Vehicle body frame structure for automobile

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9150253-B2
Application number	US-201314394398-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 8, 2013
Priority date	May 18, 2012
Publication date	Oct 6, 2015
Grant date	Oct 6, 2015

Abstract

A vehicle body frame structure includes a side frame, a sub-frame, a cabin side support member, an under-floor frame, and a link stay. The sub-frame includes a separate side fastening portion, an adjacent side fastening portion, and a central bending point. In the link stay, a first end portion side is fastened to a lower surface of the cabin side support member together with the adjacent side fastening portion so as to be extractable, and a second end portion side is fastened to the under-floor frame. A nut for fastening the second end portion side of the link stay is held by a lateral wall on a side separating from the floor tunnel portion of the link stay, and the support bolt is fitted into the nut from a lower side of a floor tunnel portion in a vehicle width direction serving as an axis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle body frame structure comprising:
a side frame that is arranged on one of a front side and a rear side of a cabin along a vehicle body longitudinal direction;
a sub-frame that is arranged below the side frame and supports a suspension component;
a cabin side support member that is arranged outside and below one of a front section and a rear section of the cabin, and that supports an end portion of the sub-frame which is at a side adjacent to the cabin;
an under-floor frame that is arranged below a stepped portion of a floor adjacent to a floor tunnel portion of the cabin, along the vehicle body longitudinal direction; and
a link stay that is arranged across and connects together the end portion of the side adjacent to the cabin in the sub-frame and the under-floor frame,
wherein the sub-frame includes:
a separate side fastening portion which is an end portion on a side separating from the cabin and is fastened to a member on an extension end side of the side frame;
an adjacent side fastening portion which is the end portion on the side adjacent to the cabin and is fastened and fixed to the cabin side support member from a lower side; and
a central bending point which is configured to be bent down at a substantially central portion in between of the separate side fastening portion and the adjacent side fastening portion in the longitudinal direction,
wherein in the link stay, a first end portion side of the link stay is fastened to a lower surface of the cabin side support member together with the adjacent side fastening portion so as to be extractable, and a second end portion side of the link stay is fastened to the under-floor frame by a support bolt extending in a vehicle width direction and a nut screwed to the support bolt,
wherein the nut for fastening the second end portion side of the link stay is held by a lateral wall on a side separating from the floor tunnel portion of the link stay, and
wherein the support bolt is fitted into the nut from a lower side of the floor tunnel portion.

2. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein the nut is assembled integrally with a nut cover having an engagement claw locked to the lateral wall of the link stay.

3. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein a bolt insertion portion into which the support bolt is inserted is disposed on the lateral wall of the link stay, and
wherein the nut includes a restricting projection which is locked by the bolt insertion portion on the lateral wall of the link stay and restricts rotation of the nut.

4. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein a bolt insertion portion into which the support bolt is inserted is disposed on the lateral wall of the link stay, and
wherein the bolt insertion portion has a displacement permitting portion which permits relative displacement between the link stay and the support bolt, which is caused by displacement of the sub-frame in the vehicle longitudinal direction, when a collision load in the vehicle body longitudinal direction is input.

5. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein a bolt insertion portion into which the support bolt is inserted is disposed on the lateral wall of the link stay, and
wherein the bolt insertion portion is configured to have a notched groove for permitting falling-down of the link stay from the support bolt which is caused by downward displacement of the sub-frame, when a collision load in the vehicle body longitudinal direction is input.

6. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein the link stay has a downward convex portion which is convex downward at a substantially central portion in the vehicle body longitudinal direction,
wherein a weak portion which facilitates separation of a fastener from the cabin side support member by using a downward load is disposed at the cabin side support member to which the adjacent side fastening portion of the sub-frame is attached, and
wherein an apex of the downward convex portion forms a truss structure with the central bending point of the sub-frame and the adjacent side fastening portion, and even when the sub-frame is in an initial state and the sub-frame is in a state of coming into contact with the ground during collision, the apex of the downward convex portion is located below a straight line connecting the central bending point and a fastening center of the link stay.

7. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 6 ,
wherein a polymerized reinforcement plate is disposed at the cabin side support member to which the adjacent side fastening portion of the sub-frame is fastened, and
wherein the weak portion is an annular portion of the cabin side support member between an insertion hole of the fastener of the cabin side support member and an insertion hole formed in the reinforcement plate so as to permit insertion of the fastener.

8. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 7 ,
wherein the reinforcement plate is thicker than the cabin side support member to which the reinforcement plate is attached.

9. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 7 ,
wherein the reinforcement plate is welded to the cabin side support member behind the weak portion in a collision load input direction, and the fastener is a nut which is welded and fixed to a bolt and the cabin side support member.

10. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 6 ,
wherein the link stay forms the downward convex portion by causing a bottom wall to protrude downward.

11. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 10 ,
wherein the link stay includes a recess for the adjacent side fastening portion in which the bottom wall is recessed upward, and
wherein the link stay includes the downward convex portion behind the recess in the collision load input direction.

12. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 10 ,
wherein the link stay includes a lateral wall extending from the bottom wall, and
wherein a recess is disposed at a lateral wall located above the downward convex portion.

13. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 1 ,
wherein an extension piece extending in an under-floor frame direction is disposed at the adjacent side fastening portion of the sub-frame, and
wherein a support wall which opposes a distal end portion of the extension piece by leaving a predetermined gap therebetween and with which the distal end portion of the extension piece comes into contact when the collision load in the vehicle body longitudinal direction is input is disposed at the under-floor frame.

14. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 13 ,
wherein the vehicle body side support member includes a support member substrate into which a first fastening member penetrates and in which a head portion of the first fastening member is locked at an upper surface side, and a reinforcement plate that has an escape hole which surrounds an outside of the head portion of the first fastening member, and that is bonded to the upper surface of the support member substrate, and
wherein a region surrounded by the escape hole of the reinforcement plate on the support member substrate is a weak portion.

15. The vehicle body frame structure according to claim 14 ,
wherein within the support member substrate, a lower surface in a region adjacent to the weak portion on the cabin side is allowed to have increased rigidity by bonding the reinforcement plate to the upper surface side, and configures a first fulcrum with which an edg

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Watanabe Yasunori
• Arima Tetsuhiro
• Okada Hideyuki
• Funakoshi Akihito

Classifications

• B62D27/065

  using screwthread (connection of crossbeam to A- pillars B62D25/147; mounting load bearing surfaces B62D21/09; securing mudguards B62D25/163; connections for synthetic parts B62D29/048) · CPC title

• B62D21/155 Primary

  Sub-frames or underguards · CPC title

• B62D24/00

  Connections between vehicle body and vehicle frame (B62D23/00, B62D33/077 take precedence) · CPC title

• B62D21/11 Primary

  with resilient means for suspension {, e.g. of wheels or engine; sub-frames for mounting engine or suspensions} · CPC title

• B62D25/082

  Engine compartments · CPC title