JP2001030950A - Car body side structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To improve the formability of a side sill and reduce costs while achieving both getting on and off and side impact performance. SOLUTION: In a closed cross section of the side sill 2 constituting a lower side α of a door opening 6 on a side of a vehicle body, a reinforce 8 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided between the side sill 2 and a center pillar 1. The height of the upper end of the reinforce 8 is directed from a substantially intermediate portion β in the front-rear direction of the lower side α to a portion where the center pillar 1 is located rearward of the vehicle.
Since the rear portion of the vehicle is formed obliquely in a side view so as to be relatively and gradually higher, the change in the upper end height of the side sill 2 forming the lower side α of the door opening 6 is moderate. Therefore, the side sill 2 and the reinforcement 8 can be formed in a foaming (bending) process, and the material yield can be greatly improved. , And can be advantageously obtained in terms of cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vehicle body side structure of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recent vehicle body side structure, various technical developments have been made to improve strength against side collisions and to enhance occupant protection performance in side collisions.

[0003] On the other hand, there is a demand for ensuring that the occupant can get on and off the door opening portion, and there is a demand for a device that achieves both the getting on and off and the side collision performance.

[0004] Conventionally, as such a technique, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a side sill at the lower side of a door opening is changed in height at an intermediate portion (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9 (1997) -92). -254825).

FIG. 5 shows the above-mentioned conventional vehicle body side structure, wherein 1 is a center pillar located at the vehicle body side, and 2 is a side sill provided at the lower end of the center pillar 1 and extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Is shown.

The side sill 2 is, as shown in FIG.
The sill inner 2A and the sill outer 2B are joined to the sill inner 2A. The sill inner 2A is joined with a floor panel 4 constituting a floor surface of a vehicle compartment and a floor cross member 5 installed between the pair of left and right side sills 2, 2. Have been.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a door opening on the side of the vehicle body.
The lower side α of the door opening 6 on the side of the vehicle body is constituted by the upper end of the side sill 2.

The height of the upper end of the side sill 2 constituting the lower side α of the door opening 6 is configured to change at an intermediate portion β of the side sill 2 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

Specifically, an inclined portion 20 is formed in the intermediate portion β, and the upper end of the side sill 2 is formed by the inclined portion 20 and the upper end of a side sill portion 21 on the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the inclined portion 20. And a front upper end portion 22a which is an upper end portion of the side sill portion 22 on the vehicle body front side with respect to the inclined portion 20.

[0010]

However, according to the above-described conventional structure, the height of the upper end of the side sill 2 is provided at the intermediate portion β of the door opening 6 with an inclined portion 20, and the height of the side sill 2 is rapidly changed by the inclined portion 20. Since such a side sill 2 is formed in a stepwise manner, a draw (drawing) step is required, and a press allowance, which is a press when the material is stretched, is required besides the product portion. As a result, there is a problem that disadvantages in terms of cost such as deterioration of material yield and increase of molding cost arise.

Also, since the change of the intermediate portion β (inclined portion 20) where the height of the upper end of the side sill 2 changes is abrupt,
During formation of the sill inner 2A and the sill outer 2B of the side sill 2, wrinkles are likely to be generated in the intermediate portion β, resulting in a problem that the appearance is deteriorated.

In addition, since stress concentrates on the intermediate portion β at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, it is necessary to provide additional reinforcing means such as a reinforcing brace 23 to counter the impact at the time of a frontal collision.

In view of the above, the present invention aims to improve the formability of the side sill and reduce the cost while achieving both the getting on and off property and the side collision performance, and sufficiently withstands the impact at the time of a frontal collision without requiring any additional reinforcing means. It is intended to provide a vehicle body side structure capable of performing the following.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising: a center pillar located at a side of a vehicle body; and a side sill provided at a lower end of the center pillar and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. A vehicle body side structure in which a pillar reinforce is provided in a closed cross section of a center pillar between a center pillar and a side sill, wherein the side sill is formed in a closed cross section of the side sill constituting a lower side of a door opening on a vehicle body side. A reinforcement having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided between the vehicle and the center pillar, and the height of the upper end of the reinforcement is adjusted from a substantially middle portion of the lower side in the front-rear direction toward the portion where the center pillar is provided. The rear portion is obliquely formed in a side view so as to be relatively and gradually higher, and the top is an inflection point forming the rear portion of the reinforce. The portions are characterized in that provided near the junction of the pillar reinforcement and the reinforcement.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a substantially middle portion of the lower side of the door opening, which is an inflection point for changing the height of the upper end of the reinforce according to the first aspect, is a pair of left and right side sills. It is characterized in that it is located near a joint of a cross member installed between the members.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
Is characterized in that it is provided inside a closed cross section of a pillar reinforce constituting the center pillar.

In the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
A bead portion is formed in the vicinity of the vertex portion described in (1).

