JP2008296600A - Locker reinforcement structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively suppress sectional collapse of a locker with minimum increase in weight or cost, by using a bulk head superior in assembly work. <P>SOLUTION: The locker 1 is extended in a longitudinal direction along a side surface lower edge of a vehicle body and makes a closed section by an inner panel 1a and an outer panel 1b. In the locker 1, a plurality of vertical bulk heads 3A, 3B in a shape of a vertical wall partitioning the closed section of the locker 1 in the longitudinal direction are installed with a space in the longitudinal direction. Between the 3A, 3B, the inner panel 1a and the outer panel 1b are crossed over in a horizontal direction, and a horizontal bulk head 3C partitioning the closed section of the locker 1 in a vertical direction, so that the sectional collapse of the locker 1 can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rocker reinforcing structure that prevents a rocker from collapsing in cross section at a position below a rocker that extends in the front-rear direction along the lower edge of the side surface of a vehicle body of an automobile.

  As shown in FIG. 3, conventionally, a lower end of an intermediate pillar 2 erected along a side surface of the vehicle body is coupled to a rocker 1 of an automobile at a front and rear intermediate position. In order to reinforce the support rigidity for supporting the rocker 1, the rocker 1 is reinforced by providing a plurality of vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B having a vertical wall shape that partitions the interior of the rocker 1 in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rocker 1 forms a closed cross section with an inner panel 1 a and an outer panel 1 b having a substantially hat-shaped cross section facing each other along the vehicle width direction. In the joint portion with the intermediate pillar 2, the upper edge flange 11 of the inner panel 1 a and the upper edge flange 13 of the outer panel 1 b are respectively joined to the vehicle inner surface and the vehicle outer surface of the lower edge portion of the pillar inner 21 of the intermediate pillar 2. The lower edge of the pillar outer 22 having a closed cross section with the pillar inner 21 of the intermediate pillar 2 is coupled to the upper end of the side wall portion 15 of the outer panel 1 b of the rocker 1, and the intermediate pillar 2 is substantially supported on the outer panel 1 b side of the rocker 1. It has been.

  The vertical bulkheads 3A, 3B are spaced apart in the front-rear direction at positions corresponding to the positions of the pillar front edge lower end 23 and the pillar rear edge lower end 24 of the intermediate pillar 2 whose front and rear widths are expanded downward. is set up. Both vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B have an outer peripheral upper edge flange, a vehicle outer side edge flange and a lower edge flange coupled to the inner surface of the outer panel 1b so that the outer panel 1b side of the closed section of the rocker 1 is partitioned in the front-rear direction. The intermediate pillar 2 is provided to receive vertical loads from the front edge lower end 23 and the rear edge lower end 24 of the intermediate pillar 2.

In addition, as conventional vertical bulkheads installed at intervals before and after, the following Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe one in which front and rear vertical bulkheads are integrally formed by connecting them in the front-rear direction. According to these, the work of attaching the vertical bulkhead to the rocker can be performed at a time, and the workability is good.
JP 2004-314716 A JP 2006-205797 A

By the way, in the conventional reinforcing structure, the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B are installed apart from each other in the front-rear direction corresponding to the front edge lower end 23 and the rear edge lower end 24 of the intermediate pillar 2, and are separated from the central axis of the intermediate pillar 2. Therefore, it cannot be said that the support rigidity is sufficient.
When a torsional load is applied to the vehicle body when the vehicle is traveling on a rough road or suddenly turning, and a lateral load is applied to the intermediate pillar 2 in the vehicle width direction, the cross section of the rocker 1 is broken between the front and rear bulkheads 3A and 3B. In particular, there has been a problem that the outer panel 1b side is deformed (imaginary line in FIG. 5), and the pillar 2 is inclined and deformed to increase the torsion of the vehicle body. In particular, this tendency is significant in a passenger car (FIG. 3) such as an open car that does not have a roof and the upper end of the intermediate pillar 2 is not supported by the roof.
In order to prevent the cross section of the rocker 1 from being collapsed, it is conceivable to increase the thickness of the outer panel of the rocker 1, but this increases the weight and costs. Although it is conceivable to add a vertical bulkhead corresponding to the central axis of the intermediate pillar 2, the number of work steps increases and the workability of assembly is lowered.
Therefore, the present invention can minimize the increase in weight and cost, and can perform assembling work effectively, and can effectively suppress the cross-section of the rocker. Especially, it can be applied to the joint with the intermediate pillar. An object of the present invention is to realize an automotive rocker reinforcing structure that suppresses the inclined deformation of the intermediate pillar and enhances the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body.

