Vehicle slide door structure

Abstract

To improve durability of a spot welded portion at an upper front portion of a door body.SOLUTION: A slide door 100 having a vehicle slide door structure includes: a door body 1 provided at a vehicle body side part and having an inner panel 2 and an outer panel 3; an upper connection part which slidably connects an upper front portion of the door body 1 with the vehicle body side part; and an upper reinforcement 8 which is provided in the door body 1 and reinforces the upper front portion of the door body 1. A front part of the upper reinforcement 8 bends so as to be along a panel inner wall 25 and a panel upper wall front portion 21a and is joined to the panel inner wall 25 and the panel upper wall front portion 21a by spot welding.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle sliding door structure including a sliding door body. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, the door body of a sliding door opens and closes the entrance / exit on the side of the vehicle body by sliding in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along a rail provided on the side of the vehicle body. As an example of a vehicle sliding door structure including such a door body, the sliding door structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the conventional sliding door structure as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an upper rail is provided on the upper edge of the entrance / exit on the side of the vehicle body, and the front part of the upper part of the door body is connected to the side of the vehicle body via an upper connecting part so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along the upper rail. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-39539 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, the upper front portion of the door body of a sliding door is connected to the vehicle body side portion of the door body via the upper connecting portion as described above. The impact force generated when the door is closed can be transmitted to the upper front portion of the door body via the upper connecting portion. In order to improve the strength of the upper front portion of the door body, it is possible to join a reinforcement to the back surface of the upper front portion of the door body by spot welding. In this case, since the stress generated by the impact force transmitted via the upper connecting portion when the door is closed tends to concentrate at the spot welding portion of the reinforcement in the upper front portion of the door body, it is required to improve the durability of the spot welding portion. In addition, in a sliding door in which the door thickness in the vehicle width direction of the door body is relatively thin, it may be difficult to ensure a reinforcing surface, and it may be required to devise a way to improve the durability of the spot welding portion.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle sliding door structure that can easily improve the durability of the spot welded areas in the upper front portion of the door body, even in the case of a sliding door with a relatively thin door thickness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a door for a vehicle includes a door body provided on a side portion of a vehicle body, the door body having an inner panel and an outer panel arranged on the outer side of the inner panel in the vehicle width direction, and an upper connecting portion connecting an upper front portion of the door body to an upper rail provided on the side portion of the vehicle body so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along the upper rail, the inner panel having a panel peripheral portion joined to an outer edge of the outer panel and a panel body bulging inward in the vehicle width direction inside the panel peripheral portion, the panel body having a panel upper wall facing upward and a panel inner wall facing inward in the vehicle width direction. A sliding door structure including an upper reinforcement provided inside the door body and joined to the inner panel to reinforce an upper front portion of the door body, the upper connecting portion being attached to a front portion of the panel upper wall, the front portion of the panel upper wall being bent to follow at least one of the panel inner wall and the panel peripheral portion and the front portion of the panel upper wall, and being joined to the at least one of the panel inner wall and the panel peripheral portion and the front portion of the panel upper wall by spot welding. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the vehicle sliding door structure of one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle sliding door structure that can easily improve the strength of the spot welded areas in the upper front portion of the door body, even in the case of a sliding door with a relatively thin door thickness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a sliding door to which a vehicle sliding door structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed from the inside in a vehicle width direction. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view including an upper front portion of the sliding door as viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view of an upper front portion of the sliding door as viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a glass run that guides the front edge of a window glass. [Diagram 5] 1 is an enlarged perspective view of an upper front portion of a door body from which an upper connecting portion has been removed, as viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining the internal structure of an upper front portion of the sliding door. [Figure 7] 6 is a partial perspective view of a cut model taken along line AA shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 9] 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the sliding door. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another modified example of the sliding door. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of a sliding door 100 to which a vehicle sliding door structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction, Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view including an upper front part of the sliding door 100 viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper front part of the sliding door 100 viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a glass run S2 described later. In the drawings, the arrow Fr direction indicates the front of the vehicle in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the arrow O direction indicates the outside of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction (vehicle width direction), and the arrow U direction indicates the upper part of the vehicle in the vehicle vertical direction. In the following description, "front" and "rear" correspond to the front and rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and "upper" and "lower" correspond to the upper and lower in the vehicle vertical direction.

