Body for a passenger car

Abstract

The invention relates to a body for a passenger car, having a bulkhead structure (50) extending between respective A-pillars (56) of side walls (54) of a passenger compartment, to which bulkhead structure a front structure (62) is fastened toward the front in a vehicle longitudinal direction, wherein at least one structural element of the bulkhead structure (50) is arranged with its outer ends (66) overlapping the respective A-pillar (56) of the corresponding side wall (54) with respect to the transverse direction of the vehicle. The body is characterised in that the respective A-pillar (56) of the corresponding side wall (54) has an insertion opening (68) into which the respective outer end (66) of the structural element of the bulkhead structure (50) is inserted.

Description

[0001] Body for a passenger car

[0002] The invention relates to a body for a passenger car according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] Such a body of the type discussed here is shown in sections in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0004] Visible here is a bulkhead structure 10, which is shown in section along a sectional plane running in the vehicle's vertical direction or in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. The bulkhead structure 10, which extends in the vehicle's transverse direction and approximately vertically, runs between respective A-pillars 12 of corresponding side walls 14 of a passenger compartment 16, of which, according to the sectional view, only the left-hand side wall 14 relative to the forward direction of travel is shown. A door opening 18 is also formed within the side wall 14. The side wall 14 is delimited at the bottom by a side sill 20, to which a vehicle floor, which is also shown in section according to the sectional view, adjoins towards the center of the vehicle.The bulkhead structure 10 is essentially formed by a bulkhead cross member 24 and a bulkhead 26, which extends downwards to the vehicle floor 22 and upwards to a cross member 28 below the cowl. Adjoining the bulkhead structure 10 at the front is a front-end structure 30, which includes, among other things, a longitudinal member 32 of an upper longitudinal member level. Respective longitudinal members of a main longitudinal member level are not shown in Fig. 2.

[0005] As can be seen in particular from Fig. 1 in a partial perspective view, an accident-related force applied to a longitudinal member 34 - in the present case, for example, the main longitudinal member plane - leads to a corresponding force F, which is introduced into the bulkhead structure 10. The bulkhead structure 10 is - as can be seen in particular from Fig. 2 - joined both with regard to the bulkhead 26 and with regard to the bulkhead cross member 24 by means of respective joining technology by means of respective flanges 36, 38 on the inside of the respective A-pillar 12.

[0006] The forces F introduced in the event of a frontal collision as shown in Fig. 1 therefore lead - as also shown in Fig. 1 - to a shear load on the flanges 36, 38 between the bulkhead 26 or the bulkhead cross member 24 on the one hand and the corresponding A-pillar 12 on the other hand, which is shown by the respective arrows F1 and F2 in Fig. 1. Since the entire force transmission thus takes place via the connection technology, usually via respective welded connections, the force flow of the front end structure 30 with the respective longitudinal members 34 and finally the bulkhead structure 10 to the respective laterally corresponding side wall 14 with the corresponding A-pillar 12 is clearly limited via the connection technology.

[0007] From the generic US 2010 0026051 A1, a motor vehicle body emerges which has a bulkhead structural element extending between A-pillars and butting up against them at the sides, and which is attached to them by means of screw connections.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to create a body of the type mentioned above in which a favorable flow of forces can be realized between the bulkhead structure and the corresponding side wall.

[0009] This object is achieved according to the invention by a body having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments with expedient further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0010] The body according to the invention comprises a bulkhead structure extending between respective A-pillars of side walls of a passenger compartment and to which a front-end structure with respective longitudinal members or the like is attached toward the front in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. In order to achieve an improved flow of forces between the bulkhead structure and the corresponding side wall, according to the invention, at least one structural element of the bulkhead structure is arranged with its outer ends overlapping the respective A-pillar of the corresponding side wall relative to the vehicle's transverse direction.If a frontal collision occurs involving the vehicle and a corresponding force is introduced into the front-end structure, for example, one of the main longitudinal members, the force introduced into the bulkhead structure via the corresponding main longitudinal member can be optimally transmitted via the corresponding structural element to the corresponding side wall, which overlaps with the corresponding structural element, for example, a bulkhead cross member. Thus, the force transmission of the bulkhead structure or its structural element is no longer limited to the connection technology as before, but rather the force transmission occurs at least essentially via the corresponding form-fit connection and is thus independent of the connection technology of the corresponding structural element with the associated A-pillar of the side wall.This allows much greater forces to be transmitted, so that failure of the connection between the bulkhead structure and the corresponding side wall can be prevented.

[0011] The resulting connection between the bulkhead structure and the corresponding side wall, which is optimized in terms of force flow, provides improved accident characteristics in all frontal collisions, i.e. both in central collisions and in collisions between the body and an obstacle with a small overlap.

[0012] According to the invention, it is further provided that the respective A-pillar of the corresponding side wall is provided with an insertion opening into which the structural element of the bulkhead structure is inserted with its respective outer ends. Accordingly, the respective end of the structural element of the bulkhead structure can be inserted into the cavity of the A-pillar via the insertion opening. This results in a particularly favorable connection between the respective A-pillar and the corresponding end of the structural element of the bulkhead structure, so that high forces can be transmitted. In this context, it has also proven advantageous if the structural element of the bulkhead structure is inserted with its respective outer ends in a form-fitting manner into the respectively associated insertion opening of the corresponding A-pillar of the corresponding side wall.A positive plug-in connection of the structural element with the respective A-pillar allows for particularly high power transmission.

[0013] It is also advantageous if the structural element of the bulkhead structure is designed as a bulkhead cross member. Experience has shown that the bulkhead cross member is a structural element on which, for example, the main longitudinal members of the front-end structure are supported and which is therefore suitable for transmitting high forces.

[0014] A further advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the bulkhead of the bulkhead structure is arranged at least substantially in front of the bulkhead cross member in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. Consequently, the bulkhead can be used to distribute forces within the bulkhead structure or into the bulkhead cross member in a particularly favorable manner in the event of an accident-related force being applied.

[0015] In a further embodiment of the invention, it has proven advantageous for the ends of the bulkhead cross member to be connected to the A-pillars by joining. This allows, for example, the previously described plug connection of the bulkhead cross member to the respective A-pillar to be secured particularly advantageously.

[0016] Finally, it has proven advantageous to arrange connecting elements on the inside of the A-pillars, through which the ends of the bulkhead cross member are joined to the A-pillars. Such connecting elements enable a large-format connection of the bulkhead cross member to the respective A-pillar.

[0017] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and from the drawings. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures, can be used not only in the respective combinations specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the invention. In the drawings:

[0018] Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of a body according to the prior art, in which a bulkhead structure extends between respective A-pillars of side walls of a passenger cell and to which a main longitudinal member of a front-end structure adjoins in the vehicle longitudinal direction;

[0019] Fig. 2 is a perspective sectional view of the body according to Fig. 1 , wherein in particular the connection technology between the front wall structure and the laterally corresponding A-pillar of the corresponding side wall is illustrated;

[0020] Fig. 3 is a partial and perspective sectional view along a sectional plane extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction or in the vehicle transverse direction through a body according to the invention in the region of a support of a bulkhead structure, wherein the bulkhead cross member is inserted via a corresponding insertion opening into a cavity of an A-pillar of a laterally corresponding side wall, and wherein a main longitudinal member is supported on the bulkhead cross member; and

[0021] Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective view of an insertion area of ​​the bulkhead cross member of the bulkhead structure into the corresponding A-pillar of the correspondingly laterally assigned side wall, wherein respective connecting elements for connecting the bulkhead cross member to the A-pillar are arranged on the inside of the A-pillar.

[0022] In the figures, identical or functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0023] While a body according to the prior art is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a body according to the invention will be explained below in conjunction with Figs. 3 and 4. In this regard, Fig. 3 shows, in a perspective sectional view along a sectional plane running in the vehicle's longitudinal direction or in the vehicle's transverse direction, the body in the region of a partially visible front bulkhead structure 50, which comprises a bulkhead cross member 52, which is shown in section in Fig. 3 along said sectional plane. The bulkhead cross member 52 can also be seen in Fig. 4 in a partial perspective view over its entire height, wherein in Fig. 4 the bulkhead structure 50 points to a front region of a laterally corresponding - viewed in the forward direction of travel - left side wall 54 with a corresponding A-pillar 56.

[0024] 3 and 4 together, it can be seen that the bulkhead structure 50 comprises, in addition to the bulkhead cross member 52, a bulkhead 58 which - as can be seen in particular from Fig. 4 - runs in front of the bulkhead cross member 52 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

[0025] From the front in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a main longitudinal member 60 adjoins the bulkhead cross member 52 according to Fig. 3. This main longitudinal member 60, together with a main longitudinal member on the other side of the vehicle, forms a main longitudinal member plane, and on which a bumper cross member is supported in a conventional manner by means of respective energy absorption elements. The main longitudinal members 60 are part of a front-end structure 62, which adjoins the bulkhead structure 50 at the front.

