JP7585808B2 - Vehicle door structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door structure.

In general, reinforcing reinforcements are provided inside vehicle doors. For example, in the door structure of Patent Document 1, a beltline reinforcement 10 is installed on the door inner panel 4. The beltline reinforcement 10 is disposed close to the back surface of the door outer panel 9, and is capable of receiving deformation of the door outer panel 9.

JP 2008-302876 A

In Patent Document 1, as described in paragraph 0020 and FIG. 2, etc., the mounting portion 10b at the rear end of the beltline reinforcement 10 is attached to the door sash portion 3. However, as described in FIG. 4, the beltline reinforcement 10 is curved so that the main portion is close to the door outer panel 9, and the overall shape is Ω-shaped. Therefore, when a load is applied to the curved portion from the door outer panel 9, a lever force may be generated with the outer angle between the curved portion and the mounting portion 10b as the fulcrum. This force acts in a direction that causes the tip side of the mounting portion 10b to peel off from the door sash portion 3, and stress is concentrated in the welded portion, etc., making it easy for cracks to occur, which may cause a decrease in the strength and durability of the reinforcement.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle door structure that can improve the strength and durability of the reinforcement.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the vehicle door structure according to the present invention includes an outer panel on the vehicle exterior side of the vehicle door, an inner panel that is joined to the vehicle interior side of the outer panel to form a closed cross section between the outer panel, and a reinforcement that has a long shape and is stretched across the inner panel within the closed cross section to reinforce the vehicle door, the inner panel has an inner side edge portion that is joined to the side edge of the outer panel, and an inner end surface portion that bends from the inner side edge portion and extends away from the outer panel, and the reinforcement has a joint portion that is formed at one end in the longitudinal direction and joined along the inner end surface portion, an extension portion that bends from the joint portion and extends away from the inner end surface portion, and a curved portion that extends from the extension portion while curving convexly toward the outer panel side and is joined to the outer panel at a predetermined location.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a vehicle door structure that can improve the strength and durability of the reinforcement.

1 is a diagram showing an outline of a vehicle door structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2A to 2C are diagrams showing the rear end of the reinforcement in FIG. 1 from various directions. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement member taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first modified example of the reinforcement of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second modified example of the reinforcement of FIG. 2( a ).

A vehicle door structure according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an outer panel on the vehicle exterior side of the vehicle door, an inner panel joined to the vehicle interior side of the outer panel to form a closed cross section between the outer panel, and a reinforcement that has a long shape and is stretched across the inner panel within the closed cross section to reinforce the vehicle door. The inner panel has an inner side edge portion joined to the side edge of the outer panel, and an inner end surface portion that bends from the inner side edge portion and extends away from the outer panel, and the reinforcement has a joint portion formed at one end in the longitudinal direction and joined along the inner end surface portion, an extension portion that bends from the joint portion and extends away from the inner end surface portion, and a curved portion that extends from the extension portion while curving convexly toward the outer panel side and is joined to the outer panel at a predetermined location.

According to the above configuration, the load generated on the outer panel when the door is closed, etc., is transmitted from the outer panel to the curved portion of the reinforcement. The curved portion of the reinforcement bends as a whole because the extension portion allows deformation. At this time, the force of the curved portion bending acts in a direction pressing the joint against the inner end surface portion. Therefore, when the joint portion and the inner end surface portion are spot welded, the welded portion is unlikely to be subjected to forces in the peeling or shearing direction. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to avoid stress concentration on the welded portion, thereby improving the strength and durability of the reinforcement and suppressing door vibration and deformation of the outer panel, etc.

The extension portion may have a flat area formed in a flat plate shape. This configuration makes it possible to make the extension portion more flexible. In particular, if the rigidity of the flat area is relatively low compared to the curved portion, it becomes possible to make the extension portion flexible.

The above-mentioned reinforcement may further have a bead formed in the curved portion along its longitudinal direction and protruding toward the outer panel, and the curved portion may be joined to the outer panel at the top of the bead.

By providing the bead, it is possible to improve the rigidity of the curved portion and encourage the generation of deflection in the extension portion. In addition, by improving the rigidity of the curved portion with the bead, it is possible to prevent deformation of the reinforcement when handling the reinforcement alone before assembling it to the door.

The above reinforcement may further have a bead formed from the curved portion to the extension portion and protruding toward the outer panel.

By providing the bead, it is possible to improve the rigidity from the curved portion to the extension portion, and to encourage the occurrence of deflection in other parts of the extension portion. In addition, by improving the rigidity from the curved portion to the extension portion with the bead, it is possible to prevent deformation of the reinforcement when handling the reinforcement alone before assembling it to the door.

