JPH11180336A - Car body structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide additionally a crushable zone to a car of such a structure that the engine is located under or behind the front seat, such as a one-box car. SOLUTION: In a front of a rear frame part 8 of a main frame 3, a bead part 8a is furnished where the side of the rear frame part 8 is recessed toward the inside of a car body. Behind the bead part 8a, a cross-member is fixed to the main frame 3, and a rear of an engine part 12 is attached to the rear frame part 8 with a rear engine mount 15 interposed. The front of the engine part 12 is attached to a front frame part 6 through a front engine mount 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure of a four-wheel vehicle having a small crushable zone in front of a cabin, such as a one-box vehicle or a truck.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an external force is applied to a vehicle, a crushable zone is provided at a front portion of the vehicle as a portion for absorbing kinetic energy by partially deforming a vehicle body and reducing a load on an occupant. In an automobile 51 shown in FIG. 12, an engine 52 is provided in front of a passenger compartment 53, and a crushable zone 55 is formed by components such as a bumper 51a, an engine 52, and an engine room 54. Such an automobile 51 uses a crushable zone such as the engine room 54 as a buffer when an external force is applied from the front, absorbs kinetic energy by plastically deforming them, and makes it difficult for the passenger compartment 53 to deform. doing. The one-box vehicle 56 shown in FIG.
Since 7 is located below the front seat 59 in the passenger compartment 58, the crushable zone 60 is formed by the front bumper 56a disposed at the front of the vehicle body and the components of the vehicle.

[0003]

As described above, in the one-box vehicle in which the engine is located below the front seat, the distance from the front bumper to the passenger compartment is short, the length of the crushable zone cannot be increased, and the engine cannot be used. However, since the engine room cannot be arranged in the crushable zone like a car provided in the front of the passenger compartment, the amount of kinetic energy absorbed by external force is small. Further, the shortage of the absorption amount is filled by deforming the passenger compartment.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and as in a one-box vehicle, the engine increases the amount of kinetic energy absorbed in a crushable zone of a vehicle located below or behind a front seat, It is still another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body structure for controlling a portion where the kinetic energy is absorbed.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an automobile having an engine located at a lower portion of a front seat or at a rear portion of a vehicle body, wherein a plastic body of the vehicle is provided at a front portion of the vehicle body. In a vehicle body structure provided with a front crushable zone that absorbs kinetic energy by deformation, in addition to the front crushable zone, an arbitrary portion behind the front seat of the vehicle body, and the front and rear portions thereof A central crushable zone is provided to make plastic deformation easier.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vehicle body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an automobile 1 employing a vehicle body structure according to the present invention. A pair of left and right main frames 3 extending in the front-rear direction is provided below the body 2 of the vehicle 1. The main frame 3 is provided with a front frame portion 6 extending in a substantially horizontal direction from a front end portion to a lower portion of the front seat 4, and is provided at a rear portion one step higher than the front frame portion 6 and substantially behind the rear wheel 5 of the vehicle body in a horizontal direction. A rear frame portion 8 extending to the rear is provided. A center frame 7 is formed between the frame portions 6 and 8 to form a gradient that raises the rear side of the vehicle body.

The distance between the left and right main frames 3 is, as shown in FIG.
Are substantially parallel to each other, and the center frame 7 is provided with an inclination to increase the interval between the main frames 3 toward the rear side of the vehicle body. As shown in FIG. 2, the main frame 3 is configured such that the cross section d of the center frame section 7, which is the above-described slope section, is larger than the cross sections e and f of the front frame section 6 and the rear frame section 8. 7 has rigidity. The rear end of the front frame 6 and the rear frame 8 where the inclination (interval) of the main frame 3 changes.
Cross members 9 and 10 extending in the width direction of the vehicle body are fixed to the front end (bending point) of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the front frame portion 6. As shown in the figure, the front frame portion 6 has a U-shaped frame 6a and a frame cover 6b fixed to flanges provided at both ends thereof, and a reinforcing beam 11 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is fixed inside the frame cover 6b. ing.