The present invention relates to a car rocker that extends in the front-rear direction along the lower side edge of the automobile and forms a closed section with an inner panel and an outer panel. The locker includes a plurality of partitions that divide the closed section inside the locker in the front-rear direction. The vertical wall-shaped vertical bulkheads are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and the inner panel and the outer panel are bridged horizontally between the vertical bulkheads to partition the closed section in the vertical direction. A horizontal bulkhead is provided (Claim 1).
In addition to the effect of reinforcing the front and rear vertical bulkheads, the horizontal bulkhead supports the inner panel and outer panel of the rocker in the vehicle width direction between them, and suppresses the collapse of the cross section of the rocker.

The longitudinal bulkheads and the horizontal bulkheads on both the front and rear sides are provided at positions directly below the intermediate pillar whose lower end is coupled to the upper surface of the rocker.
Even if a lateral load is applied to the intermediate pillar in the vehicle width direction, the horizontal bulkhead suppresses the collapse of the cross section of the rocker, and the intermediate pillar can be prevented from being inclined and deformed.

The front and rear vertical bulkheads are integrally formed with a side portion connecting one of the vertical edges. Either the upper half or the lower half of the side portion is cut off from the vertical bulkheads and bent in the horizontal direction to form the horizontal bulkhead at the side portion.
Since the vertical and horizontal bulkheads are integrally molded, these structures can be simplified, and the workability of assembling to the locker is good.

At the joint portion of the rocker with the intermediate pillar, the vertical width of the opening of the substantially hat-shaped inner panel that opens to the outside of the vehicle is larger than that of the outer panel with respect to the outer panel having a substantially hat-shaped section that opens to the inside of the vehicle. The lower edge flanges of the inner panel and outer panel are overlapped and joined, while the upper edge flange of the inner panel and the upper edge flange of the outer panel are joined to the lower end of the pillar inner of the intermediate pillar in a stepwise manner. The lower edge of the pillar outer is coupled to the side wall portion of the outer panel of the rocker, and the rocker is opposed to the lower edge portion of the upper edge flange of the inner panel of the rocker by the horizontal bulkhead in the vehicle width direction. The outer panel of the outer panel is bridged (claim 4).
The cross-sectional collapse of the rocker in the vehicle width direction is efficiently suppressed between the upper edge flange of the inner panel of the rocker to which the pillar inner and the pillar outer of the intermediate pillar are coupled, and the side wall of the outer panel of the rocker.

An embodiment of a rocker reinforcement structure to which the present invention is applied at the joint R between the open car rocker 1 and the intermediate pillar 2 shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rocker 1 has a generally hat-shaped inner panel 1 a that opens toward the vehicle outer side in a general portion along the lower edge of the door opening, and a cross-section that opens toward the vehicle inner side. A hat-shaped outer panel 1b is formed, and the upper edge flanges 11 and 13 and the lower edge flanges 12 and 14 of both panels 1a and 1b are overlapped to form a closed cross-sectional structure. In the general part, a longitudinal wall-shaped reinforcement 10 is provided inside to divide the inside of the closed section in the vehicle width direction. Reinforcement 10 has upper and lower edge connecting flanges sandwiched between upper edge flanges 11 and 13 of both inner and outer panels 1a and 1b and lower edge flanges 12 and 14 and integrally connected. .

The lower end of the intermediate pillar 2 is formed at the front and rear intermediate position near the rear end of the locker 1 and forms a rear edge of the door opening along the side of the vehicle body.
In the joint portion with the intermediate pillar 2, the inner panel 1a of the rocker 1 has an opening vertical width smaller than that of the outer panel 1b. The inner panel 1a and the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1 join the lower edge flanges 12 and 14, and superpose the upper edge flange 11 of the inner panel 1a on the lower edge of the pillar inner 21 of the intermediate pillar 2 while being higher than this. At the position, the upper edge flange 13 of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1 is overlapped with the pillar inner 21 and joined in a stepwise manner, and a closed cross section is formed via the lower end of the pillar inner. In addition, the reinforcement 10 is not provided in the coupling portion.

