JPH11235963A - Side sill reinforcing structure of cab - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side sill reinforcing structure which can improve the rigidity of the whole cab and ensure an occupant space in the cab by disposing a reinforcing member at the rising part of a cab side sill and in its vicinity and preventing a portion in the vicinity of the side sill from being deformed by generation of any impact higher than an estimated value or the like. SOLUTION: A reinforcing member 1 is disposed at the rising part 6 in the middle of a side sill 2 welded to the end surface of a cab floor panel 10 and in its vicinity, and is welded inscribed in a floor side panel 3 and a locker panel 4 forming the side sill 2, by means of laser welding. The reinforcing member 1 is integrally-formed by means of hydro-forming. If an impact higher than an estimated value or the like occurs, the impact is distributed by the reinforcing member 1, therefore, it is possible to prevent the side sill from being deformed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure of a side sill forming a lower portion of a side surface of a cab of a vehicle,
The present invention relates to a cab side sill reinforcement structure suitable for reducing deformation of a side sill at the time of a vehicle collision and securing an occupant space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A side sill is formed at a lower portion of a side surface of a cab. The side sill is composed of a floor side panel welded to the side surface of the floor panel and a rocker panel welded to the floor side panel, and is a hollow tubular member that forms a closed space between the panels. FIG. 9 shows a side surface shape of the side sill 2 and includes a horizontal portion 7, a rising portion 6, and a horizontal portion 8 extending horizontally from the upper end of the rising portion 6. The front end of the horizontal part 7 is connected to the lower end of the side front pillar panel 25 (FIG. 8), and the rear end of the horizontal part 8 is connected to the side rear pillar panel 26 (FIG. 8).

[0003]

Some side sills 2 in the prior art have a reinforcing member or the like inside.
Most of the side sills 2 are formed in a hollow tubular shape without a reinforcing member. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), when an unexpectedly large impact force F acts on the side sill 2 having a hollow tubular structure during a collision or the like, the side sill 2 is greatly deformed. In particular, this portion may be bent starting from the rising portion 6 in the middle portion of the side sill 2, and depending on these effects, the portion is curved in an S shape as shown in FIG. 9B. Accordingly, the side sill 2 having the length L when no impact force acts as shown in FIG. 9A becomes a length L ′ (L ′ <L) as shown in FIG. There is a risk of becoming. Therefore, the occupant space may be reduced.

[0004] From the above, a frame structure that absorbs impact energy at the time of collision or the like and has appropriate rigidity has been conventionally applied not only to a side sill but also to a frame around a cab. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-101354 shows one example. That is, JP-A-7-1
FIG. 12 shows a conventional vehicle side member having a double structure in which a reinforcing member is fitted into a basic member in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 01354. Notches in the width direction are formed on the reinforcing member only at the front side at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction, and in the event of a collision, the low-rigidity front side with the notch is greatly deformed and absorbs impact energy At the same time, a large deformation of the side frame is prevented on the rear side having relatively high rigidity.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
The reinforcing member disclosed as a conventional example in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54 is formed as a whole in a straight line for convenience of press forming, and can be disposed only on a horizontal portion on the front end side such as a side member. It is difficult to dispose it on a curved inclined portion such as the raised portion 6.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cab side sill reinforcement structure capable of minimizing deformation of a cab at the time of a vehicle collision or the like and securing occupant space. And

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a reinforcing structure of a side sill having a lower portion of a side surface of a cab and a rising portion at an intermediate portion thereof. A floor side panel welded to an end of the panel; and a rocker panel welded to the floor side panel to form a closed space together with the floor side panel. The side sill reinforcement structure of the cab in which the hollow tubular reinforcing member is inscribed and welded to the both panels is constituted. More specifically, the welding of the reinforcing member to the side sill is performed by laser welding, and the reinforcing member is formed by a hydroforming method.