[0018]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the center pillar is located on the side of the vehicle body, and the side sill is provided at the lower end of the center pillar and extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction. A vehicle body side structure in which a pillar reinforcement is provided in a closed cross section between a center pillar and a side sill, wherein the side sill and the center pillar are formed in a closed cross section of the side sill that forms a lower side of a door opening on a vehicle body side. A reinforcement having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided between the vehicle and the upper end of the reinforcement, from a substantially middle portion of the lower side in the front-rear direction toward the center pillar arrangement portion, and a vehicle rear portion is formed. Relatively
In addition, since the side sill is formed obliquely as viewed from the side so as to gradually increase in height, a change in the height of the upper end of the side sill that forms the lower side of the door opening can be moderated. By keeping the height of the upper end of the reinforcement at the front part of the vehicle low while securing the vehicle, it is possible to ensure both side collision performance and improvement in getting on and off.

In addition, since the change in the height of the upper end of the side sill is gradual, the side sill and the reinforcement can be formed in the form (bending) process, so that the conventional draw (drawing) process is not required, and the material is elongated. In this case, there is no need for a pressing margin, which can significantly improve the material yield, which is advantageous in terms of cost.Because the change is gentle, wrinkles during molding can be reduced. It can suppress and improve the appearance.

Further, even if wrinkles are generated in the reinforce at the time of molding the reinforce, the wrinkles are disposed inside the closed cross section of the side sill and do not affect the appearance.

Further, even at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, etc.,
Since the portions where the heights of the side sills and the reinforcements change gradually are small, stress is not concentrated on the changed portions, and it is possible to sufficiently counter the impact at the time of a frontal collision without requiring additional reinforcing means.

On the other hand, since the vertex, which is the inflection point of the rear portion of the reinforcement, is provided near the joint between the reinforcement and the pillar reinforcement, the pillar portion receives an impact at the time of a side collision. In addition, it is possible to prevent stress from being concentrated on the apex portion.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the above effect, the substantially middle portion of the lower side of the door opening, which is an inflection point that changes the height of the upper end of the reinforce, is set as the vicinity of the joint of the cross member bridged between the pair of left and right side sills. Therefore, since the impact at the time of the side collision can be received by the cross member, the side collision performance can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, since the apex portion is provided inside a closed cross section of the pillar reinforce constituting the center pillar, a side surface is provided. The impact at the time of collision can be received by the pillar portion, and the concentration of stress on the apex portion can be reliably avoided.

According to the invention of claim 4, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of (1) to (3), since a bead portion is formed in the vicinity of the apex portion, it is possible to reliably suppress the occurrence of wrinkles at the time of forming the reinforce by the bead portion.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the above-mentioned conventional structure.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a vehicle body side structure to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part thereof. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

1 is a center pillar located on the side of the vehicle body,
Reference numeral 2 denotes a side sill provided at the lower end of the center pillar 1 and extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Further, inside the closed cross section of the center pillar 1, a pillar reinforcement 7 is provided over the center pillar 1 and the side sill 2.

The side sill 2 is composed of a sill inner 2A and a sill outer 2B. The sill inner 2A is provided between a pair of left and right side sills 2, 2 constituting a floor surface of a passenger compartment. The cross member 5 is joined.

The cross member 5 in the drawing is a seat cross member normally provided to support the front seat 10.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a door opening on the side of the vehicle body.
The lower side α of the door opening 6 on the side of the vehicle body is constituted by the upper end of the side sill 2.

In the closed cross section of the side sill 2, a reinforcement 8 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided over the side sill 2 and the center pillar 1. Specifically, the reinforce 8 has flanges 8a, 8a at its front end, and the sill outer 2 is provided through the flanges 8a, 8a.
B is joined to the sill inner 2A by spot welding or the like, and at the rear end thereof is joined to the pillar reinforce 7. In addition, since the general portion on the upper surface of the reinforce 8 is only in contact with the back surface of the sill outer 2B via the projecting portion 12 formed in the general portion, distortion or the like due to a welding point or the like is not generated. It does not appear on the lower side of the part 6 and can be advantageously obtained in appearance.

The reinforce 8 has a height at its upper end,
From a substantially middle part β in the front-rear direction of the lower side α, toward the arrangement part of the center pillar 1 located at the rear of the vehicle, the rear part of the vehicle is relatively and gradually viewed from the side so as to gradually increase. An apex portion P, which is formed obliquely and has an inflection point at the rear portion thereof, is formed near the junction between the above-described reinforce 8 and pillar reinforce 7.

