy absorption from the inner panel of the front pillar to the inside of a car room and a lattice shape energy absorbing material 14 made of a resin arranged within the said clearance by molding separately from the pillar garnish 12 and installed on the inner panel 20 or the pillar garnish 12. An interior material 12 has a projection part 16 for holding the energy absorbing material temporarily on the car room outside surface 13 of the interior material facing to the energy absorbing material 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support structure for an automobile impact energy absorbing material, and more particularly to a front pillar,
A structural member such as a center pillar, a rear pillar, and a roof side rail, and an interior material such as a pillar garnish and a roof side garnish, which are arranged in the vehicle interior of the structural member at intervals necessary for energy absorption, and the space. And a structure for supporting the energy absorbing material in an automobile including the energy absorbing material disposed therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A structural member formed by an inner panel and an outer panel to have a closed cross-section structure, an interior material arranged at a space necessary for energy absorption from the inner panel, and a resin arranged in the space. A shock energy absorbing structure including a manufactured energy absorbing material has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 7-23307). In this impact energy absorption structure, the interior material is deformed when an impact force directed from the vehicle interior to the outside of the vehicle is applied, and the energy absorption material is deformed in accordance with this deformation,
Breaks and absorbs impact energy.

In a specific embodiment of the impact energy absorbing structure according to the above-mentioned proposal, the energy absorbing material has a grid shape composed of one or a plurality of vertical ribs and a plurality of horizontal ribs, and is molded separately from the interior material. What is attached to a structural member or an interior material is disclosed. When the energy absorbing material is in the form of a lattice, it is possible to obtain a wide range of energy absorbing performance by selecting the thickness, height, quantity, presence or absence of vertical ribs and / or horizontal ribs, and Since the molding is performed separately from the interior material and is not restricted by the molding of the interior material, the degree of freedom in selecting the above-mentioned various elements is high, and thus the energy absorption performance suitable for the purpose can be obtained. Further, the lattice-shaped energy absorbing material can be easily manufactured by molding a hard resin such as polypropylene.

[0004]

However, since the lattice-shaped energy absorbing material is only fixed to the inner panel of the structural member or the interior material at a few places, the interior material when the load is applied from the interior material. Is the energy absorber,
In addition, the energy absorbing material easily slips on the inner panel.
This tendency is likely to occur especially at the initial stage when the load is applied. Then, once slippage occurs, the vertical ribs or the horizontal ribs of the energy absorbing material may collapse, and the energy absorption performance originally intended may not be exhibited.

The present invention provides a support structure for an impact energy absorbing material for an automobile, which can prevent the grid-like energy absorbing material from slipping, thereby sufficiently exhibiting the energy absorbing performance originally intended.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a structural member formed by joining an outer panel and an inner panel to have a closed cross-sectional structure, and a space required for energy absorption from the structural member toward the vehicle interior are arranged. Energy absorbing material for an automobile, which includes an interior material to be formed, and a resin-made energy absorbing material that is formed separately from the interior material and arranged in the space, and is attached to the structural member or the interior material. It is a structure that supports. The interior material has a convex portion or a concave portion that temporarily holds the energy absorbing material, on the vehicle exterior side surface of the interior material that faces the energy absorbing material.

It is preferable that the convex portion or the concave portion of the interior material is formed so as to release the holding of the energy absorbing material when a predetermined impact force smaller than the impact force of breaking the energy absorbing material is applied. .

The present invention also relates to a structural member formed by joining the outer panel and the inner panel so that a cross section taken along an imaginary plane has a closed structure, and a space necessary for absorbing energy from the structural member toward the vehicle interior. Lattice-like energy having an interior material arranged with a space between the interior material and the interior material, which is formed separately from the interior material and arranged in the space, and which has resin-made vertical ribs and lateral ribs attached to the structural member or the interior material. And a structure for supporting the energy absorbing material of an automobile including an absorbing material. The energy absorbing material has a bottom plate having a shape that substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of the inner panel in a cross section taken along the virtual plane, and is supported by applying the bottom plate to the inner panel.

It is preferable that the bottom plate of the energy absorbing material is formed so as to be broken from the vertical rib and the horizontal rib when a part of the vertical rib or the horizontal rib of the energy absorbing material is deformed. . In this case, the thickness of the bottom plate of the energy absorbing material may be smaller than the thickness of the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs.