[0010] (Overview of sliding doors) 1 to 3, the sliding door 100 includes a door body 1, a door latch 1a, an upper connecting portion 4, a lower connecting portion 5, an impact beam 6, and a door outer center reinforcement 7. The sliding door 100 is a sliding door that is connected to a vehicle body side portion (not shown) so as to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction and opens and closes an entrance / exit opening in the vehicle body side portion. In this embodiment, the sliding door 100 is a rear sliding door. In the following, an example will be described in which the sliding door 100 is applied to a right rear sliding door when an occupant in the vehicle cabin looks forward in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0011] The door body 1 is provided on the side of the vehicle body and has an inner panel 2 and an outer panel 3 arranged on the outer side of the inner panel 2 in the vehicle width direction. Each panel (2, 3) is formed by pressing a thin metal steel plate. The door body 1 (in other words, the inner panel 2 and the outer panel 3) has a generally rectangular outer shape in a plan view seen from the vehicle width direction. A window hole 1b that is opened and closed by a window glass G is opened in an upper part of the door body 1 (generally the center of the upper half area in the illustrated example). Although not shown in the figure, a resin trim is attached to the inner side of the door body 1 in the vehicle width direction (i.e., the inner panel 2).

[0012] The door latch 1a is a part that keeps the door body 1 in a closed state by engaging with a striker provided at the rear edge of the entrance / exit on the side of the vehicle body (not shown), and is fixed to the rear of the inner panel 2 inside the door body 1. A door handle (not shown) is provided on the outer panel 3 of the door body 1, and when the door handle is operated, the door closed state set by the door latch 1a is released.

[0013] The inner panel 2 is a member that constitutes the panel on the inside in the vehicle width direction of the door body 1, and has a panel peripheral portion 2A that is joined to the outer edge of the outer panel 3, and a panel body 2B that bulges inward in the vehicle width direction inside the panel peripheral portion 2A. The structure of the inner panel 2 will be described in detail later.

[0014] The outer panel 3 faces the outer surface of the inner panel 2 in the vehicle width direction, and is a member that constitutes the outermost wall (design surface) in the vehicle width direction of the sliding door 100. The outer edge of the outer panel 3 is hemmed to be integrated with the inner panel 2, and constitutes a closed cross-sectional structure in cooperation with the inner panel 2. In other words, the door body 1 is formed by connecting the panel peripheral portion 2A of the inner panel 2 and the outer edge of the outer panel 3 to each other.

[0015] The upper connecting part 4 connects the upper front part of the door body 1 to the upper rail L1 provided on the side of the vehicle body so as to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction along the upper rail L1. The upper rail L1 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction at the upper edge of the periphery of the entrance / exit on the side of the vehicle body. The upper connecting part 4 has an upper arm 41 attached to the upper front part of the sliding door 100, and an upper roller 42 that engages with the upper rail L1 and can roll (slide) along the inner wall of the upper rail L1. The base end of the upper arm 41 is attached to the upper front part of the door body 1 (in the illustrated example, the upper surface of the panel upper wall front part 21a, which is the front part of the panel upper wall 21 described later), and the upper arm 41 extends from the base end generally inward in the vehicle width direction. The upper roller 42 is rotatably supported by the upper arm 41 and rolls along the inner wall of the upper rail L1. The detailed structure of the upper connecting part 4 will be described later.

[0016] The lower connecting part 5 connects the lower front part of the door body 1 to the lower rail L2 provided on the side of the vehicle body so as to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction along the lower rail L2. The lower rail L2 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction at a lower part of the periphery of the boarding / alighting opening on the side of the vehicle body. The lower connecting part 5 has a lower arm 51 attached to the lower front part of the sliding door 100, and a lower roller 52 that engages with the lower rail L2 and can roll (slide) along the inner wall of the lower rail L2. A base end of the lower arm 51 is attached to a lower front part of the door body 1 (in the illustrated example, around a front lower corner of a panel inner wall 25 described later), and the lower arm 51 extends from the base end generally inward in the vehicle width direction. The lower roller 52 is rotatably supported by the lower arm 51 and rolls along the inner wall of the lower rail L2.

[0017] The impact beam 6 extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle within the door body 1. The impact beam 6 is a linearly extending member for suppressing deformation of the sliding door 100 during a side collision, and is formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape. The impact beam 6 extends over substantially the entire front-rear direction of the vehicle in a lower region inside the door body 1. The rear end of the impact beam 6 is fixed to the rear back surface of the rear part of the inner panel 2 via a bracket or the like, and the front end of the impact beam 6 is fixed to the front back surface of the inner panel 2 via a bracket or the like.

