Vehicle structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle structure which makes it possible to expand a side airbag early at side collision and at the same time can add an occupant protection function different from the side airbag without increasing the number of components.SOLUTION: A vehicle structure constitutes a hollow front side door 4 at an outer panel 2 and an inner panel 3. A work hole 5 is formed on the inner panel 3. An internal space 6 of the front side door 4 is sealed by closing the work hole 5 by an airtight lid 7. A pressure detection part 8 is set to the internal space 6. The side airbag is expanded by detecting side collision at the pressure detection part 8 early. A protrusion part 10 which protrudes toward a lumbar part 9a of an occupant 9 is formed on the airtight lid 7. The occupant 9 is protected from impact of the side collision by flying the occupant 9 to a vehicle central side after the protrusion part 10 bumps against the comparatively strong lumbar part 9a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle structure in which a sealing cover is provided to close an access hole formed in an inner panel and seal the interior space of a side door, and a pressure detection unit is provided in the interior space of the side door. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, vehicles equipped with side airbags that deploy in the event of a side collision are equipped with a pressure detection unit that detects the pressure in the interior space of the side door, and are often configured to enable the side airbag to deploy early by determining whether or not the vehicle is in a side collision state based on the detection results of this pressure detection unit (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-172511 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Inner panels often have access holes formed in them for inserting and fixing components such as window regulators into the interior space of the side door. In this case, the access holes are covered with hard plastic sealing lids to seal the interior space of the side door, making it possible to determine the side impact state by detecting the pressure in that interior space.

[0005] An energy absorption pad (EA pad) is placed on the passenger compartment side of the hard plastic sealing cover to protect occupants in the event of a side collision in addition to the protection provided by the side airbags, but this increases the number of parts and could increase costs.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle structure that enables early deployment of a side airbag during a side collision and that can add an occupant protection function separate from the side airbag without increasing the number of parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle structure according to the present invention includes a hollow side door made up of an outer panel and an inner panel, a sealing cover that closes a working hole formed in the inner panel to seal the interior space of the side door, and a pressure detection unit that is set in the interior space. The interior surface of the side door is covered with door trim. The sealing lid has a protrusion that protrudes toward the passenger's waist. A plurality of parallel flat ribs inclined relative to the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vehicle width direction are erected on the upper surface of the protruding portion, and the ribs are set to support an armrest formed on the door trim with its underside positioned thereon. This is what happened. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, the working hole in the inner panel is sealed with a sealing lid, and then a pressure detection unit is set in the internal space of the side door. Therefore, even if a small vehicle with a short distance between the occupant and the side door collides sideways with a pole or the like, the side collision can be detected early, and the side airbag can be deployed quickly without delaying the protection of the occupant.

[0009] Furthermore, since the protrusion formed on the sealing lid is directed toward the occupant's waist, in the event of a side collision, the protrusion can hit the occupant's waist via the door trim, for example, and throw the occupant toward the center of the vehicle, thereby protecting the occupant from the impact of a side collision with a pole, etc., through a function separate from that of the side airbag. Here, the waist is a relatively strong part of the human side, and is a part where injury scores are unlikely to worsen, so by hitting the protrusion against this waist, the possibility of the occupant being injured by the protrusion can be reduced.

[0010] Furthermore, since a protrusion is formed on the sealing lid for closing the work hole, an occupant protection function separate from the side airbag can be obtained with a small number of parts without adding a dedicated occupant protection member, thereby reducing the cost for improving occupant protection performance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] A side view of an automobile equipped with a vehicle structure according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front side door provided in a vehicle structure according to the present invention, seen from the inside of the vehicle compartment with the door trim removed. [Figure 3] Cross section AA of front side door with door trim installed DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the vehicle structure of the present invention comprises an automobile 1 equipped with a hollow front side door 4 consisting of an outer panel 2 and an inner panel 3, a sealing lid 7 that closes an access hole 5 formed in the inner panel 3 to seal the interior space 6 of the front side door 4, and a pressure detection unit 8 installed in the interior space 6, a protrusion 10 that protrudes toward the waist 9a of an occupant 9 is formed on the sealing lid 7, and the interior surface of the front side door 4 is covered with a door trim 11.