[0008] A hollow tubular reinforcing member is welded to the rising portion of the closed space of the side sill and the vicinity thereof. Since this reinforcing member is inscribed and welded to the floor side panel and the rocker panel constituting the side sill, the reinforcing member is formed of a curved inclined shape corresponding to the internal shape of the rising portion of the side sill, and is formed by a hydroforming method. . Further, the reinforcing member is welded by laser welding to improve the welding strength of the reinforcing member and the workability of welding. In the event of a collision or the like, the front side of the side sill where the reinforcing member is not provided is deformed and absorbs impact energy. However, since the easily deformable rising portion and its vicinity are reinforced by the reinforcing member, the impact is generated at this portion. The force is dispersed, the deformation of the entire side sill is reduced, and the S-shaped deformation near the rising portion unlike the related art does not occur. Thereby, the occupant space is secured.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a cab side sill reinforcement structure of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a reinforcing structure of the side sill 2 of the cab 22 shown in FIG. 8 which is surrounded by a circle frame as viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow A. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side sill 2 includes a floor side panel 3 and a rocker panel 4 welded to the floor side panel 3, and a closed space 5 is formed between both panels. Also, side sill 2
Forms a lower portion of the side surface of the cab 22, has horizontal portions 7, 8 formed on the front side and the rear side, and has a rising portion 6 at an intermediate portion thereof.
Is formed from a curved inclined portion as shown. The reinforcing member 1 according to the present invention is disposed in the rising portion 6 of the side sill 2 and the closed space 5 in the vicinity thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the floor side panel 3 is formed of a plate-like member whose cross section is bent into an L-shape. It is welded to the part 11. In addition, a flange surface 12 is formed at the other lower end. On the other hand, the rocker panel 4 is made of a plate-like member bent in an L-shape in a direction opposite to the floor side panel 3, and has a flange surface 1 at one end thereof.
3 is welded to the upper flat portion 9 of the floor side panel 3,
The lower flat portion 14 at the other end is welded to the flange surface 12 of the floor side panel 3.

A closed space 5 is formed between the floor side panel 3 and the rocker panel 4 having the above-described structure. In this example, the closed space 5 is formed in a square shape. The reinforcing member 1 is inserted into the rising portion 6 in the closed space 5 and its vicinity, and the outer surface thereof is welded in contact with the floor side panel 3 and the rocker panel 4 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing member 1 is a closed space 1.
5, a rising portion 16 inscribed in the rising portion 6 of the side sill 2, and a horizontal portion 1 formed before and after the rising portion 16 having a rectangular cross section of a square shape.
7 and 18 which are relatively high-rigidity members. It is difficult to integrally form the reinforcing member 1 by the ordinary pressing method due to the above shape. In this example, the reinforcing member 1 is formed into an integral structure by a hydroforming method.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of means for forming the reinforcing member 1 shown in FIG. 3 by a hydroforming method. In the hydroforming method, a pipe-shaped member 21 is inserted between an upper mold 19 and a lower mold 20 having an inner contour corresponding to an outer contour of a molded product, and a pressure medium is introduced into the pipe-shaped member 21 to form a pipe. The shape member 21 is expanded, and the outer periphery thereof is brought into close contact with the inner contours of the upper mold 19 and the lower mold 20 to be formed. Although there is a limitation on the degree of expansion of the pipe-shaped member 21 to be inserted, a continuous integrated body having an arbitrary contour can be formed. As shown in the figure, since the reinforcing member 1 of the present invention needs to form a rising portion 16 corresponding to the rising portion 6, the inserted pipe-shaped member 21 has an inner contour shape of the upper mold 19 and the lower mold 20. It is necessary to insert it slightly bent to fit. Thus, the reinforcing member 1 shown in FIG. 3 is formed.

Next, a method of welding the reinforcing member 1 to the side sill 2 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper flat portion 9 of the floor side panel 3 is brought into contact with and welded to the flange portion 11 of the floor panel 10 (indicated by reference numerals). This welding is performed by spot welding or laser welding. As shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing member 1 having the above structure separately formed on the floor side panel 3 welded to the floor panel 10 is mounted at a position corresponding to the rising portion 6, and the contact surface thereof is floor-welded by laser welding. It is welded to the side panel 3 (indicated by the reference numeral).