The width of the extension of the bead may be narrower than the width of the curved portion. This configuration reduces the rigidity of the extension, making it possible to encourage bending of the extension.

The width of the bead may be gradually narrowed toward the joint. This configuration reduces the rigidity of the extension near the joint, promoting the generation of deflection.

The vehicle door structure may further include a seal member provided between the bead and the outer panel. By using the seal member, it is possible to suitably connect the bead of the curved portion and the outer panel.

The following describes in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values shown in the embodiments are merely examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements that have substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid duplicated explanations, and elements that are not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a vehicle door structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following, in Figure 1 and all other drawings of the present application, the vehicle's front-rear direction is indicated by arrows F (Forward) and B (Backward), the left and right in the vehicle width direction are indicated by arrows L (Leftward) and R (Rightward), and the vehicle's top-bottom direction is indicated by arrows U (Upward) and D (Downward).

In this embodiment, the vehicle door structure 100 is implemented as a right front side door 102, which is a vehicle door. The front side door 102 in FIG. 1 is illustrated with the outer panel 104 (see FIG. 2(b)) constituting the vehicle exterior omitted, and the inner panel 106 on the vehicle interior side is illustrated as viewed from the vehicle exterior.

The vehicle door structure 100 includes a reinforcement 108 that is stretched across the inner panel 106 to reinforce the front side door 102. The reinforcement 108 is long, with a front end 110 and a rear end 112 that are stretched across the front and rear sides of the inner panel 106, respectively, and are installed in a state where they extend in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

Figure 2 shows the vicinity of the rear end 112 of the reinforcement 108 in Figure 1 from various directions. Figure 2(a) is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the rear end 112 of the reinforcement 108 in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the strength and durability of the reinforcement 108 when installed in the inner panel 106 are improved by devising a configuration on the rear end 112 side, which is one end of the reinforcement 108 in the longitudinal direction.

Figure 2(b) is a perspective view of the rear end 112 of the reinforcement 108 in Figure 2(a). In Figure 2(b), the reinforcement 108 and the inner panel 106 are partially cut away to make it easier to understand their shapes. The reinforcement 108 is provided with a joint 124 that is joined to the inner panel 106, and a bead 130 to compensate for rigidity.

In this embodiment, the reinforcement 108 has an extension 126 between a joint 124 that is joined to the inner panel 106 and a curved portion 128 having a bead 130, as a portion with a relatively low rigidity compared to the joint 124 and the curved portion 128. As described below, the extension 126 is a portion that causes the reinforcement 108 to deflect, which enables the reinforcement 108 to absorb loads. As another example, even if a bead is also formed in the extension 126, the bead of the extension 126 can be gradually tapered from the bead of the curved portion 128 to relatively reduce the rigidity of the extension 126, making it possible to cause the extension 126 to deflect in the same manner as in the above configuration.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement 108 taken along line A-A in Figure 2(a). Figure 3(a) shows the state of the reinforcement 108 before it is subjected to a load. Before describing the reinforcement 108 in detail, the panel members that make up the front side door 102 will be described. The front side door 102 is composed of an outer panel 104 on the outside of the vehicle, and an inner panel 106 that is joined to the inside of the outer panel 104.

The inner panel 106 is configured to include an inner side edge portion 116 that is joined to the side edge 114 of the outer panel 104, an inner end surface portion 118 that bends from the vehicle front side of the inner side edge portion 116 and extends away from the outer panel 104, and an inner central portion 120 that extends toward the outer panel 104. With this configuration, the inner panel 106 forms a closed cross section E1 between the outer panel 104 and the inner panel 106.

The reinforcement 108 is stretched across the inner panel 106 in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle within the closed cross section E1. The joint 124 described above is joined to the inner end surface portion 118 from the front side of the vehicle by spot welding or the like. The joint 124 is formed in a predetermined range on the rear end 112 side, and is joined along the inner end surface portion 118 with the rear end 112 facing the outer panel 104 side.

The extension portion 126 is formed continuous with the joint portion 124. The extension portion 126 bends and extends toward the front of the vehicle away from the inner end surface portion 118. This forms an L-shape from the joint portion 124 to the extension portion 126. In this embodiment, an inner step portion 122 is formed between the inner end surface portion 118 and the inner central portion 120 of the inner panel 106. The extension portion 126 is provided in a range that overlaps the outer side of the inner step portion 122.

A curved portion 128 is formed in the portion continuing from the extension portion 126. The curved portion 128 extends from the extension portion 126 toward the front of the vehicle while curving convexly toward the outer panel 104 side. The curved portion 128 is provided with the bead 130 (see FIG. 2(a)) described above. The bead 130 is provided along the length of the curved portion 128, and is formed by bulging the central area of the curved portion 128 in the width direction so as to protrude toward the outer panel 104 side.

