Upper vehicle-body structure of vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8960779-B2
Application number	US-201313946526-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2013
Priority date	Jul 30, 2012
Publication date	Feb 24, 2015
Grant date	Feb 24, 2015

Abstract

An opening portion is formed at a specified portion of a roof gusset which covers part of a panel joint portion from below. A pair of center-pillar side joint portions is provided at an outward end portion of the roof gusset, which is joined to a center pillar directly or via another panel member. A pair of first high-rigidity portions is provided at specified portions of the roof gusset which overlap the opening portion in a vehicle width direction and overlap the center-pillar joint portions in the vehicle longitudinal direction, respectively. A second high-rigidity portion is provided at an inward end portion of the roof gusset to extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An upper vehicle-body structure of a vehicle, comprising:
a pair of roof rails extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction at both end portions of a roof portion of the vehicle;
a center pillar joined to said roof rail and extending downward from a joint portion thereof to the roof rail;
a roof panel provided to extend between said pair of roof rails;
a roof reinforcement extending in a vehicle width direction at a specified position which is located beside said center pillar, the roof reinforcement being joined to a lower face of said roof panel and including a pair of front-and-rear projection portions which respectively project downward from the roof panel and extend in the vehicle width direction;
a Mohican panel joint portion formed by plural panel portions vertically overlapping each other and welded together which include a panel portion of an outward edge portion, in the vehicle width direction, of said roof panel and a panel portion of an inward edge portion, in the vehicle width direction, of said roof rail, the Mohican panel joint portion being provided to extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction; and
a roof gusset provided to extend between said center pillar and said roof reinforcement and be joined to the center pillar and the roof reinforcement, respectively,
wherein said roof gusset comprises:
a roof-reinforcement side joint portion provided at an inward end portion, in the vehicle width direction, thereof, the roof-reinforcement side joint portion having a pair of bolt holes arranged to be apart from each other in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the roof-reinforcement side joint portion being fixedly joined to respective lower-end portions of said pair of front-and-rear projection portions of the roof reinforcement by a pair of bolts inserted through said pair of bolt holes;
a pair of front-and-rear center-pillar side joint portions provided at an outward end portion, in the vehicle width direction, thereof to be apart from each other in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the pair of front-and-rear center-pillar side joint portions being joined to the center pillar directly or via another panel member;
a slant face portion extending obliquely and interconnecting said roof-reinforcement side joint portion and said pair of front-and-rear center-pillar side joint portions, the slant face portion having an opening portion for welding-gun insertion at a central portion thereof, through which a welding gun being configured to be inserted for welding of said Mohican panel joint portion;
a pair of front-and-rear first high-rigidity portions provided at front-and-rear end portions thereof, the front first high-rigidity portion being configured to extend in the vehicle width direction continuously along a front edge portion of said roof-reinforcement side joint portion and a front edge portion of said slant face portion so as to connect to said front center-pillar side joint portion, the rear first high-rigidity portion being configured to extend in the vehicle width direction continuously along a rear edge portion of said roof-reinforcement side joint portion and a rear edge portion of said slant face portion so as to connect to said rear center-pillar side joint portion; and
a second high-rigidity portion to increase a rigidity of the roof gusset against a compressive force acting on the roof gusset in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the second high-rigidity portion being provided at an inward end portion, in the vehicle width direction, of said roof-reinforcement side joint portion, the second high-rigidity portion being configured to extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction along an inward edge portion of said roof-reinforcement side joint portion, without connecting to said pair of front-and-rear first high-rigidity portions at front-and-rear inward corners of the roof-reinforcement side joint portion.

2. The vehicle-body side portion structure of a vehicle of claim 1 , wherein said second high-rigidity portion of the roof gusset includes a downward extension portion which is constituted by the inward end portion of the roof gusset which is bent so as to extend downward away from said roof reinforcement, the downward portion being configured to be spaced apart from said pair of front-and-rear first high-rigidity portions in both the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction.

3. The vehicle-body side portion structure of a vehicle of claim 2 , wherein said second high-rigidity portion of the roof gusset further includes an inward extension portion which is constituted by a lower end portion of said downward extension which is bent so as to extend inward in the vehicle width direction apart from said pair of front-and-rear first high-rigidity portions.

4. The vehicle-body side portion structure of a vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the front first high-rigidity portion is formed in a groove shape such that a front wall portion of the front first high-rigidity portion stands up higher than the roof-reinforcement side joint portion and the slant face portion, and the rear first high-rigidity portion is formed in a groove shape such that a rear wall portion of the rear first high-rigidity portion stands up higher than the roof-reinforcement side joint portion and the slant face portion.

Assignees

• Mazda Motor

Inventors

• Nishimura Yoshikazu
• Ikeda Kei
• Fukutani Kazuya
• Kaneko Naoki
• Yoshii Noboru

Classifications

• B62D25/04

  Door pillars {; windshield pillars} · CPC title

• B62D25/06 Primary

  Fixed roofs (non-fixed roofs or like shelters B60J7/00; roof liners B60R13/02; insulating elements B60R13/08) · CPC title