Next, the reinforcing member 1 is covered with the rocker panel 4, and as shown in FIG.
Is applied to the upper flat portion 9 of the floor side panel 3 and its lower flat portion 14 is applied to the lower flange surface 12 of the floor side panel 3, and these abutting portions are welded by spot welding or laser welding (reference numerals and symbols). ). Next, the contact surface between the rocker panel 4 and the reinforcing member 1 is welded by laser welding (indicated by reference numerals). From the above,
The reinforcing member 1 is housed in the floor side panel 3 and the rocker panel 4, and is internally welded to them by laser welding. FIG.
Indicates the reinforcing member 1 welded in the side sill 2 as described above. FIG. 1 shows a continuous bead 27 by laser welding.
Is displayed. Unlike the spot welding, the laser welding described above can be performed from one side, so that the efficiency of the welding operation can be improved, and a portion where spot welding cannot be performed can be welded.

FIG. 7 shows a deformed state at the time of collision of the side sill 2 provided with the reinforcing member 1 at a predetermined position. That is, FIG. 7A shows a state in which an impact force F acts on the rising portion 6 and the side sill 2 provided near the rising portion 6. The horizontal portions 7, 8 of the side sill 2 where the reinforcing member 1 is not disposed are greatly deformed by the impact force F, but the rising portion 6 where the reinforcing member 1 is located and the vicinity thereof resist the impact force F and disperse the load. Let it. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (b), the side sill 2 at the portion where the reinforcing member 1 is provided is little deformed, and the side sill 2 and the vicinity thereof are deformed to be held. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the side sill 2 is not deformed at an acute angle in an S-shape, and an extremely short deformation of the side sill 2 is prevented. As described above, extreme deformation of the cab 22 is prevented, the rigidity of the entire cab is increased, and the occupant space in the cab is secured.

In the above description, the reinforcing member 1 is a hollow tubular member having a square cross section. However, the shape is not limited to this, and other members may be used as long as they can be formed by a hydroforming method. May be used.

[0018]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing member is welded to at least the rising portion of the side sill of the cab and the vicinity thereof, so that an unexpectedly large impact force is obtained. The deformation in the vicinity of the rising portion, which has insufficient strength, is greatly reduced, and the deformation of the entire side sill is reduced. Therefore, deformation of the entire cab at the time of a collision or the like is reduced, and the entire cab can be made rigid and the occupant space in the cab can be secured. Also,
It can be easily implemented without changing the existing structure. 2) According to the cab side sill reinforcement structure of the second aspect of the present invention, since the reinforcement member is fixed to the side sill side by laser welding, no welding peeling occurs, the welding strength is improved, and the function as a reinforcement member is achieved. Can be fully exhibited. Further, since laser welding is performed from one side, a portion where spot welding cannot be performed can be welded, and the efficiency of welding work can be improved. 3) According to the side sill reinforcement structure of the cab according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the reinforcement member is formed by a hydroforming method, it is possible to integrally form a highly rigid continuous body having a desired arbitrary shape. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a side sill provided with a reinforcing member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external shape of a reinforcing member according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a method of welding a reinforcing member to be welded to a side sill.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a method of welding a reinforcing member to be welded to a side sill.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an outline of a hydroforming forming means for forming a reinforcing member of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a deformed state of a side sill provided with a reinforcing member according to the present invention at the time of collision or the like.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a cab of the vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a deformed state when a conventional side sill collides.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reinforcement member 2 Side sill (side sill panel) 3 Floor side panel 4 Rocker panel 5 Closed space 6 Standing part 7 Horizontal part 8 Horizontal part 9 Upper flat part 10 Floor panel 11 Flange part 12 Flange surface 13 Flange surface 14 Lower flat part 15 Close Space 16 rising part 17 horizontal part 18 horizontal part 19 upper die 20 lower die 21 pipe member 22 cab 27 continuous bead

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A side sill reinforcement structure having a lower portion of a side surface of a cab and a rising portion at an intermediate portion thereof,
The side sill includes a floor side panel welded to an end of the floor panel, and a rocker panel welded to the floor side panel to form a closed space with the floor side panel, and at least the rising portion of the closed space. A sill reinforcement structure for a cab, wherein a hollow tubular reinforcing member is inscribed and welded to the two panels in the vicinity thereof. 2. The side sill reinforcement structure for a cab according to claim 1, wherein the welding of the reinforcing member to the side sill is performed by laser welding. 3. The side sill reinforcing structure for a cab according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is formed by a hydroforming method.