JP2003261063A - Body structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase strength and rigidity of a part continuing to an upper portion of a pillar of a body of an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: Both side edges of a roof reinforcement 17 disposed on a lower face of a roof panel 16 in a lateral direction are connected to the roof panel to constitute elongated box structure, a pillar inner 21, and a side outer 25, and a pillar reinforcement disposed between the pillar inner and side outer are mutually connected along their both side edges to constitute a pillar 13 of elongated box structure, and the pillar reinforcement is connected with the roof reinforcement by a roof side bracket 28 constituting box structure. Section of a tip of the roof side bracket is in a shape of covering on the roof reinforcement, and side flanges 28a formed on both sides of the roof side bracket are overlapped with side flanges 17a of the roof reinforcement to be spot-welded on the lower face of the roof panel 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

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, and more particularly to a coupling structure for a pillar upper portion for connecting a pillar of a side member and a roof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-17542 discloses an example of a connecting structure at the upper part of a pillar in a body of an automobile of this type.
There is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. This is a structure in which a center pillar having a center pillar reinforcing member disposed between an inner member and an outer member and a roof reinforcing member provided on a roof panel are connected by a connecting member, and the upper end of the center pillar reinforcing member is extended. The leading end of the formed connecting portion is connected to the roof reinforcing member together with the connecting member. The roof reinforcing member has a shallow hat shape with an inverted cross section, is provided apart from the lower surface of the roof panel, and is adhered to the roof panel by mastic adhesion. According to such a structure, since the center pillar and the roof reinforcing member have a continuous cross-sectional structure, the strength and rigidity of the body can be increased more than ever before. Also disclosed is an example in which the roof reinforcement member is composed of an inverted hat-reinforced roof reinforce lower and a roof reinforce upper that is joined to the upper side of the roof reinforce member to form a closed cross-section structure. The strength and rigidity of the body can be further increased.

[0003]

However, according to the above-mentioned prior art, although the strength and rigidity of the body can be increased more than those before, the roof reinforcing member has a hat-shaped open cross-sectional shape. Improvement in strength and rigidity of the body is not always sufficient, and since it is provided away from the lower surface of the roof panel, there is a problem that the living volume in the vehicle is reduced. If the roof reinforcement member has a closed cross-section structure consisting of a roof reinforcement lower and a roof reinforcement upper, the strength and rigidity of the body can be further increased, but the problem of reduction in the living volume is not solved, and the roof reinforcement is not solved. There is a problem that the weight is increased by the amount of the upper.

According to the present invention, both side edges of a roof reinforcement provided on the lower surface of the roof panel are integrally connected to the roof panel to form an elongated box-shaped structure between the roof panel and the roof panel. The aim is to solve each such problem.

[0005]

To this end, a vehicle body structure according to the present invention has a structure in which an upper portion of a pillar extending downward from a roof side rail of a side member composed of a side inner and a side outer is connected to a roof. In the body structure, the pillar is composed of a pillar inner extending downward from the side rail inner of the side inner, a pillar outer extending downward from the side rail outer of the side outer, and a pillar line hosement disposed between the both members, thereby forming an elongated box. Integrally joined to each other along each side edge to form a shaped structure, and the roof is disposed laterally on the roof panel and its lower surface to form an elongated box-shaped structure with the roof panel. Roof rim with both edges integrally joined to the same roof panel to form The upper outer edge of the side outer and the pillar line hose is integrally connected to the outer edge of the roof panel, and is formed between the pillar inner and the roof line hose and is formed by the pillar inner and the pillar line hose. A roof side bracket forming a box-shaped structure for connecting an elongated box-shaped structure formed by the box-shaped structure, the roof reinforcement and the roof panel is provided.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraph, the pillar inner, the pillar outer, and the pillar line hose are connected by overlapping and spot welding the side flanges formed along the respective side edges of the pillar, the roof line hose Are joined to each other by spot welding the side flanges formed along both sides of the roof panel to the bottom surface of the roof panel, and the side outer and pillar line hose are overlapped with their upper flanges and the outer flange of the roof panel. Combine by welding,
The cross-sectional shape of the tip of the roof side bracket covers the outside of the roofline hosement, and the side flanges formed on both sides of the roofline bracket are overlapped with the side flanges of the roofline hosement, and both flanges are spot welded to the bottom surface of the roof panel. It is preferable to bind by doing.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraph, a roof groove having the outer flange of the former and the upper flange of the latter connected to each other as the bottom is formed between the roof panel and the side outer, and the pillar line hosement and the roof are formed. It is preferable that a roof rail leg that supports the roof rail near the side bracket is screwed and fixed on the bottom surface of the roof groove portion.