The curved portion 128 is joined to the outer panel 104 by using the pedestal portions 134 provided at various points on the apex 132 of the bead 130. In the vehicle door structure 100, the pedestal portions 134 of the reinforcement 108 and the outer panel 104 are connected by using a sealing member 136. The sealing member 136 is provided between the bead 130 of the curved portion 128 of the reinforcement and the outer panel 104 to connect these members. By using the sealing member 136, the bead 130 of the curved portion 128 and the outer panel 104 can be suitably connected.

The reinforcement 108 has a bead 130 to improve the rigidity of the curved portion 128, thereby relatively reducing the rigidity of the extension portion 126 and encouraging the extension portion 126 to bend when a load is applied from the outer panel 104. In addition, by improving the rigidity of the curved portion 128 with the bead 130, deformation of the reinforcement 108 is prevented when the reinforcement 108 is handled alone before being assembled to the door, making it easier to transport the reinforcement 108, etc.

Figure 3(b) shows the state when the reinforcement 108 receives a load. In the configuration of this embodiment, the load P1 generated on the outer panel 104 when the door is closed, for example, is transmitted from the outer panel 104 to the curved portion 128 of the reinforcement 108. The curved portion 128 of the reinforcement 108 is then deflected in the vehicle width direction as a whole, as the extension portion 126, which has a relatively low rigidity, allows deformation, making it possible for the curved portion 128 to absorb the load.

When the curved portion 128 is deflected in the vehicle width direction by the load P1, the force P2 acts on the joint 124, which is on the end of the curved portion 128, toward the rear of the vehicle, that is, in a direction pressing the joint 124 against the inner end surface portion 118. Therefore, when the joint 124 and the inner end surface portion 118 are spot welded, the weld is unlikely to be subjected to forces in the peeling or shearing directions. Therefore, with the above configuration, it is possible to avoid stress concentration on the weld, thereby improving the strength and durability of the reinforcement 108 and making it possible to suppress vibration of the front side door 102 and deformation of the outer panel 104.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), in this embodiment, the extension portion 126 has a flat area 138 formed in a flat plate shape so that the above-mentioned reinforcement 108 can bend smoothly. The flat area 138 is a flat area with few irregularities, and in this embodiment, it is formed over almost the entire extension portion 126. By providing the flat area 138 in the extension portion 126, the rigidity of the extension portion 126 is relatively lowered compared to the joint portion 124 and the curved portion 128, making it easier for the extension portion 126 to bend.

In this embodiment, the extension portion 126 is formed in a flat plate shape, but this is not limiting. As another example, the extension portion can be formed as a gently curved area that is convex toward the inside of the vehicle and continues from the joint portion 124 to the curved portion 128. By forming the extension portion in a curved shape, it is possible to smoothly bend the extension portion. In addition, it is also possible to provide a bead 130 that gradually becomes thinner from the curved portion 128 to the extension portion 126 and then to the joint portion 124, so that a relative difference in rigidity occurs between the extension portion 126 and the curved portion 128.

The end 140 of the bead 130 has a rounded shape. The end 140 of the bead 130 is a location where stress is likely to concentrate when the load P1 is applied from the outer panel 104 (see FIG. 3(b)). By making the end 140 of the bead 130 round, the stress is appropriately dispersed, making it possible to smoothly deflect the extension portion 126.

In this embodiment, the elements of the reinforcement 108, such as the joint 124 and extension 126, are provided on the rear end 112 side of the reinforcement 108, but they can also be provided on the front end 110 side (see FIG. 1), or on both the rear end 112 side and the front end 110 side. Either configuration makes it possible to effectively absorb the load P1 from the outer panel 104 (see FIG. 3(b)).

(Modification)
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a first modified example (reinforcement 160) of the reinforcement 108 in Fig. 2(a). In Fig. 4, the same components as those already described in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description of the already mentioned components will be omitted. In the following description, components with the same names as those already described will have the same functions unless otherwise specified, even if they are given different reference numerals.

In the reinforcement 160, a bead 162 is provided from the curved portion 128 to a part of the extension portion 126. The bead 162 is formed by bulging the center side of the width direction of the curved portion 128 and the extension portion 126 so as to protrude toward the outer panel 104 (see FIG. 3(a)) side, so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcement 160, similar to the bead 162 (see FIG. 2(a)).

By providing the bead 162, it is possible to improve the rigidity from the curved portion 128 to a part of the extension portion 126, and to concentrate stress on the other part of the extension portion 126 (flat area 164), thereby encouraging the extension portion 126 to bend from the flat area 164. In addition, by improving the rigidity from the curved portion 128 to the extension portion 126 with the bead 162, it is possible to prevent deformation of the reinforcement 160 when handling the reinforcement 160 alone before assembling it to the door, and to make it easier to transport the reinforcement 160, etc.

