vehicle

Abstract

To provide a technique that can suppress rigidity from deteriorating in the vicinity of an end of a weld part between a beam and a reinforcement.SOLUTION: A vehicle comprises a beam, an arm and a reinforcement. A shape material of the beam has an end part section including one end of the beam and an intermediate section arranged adjacently to the end part section, with respect to a vehicle width direction. In an edge extending in the vehicle width direction of the shape material, a step is formed at a boundary between the end part section and the intermediate section so that the intermediate section protrudes with respect to the end part section. In the end part section of the shape material, a portion of an edge of the reinforcement is welded to an outer surface of the shape material, along a first weld bead. In the intermediate section of the shape material, the other portion of the edge of the reinforcement is welded to an inner surface of the shape material, along a second weld bead. The first weld bead extends beyond the boundary between the end part section and the intermediate section into the intermediate section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a technology for reinforcing a beam having a profile extending along the vehicle width direction.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle including a beam (for example, a torsion beam) extending along the vehicle width direction, an arm (for example, a trailing arm) that is swingable with respect to a central axis parallel to the vehicle width direction and to which one end of the beam is connected, and a reinforcement welded across both the beam and the arm.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For example, when a frontal collision occurs in a vehicle, a large load in a direction orthogonal to the vehicle width direction (for example, the vehicle longitudinal direction) is applied to the beam extending in the vehicle width direction. At the welded portion between the beam and the reinforcement, the rigidity of the beam is improved by the reinforcement. However, in a portion of the reinforcement near the end of the welded portion of the beam where the reinforcement is not welded (hereinafter referred to as the non - welded portion), the rigidity of the non - welded portion may be lower than that of the welded portion. As a result, when a large load is applied to the beam during a collision, damage may occur in the non - welded portion. In this specification, a technology capable of suppressing a decrease in rigidity in the non - welded portion of the beam is provided.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A vehicle disclosed herein comprises a beam, an arm, and a reinforcement. The beam has a profile extending along the vehicle width direction. The arm is pivotable about a central axis parallel to the vehicle width direction and is connected to one end of the beam. The reinforcement is welded across both the beam and the arm. The profile of the beam has, with respect to the vehicle width direction, an end section including the one end of the beam and an intermediate section adjacent to the end section. The edge of the profile extending in the vehicle width direction has a step at the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section such that the intermediate section protrudes from the end section. middle In the section, a portion of the edge of the reinforcement is aligned with the first weld bead of the profile. Inside It is welded to the surface. The shape of the end In the section, the other portion of the edge of the reinforcement is along the second weld bead of the profile outside It is welded to the surface. 2 The weld bead extends beyond the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section, into the intermediate section.

[0006] According to the above configuration, the beam profile is middle In this section, reinforcement and the first weld bead Inside Reinforced from the surface, end In this section, reinforcement and a second weld bead outside It is reinforced from both sides. As a result, the profile is reinforced from both sides by the reinforcement. However, the inventors have found that in a structure in which the profile is reinforced from both sides, the rigidity of the beam is locally reduced at the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section, that is, at the portion where the edge of the reinforcement spans from the outer surface to the inner surface of the profile. According to the above configuration, 2 The weld bead extends beyond the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section, into the intermediate section. Therefore, 2The weld bead reinforces the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section. In this way, the vehicle disclosed herein can suppress the reduction in rigidity in the unwelded portion of the beam.

[0007] Details of the technology disclosed herein and further improvements are described in the following "Modes for Carrying Out the Invention". [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A perspective view of the suspension 2 of the vehicle 100 of the first embodiment is shown. [Figure 2] This shows an enlarged view of the area within the dashed line II in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This shows a bottom view of the suspension 2 of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This shows a bottom view of the suspension 2a of the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] In one embodiment of this technology, the aforementioned 2 The weld bead has one end located on the inside in the vehicle width direction, and the 1 The end of the weld bead located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction may be located on the same straight line parallel to the vehicle width direction. With this configuration, when a load is applied in a direction perpendicular to the beam, the load is transmitted equally to both the first and second weld beads. As a result, the load on one of the weld beads does not become locally larger, and the rigidity of the beam can be improved.

[0010] In one embodiment of this technology, a part of the reinforcement is the 2The weld bead may extend beyond the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section into the intermediate section. With this configuration, a portion of the reinforcement reinforces the portion where the edge of the reinforcement transitions from the outer surface to the inner surface of the profile. This helps to suppress a decrease in rigidity in the unwelded portion of the beam.

