JP7539343B2 - Roof side rail - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to roof side rails that extend in the fore-and-aft direction along the upper left and right sides of a vehicle body, and in particular to their structure.

On the sides of a vehicle, such as an automobile, there are multiple pillars erected from the lower body and roof side rails extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle to connect the upper ends of the pillars. A roof is installed between the left and right roof side rails. The roof includes a roof panel that covers the entire top of the vehicle body, and beam-shaped roof reinforcements installed on the left and right roof rails at multiple positions in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

The roof side rail has a portion with a closed cross-sectional structure where the rail outer member and the rail inner member are joined. The rail outer member and the rail inner member each have a portion that extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the closed cross-sectional structure portion of the roof side rail and is joined to the roof panel by spot welding or the like. The portion where the rail outer member and the rail inner member are connected to the roof panel is positioned approximately horizontally.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, during a side collision, a deforming roof side rail (14) hits the upper part of the end face (20B) of the roof reinforcement (roof reinforcement 20) and inputs a load here, thereby preventing the roof reinforcement (20) from bending convexly upward. Note that the names and symbols of components in parentheses above are the symbols used in the following Patent Document 1, and are not related to the names and symbols of components used in the description of the embodiments of this application.

JP 2008-132923 A

When a column-shaped obstacle strikes the roof side rail from the side, the rail is deformed so that it is bent in a horizontal plane. If the joint between the rail outer member and the rail inner member deforms while maintaining a horizontal position during this deformation, this results in in-plane bending, and large tensile stress is generated at the edge.

The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the tensile stress that occurs at the joint between the rail outer member and the rail inner member when a column-shaped object hits the rail from the side.

The roof side rail according to the present invention extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle on the upper side of the vehicle body, and includes a rail inner member located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction, and a rail outer member located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction and forming a closed cross-sectional structure together with the rail inner member. The rail inner member and the rail outer member each have a flange portion that extends from the closed cross-sectional structure of the roof side rail to the inner side in the vehicle width direction and is joined together with the roof panel. The rail outer member has an upper surface portion facing upward, the end edge of which is the flange portion, and the upper surface portion includes an inner portion including the flange portion, an outer portion located outside the inner portion in the vehicle width direction , and a connecting portion connecting the inner portion and the outer portion . The inner portion is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the inner side in the vehicle width direction is higher, and the outer portion is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the outer side in the vehicle width direction is higher , and the boundary between the inner portion and the connecting portion forms an upper bead that is convex upward, and the boundary between the outer portion and the connecting portion forms a lower bead that is convex downward. Furthermore, the connecting portion is separated from the rail inner member.

When a column-shaped obstacle collides with the rail from the side, the upper surface of the rail outer member bends downwardly between the inner and outer parts, causing the flange portion at the edge of the inner part to bend out of plane.

By bending the edges of the roof panel and rail inner member out of plane, the tensile stress generated in the edges is reduced compared to when they are bent in plane.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a side portion of a monocoque body of a vehicle. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the roof side rail of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the vehicle has collided with a pillar-shaped obstacle. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a vehicle collides with a pillar-shaped obstacle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a roof side rail of a comparative example. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the deformation state of the roof side rail of the present embodiment and the comparative example when colliding with a pillar-shaped obstacle.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms expressing relative positions and orientations such as front, rear, left, right, up, down, etc., refer to relative positions and orientations with respect to the vehicle. In addition, in the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle, the side closer to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is referred to as the inside in the vehicle width direction, and the farther side is referred to as the outside in the vehicle width direction. In each figure, the arrow FR points forward, the arrow UP points upward, the arrow LH points to the left, and the arrow OUT points outward in the vehicle width direction.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the vehicle side of the monocoque body 12 of a vehicle 10. The monocoque body 12 includes roof side rails 14 that extend in the front-rear direction on the left and right sides of the roof, and multiple roof reinforcements 16 that extend in the left-right direction so as to be spanned between the left and right roof side rails 14. In addition, a roof panel 18 (see Figure 4) is provided between the left and right roof side rails 14, covering the top of the vehicle body and forming the vehicle body surface.

2 is a diagram showing a cross section perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the roof side rail 14. The roof side rail 14 includes a rail outer member 22 and a rail inner member 24, each made of a steel plate, and the rail outer member 22 and the rail inner member 24 are joined to form a closed cross-sectional structure. The rail outer member 22 includes an upper surface portion 26 facing upward and a side surface portion 28 facing outward in the vehicle width direction and extending downward from the outer edge of the upper surface portion 26 in the vehicle width direction. The rail inner member 24 is joined to the upper surface portion 26 and the side surface portion 28 of the rail outer member 22 at a position away from the corner formed by the upper surface portion 26 and the side surface portion 28, thereby forming a part of a roughly triangular closed cross-sectional structure. A rail outer panel 30 is provided on the outer side of the rail outer member 22 relative to the passenger compartment, covering the rail outer member 22 and forming the surface of the vehicle body. The rail outer panel 30 may be made of a steel plate that is thinner than the rail outer member 22 and the rail inner member 24.

The rail outer member 22 and the rail inner member 24 have flanges 32, 34 at their inner edge in the vehicle width direction, which extend away from the closed cross-sectional structure toward the inside in the vehicle width direction. The flange 32 of the rail outer member 22 is referred to as the outer member upper flange 32, and the flange 34 of the rail inner member 24 is referred to as the inner member upper flange 34. The outer member upper flange 32 and the inner member upper flange 34 are overlapped with the rail outer panel 30 and the roof panel 18, and are joined together by welding or the like.

The rail outer member 22 and the rail inner member 24 have flanges 36, 38 at their lower edges that extend downward away from the closed cross-sectional structure. The flange 36 of the rail outer member 22 is referred to as the outer member lower flange 36, and the flange 38 of the rail inner member 24 is referred to as the inner member lower flange 38. The outer member lower flange 36 and the inner member lower flange 38 are overlapped with the rail outer panel 30 and joined thereto by welding or the like.

The upper surface portion 26 of the rail outer member includes an inner portion 26a, whose inner edge in the vehicle width direction is the outer member upper flange portion 32, and an outer portion 26b located outside the inner portion 26a in the vehicle width direction. The inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b are roughly planar. A connection portion 26c is disposed between the inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b so as to intersect and connect the inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b. The boundary between the inner portion 26a and the connection portion 26c is upwardly convex, forming an upper bead 40 that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. The boundary of the connection portion 26c of the outer portion 26b is downwardly convex, forming a lower bead 42 that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The inner portion 26a of the upper surface 26 of the rail outer member 22 is inclined at an angle α so that the inside in the vehicle width direction is higher than the horizontal plane H, and the outer portion 26b is inclined at an angle β so that the outside in the vehicle width direction is higher than the horizontal plane H. As a result, the upper surface 26 as a whole has a curved shape with the central portion convex downward.

Figures 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing a state in which the vehicle 10 collides from the side with a pole-like obstacle 44, such as a telephone pole or a road sign post. When the pole-like obstacle 44 collides with the roof portion of the vehicle 10 as shown in the figure, the roof side rail 14 is significantly bent in the horizontal plane.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of roof side rail 14B, which is a comparison target of roof side rail 14 shown in Figure 2, and each component has the same reference number as the corresponding element of roof side rail 14 shown in Figure 2 followed by the letter "B". The difference between roof side rail 14B and roof side rail 14 is that upper surface portion 26B is not curved downwardly and is formed as a flat surface. The other components are the same.

Figure 6 shows the deformation state of the roof side rails 14, 14B after the collision of a columnar obstacle 44. In the roof side rail 14B of the comparative example, after deformation due to the collision, the outer member upper flange portion 32B is located in a substantially horizontal plane. As a result, the flange portion 32B is in an in-plane bent state, where it curves or bends within a plane defined by the flange portion 32B itself, and a large tensile stress acts on the edge of the flange portion 32B. This tensile stress may cause the rail outer member 22 to crack.

On the other hand, in the roof side rail 14 of this embodiment, when a columnar obstacle 44 collides with the rail outer member 22, the upper surface 26 of the rail outer member 22 bends between the inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b so as to be convex downward, and as a result, the inner portion 26a and the outer member upper flange portion 32 belonging to the inner portion 26a change from a horizontal arrangement to a vertical arrangement. By changing to a vertical arrangement, the deformation of the outer member upper flange portion 32 due to the collision of the columnar obstacle 44 becomes an out-of-plane bending state in which the plate is deformed in a warped manner. In the out-of-plane bending, the tensile stress of the edge of the outer member upper flange portion 32 is smaller than in the in-plane bending, and the rail outer member 22 is prevented from cracking.

In addition, by providing an upper bead 40 and a lower bead 42 between the inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b, it is possible to induce folding at the boundary between the inner portion 26a and the outer portion 26b, and ensure that the bend is convex downward.

10 vehicle, 12 monocoque body, 14 roof side rail, 18 roof panel, 22 rail outer member, 24 rail inner member, 26 upper surface portion of rail outer member, 26a inner portion, 26b outer portion, 26c connection portion, 28 side portion of rail outer member, 30 rail outer panel, 32 outer member upper flange portion, 34 inner member upper flange portion, 40 upper bead, 42 lower bead, 44 columnar obstacle.

Claims (1)

A roof side rail extending in a vehicle front-rear direction on an upper portion of a vehicle body side,
A rail inner member located on the inside in the vehicle width direction;
a rail outer member located on an outer side in a vehicle width direction and forming a closed cross-sectional structure together with the rail inner member;
Including,
The rail inner member and the rail outer member each have a flange portion extending from the closed cross-sectional structure portion toward the inside in the vehicle width direction and joined together with a roof panel,
The rail outer member has an upper surface portion facing upward, the end edge of which is the flange portion,
the upper surface portion includes an inner portion including the flange portion, an outer portion located outboard of the inner portion in the vehicle width direction, and a connection portion connecting the inner portion and the outer portion ,
The inner portion is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the inner side in the vehicle width direction is higher,
The outer portion is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the outer side in the vehicle width direction is higher ,
a boundary between the inner portion and the connecting portion forms an upper bead that is convex upward;
the boundary between the outer portion and the connecting portion forms a downwardly convex lower bead;
The connection portion is spaced from the rail inner member.
Roof side rails.

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