Vehicle roof structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicular roof structure which achieves stable quality and enables easy assembly and replacement work.SOLUTION: A vehicular roof structure 1 includes: a frame-like roof skeleton member 2 forming a skeleton of a vehicle upper part and having an opening 24; a resin roof panel 3 which is fixed to the roof skeleton member 2 by a bolt 31 so as to cover the opening 24; and a weather strip 6 which is disposed along a peripheral edge part of the opening 24 between the roof panel 3 and the roof skeleton member 2 and seals a gap between the roof panel 3 and the roof skeleton member 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle roof structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, vehicles have been known in which the majority of the roof is constructed from a resin roof panel in order to further reduce the weight of the vehicle body. The resin roof panel is generally joined to the vehicle body with an adhesive applied along the periphery of a roof opening formed in the roof (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This adhesive also serves to ensure watertightness between the vehicle body and the roof panel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5219075 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Because the joining of plastic roof panels to the vehicle body is performed during the final assembly process, it is not possible to place the entire vehicle in a high-temperature drying oven to harden the adhesive. This inevitably lengthens the adhesive's hardening time, making quality control of the joint difficult. Furthermore, when a plastic roof panel needs to be replaced due to damage, the adhesive must be peeled off from the roof panel, making disassembly and sorting difficult, which is undesirable from the perspective of recyclability.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle roof structure that is stable in quality and easy to assemble and replace. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the vehicle roof structure of the present invention comprises a frame-shaped roof frame member that forms the framework of the upper part of the vehicle and has an opening, a resin roof panel that is fixed to the roof frame member with bolts so as to cover the opening, and a resin roof panel that is disposed between the roof panel and the roof frame member along the periphery of the opening, In a plan view from the top and bottom of the vehicle, it is located further from the center of the opening than the bolt. a weather strip that seals the gap between the flat lower surface of the roof panel and the roof framework member; The weatherstrip is detachably attached to the roof frame member by clips. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle roof structure that is stable in quality and easy to assemble and replace. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle roof structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle roof structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle roof structure according to one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1, Fig. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 1.

[0011] The vehicle roof structure (hereinafter also simply referred to as "roof structure") 1 has a roof frame member 2 that forms the frame of the upper part (roof) of the vehicle. The roof frame member 2 has a pair of roof side rails 21 arranged at both ends in the vehicle width direction, a front header panel 22 arranged at the end on the front side of the vehicle, and a rear roof rail 23 arranged at the end on the front side of the vehicle. The roof side rails 21 extend in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, and the front header panel 22 and the rear roof rail 23 are each bridged between the pair of roof side rails 21 along the vehicle width direction. This forms the roof frame member 2 in a frame shape, and a roof opening 24 is formed inside it.

[0012] The roof side rail 21 is composed of a side outer 21a, a side inner 22b arranged on the passenger compartment inside of the side outer 21a, and a roof side rail reinforcement 23c arranged between the side outer 21a and the side inner 22b. These components are joined together, giving the roof side rail 21 a closed cross-sectional structure. The rear roof rail 23 is composed of a roof panel extension 23a and a frame back panel 23b arranged on the vehicle front side of the roof panel extension 23a. These components are joined together, giving the rear roof rail 23 a closed cross-sectional structure.

[0013] The roof structure 1 also has a roof panel 3 that covers the roof opening 24 formed in the roof frame member 2. The roof panel 3 is made of resin, preferably made of a polypropylene compound, a sheet molding compound (SMC) which is a sheet in which unsaturated polyester resin is impregnated into glass fiber or carbon fiber, or polycarbonate, and more preferably made of a polypropylene compound.

[0014] A windshield glass 4 is provided on the vehicle front side of the roof panel 3, and a roof molding 5 is arranged between the windshield glass 4 and the roof panel 3 to hide the gap between them. The windshield glass 4 is bonded to the upper surface of the front header panel 22 with adhesive 41, which also ensures watertightness between the windshield glass 4 and the front header panel 22.

