Patent Application
20240109601
The present disclosure generally relates to a vehicle body structure that includes a reinforcing member located between a rear wheel well and a second-row seat supporting area of a floor structure of the vehicle. More specifically, the reinforcing member welded to a portion of the floor immediately above a rear side member of the vehicle body structure in a 3-layer weld with the reinforcing member and the rear side member sandwiching the floor structure therebetween.
Vehicle body structures manufactured with a unibody construction design are unique in that the body panels of the vehicle body structure serve as portions of the vehicle body and also serve as structural elements.
One object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle body structure with a reinforcing member that strengthens an area that includes a side floor panel, a rear side member and an adjacent door sill of the vehicle body structure.
In view of the state of the known technology, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle body structure with a floor structure, a rear side member and a reinforcing member. The floor structure at least partially defines a door sill portion, a rear wheel well portion and a rear seat support portion. The rear side member extends under and is directly attached to a lower surface of the floor structure adjacent to the door sill portion and a forward section of the rear wheel well portion. The reinforcing member is fixedly attached to an upper surface of the floor structure adjacent to the door sill portion and the forward section of the rear wheel well portion such that a portion of the floor structure, a portion of the reinforcing member and a portion of the rear side member are welded together via a plurality of triple welds.
Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of this original disclosure:
Selected embodiments will now be explained with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Referring initially to
In the depicted embodiment, the vehicle 10 has a unibody construction. Many vehicles are built with a frame structure and a body structure that are attached to one another. A unibody vehicle includes various body panels and beam-like elements that integrated together define the frame and body of the vehicle body structure 12, as is well known in the art.
It should be understood from the drawings and the description herein that the vehicle 10 can be an sports utility vehicle (SUV), a coupe, a sedan or other vehicle design and is not limited to the depicted vehicle design.
The vehicle body structure 12 is shown in
The floor structure 20 includes a forward section 32, a rear seat support portion 34 and a cargo area section 36. The forward section 32 corresponds to a front seat area of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. The rear seat support portion 34 corresponds to a second-row seating area of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. The cargo area section 36 defines a floor of a cargo area of the vehicle 10 that can, alternatively correspond to a third-row seat area. The cargo area section 36 is located at least partially between the two inner wheel well portions 22 at the rear of the vehicle body structure 12.
The door sills 24 as depicted in
Side floor panels 46 are installed at the either side of the rear seat support portion 34 of the floor structure 20. Only one side floor panel 46 is visible in
The vehicle body structure 12 further includes a rear side member 56 that extends under and is directly attached to a lower surface 20a of the floor structure 20, as shown in phantom in
The rear side member 56 is also shown in
As shown in
A description of the reinforcing member 14 is now provided with specific reference to
The reinforcing member 14 has a main portion 60 and a pair of alignment portions 62, The main portion 60 is not planar but rather has a slight curvature that corresponds to the curvature of the side floor panel 46 where the main portion 60 is welded. The main portion 60 has a front end 60a, a rear end 60b, an upper surface 60c, a lower surface 60d, an outboard side 60f and an inboard side 60g. The front end 60a includes an outboard extending projection 60e. The alignment portions 62 are shaped and dimensioned to extend higher than the main portion 60, when welded to the floor structure 20. The alignment portion 62 are dimensioned and shaped such that a factory robot arm (not shown) can pick up the reinforcing member 14 using the alignment portion 62 and holes therein to align the reinforcing member 14 for precise positioning of the reinforcing member 14 to a predetermined position and orientation shown in
When welded to the side floor panel 46 in the predetermined position and orientation, the lower surface 60d overlays a portion of the upper surface 20b of the side floor panel 46. Further, the main portion 60 of the reinforcing member 14 is positioned above a gusset portion 70 of the rear side member 56, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The various panels that define the floor structure 20 includes a plurality of panels that have a first thickness. Specifically, at least the side floor panel 46 has a thickness equal to the first thickness. The first thickness can be anywhere between 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm, but in the depicted embodiment is 0.65 mm. The reinforcing member 14 has a second thickness that is greater than the first thickness. The second thickness can be any value greater than 1.0 mm but can be less than 2.5 mm. In the depicted embodiment, the second thickness is 1.4 mm. The rear side member 56 has a third thickness that is greater than the first thickness. The third thickness of the rear side member 56 can be greater or smaller than the second thickness. However, in the depicted embodiment, the second thickness and the third thickness are the same (are equal). It should be understood from the drawings and the description herein that all panels and elements of the floor structure 20 are made of steel or steel alloys. Alternatively, the floor structure 20 can be made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
The inclusion of the reinforcing member 14 provides the vehicle body structure 12 with added resistance to deformation of the vehicle body structure in response to a impact event where the impact is rearward of or at a rear area of the rear door 42. The inventors have observed that comparing impact events where the vehicles 10 have the reinforcing member 14 with vehicles 10 that are without the reinforcing member 14, the overall deformation and cost of repairs to the vehicle 10 are greater in vehicles 10 without the reinforcing member 14. In other words, inclusion of the reinforcing member 14 in a vehicle 10 that experiences an impact event as described above reduces overall deformation of the vehicle 10 and reduces impact event repair costs of the vehicle 10.
The various vehicle elements, other than the reinforcing member 14, are basically conventional components that are well known in the art. Since these vehicle elements are well known in the art, these structures will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein, Rather, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the components can be any type of structure and/or programming that can be used to carry out the present invention.
In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not exclude the presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups, integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words having similar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and their derivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member” or “element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts. Also as used herein to describe the above embodiment(s), the following directional terms “forward” “rearward”, “above”, “downward”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “below” and “transverse” as well as any other similar directional tennis refer to those directions of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle body structure. Accordingly, these terms, as utilized to describe the present invention should be interpreted relative to a vehicle equipped with the vehicle body structure.
The terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about” and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed.
While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the size, shape, location or orientation of the various components can be changed as needed and/or desired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting each other can have intermediate structures disposed between them. The functions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versa. The structures and functions of one embodiment can be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, also should be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodied by such features. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments according to the present invention are provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