As shown in FIG. 5, a frame cover 6c closes the opening at the end of the front frame 6, and a flange 6d provided on the frame cover 6c is fixed to the inner wall of the U-shaped frame 6a. As for the flange width of the flange portion 6d, the width of a portion necessary for welding is large, and the other portions are small. As shown in FIG. 6, the rear end portion of the front frame portion 6 is joined to the center frame portion 7, and unlike the rear end portion of the normal front frame portion of the vehicle, is inserted into the center frame portion 7 by a length L. The extended portions 6e are provided, and their joints are enlarged.

As shown in FIG. 7, a bead 8a is formed on the front side of the rear frame portion 8 with its side recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body.
Is provided. A cross member 14 is fixed to the rear part of the bead 8a over the left and right main frames 3, and the rear part of the engine part 12 is attached to the rear frame part 8 via a rear engine mount 15. The front part of the engine part 12 is attached to the front frame part 6 via a front engine mount 16. The mounting method of the mounting bracket is such that the front engine mount 16 receives a load mainly in the vertical direction, and the rear engine mount 15 receives the load in the vertical direction in the vertical direction.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a front floor panel 17 and a rear floor panel 18 are arranged on the main frame 3. The front floor panel 17 is disposed on the front frame 6 side along the upper surface of the center frame 7 of the main frame 3, and the rear floor panel 18
An upwardly rising surface 18a is formed at the front end portion, and extends horizontally and rearward from substantially the rear end portion of the center frame portion 7 along the rear frame portion 8. A reinforcing plate 19 is fixed by welding at the joint between the front floor panel 17 corresponding to the surface of the center frame 7 and the rising surface 18a of the rear floor panel 18. Reference numeral 20 denotes an opening for inspection of the engine unit 12 and the like disposed below the front seat 4.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rear floor panel 18 is spot-welded in the form of a staggered foot at an enlarged portion 8b in which the width of the flange provided on the upper portion of the rear frame portion 8 is increased. 18 joints are strengthened. As shown in FIG. 10, a steering wheel 2 is provided in front of each front pillar 2 a of the vehicle body 2.
A reinforcement 22 for preventing deformation of a part is provided to reduce deformation of the cabin.

Next, the operation of the vehicle body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. According to the present invention, a central crushable zone that absorbs kinetic energy by plastic deformation is provided behind the front seat of the vehicle body. This crushable zone can take various forms,
In the present embodiment, the rear frame portion 8 of the main frame 3
A bead 8a is provided on the base plate, and by disposing the bead 8a, the portion is easily plastically deformed when an external force is applied. Also, in order to make the bead 8a more easily plastically deformed, the front frame 6 and the rear frame 8 are not curved but are formed in a straight line.

On the other hand, in order to suppress deformation of portions other than the bead 8a, the cross section of the center frame portion 7 which is inclined in a side view and which is inclined in a plan view is enlarged to have strength, and the main frame 3 ( (See Fig. 3)
The cross members 9 and 10 are provided at the bending points that are inclined in plan view. In addition, when joining the front frame portion 6 and the center frame portion 7, an extension 6e is provided on the front frame portion 6 to increase the joining strength thereof. Therefore, control can be performed so that the bead 8a can be plastically deformed. Further, in the present embodiment, since the mounting portion of the engine portion 12 is provided at the rear portion of the bead 8a, the weight of the engine portion 12 at the time of deceleration is easily applied to the bead 8a, and the portion is more easily deformed plastically. ing.

