WO2018182540A1

WO2018182540A1 - Roof structure for vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2018182540A1
Application number: PCT/TH2017/000026
Authority: WO
Inventors: Walaiporn SALEEPATCHARAPORN
Original assignee: Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2017-03-28
Filing date: 2017-03-28
Publication date: 2018-10-04

Abstract

The present invention discloses a roof structure 1 for a vehicle including: a roof body 10 formed to cover a top portion of the vehicle; a roof liner 20 formed to cover the roof body 10 when viewed from bottom; a pillar 70 connected with an edge portion 14 of the roof body 10; and a cover member 80 formed to cover the pillar 70 viewed from the inside of the vehicle. The roof liner 20 is connected with the cover member 80 at a connecting portion 82. A wall 30 is formed from the roof liner to extend behind the connecting portion 82 to the roof body 10 when viewed from the inside of the vehicle.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

ROOF STRUCTURE FOR VEHICLE

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a roof structure for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known that a roof structure for a vehicle includes a liner which covers an inner surface of a roof body of the vehicle, as is disclosed in J 2010-533619 A 1 hereinafter called a prior art.

The prior art further discloses that the liner includes an inclined edge portion which is formed to bend toward a windshield in an upper direction in order to avoid intercepting the field of driver's view through the windshield. At a windshield area where the liner is bended, the strength of the liner increases. For the purpose of the rigidity of the liner, the liner is provided adjacently to the other parts such as pillar with a supported structure which is made by rigid material.

Therefore, the development of the roof structure for the vehicle which keeps the strength against the force of causing the deformation of the roof liner without using other parts is required.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

PTL 1 : Japanese laid-open publication No. JP2010-533619A 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a roof structure for a vehicle which keeps the strength against the force of causing the deformation of the roof liner without using other parts and reduces the manufacturing cost.

In order to achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the present invention provides a roof structure for the vehicle including: a roof body formed to cover a top portion of the vehicle; a roof liner formed to cover the roof body when viewed from bottom; a pillar connected with an edge portion of the roof body; a cover member formed to cover the pillar viewed from the inside of the vehicle; the roof liner is connected with the cover member at a connecting portion; wherein a wall is formed from the roof liner to extend behind the connecting portion to the roof body when viewed from the inside of the vehicle.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the wail is formed from the roof liner to extend behind the connecting portion to the roof body in such view manner, it is possible to improve the strength at the connecting portion and its surrounding portion. As such, the roof structure maintains the shape of the liner at the connecting portion and its surrounding portion, even if the liner is made by a soft material and the force is applied on the liner in the direction from the inner to the roof body. Therefore, since the roof structure keeps the strength against the force of causing the deformation o the roof liner, it is possible to avoid the deformation of the liner.

Also, since the roof structure includes the wall and the roof structure keeps the strength at the connecting portion and its surrounding portion, it is not necessary to install other parts into the roof structure. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Additionally, since the wall is located behind the connecting portion between the cover member o the pillar and the roof body, the position is not to be noticed from the inside view of vehicle, it is possible to improve the interior design of the vehicle.

In the roof structure for the vehicle of the embodiment of the present invention, the wall includes a reinforcement portion which is formed along a direction in which the wall extends.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the wall includes the reinforcement portion, it is possible to improve further the strength of the liner at the connecting portion and its surrounding portion against the deformation.

In the roof structure for the vehicle of the embodiment of the present invention, the wall includes a base portion which extends on the surface of the roof body.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the base portion extends on the surface of the roof body, a contact area between the roof body and the wall with the base portion is enlarged. As such, the connecting strength between the w all and the roof body, and the strength of the wall are increased. Therefore, it is possible to improve further the strength against the force of causing the deformation of the roof liner.

In the roof structure for the vehicle of the embodiment of the present invention, the wall is integrally formed with t he roof liner.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the number of parts is reduced, the manufacturing process is simple in comparison with other manufacturing process that other parts are installed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce further the manufacturing cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The principle of the present invention and its advantages will become apparent in the following description taking in consideration with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a vehicle frame including a roof structure

FIG.2 is a perspective view of a top portion of the vehicle frame of FIG.1

FIG.3 is a top view of the vehicle frame of FIG. 1 ;

FIG.4 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG.3 when viewed from below;

FIG.5 is a top view of the roof liner;

FIG.6 is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG.5;

FIG.7 is sectional views taken along line VII-VI1 of FIG.4 for the purpose of explaining about a wall;

FIG 8 is sectional views taken along line VHI-VIII of FIG.4 for the purpose of explaining about a wall.