Accordingly, the height of the lower side of the door opening 6 is determined by the upper end of the reinforce 8 disposed below the sill outer 2B. The upper end of the sill outer 2B also moves from the substantially middle portion β in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body toward the arrangement portion of the center pillar 1 located rearward, and the rear portion of the vehicle relatively moves.
Further, it is formed obliquely in a side view so as to gradually increase in height, and is gently inclined. From the sectional views shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that the shape of the closed cross section of the arrangement portion of the center pillar 1 which is the rear portion of the vehicle is larger.

Particularly, in this embodiment, a substantially middle portion β of the lower side α of the door opening 6 which is an inflection point for changing the height of the upper end of the reinforce 8 is placed between the pair of left and right side sills 2. It is near the joint of the cross member 5 to be erected.

The apex portion P is provided inside the closed cross section of the pillar reinforce 7 of the center pillar 1.

Moreover, the vertex P of the reinforce 8
Is formed in the vicinity of.

In the drawing, reference numeral 11 denotes a rear seat.

According to the structure of the above-described embodiment, a substantially U-shaped cross section extends between the side sill 2 and the center pillar 1 within the closed cross section of the side sill 2 forming the lower side α of the door opening 6 on the side of the vehicle body. In addition to providing a mold reinforcement 8,
The height of the upper end of the reinforce 8 is relatively and gradually increased from a substantially middle portion β in the front-rear direction of the lower side α toward the arrangement portion of the center pillar 1. The side sill 2 is formed obliquely when viewed from the side, so that the change in the height of the upper end of the side sill 2 constituting the lower side α of the door opening 6 can be moderated, while securing the side sill cross-sectional area of the vehicle rear portion The height of the upper end of the reinforce in the front part of the vehicle is kept low, so that the side collision performance can be ensured and the ease of getting on and off can both be improved.

Further, since the change in the height of the upper end of the side sill 2 is gradual, the side sill 2 and the reinforcement 8 can be formed in the form (bending) process, so that the conventional draw (drawing) process is not required. As the material does not need to be held down when the material is stretched,
The material yield can be significantly improved, the cost can be advantageously obtained, and the change is gentle, so that wrinkling during molding can be suppressed and the appearance can be improved.

Even if wrinkles are formed in the reinforcement 8 during molding of the reinforcement 8, the wrinkles are disposed inside the closed cross section of the side sill 2 and do not affect the appearance.

Further, at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, etc.,
Since the portions where the heights of the side sills 2 and the reinforcements 8 change are gentle, stress is not concentrated on the substantially middle portion β, which is the changed portion, and the impact at the time of a frontal collision can be sufficiently obtained without additional reinforcing means. Can compete.

On the other hand, since the vertex P which is the inflection point of the rear portion of the reinforcement 8 is provided near the joint between the reinforcement 8 and the pillar reinforcement 7, the impact at the time of the side collision can be reduced. Since it is received at the pillar 1 portion, it is possible to avoid concentration of stress on the apex portion P.

In particular, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the above-described effects, the substantially middle portion β of the lower side of the door opening, which is an inflection point for changing the height of the upper end of the reinforce 8, is formed by a pair of left and right Since it is near the joint of the cross member 5 erected between the side sills 2, 2, the impact at the time of a side collision can be received by the cross member 5, so that the side collision performance can be further improved.

In addition, since the apex portion P is provided inside the closed cross section of the pillar reinforce 7 constituting the center pillar 1, an impact at the time of a side collision can be received by the center pillar 1 portion. Concentration of stress on the apex portion P can be reliably avoided.

Further, since the bead portion 9 is formed in the vicinity of the apex portion P, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles when the reinforce 8 is formed by the bead portion 9.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a side structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view showing a main part in the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a conventional structure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 center pillar 2 side sill 5 cross member 6 door opening 7 pillar reinforce 8 reinforcement 9 bead α lower side β middle part P vertex part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A center pillar located on a side of a vehicle body,
A side sill provided at a lower end of the center pillar, the side sill extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and a vehicle body side structure in which a pillar reinforce is provided across the center pillar and the side sill inside a closed cross section of the center pillar, In the closed cross section of the side sill constituting the lower side of the door opening on the side of the vehicle body, a reinforce having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided over the side sill and the center pillar, and the upper end height of the reinforce is set to A rear portion of the vehicle is formed obliquely in a side view so as to be relatively and gradually higher from a substantially middle portion of the lower side in the front-rear direction toward the center pillar disposition portion. A vertex portion, which is a formation inflection point of a rear portion, is provided in the vicinity of a joint between the reinforce and the pillar reinforce. Side structure of the vehicle body. 2. A substantially middle portion of a lower side of the door opening, which is an inflection point for changing an upper end height of the reinforce, is near a joint of a cross member bridged between a pair of left and right side sills. The vehicle body side structure according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The vehicle body side structure according to claim 1, wherein the apex portion is provided inside a closed cross section of a pillar reinforce constituting the center pillar. 4. The vehicle body side structure according to claim 1, wherein a bead portion is formed near the apex portion.