Vehicle body structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle body structure capable of achieving both occupant protection and pedestrian protection in the event of a collision, despite having a simple structure.SOLUTION: A vehicle body front end structure (vehicle body structure) includes a pair of side members, a bumper reinforcement fastened to distal ends of the pair of side members while being laid between the side members, and a pair of tabular spacers joined to the side members at positions on the surface of the bumper reinforcement which are deviated from positions extended from the distal ends toward upper ridge lines of the side members.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle body structure. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Vehicle body structures have been proposed that absorb impact during a collision to protect a cabin (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-293264 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a front vehicle body structure including a frame, a channel-shaped bracket joined to the frame, and a flat plate-shaped member joined to the front end surface of the channel-shaped bracket.

[0005] In such a front body structure, from the standpoint of suppressing weight increase and reducing costs, it is required to achieve both passenger protection and pedestrian protection in the event of a collision with a simpler structure.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and has an object to provide a vehicle body structure that is simple in structure and can achieve both occupant protection and pedestrian protection during a collision. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present disclosure provides a vehicle seat comprising: a pair of side members; This vehicle body structure comprises a bumper force fastened in a state spanning the tip portions of the pair of side members, and a pair of flat spacers joined to the surface of the bumper force at a position offset from the position where the tip portions of the pair of side members are extended toward the upper ridge line of the pair of side members. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve both passenger protection and pedestrian protection during a collision with a simple structure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle body front end structure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of the vehicle body front end structure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a front view showing a detailed structure of the spacer. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA showing a detailed structure of the spacer. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a first diagram illustrating the operation of the vehicle body front end structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a second diagram illustrating the operation of the vehicle body front end structure according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle body front end structure according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] (Outline of vehicle body structure) The schematic configuration of a vehicle body front end structure 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle body front end structure.

[0012] The vehicle body front end structure 10 includes a pair of side members 12a, 12b, a bumper lining force 13, a pair of brackets 14a, 14b, and a pair of spacers 15a, 15b, which are provided on a vehicle (not shown). The vehicle body front end structure 10 is an example of a vehicle body structure in the present disclosure.

[0013] The pair of side members 12a, 12b are rectangular cross-sectional members that extend along the front-rear direction of the vehicle (not shown) and form the framework of the vehicle chassis. Side members 12a and 12b are arranged symmetrically with respect to a center line that passes through the vehicle in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) and have the same shape. Side member 12a has an upper ridgeline 22a at the top in the Z-axis direction and a lower ridgeline 23a at the bottom in the Z-axis direction. Side member 12b has an upper ridgeline 22b at the top in the Z-axis direction and a lower ridgeline 23b at the bottom in the Z-axis direction.

[0014] When the vehicle collides, the side members 12a and 12b absorb the impact force received by the spacers 15a and 15b and the bumper reinforcement 13. The side members 12a and 12b protect the passengers in the cabin by deforming in a predetermined deformation mode due to the impact force. This will be described in detail later (see Figs. 5 and 6).

[0015] The bumper reinforcement member 13 is a member that is fastened to the tip end portions (the ends on the positive side of the X-axis in FIG. 1) of the pair of side members 12a, 12b in a horizontal direction (the direction along the Y-axis in FIG. 1). The bumper reinforcement member 13 transmits the impact force when the vehicle collides to the side members 12a, 12b. The bumper reinforcement member 13 is installed on the back side of the front bumper, not shown in FIG. 1.

[0016] The pair of brackets 14a, 14b are interposed between the bumper force 13 and the side members 12a, 12b, and fasten the bumper force 13 to the side members 12a, 12b, for example, by bolts, etc. Note that the pair of brackets 14a, 14b are not essential components, and the bumper force 13 may be directly fastened to the side members 12a, 12b.

[0017] The spacers 15a and 15b are flat plate-like members joined to the surface of the vehicle front side (X-axis positive side) of the bumper reinforcement 13 at a position offset from the position where the tip ends of the pair of side members 12a and 12b are extended forward to the upper ridge lines 22a and 22b of the pair of side members 12a and 12b (Z-axis positive side). The spacers 15a and 15b transmit the impact force when the vehicle collides to the side members 12a and 12b via the bumper reinforcement 13. The detailed structure of the spacers 15a and 15b will be described in detail later (see Figs. 2, 3, and 4).

[0018] The spacers 15a and 15b are formed in a flat plate shape with a thin thickness (for example, about 15 mm) in the front-rear direction (direction along the X-axis) in order to reduce the impact on the pedestrian when they come into contact with the pedestrian. The front and back surfaces of the spacers 15a and 15b are formed in a planar shape along the YZ plane. This increases the area of ​​the pressure receiving surface during a collision, so that the impact force during a collision can be efficiently transmitted to the side members 12a and 12b.

[0019] (Details of the spacer structure) The detailed structure of the spacer 15a will be described with reference to Figures 2, 3, and 4. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of the vehicle body front end structure. Figure 3 is a front view showing the detailed structure of the spacer. Figure 4 is an AA cross-sectional view showing the detailed structure of the spacer. Since the spacers 15a and 15b have the same structure and are installed symmetrically with respect to a center line that passes through the vehicle from front to rear and is parallel to the X-axis, the detailed structure of only the spacer 15a will be described here. Also, in order to make the structure easier to understand, bracket 14a is omitted in Figures 3 and 4.

