Body structure of automobile and method for manufacturing body floor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9981699-B2
Application number	US-201415120219-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2014
Priority date	Feb 25, 2014
Publication date	May 29, 2018
Grant date	May 29, 2018

Abstract

In a body structure of an automobile, a floor panel having a sandwich structure in which a core is sandwiched between and joined to an outer skin and an inner skin, which are made of a CFRP, and a first load-dispersing frame extending in the fore-and-aft direction along a side sill is disposed between an energy-absorbing member and the core. A locally concentrated load inputted into the side sill is absorbed by crumpling of the energy-absorbing member of the interior of the floor panel beneath the side sill and then widely dispersed through the floor panel further inside in the vehicle width direction than the side sill by the first load-dispersing frame, and local destruction of the floor panel further inside in the vehicle width direction than the side sill is inhibited. Furthermore, by increasing bending stiffness of the first load-dispersing frame, to reduce the sheet thickness of the CFRP outer and the inner skins, a light weight is achieved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A body structure of an automobile, in which an energy-absorbing member that crumples in a vehicle width direction so as to absorb a collision load is disposed in an interior of a floor panel to which a lower face of a side sill having a closed cross-section is connected, the floor panel having a sandwich structure in which a core is sandwiched between and joined to an outer skin and an inner skin, which are made of a CFRP, wherein a first load-dispersing frame extending in a fore-and-aft direction along the side sill is disposed between the energy-absorbing member and the core, and
an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the energy-absorbing member projects further outside in the vehicle width direction than an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the side sill.

2. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the outer skin and the inner skin are formed by layering carbon continuous fiber layers in which carbon continuous fibers are oriented in directions of at least 0°, +60°, and −60° when the fore-and-aft direction is defined as 0°.

3. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the floor panel and the side sill are formed from separate members, a lower face of the side sill is adhered to an upper face of the floor panel, and an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel and an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the side sill are linked.

4. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness in a vertical direction of the energy-absorbing member is larger than a thickness in the vertical direction of the core with a step portion of the outer skin as a boundary, and the first load-dispersing frame between the energy-absorbing member and the core has a fitting part that fits onto the step portion ( 18 b ).

5. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein a second load-dispersing frame extending in the fore-and-aft direction is disposed on the outside in the vehicle width direction of the energy-absorbing member.

6. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the core is formed from a corrugated sheet made of a CFRP, and an axis of the corrugated sheet runs along the vehicle width direction.

7. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the energy-absorbing member is formed from a corrugated sheet in which carbon continuous fiber layers are layered.

8. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein a space (a) is formed between an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel and an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the energy-absorbing member.

9. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the energy-absorbing member is formed from a sheet material forming a large number of hollow parts extending in the vehicle width direction, and an inner end part in the vehicle width direction of the sheet material is fitted into a fitting groove formed in an outer face in the vehicle width direction of a support wall fixed to the interior of the floor panel.

10. The body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 , wherein the side sill has an L-shaped cross section in which a height of an outer portion in the vehicle width direction is smaller than a height of an inner portion in the vehicle width direction.

11. A method for manufacturing a body floor, the method comprising
a step of manufacturing a floor panel in which an energy-absorbing member that crumples in a vehicle width direction so as to absorb a collision load is further sandwiched between outer end parts in the vehicle width direction of a sandwich structure formed by sandwiching a core between an outer skin and an inner skin made of a CFRP and joining,
a step of manufacturing a side sill with a closed cross-section having substantially an entire periphery of a partition wall plate joined to an inner face of the side sill,
a step of joining the side sill to an upper face of the floor panel so that an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the energy-absorbing member projects further outside in the vehicle width direction than an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the side sill, and
a step of linking an outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel and the outer end part in the vehicle width direction of the side sill by a linking member.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ayuzawa Shotaro
• Urushiyama Yuta
• KAWATA Takahira

Classifications

• B62D21/157

  for side impacts · CPC title

• B60Y2410/124

  Welded parts · CPC title

• B32B3/28

  characterised by a layer comprising a deformed thin sheet {, i.e. the layer having its entire thickness deformed out of the plane}, e.g. corrugated, crumpled (B32B29/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62D25/2036 Primary

  the subunits being side panels, sills or pillars (B62D21/157 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60Y2306/01

  Reducing damages in case of crash, e.g. by improving battery protection · CPC title