DETAILED DESCTIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG 1 to FIG.8.

In the following detailed description, relative positional terms such as "front", "rear", "right side" and "left side" correspond to those directions considered from the vantage point of a driver, seated in the driver's seat and facing forwardly

A vehicle of the embodiment discloses a roof structure 1 for the vehicle includes a roof body 10 formed to cover a top portion of the vehicle, a roof liner 20 formed to cover the roof body 10, a pillar 70 connected with an edge portion 14 of the roof body 10, and a cover member 80 formed to cover the pillar 70 when view from the inside of the vehicle. The roof liner 20 is connected with the cover member SO at a connecting portion 82, and a wall 30 is formed from the roof liner 20 to extend behind the connecting portion 82 to the roof body 1 0.

Moreover, the wall 30 includes a reinforcement portion 40 which is formed along a direction in which the wall 30 extends, and a base portion 50 which extends on the surface of the roof body 10.

FIG 1 and FIG.3 show a vehicle frame 90 of the vehicle which includes, as main part thereof, the roof body 10 formed to cover the top portion of the vehicle, a body frame 16 formed to cover the side portion of the vehicle, the pillar 70 including front pillars 70a, center pillars 70b and rear pillars 70c disposed between the roof body 10 and the body frame 16 of the vehicle, and a windshield 92 including a front windshield 92a and a rear windshield 92b disposed between the front pillars 70a and the rear pillars 70c respectively.

The roof body 10 is the portion of the vehicle that placed above the passenger compartment, which is formed having an upperside, an underside, and a perimeter defining the symmetric side to cover the top portion of the vehicle protecting the driver and passengers from sun, wind, rain, and other external elements. When viewed from the left side as shown in FIG 1 , the roof body 10 has a curve- shaped structure so that the central portion of the roof body is recessed in an upper direction.

The bod frame 16 is formed to cover the side portion of the vehicle, including all of its supporting structural members (not shown).

The front windshield 92a is disposed in front of the driver and passengers, while the rear windshield 92b is disposed behind the driver and passengers. The windshield 92 is transparent screen (as of glass but not limited to this) that protects the driver and passenger of the vehicle from wind and flying debris such as dust, insects, and rocks.

The vehicle frame 90 furthermore includes the pillar 70 including the front pillars 70a. the center pillars 70b, and the rear pillars 70c which are a structural part that connects with the roof body 10 and extends in vertical or near vertical direction from the roof body 10 to the body frame 16. The pillar 70 is typically a closed steel structure welded at the bottom to the body frame 1 6, as well as on the top to the roof body 10 to support the weight of the roof body 10. The front pillars 70a, the center pillars 70b and the rear pillars 70c also have a progressively increasing width relative to the upper end. Each of pillar 70 extends toward the body frame 16, the width of each of pillar 70 increases or w idens as shown in FIG 1.

The front pillars 70a are the support posts that are positioned on either side of the front windshield 92a and connect with an edge portion 14 of the roof body 10 to the body frame 16. The front pillars 70a are designed for holding the front windshield 92a in place.

The center pillars 70b are the support posts that are positioned between a first opening 94 and a second opening 96 and connect with an edge portion 14 of the roof body 10 to the body frame 16. The center pillars 70b are designed for latching the front door (not shown) and mounting the hinges (not shown) for the rear door (not shown).

The rear pillars 70c are the support posts that are positioned on either side of the rear windshield 92b and connect with an edge portion 14 of the roof body 10 to the body frame 16. The rear pillars 70c are designed for holding the rear windshield 92b in place. Referring to FIGs.2 to 5, there are shown the roof liner 20 for the vehicle including a main portion 22, a corner portion 26, and the wall 30. The main portion 22 is bent downward at its edge. Moreover, at least two edges of the main portion 22 is made a shape of recess in upward direction of the vehicle to form a mounting portion 24 to secure the main portion 22 of the roof liner 20 to the roof body 0, Means for fixing used at the mounting portion 24 mentioned above may be a fastener (not shown). Meanwhile, the mounting portions 24 are possible to couple with the hand grip (not shown) as appeared in the common vehicle.