[0020] The spacers 15a and 15b have a structure in which three plate-like members, a flat plate 16, a flat plate 17, and a flat plate 18, are stacked in order from the side joined to the bumper reinforcement 13. The flat plate 16 is joined to the bumper reinforcement 13 by spot welding at welding points 19 at the four corners. The flat plate 17 has a shape that is one size smaller than the flat plate 16 when viewed from the front (when viewed from the direction along the X-axis). The peripheral portion of the flat plate 17 is joined to the flat plate 16 by arc welding. The flat plate 18 has a shape that is one size smaller than the flat plate 17 when viewed from the front. The peripheral portion of the flat plate 18 is joined to the flat plate 17 by arc welding. The number of flat plates constituting the spacers 15a and 15b is not limited to three. The thickness required for the spacers 15a and 15b varies depending on the structure of the vehicle, so an appropriate number of plates is set according to the vehicle based on evaluation experiments, etc.

[0021] 3, the flat plates 17 and 18 are hexagonal in front view. The flat plate 16 is rectangular in front view. However, the shapes of the flat plates 16, 17, and 18 are not limited to these shapes and may be any shape as long as they are flat.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the spacer 15a is installed at a position where the centroid 28 when the spacer 15a is viewed from the front is offset from the intermediate position between the upper ridgeline 22a and the lower ridgeline 23a of the side member 12a toward the upper ridgeline 22a, i.e., toward the positive side of the Z axis. The centroid 28 may be the position of the area center of gravity of the flat plate 18 located on the outermost surface of the spacer 15a, or may be the position of the center of gravity of the mass of the spacer 15a. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, an axis 27 passing through the centroid 28 of the spacer 15a and perpendicular to the spacer 15a is installed with an offset d toward the upper ridgeline 22a from an axis 24 connecting the midpoints of the upper ridgeline 22a and the lower ridgeline 23a of the side member 12a.

[0023] In this way, by installing the spacer 15a at a position with the offset d, the impact force applied to the spacer 15a is transmitted to the upper ridge 22a of the side member 12a, which is closer to the spacer 15a, earlier than the lower ridge 23a of the side member 12a. In this way, the time at which the impact force is transmitted to the upper ridge 22a and the lower ridge 23a of the side member 12a can be shifted, so that the side member 12a can be easily bent. This will be described in detail later (see Figs. 5 and 6).

[0024] However, if the offset d is made too large, the back side of the spacer 15a protrudes upward (to the positive Z-axis side) from the bumper force 13. In such a layout, the impact force received by the spacer 15a is not sufficiently transmitted to the side member 12a via the bumper force 13. Therefore, the magnitude of the offset d is set so that the entire back side of the spacer 15a, that is, the range from the upper edge 25 to the lower edge 26 of the flat plate 16 on the back side that constitutes the spacer 15a, is joined to the bumper force 13.

[0025] The flat plates 16, 17, and 18 constituting the spacer 15a act as pressure receiving surfaces that receive the impact force when the vehicle collides with an object, but if the surface area of ​​the flat plates 16, 17, and 18 is too small, there is a risk that the spacer 15a will penetrate into the object when the vehicle collides with it. Therefore, it is desirable that the surfaces of the flat plates 16, 17, and 18 have a certain degree of area.

[0026] The vehicle body structure of the present disclosure is not limited to the vehicle body front end structure 10, but can also be similarly applied to a vehicle rear end structure (not shown).

[0027] (Function of the front end structure of the vehicle body) The operation of the vehicle body front end structure 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a first diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle body front end structure of the embodiment. Figure 6 is a second diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle body front end structure of the embodiment.

[0028] When an impact force is applied to the front end (the end on the positive side of the X-axis) of the side member 12a, the side member 12a absorbs the impact force by deforming the side member 12a in a preset deformation mode. For this reason, the side member 12a is formed with folding positions 30, 31, and 32, which are portions that are likely to bend when an impact force is applied, as shown in Fig. 5. These folding positions 30, 31, and 32 are formed with beads (dents), for example, so that when the impact force of a collision is applied to the side member 12a, the side member 12a is likely to absorb the impact force and bend at the folding positions 30, 31, and 32.

[0029] In this embodiment, the number of folding positions is described as three, but the number of folding positions is not limited to three. Also, a folding position is formed in a side member 12b (see FIG. 1) paired with the side member 12a, at a position symmetrical to that of the side member 12a.

[0030] When the front end of a vehicle having the vehicle body front end structure 10 of this embodiment collides with a barrier in a head-on collision test, the spacer 15a receives the impact force at the time of the collision. As described above, the impact force is transmitted to the upper ridge line 22a side of the side member 12a earlier than to the lower ridge line 23a side. As the impact force is transmitted to the upper ridge line 22a side earlier, a clockwise moment is applied to the bumper support 13. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the side member 12a is bent at the bending position 30 toward the upper ridge line 22a side, i.e., toward the positive side of the Z axis.