  The intermediate pillar 2 has a closed cross-sectional structure in which a shallow inner hat-shaped pillar inner 21 facing the vehicle outer side and a substantially outer hat-shaped pillar outer 22 facing the inner side of the vehicle are coupled to each other at the front edge flange and the rear edge flange. Make. The width in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate pillar 2 is matched with the upper surface width of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1, and the lower edge 25 of the pillar outer 22 is coupled along the upper edge of the side wall portion 15 on the vehicle outer side of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1. is there.

  The intermediate pillar 2 has its front edge and rear edge gradually curved and inclined downward, and the front-rear width of the lower end of the pillar is enlarged. A front edge lower end 23 and a rear edge lower end 24 formed from the lower edge of the pillar outer 22 are coupled to the upper surface of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1, and the intermediate pillar 2 is coupled so as to be supported on the outer panel 1b side of the rocker 1. Although not shown, the intermediate pillar 2 is covered with a front end portion of a quarter panel whose outer side forms the rear side surface of the vehicle body.

In the joint portion with the intermediate pillar 2, the closed section of the rocker 1 has vertical wall-like vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B at positions corresponding to the joint portion with the front edge lower end 23 and the rear edge lower end 24 of the intermediate pillar 2, respectively. Are provided at intervals in the front-rear direction.
The front and rear vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B are press-molded integrally with a vertical plate-like side surface portion 30 that connects the vertical edges inside the vehicle in the front-rear direction. And the lower half part of the side part 30 is cut | disconnected from the longitudinal bulkheads 3A and 3B of front and back in the horizontal direction, the horizontal half is formed in the said lower half part, and the horizontal bulkhead 3C is formed.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B has a quadrilateral shape that matches the internal shape of the cross section of the outer panel 1b. Each of the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B is provided with an outer peripheral flange 31 that is bent and formed into a substantially L-shaped cross section along the upper edge, the vertical edge on the vehicle outer side, and the lower edge.

  The horizontal bulkhead 3C is set so that the longitudinal length thereof is substantially the same as or slightly shorter than the distance between the longitudinal bulkheads 3A and 3B, and the projecting length that projects horizontally from the side surface 30 to the vehicle exterior is the both longitudinal bulkheads 3A. , 3B is set to be substantially the same as the width in the vehicle width direction. An edge flange 32 that is bent downward in an L-shaped cross section is formed at the front end edge of the horizontal bulkhead 3C outside the vehicle. The front and rear vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B, the side surface portion 30 and the horizontal bulkhead 3C are provided with a plurality of punched holes to reduce the weight.

In the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B and the horizontal bulkhead 3C integrally formed in this way, the front and rear vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B are welded to the outer peripheral flange 31 along the inner surface of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1 and side surfaces. The portion 30 is placed on the upper edge flange 11 of the inner panel 1a which is lower than the outer panel 1b, and is welded and joined so as to partition the outer panel 1b side in the closed section of the rocker 1 in the front-rear direction.
The horizontal bulkhead 3C protrudes horizontally from the vicinity of the lower edge of the upper edge flange 11 of the inner panel 1a of the rocker 1 coupled with the side surface portion 30 toward the outer panel 1b, and the end edge flange 32 at the front end is a side wall on the outer side of the outer panel 1b. The upper edge flange 11 and the outer panel 1b are horizontally bridged by overlapping and welded to the inner surface of the portion 15, and the outer panel 1b side in the closed cross section of the rocker 1 is vertically divided between the front and rear vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B. It is provided as follows.

  Each of the bulkheads 3A, 3B, 3C is installed in the outer panel 1b in advance before assembling the inner panel 1a and the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1, and the flanges 31, 32 are placed on the inner surface of the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1. When the inner panel 1a and the outer panel 1b of the rocker 1 are assembled by spot welding, the side surface portion 30 and the upper edge flange 11 of the inner panel 1a are welded. In this case, the side surface portion 30 and the upper edge flange 11 are provided with a plurality of small welding holes in the upper edge flange 11, and arc welding is performed on the side surface portion 30 and the peripheral edge of the welding hole so as to close them.

  When the vehicle travels on a rough road or suddenly turns, a load is applied to the upper part of the intermediate pillar 2 to cause the intermediate pillar 2 to be inclined and deformed in the vehicle width direction. At this time, the side wall 15 of the outer panel 1 of the rocker 1 coupled to the upper edge flanges 11, 13 of the rocker 1 coupled to the lower edge of the pillar inner 21 and the lower edge 25 of the pillar outer 22 to the rocker 1. Load in the vehicle width direction is transmitted to the vehicle. In this case, at the positions corresponding to the front edge lower end 23 and the rear edge lower end 24 of the intermediate pillar 2, the effect of suppressing the collapse of the cross section of the rocker 1 is exhibited by the vertical bulkheads 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B.