[0018] The door outer center reinforcement 7 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction above the impact beam 6 in the door body 1. The door outer center reinforcement 7 is a linearly extending member for preventing dents (deformations) in the outer panel 3 constituting the design surface of the sliding door 100, and is formed, for example, by press forming a thin metal steel plate. The door outer center reinforcement 7 extends over almost the entire vehicle front-rear direction in the lower region inside the door body 1, and is fixed at least to the inner side surface in the vehicle width direction of the outer panel 3. Specifically, the door outer center reinforcement 7 is joined to the inner side surface in the vehicle width direction of the outer panel 3 at multiple points in its longitudinal direction by an adhesive or the like via a hard sponge-like member (not shown). In addition, the front end of the door outer center reinforcement 7 is joined to the back surface of the front part of the inner panel 2 by spot welding, and the rear end of the door outer center reinforcement 7 is joined to the back surface of the rear part of the inner panel 2 by spot welding.

[0019] Next, the structure of the inner panel 2, the structure around the window hole 1b, and the structure of the upper connecting portion 4 will be mainly described with reference to Figs.

[0020] 1 to 3, the inner panel 2 has a flange-shaped panel peripheral portion 2A joined to the outer edge of the outer panel 3, and a panel main body 2B that bulges generally inward in the vehicle width direction inside the panel peripheral portion 2A. The panel peripheral portion 2A is a portion that is joined to the outer edge of the outer panel 3 that has been hemmed, and faces generally inward in the vehicle width direction. The panel main body 2B has a panel upper wall 21 that extends in the fore-and-aft direction continuous with the upper edge portion of the panel peripheral portion 2A and faces upward, a panel lower wall 22 that extends in the fore-and-aft direction continuous with the lower edge portion of the panel peripheral portion 2A and faces downward, a panel front wall 23 that extends from the front end of the panel upper wall 21 to the front end of the panel lower wall 22 and faces forward, a panel rear wall 24 that extends from the rear end of the panel upper wall 21 to the rear end of the panel lower wall 22 and faces rearward, and a panel inner wall 25 that is surrounded by these walls (21, 22, 23, 24), occupies most of the area of ​​the inner panel 2, and faces inward in the vehicle width direction.

[0021] The panel inner wall 25 has an annular abutment wall 1c against which the door weatherstrip S1 attached to the vehicle body side abuts from the inside in the vehicle width direction. The annular abutment wall 1c extends annularly along the outer edge of the panel inner wall 25 of the panel main body 2B that bulges inward in the vehicle width direction, and faces the inside in the vehicle width direction. The annular abutment wall 1c has a flat annular surface (seal surface) facing the inside in the vehicle width direction (inside the vehicle compartment). An elastic annular door weatherstrip S1 (seal member) abuts against the annular surface of the annular abutment wall 1c from the inside in the vehicle width direction.

[0022] The window hole 1b penetrates the inner panel 2 and the outer panel 3. The window hole 1b is opened inside the annular abutment wall 1c in approximately the upper half region of the panel inner wall 25. The window hole 1b is opened as a generally rectangular hole. A window peripheral portion 2a surrounding the window hole 1b in the inner panel 2 is formed so as to bulge outward in the vehicle width direction relative to most of the panel inner wall 25.

[0023] 2 to 4, the glass front edge G1 extending in the vertical direction of the window glass G is guided by a resin glass run S2 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The glass run S2 has a generally M-shaped cross section and extends in the vertical direction. The glass run S2 is formed with an inner insertion groove S2a into which a front edge 2a1 extending in the vertical direction of the window peripheral portion 2a of the inner panel 2 is inserted, an outer insertion groove S2b into which a front edge 3a1 extending in the vertical direction of the window peripheral portion 3a of the outer panel 3 is inserted, a glass insertion groove S2c into which the glass front edge G1 is inserted, and a lip portion S2d that comes into contact with the window glass G. In this way, a glass run S2 is attached to the front edge 2a1 of the window peripheral portion 2a surrounding the window hole 1b in the panel body 2B of the inner panel 2 and the front edge 3a1 of the window peripheral portion 3a surrounding the window hole 1b in the outer panel 3, so as to guide the glass front edge G1 of the window glass G so as to be freely slidable in the vertical direction.