The roof liner 20 at the corner portion 26 at the rear section of the vehicle is at least includes the wall 30 that is an extending element for contacting the roof liner 20 on the roof body 10 which formed at the corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20 at rear section so as to extend to the roof body 10. The wall 30 is located in at least one corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20.

The material used for the roof liner 20 is made from soft material as the plurality of pad layers, in order to absorb the force that may unexpectedly occur by movement of the driver and/or passengers. However, in many cases the roof liner 20 can be formed of a suitable injection molded thermoplastic material to mold into a one-piece structure.

The cover member 80, including cover members of front pillar 80a, cover members of center pillar 80b and cover members of rear pillar 80c are formed to cover the front pillars 70a, the center pillars 70b and the rear pillars 70c respectively, when viewed from the inside of the vehicle. The cover member 80 is constructed by a hard material, served as an outer panel design surface, in at least one layer which comprises at least one core layer.

Referring to Figures 4, 7, and 8, there are provided an assembly shows a right rear end of the roof structure 1 . The roof liner 20 is connected with the cover member of rear pillar 80c at the connecting portion 82. The wall 30 of the roof liner 20 is formed at the corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20 to extend to the roof body 10.

Considering the wall 30 is formed to extend to contact the roof body 10, it is possible that the strength at the connecting portion 82 and its surrounding portion can be improved. As a result, the shape of the roof structure 1 can be maintained at the connecting portion 82 and its surrounding portion, even if the roof liner 20 is made by a soft material and the force is applied on the roof liner 20 in the direction from the inner to the roof body 10. Consequently, the deformation of the roof liner 20 can be avoided since the roof structure 1 keeps the strength against the force of causing the deformation of the roof liner 20. Hence, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost due to it is not necessary to install other parts for structural aspect into the roof structure 1. Moreover, it is possible to improve the interior design of the vehicle because the wall 30 is located behind the connecting portion 82 between the cover member 80 and the roof body 10 and installed into the position not to be noticed from the inside view of vehicle.

The construction of the wall 30 is shown in further detail in the enlarged view representation of FIG.6. The wall 30 is constructed five portions including the reinforcement portion 40, the base portion 50, a curve-shaped portion 60, a first end 42, and a second end 68.

Referring to FIGs 6 and 8, each reinforcement portion 40 is generally wave-shaped and formed along a direction in which the wall 30 extends. A plurality of reinforcement portion 40 is integrally formed at the corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20 in a manner to extend from the main portion 22 toward the roof body 10.

Referring to FIGs 6 and 7, the base portion 50 which extends from the reinforcement portion 40 has generally wave- shaped surface at the lower surface and has a flat surface at the upper surface.

The extension of the base portion 50 from the reinforcement portion 40 creates an L- shaped structure in section taken along line VI I-VI I as shown in FIG.7. More specifically, the reinforcement portion 40 has a long straight edge R l in which the plane is inclined to the roof body 10 and the base portion 50 has a short straight edge R2 facing the roof body 10. At the bending of this L-shaped curve, the surface is concave.

The curve-shaped portion 60 is generally L-shaped and extends from the reinforcement portion 40 to the outer edge of the corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20 as shown in FIG.8. The curve-shaped portion 60 has an opening portion 66 between the wall 30 and the roof body 10 through which an electrical cord 62 can be passed. Moreover, the curved-shaped portion 60 includes a recess portion 64 formed as a rectangular shape at a long straight edge R . With this construction, even if there is no part of the curved-shaped portion 60 attached to the roof body 10, a structural function can be provided. Meanwhile, the recess portion 64 increases the strength of the roof liner 20.

The first end 42 is formed in adjacent to the reinforcement portion 40 and is located on the outer edge portion 14 of the roof body 10. The second end 68 is formed in adjacent to the curve-shaped portion 60 and is located at the rear of windshield 92b.

The first end 42, the second end 68, and the base portion 50 are bonded to the lower portion 12 of the roof body 10. With the construction of the first end 42, the second end 68, and the base portion 50 which are enlarged, the contact area between the lower portion 12 of the roof body 10 and the first end 42. the second end 68, and the base portion 50 increases. As a result, the connecting strength between the lower portion 12 of the roof body 10 and the first end 42, the second end 68, and the base portion 50 are increased. Also, by enlarging the sectional area of the first end 42, the second end 68, and the base portion 50, the rigidity of the wall 30 of the roof liner 20 can be enhanced.