[0031] Next, as the vehicle moves forward, the impact force is transmitted to the bending position 31 of the side member 12a. The side member 12a has a shape that displaces toward the Z-axis positive side from bending position 30 to bending position 31, and displaces toward the Z-axis negative side from bending position 31 to bending position 32. That is, the side member 12a has a shape that is convex upward at the bending position 31. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the tip of the side member 12a is bent toward the Z-axis positive side at the bending position 30, a counterclockwise moment is generated at the bending position 31, that is, a moment that deforms the bending position 31 toward the Z-axis negative side. As a result, the section of the side member 12a between the bending position 30 and the bending position 31 is bent toward the Z-axis negative side at the bending position 31, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0032] The impact force applied to side member 12a is further transmitted to folding position 32 of side member 12a. At this time, most of the impact force applied to side member 12a has already been absorbed by the bending of side member 12a at folding positions 30 and 31, so deformation at folding position 32 is slightly suppressed. In this way, deformation to the positive side of the Z axis, i.e., upward thrust, is suppressed in the section of side member 12a between folding positions 31 and 32 when subjected to the impact force during a collision. As a result, the impact force applied to side member 12a is not transmitted to the cabin of the vehicle, so deformation of the cabin is suppressed.

[0033] Although not shown, the side member 12b paired with the side member 12a also deforms in the same deformation mode as the side member 12a during a collision.

[0034] Furthermore, although not shown, the same effect as described above can be obtained even when vehicle body front end structure 10 has a structure obtained by inverting Fig. 5 upside down, that is, when side member 12a has a shape obtained by inverting Fig. 5 upside down. That is, if spacer 15a is joined to a position offset toward lower ridge line 23a of side member 12a from a position where the tip end of side member 12a is extended, deformation of the cabin can be suppressed in the same manner as described above simply by making the bending direction of side member 12a at bending positions 30 and 31 reverse to the bending direction shown in Fig. 6.

[0035] (Effects of this embodiment) As described above, the vehicle body front end structure 10 (vehicle body structure) according to this embodiment includes a pair of side members 12a, 12b, a bumper reinforcement member 13 fastened in a state of being stretched across the tip portions of the pair of side members 12a, 12b, and a pair of flat spacers 15a, 15b joined to positions offset from the positions of the tip portions of the pair of side members 12a, 12b on the surface of the bumper reinforcement member 13 toward the upper ridge lines 22a, 22b of the pair of side members 12a, 12b. Therefore, with a simple structure, it is possible to achieve both occupant protection and pedestrian protection during a collision.

[0036] In the vehicle body front end structure 10 (vehicle body structure) according to this embodiment, the spacers 15a, 15b are installed at a position where the centroid 28 of the spacers 15a, 15b when viewed from the front is offset toward the upper ridgelines 22a, 22b from the intermediate position between the upper ridgelines 22a, 22b and the lower ridgelines 23a, 23b of the side members 12a, 12b. Therefore, the impact force at the time of a collision can be transmitted to the upper ridgelines 22a, 22b earlier than the lower ridgelines 23a, 23b. This allows the deformation mode of the side members 12a, 12b to be controlled to a preset mode.

[0037] In addition, in the vehicle body front end structure 10 (vehicle body structure) according to the present embodiment, the back sides of the spacers 15a, 15b are joined in abutting contact with the outer surface of the bumper reinforcement 13. Therefore, the impact force input to the spacers 15a, 15b can be efficiently transmitted to the side members 12a, 12b via the bumper reinforcement 13.

[0038] In the vehicle body front end structure 10 (vehicle body structure) according to this embodiment, the spacers 15a and 15b have a structure in which a plurality of stacked flat plates 16, 17, and 18 are joined together. Therefore, the spacers 15a and 15b can be installed in a small space. Furthermore, the impact on a pedestrian when coming into contact with the pedestrian can be reduced without modifying the structure of the side members 12a and 12b.

[0039] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-mentioned embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. This new embodiment can be embodied in various other forms. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, this embodiment is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10. Front end structure of vehicle body (body structure) 12a, 12b Side members 13. Bumper Force 14a,14b Bracket 15a, 15b Spacer 16,17,18 flat plate 19 Welding point 22a,22b Upper ridgeline 23a Lower ridgeline 24,27 axis 25 Upper edge 26 Lower edge 28 Centroid 30, 31, 32 Folding position d offset

Claims

1. A pair of side members; A bumper force fastened in a state of being stretched across the tip portions of the pair of side members; A pair of flat spacers are joined to the surface of the bumper force at positions offset from the positions where the tip ends of the pair of side members are extended toward the upper ridge line of the pair of side members. Body structure.

2. The spacer is installed at a position where a centroid of the spacer when viewed from the front is offset toward the upper ridge line from a midpoint between an upper ridge line and a lower ridge line of the side member. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1 .

3. The back side of the spacer is joined in contact with the outer surface of the bumper force. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The spacer has a structure in which a plurality of laminated flat plates are joined together. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1 or 2.

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