The roof rail leg of the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraph is joined by superposing the side flange of the roof side bracket and the side flange of the roof reinforcement and then spot-welding both flanges to the lower surface of the roof panel. It is preferable that the roof is screwed and fixed even in the vicinity of the above portion.

In the vehicle body structure described in each of the preceding paragraphs, it is preferable that a hole for welding is formed in the roof reinforcement so as to approach a position where the roof side bracket is connected.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraphs, the roof side bracket is preferably integrally formed with the pillar inner by extending the pillar inner upward.

[0011]

According to the vehicle body structure of the present invention, since the roof reinforcements are integrally connected to the roof panel at both side edges, the roof box structure becomes an elongated box structure and a roof having high strength and rigidity is obtained. The pillars formed by the side inner, pillar outer and pillar linear hose that are connected to each other also have a long and narrow box-shaped structure with high strength and rigidity.The roof line hose and pillar inner that form the roof and pillar are Since they are connected by the roof side brackets forming the box-shaped structure, a continuous elongated box-shaped structure from the pillar to the roof is obtained, and the body structure of the automobile has high strength and rigidity. Moreover, since it is not necessary to add a special reinforcing member as compared with the conventional case, the weight of the body thus obtained does not increase more than the conventional case. Further, since the roof reinforcement is directly connected to the roof panel and the protrusion amount from the roof panel is reduced, the living volume in the vehicle is not reduced.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraph, the pillar inner, the pillar outer, and the pillar line hosement are joined by overlapping and spot welding the side flanges formed along the respective side edges thereof, and the roof line hosement. Are joined to each other by spot welding the side flanges formed along both sides of the roof panel to the bottom surface of the roof panel, and the side outer and pillar line hose are overlapped with their upper flanges and the outer flange of the roof panel. Join by welding, and the cross-sectional shape of the tip of the roof side bracket covers the outside of the roofline hosement, and the side flanges formed on both sides of the roofline bracket are overlapped with the side flanges of the roofline hosement. Under the roof panel According to the connection by spot welding to the roof side bracket, the side flanges formed on both sides of the roof side bracket are directly connected to both the roof panel and the roof reinforcement, so that the pillar and the roof are securely connected. Also, the strength and rigidity of the joint structure between them are surely improved.

In the vehicle body structure according to the above paragraph, between the roof panel and the side outer, there is formed a roof groove portion whose bottom surface is the former outer flange and the latter upper flange, which are connected to each other, to form a pillar line hosement and a roof. According to the roof rail legs supporting the roof rail near the side brackets, which are fixed to the bottom of the roof groove with screws, the strength and rigidity are improved by the roof groove between the roof panel and the side outer, and the load applied to the roof rail is And in a position of increased rigidity, in a continuous elongated structure from the pillar to the roofline hosement. Therefore, the load capacity of the roof rail can be increased without the need to add a special reinforcing member as compared with the conventional case.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraph, the roof rail leg is formed by superposing the side flange of the roof side bracket and the side flange of the roof reinforcement and then spot welding the both flanges to the lower surface of the roof panel. By fixing the roof rail with screws even in the vicinity of the joined portion, it is possible to increase the mounting strength of the roof rail to the roof, and further, by spot welding both overlapping flanges to the lower surface of the roof panel, It is possible to improve the appearance by hiding the concave marks that are likely to occur on the upper surface with the roof rail legs.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraphs, the roof reinforcement is provided with a hole for welding, which is close to the position where the roof side bracket is connected. Since the side inner with the side bracket sub-assembled can be assembled with the roof and the side outer, it is possible to reduce the labor for assembling the body of the automobile.