[0024] The upper connecting portion 4 is attached to the panel upper wall front portion 21a, which is the front portion of the panel upper wall 21 of the panel main body 2B, in order to connect the upper front portion of the door main body 1 to the upper rail L1. In other words, the base end of the upper connecting portion 4 is attached to the panel upper wall front portion 21a, and the tip end of the upper connecting portion 4 is engaged with the upper rail L1. Specifically, the upper arm 41 of the upper connecting portion 4 has a base plate 411 fastened to the door main body 1 via a first fastener 43 and attached to the upper front portion of the door main body 1 (panel upper wall front portion 21a), and an arm plate 412 fastened to the base plate 411 via a second fastener 44. The base plate 411 (upper connecting portion 4) is fastened to the panel upper wall front portion 21a by a plurality of first fasteners 43 (two in the illustrated example). In the illustrated example, each fastener (43, 44) is a bolt.

[0025] Here, an impact force generated when the door is closed can be transmitted to the upper front portion of the door body 1 (portion including the panel upper wall front portion 21a) via the upper arm 41 of the upper connecting portion 4. In this regard, the sliding door 100 includes an upper reinforcement 8 that is provided inside the door body 1 and joined to the inner panel 2 to reinforce the upper front portion of the door body 1. The following mainly describes the structure of the upper reinforcement 8 and its surroundings.

[0026] [Details of the sliding door structure] Next, the detailed structure of the sliding door 100 will be mainly described. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper front part of the door body 1 from which the upper connecting part 4 has been removed, viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction, Figs. 6 to 9 are views for explaining the internal structure of the upper front part of the sliding door 100, Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper front part of the door body 1 from which the outer panel 3 has been removed, viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction, Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view of a cut model taken along line AA shown in Fig. 5, Fig. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in Fig. 5. Note that Figs. 7 and 8 show the upper connecting part 4 removed in Fig. 5.

[0027] 5 to 9, the sliding door 100 includes an upper reinforcement 8 to reinforce a portion of the upper part of the door body 1 to which the base of the upper arm 41 of the upper connecting part 4 is attached, that is, an upper front part of the door body 1. More specifically, the upper front part of the panel body 2B is a part including the fastening part of the upper connecting part 4 by the first fastener 43 (that is, the panel upper wall front part 21a), and the upper front part of the panel body 2B is reinforced by the upper reinforcement 8 from the back side.

[0028] As described above, the upper reinforcement 8 is a reinforcing panel that is provided inside the door body 1 and is joined to the inner panel 2 to reinforce the upper front portion of the door body 1 (specifically, the panel body 2B). The upper reinforcement 8 is formed by performing press forming or the like on a thin metal steel plate. The upper reinforcement 8 is joined to the inner panel 2 by spot welding. In each drawing, the spot welding points (spot welding points), which are the joint points (upper joint point W1 and horizontal joint point W2 described below) between the upper reinforcement 8 and the inner panel 2, are appropriately indicated by circles as schematic marks. The joint points are set at multiple locations, and each joint point will be described later.

[0029] 5 to 9, in this embodiment, the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8 is bent so as to fit along the panel inner side wall 25 and the panel upper wall front portion 21a of the panel main body 2B of the inner panel 2. Specifically, the upper reinforcement 8 is bent in a shape that generally matches the bent shape of the upper portion of the panel main body 2B of the inner panel 2, and extends so as to fit along the upper portion of the bent panel main body 2B. The upper reinforcement 8 extends, for example, over substantially the entire panel main body 2B from the front end to the rear end in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0030] The upper reinforcement 8 is joined to the inner panel 2 by spot welding at multiple locations. The front portion of the upper reinforcement 8 is joined to the upper front portion of the panel main body 2B of the inner panel 2 by spot welding at multiple locations (three locations in the illustrated example), and is fastened together with the upper arm 41 of the upper connecting portion 4 and the inner panel 2 by first fasteners 43 at multiple locations (two locations in the illustrated example).

[0031] In this embodiment, the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8 is joined by spot welding to the panel inner wall 25 of the panel main body 2B and to the panel upper wall front portion 21a, which is the front portion of the panel upper wall 21 of the panel main body 2B.

[0032] In this embodiment, the panel upper wall 21 of the panel main body 2B of the inner panel 2 is inclined downward toward the inside in the vehicle width direction. That is, in the upper part of the panel main body 2B, the panel upper wall 21 is inclined so as to approach the panel lower wall 22 in the vehicle up-down direction from the inner end of the panel peripheral portion 2A toward the bent portion 26, and the panel inner side wall 25 extends downward from the bent portion 26. Then, the upper reinforcement 8 is inclined downward toward the inside in the vehicle width direction along the panel upper wall 21, and then extends downward at a portion corresponding to the bent portion 26. This ensures that when rainwater infiltrates, the infiltrating rainwater is guided downward.

