JP2010013021A - Front pillar for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front pillar for an automobile, capable of improving the rigidity of a hollow member while suppressing the increase in weight of the front pillar. <P>SOLUTION: A right front pillar 18 has the hollow member 25, which extends upward slopingly toward the rear of a vehicle body and is formed into a polygonal closed cross section, and an outer panel 28 disposed on the hollow member 25. The right front pillar 18 is formed in a protruding curved shape such that a vehicle outside wall portion 26 of the hollow member 25 is expanded outward of the vehicle body and also formed in a recessed curved shape such that an interior-side wall portion 27 of the hollow member 25 is recessed outward of the vehicle body. An inner panel 29 is superposed on the interior-side wall portion 27 formed in the recessed curved shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a front pillar of an automobile in which a hollow member extends upwardly toward the rear of a vehicle body and an outer panel is provided on the hollow member.

Among the front pillars of automobiles, one using a hollow member integrally formed by a hydroform molding method is known instead of the outer panel and inner panel flange portions welded to form a closed cross section ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)
JP 2006-182079 A

By forming the hollow member integrally by the hydroform molding method, it is not necessary to weld the flange portions of the outer panel and the inner panel to form a closed cross section.
The flange portions of the outer panel and the inner panel are projecting pieces that project outward from the respective panels.
Therefore, by reducing the flange portion, it is said that the width dimension of the front pillar can be kept small, and a wider field of view from the vehicle interior side can be secured.

Here, the hollow member is integrally formed by a hydroform molding method. Therefore, in order to increase the rigidity of the hollow member, it is necessary to set a large thickness dimension in the entire hollow member.
However, if the thickness of the entire hollow member is set to be large, the weight of the front pillar is considered to increase, and there remains room for improvement from this viewpoint.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a front pillar of an automobile that can increase the rigidity of a hollow member while suppressing an increase in the weight of the front pillar.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the hollow member extending upwardly toward the rear of the vehicle body has a polygonal closed cross section at the vehicle exterior wall portion facing the vehicle body outside and the vehicle compartment side wall portion facing the vehicle compartment side. In the front pillar of an automobile formed and provided with an outer panel facing the vehicle outer wall portion, and the hollow member and the outer panel constituting a part of a side door window frame, the vehicle outer wall portion of the hollow member is a vehicle body. It is formed in a convex curved shape so as to bulge outward, and is formed in a concave curved shape so that the compartment side wall portion of the hollow member is recessed toward the outer side of the vehicle body. The inner panel is superposed on the formed compartment side wall.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the inner panel includes a restriction recess capable of accommodating a part of the hollow member, and the movement of the hollow member in the vehicle width direction is restricted by the restriction recess.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the outer panel includes a window frame side outer flange projecting inside the side door window frame, and the inner panel projects a window frame side inner projecting inside the side door window frame. The window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are overlapped, and the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are attached to the overlapped seal material of the side door window frame. It is characterized by having a seal mounting part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the outer panel includes an outer outer flange projecting outside the side door window frame, the outer outer flange is joined to the hollow member, and the inner panel includes the side door window frame. An outer inner flange projecting outward is provided, and the outer inner flange is joined to the hollow member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the outer outer flange and the hollow member are joined by indirect spot welding that presses an electrode only to the outer outer flange, the outer inner flange and the hollow member are joined by MIG welding, and the window frame side The outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are overlapped, and the overlapped window frame side outer flange and window frame side inner flange are joined by direct spot welding sandwiched between a pair of electrodes.

Here, for example, spot welding (direct spot welding) can be considered as a method of joining the outer outer flange or the outer inner flange to the hollow member.
In direct spot welding, in order to sandwich the two overlapped members with a pair of electrodes, it is necessary to insert one electrode into the hollow member.
However, the hollow member is a long member formed in a closed cross section, and it is difficult to insert one electrode into the hollow member.

  Therefore, in claim 5, the outer outer flange and the hollow member are joined by indirect spot welding (so-called one-side spot welding), and the outer inner flange and the hollow member are joined by MIG welding. Then, the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange exposed to the outside are joined by direct spot welding.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a portion of the inner panel overlapped with the vehicle compartment side wall is joined to the vehicle compartment side wall by MIG welding.