[0011] In one embodiment of this technology, the beam may be a torsion beam of a torsion beam suspension, and the arm may be a trailing arm of a torsion beam suspension. However, in another embodiment, the beam and arm may constitute, for example, a swing axle type suspension.

[0012] In one embodiment of this technology, the beam may extend along the vehicle width direction and have bars at both ends connected to the profile. However, in another embodiment, the beam may consist only of the profile and may not have bars.

[0013] (Examples) The vehicle of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the suspension 2 of the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, viewed from below. The suspension 2 is a so-called torsion beam type suspension. The suspension 2 comprises a torsion beam 3, a pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L connected to both ends of the torsion beam 3, and a pair of reinforcements 10R and 10L. Hereafter, the upward direction of the vehicle 100 (i.e., the direction of the arrow UP on the coordinate axis in the figure) will be simply referred to as "up," and the opposite direction will be referred to as "down." Similarly, the forward direction of the vehicle 100 (i.e., the direction of the arrow FR on the coordinate axis in the figure) will be simply referred to as "front," and the opposite direction will be referred to as "rear." Furthermore, the left direction of the vehicle 100 (i.e., the direction of the arrow LH on the coordinate axis in the figure) will be referred to as "left," and the opposite direction will be referred to as "right." In addition, the left-right direction of the vehicle 100 may be referred to as the "vehicle width direction."

[0014] Vehicle 100 is a front-wheel drive vehicle. Rear wheels (not shown) of the vehicle 100 are rotatably connected to both ends of the suspension 2. That is, the suspension 2 extends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 100. The pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L swing in the vertical direction of the vehicle 100 by the reaction force received from the road surface via the rear wheels of the vehicle 100. That is, the pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L are swingable about an axis parallel to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 100. Thereby, the pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L transmit the reaction force to a suspension spring (not shown). The suspension spring absorbs the reaction force transmitted from the pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L.

[0015] The torsion beam 3 includes a shaped member 4 and a bar 6. The torsion beam 3 is a member that connects the pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L. The torsion beam 3 allows relative swinging of the pair of trailing arms 8R and 8L by deforming itself when, for example, different reaction forces are applied from the road surface to the left and right rear wheels of the vehicle 100.

[0016] The shaped member 4 is made of a plate-shaped steel material and extends in the vehicle width direction along the bar 6. The shaped member 4 covers the bar 6 from the upper side (i.e., the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) of the vehicle 100. Although details will be described later, the shaped member 4 is bent so as to cover the rear side (i.e., the upper side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) of the bar 6. The inner surface of the shaped member 4 faces the bar 6.

[0017] The right end of the shaped member 4 is connected to the trailing arm 8R by welding. A reinforcement 10R is fixed to both the shaped member 4 and the trailing arm 8R by welding. Similarly, the left end of the shaped member 4 is connected to the trailing arm 8L. A reinforcement 10L is fixed to both the shaped member 4 and the trailing arm 8L by welding.

[0018] Bar 6 is a pipe extending in the vehicle width direction and is positioned inside the profile 4. As will be explained in detail later with reference to Figure 2, the right end of bar 6 is connected to the right end of profile 4 and to reinforcement 10R. Similarly, the left end of bar 6 is connected to the left end of profile 4 and to reinforcement 10L.

[0019] A pair of reinforcements 10R and 10L are made of plate-shaped steel. Reinforcement 10R faces the inner surface of the right end of the profile 4. Reinforcement 10R sandwiches the bar 6 together with the profile 4. A U-shaped slit is provided at the left end of reinforcement 10R. This slit causes reinforcement 10R to branch vertically. The bar 6 extends in the vehicle width direction through the slit in reinforcement 10R. Reinforcement 10L has a similar structure to reinforcement 10R. The suspension 2 has a symmetrical shape in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, this specification will mainly describe the structure of the right end of the suspension 2.

[0020] Referring to Figure 2, the detailed structure of each component 4, 6, and 10R will be described. Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of the area enclosed by the dashed line II in Figure 1. As mentioned earlier, bar 6 extends in the vehicle width direction between the profile 4 and the reinforcement 10R. A connecting member 7 is provided at the right end of bar 6. The connecting member 7 is fixed to the inner surface of the profile 4 and the inner surface of the reinforcement 10R. In other words, bar 6 is connected to the profile 4 and the reinforcement 10R via the connecting member 7.

[0021] The profile 4 is provided with a flange 4F located on the vehicle side of the profile 4 (i.e., the left side of the paper in Figure 2). The flange 4F extends rearward from the rear side of the profile 4 (i.e., the upper side of the paper in Figure 2). The flange 4F improves the rigidity of the profile 4. With respect to the vehicle width direction, the flange 4F does not extend to the right end of the profile 4, but extends to near the center of the reinforcement 10R.

[0022] The profile 4 further comprises an edge 40, which is the end line of the profile 4. On the inside in the vehicle width direction, the edge 40 extends in the vehicle width direction along the tip of the flange 4F. On the outside in the vehicle width direction, the edge 40 extends forward (i.e., downward in the plane of the paper in Figure 2) along the right end line of the flange 4F, and then further upward (i.e., to the right in the plane of the paper in Figure 2). As a result, the edge 40 has a step 42 located at the right end of the flange 4F. After moving upward along the step 42, the edge 40 extends again in the vehicle width direction on the outside in the vehicle width direction. In this way, the edge 40 of the profile 4 is displaced vertically.

[0023] On the left side of the step 42, the reinforcement 10R extends to the front side of the flange 4F of the profile 4 (i.e., the lower side of the paper in Figure 2) and is welded to the inner surface of the profile 4. On the right side of the step 42, the reinforcement 10R extends to the rear side of the edge of the profile 4 (i.e., the upper side of the paper in Figure 2) and is welded to the outer surface of the profile 4. In this way, the reinforcement 10R reinforces the profile 4 from the inner side on the left side of the step 42 and from the outer side on the right side of the step 42. This allows the reinforcement 10R to reinforce the profile 4 from both sides. As a result, the rigidity of the torsion beam 3 of the suspension 2 can be improved.

[0024] However, in the portion where the reinforcement 10R spans from the inner surface to the outer surface of the profile 4, the reinforcement 10R and the profile 4 cannot be welded together. The inventors have discovered that the rigidity of the torsion beam 3 may decrease near the step 42. With reference to Figure 3, the structure provided in the vehicle 100 of this embodiment to prevent the rigidity of the torsion beam 3 from decreasing near the step 42 will be described below.

[0025] Figure 3 is a rear view showing the detailed structure of the joint between the profile 4 and the reinforcement 10R. In Figures 3 and 4, the lower side of the figure represents the upper side of the vehicle 100. The profile 4 comprises an end section S2 and an intermediate section S1 adjacent to the end section S2 in the vehicle width direction. The end section S2 is located at the right end of the profile 4 (i.e., the left side of the page in Figure 3) and is joined to the trailing arm 8R. The intermediate section S1 is located in the central part of the profile 4 in the vehicle width direction.

[0026] In the intermediate section S1, the edge 40 of the profile 4 protrudes lower (i.e., upward in the plane of the paper in Figure 3) than the edge 40 of the profile 4 in the end section S2. As a result, a step 42 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle 100 is provided at the boundary B1 between each section S1 and S2.

[0027] As previously mentioned, the reinforcement 10R reinforces the profile 4 from both sides. In the intermediate section S1, the middle portion 11 of the edge of the reinforcement 10R is welded to the inner surface of the profile 4 (i.e., the surface on the far side of the paper in Figure 3), and in the end section S2, the end portion 12 of the edge of the reinforcement 10R is welded to the outer surface of the profile 4. The middle portion 11 of the edge of the reinforcement 10R is welded to the inner surface of the profile 4 along the first weld bead 21. The end portion 12 of the edge of the reinforcement 10R is welded to the outer surface of the profile 4 along the second weld bead 22. In this way, the reinforcement 10R can reinforce the profile 4 from both sides.

[0028] As shown in Figure 3, the second weld bead 22 extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the end of the edge 12 of the reinforcement 10R. The second weld bead 22 further extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the boundary B1 of each section S1, S2 by a distance W1. As a result, the second weld bead 22 penetrates into the intermediate section S1 by a distance W1. The second weld bead 22 is formed by melting a welding rod (not shown). Therefore, the second weld bead 22, which extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the end of the edge 12 of the reinforcement 10R, increases the thickness of the outer surface of the profile 4. As a result, the second weld bead 22 reinforces the outer surface of the profile 4 (i.e., the front side of the paper in Figure 3). Thus, in the vehicle 100 of this embodiment, since the second weld bead 22 extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the boundary B1 of each section S1 and S2, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the rigidity of the torsion beam 3 near the step 42 (i.e., boundary B1).

[0029] Furthermore, the second weld bead 22 is bent such that it is displaced downwards (towards the top of the plane of Figure 3) as it moves inward towards the vehicle (i.e., to the right of the plane of Figure 3). As a result, the inner end E2 of the second weld bead 22 and the outer end E1 of the first weld bead 21 are located on a straight line L1 parallel to the vehicle width direction. Consequently, the distance between each end E1, E2 and the edge 40 is approximately the same in the vertical direction. This ensures that, for example, when a load is applied to the torsion beam 3 from below the vehicle, the load is transmitted evenly to each weld bead 21, 22. Therefore, the load on one weld bead does not become locally larger, thus improving the rigidity of the torsion beam 3.

[0030] (Second example) Referring to Figure 4, the structure of the suspension 2a of the vehicle 100 in the second embodiment will be described. The suspension 2a of the second embodiment is equipped with a reinforcement 30R instead of the reinforcement 10R of the suspension 2 of the first embodiment described above, but the rest of the structure is the same.

[0031] The reinforcement 30R of the second embodiment has an extended portion 31 that extends along the outer surface of the profile 4. The extended portion 31 is part of the reinforcement 30R. The end 32 of the edge of the extended portion 31 extends along the vehicle width direction. As a result, the vehicle-side end E3 of the second weld bead 23 is located above (i.e., below the plane of the paper in Figure 4) the vehicle-side end E1 of the first weld bead 21. The end 32 of the edge of the extended portion 31 is welded to the outer surface of the profile 4 along the second weld bead 23. As a result, the second weld bead 23 extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the boundary B1 of each section S1, S2 by a distance W1. Similarly, the extended portion 31 also extends in the vehicle width direction beyond the boundary B1 by a distance W1. As a result, in the suspension 2a of this embodiment, the extended portion 31, in addition to the second weld bead 23, can reinforce the vicinity of the step 42 (i.e., boundary B1).

[0032] The above describes specific examples of the technology disclosed herein, but these are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes to the specific examples described above. For example, the following modifications may be adopted.

[0033] (Variation 1) Suspension 2 does not have to be a torsion beam type suspension. For example, suspension 2 may be a swing axle type suspension.

[0034] (Modification 2) The torsion beam 3 does not need to have a bar 6. The torsion beam 3 may have another profile instead of a bar 6.

[0035] The technical elements described herein or in the drawings demonstrate technical usefulness individually or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. Furthermore, the technologies illustrated herein or in the drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving even one of these objectives constitutes technical usefulness in itself. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 2, 2a: Suspension 3: Torsion beam 4: Shaped materials 4F: Flange 6: Bar 7: Joining member 8L, 8R: Trailing arm 10L, 10R, 30R: Reinforcement 11: Middle section 12, 32: End 21: First weld bead 22, 23: Second weld bead 31: Extension part 40: Edge 42: Step 100: Vehicles B1: Boundary E1, E2: Edge S1: Intermediate section S2: End section

Claims

1. A beam having a profile extending along the width direction of the vehicle, An arm that is pivotable about a central axis parallel to the vehicle width direction, and to which one end of the beam is connected, A reinforcement welded across both the beam and the arm, Equipped with, The profile of the beam has, with respect to the vehicle width direction, an end section including the one end of the beam and an intermediate section adjacent to the end section. The edge of the profile extending in the vehicle width direction is provided with a step at the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section, such that the intermediate section protrudes from the end section. In the aforementioned intermediate section of the profile, a portion of the edge of the reinforcement is welded to the inner surface of the profile along the first weld bead. In the end section of the profile, the other portion of the edge of the reinforcement is welded to the outer surface of the profile along the second weld bead. The second weld bead extends beyond the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section into the intermediate section. vehicle.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein one end of the second weld bead located on the inside in the vehicle width direction and one end of the first weld bead located on the outside in the vehicle width direction are located on the same straight line parallel to the vehicle width direction.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion of the reinforcement, together with the second weld bead, extends beyond the boundary between the end section and the intermediate section into the intermediate section.

4. The aforementioned beam is a torsion beam of a torsion beam type suspension, The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arm is a trailing arm of a torsion beam suspension.

5. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the beam extends along the vehicle width direction and has bars at both ends connected to the profile.

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