JP5228864B2 - Rocker structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rocker structure that extends in the front-rear direction of a vehicle at a side portion of the vehicle such as an automobile.

As a conventional rocker structure, there is known a rocker inner panel and a rocker outer panel having a hat-shaped cross section, and these flange portions are in contact with each other and joined together (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 7-315253 A

  By the way, in order to improve the buckling strength, a rocker structure as described above has been developed in which an outer reinforcement 52 is disposed between a rocker inner panel 51 and a rocker outer panel 53 as shown in FIG. Has been. In recent rocker structures, further improvement in buckling strength is desired in accordance with needs such as reduction in weight and strength of vehicles.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the rocker structure which can improve buckling strength.

  In order to achieve the above object, a rocker structure according to the present invention is a rocker structure that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction at a side portion of a vehicle, and has a substantially U-shaped body section that opens to the outside of the vehicle, And a rocker inner panel configured to include a flange portion that continues to the main body portion and extends downward, a substantially U-shaped main body portion that opens to the inside of the vehicle, and a flange portion that continues to the main body portion and extends downward. A rocker inner panel having a contact portion in which a flange portion of the rocker inner panel and a flange portion of the outer reinforcement are in contact with each other, and a main body portion of the rocker inner panel The lower wall is located below the upper end of the contact portion.

  In this rocker structure, the lower wall of the main body portion of the rocker inner panel is positioned below the upper end of the contact portion. Therefore, the moment of inertia of the cross section of the rocker structure (hereinafter, simply referred to as “cross section”) can be increased, and the buckling strength can be further improved.

  Here, it is preferable that the main body portion of the rocker inner panel includes a ridge wall that continues to the upper end of the flange portion of the rocker inner panel and extends so as to bend downward, and continues to the vehicle outer end of the lower wall. In this case, a ridge corner is formed by the ridge wall and the flange, and a ridge corner is formed by the ridge wall and the lower wall. And it becomes possible by these ridge corners to obtain the effect of increasing the rigidity of the rocker inner panel (so-called ridge line effect).

  Moreover, it is preferable that the upper end position of the flange part of the rocker inner panel and the upper end position of the flange part of the outer reinforcement match each other. In this case, the outer reinforcement is reliably supported in the left-right direction of the vehicle by the contact portion when the load is input in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Therefore, for example, when a load in the vehicle left-right direction is input, the cross-sectional deformation is performed so that the lower side of the main body 66 of the outer reinforcement 62 enters the inside of the vehicle as in the conventional rocker structure 60 shown in FIG. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the buckling strength can be improved.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, terms such as “up”, “down”, “front”, and “rear” correspond to the vertical direction and the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a rocker structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the rocker structure 10 of the present embodiment is a vehicle skeleton in a side portion of a vehicle such as an automobile, and is formed of a hollow member that extends in the front-rear direction on both ends of the floor. The rocker structure 10 includes a rocker inner panel 11, an outer reinforcement 12, and a rocker outer panel (also referred to as a side outer panel) 13 as folded plate structural members extending in the front-rear direction.

  The rocker inner panel 11 is a member that particularly dominates the rigidity of the rocker structure 10. The rocker inner panel 11 is higher in rigidity than the outer reinforcement 12 and the rocker outer panel 13 and has a thickness of, for example, 1.4 mm.

  The rocker inner panel 11 has a cross-sectional hat shape that bulges toward the vehicle inner side (right side in the figure), and is continuous to the main body portion 14 having a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens to the outer side of the vehicle. An upper flange portion 15a extending upward and a lower flange portion (flange portion) 15b extending continuously downward from the main body portion 14 are provided.

  The outer reinforcement 12 is a member that increases the rigidity of the rocker structure 10 and deforms at the time of collision to absorb energy. The outer reinforcement 12 is higher in rigidity than the rocker outer panel 13 and has a plate thickness of, for example, 1.2 mm.

  The outer reinforcement 12 has a cross-sectional hat shape that bulges to the outside of the vehicle (the left side in the figure), and is continuous to the main body portion 16 having a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens to the inside of the vehicle. The upper flange portion 17a extends upward, and the lower flange portion (flange portion) 17b continues to the main body portion 16 and extends downward.