In the invention according to claim 1, the outer wall portion of the hollow member is formed in a convex curved shape so as to bulge toward the outer side of the vehicle body, and the side wall portion of the hollow member is recessed toward the outer side of the vehicle body. It is formed in a concave curved shape.
Therefore, when an impact load acts on the front part of the vehicle body and a part of the impact load is transmitted to the hollow member, a hollow member bending stress acts so that the hollow member is bent toward the outside of the vehicle body.
Therefore, when a part of the impact load is transmitted to the hollow member, a compressive stress acts on the compartment side wall portion of the hollow member.

Therefore, in claim 1, the inner panel is overlapped on the side wall of the hollow member. By superposing the inner panel on the compartment side wall, the rigidity of the compartment side wall can be increased.
Thereby, when a part of impact load is applied to the hollow member, the applied impact load can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction at the side wall of the passenger compartment.

Furthermore, because the impact load can be transmitted efficiently in the longitudinal direction simply by overlaying the inner panel on the compartment side wall of the hollow member, the overall thickness of the hollow member is set large as described in the prior art. There is no need to do.
Thereby, the weight increase of a front pillar can be suppressed.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 2, the inner panel was equipped with the control recessed part which can accommodate a part of hollow member. And it was made to control that a hollow member moves to a vehicle width direction with a control recessed part.
By restricting the movement of the hollow member in the vehicle width direction with the restriction recess, the rigidity of the hollow member can be increased.

Therefore, when a part of the impact load is transmitted to the hollow member and bending stress acts on the hollow member, the movement of the hollow member in the width direction can be restricted.
Thereby, the bending stress which acted on the hollow member can be efficiently transmitted to a longitudinal direction with a hollow member.

In the invention according to claim 3, the outer panel is provided with the window frame side outer flange, and the inner panel is provided with the window frame side inner flange.
And the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange were overlapped.
Thereby, the front pillar can be reinforced with the overlapped flange, and the rigidity of the front pillar can be increased.

Further, the overlapped flange is used as a seal attachment portion for attaching a side door seal material.
Thereby, the rigidity of a seal attachment part can be improved and the sealing material of a side door can be supported more favorably by a seal attachment part.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the outer panel was equipped with the outer side outer flange, and the outer side outer flange was joined to the hollow member. The inner panel was provided with an outer inner flange, and the outer inner flange was joined to the hollow member.
Therefore, there is no need to overlap the flanges of the outer panel and the inner panel.
Thereby, since an outer panel and an inner panel can be suppressed compactly, the weight reduction of a front pillar can be achieved.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 5, the outer outer flange and the hollow member were joined by the indirect spot welding which presses an electrode to an outer outer flange.
Therefore, it is not necessary to sandwich the overlapped outer outer flange and hollow member between the pair of electrodes.
This eliminates the need to insert an electrode into the hollow member and press the inserted electrode against the inner surface of the hollow member.

Further, the outer inner flange and the hollow member were joined by MIG welding.
Therefore, the outer inner flange and the hollow member can be joined by bringing the welding wire serving as an electrode close to the outer inner flange.
This eliminates the need to insert an electrode into the hollow member and press the inserted electrode against the inner surface of the hollow member.

Further, the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange were joined by direct spot welding in which the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange were sandwiched between a pair of electrodes.
Both the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are exposed to the outside.
Thereby, the overlapped window frame side outer flange and window frame side inner flange can be sandwiched between the pair of electrodes.

  In this way, by employing a welding means suitable for the configuration of each joint portion, the joining process by welding can be performed efficiently, and the mass productivity of the front pillar of the automobile can be enhanced.

In addition, the hollow member has a relatively large wall thickness, and the inner flange has a larger plate thickness than the outer flange. Therefore, it was decided to join the outer inner flange and the hollow member by MIG welding.
As a result, the outer inner flange can be more firmly joined to the hollow member, and the rigidity of the front pillar can be further increased.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 6, the site | part overlapped with the compartment side wall part among the inner panels was joined by MIG welding.
By joining the inner panel to the casing side wall portion of the hollow member by MIG welding, the rigidity of the front pillar can be further increased.
As a result, even when a relatively large impact load is applied to the front pillar, such as an offset collision, the applied impact load can be supported by the front pillar.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that “front”, “rear”, “left”, and “right” indicate the direction viewed from the driver, the front side is Fr, the rear side is Rr, the left side is L, and the right side is R.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle body provided with a front pillar of an automobile according to the present invention.
The vehicle body 10 includes a front bulkhead 11 that supports a cooling member such as a radiator, left and right front side frames 12 and 12 provided at the lower end of the front bulkhead 11, and outside the left and right front side frames 12 and 12, respectively. Left and right upper frames 13 and 13 provided, and left and right connecting bars 14 and 14 for connecting the left and right upper frames 13 and 13 to the front bulkhead 11 are provided.
A front bumper beam 15 is bridged between front end portions 12a, 12a of the left and right front side frames 12, 12.

