This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-274786, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a body support structure of a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle body support structure at which a body rests on a chassis frame via a body mount.
2. Related Art
As has been described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 8-58628, a vehicle body support structure in which a body rests on a frame via a body mount has been known heretofore. In such a technology, a mount bracket at the body, which is to be supported at the body mount, is fixed by welding to a vehicle lateral direction inner side face of a rocker inner panel and to a floor panel.
However, with the vehicle body support structure described above, an amount of offset in a vehicle lateral direction between a rocker, at which a center pillar is disposed, and the body mount is large. Consequently, in order for a load acting on the rocker from the center pillar at a time of rollover to be efficiently transmitted through the mount bracket to the body mount, reinforcement of the mount bracket is necessary, and weight is greatly increased.
In consideration of the circumstances described above, the present invention will provide a body support structure of a vehicle that can efficiently transmit a load from a rocker to a body mount, without being associated with a large increase in weight.
A first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle body support structure, including a body mount provided at a chassis frame, the body mount supporting a body; a rocker disposed with a length direction thereof aligned along a vehicle longitudinal direction at a lower portion of each of two vehicle lateral direction ends of the body; a vehicle lateral direction closed section portion, formed with a length direction thereof aligned along the vehicle lateral direction at a lower portion of the body, a vehicle lateral direction end portion of the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion being joined to the rocker; a mount bracket of which a vehicle lateral direction outer side portion is joined to a lower portion of the rocker, a vehicle lateral direction inner side portion of the mount bracket being joined to a lower face of the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion and forming a closed cavity which extends beneath the rocker; and a body mount-joining member that joins the body mount with the mount bracket.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
Herebelow, an example of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A first embodiment of the body support structure of a vehicle of the present invention will be described in association with
Note that, in the drawings, the arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle, the arrow FR indicates a forward direction of the vehicle and the arrow IN indicates an inward direction of the vehicle.
In
As shown in
The vehicle is structured with left-right symmetry with respect to the middle of the vehicle lateral direction. Only the right side of the vehicle is shown in
The chassis frame 10 is equipped with a chassis frame outer 14, which structures a vehicle lateral direction outer side portion of the chassis frame 10, and a chassis frame inner 16, which structures a vehicle lateral direction inner side portion of the chassis frame 10. Thus, the chassis frame 10 is a closed section structure 17 along the vehicle longitudinal direction.
Herein, a “closed section structure” means a cross-sectional structure in which an aperture outer periphery portion is substantially continuous in a subject sectional plane and has high strength and high rigidity. The point of “substantially” is to include a structure in which holes and the like which are small compared to a length of the aperture outer periphery are locally formed in the subject sectional plane, but there are no holes or the like at a near side and a far side with respect to a direction perpendicular to the sectional plane (i.e., in the case of the chassis frame 10 shown in
The body 12 is provided with a floor panel 20, which structures a floor surface of the body 12, and a pair of left and right rockers 22, which are disposed along the vehicle longitudinal direction at lower portions of the body 12 at the two vehicle lateral direction ends thereof. The body 12 is also provided with a pair of left and right center pillars 24, which are disposed along a vehicle vertical direction at the two vehicle lateral direction end portions of the body 12. Lower end portions of the center pillars 24 are joined to the rockers 22.
As shown in
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As shown in
An angled portion 20B, which is angled downward to the outer side of the vehicle lateral direction, is formed at a vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion of a general portion 20A of the floor panel 20. A flange 20C, which is angled to the outer side in the vehicle lateral direction, is formed from a lower end of the angled portion 20B. The flange 20C is joined to an upper face of a top wall portion 30C of the rocker inner 30, by welding or the like.
As shown in
A sectional form of the cross member 44 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is a hat-like cross-sectional shape of which an opening portion is oriented toward the upper side of the vehicle. A front wall portion 44B and a rear wall portion 44C are formed toward the upper side of the vehicle from two vehicle longitudinal direction ends of a bottom wall portion 44A, a front flange 44D is formed toward the forward side of the vehicle from an upper end of the front wall portion 44B, and a rear flange 44E is formed toward the rear side of the vehicle from an upper end of the rear wall portion 44C.
The front flange 44D and rear flange 44E of the cross member 44 are joined to a lower face of the general portion 20A of the floor panel 20 by welding or the like. A flange 44F, which is angled toward the lower side of the vehicle, is formed at a vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion of the cross member 44. The flange 44F is joined to the lower face of the angled portion 20B of the floor panel 20 by welding or the like. A lower portion 44G of the flange 44F is joined to a vehicle lateral direction inner side face of a vertical wall portion 30D of the rocker inner 30, by welding or the like.