Moreover, the wave-shaped curve of the reinforcement portion 40 and the concave surface can provide a desired rigidity as a frame to improve the strength of the roof liner 20 at the connecting portion 82 and its surrounding portion. In this case, the adjoining surface of the wall 30 and the lower portion 12 of the roof body 10, becoming rigid can be increased, which decreases the deformation. This structure provides the wall greater strength to withstand the applied force without using any additional parts and also helps distribute the applied force evenly all over the surface rather than concentrating at a particular point.

Further, in the roof structure 1 described above, the wall 30 may be integrally formed with the roof liner 20, which the main portion 22 of the roof liner 20 and the wall 30 are integrated at the corner portion 26 of the roof liner 20. The main portion 22, the corner portion 26, and the wall 30 may be made from one member. By adopting such a structure, the number of parts used can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost. Moreover, the step of manufacturing process is decreased from decreasing the number of parts. As such, the manufacturing time can also be reduced.

Next, the operation of the roof structure 1 of the vehicle when the force is applied to the roof structure 1, for example, during the hitting by the head or the hand of the passenger when the passenger gets on or off the vehicle will be provided with reference to FIG.4, 7, and 8

Firstly in the cabin area of the vehicle where the movement from driver and/or passenger is always happened, in the case that the roof liner 20 is hit by the head or the hand of the passenger near the wall 30 or the surrounding portion of the roof liner 20, the force acts on the roof liner 20 along an upward direction. As such, there is the possibility that the conventional roof liner is shifted in position and got out of its position or otherwise dented upon interference with the load, thereby degrading the inherent decorative function of the roof liner.

Secondly, the wall 30 of the roof liner 20 is provided with the first end 42, the second end 68, the reinforcement portion 40 formed along a direction in which the wall 30 extends with the plane that is inclined to the roof body 10, and the base portion 50 which extend from the reinforcement portion 40 to the surface of the lower portion 12 of the roof body 10. As such, the first end 42. the second end 68, the reinforcement portion 40, and the base portion 50 functions as a frame providing a desired rigidity Therefore, it is possible to prevent getting out of its position or denting upon interference with the head and hand of the passenger by improving structure of the wall 30, leading to improved impact resistance performance against the force applied.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described as well as illustrated in the companying drawings, it is simply for the purpose of better understanding of the principle of the present invention and it is not as a limitation of the scope and spirit of the teaching of the present invention. Adaption and modification to various structures such as design or material of the invention, mounting mechanism of various parts and elements or embodiments are possible and apparent to a skilled person without departing from the scope of the present invention which is to be determined by the claims.

List of reference:

1 Roof structure

10 Roof body

12 Lower portion

14 Edge portion

16 Body frame

20 Roof liner

22 Main portion

24 Mounting portion

26 Corner portion

30 Wall

40 Reinforcement portion

42 First end

50 Base portion

60 Curve-shaped portion

62 Electrical cord

64 Recess portion

66 Opening portion

68 Second end

70 Pillar

70a Front pillar

70b Center pillar 70c Rear pillar

80 Cover member

80a Cover member of front pillar

80b Cover member of center pillar

80c Cover member of rear pillar

82 Connecting portion

90 Vehicle frame

92 Windshield

92a Front windshield

92b Rear windshield

94 First opening

96 Second opening

Rl Long straight edge

R2 Short straight edge

R3 Long straight edge

Claims

1 . A roof structure (1) for a vehicle comprising:

a roof body (10) formed to cover a top portion of said vehicle;

a roof liner (20) formed to cover said roof body (10) when viewed from bottom; a pillar (70) connected with an edge portion (14) of said roof body (10);

a cover member (80) formed to cover said pillar (70) when viewed from the inside of said vehicle;

said roof liner (20) is connected with said cover member (80) at a connecting portion

(82);

wherein a wall (30) is formed from said roof liner (20) to extend behind said connecting portion (82) to said roof body (10) when viewed from the inside of said vehicle.

2. The roof structure (1 ) for said vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said wall (30) includes a reinforcement portion (40) which is formed along a direction in which said wall (30) extends.

3. The roof structure (1) for said vehicle of claim 1 or 2, wherein said wall (30) includes a base portion (50) which extends on the surface of said roof body (10).

4. The roof structure (1) for said vehicle of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said wall (30) is integrally formed with said roof liner (20).