[0010]

According to the invention of claim 1, when an impact force is applied from the passenger compartment to the outside of the passenger compartment, the convex portion or the concave portion of the interior material restrains the energy absorbing material, and the energy absorbing material is the interior material or Prevent slipping against the inner panel of the structural member. Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the energy absorbing material is restrained by the bottom plate of the energy absorbing material itself, so that the energy absorbing material is prevented from sliding with respect to the interior material or the inner panel. As a result, the energy absorbing material receives an impact force from the interior material and is deformed and broken.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to prevent the energy absorbing material from slipping when an impact force is applied, the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs of the energy absorbing material fall down particularly at the initial stage when the impact force is applied. Can be prevented. This makes it possible to obtain the energy absorption characteristic with respect to the displacement of the load as originally intended. Therefore, when a steep rise is intended, the energy absorption characteristic can be approximated to a rectangular shape which is considered to be ideal. This means that the impact energy can be effectively absorbed with a small displacement.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the energy absorbing material is held by the convex portion or the concave portion of the interior material until a predetermined impact force smaller than the impact force of breaking the energy absorbing material is applied. During this period, the energy absorbing material mainly undergoes buckling deformation. Then, as a result of the holding being released after the predetermined impact force is applied, the energy absorbing material is mainly sheared and broken. As a result, the uncrushed residue can be reduced and energy can be efficiently absorbed.
Further, in the buckling deformation, the load on the energy absorption characteristics tends to increase in the latter stage of applying the impact force, but this can be suppressed by the shear deformation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
The effect described with respect to the invention can be obtained only by providing the energy absorbing material with the bottom plate. In addition, the bending deformation of the bases of the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs can prevent the tendency of the load to decrease in the energy absorption characteristics in the latter period when an impact force is applied.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the energy absorption characteristics can be made close to the ideal characteristics even in the initial stage and the latter stage when the impact force is applied.
According to the invention described in (3), tuning becomes easy when approaching the ideal characteristics.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The structural member is, for example, a front pillar or a center pillar, and is formed such that an outer panel and an inner panel are joined to each other and a cross section cut along a horizontal imaginary plane has a closed structure. Distance from the inner panel of the structural member to the interior of the vehicle 10 to 30 mm required for energy absorption
Place the pillar garnish which is the interior material.
The energy absorbing material is a grid-like material made of a hard resin such as polypropylene and having one or a plurality of vertical ribs and a plurality of horizontal ribs. The pitch between the ribs can be 15 to 35 mm, and the thickness of the ribs can be 1 to 2 mm. The energy absorbing material is attached to the inner panel or pillar garnish of the structural member.

The convex portion or the concave portion of the interior material is provided at the time of molding the pillar garnish. The protruding length of the convex portion or the depth of the concave portion of the interior material from the outer surface of the vehicle interior may be 1 to 3 mm. The convex portion or the concave portion is preferably provided over the entire outer surface of the passenger compartment facing the energy absorbing material so as to restrain substantially all the longitudinal ribs and the lateral ribs of the energy absorbing material. Insert two ribs into each rib,
Make it protrude with a gap slightly larger than the thickness of the rib. On the other hand, the recess is formed in a groove shape.

When the energy absorbing material has a bottom plate having a shape that substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of the inner panel in a cross section cut along an imaginary plane, the bottom plate is provided when the energy absorbing material is molded. The bottom plate may be provided over the entire length of the energy absorbing material along the longitudinal direction of the inner panel of the structural member, or may be provided at the central portion of the entire length, or at the end portion and the central portion of the entire length. The thickness of the bottom plate can be set to 1-2 mm. For the required energy absorbing performance, it is possible to provide the interior material with a convex portion or a concave portion and to provide the energy absorbing material with a bottom plate.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A support structure for an impact energy absorbing material is shown in sectional view in FIG.
And an energy absorbing material 14 for supporting the energy absorbing material 14 in an automobile.
6 is provided.

The structural member 10 is, in the illustrated embodiment, a front pillar of a passenger car. The structural member 10 includes two flanges of the outer panel 18, two flanges of the inner panel 20, and two flanges of the reinforcing panel 22, which are opposed to each other, and are joined by spot welding. Having flange joints 24, 25,
The cross section cut by the horizontal imaginary plane is formed to have a closed structure.

The interior material 12 is a pillar garnish,
It is arranged from the inner panel 20 of the structural member 10 toward the vehicle interior at a distance D required for energy absorption. Interval D
The size of is determined within the range of 10 to 30 mm.