[0026] The front wall structure 50 extends in the vehicle transverse direction and approximately vertically in the vehicle vertical direction between respective front ends of the side walls 50, which are essentially formed by A-pillars 56.

[0027] Each of the side walls 54 or the A-pillars 56 is formed in the present case in a sheet metal shell construction from a plurality of formed sheet metal shells or sheet metal parts, wherein the sheet metal shells delimit a substantially cuboid-shaped cavity 64 of the respective A-pillar 56.

[0028] As can be seen from Fig. 3, a respective end 66 of the corresponding structural component, here the bulkhead support 52, of the bulkhead structure 50 is arranged in the vehicle transverse direction in overlap with the respective A-pillar 56 on the corresponding side wall 54. More precisely, in the present case, a corresponding insertion opening 68 for the corresponding bulkhead cross member 52 is formed within the respective A-pillar 56, in which insertion opening 68 its corresponding end 66 is inserted or received at least substantially in a form-fitting manner. This means that the insertion opening 68 can be a circumferentially limited opening within the corresponding sheet metal shell of the associated A-pillar 56 or, for example, also a U-shaped receptacle, so that the bulkhead cross member 52 is preferably held in a form-fitting manner in the vehicle longitudinal direction or in the vehicle vertical direction.

[0029] It is clear that, instead of the bulkhead cross member 52, another structural component of the bulkhead structure 50 can also be inserted into the corresponding A-pillar 56. It is also clear that the A-pillar 56 does not necessarily have to be formed from sheet metal shells, but can also be formed, for example, from other semi-finished products such as extruded profiles or the like.

[0030] As can be seen particularly from Fig. 4, respective connecting elements 70, 72 are arranged on the inside of the respective A-pillar 56, for example, fastened by joining, by means of which the bulkhead cross member 52 can be connected to the side wall 54 or the corresponding A-pillar 56. Thus, by means of a particularly suitable joining connection, the bulkhead cross member 52 can be secured in a particularly advantageous manner within the corresponding insertion opening 68 of the associated A-pillar 56.

[0031] In the present case, the interface to the side wall 54 therefore provides a positive connection between the bulkhead structure 50 and the side wall 54, in particular the A-pillar 56, so that a significant improvement is achieved for a frontal crash both with full overlap and with a small width overlap.

[0032] As can be seen particularly from Fig. 3, the force introduced in this way is absorbed in a particularly favorable manner by a corresponding force pair F1, F2, which are diametrically opposed to one another. In other words, the force transmission occurs exclusively via the positive connection of the corresponding bulkhead cross member 50 with the associated A-pillar 56 and is independent of any corresponding connection technology, since the corresponding end of the bulkhead cross member 52 is designed in the transverse direction of the vehicle and at least partially overlaps the associated side wall 54 or the A-pillar 56.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Body for a passenger car, with a bulkhead structure (50) which extends between respective A-pillars (56) of side walls (54) of a passenger cell and to which a front structure (62) is fastened towards the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction, wherein at least one structural element of the bulkhead structure (50) is arranged with its outer ends (66) relative to the vehicle transverse direction in overlap with the respective A-pillar (56) of the corresponding side wall (54), characterized in that the respective A-pillar (56) of the corresponding side wall (54) has an insertion opening (68) into which the structural element of the bulkhead structure (50) is inserted with its respective outer end (66).

2. Body according to claim 1, characterized in that the structural element of the front wall structure (50) is inserted with its respective outer end (66) in a form-fitting manner into the respective insertion opening of the corresponding A-pillar (56) of the corresponding (66) side wall (54).

3. Body according to one of the preceding (66) claims, characterized in that the structural element of the end wall structure (50) is designed as an end wall cross member (52).

4. Body according to claim 3, characterized in that the end wall (58) of the end wall structure (50) is arranged at least substantially in front of the end wall cross member (52) in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

5. Body according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the ends (66) of the front wall cross member (52) are connected to the A-pillars (56) by joining.

6. Body according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that respective connecting elements (70) are arranged on the inside of the A-pillars (56), via which the ends (66) of the front wall cross member (52) are connected to the A-pillars (56) by joining.

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