  Furthermore, the vehicle body 10 includes left and right front pillars (car front pillars) 17 and 18 extending from the left and right upper frames toward the rear of the vehicle body, and the left and right front pillars 17 and 18 toward the rear of the vehicle body. The left and right roof side rails 21 and 21 are provided.

  The left and right front pillars 17 and 18 are symmetrical members. Therefore, the right front pillar 18 will be described and the description of the left front pillar 17 will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the front pillar of the automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the curved state of the front pillar of the automobile according to the present invention.
The right front pillar 18 is a column that constitutes an upper part (a part) of the side door window frame 23 (see FIG. 1).
The right front pillar 18 includes a hollow member 25 connected to the rear end portion 13 a of the right upper frame 13, an outer panel 28 provided on the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 of the hollow member 25, and a vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 of the hollow member 25. And an inner panel 29 provided on the inside.

  The hollow member 25 is a member integrally formed with a substantially rectangular closed cross section by a hydroform molding method, and faces the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 (see also FIG. 5) facing the vehicle body outside and the vehicle compartment 34 side. And a vehicle compartment side wall 27 (see also FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 3, the right front pillar 18 is formed in a curved shape so as to bulge toward the outside of the vehicle body.
Therefore, the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 facing the outer side of the vehicle body is formed in a convex curved shape so as to bulge toward the outer side of the vehicle body.
On the other hand, the vehicle interior side wall 27 facing the vehicle interior 34 is formed in a concave curved shape so as to be recessed toward the outside of the vehicle body.

Specifically, the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 of the hollow member 25 is formed in a convex curved shape like a curved line 32 that bulges upward in a side view.
The curved line 32 is a line bulged by a distance L1 above the vehicle body outside the straight line 31 connecting the front and rear ends 18a, 18b of the right front pillar 18.

Furthermore, the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 of the hollow member 25 is formed in a convex curved shape like a curved line 33 that bulges outward in the vehicle width direction in plan view.
The curved line 33 is a line bulged by a distance L2 outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the straight line 31 connecting the front and rear ends 18a, 18b of the right front pillar 18.

On the other hand, the compartment side wall 27 of the hollow member 25 is formed in a concave curved shape like a curved line 32 that is recessed upward in a side view.
Further, the compartment side wall 27 of the hollow member 25 is formed in a convex curved shape like a curved line 33 that is recessed outward in the vehicle body width direction in plan view.

Therefore, when an impact load F (see FIG. 3) is applied to the hollow member 25, a bending stress is applied to the hollow member 25 so that the hollow member 25 is bent toward the outside of the vehicle body (in the direction of the arrow).
That is, when the impact load F is transmitted to the hollow member 25, a compressive stress acts on the compartment side wall portion 27 of the hollow member 25.
Therefore, the inner panel 29 is overlaid on the compartment side wall 27 formed in a concave curved shape.
Furthermore, the outer panel 28 was superimposed on the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 formed in a convex curved shape.
By superposing the inner panel 29 on the vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 formed in a concave curved shape, the rigidity of the vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 can be increased.
Thereby, when an impact load is applied to the hollow member 25, the applied impact load can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction by the vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 (hollow member 25).

Furthermore, since the impact load can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction simply by superimposing the inner panel 29 on the compartment side wall 27 of the hollow member 25, as described in the prior art, the thickness of the entire hollow member There is no need to set a large value.
Thereby, the weight increase of the right front pillar 18 can be suppressed.

4 is a perspective view showing an enlarged state of a portion 4 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG.
The hollow member 25 is a column that extends upward from the rear end 13a (see FIG. 2) of the right upper frame 13 to the right roof side rail 21 toward the rear of the vehicle body.
As described above, the hollow member 25 is a member integrally formed in a substantially rectangular closed cross section by a hydroform molding method, and is opposed to the vehicle outer side wall portion 26 facing the vehicle body outer side and the vehicle compartment 34 side. A vehicle compartment side wall 27 is provided.

The vehicle outer side wall portion 26 is a portion formed by the outer upper wall portion 35 and the outer wall portion 36 in a substantially L-shaped cross section.
The vehicle interior side wall 27 is a portion formed by an inner lower wall 37 and an inner wall 38 in a substantially L-shaped cross section.