In the vehicle body structure described in the preceding paragraphs, if the roof side bracket is formed integrally with the pillar inner by extending the pillar inner upward, the number of parts is reduced, so that the body structure of the vehicle is reduced. It is simplified and the weight can be reduced.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A body structure of an automobile according to the present invention will be described below with reference to a first embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view of an upper half front side of a body of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. The body 10 includes side members 11 on both sides and a roof 15 integrally connected to the side members 11.
The side member 11 including the side inner 20 and the side outer 25 includes a roof side rail 12 coupled to both sides of the roof 15 and a pillar 13 extending downward from the roof side rail 12. The number of pillars 13 is one in sedans and the like, and is two or more in station wagons and SUVs. The pillar 13 is a strength member, and its upper portion is connected to the roof 15.

The connecting structure of the side member 11 and the roof 15, particularly the structure of the connecting portion of the pillar 13 and the roof 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. This part is the roof 1
5, the side inner 20, the respective sub-assemblies of the side outer 25, and the roof side bracket 28 are connected to each other. In addition, in this embodiment, roof rails 30 for mounting luggage and the like are attached to both sides of the roof 15 that is coupled to the roof side rails 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the sub-assembly of the roof 15 is arranged so as to extend laterally on the lower surface of the roof panel 16 corresponding to the positions of the roof panel 16 and the pillar 13. Roof roof hosement 1
It consists of 7. Roofline hosement 17
Is a shallow hat shape having an inverted cross section, and side flanges 17a formed on both sides of the hat are joined to the lower surface of the roof panel 16 and integrally joined by spot welding along the longitudinal direction. Ment 1
7 forms an elongated box-shaped structure having a rectangular cross section. A hole 17b for spot-welding the roof side bracket 28 is formed on the bottom surface of the roof lining hose 17 at the center in the width direction of both ends close to the position where the roof side bracket 28 is connected. Both side edges of the roof panel 16 are bent in a Z shape so as to have a lowered step shape, and an outer flange 16a is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the sub-assembly of the side inner 20 includes a side rail inner 22 extending along the side edge of the roof panel 16 in a hat-shaped cross-sectional shape with a wide open side. A flat plate portion 21b having an upper end is spot-welded to the back surface of the side rail inner 22 at a plurality of points and extends downward, and the pillar inner portion 21 has a hat-shaped cross-sectional shape in which the opening side is slightly open except for the plate portion 21b. The side rail inner 22 has upper and lower flanges 22 along the upper and lower side edges, respectively.
a and 22b are formed, and side flanges 21a are formed on the pillar inner 21 along both side edges. The side flange 21a near the plate portion 21b is
Part of the side rail inner 22 and the lower flange 22b are also spot welded.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the sub-assembly of the side outer 25 includes a side rail outer 25b having a substantially hat-shaped cross-section with a step on one side, and a step formed integrally with the side rail outer 25b. And a side outer 25 made of a pillar outer 25a extending downward from the pillar outer support 25a and a pillar-line hosement 26 having a hat-shaped cross section. In the pillar line hosement 26, the upper portions of the side flanges 26a formed along both sides thereof are formed as wide overhanging portions 26b, the upper edge of the overhanging portion 26b is formed as an upper flange 26c, and the upper flange 26c has two projecting portions 26b.
forming d. This Pillarin Horsement 26
Put in the side outer 25, and each side flange 26a
Are abutted against side flanges 25c formed on both sides of the pillar outer 25a and spot welded along the longitudinal direction, and the upper flange 26c and the overhanging portion 26b are connected to the side rail outer 25a.
Upper and lower flanges 25 formed on the upper and lower edges of b
The side outer 25 is integrally joined by spot welding along the longitudinal direction while contacting the d and 25e. The pillar outer 25a and the pillar line hosement 26, which are spot-welded to each other, form an elongated box-shaped structure having a substantially U-shaped cross section.