[0033] In this embodiment, the upper joint points W1 by spot welding the upper reinforcement 8 to the panel upper wall front portion 21a and the mounting points M of the upper connecting portion 4 to the panel upper wall front portion 21a are set at multiple locations spaced apart in the vehicle front-rear direction in the panel upper wall front portion 21a, and the foremost upper joint point W1 among the multiple upper joint points W1 is set forward of the multiple mounting points M. In the illustrated example, three upper joint points W1 and two mounting points M are provided in the panel upper wall front portion 21a. The foremost upper joint point W1 is located in the front of the vehicle relative to the two mounting points M (fastening points), and the rearmost upper joint point W1 is located in the rear of the vehicle relative to the two mounting points M (fastening points).

[0034] In this embodiment, the lateral joint point W2 of the upper reinforcement 8 to the panel inner wall 25 by spot welding is set at a position avoiding the annular abutment wall 1c of the panel inner wall 25 and approaching the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner wall 25. Specifically, the annular abutment wall 1c is generally adjacent to the bent portion 26 of the panel main body 2B at the upper portion of the inner panel 2, and the upper edge of the annular abutment wall 1c is along the bent portion 26. The front upper corner 1c1 of the annular abutment wall 1c is gently curved away from the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner wall 25 to the inside. And, the front upper region 1d between the front upper corner 1c1 of the annular abutment wall 1c and the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner wall 25 is formed as a flat surface recessed outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the flat annular surface of the annular abutment wall 1c. The lateral joint point W2 by spot welding of the upper reinforcement 8 to the panel inner wall 25 is set in the front upper region 1d of the panel inner wall 25, and is located outside the annular abutment wall 1c and close to the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner wall 25.

[0035] In this embodiment, the upper joint points W1 and the attachment points M are provided alternately in the front portion 21a of the panel upper wall. In the illustrated example, from the front side, the frontmost upper joint point W1, the front attachment point M, the middle upper joint point W1, the rear attachment point M, and the rearmost upper joint point W1 are lined up in a row.

[0036] 5 and 7, in this embodiment, the panel upper wall front portion 21a has a bead 27 extending in the vehicle width direction in a portion between the upper joint point W1 and the attachment point M. In the illustrated example, two beads 27 are arranged side by side with a gap between them, the front bead 27 is located between the front attachment point M and the middle upper joint point W1, and the rear bead 27 is located between the middle upper joint point W1 and the rear attachment point M. The bead 27 bulges inward in the vehicle width direction, and a portion of a base end portion (an outer plate portion 411a described later) of a base plate 411 of the upper arm 41 corresponding to the bead 27 is offset inward in the vehicle width direction.

[0037] 7 and 8, the base plate 411 specifically comprises an outer plate portion 411a extending along the panel upper wall 21 inclined downward toward the inside in the vehicle width direction, an intermediate plate portion 411b extending from the inner end of the outer plate portion 411a in the vehicle width direction in a direction perpendicular to the panel upper wall 21, and an inner plate portion 411c extending horizontally from the inner end of the intermediate plate portion 411b in the vehicle width direction. The front and rear portions of the inner plate portion 411c abut against the panel upper wall 21, a gap is provided between the intermediate portion of the outer plate portion 411a and the flat surface of the panel upper wall 21, and the outer plate portion 411a is bent to avoid strong interference with the bead 27.

[0038] 6 to 8, in this embodiment, the sliding door 100 further includes an auxiliary reinforcement 9. The auxiliary reinforcement 9 extends along the surface of the upper reinforcement 8 opposite to the panel upper wall 21 (i.e., the back surface) from a mounting point M on the front side of the bead 27 (the foremost mounting point M in the illustrated example) to a mounting point M on the rear side of the bead 27 (the last mounting point M in the illustrated example), and is attached to the upper reinforcement 8. The auxiliary reinforcement 9 has a groove-shaped cross section that is open downward and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. The auxiliary reinforcement 9 is formed by performing press forming or the like on a thin metal steel plate.

