Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2001-08-07
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
C296S190050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270151
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body structure for vehicle. Particularly, it relates to the (vehicle) body structure around a dash panel which separates a vehicle cabin and a front compartment or a rear compartment of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when assembling a plurality of body panel members provided by press working to construct a vehicle body, the positioning of the respective body panel members is carried out by attaching them to body jigs prescribing the relative positions of the members. Further, the welding operation of the panel members to be welded is performed on condition that the members are pinched by respective clamping jigs for temporarily holding (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 10-264862 and 7-309254).
In recent years, it has been adopted to construct the vehicle body by plural panel members consisting of extrusions or castings of lightweight metal, such as aluminum alloy, in place of the press moldings, in view of making the lightweight vehicle body compatible with its rigidity. For example, there is developed a vehicle body structure where a dash panel separating the vehicle cabin and the front compartment (or the rear compartment) consists of an extrusion having an improved rigidity. In the structure, the extrusion is provided with a closed sectional structure having inner and outer walls and obtained by extruding the above lightweight metal to the vehicle's width direction. The so-constructed dash panel is reinforced by a reinforcement member which is made of a casting of lightweight metal and connected to the under face of the dash panel.
However, the above-mentioned positioning jigs and the clamping jigs have been still required to connect the dash panel with the reinforcement member in spite of such the measures for the lightweight vehicle body compatible with its rigidity. It means that the above-mentioned assembling form causes enormous number of positioning and clamping jigs to be required every sort of vehicles and every process. Consequently, with the addition of installation cost and steps of setting the jigs, the labor cost is apt to increase disadvantageously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Under such a circumstance, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body structure by which it is possible to properly position the dash panel constructed by an extrusion of lightweight metal and the reinforcement member constructed by a casting of lightweight metal and also possible to temporarily and properly hold the dash panel and the reinforcement member without using any positioning or clamping jig.
According to the invention, the above-mentioned object is accomplished by a vehicle body structure for vehicle, comprising:
a dash panel to be arranged between a vehicle cabin for passengers and an outside of the vehicle cabin, the dash panel being made of an extrusion of a lightweight metal in a width direction of the vehicle to have a structure of closed sections, the dash panel having both an inner wall positioned inside of the vehicle cabin and an outer wall positioned outside the vehicle cabin;
a reinforcement member to be arranged under the dash panel to reinforce the dash panel from its underside, the reinforcement member being made of a casting as a result of casting a lightweight metal and configured to interpose both ends of the dash panel in the width direction of the vehicle between both sides of the reinforcement member in the width direction of the vehicle; and
engagement parts each provided between each of the ends of the dash panel and the reinforcement member, for engagement of the reinforcement member with the dash panel, thereby positioning the reinforcement member and the dash panel mutually and fixing the dash panel to the reinforcement member temporarily.
According to the invention, there is also provided a vehicle comprising:
a dash panel to be arranged between a vehicle cabin for passengers and an outside of the vehicle cabin, the dash panel being made of an extrusion of a lightweight metal in a width direction of the vehicle to have a structure of closed sections, the dash panel having both an inner wall positioned inside of the vehicle cabin and an outer wall to be positioned outside the vehicle cabin;
a reinforcement member to be arranged under the dash panel to reinforce the dash panel from its underside, the reinforcement member being made of a casting of a lightweight metal and configured to interpose both ends of the dash panel in the width direction of the vehicle between both sides of the reinforcement member in the width direction of the vehicle; and
engagement mechanisms for positioning the reinforcement member and the dash panel mutually and fixing the dash panel to the reinforcement member temporarily, each of the engagement mechanisms being arranged between each of the ends of the dash panel and the reinforcement member.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned object is also accomplished by a method of assembling the above vehicle body structure of the invention, the method comprising:
piling the dash panel on the reinforcement member;
positioning the dash panel and the reinforcement member mutually, thereby putting the dash panel between both sides of the reinforcement member in the width direction of the vehicle;
sliding the dash panel on both side of the reinforcement member; and
engaging both ends of the dash panel in the width direction of the vehicle with the reinforcement member through the engagement parts, thereby temporarily fixing the dash panel on the reinforcement member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5125715 (1992-06-01), Kijma
patent: 5127704 (1992-07-01), Komatsu
patent: 5713625 (1998-02-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 5988734 (1999-11-01), Longo et al.
patent: 6095592 (2000-08-01), Nakatani
patent: 61-275024 (1986-12-01), None
patent: 3-10975 (1991-01-01), None
patent: 7-309254 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 10-264862 (1998-10-01), None
Engle Patricia
Gordon Stephen T.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Nissan Motor Co,. Ltd.
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