The energy absorbing material 14 is made of resin and has a lattice shape. In the illustrated embodiment, two vertical ribs 28 extending in the longitudinal direction of the structural member 10 and these vertical ribs 28 are provided.
And a plurality of lateral ribs 29 extending in a direction intersecting with. The energy absorbing material 14 includes a mounting seat 32 near the inner panel 20 and a mounting seat 34 near the interior material 12.
And have in required places. The clip 36 is passed through the attachment seat 32 of the energy absorbing material 14 arranged in the space D, and the clip 36 is fitted to the inner panel 20 to attach the energy absorbing material 14 to the inner panel 20. On the other hand, the interior material 12 integrally has a cylindrical protrusion 38. The interior material 12 is attached to the energy absorbing material 14 by passing the projection 38 through the hole of the mounting seat 34 and caulking the projection 38 with heat.

The convex portion 16 of the interior material 12 projects outward from the vehicle interior side surface 13 of the interior material 12 facing the energy absorber 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the two convex portions 16 are sandwiched between the vertical ribs 28, and the horizontal ribs 2 are provided.
Two protrusions 16 are provided so as to sandwich 9 between them. At the intersection of the vertical rib 28 and the horizontal rib 29, the convex portion 16 is arranged so that a cross-shaped space is formed. When the interior material 12 is attached at a predetermined position, the vertical ribs 28 and the horizontal ribs 29 of the energy absorbing material 14 enter the space surrounded by the two convex portions 16 of the interior material 12 and are temporarily held. .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the energy absorbing material 14 is arranged in a rear space portion of the space between the inner panel 20 and the interior material 12, and the energy absorbing material is arranged in the front space portion. 14 does not exist. In the case of the front pillar, this is unlikely to receive an impact force from the windshield glass 8 in the front toward the structural member 10, while an impact force is applied from the rear opposite to the windshield glass 8 toward the structural member 10. This is because there is a high possibility that power will be applied. However, the convex portion 16 is provided on the vehicle cabin outer surface 13 of the interior material 12 even in a portion where the energy absorbing material 14 does not exist. Thereby, the rigidity of the entire interior material 12 can be increased.

As shown in FIG. 3 in a sectional view, a recess 46 is provided in the vehicle interior side surface 43 of the interior material 42 spaced from the inner panel 40 of the structural member, and a vertical rib 50 of the energy absorbing material 48 is provided in the recess 46. It is also possible to fit the lateral ribs 51 and the horizontal ribs 51 and temporarily hold them. The recess 46 is in the form of a groove that extends vertically and horizontally on the vehicle interior side surface 43 of the interior material 42.

The convex portions 16 of the interior material 12 and the recesses 46 of the interior material 42 are subjected to vertical ribs of the energy absorbing materials 14 and 48 when a predetermined impact force smaller than the impact force of breaking the energy absorbing materials 14 and 48 is applied. 28, 50 and lateral ribs 29, 51
Is preferably formed to release the retention of For that purpose, the vertical ribs 28, 50 and the horizontal ribs 2 are applied by the impact force.
For example, when 9 and 51 are deformed by about 10%, the convex portion 1
The height of the convex portion 16 or the depth of the concave portion 46 is experimentally determined so as to be separated from the concave portion 6 or the concave portion 46.

Referring to FIG. 4 showing the sectional state of another embodiment and FIG. 5 showing the perspective view of the back surface, the support structure of the energy absorbing material includes a structural member 60, an interior material 62, and an energy absorbing material 64. For supporting the energy absorbing material 64 in an automobile equipped with the
Is provided.

The structural member 60, in the illustrated embodiment, is the center pillar of a passenger vehicle, and the two flanges of the outer panel 68, the two flanges of the inner panel 70, and the two flanges of the reinforcing panel 72 are mutually connected. The opposing parts are overlapped and spot-welded and joined, and the cross section cut along a horizontal imaginary plane is formed to have a closed structure.

The interior material 62 is a pillar garnish,
It is arranged from the inner panel 70 of the structural member 60 toward the vehicle interior at a distance D required for energy absorption. Interval D
The size of is determined within the range of 10 to 30 mm.

The energy absorbing material 64 is made of resin and has a lattice shape. In the illustrated embodiment, four vertical ribs 74 extending in the longitudinal direction of the structural member 60 and these vertical ribs 74 are provided.
And a plurality of lateral ribs 75 extending in a direction intersecting with. The bottom plate 66 of the energy absorbing material 64 is formed in a shape that substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of the inner panel 70 in the cross section cut along the virtual plane. As a result, the energy absorbing member 64 cannot move relative to the inner panel 70 in the virtual plane when the two are superposed. The energy absorbing material 64 connects the bottom plate 66 to the inner panel 7
0 is attached to the inner panel 70.