Thus, when an external force is applied from the front direction of the vehicle body, the kinetic energy due to the external force is caused by the plastic deformation of the bead 8a and the plastic deformation of the front crushable zone described in the prior art. Is absorbed. On the other hand, the reinforcing beam 11 is provided on the front frame portion 6 so that the deformation of the passenger compartment caused by the deformation of the main frame 3 does not occur. Then, the front floor panel 17 and the rear floor panel 1
8, a reinforcing plate 19 is provided at the joint portion, and an enlarged portion 8b is provided at the rear frame portion 8, so that welding to the rear floor panel 18 is strengthened to suppress deformation of the cabin. The front portion of the passenger compartment suppresses deformation by adding a reinforcing beam 11 to the front frame portion 6. FIG. 11 shows a change in deceleration when an external force is applied to the automobile 1 from the front in the present embodiment, in which the vertical axis represents the deceleration of the vehicle body and the horizontal axis represents time. As shown by the curve of the solid line c in the diagram, in the present embodiment, kinetic energy from the outside can be absorbed at a gentle deceleration.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made based on the technical concept of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the bead 8a is provided in the central crushable zone to make it easier to plastically deform than the front and rear parts of the main frame. Other methods, such as making it slightly thinner, may be used. Also, mainframe 3
Although the center frame 7 is provided with a gradient and an inclination, only one of them may be provided, and the rigidity of that portion may be increased by increasing the cross section of the cross member or the center frame.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the front crushable zone, a central crushable zone for absorbing kinetic energy by plastic deformation is provided behind the front seat of the vehicle body. Since the central crushable zone is deformed when an external force is applied to the vehicle, kinetic energy due to the external force can be absorbed. By providing a mounting portion for an engine mount for mounting an engine portion on a pair of main frames extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and providing the mounting portion at the rear of the central crushable zone,
The center crushable zone is easily deformed. In addition, a cross section is provided between the front crushable zone and the center crushable zone to increase the distance between the pair of main frames toward the rear side, thereby increasing the rigidity of the tilt section and reinforcing the cross section. By disposing the members in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, the deformation of the central crushable zone is more likely to occur. Further, by providing a slope portion between the front crushable zone and the center crushable zone, which raises the main frame toward the rear side of the vehicle body, and increasing the rigidity of a portion of the main frame corresponding to the slope portion, Further, deformation of the central crushable zone is likely to occur.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an entire main frame of a vehicle body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a front side of the main frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the entire main frame and cross member of the vehicle body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a front end portion of the main frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a joint portion between a front frame portion and a center frame portion of a vehicle body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a mounting state of a main frame and an engine part of the vehicle body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a joint between a front floor panel and a rear floor panel of a vehicle body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a joint state between the main frame and the rear floor panel of the vehicle body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing a front pillar portion of a vehicle having a vehicle body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the deceleration of the vehicle body corresponding to the elapsed time of the vehicle employing the vehicle body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a crushable zone of a motor vehicle in which a conventional engine is in front of a passenger compartment.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a crushable zone of an automobile in which a conventional engine is located below a front seat in a passenger compartment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automobile 2 Body 3 Main frame 4 Front seat 5 Rear wheel 6 Front frame part 7 Center frame part 8 Rear frame part 9, 10, 14 Cross member 11 Reinforcement beam 12 Engine part 17 Front floor panel 19 Reinforcement plate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automobile in which an engine is provided at a lower portion of a front seat or at a rear portion of a vehicle body, wherein a front crushable zone for absorbing kinetic energy by plastic deformation of the vehicle body is provided at a front portion of the vehicle body. In the car body structure, in addition to the front crushable zone,
An automobile body structure comprising a central crushable zone provided at an arbitrary portion behind the front seat of the vehicle body so that the portion is more easily plastically deformed than the front and rear portions thereof. 2. A center crushable zone is provided on a pair of main frames extending in the front-rear direction of a vehicle body, and an engine mount mounting portion for mounting an engine portion is provided. The vehicle body structure of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body structure is provided at a rear portion of the vehicle. 3. An inclined portion is provided between the front crushable zone and the center crushable zone, the inclined portion increasing the interval between the pair of main frames toward the rear side of the vehicle body. 3. The vehicle body structure according to claim 2, wherein a cross member for increasing rigidity and reinforcing the inclined portion is provided on the main frame. 4. A sloping portion is provided between the front crushable zone and the center crushable zone to raise the main frame toward the rear side of the vehicle body, thereby increasing the rigidity of a portion of the main frame corresponding to the sloping portion. The vehicle body structure of an automobile according to claim 2, comprising: