Lower Vehicle Body Structure for Small Overlap Collision Load Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lower vehicle body structures face challenges in effectively distributing impact loads from small overlap collisions while maintaining weight reduction, as the addition of long slanting frames increases vehicle weight and lacks efficient solutions for load distribution with shortened frames.
Innovation Solution
A lower vehicle body structure featuring side sills, hinge pillars, first frames between the floor tunnel and side sills, and second frames that extend obliquely rearward, forming closed cross-sections to enhance load distribution and rigidity, with outward and inward slope parts on the vehicle body floor to secure yield strength and prevent cross-sectional collapse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long slanting frame is provided to cover a broad vehicle section from the side sill to the floor tunnel, then the impact load distribution effect is improved, but the weight of the vehicle body increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the slanting frame into two segments: a first frame extending in the vehicle front-and-rear directions between the floor tunnel and side sill, and a second frame extending obliquely rearward from the side sill to connect to the first frame. This segmentation allows the structure to achieve effective load distribution while reducing the total length and weight of the frame compared to a single long continuous frame.
Solution Approach 2:
The second frame extends obliquely in both the front-and-rear direction and the width direction, creating a three-dimensional load path. This dimensional change allows the impact load to be distributed more efficiently through space, achieving better load distribution效果 with a shorter overall frame length.
2Weight of moving object
If the length of the slanting frame is shortened to reduce vehicle body weight, then the weight is reduced, but the impact load distribution effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The second frame is configured to extend obliquely rearward from the side sill, incorporating both longitudinal and lateral components. This three-dimensional configuration allows the frame to span across the vehicle section effectively while maintaining a shorter length, thus reducing weight without compromising load distribution effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The lowered part is provided in advance in the bottom surface part of the vehicle body floor between the first frame and the side sill. This preliminary structural arrangement creates an optimized load path that enhances the effectiveness of the shortened second frame in distributing impact loads.
3Strength
If second frames are configured to extend obliquely rearward from side sills to form closed cross-sections with the bottom surface part, then the rigidity is increased and load distribution is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The second frame is merged with the bottom surface part of the vehicle body floor to form a closed cross-section structure. This integration combines two structural elements into one unified load-bearing system, increasing rigidity while avoiding the need for separate additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The closed cross-section is formed specifically in the region including the lowered part, where it is most needed for load distribution. This localized structural enhancement provides maximum rigidity benefit where the impact load is transmitted, without adding complexity throughout the entire vehicle body structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A lower vehicle body structure includes a vehicle body floor having a bottom surface part, a floor tunnel bulging upwardly from the bottom surface part and extending in vehicle front-and-rear directions, side sills extending in the front-and-rear directions, hinge pillars extending upwardly from the side sills, first frames, lowered parts and second frames. Each first frame extends in the front-and-rear directions between the floor tunnel and a side sill. Each lowered part is provided to the bottom surface part between a first frame and a side sill so as to be lowered below a part where the floor and the side sills are joined. Each second frame extends to a first frame, obliquely rearwardly and inwardly from a side sill along an upper surface of the bottom surface part, and forms in a part including a lowered part a closed cross-section between the bottom surface part and a second frame.