As shown in
The bottom wall portion 46A of the floor cross-member 46 is joined to a lower face of the bottom wall portion 44A of the cross member 44 by welding or the like. A vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 46D of the bottom wall portion 46A separates from the bottom wall portion 44A of the cross member 44 and extends downward toward the outer side of the vehicle. A bottom wall portion 46E, which is angled toward the vehicle lateral direction outer side, is formed from a lower end of the vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 46D. A through-hole 54 is formed through a middle portion of the bottom wall portion 46E. A flange 46F, which is angled toward the lower side of the vehicle, is formed at a vehicle lateral direction outer end of the bottom wall portion 46E.
As shown in
Thus, a vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 50A is formed by the cross member 44 and the floor cross-member 46. The vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 50A is provided beneath a vehicle lateral direction closed section portion 50, which is a closed section structure along the vehicle lateral direction. The vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 50A is formed to be close to the rocker 22.
As shown in
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As shown in
A front wall portion 48K, which is angled to the vehicle lateral direction outer side, is formed from a vehicle longitudinal direction front end of the vertical wall portion 48F of the interim portion 48E of the mount bracket 48, and a rear wall portion 48L, which is angled to the vehicle lateral direction outer side, is formed from a vehicle longitudinal direction rear end of the vertical wall portion 48F. Further, a flange 48M, which is angled toward the forward side of the vehicle, is formed from a vehicle lateral direction outer side end of the front wall portion 48K, and a flange 48N, which is angled toward the rear side of the vehicle, is formed from a vehicle lateral direction outer side end of the rear wall portion 48L.
As shown in
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Thus, as shown in
Herein, a “closed cavity” means a cavity at which an outer periphery portion of the subject cavity is substantially continuous and has high strength and high rigidity. The point of “substantially” is to include a structure of the subject cavity in which holes and the like which are small compared to an outer periphery area are locally formed.
As shown in
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As shown in
A working hole 82 is formed in a bottom wall portion 72C of the mount rubber support 72. A bolt 84, for attaching the body 12 to the mount rubber 74 of the body mount 70, is fitted in through this working hole 82. The bolt 84 is inserted from the lower side of the vehicle into a collar 86, which is provided along an axis of the mount rubber 74, and a threaded portion 84A, which is formed at a distal end portion of the bolt 84, passes through the through-hole 60 and threadingly engages with the nut 62.
Next, operation of the present embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as described above, the lower side joining flange 22B of each of the pair of left and right rockers 22, which are arranged along the vehicle longitudinal direction at lower portions of the two vehicle lateral direction ends of the body 12, and the vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion 46D of the bottom wall portion 46A of each of the floor cross-members 46, which are provided at the two vehicle lateral direction end portions of the cross member 44 which is arranged in the vehicle lateral direction at a lower portion of the body 12, are linked by the mount bracket 48. The mount bracket 48, with the rocker 22 and the floor cross-member 46, forms the closed cavity 51 of which the vehicle lateral direction outer side portion 51A extends beneath the rocker inner 30. The mount bracket 48 and the body mount 70 are joined by the nut 62 disposed in the closed cavity 51. Consequently, a supporting stiffness of the nut 62 is improved by the mount bracket 48, and an offset amount S1 between the rocker 22 and the body mount 70 in the vehicle lateral direction is made small.
Therefore, with the present embodiment, deformation of the mount bracket 48 when a load is transmitted from the rocker 22 to the body mount 70 is suppressed. Consequently, a load can be efficiently transmitted from the rocker 22 to the body mount 70 via the closed cavity 51 formed by the mount bracket 48. Moreover, a joining stiffness between the rocker 22 and the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion 50 is raised by the closed cavity 51 formed by the mount bracket 48. Consequently, body endurance at times of running on poor roads can be improved.
Furthermore, with the present embodiment, because reinforcement of the mount bracket 48 is not required, there is no great increase in weight.
Further yet, in the present embodiment, the center pillar 24 is provided at the vehicle lateral direction outer side of the mount bracket 48. Therefore, at a time of rollover, a load that acts on the center pillar 24 (arrow F1 in
Next, a second embodiment of the body support structure of a vehicle of the present invention will be described in association with
Here, members that are the same as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will not be given.
As shown in
The bulkhead 90 is disposed at a position of attachment of the mount bracket 48 to the rocker inner 30. More specifically, the bulkhead 90 is disposed at each of positions which are at vehicle lateral direction outer sides relative to the front wall portion 48K and the rear wall portion 48L of the mount bracket 48 (see
Accordingly, in the present embodiment, in addition to the operational effects of the first embodiment, deformation of the closed section structure formed by the rocker inner 30 and the center pillar inner panel 38 is suppressed by the bulkheads 90 provided in the closed section structure. Therefore, supporting stiffness of the mount bracket 48 can be further improved.
Hereabove, particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that many other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the embodiments described above, the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion 50 is formed by joining the cross member 44 and the floor cross-member 46 to the lower face of the floor panel 20. Instead of this, however, a structure is possible in which the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion 50 is formed by joining the cross member 44 and the floor cross-member 46 above an upper face of the floor panel 20. Furthermore, the cross member 44 and the floor cross-member 46 could be a single member.
Further, in the embodiments described above, the nut 62 is used as a body mount-joining member, but the body mount-joining member is not limited to a nut. Other body mount-joining members are possible, as long as the member joins the mount bracket 48 with the body mount 70.
Further, in the embodiments described above, the closed section structure 32 is formed by the rocker outer 28 and the rocker inner 30, but a structure is possible in which the rocker 22 is formed as a closed section structure by extruding a material or the like.
Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the lower flange 48D at the vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion of the mount bracket 48 is joined to the vehicle lateral direction inner side face of the lower flange 30B of the rocker inner 30. However, the lower flange 48D at the vehicle lateral direction outer side end portion of the mount bracket 48 may be joined to another position of a lower portion of the rocker inner 30, provided the position is such that the vehicle lateral direction inner side portion 51A of the closed cavity 51 extends beneath the rocker 22.
A first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle body support structure, including a body mount provided at a chassis frame, the body mount supporting a body; a rocker disposed with a length direction thereof aligned along a vehicle longitudinal direction at a lower portion of each of two vehicle lateral direction ends of the body; a vehicle lateral direction closed section portion, formed with a length direction thereof aligned along the vehicle lateral direction at a lower portion of the body, a vehicle lateral direction end portion of the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion being joined to the rocker; a mount bracket of which a vehicle lateral direction outer side portion is joined to a lower portion of the rocker, a vehicle lateral direction inner side portion of the mount bracket being joined to a lower face of the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion and forming a closed cavity which extends beneath the rocker; and a body mount-joining member that joins the body mount with the mount bracket.
A lower portion of the rocker, of which the length direction is arranged along the vehicle longitudinal direction at the lower portion of each of the two vehicle lateral direction ends of the body, and the lower face of the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion, which is formed with the length direction thereof along the vehicle lateral direction at the lower portion of the body and of which the vehicle lateral direction end portion is joined to the rocker, are joined by the mount bracket. The closed cavity, of which a vehicle lateral direction outer side portion extends beneath the rocker, is formed by the mount bracket. Further, the body mount provided at the chassis frame and the mount bracket at the body are joined by the body mount-joining member. Consequently, supporting stiffness of the body mount-joining member is improved and an offset amount in the vehicle lateral direction between the rocker and the body mount is reduced. Hence, when a load is transmitted from the rocker to the body mount, deformation of the mount bracket is suppressed, and the load is efficiently transmitted from the rocker to the body mount. Moreover, because reinforcement of the mount bracket is not required, weight will not be greatly increased.
Therefore, loads can be more efficiently transmitted from the rockers to the body mounts, without association with a large increase in weight.
In the aspect described above, a pillar disposed with a length direction thereof aligned along a vehicle vertical direction may be provided, a lower end portion of the pillar being joined to the rocker, the pillar being disposed at each of two vehicle lateral direction end portions of the body, and the pillar being disposed at a vehicle lateral direction outer side of the mount bracket.
According to the above-described aspect, at a time of rollover, a load acting on the pillar of which the lower end portion is joined to the rocker is more efficiently transmitted from the body mount to the chassis frame via the rocker and the mount bracket.
In the aspect described above, the vehicle lateral direction closed section portion may include two cross-sectional portions at a vehicle lateral direction end portion thereof.
According to the above-described aspect, deformation of the mount bracket when a load is transmitted from the rocker to the body mount is further suppressed, and loads are more efficiently transmitted from the rockers to the body mounts.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006-274786 | Oct 2006 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5352011 | Kihara et al. | Oct 1994 | A |
5577797 | Takanishi | Nov 1996 | A |
5700049 | Shibata | Dec 1997 | A |
7163259 | Hayashi | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7416242 | Godfrey et al. | Aug 2008 | B2 |
20080106119 | Ma et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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A-05155358 | Jun 1993 | JP |
A-08-058628 | Mar 1996 | JP |
A-11115819 | Apr 1999 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080084093 A1 | Apr 2008 | US |