[0039] At each mounting point M, a bolt as the first fastener 43 is inserted from the inside in the vehicle width direction into a bolt insertion hole 1e formed in each of the outer plate portion 411a of the upper connecting portion 4, the panel upper wall front portion 21a, the upper reinforcement 8, and the auxiliary reinforcement 9, and is screwed into, for example, a weld nut N welded to the back surface of the auxiliary reinforcement 9. As a result, at each mounting point M (fastening point), the upper arm 41 (outer plate portion 411a) of the upper connecting portion 4, the inner panel 2 (panel upper wall front portion 21a), and the auxiliary reinforcement 9 are fastened together in a four-ply manner by the first fastener 43. In this state, the front first fastener 43 and the rear first fastener 43 are connected by the auxiliary reinforcement 9.

[0040] At each of the front upper joint point W1, the rear upper joint point W1, and the lateral joint point W2, the inner panel 2 (the panel upper wall front portion 21a or the inner side wall 25) and the upper reinforcement 8 are joined by spot welding in two overlapping layers. At the middle upper joint point W1, the inner panel 2 (the panel upper wall front portion 21a), the upper reinforcement 8, and the auxiliary reinforcement 9 are joined by spot welding in three overlapping layers.

[0041] 9, in this embodiment, the glass run S2 has a corner portion S2e into which a front upper corner portion G2 of the window glass G fits. The corner portion S2e protrudes toward the upper reinforcement 8 inside the door body 1, and a lower portion 8a of the upper reinforcement 8 is bent outward in the vehicle width direction. The corner portion S2e of the glass run S2 is sandwiched between the lower portion 8a of the upper reinforcement 8 and the outer panel 3.

[0042] Next, the operation of the vehicle sliding door structure according to this embodiment will be described.

[0043] The sliding door 100 to which the above-mentioned vehicle sliding door structure is applied includes an upper reinforcement 8 provided inside the door body 1 and joined to the inner panel 2 to reinforce the upper front portion of the door body 1, and the upper connecting portion 4 is attached to the panel upper wall front portion 21a, which is the front portion of the panel upper wall 21 of the panel body 2B that bulges inward in the vehicle width direction inside the panel peripheral portion 2A of the inner panel 2, and the front portion of the upper reinforcement is bent so as to follow the panel inner wall 25 and the panel upper wall front portion 21a, and is joined to the panel inner wall 25 and the panel upper wall front portion 21a by spot welding. In other words, the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8 is joined to the panel upper wall front portion 21a and the panel inner wall 25, which face in different directions in the panel body 2B. More specifically, the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8 is joined across the bent portion 26, which is the boundary portion between the panel upper wall 21 and the panel inner wall 25 in the panel body 2B. This makes it easier to ensure the reinforcing area by the upper reinforcement 8 even in a sliding door with a relatively thin door thickness, and reduces stress concentration at the joint (upper joint W1) of the upper reinforcement 8 to the panel upper wall front portion 21a and the joint (lateral joint W2) of the upper reinforcement 8 to the panel inner wall 25. As a result, fatigue cracks due to stress concentration at the joints (spot welds) are prevented, and the durability of the spot welds can be easily improved.

[0044] 7 and 9, the impact force generated when the door is closed can be transmitted to the upper front portion of the door body 1 of the sliding door 100 via the upper connecting portion 4. At this time, a rotational moment about a virtual rotation axis X extending in the vehicle front-rear direction passing through two first fasteners 43 (in other words, two mounting points M) acts on the attachment point M (fastening point) of the upper connecting portion 4 due to the impact force when the door is closed, and a stress caused by this rotational moment (in other words, the impact force) acts on the joint point. As a result, in the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8, a stress caused by the rotational moment acts on the upper joint point W1 of the panel upper wall front portion 21a and the lateral joint point W2 of the panel inner wall 25. However, in the front portion of the upper reinforcement 8, the stress is applied in a distributed manner to the upper joint point W1 and the lateral joint point W2, and the magnitude of the stress acting on each joint point is reduced. Therefore, the stress concentration on each joint point is reduced. At the front of the upper reinforcement 8, for example, due to stress caused by rotational moment, (1) a load in the weld peeling direction (see dashed arrow in Figure 9) is applied at the upper joint W1, but this load is reduced and fatigue cracks, etc. are effectively prevented, and (2) a load in the shear direction (see dashed arrow in Figure 9) is applied at the lateral joint W2, but the spot weld has characteristics that make it resistant to loads in the shear direction and has sufficient strength to withstand the rotational moment.

[0045] In this manner, the sliding door 100 according to this embodiment can provide a vehicle sliding door structure that can easily improve the durability of the spot welded areas in the upper front portion of the door body 1, even in the case of a sliding door having a relatively thin door thickness.

