Vehicle floor structure

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle floor structure comprising: a floor panel 3 divided into a center floor panel 25 and a left floor panel 27 in the vehicle width direction; and a floor cross member 21 supporting the floor panel 3 from below, in which an overlap portion 30 between the center floor panel 25 and the left floor panel 27 is secured and the floor panel 3 and the floor cross member 21 are secured. The floor cross member 21 extends in the vehicle width direction across the overlap portion 30 between the center floor panel 25 and the left floor panel 27, and flange portions 21a, 21b which are supporting surfaces of the floor cross member 21 have a widened portion 40 which is formed to be wider in the vehicle front-rear direction at a support position of the overlap portion 30 than other positions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle floor structure. [Background Art]

[0002] Many vehicles equipped with a cargo bed or cargo box, such as pickup trucks, include a pair of side members that are spaced apart in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a cross member that extends in the vehicle width direction and connects the pair of side members, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. A floor of the cargo bed or the like is placed on a part of the cross member or the side members and fixed by bolts or the like. Many floors are formed of a thin plate bent into a bellows-shaped cross-section. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-30573 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] In the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, the cross-section of the floor (floor panel) in the vehicle width direction is formed in a bellows shape. This provides high strength against deformation in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Further, in order to suppress the size of the components of the floor panel, some vehicles have a floor panel formed of a plurality of components divided, for example, in the vehicle width direction, and the floor panel is formed by fixing these components to each other by welding or the like.

[0005] However, even if the cross-section of the floor panel in the vehicle width direction is bellows-shaped as described above, the cross-section in the vehicle front-rear direction is not bellows-shaped, so the strength against deformation in the vehicle width direction decreases. Particularly in a vehicle in which the floor panel is divided in the vehicle width direction, there is a risk that the strength at the divided positions of the floor panel may decrease against deformation in the vehicle width direction.

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle floor structure that improves the strength at the division points of the floor panels in a vehicle having floor panels divided in the vehicle width direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the vehicle floor structure of the present invention comprises a floor panel having a first floor panel and a second floor panel divided in the vehicle width direction, and a floor cross member having a support surface that supports the floor panel from below, wherein the overlapping portion of the first floor panel and the second floor panel in the floor panel is fixed, and the floor panel is fixed to the support surface of the floor cross member, wherein the floor cross member extends in the vehicle width direction across the overlapping portion of the first floor panel and the second floor panel which extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the support surface of the floor cross member has a widened portion formed in the portion including the support position of the overlapping portion that is wider in the vehicle longitudinal direction than the portion not including the support position of the overlapping portion.

[0008] This improves the strength of the floor panels against deformation in the vehicle width direction by using floor cross members, and also improves the strength of the overlapping parts of the floor panels that extend in the vehicle's longitudinal direction by fixing them with the widened portion of the support surface that is widened in the vehicle's longitudinal direction.

[0009] Preferably, the floor cross member is provided with a pair of these members spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. This allows the overlapping portion of the floor panels to be fixed to two support surfaces spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, thereby further improving the strength of the overlapping portion of the floor panels.

[0010] Preferably, the overlapping portion and the support surface are fixed together at multiple points in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. This allows the overlapping portion of the floor panel and the support surface of the floor cross member to be firmly fixed together, further improving the strength of the overlapping portion of the floor panel.

[0011] Preferably, the floor panel is a plate member whose cross section in the vehicle width direction is formed in a bellows shape, and the floor cross member is provided with a protrusion that projects upward along the recess on the lower side of the bellows shape of the floor panel and is fixed to the floor panel. This allows the floor panel and the floor cross member to be firmly fixed at the protruding portion when the floor cross member supports the floor panel.

[0012] Preferably, the protrusions are provided in pairs so as to sandwich the connection point between the overlapping portion and the support surface in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the floor panel and the floor cross member are fixed at a pair of positions on either side of the overlapping portion of the floor panel, allowing for an even more secure fixation between the floor panel and the floor cross member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, by supporting the floor panel with a floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction, the strength of the floor panel against deformation in the vehicle width direction is improved, and by fixing the overlapping portion of the floor panel extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction to a support surface widened in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the strength of the overlapping portion of the floor panel can be improved. This significantly improves the strength of the floor panels, which are divided in the width direction of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a rear top view of a vehicle employing the floor structure of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the area near the floor connection according to this embodiment, viewed from the lower left. [Figure 3]It is a perspective view seen from an upper side showing the structure of the connecting portion between a floor cross member and a floor panel. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view seen from a rear lower side showing the structure of the connecting portion between a floor cross member and a floor panel. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view showing the structure of the floor cross member at the floor connecting portion. [Figure 6] It is a vertical cross-sectional view in the vehicle front-rear direction of the floor connecting portion. [Figure 7] It is a vertical cross-sectional view in the vehicle width direction of the floor connecting portion. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of a rear portion of a vehicle 1 employing a floor structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a floor connecting portion in a rear left portion of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, as seen from the lower left. Illustration of tires and side bodies is omitted in FIG. 2.

[0016] The vehicle floor structure of the present invention is employed in a vehicle including a cargo bed or a cargo box, such as a pickup truck, for example. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rear portion of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a cargo box 2. The cargo box 2 has a floor panel 3, side gates 4 and 5 respectively provided at left and right ends in the vehicle width direction, and a tail gate 6 provided at a rear end of the vehicle.

[0017] The vehicle 1 is provided with a pair of side members 7 and 8 that are spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. The vehicle 1 is also provided with a plurality of cross members 10 that extend in the vehicle width direction and connect the pair of side members 7 and 8.

[0018] An axle 15 for a rear wheel of the vehicle 1 is suspended by a suspension device 17 including a leaf spring 16. One of the plurality of cross members 10 is disposed at a position adjacent to and in front of a rear support portion 18 of the leaf spring 16.

[0019] The underside of the floor panel 3 of the cargo box 2 is provided with multiple floor cross members 20 and 21 extending in the vehicle width direction. Of the multiple floor cross members, the rear-end floor cross member 20 is located near the rearmost part of the floor panel 3, and the second-to-last floor cross member 21 is located adjacent to the front of the rear support portion 18 of the leaf spring 16, that is, above the cross member 10.

[0020] The floor cross member 21 extends in the vehicle width direction to near the vehicle width end of the cargo box 2, and is connected to the lower ends of L-shaped side gate members 22 and 23 which are arranged along the left and right side gates 4 and 5 of the cargo box 2 near the vehicle width end.

[0021] The floor panel 3 of the cargo box 2 is divided in the vehicle width direction near the side members 7 and 8. Specifically, the floor panel 3 is composed of three parts: a center floor panel 25 (first floor panel) located between the left and right side members 7 and 8; a right floor panel 26 (second floor panel) located on the right side in the vehicle width direction from near the right side member 8; and a left floor panel 27 (second floor panel) located on the left side in the vehicle width direction from near the left side member.

[0022] Figure 3 is a perspective view from above showing the structure of the connection between the floor cross member 21 and the floor panel 3. Figure 4 is a perspective view from the rear-downward side showing the structure of the connection between the floor cross member 21 and the floor panel 3. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the floor cross member 21 at the floor connection. Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the floor connection in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the floor connection in the vehicle's width direction. In Figure 3, the black circles and black squares indicate spot welding locations, with the black circles representing welds where two members are stacked and the black squares representing welds where three members are stacked. Also, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of section AA shown in Figure 3, and Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of section BB.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the right end of the left floor panel 27 and the left end of the center floor panel 25 overlap by, for example, several centimeters, and at this overlapping portion 30, they are connected by spot welding at multiple locations aligned in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0024] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the floor panel 3, namely the center floor panel 25, the right floor panel 26, and the left floor panel 27, is made of thin steel sheet and has a bellows-like shape with a longitudinal cross section in the vehicle width direction that is uneven, for example, every few centimeters.

[0025] As shown in Figures 3-5, the floor cross member 21 is made of steel plate, has a hat shape with an open top, and has a flange portion 21a (support surface) extending towards the front of the vehicle and a flange portion 21b (support surface) extending towards the rear of the vehicle. The floor panel 3 is placed on the upper surfaces of the flange portions 21a and 21b, and the flange portions 21a and 21b and the bellows-shaped bottom surface of the floor panel 3 are spot-welded and fixed to each other.

[0026] The left floor panel 27 and the center floor panel 25 overlap at their bellows-shaped lower surfaces and are fixed together at the overlapping portion 30 by spot welding (for example, a in Figure 3). The flange portions 21a and 21b of the floor cross member 21 are provided with widened portions 40 that are wider in the vehicle's longitudinal direction, extending over a range of, for example, several tens of centimeters (approximately the width of two bellows-like protrusions on each side) on both sides of the overlapping portion 30 between the center floor panel 25 and the left floor panel 27, which is roughly centered. In these widened portions 40 of the flange portions 21a and 21b, the bottom surface of the floor panel 3 and the flange portions 21a and 21b are fixed at two spots each in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (for example, b in Figure 3). In areas of the flange portions 21a and 21b that are not in the widened portions 40, the bottom surface of the floor panel 3 and the flange portions 21a and 21b are fixed at one spot each (for example, c in Figure 3).

[0027] Furthermore, in the overlapping portion 31 between the right floor panel 26 and the center floor panel 25, the flange portions 21a and 21b of the floor cross member 21 are formed to be wide in the vehicle's longitudinal direction and are fixed in place by spot welding at two locations each in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (for example, d in Figure 3).

[0028] As shown in Figures 3-8, the flange portion 21b on the rear side of the vehicle is provided with protrusions 32 and 33 that project upward so as to fit into the recess 41 (a portion that is recessed upward) on the lower surface of the floor panel 3 and contact the lower surface of the upper wall of the floor panel 3. The protrusions 32 and 33 are provided at positions corresponding to the recesses 41 on either side of the connection point between the overlapping portion 30 of the center floor panel 25 and the left floor panel 27 and the flange portion 21b. The pair of protrusions 32 and 33 and the upper wall surfaces of the floor panel 3 (center floor panel 25, left floor panel 27) are fixed to each other by spot welding at their contact points (e in Figure 3). In this embodiment, of the front and rear flange portions 21a and 21b of the vehicle, a pair of protrusions 32 and 33 are provided only on the rear flange portion 21b of the vehicle. However, a pair of protrusions 32 and 33 may also be provided on the front flange portion 21a of the vehicle and fixed to the floor panel 3, or a pair of protrusions 32 and 33 may be provided only on the front flange portion 21a of the vehicle and fixed to the floor panel 3.

[0029] Furthermore, the structure of the right side of the floor cross member 21 is configured symmetrically to the structure of the left side of the floor cross member 21, near the overlapping portion 31 between the center floor panel 25 and the right floor panel 27.

[0030] As described above, in this embodiment, the floor panel 3 of the cargo box 2 is constructed by overlapping the ends of three parts (left floor panel 27, center floor panel 25, and right floor panel 26) that are divided in the vehicle width direction, and fixing them to each other by welding. The overlapping portion 30 between the left floor panel 27 and the center floor panel 25, and the overlapping portion 31 between the center floor panel 25 and the right floor panel 26 are each positioned to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0031] Furthermore, the cargo box 2 is equipped with a floor cross member 21 that extends in the vehicle width direction and supports the floor panel 3 from below. The floor cross member 21 extends to near the vehicle width end of the cargo box 2 and fixes the floor panel 3 at multiple points by spot welding over almost the entire width in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the floor cross member 21 can improve the strength of the floor panel 3 against deformation in the vehicle width direction.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper surface of the floor cross member 21 is provided with flange portions 21a and 21b for fixing the floor panel 3. The flange portions 21a and 21b are formed so that the width in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the widened portion 40, which is the part that supports the overlapping portions 30 and 31 of the floor panel 3, is larger than the width in the vehicle longitudinal direction at positions other than the widened portion 40. Therefore, by fixing the floor panel 3 and the floor cross member 21 at the widened portion 40 of these flange portions 21a and 21b, the strength of the overlapping portion 30 of the floor panel 3 can be improved.

[0033] Furthermore, the floor cross member 21 has a hat-shaped longitudinal cross section in the vehicle's longitudinal direction, and is provided with a pair of flange portions 21a and 21b spaced apart in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. This allows the overlapping portion 30 of the floor panel 3 to be fixed to the floor cross member 21 at a distanced point in the vehicle's longitudinal direction, thereby further improving the strength of the overlapping portion 30 of the floor panel 3.

[0034] Furthermore, since the floor panel 3 is a plate member with a bellows-shaped cross-section in the vehicle width direction, it is possible to improve the strength of the lightweight floor panel 3, especially against deformation in the vehicle's longitudinal direction.

[0035] Furthermore, the floor cross member 21 is provided with protrusions 32 and 33 that project upward along the recesses 41 on the lower surface of the bellows-shaped floor panel 3, and these protrusions 32 and 33 are also fixed to the floor panel 3 (welded joints 34). Therefore, the floor cross member 21 and the floor panel 3 can be firmly fixed at the protrusions 32 and 33.

[0036] Furthermore, the protrusions 32 and 33 are provided at a pair of close positions flanking the connection point between the overlapping portion 30 of the floor panel 3 and the flange portion 21b. The floor panel 3 and the floor cross member 21 are fixed to these protrusions 32 and 33, respectively. This firmly fixes the floor panel 3 and the floor cross member 21 at the positions flanking the overlapping portion 30, further improving the strength of the overlapping portion 30 of the floor panel 3.

[0037] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a floor cross member 21 of the cargo box 2 that is located near the rear support portion 18 of the leaf spring 16 that supports the rear axle 15, but it may also be applied to other floor cross members.

[0038] The present invention can be widely applied to vehicle floor structures that support a segmented floor structure with floor cross members. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 3 Floor Panels 25 Center floor panel (first floor panel) 26 Right floor panel (2nd floor panel) 27 Left floor panel (2nd floor panel) 21 Floor cross member 30 Overlapping parts 21a, 21b Flange section (support surface) 40 Widening section 32, 33 Convex part 41 Recess

Claims

1. A floor panel having a first floor panel and a second floor panel divided in the vehicle width direction, It comprises a floor cross member having a support surface that supports the floor panel from below, A vehicle floor structure that fixes the overlapping portion of the first floor panel and the second floor panel in the floor panel, and fixes the floor panel to the support surface of the floor cross member, The floor cross member extends in the vehicle width direction, crossing the overlapping portion of the first floor panel and the second floor panel which extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The support surface of the floor cross member has a widened portion that is formed to be wider in the vehicle longitudinal direction than the portion that does not include the support position of the overlapping portion, in the portion that includes the support position of the overlapping portion. A vehicle floor structure characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned support surfaces are provided in pairs on the floor cross member, spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The floor structure of the vehicle according to feature 1.

3. The overlapping portion and the support surface are fixed together at multiple points in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The floor structure of the vehicle according to feature 2.

4. The floor panel is a plate member whose cross-section in the vehicle width direction is formed in a bellows shape, The floor cross member is provided with a protrusion that projects upward along a recess on the lower surface side of the floor panel and is fixed to the floor panel. The floor structure of the vehicle according to feature 1.

5. The aforementioned protrusions are provided in pairs so as to sandwich the connection point between the overlapping portion and the support surface in the vehicle width direction. The floor structure of the vehicle according to feature 4.

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