Next, the side inner 20 and the side outer 25
The procedure for connecting the roof 15 and the roof 15 will be described. First, the roof side bracket 28 is joined to the side inner 20. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the roof side bracket 28 has a shallow hat-shaped cross-section that is inverted except for the outer plate 28b at one end, and stepped side flanges 28a are formed along both sides thereof. The cross-sectional shape of the other end is a shape that covers the outer side of the tip of the roof reinforcement 17. This roof side bracket 2
8 is the upper extension of the pillar inner 21,
The outer plate 28b is superposed on the plate portion 21b of the pillar inner 21 which is spot-welded to the back surface of the side rail inner 22, and as shown by the symbol A, three spots are superposed at three points, and the side flanges 28a on both sides are side rails. The inner 22 and its upper flange 22a are also spot-welded and joined.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the side inner 20 and the side outer 25, to which the roof side bracket 28 is connected in this manner, are formed with the both side flanges 21a and the upper and lower flanges 22a, 22b.
However, the latter both side flanges 26a and the upper flange 26
c, the projecting portion 26b, the upper and lower flanges 25d,
25e is joined so as to be in contact with 25e, and the side member 11 is integrally joined by being spot-welded along the flange. Pillar inner 21 spot welded to each other
And the pillar line hosement 26 form a vertically elongated box-shaped structure having a rectangular cross-section, and the side rail inner 22 and the side rail outer 25b, which are spot-welded to each other, form an elongated box-shaped structure in the longitudinal direction of the body. Roof side rails 12 are formed. The side flanges 21a, 26a, 25c of the pillar inner 21, the pillar line hosement 26, and the pillar outer 25a are
As indicated by reference numeral B, spot welding is performed by stacking three sheets. The two projecting portions 26d projecting from the upper side flange 26c of the pillar-line hosement 26 are positioned so as to contact the upper surfaces of both side flanges 28a of the roof side bracket 28.

The side member 1 thus formed
2 and 3, the tip of the roof side bracket 28 covers the outer side of the tip of the roof lining hose 17, and the upper flange 25d of the side outer 25 is the outer flange 16 of the roof panel 16.
The roof panel 16 and the side member 11 are spot-welded along the outer flange 16a so as to be overlapped with the lower side of a, and the front end portions of both side flanges 28a of the roof side bracket 28 are indicated by reference symbol C. Spot welding to the underside of the roof 15,
Then, the bottom surface of each tip of the roof side bracket 28 is spot-welded as indicated by a symbol D. Both side edges of the roof panel 16 on which the outer flange 16a is formed are bent in a Z shape so as to form a stepped shape.
Since the portion where the upper flange 25d is formed is also bent so as to have a substantially symmetrical shape, the outer flange 16a and the upper flange 25d, which are connected to each other, are provided between the roof panel 16 and the side outer 25. The roof groove portion 19 is formed. In the spot welding between the outer flange 16a and the upper flange 25d, the portion of the pillar line hosement 26 through which the upper flange 26c passes is four-ply, and the other portion is three-ply. In the point welding of both side flanges 28a of the roof side bracket 28, the tip portion indicated by the symbol C is a stack of three pieces of the roof panel 16, the roof reinforcement 17, and the side flanges 17a, 28a of the roof side bracket 28. At a position closer to the outer flange 16a side of the roof panel 16 than that, four protrusions 26d at the tip of the pillar line hosement 26 are sandwiched between both side flanges 17a and 28a. The spot welding of the bottom surfaces of the respective tip portions of the roof lining hosement 17 and the roof side bracket 28 indicated by the symbol D is performed by inserting the electrode of the spot welding gun through the hole 17b formed in the roof lining hosement 17.