[0046] In this embodiment, in the front part of the upper reinforcement 8, the lateral joint W2 is set at a position avoiding the annular abutment wall 1c of the panel inner side wall 25 and close to the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner side wall 25. As a result, the lateral joint W2 is set at a position avoiding the annular abutment wall 1c that constitutes the sealing surface for the door weather strip S1, and the reliability of the airtightness between the door main body 1 and the vehicle body side part is improved. The lateral joint W2 is located near the annular abutment wall 1c of the panel inner side wall 25 of the panel main body 2B that is made highly rigid by swelling inward in the vehicle width direction, and can be set at a position close to the front upper corner 25a of the panel inner side wall 25 that has even higher rigidity. As a result, the rigidity around the lateral joint W2 is increased, the support rigidity against the impact force when the door is closed is increased, the stress concentration at the lateral joint W2 caused by the impact force is reduced, and fatigue cracks at the lateral joint W2 can be reliably prevented.

[0047] In this embodiment, in the panel upper wall front portion 21a, upper joint points W1 for the front part of the upper reinforcement 8 and attachment points M for the upper connecting portion 4 are provided alternately. This allows the stress caused by the impact force on the joint points (W1, W2) to act on the upper joint points W1 in a generally uniformly distributed manner without concentrating on one of the upper joint points W1. As a result, fatigue cracks at each upper joint point W1 can be more reliably prevented, and durability can be more reliably improved.

[0048] In this embodiment, the panel upper wall front portion 21a has a bead 27 extending in the vehicle width direction in a portion between the upper joint point W1 and the attachment point M. As a result, the bead 27 extending in the vehicle width direction, which is approximately the same as the input direction of the impact force when the door is closed, improves the strength against the impact force when the door is closed. However, the formation of the bead 27 extending in the vehicle width direction may slightly reduce the strength in the vehicle front-rear direction. In this regard, in this embodiment, the auxiliary reinforcement 9 extending from the attachment point M in front of the bead 27 to the attachment point M in the rear of the bead 27 is attached to the upper reinforcement 8 along the surface (back surface) of the upper reinforcement 8 opposite to the panel upper wall 21, and the front first fastener 43 and the rear first fastener 43 are connected by the auxiliary reinforcement 9, so that the reduction in the strength in the vehicle front-rear direction of the panel upper wall front portion 21a is suppressed or the strength is improved.

[0049] In this embodiment, the corner portion S2e of the glass run S2 protrudes toward the upper reinforcement 8 inside the door body 1, and this corner portion S2e is sandwiched between a lower portion 8a of the upper reinforcement 8 bent outward in the vehicle width direction and the outer panel 3. As a result, part of the impact force that may be transmitted to the door body 1 when the door is closed can be received and absorbed by the corner portion S2e of the glass run S2 through the upper connecting portion 4 and the upper reinforcement 8. Then, when the window glass G slides in the up-down direction, the corner portion S2e of the glass run S2 is sandwiched between the upper reinforcement 8 and the outer panel 3, so that the influence of vibrations caused by the sliding of the window glass G along the glass run S2 is less likely to occur, and the glass run S2 is positioned approximately in a fixed position without moving significantly.

[0050] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and further modifications and changes are possible based on the technical concept of the present invention.

[0051] For example, in this embodiment, the front part of the upper reinforcement 8 is bent so as to follow the panel inner side wall 25 and the panel upper wall front part 21a, and the joint point is set to the panel inner side wall 25 (horizontal joint point W2) and the panel upper wall front part 21a (upper joint point W1), but is not limited thereto. As shown in Fig. 10 showing a modified example, the front part of the upper reinforcement 8 may be bent so as to follow the panel peripheral edge part 2A and the panel upper wall front part 21a continuing from this panel peripheral edge part 2A, and the joint point may be set to the panel peripheral edge part 2A (horizontal joint point W2) and the panel upper wall front part 21a (upper joint point W1). 11 showing another modified example, the front part of the upper reinforcement 8 may be bent so as to follow both the panel inner wall 25 and the panel peripheral portion 2A and the panel upper wall front portion 21a, and the joining points may be set to the panel inner wall 25 and the panel peripheral portion 2A (two horizontal joining points W2 at upper and lower locations) and the panel upper wall front portion 21a (upper joining point W1). In other words, the front part of the upper reinforcement 8 may be bent so as to follow at least one of the panel inner wall 25 and the panel peripheral portion 2A and the panel upper wall front portion 21a, and may be joined to the at least one of the panel inner wall 25 and the panel peripheral portion 2A and the panel upper wall front portion 21a by spot welding. Note that, if the panel peripheral portion 2A has a sealing surface, the horizontal joining point W2 to the panel peripheral portion 2A is set at a position that avoids the sealing surface of the panel peripheral portion 2A.