An outer panel 28 is provided to face the vehicle outer wall portion 26.
The outer panel 28 is a long member provided along the vehicle outer wall portion 26.
The outer panel 28 protrudes from the lower side 41a of the outer main body 41 to the inner side of the side door window frame 23 (see FIG. 1). The window frame side outer flange 42 and a lateral outer flange (outer outer flange) 43 projecting from the upper side 41b of the outer body 41 along the outer upper wall portion 35 toward the vehicle compartment 34 are provided.

An inner panel 29 is provided to face the compartment side wall 27.
The inner panel 29 is a long member provided along the vehicle compartment side wall 27.
The inner panel 29 includes an inner main body 45 provided to face the vehicle compartment side wall 27, and a window frame side inner flange 46 projecting from the outer side 45 a of the inner main body 45 to the inside of the side door window frame 23. And a vertical inner flange (outer inner flange) 47 projecting upward from the inner side 45b of the inner main body 45 along the inner wall portion 38.

The window frame side outer flange 42 of the outer panel 28 and the window frame side inner flange 46 of the inner panel 29 are overlapped, and the overlapped window frame side outer flange 42 and window frame side inner flange 46 are joined by direct spot welding. .
Accordingly, the right front pillar 18 can be reinforced by the overlapped flanges 42 and 46, and the rigidity of the right front pillar 18 can be increased.

Then, the joined window frame side outer flange 42 and the window frame side inner flange 46 are used as the seal attachment portion 52 for attaching the seal material 53 for the side door 51 (that is, the seal material for the side door window frame 23). .
As a result, the rigidity of the seal attachment portion 52 can be increased, and the seal member 53 of the side door 51 can be better supported by the seal attachment portion 52.

The lateral outer flange 43 of the outer panel 28 is joined to the hollow member 25 (outer upper wall portion 35) by indirect spot welding.
The vertical inner flange 47 of the inner panel 29 is joined to the hollow member 25 (inner wall portion 38) by MIG welding.

Therefore, it is not necessary to overlap the horizontal outer flange 43 and the vertical inner flange 47 with each other.
Thereby, since the outer panel 28 and the inner panel 29 can be suppressed compactly, the weight reduction of the right front pillar 18 can be achieved.

The inner main body 45 is substantially formed from a joint portion (that is, a portion of the inner panel 29 overlapped with the compartment side wall portion 27) 54 provided along the inner lower wall portion 37 and an outer side 54 a of the joint portion 54. And an upright upper portion 55 raised upward by 90 °.
The joint portion 54 is disposed in contact with the inner lower wall portion 37. The joining portion 54 is superimposed on the inner lower wall portion 37, and the welded portions 64 are joined to the inner lower wall portion 37 by MIG welding.
The upright upper portion 55 is disposed in contact with the lower portion 36 a of the outer wall portion 36.

Further, a vertical inner flange 47 projects from the inner side (inner side of the inner main body 45) 45b of the joining portion 54 along the inner wall portion 38 upward by approximately 90 °.
The vertical inner flange 47 is arranged at a constant interval S with respect to the inner wall portion 38, and a plurality of weld recesses 57 are formed at a predetermined interval on the upper side 47a.

The plurality of weld recesses 57 are portions that protrude toward the inner wall portion 38 and are kept in contact with the inner wall portion 38.
The weld portions 65 of the plurality of weld recesses 57 are joined to the hollow member 25 (inner wall portion 38) by MIG welding.

Here, the inner main body 45 and the vertical inner flange 47 constitute a restriction recess 61. The restriction recess 61 is a recess that can accommodate the lower portion (a part of the hollow member) 25 a of the hollow member 25.
The restricting recess 61 accommodates the lower portion 25a of the hollow member 25, thereby restricting the movement of the hollow member 25 in the vehicle width direction.
By restricting the movement of the hollow member 25 in the vehicle width direction by the restriction recess 61, the rigidity of the hollow member 25 can be increased.

Therefore, when the impact load is transmitted to the hollow member 25 and a bending stress is applied to the hollow member 25, the movement of the hollow member 25 in the width direction can be restricted.
Thereby, the impact load applied to the hollow member 25 can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction by the hollow member 25.

Next, an example of welding the right front pillar 18 of the automobile will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an example of welding a front pillar of an automobile according to the present invention.
First, an example of spot welding the window frame side outer flange 42 and the window frame side inner flange 46 will be described.
In a state where the window frame side outer flange 42 and the window frame side inner flange 46 are overlapped, the overlapped flanges 42 and 46 are sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 71 and 72. A current is passed between the pair of electrodes 71 and 72 to join the flanges 42 and 46 by direct spot welding.

The window frame side outer flange 42 and the window frame side inner flange 46 both extend in a direction away from the hollow member 25.
The overlapped flanges 42 and 46 are exposed to the outside. Thereby, since each flange 42 and 46 can be pinched | interposed with a pair of electrodes 71 and 72, joining by direct spot welding is attained.

Next, an example of spot welding the lateral outer flange 43 and the hollow member 25 (outer upper wall portion 35) will be described.
The electrode 73 is pressed against the lateral outer flange 43 in a state where the lateral outer flange 43 is superimposed on the outer upper wall portion 35. An electric current is passed between the electrode 73 and the outer upper wall portion 35 to join the outer upper wall portion 35 and the lateral outer flange 43 by indirect spot welding.

Therefore, it is not necessary to sandwich the overlapped lateral outer flange 43 and outer upper wall portion 35 with a pair of electrodes.
This eliminates the need to insert the electrode into the hollow member 25 and press the electrode against the inner surface of the hollow member 25.

Next, an example in which the vertical inner flange 47 is MIG welded to the hollow member 25 (inner wall portion 38) will be described.
In a state where the vertical inner flange 47 is superposed on the inner wall portion 38, a welding wire 75 is brought close to the vertical inner flange 47, and this welding wire 75 is used as an electrode, and the vertical inner flange 47 is MIG welded to the inner wall portion 38. Join.

In this manner, the vertical inner flange 47 and the inner wall portion 38 can be joined by bringing the welding wire 75 serving as an electrode close to the vertical inner flange 47.
This eliminates the need to insert the electrode into the hollow member 25 and press the inserted electrode against the inner surface of the hollow member 25.

  In this way, by employing a welding means suitable for the configuration of each joint, the joining process by welding can be performed efficiently, and the mass productivity of the right front pillar 18 can be increased.

In addition, the hollow member 25 has a relatively large thickness dimension T1, and the plate thickness dimension T2 of the inner flange 29 is larger than the plate thickness dimension T3 of the outer flange 28.
Therefore, the vertical inner flange 47 and the hollow member 25 are joined by MIG welding.
Thereby, the vertical inner flange 47 can be more firmly joined to the hollow member 25, and the rigidity of the right front pillar 18 can be further increased.

Next, an example of MIG welding the joint portion 54 of the inner panel 29 to the hollow member 25 (inner lower wall portion 37) will be described.
In this MIG welding, a welding wire 76 is brought close to the joint 54 using a laser in a state where the joint 54 of the inner panel 29 is superimposed on the inner lower wall 37.
Then, the welding wire 76 is moved along the welds 64..., And the welds 64 are melted to join the joint 54 to the inner lower wall 37.
That is, this MIG welding is called so-called penetration MIG welding by melting the welds 64.

By joining the joining portion 54 to the inner lower wall portion 37 by MIG welding, the rigidity of the right front pillar 18 can be further increased.
Thereby, even when a relatively large impact load is applied to the right front pillar 18 such as an offset collision, the applied impact load can be supported by the right front pillar 18.

Next, an example in which an impact load is applied to the right front pillar 18 of the automobile will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are views for explaining an example in which the opponent vehicle collides with the front portion of the automobile according to the present invention.
In (a), when the opponent vehicle 81 collides with the front bumper beam 15 of the vehicle body 10, the impact load F1 acts on the front bumper beam 15 as shown by an arrow.
A part of the impact load F1 is transmitted as an impact load F2 to the right front pillar 18 through the right upper frame 13 as indicated by an arrow.

In (b), the inner panel 29 is superimposed on the compartment side wall 27.
Thereby, when the impact load F2 (see (a)) is applied to the hollow member 25, the applied impact load F2 can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction by the vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 (hollow member 25).

Further, the lower part (a part) 25 a of the hollow member 25 is accommodated in the restriction recess 61.
Therefore, when the impact load F <b> 2 (see (a)) acts on the hollow member 25, the movement of the hollow member 25 in the width direction can be restricted by the restriction recess 61.

  In this way, the inner panel 29 is overlaid on the passenger compartment side wall 27, and the movement of the hollow member 25 in the width direction is restricted by the restricting recess 61, so that as shown in FIG. F2 can be efficiently transmitted to the right roof side rail 21 by the hollow member 25 as indicated by an arrow.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an example in which an opponent vehicle has an offset collision with the front portion of the automobile according to the present invention.
In (a), when the opponent vehicle 81 is offset to the right and the front bumper beam 15 of the vehicle body 10 is offset, an impact load F3 acts on the front bumper beam 15 as shown by an arrow.
A part of the impact load F3 is transmitted as the impact load F4 to the right front pillar 18 through the right upper frame 13 as indicated by an arrow.

In (b), the inner panel 29 is superimposed on the compartment side wall 27.
Thereby, when the impact load F4 (see (a)) is applied to the hollow member 25, the applied impact load F4 can be efficiently transmitted in the longitudinal direction by the vehicle compartment side wall portion 27 (hollow member 25).

Further, the lower part (a part) 25 a of the hollow member 25 is accommodated in the restriction recess 61.
Therefore, when the impact load F4 (see (a)) acts on the hollow member 25, the movement of the hollow member 25 in the width direction can be restricted by the restriction recess 61.

  In addition, the rigidity of the right front pillar 18 is further enhanced by joining the welded portion 64 of the joint portion 54 to the hollow member 25 (inner lower wall portion 37) by MIG welding.

  Thus, even when a relatively large impact load is applied to the right front pillar 18 such as in an offset collision, the applied impact load F4 is transferred to the right roof side rail 21 by the hollow member 25 as shown in FIG. You can communicate efficiently as shown by the arrows.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the hollow member 25 is formed in a substantially rectangular closed cross section has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the hollow member 25 may be formed in another polygonal closed cross section such as a pentagon. It is.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for application to an automobile including a front pillar in which a hollow member extends upward toward the rear of the vehicle body and an outer panel is provided on the hollow member.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle body provided with the front pillar of the motor vehicle based on this invention. It is a top view which shows the front pillar of the motor vehicle based on this invention. It is a figure explaining the curved state of the front pillar of the motor vehicle based on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which expanded 4 parts of FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. It is a figure explaining the example which welds the front pillar of the motor vehicle based on this invention. It is a figure explaining the example which the other party vehicle collided with the front part of the motor vehicle concerning this invention. It is a figure explaining the example which the other party vehicle offset-collised to the front part of the motor vehicle based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Car body, 17, 18 ... Left and right front pillars (upper part of side door window frame (part), front pillar of automobile), 23 ... Side door window frame, 25 ... hollow member, 25a ... lower part of hollow member (hollow A part of members), 26. Flange), 46 ... Window frame side inner flange, 47 ... Vertical inner flange (outer inner flange), 51 ... Side door, 52 ... Seal mounting portion, 53 ... Seal material, 61 ... Restriction recess.

Claims (6)

A hollow member extending upwardly toward the rear of the vehicle body is formed in a polygonal closed cross section at a vehicle outer wall portion facing the vehicle body outer side and a vehicle chamber side wall portion facing the vehicle compartment side, and the vehicle outer wall portion In an automobile front pillar, an outer panel is provided opposite to the outer member, and the hollow member and the outer panel constitute a part of a side door window frame.
While the vehicle outer wall portion of the hollow member is formed in a convex curved shape so as to bulge toward the vehicle body outside,
The hollow side wall portion of the hollow member is formed in a concave curved shape so as to be recessed toward the outside of the vehicle body,
A front pillar of an automobile, wherein the inner panel is overlaid on the side wall of the passenger compartment formed in a concave curved shape. The inner panel is
A regulating recess capable of accommodating a part of the hollow member;
The front pillar of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein movement of the hollow member in the vehicle width direction is restricted by the restriction recess. The outer panel is provided with a window frame side outer flange projecting inside the side door window frame,
The inner panel includes a window frame side inner flange projecting inside the side door window frame,
The window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are overlapped,
3. The front of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange overlapped with each other are used as a seal mounting portion for attaching a seal material of the side door window frame. Pillar. The outer panel includes an outer outer flange that protrudes to the outside of the side door window frame,
The outer outer flange is joined to the hollow member;
The inner panel is provided with an outer inner flange projecting outside the side door window frame,
4. The front pillar of an automobile according to claim 3, wherein the outer inner flange is joined to the hollow member. The outer outer flange and the hollow member are joined by indirect spot welding that presses the electrode only to the outer outer flange,
The outer inner flange and the hollow member are joined by MIG welding,
The window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are overlapped, and the window frame side outer flange and the window frame side inner flange are joined by direct spot welding sandwiching a pair of electrodes. The front pillar of an automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   6. The front pillar of an automobile according to claim 5, wherein a portion of the inner panel overlapped with the compartment side wall is joined to the compartment side wall by MIG welding.

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