Vehicle Roof Side Rail with Bulging Section for Load Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle body superstructure experiences stress concentration and inefficient load transmission between the center pillar and the roof side rail during side collisions, leading to a need for improved strength and rigidity.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle body superstructure incorporates a roof side rail with a rail flange, rail vertical wall, and bulging section to accommodate a slide rail, and a roof arch with hat-shaped cross-section and arch flanges, which are joined to the roof side rail and pillar, enhancing load transmission efficiency and strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the pillar is only bolted to the roof arch without continuity with the roof side rail, then the assembly is easier to manufacture, but stress concentration occurs at the joint portion and load transmission efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pillar and roof side rail into a continuous integrated structure, eliminating the discontinuous bolted connection. This integration ensures seamless load transmission from the pillar through the roof side rail to the roof arch, preventing stress concentration while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through unified forming processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structural design where the pillar and roof side rail form a continuous load-bearing path. This composite approach combines different structural elements into a unified system that optimizes both manufacturing efficiency and mechanical performance under side collision loads.
2Device complexity
If the pillar and roof arch are simply joined without continuous connection to the roof side rail, then the device complexity is reduced, but the strength and rigidity of the vehicle body side section deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pillar and roof side rail into a continuous structure that seamlessly connects to the roof arch. This merging eliminates gaps and discontinuities in the load path, ensuring high strength and rigidity while avoiding excessive structural complexity through efficient integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous load transmission from the pillar through the roof side rail to the roof arch. This continuity of structural action maintains constant load-bearing capacity throughout the side section, preventing weak points while keeping the overall structure efficiently simple.
3Device complexity
If the load transmitting path from the pillar to the roof arch bends, then the structural complexity is reduced, but the load transmission efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pillar and roof side rail into a continuous straight load path that directly connects to the roof arch. This integration eliminates bent or angled load transmission paths, ensuring efficient and reliable load transfer while maintaining structural simplicity through direct geometric alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes an uninterrupted continuous load path from the pillar through the roof side rail to the roof arch. This continuous action ensures that forces are transmitted directly without bending or deviation, maximizing load transmission efficiency while keeping the structure geometrically simple and straightforward.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle body superstructure includes a roof side rail having a rail flange upon which a roof panel is mounted, a vertical rail wall that hangs down from the outer end of the rail flange in the vehicle width direction, a bottom rail wall that extends from the lower end of the vertical rail wall to the outside in the vehicle width direction, and a bulging section formed by allowing the bottom rail wall and the vertical rail wall to bulge toward the center in the vehicle width direction, in order to accommodate a slide rail for a sliding door. The outer end of a roof arch in the vehicle width direction is joined to the bulging section. First arch flanges are joined on the lower surface side of the rail flange. Second arch flanges are joined to the lower surface side of the of the bottom rail wall.