Automobile vehicle body and automobile vehicle body manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10167019-B2
Application number	US-201515505743-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2015
Priority date	Aug 26, 2014
Publication date	Jan 1, 2019
Grant date	Jan 1, 2019

Abstract

An automobile vehicle body and an automobile vehicle body manufacturing method is provided in which a metal joint is divided into an upper joint and a lower joint. The upper joint includes an upper wall which is fitted into a side member, a vehicle width direction inner wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall, and a lower joint includes a lower wall which is joined to a lower face and an outside face of a vehicle body floor, and the vehicle width direction outer wall, and therefore, the vehicle width direction outer wall of the upper joint is fastened to the vehicle width direction outer wall of the lower joint by a first bolt, and the vehicle width direction inner wall of the upper joint is fastened to an inside face of the side member by a second bolt.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An automobile vehicle body in which a lower skeleton, formed into a bathtub shape using a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), comprises a vehicle body floor a front wall that rises from a front end of the vehicle body floor, a rear wall that rises from a rear end of the vehicle body floor, and a pair of side members that are connected to upper faces of vehicle width direction opposite side parts of the vehicle body floor, and an upper skeleton, connected to the lower skeleton, comprises a roll bar formed into an inverted U-shaped using a CFRP and having a lower end thereof joined to an upper face of the side member via a metal joint,
wherein the metal joint is divided into an upper joint that is fixed to the side member and supports the lower end of the roll bar and a lower joint that is fixed to the vehicle body floor,
the upper joint comprises an upper wall, a vehicle width direction inner wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are fitted to an upper face, an inside face, and an outside face of the side member respectively, and the upper joint is further divided into an inside and an outside in the vehicle width direction and supports the lower end of the roll bar so as to sandwich the lower end from the inside and the outside in the vehicle width direction,
the lower joint comprises a lower wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are joined to a lower face and a vehicle width direction outer face of the vehicle body floor respectively, the vehicle width direction outer wall of the upper joint and the vehicle width direction outer wall of the lower joint are fastened by a first bolt, and the vehicle width direction inner wall of the upper joint and the inside face of the side member are fastened by a second bolt.

2. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the metal joint is a casting and comprises a reinforcing rib that extends in a vertical direction.

3. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the roll bar is formed so as to have a closed hollow cross-section by connecting an inner CFRP laminate that forms a lower face and a vehicle width direction inner face and an outer CFRP laminate that forms an upper face and a vehicle width direction outer face by a plurality of metal plates.

4. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 1 , comprising an energy-absorbing member at a position above the metal joint of the vehicle width direction outer face of the roll bar.

5. An automobile vehicle body in which a lower skeleton, formed into a bathtub shape using a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), comprises a vehicle body floor a front wall that rises from a front end of the vehicle body floor, a rear wall that rises from a rear end of the vehicle body floor, and a pair of side members that are connected to upper faces of vehicle width direction opposite side parts of the vehicle body floor, and an upper skeleton, connected to the lower skeleton, comprises a roll bar formed into an inverted U-shape using a CFRP and having a lower end thereof joined to an upper face of the side member via a metal joint,
wherein the metal joint is divided into an upper joint that is fixed to the side member and supports the lower end of the roll bar and a lower joint that is fixed to the vehicle body floor,
the upper joint comprises an upper wall, a vehicle width direction inner wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are fitted to an upper face, an inside face, and an outside face of the side member respectively,

the lower joint comprises a lower wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are joined to a lower face and a vehicle width direction outer face of the vehicle body floor respectively, the vehicle width direction outer wall of the upper joint and the vehicle width direction outer wall of the lower joint are fastened by a first bolt, and the vehicle width direction inner wall of the upper joint and the inside face of the side member are fastened by a second bolt, and
wherein the vehicle body floor, the front wall, and the rear wall comprise a sandwich structure in which a core is sandwiched between an outer skin and an inner skin, and the side member connected to the vehicle body floor, the front wall and the rear wall is formed into a U-shape as seen in a side view while integrally comprising a side sill, a front pillar lower and a rear pillar.

6. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 5 , wherein the upper skeleton is formed by connecting a pair of left and right bent parts of the roll bar, which is bent into an inverted U-shape, to respective intermediate parts in a fore-and-aft direction of a pair of left and right roof side rails, which are formed from an aluminum alloy hollow member, by bolting a front end of the roof side rail and an upper end of the front pillar lower together, and by bolting the rear end of the roof side rail and an upper end of the rear pillar together.

7. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 6 , wherein the roll bar is fitted into a recess portion formed in the roof side rail, and the roll bar is sandwiched between the recess portion and a fixing member fixed to the roof side rail.

8. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 6 , wherein a front metal joint provided at the front end of the roof side rail is fastened to the upper end of the front pillar lower by a front bolt and a rear bolt, and a distance between the front bolt and the rear bolt is larger than a width in a fore-and-aft direction of the upper end of the front pillar lower.

9. The automobile vehicle body according to claim 6 , wherein a rear metal joint provided at the rear end of the roof side rail is fastened to the upper end of the rear pillar by a front bolt and a rear bolt, and a distance between the front bolt and the rear bolt is larger than a width in a fore-and-aft direction of the upper end of the rear pillar.

10. A method for manufacturing an automobile vehicle body formed into a bathtub shape using a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), comprises a vehicle body floor a front wall that rises from a front end of the vehicle body floor, a rear wall that rises from a rear end of the vehicle body floor, and a pair of side members that are connected to upper faces of vehicle width direction opposite side parts of the vehicle body floor, and an upper skeleton, connected to the lower skeleton, comprises a roll bar formed into an inverted U-shaped using a CFRP and having a lower end thereof joined to an upper face of the side member via a metal joint,
wherein the metal joint is divided into an upper joint that is fixed to the side member and supports the lower end of the roll bar and a lower joint that is fixed to the vehicle body floor,
the upper joint comprises an upper wall, a vehicle width direction inner wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are fitted to an upper face, an inside face, and an outside face of the side member respectively,
the lower joint comprises a lower wall and a vehicle width direction outer wall that are joined to a lower face and a vehicle width direction outer face of the vehicle body floor respectively, the vehicle width direction outer wall of the upper joint and the vehicle width direction outer wall of the lower joint are fastened by a first bolt, and the vehicle width direction inner wall of the upper joint and the inside face of the side member are fastened by a second bolt,
the method comprising a step of forming a subcomponent by bolting together the upper skeleton and the side member, a step of adhering the side member of the subcomponent to the vehicle body floor, a step of separating the upper skeleton by undoing the bolting together, a step of assemblin

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ayuzawa Shotaro
• KAWATA Takahira
• Sakamoto Minoru

Classifications

• B62D29/04

  predominantly of synthetic material (working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29) · CPC title

• F16F7/121

  the members having a cellular, e.g. honeycomb, structure · CPC title

• B62D27/026

  Connections by glue bonding (in general F16B11/00; processes C09J5/00) · CPC title

• B62D27/023

  Assembly of structural joints · CPC title

• B62D29/001

  characterised by combining metal and synthetic material · CPC title