Further, since the horizontal bulkhead 3C is provided between the front and rear vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B so as to bridge between the upper portion of the inner panel 1a of the rocker 1 and the upper portion of the side wall portion 15 of the outer panel 1b, the horizontal bulkhead 3C is supported. Thus, deformation on the inner panel 1a side and the outer panel 1b side is suppressed, and deformation of the cross section of the locker 1 is suppressed.
In this way, at the joint portion of the rocker 1 with the intermediate pillar 2, a high support rigidity of the intermediate pillar 2 can be exerted by a combination of the cross-sectional collapse suppressing effect by the front and rear vertical bulkheads 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B and the cross-sectional collapse suppressing effect by the horizontal bulkhead. Therefore, the inclination deformation of the intermediate pillar 2 can be suppressed and the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body can be improved.

  Further, the vertical bulkheads 3A, 3B and the horizontal bulkhead 3C are not limited to the torsional load of the vehicle body, but also exhibit an effect of suppressing the rocker cross-section collapse at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. Accordingly, the bulkheads 3A, 3B, and 3C are not limited to the connection with the intermediate pillar 2, and the effects are exhibited even if they are installed inside the general portion of the locker that forms the lower edge of the door opening.

The horizontal bulkhead 3C may be separated from the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B. However, the integral molding is superior in the productivity of the bulkhead heads 3A, 3B, 3C and the mounting workability to the locker.
In the above-described integral molding, the horizontal bulkhead 3C is formed in the lower half portion of the side surface portion 30, but may be formed in the upper half portion. However, if the upper half portion is formed, the upper half side of the vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B and the side surface portion 30 are separated, and the two vertical bulkheads 3A and 3B are separated from the upper portion of the rocker 1 near the joint portion with the intermediate pillar 2. Therefore, it is preferable to form the horizontal bulkhead 3 </ b> C in the lower half of the side portion 30.

The structure of the rocker reinforcement structure of this invention is shown, and it is the principal part perspective view which made the outer panel side the virtual line. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. 3 which shows the rocker reinforcement structure of this invention. It is a side view of the vehicle body of the open car to which this invention is applied. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the conventional rocker reinforcement structure corresponding to FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the VV line | wire of FIG. 3 which shows the conventional rocker reinforcement structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rocker 1a Inner panel 1b Outer panel 11,13 Upper edge flange 12,14 Lower edge flange 2 Intermediate pillar 21 Pillar inner 22 Pillar outer 3A, 3B Vertical bulkhead 3C Horizontal bulkhead 30 Side part

Claims (4)

In a car rocker that extends in the front-rear direction along the lower side edge of the car and forms a closed cross section with an inner panel and an outer panel,
Inside the locker, a plurality of vertical wall-shaped vertical bulkheads that partition the closed cross section inside the locker in the front-rear direction are installed at intervals in the front-rear direction,
A rocker reinforcing structure for an automobile, comprising a horizontal bulkhead that horizontally spans the inner panel and the outer panel between the vertical bulkheads to partition the closed section in the vertical direction.   2. The rocker reinforcing structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal bulkhead and the horizontal bulkhead on both the front and rear sides are provided at a position directly below an intermediate pillar whose lower end is coupled to the upper surface of the rocker. The front and rear vertical bulkheads are integrally formed with the side surface connecting one of the vertical edges,
3. The automobile rocker according to claim 1, wherein either the upper half or the lower half of the side portion is separated from the vertical bulkheads and bent in the horizontal direction to form the horizontal bulkhead at the side portion. Reinforced structure. At the joint portion of the rocker with the intermediate pillar, the vertical width of the opening of the substantially hat-shaped inner panel that opens to the outside of the vehicle is larger than that of the outer panel with respect to the outer panel having a substantially hat-shaped section that opens to the inside of the vehicle. The lower edge flanges of the inner panel and outer panel are overlapped and joined, while the upper edge flange of the inner panel and the upper edge flange of the outer panel are joined to the lower end of the pillar inner of the intermediate pillar in a stepwise manner. And the lower edge of the pillar outer is connected to the side wall of the outer panel of the rocker,
The horizontal bulkhead bridges the lower edge portion of the upper edge flange of the inner panel of the rocker and the side wall portion of the outer panel of the rocker facing the rocker in the vehicle width direction. Automobile locker reinforcement structure.