In this embodiment, a roof rail leg 31 of a roof rail 30 for carrying luggage and the like is attached in the vicinity of where the pillar line hosement 26 and the roof side bracket 28 pass. The supporting leg portion 31a protruding downward from the roof rail leg 31 enters into the roof groove portion 19 and its lower end abuts on the bottom surface of the roof groove portion 19, and each member of the supporting leg portion 31a, the roof 15, the side inner 20 and the side outer 25. Penetrating 2
The bolt 33 of the book is screwed and fixed by screwing it into a nut 33a fixed to the lower surface of both side flanges 28a of the roof side bracket 28. Between the periphery of the lower surface of the roof rail leg 31 and the roof panel 16,
An elastic body 32 that disperses the load applied to the roof rail 30 in a wide range is provided.

According to the above-described first embodiment, the roof lining hosement 17 has both side flanges 17a spot-welded to the roof panel 16 to form an elongated box-shaped structure to form the roof 15 having high strength and rigidity. However, the pillar 1 is composed of the side inner 20, the pillar outer 25a, and the pillar line hose 26 which are spot welded to each other.
3 also becomes an elongated box-shaped structure having high strength and rigidity. The roof side bracket 28 that connects the roof 15 and the side inner 20 also includes the side rail inner 22 of the side inner 20 and the roof panel 16.
Since the box-shaped structure having high strength and rigidity is spot-welded to the roof reinforcement hosement 17, the pillar 13
A long and narrow box-shaped structure continuous from the roof to the roof reinforcement 17 is obtained, and the body structure of the automobile has high strength and rigidity. Moreover, since it is not necessary to add a special reinforcing member as compared with the conventional technique described above, the weight of the body obtained by this does not increase more than the conventional one. Further, since the roof reinforcement 17 is directly connected to the roof panel 16 and the amount of protrusion from the roof panel 16 for obtaining strength and rigidity is reduced, the living volume in the vehicle is not reduced.

In the first embodiment, a roof groove portion 19 having the outer flange 16a of the roof panel 16 and the upper flange 25d of the side outer 25 spot-welded thereto as the bottom is formed, and the pillar line hosement 26 and the roof are formed. Since the roof rail leg 31 supporting the roof rail 30 near the side bracket 28 is screwed and fixed to the bottom surface of the roof groove portion 19, the strength and rigidity are improved by the roof groove portion 19 between the roof panel 16 and the side outer 25, and the roof rail 30. Is applied to the elongated structure extending from the pillar 13 to the roof reinforcement 17 at the position where the strength and rigidity are improved. Therefore, the load capacity of the roof rail 30 can be increased without the need to add a special reinforcing member as compared with the conventional case.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the holes 17b for welding are formed on the bottom surface of the roof lining hose 17 near both ends thereof. Even when the assembled side inner 20 is assembled to the roof 15 and the side outer 25, it is possible to easily spot-weld the bottom surfaces of the roof lining hosement 17 and the roof side bracket 28 at the respective tip portions, so that the time and effort for assembling the body of the automobile are reduced. You can

Next, the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be described. In the second embodiment, the roof side bracket 28 and the roof rail 30 are different from those in the first embodiment, and therefore only the difference will be described.

In the first embodiment, the roof side bracket 28 is formed separately from the pillar inner 21 and is joined by spot welding. In the second embodiment, the pillar inner 21 is extended upward. As a result, the roof side bracket 28 is formed integrally with the pillar inner 21. In this way, the number of parts is reduced, so that the body structure of the automobile is simplified, and the material of the portion where the pillar inner 21 and the roof side bracket 28 overlap each other as in the first embodiment is unnecessary. The weight can be reduced and the material cost can be saved.

