Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-05
2002-07-16
Pedder, Dennis H. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
C296S203030, C052S749100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06419302
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structural member for constructing a vehicle body, and more particularly, to a channel member for constructing a part of a vehicle body to provide an elongated wall portion thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The body of a vehicle such as an automobile includes an elongated wall portion like the center pillar between the front and rear doors. The vehicle body is required to be as light as possible, while maintaining a required integrity of the body construction under a design load imposed thereon. In view of this, it was a conventional art that such an elongated wall portion is constructed by a channel member.
FIG. 1
shows a general construction of the center pillar of a four-wheeled automobile in a perspective view, while
FIGS. 2 and 3
show two typical cross sectional constructions of such a center pillar. As depicted in these figures, the center pillar generally designated by
10
is assembled of a channel member
12
cast from, for example, an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy, and a cover member
14
, also generally channel-shaped but essentially an outside decoration member bearing no substantial load because of its reduced thickness, press-formed from, for example, also an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy.
In the construction shown in
FIG. 2
, the channel member generally designated by
12
includes a bottom wall portion
12
A extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion (center pillar) of the vehicle body (i.e. the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body) as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, a pair of side wall portions
12
B connected with the bottom wall portion
12
A along adjacent ends thereof and extending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, and a pair of flange portions
12
C connected with the side wall portions
12
B along adjacent ends thereof and extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member. A pair of rib portions
12
D are provided as connected to the bottom wall portion
12
A to extend substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member.
On the other hand, the cover member generally designated by
14
includes a roof wall portion
14
A extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion of the vehicle body as viewed in the cross section of the cover member, a pair of side wall portions
14
B connected with the roof wall portion
14
A along adjacent ends thereof and extending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the cover member, and a pair of flange portions
14
C connected with the side wall portions
14
B along adjacent ends thereof and extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the cover member.
The channel member
12
and the cover member
14
are assembled together by the respective pairs of flange portions
12
C and
14
C being connected with one another by some spot welding.
In the construction shown in
FIG. 3
, the channel member
12
′ is different from that shown in
FIG. 2
in the position of concavity thereof such that the bottom wall portion
12
A in
FIG. 2
is changed to a roof wall portion
12
A′, with an accompanying change of direction of extension of the pair of side wall portions
12
B to that of a pair of side wall portions
12
B′. A pair of flange portions
12
C are substantially the same as in FIG.
2
. In
FIG. 3
, other portions corresponding to those shown in
FIG. 2
are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIG.
2
.
In an elongated wall portion of a vehicle body such as the center pillar of a four-wheeled automobile, it is probable that an accidental side force is applied thereto at right angle to its elongation as shown by an arrow Fs in
FIG. 1
, tending to bend the elongated wall portion about a neutral axis of its cross section extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section. When it occurs, when the elongated wall portion is constructed by a relatively shallow channel member such as shown in
FIGS. 2
or
3
for the convenience of design of the vehicle body, with the bottom or roof wall portion
12
A or
12
A′ being extended substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, a bending moment generated by the accidental side force Fs must be reacted by a smallest geometrical moment of inertia of the cross section, i.e. a weakest bending strength of the channel member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-mentioned accidental probability of a side force acting at right angle to an elongated wall portion of a vehicle body constructed by a channel member and the weakness of the channel member against the side force acting substantially perpendicularly to the bottom or roof wall portion thereof, it is a primary object of the present invention to propose a channel member for constructing a part of a vehicle body to provide an elongated wall portion thereof such that the channel member has an improved strength against such a side force.
According to the present invention, the above-mentioned primary object is accomplished by a channel member for constructing a part of a vehicle body to provide an elongated wall portion thereof, comprising:
a first side wall portion extending substantially perpendicularly to a direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in a cross section of the channel member, so as to define a first side of the channel member;
a second side wall portion extending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, so as to define a second side of the channel member opposite to the first side;
a first bottom wall portion extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, the first bottom wall portion being connected with the first side wall portion along adjacent ends thereof;
a second bottom wall portion extending substantially in parallel with the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, the second bottom wall portion being connected with the second side wall portion along adjacent ends thereof;
a first perpendicular intermediate wall portion extending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, the first perpendicular intermediate wall portion being connected with the first bottom wall portion along adjacent ends thereof, so as to define a first sub-channel portion together with the first side wall portion and the first bottom wall portion;
a second perpendicular intermediate wall portion extending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of transverse extension of the elongated wall portion as viewed in the cross section of the channel member, the second perpendicular intermediate wall portion being connected with the second bottom wall portion along adjacent ends thereof, so as to define a second sub-channel portion together with the second side wall portion and the second bottom wall portion; and
a central wall portion extending between the first and second perpendicular intermedi
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Pedder Dennis H.
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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