[0014] The working hole 5 is a relatively large hole formed in the inner panel 3, and allows a component such as a window regulator (not shown) to be inserted into the interior space 6 of the front side door 4 from the outside of the inner panel 3 and fixed therein.

[0015] The sealing cover 7 is a hard resin plate that is slightly larger than the working hole 5, and by closing the large working hole 5 and sealing the internal space 6 of the front side door 4, the internal pressure of the internal space 6 is changed in accordance with the deformation of the outer panel 2 during a side collision.

[0016] The pressure detection unit 8 is a pressure sensor or the like, and is arranged in the interior space 6, for example, near the center of the front side door 4 and close to the working hole 5, and is set to respond sensitively to changes in internal pressure. By setting the pressure detection unit 8 to detect changes in the internal pressure of the interior space 6, it is possible to detect a side collision early and quickly deploy a side airbag to protect the occupant 9 from the impact of the side collision, even in a small car where the distance between the occupant 9 and the front side door 4 is short, for example.

[0017] The protrusion 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped protrusion of the sealing cover 7 at a portion facing the lumbar region 9a of the occupant 9, and in the event of a side collision, it strikes the relatively strong lumbar region 9a through the door trim 11, throwing the occupant 9 toward the center of the vehicle and protecting other parts of the occupant 9 from the impact of the side collision. The lumbar region 9a is relatively strong for a human lateral part, and is a region that is unlikely to worsen injury scores even if it is struck by the protrusion 10 in the event of a side collision.

[0018] On the upper surface of the protrusion 10, a plurality of parallel, flat ribs 12 are provided that are inclined relative to the vehicle longitudinal direction and vehicle width direction so that the front side of the vehicle faces the interior of the vehicle compartment, and these ribs 12 face the abdominal portion 9b, which is located higher than the waist 9a of the occupant 9, via the door trim 11. Because the ribs 12 are inclined relative to the vehicle longitudinal direction and vehicle width direction, even if they come into contact with the abdominal portion 9b via the door trim 11 during a side collision, they easily deform so as to collapse in the plate thickness direction without applying a strong impact load to the abdominal portion. The load acting on the abdominal portion 9b can be adjusted appropriately by changing the number of ribs 12 and the inclination angle.

[0019] The door trim 11 is a lining part that covers the interior surface of the front side door 4, and is formed so as to be close to or abut against the interior surfaces of the protrusion 10 and the rib 12, and also so as to cover the upper surface of the rib 12. Under normal circumstances, the armrest 13 is supported by the rib 12 located on the lower side, ensuring sufficient rigidity, and in the event of a side collision, even if the rib 12 supporting the armrest 13 abuts against the abdomen 9b of the occupant 9, the rib 12 easily deforms, so that a strong impact load is not applied to the abdomen 9b of the occupant 9.

[0020] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, ,above In the above embodiment, the front side door 4 has been described as an example of a side door in the present invention. However, the structure of the present invention may be applied not only to the front side door 4 but also to the rear side door 14. [Explanation of symbols]

[0021] 1. Automobiles 2 Outer panel 3 Inner panel 4 Front side doors 5 Working hole 6. Interior space 7 Sealing lid 8 Pressure detection unit 9 crew members 9a Lower back 9b abdomen 10 Protrusion 11 Door trim 12 Ribs 13 Armrest 14 Rear side door

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle structure including a hollow side door made of an outer panel and an inner panel, a sealing cover that closes a working hole formed in the inner panel to seal an internal space of the side door, a pressure detection unit that is set in the internal space, and a surface of the side door facing the interior of the vehicle that is covered with a door trim, A vehicle structure characterized in that the sealing lid is formed with a protruding portion that protrudes toward the occupant's waist, and a plurality of parallel, flat ribs that are inclined relative to the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction and vehicle width direction are erected on the upper surface of the protruding portion, and the ribs are configured to support an armrest formed on the door trim by positioning it on its underside.

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