The bottom plate 66 of the energy absorbing material 64 can have its own thickness independently of the thickness of the vertical ribs 74 or the horizontal ribs 75, but when the deformation progresses by, for example, about 10%, the vertical ribs 74 and the horizontal ribs 75. It is preferable that the vertical ribs 74 and the horizontal ribs 75 are formed thinner than the thicknesses of the vertical ribs 74 and the horizontal ribs 75 so as to be broken.

When an impact force is applied from the passenger compartment to the outside of the passenger compartment, in the support structure shown in FIG.
Restrain the energy absorbing material 14, the recess 46 of the interior material 42 restrains the energy absorbing material 48 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and further, the energy absorbing material 6 in the embodiment shown in FIG.
The bottom plate 66 of 4 restrains the energy absorbing material 64 and prevents the energy absorbing material 14, 48, 64 from sliding on the interior material 12, 42, 62 or the inner panel 20, 40, 70 of the structural member. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vertical ribs 28, 50, 74 and the horizontal ribs 29, 51, 75 of the energy absorbing material from collapsing particularly at the initial stage when the impact force is applied.
This makes it possible to obtain the energy absorption characteristic with respect to the displacement of the load as originally intended. For example,
As shown in FIG. 6, when a steep rise A is attempted, the steep rise A tends to be a gentle rise B when the rib falls, which can be guaranteed.
As a result, the energy absorption characteristics can be approximated to the ideal rectangular shape.

Further, when the energy absorbing material 64 has the bottom plate 66, the longitudinal ribs 74 and the horizontal ribs 75 are bent and deformed at the base of the bottom plate 66, and as shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent the load lowering tendency C above and make the tendency E almost constant.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a support structure for an impact energy absorbing material for automobiles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a convex portion of the interior material shown in FIG.
(A) is a rear view and (b) is a sectional view taken along line bb in (a).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the support structure for the impact energy absorbing material for automobiles according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the support structure for the impact energy absorbing material for automobiles according to the present invention.

5 is a perspective view of the interior material and the energy absorbing material shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 6 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of load and displacement.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Structural Member (Front Pillar) 12, 42, 62 Interior Material (Pillar Garnish) 13, 43 Vehicle Exterior Side Surface 14, 48, 64 Energy Absorbing Material 16 Convex Part 18, 68 Outer Panel 20, 40, 70 Inner Panel 28, 50, 74 vertical ribs 29, 51, 75 horizontal ribs 46 recesses 66 bottom plate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A structural member formed by joining an outer panel and an inner panel to have a closed cross-section structure, an interior material arranged at a space necessary for energy absorption from the inner panel toward a vehicle interior, and an interior material. A structure for supporting the energy absorbing material of an automobile, which is formed separately from the material and is arranged in the gap, and which comprises a lattice-shaped energy absorbing material made of resin attached to the structural member or the interior material, A support structure for an impact energy absorbing material for an automobile, wherein the interior material has a convex portion or a concave portion for temporarily holding the energy absorbing material on an outer surface of the interior material facing the energy absorbing material. 2. The convex portion or the concave portion of the interior material is formed so as to release the holding of the energy absorbing material when a predetermined impact force smaller than the impact force of breaking the energy absorbing material is applied. The support structure for an automobile impact energy absorbing material according to claim 1. 3. A structural member formed by joining an outer panel and an inner panel so that a cross section taken along an imaginary plane has a closed structure, and a space necessary for energy absorption from the inner panel toward the vehicle interior. An interior material to be arranged, and a lattice-like energy absorbing material having a vertical rib and a transverse rib made of resin, which is molded separately from the interior material and arranged in the space, and which is attached to the structural member or the interior material. A structure for supporting the energy absorbing material of an automobile comprising, wherein the energy absorbing material has a bottom plate having a shape that substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of the inner panel in a cross section cut along the virtual plane, A support structure for an impact energy absorbing material for an automobile, which is supported by applying a bottom plate to the inner panel. 4. The bottom plate of the energy absorbing material is formed so as to be broken from the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs when part of deformation of the vertical ribs or the horizontal ribs of the energy absorbing material progresses. The support structure for an automobile impact energy absorbing material according to claim 3. 5. The support structure for an impact energy absorbing material for an automobile according to claim 4, wherein the bottom plate of the energy absorbing material has a thickness smaller than thicknesses of the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs.