Vehicle rear portion structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10633032-B2
Application number	US-201716065882-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2017
Priority date	Jan 6, 2016
Publication date	Apr 28, 2020
Grant date	Apr 28, 2020

Abstract

[Solution] Provided is a vehicle rear portion structure 1 including a pair of rear frames 4 provided in the vehicle length direction and a rear floor panel 2 joined to the pair of rear frames 4, in which the rear floor panel 2 has a concave section 3 provided from the rear side of the vehicle toward the front side of the vehicle of the rear floor panel 2, and the concave section 3 is formed of a metal sheet having a tensile strength more than or equal to the tensile strength of the pair of rear frames 4. By this configuration, when an impact load from the rear side of the vehicle acts on the concave section 3 of the rear floor panel 2, the rear floor panel 2 can absorb collision energy in a principal way. Thus, the burden of absorption of collision energy by the rear frames 4 is reduced, and accordingly it becomes possible to reduce the wall thickness and the length of the rear frame 4 and a weight reduction of the entire car body structure is achieved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle rear portion structure comprising:
a pair of rear frames provided in a vehicle length direction; and
a rear floor panel joined to the pair of rear frames,
wherein the rear floor panel has a concave section,
the concave section extends from a rear side of a vehicle toward a front side of the vehicle,
the concave section being formed of a metal sheet, and
the metal sheet having a tensile strength more than a tensile strength of the pair of rear frames.

2. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein the rear floor panel has a pair of flat surface sections at both ends in a vehicle width direction and is joined to the pair of rear frames via the pair of flat surface sections, and
the concave section is provided between the pair of flat surface sections.

3. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 2 ,
wherein each of the pair of flat surface sections has a frame shape section extending in a vehicle length direction, and
at least parts of the frame shape sections of the pair of flat surface sections are joined to the pair of rear frames.

4. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 3 ,
wherein a side wall of at least a part of each of the frame shape sections and a side wall of each of the pair of rear frames are joined together via a joint section.

5. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 3 ,
wherein a side wall of at least a part of each of the frame shape sections is provided with a first fitting groove extending in a vehicle height direction,
a side wall of each of the pair of rear frames is provided with a second fitting groove corresponding to the first fitting groove, and
the first fitting groove is fitted into the second fitting groove.

6. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 3 ,
wherein a contact member in contact with both facing side walls of the frame shape section is provided inside the frame shape section.

7. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 2 ,
wherein the concave section is a spare tire storage section.

8. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 7 ,
wherein a high-rigidity region having a rigidity higher than a rigidity of the pair of flat surface sections is provided in a bottom surface section of the spare tire storage section at least from one end to another end in a vehicle width direction of the bottom surface section.

9. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 7 ,
wherein a high-strength region having a tensile strength higher than a tensile strength of the pair of flat surface sections is provided in a bottom surface section of the spare tire storage section at least from one end to another end in a vehicle width direction of the bottom surface section.

10. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 2 ,
wherein the concave section has a plurality of gutter-like shapes extending in a vehicle length direction and juxtaposed in a vehicle width direction.

11. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein the concave section is provided individually at each of both ends in a vehicle width direction of the rear floor panel, and
at least a part of each of the concave sections is in each of the rear frames provided in a vehicle length direction and is joined to each of the pair of rear frames.

12. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein a side wall of at least a part of each of the concave sections and a side wall of each of the pair of rear frames are joined together via a joint section.

13. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein a side wall of at least a part of each of the concave sections is provided with a first fitting groove extending in a vehicle height direction,
a side wall of each of the pair of rear frames is provided with a second fitting groove corresponding to the first fitting groove, and
the first fitting groove is fitted into the second fitting groove.

14. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein a contact member in contact with both facing side walls of the concave section is provided inside the concave section.

15. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein, in an intermediate section located between the concave sections in a vehicle width direction in the rear floor panel, a high-rigidity region having a rigidity higher than a rigidity of a portion on an outside in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate section in the rear floor panel is provided from one end to another end in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate section.

16. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein, in an intermediate section located between the concave sections in a vehicle width direction in the rear floor panel, a high-strength region having a tensile strength higher than a tensile strength of a portion on an outside in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate section in the rear floor panel is provided from one end to another end in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate section.

17. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 8 ,
wherein a sheet thickness of the metal sheet in the high-rigidity region is larger than a sheet thickness of the metal sheet in a portion other than the high-rigidity region in the rear floor panel.

18. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 15 ,
wherein a sheet thickness of the metal sheet in the high-rigidity region is larger than a sheet thickness of the metal sheet in a portion other than the high-rigidity region in the rear floor panel.

19. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein the concave section is provided from a rear end in a vehicle length direction of the rear floor panel.

20. The vehicle rear portion structure according to claim 11 ,
wherein, in a vehicle length direction, a rear end of the concave section is located more on a rear side than rear ends of the pair of rear frames.

Assignees

• Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp
• Nippon Steel Corp

Inventors

• Nakazawa Yoshiaki
• Nishimura Ryuichi

Classifications

• B62D25/087

  Luggage compartments · CPC title

• B62D25/20 Primary

  Floors or bottom sub-units {(sub-frames for mounting engine or suspensions B62D21/11; drip trays F16N31/006)} · CPC title

• B62D29/007 Primary

  predominantly of special steel or specially treated steel, e.g. stainless steel or locally surface hardened steel · CPC title

• B62D43/00

  Spare wheel stowing, holding, or mounting arrangements · CPC title

• B62D21/02

  comprising longitudinally or transversely arranged frame members · CPC title