  In this outer reinforcement 12, the upper end position of the lower flange portion 17b and the upper end position of the lower flange portion 15b of the rocker inner panel 11 are arranged to coincide with each other, and the upper flange portion 17a. Is in contact with the upper flange portion 15a of the rocker inner panel 11 as an upper contact portion 20a, and its lower flange portion 17b is in contact with the lower flange portion 15b of the rocker inner panel 11 as a lower contact portion (contact portion) 20b. It is in contact. That is, the rocker structure 10 has an upper contact portion 20a in which the upper flange portions 15a and 17a are in contact with each other, and a lower contact portion 20b in which the lower flange portions 15b and 17b are in contact with each other. ing.

  In the upper contact portion 20a, the upper flange portions 15a and 17a are joined to each other by welding or the like. In the lower contact portion 20b, the lower flange portions 15b and 17b are joined to each other by welding or the like. Thus, the outer reinforcement 12 and the rocker inner panel 11 are integrated with each other.

  In addition, in order to increase the rigidity of the outer reinforcement 12, a reinforcing plate 21 that extends in the front-rear direction and is bent along the main body portion 16 is provided inside the main body portion 16 of the outer reinforcement 12. Yes.

  The rocker outer panel 13 is a so-called outer plate, and is a member that is particularly dominant in the appearance (design) of the vehicle. The rocker outer panel 13 is lower in rigidity than the rocker inner panel 11 and the outer reinforcement 12 and has a thickness of 0.7 mm, for example.

  The rocker outer panel 13 has a cross-sectional hat shape that bulges toward the vehicle inner side (left side in the figure), and has a substantially U-shaped main body 18 that opens to the inner side of the vehicle, and a continuous upper portion to the main body 18. An upper flange portion 19a extending downward, and a lower flange portion 19b extending continuously downward from the main body portion 18.

  The rocker outer panel 13 is arranged so as to cover the vehicle outer side of the outer reinforcement 12, and the upper flange portion 19 a is joined to the upper flange portion 17 a, and the lower flange portion 19 b is connected to the lower flange portion 19 a. It is joined to the portion 17b. Thereby, the outer reinforcement 12, the rocker inner panel 11, and the rocker outer panel 13 are integrated with each other.

  Here, the main body 14 of the rocker inner panel 11 of the present embodiment includes an inner wall 14a provided so as to extend in the vertical direction, and an upper wall 14b and a lower wall 14c provided so as to extend in the left-right direction. . The upper wall 14b is continuous with the upper end outside the vehicle in the inner wall 14a. The height position of the upper wall 14b is set from the viewpoint of getting on and off the vehicle. The lower wall 14c is provided so as to be positioned below the upper end P of the lower contact portion 20b, and is continuous with the lower end outside the vehicle on the inner wall 14a.

  Further, the main body portion 14 includes a ridge wall 14d continuous with the lower flange portion 15b and the lower wall 14c. Specifically, the ridge wall 14d is continuous with the upper end of the lower flange portion 15b, extends so as to bend downward, and is continuous with the vehicle outer end of the lower wall 14c. Thus, in the main body 14, the ridge corner C1 is formed by the ridge wall 14d and the lower flange portion 15b, and the ridge corner C2 is formed by the ridge wall 14d and the lower wall 14c.

  As mentioned above, in the rocker structure 10 of this embodiment, the lower wall 14c of the main-body part 14 of the rocker inner panel 11 is located below the upper end P of the lower contact part 20b. Therefore, the cross section height H can be increased and the cross section can be enlarged while maintaining the support rigidity of the rocker inner panel 11 and the outer reinforcement 12 by the lower contact portion 20b. Therefore, sufficient rigidity can be ensured and the buckling strength can be improved. As a result, it is possible to reduce the necessity of providing the reinforcing plate 56 on the rocker inner panel 51 as in the conventional rocker structure 50 shown in FIG. 3, for example, and to reduce the mass and cost.

  In the rocker inner panel 11 of this embodiment, as described above, the ridge corner portion C1 is formed by the ridge wall 14d and the lower flange portion 15b, and the ridge corner portion C2 is formed by the ridge wall 14d and the lower wall 14c. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect of increasing the rigidity of the rocker inner panel 11 (so-called ridge line effect) by these ridge corner portions C1 and C2.

  When the lower wall 64c is set on the lower side so as to enlarge the cross section of the rocker inner panel 61 as in the conventional rocker structure 60 shown in FIG. 2 (b), the lower flange portion of the outer reinforcement 62 is usually used. The upper end height of the lower flange portion 67b of the rocker inner panel 61 does not coincide with 65b (there is a deviation). In the rocker structure 60, there is the following fear. That is, for example, when a load F in the left-right direction is input (such as when a side collision occurs), the support in the left-right direction with respect to the lower wall 66c of the main body 66 of the outer reinforcement 62 is lost, so the main body of the outer reinforcement 62 66 The cross section is deformed so that the lower side enters the inside of the vehicle (see broken line). That is, the misalignment portion Z of the lower flange portions 65b and 67b is intensively deformed as a weak portion, and the cross-section collapse may occur at an early stage, and the misalignment portion Z may be a starting point for buckling deformation.