The width W1 of the bead 162 in the extension portion 126 is set to be narrower than the width W2 of the bead 162 in the curved portion 128 (W1<W2). In particular, the width W1 of the bead 162 in the extension portion 126 is set to gradually narrow toward the joint portion 124. With these configurations, it is possible to reduce the rigidity of the portion of the extension portion 126 close to the joint portion 124, including the flat area 164, and encourage the extension portion 126 to bend. In addition, by gradually narrowing the width W2 of the bead 162, it is possible to ensure both appropriate rigidity and ease of bending of the extension portion 126.

Figure 5 shows a second modified example (reinforcement 180) of the reinforcement 108 in Figure 2 (a). In the reinforcement 180, a bead 182 is provided from the curved portion 128 to the extension portion 126, across the joint portion 124, and up to the rear end 112. The bead 182 is also formed by bulging out the center side of the width direction of the curved portion 128, extension portion 126, and joint portion 124, similar to the bead 162 (see Figure 2 (a)) and the like, so that it extends in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcement 180.

In the reinforcement 180, the bead 182 is gradually tapered toward the rear end 112. More specifically, the width W3 of the bead 182 at the rear end 112 is set to be narrower than the width W2 of the bead 182 at the curved portion 128 (W3<W2). By providing the bead 182, the reinforcement 180 has improved overall rigidity from the curved portion 128 to the joint portion 124.

In addition, in the reinforcement 180, the vertical width of the bead 182 is gradually narrowed toward the rear end 112, so that the rigidity of the extension portion 126 is relatively reduced compared to the joint portion 124 joined to the inner end surface portion 118 and the thick curved portion 128 of the bead 182. Therefore, in the reinforcement 180, when a load P1 is applied from the outer panel 104 (see FIG. 3(b)), stress is concentrated in the flat area 164 of the extension portion 126, which makes it possible to encourage the extension portion 126 to flex.

In the reinforcement 180, the bead 182 improves the rigidity from the curved portion 128 to the extension portion 126 and the joint portion 124, thereby preventing deformation of the reinforcement 180 when handling the reinforcement 180 alone before assembling it to the door. Furthermore, by extending the bead 182 to the joint portion 124, it is possible to keep the angle between the joint portion 124 and the extension portion 126 constant, making it easier to transport the reinforcement 180.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the examples described. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

This invention can be used in vehicle door structures.

E1...closed cross section, P1...load, P2...force, W1...width, W2...width, W3...width, 100...vehicle door structure, 102...front side door, 104...outer panel, 106...inner panel, 108...reinforcement, 110...front end, 112...rear end, 114...side edge, 116...inner side edge, 118...inner end surface, 120...inner center, 122...inner step, 124...joint, 126...extension, 128...curved portion, 130...bead, 132...top, 134...base, 136...sealing member, 138...flat area, 140...end, 160...reinforcement, 162...bead, 164...flat area, 180...reinforcement, 182...bead

Claims (7)

A vehicle door structure including an outer panel on an exterior side of a vehicle door, an inner panel joined to an interior side of the outer panel to form a closed cross section between the outer panel and the inner panel, and a reinforcement having an elongated shape that is stretched across the inner panel within the closed cross section to reinforce the vehicle door,
The inner panel is
an inner side edge portion joined to a side edge of the outer panel;
an inner end surface portion bent from the inner side edge portion and extending away from the outer panel,
The reinforcement is
a joint portion formed at one end in a longitudinal direction and joined along the inner end surface portion;
an extension portion that is formed continuously with the joint portion and bends from the joint portion to extend away from the inner end surface portion;
a curved portion that is formed continuously with the extension portion and that extends from the extension portion toward the outer panel while being curved convexly, and a predetermined portion is joined to the outer panel ,
The vehicle door structure , wherein the extension portion has a relatively low rigidity compared to the joint portion and the curved portion . The vehicle door structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the extension portion has a flat area formed in a flat plate shape. The reinforcement further has a bead formed in the curved portion along its longitudinal direction and protruding toward the outer panel,
3. The vehicle door structure according to claim 1, wherein the curved portion is joined to the outer panel at a top of the bead. The vehicle door structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcement further has a bead formed from the curved portion to the extension portion and protruding toward the outer panel. The vehicle door structure according to claim 4, characterized in that the width of the bead at the extension portion is narrower than the width at the curved portion. The vehicle door structure according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the width of the bead gradually narrows toward the joint. The vehicle door structure according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising a seal member provided between the bead and the outer panel.

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