[0015] On the other hand, the roof panel 3 is fixed to the roof side rails 21, the front header panel 22, and the rear roof rails 23, respectively, with bolts 31, rather than with adhesive, i.e., fixed to the roof frame member 2. Specifically, the roof panel 3 is supported on the upper surfaces of the roof side rails 21, the front header panel 22, and the rear roof rails 23 in areas adjacent to the roof opening 24. The roof panel 3 is fixed to the roof side rails 21, the front header panel 22, and the rear roof rails 23 by inserting bolts 31 into bolt holes 32 formed in the underside of the roof panel 3. A plurality of bolt holes 32 are formed around the entire periphery of the roof panel 3, and accordingly a plurality of bolts 31 are arranged around the entire periphery of the roof opening 24.

[0016] Additionally, a weatherstrip 6 is disposed between the roof panel 3 and the roof frame member 2, specifically, between the roof panel 3 and the upper surfaces of the roof side rails 21, front header panel 22, and rear roof rails 23 in the areas adjacent to the roof opening 24. The weatherstrip 6 is disposed in an annular shape along the periphery of the roof opening 24 and has the function of sealing the gap between the roof panel 3 and the roof frame member 2 (i.e., the roof side rails 21, front header panel 22, and rear roof rails 23) to ensure watertightness therebetween. The weatherstrip 6 is detachably attached to the roof side rails 21, front header panel 22, and rear roof rails 23, respectively, by resin clips 61, i.e., is detachably attached to the roof frame member 2. A plurality of clips 61 are provided around the entire periphery of the annular weatherstrip 6.

[0017] This configuration makes it possible to assemble the roof panel 3 to the roof frame member 2 through a simple assembly process that does not require adhesives, facilitating quality control of the assembly process. Similarly, since the roof panel 3 can be removed from the roof frame member 2 through a simple process, it is also easy to replace the roof panel 3. As a result, disassembly and separation of parts is also easy, improving recyclability. In addition, the weatherstrip 6 can be removed from the roof frame member 2 simply by removing the clips 61, which is also preferable in terms of recyclability.

[0018] To ensure stronger watertightness between the roof panel 3 and the roof frame member 2, the bolts 31 are preferably disposed radially inward of the weatherstrip 6 and as close to the weatherstrip 6 as possible. The installation positions of the bolts 31 are not particularly limited as long as they can secure the roof panel 3 to the roof frame member 2 with sufficient strength, and can be set arbitrarily. For example, the bolts 31 may be spaced equally or unequal. Furthermore, the spacing between the bolts 31 may vary for each side of the rectangular roof opening 24, i.e., the spacing between the bolts 31 may be different for the roof side rails 21, the front header panel 22, and the rear roof rails 23. Similarly, the installation positions of the clips 61 are not particularly limited and can be set arbitrarily, but the bolts 31 and the clips 61 are preferably disposed in close proximity to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 1. Vehicle roof structure 2 Roof frame members 21 Roof side rail 21a Side Outer 21b Side Inner 21c Roof side rail reinforcement 22 Front Header Panel 23 Rear roof rails 23a Roof panel extension 23c Frame Back Panel 24 Roof opening 3 roof panels 31 volts 4 Windshield glass 41 Adhesive 5 Roof molding 6 Weatherstrip 61 clips

Claims

1. A vehicle roof structure, a frame-shaped roof framework member that forms a framework for an upper portion of the vehicle and has an opening; a resin roof panel fixed to the roof frame member with bolts so as to cover the opening; a weather strip disposed between the roof panel and the roof frame member along the periphery of the opening, the weather strip sealing the gap between the flat lower surface of the roof panel and the roof frame member at a position farther from the center of the opening than the bolt in a plan view seen from the vehicle vertical direction; The weather strip is detachably attached to the roof frame member by a clip.

2. 2. The vehicle roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the roof panel is fixed to an upper surface of the roof frame member adjacent to the opening by the bolts, and the weather strip is disposed between the lower surface of the roof panel and the upper surface of the roof frame member.

3. The vehicle roof structure according to claim 2 , wherein the bolt is disposed in proximity to the weather strip.

Images