[0052] In addition, in this embodiment, the sliding door 100 is applied to a right rear sliding door, but it may be applied to a left rear sliding door. In this case, a structure opposite to the above-mentioned structure in the vehicle width direction is applied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1...door body, 1a...door latch, 1b...window hole, 1c...annular abutment wall, 2...inner panel, 2A...panel peripheral portion, 2B...panel main body, 2a...window peripheral portion, 2a1...front edge portion, 21...panel upper wall, 21a...panel upper wall front portion, 25...panel inner wall, 25a...front upper corner portion, 27…Bead, 3...outer panel, 3a...window peripheral portion, 3a1...front edge portion, 4...Upper connecting part, 5...lower connection part, 6…Impact Beam, 7…Door outer center reinforcement, 8…Upper reinforcement, 8a…Lower part, 9...Auxiliary reinforcement, G…Window glass, G1…Front edge of glass, G2…Front upper corner, S1…Door weather strip, S2...Glass run, S2e...Corner section, L1…Upper rail, L2…Lower rail, W1…Upper joint, W2…Side joint, M…Mounting point

Claims

1. a door body provided on a vehicle body side portion and having an inner panel and an outer panel disposed on the vehicle width direction outer side of the inner panel; an upper connecting portion that connects an upper front portion of the door body to an upper rail provided on the vehicle body side portion so as to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction along the upper rail; the inner panel has a panel peripheral portion joined to an outer edge of the outer panel and a panel main body that bulges inward in a vehicle width direction inside the panel peripheral portion, the panel main body having a panel upper wall facing upward and a panel inner wall facing inward in the vehicle width direction, An upper reinforcement is provided inside the door body and joined to the inner panel to reinforce an upper front portion of the door body, The upper connecting portion is attached to a front portion of the panel upper wall, a front portion of the upper reinforcement bent to follow at least one of the panel inner wall and the panel peripheral portion and the front portion of the panel upper wall, and joined to the at least one of the panel inner wall and the panel peripheral portion and the front portion of the panel upper wall by spot welding.

2. the panel inner wall has an annular abutment wall against which a door weather strip attached to the vehicle body side portion abuts from an inner side in a vehicle width direction, The upper reinforcement is bent so as to follow the panel inner wall and the panel upper wall, and is joined to the panel inner wall and a front portion of the panel upper wall by spot welding, 2. The vehicle sliding door structure according to claim 1, wherein a lateral joint point of the upper reinforcement to the panel inner wall by spot welding is set at a position that avoids the annular abutment wall of the panel inner wall and is close to a front upper corner of the panel inner wall.

3. an upper joining point of the upper reinforcement by spot welding to the front portion of the panel upper wall and an attachment point of the upper connecting portion to the front portion of the panel upper wall are set at a plurality of positions spaced apart in the vehicle front-rear direction in the front portion of the panel upper wall, 3. The vehicle sliding door structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper joint points and the attachment points are provided alternately in the front portion of the panel upper wall.

4. 4. The vehicle sliding door structure according to claim 3, wherein the front portion of the panel upper wall has a bead extending in a vehicle width direction in a portion between the upper joint point and the attachment point.

5. 5. The vehicle sliding door structure according to claim 4, further comprising an auxiliary reinforcement that extends along a surface of the upper reinforcement opposite the panel upper wall from the mounting point on the front side of the bead to the mounting point on the rear side of the bead and is attached to the upper reinforcement.

6. The door body has a window hole that is opened and closed by a window glass. a glass run is attached to a front edge of a window peripheral portion surrounding the window hole in the panel body and a front edge of a window peripheral portion surrounding the window hole in the outer panel, the glass run guiding a front edge of the window glass slidably in the up and down direction; the glass run has a corner portion into which a front upper corner portion of the window glass fits, The corner portion protrudes toward the upper reinforcement inside the door body, The lower portion of the upper reinforcement is bent outward in the vehicle width direction, 3. The vehicle sliding door structure according to claim 1, wherein the corner portion of the glass run is sandwiched between a lower portion of the upper reinforcement and the outer panel.

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