Further, in the first embodiment, the roof rail leg 31 is attached to the body only in the roof groove portion 19, but in the second embodiment, the side flange 28a of the roof side bracket 28 and the roof reinforcement. The bolt 34 and the nut 34a are also provided in the vicinity of the portion where the both side flanges 17a of 17 are overlapped and spot-welded to the lower surface of the roof panel 16.
The roof rail 30 is fixed to the roof 15 with screws. By doing so, the mounting strength of the roof rail 30 to the roof 15 can be increased. In addition, spot welding is performed within a range where the roof line hosement 17 and the roof side bracket 28 overlap each other by stacking three pieces of the roof panel 16, the roof line hosement 17, and the side flanges 17 a and 28 a of the roof side bracket 28 or the pillar line hosement 26. Large dents are likely to occur on the upper surface of the roof panel 16 in the four-layered portion including the protrusions 26d, but in the second embodiment, such large dents are formed by the roof rail leg 31 or the elastic body 32. You can hide it to improve its appearance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an upper half front side of a body of an automobile to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing a main part of the first embodiment of the vehicle body structure according to the present invention.

3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

5 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a second embodiment of a vehicle body structure according to the present invention, which corresponds to FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Side member, 12 ... Roof side rail, 13
... pillars, 15 ... roof, 16 ... roof panel, 16a
… Outer flange, 17… Roofline hosement, 1
7a ... Side flange, 17b ... Hole, 19 ... Roof groove part, 20 ... Side inner, 21 ... Pillar inner, 21a
… Side flange, 22… Side rail inner, 25…
Side outer, 25a ... Pillar outer, 25b ... Side rail outer, 25c ... Side flange, 25d ... Upper flange, 26 ... Pillar line hosement, 26a ...
Side flange, 26c ... Upper flange, 28 ... Roof side bracket, 28a ... Side flange, 30 ... Roof rail, 31 ... Roof rail leg.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. In a body structure of an automobile in which an upper portion of a pillar extending downward from a roof side rail of a side member composed of a side inner and a side outer is connected to a roof, the pillar is downward from a side rail inner of the side inner. Three members, a pillar inner extending and a pillar outer extending downward from the side rail outer of the side outer, and a pillar line hosement disposed between the two members are formed along the respective side edges so as to form an elongated box-shaped structure. Are integrally connected to each other, and the roof is disposed on the roof panel and a lower surface thereof so as to extend in the lateral direction, and both side edges are integrated with the roof panel so as to form an elongated box-shaped structure together with the roof panel. Consists of a roof-lined hosement
An upper edge of the side outer and the pillar line hose is integrally connected to an outer edge of the roof panel, and is an elongated box formed between the pillar inner and the roof line hose and formed by the pillar inner and the pillar line hose. A body structure for an automobile, comprising a roof side bracket forming a box-shaped structure for connecting an elongated box-shaped structure formed by the frame-shaped structure, the roof reinforcement and the roof panel. 2. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein the pillar inner, the pillar outer, and the pillar line hose are joined by spot welding by superimposing side flanges formed along respective side edges thereof. The roofline hosement is joined to the lower surface of the roof panel by joining side flanges formed along both sides of the roof panel by spot welding, and the side outer and pillar line hosement are respectively joined to the upper flange and the roof panel. Of the roof side bracket and the side flanges formed on both sides of the roof side bracket are attached to the roof side of the roof side hose. Ment side flange A body structure for an automobile, characterized in that the both flanges are connected to the lower surface of the roof panel by spot welding. 3. The vehicle body structure according to claim 2, wherein a roof groove portion having a bottom surface formed of the former outer flange and the latter upper flange, which are coupled to each other, is formed between the roof panel and the side outer. A body structure for an automobile, characterized in that a roof rail leg for supporting a roof rail in the vicinity of a pillar line hosement and a roof side bracket is screwed and fixed on the bottom surface of the roof groove portion. 4. The vehicle body structure according to claim 3, wherein the roof rail leg has a side flange of the roof side bracket and a side flange of the roof reinforcement that are overlapped with each other, and both flanges are formed on the roof panel. A body structure for an automobile, characterized in that the roof is fixed to the roof with a screw even in the vicinity of a portion joined by spot welding. 5. The automobile body structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a welding process is performed by approaching a position where the roof side bracket is connected to the roof reinforcement. A body structure for an automobile, which is characterized by forming a hole for. 6. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein the roof side bracket is integrally formed with the pillar inner by extending the pillar inner upward. The body structure of the car.