  In this respect, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the upper end position of the lower flange portion 15b of the rocker inner panel 11 and the upper end position of the lower flange portion 17b of the outer reinforcement 12 coincide with each other. ing. Therefore, when the load F in the vehicle left-right direction is input, the outer reinforcement 12 is reliably supported in the vehicle left-right direction by the lower contact portion 20b (see broken line). Therefore, the rocker structure 10 can further improve rigidity by suppressing (dispersing) the cross-sectional deformation.

  In the rocker outer panel 13, the appearance is regarded as important as described above, and the height position of the upper surface 13 a is set from the viewpoint of getting on and off the vehicle. It is difficult to do. Moreover, since it is formed of a soft material, even if the cross section is enlarged, the contribution to the rigidity of the entire rocker structure 10 is small. On the other hand, since the outer reinforcement 12 is disposed such that a predetermined gap (for example, a gap required at the time of electrodeposition coating) is formed between the outer reinforcement 12 and the rocker outer panel 13, the shape is greatly limited. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the cross section of the outer reinforcement 12 as well.

  On the other hand, the rocker inner panel 11 has a small shape restriction and is particularly dominant in the rigidity of the rocker structure 10, and therefore contributes greatly to the rigidity of the rocker structure 10 as a whole. Therefore, this embodiment which can enlarge the cross section by the side of the rocker inner panel 11 in the rocker structure 10 is especially effective.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the rocker structure according to the present invention is not limited to the rocker structure 10 according to the embodiment, and the rocker structure is within the scope not changing the gist described in each claim. The structure 10 may be modified or applied to others.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the upper end positions of the lower flange portions 15b and 17b are made to coincide with each other. However, when the cross-sectional deformation of the rocker structure 10 can be sufficiently suppressed, it is not necessary to make them coincide with each other. Further, in the above embodiment, the lower flange portions 15b and 17b are brought into contact with each other to form the lower contact portion 20b. However, at least a part of the lower flange portions 15b and 17b are brought into contact with each other to lower the lower flange portion 15b. You may comprise the contact part 20b.

  Incidentally, the above-mentioned “substantially U-shaped cross section” includes not only a U-shaped cross section but also a cross-sectional cup shape, etc., and includes a cross-sectional shape that bulges / depresses inside / outside the vehicle. Yes. Further, the above “match” includes substantially match, and includes variations due to, for example, dimensional tolerances and manufacturing errors.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a rocker structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a figure which shows the rocker structure of FIG. 1 when the load F of the left-right direction is input, (b) is a figure which shows the conventional rocker structure when the load F of the left-right direction is input. . It is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional rocker structure.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Rocker structure, 11 ... Rocker inner panel, 12 ... Outer reinforcement, 14 ... Main body part, 14c ... Lower wall, 14d ... Ridge wall, 15b ... Lower flange part (flange part), 16 ... Main body part, 17b ... Lower flange part (flange part), 20b ... lower contact part (contact part), P ... upper end.

Claims (2)

A rocker structure extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at the side of the vehicle,
A rocker inner panel configured to include a substantially U-shaped main body portion that opens to the outside of the vehicle, and a flange portion that continues to the main body portion and extends downward;
An outer reinforcement that is configured to include a substantially U-shaped main body portion that opens to the inside of the vehicle, and a flange portion that extends continuously downward from the main body portion;
A rocker outer panel disposed so as to cover the vehicle outer side of the outer reinforcement ,
A flange portion extending downward in the rocker inner panel and a flange portion extending downward in the outer reinforcement , each having a contact portion;
The lower wall of the main body portion of the rocker inner panel is located below the upper end of the contact portion ,
The rocker inner panel is more rigid than the outer reinforcement and the rocker outer panel,
The main part of the rocker inner panel includes a ridge wall,
The rocker structure characterized in that the ridge wall is continuous with the upper end of the flange portion of the rocker inner panel, bends downward and extends so as to be folded back with respect to the flange portion, and continues to the vehicle outer end of the lower wall . The rocker and the upper end position of the flange portion of the inner panel, the upper end position of the flange portion of the outer reinforcement is a rocker structure according to claim 1 Symbol mounting, characterized in that coincide with each other.

Images