JPH0826054A - Pillar cover device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lighten the damage applied to a human body in collision and provide the soft high-class feeling and easy feeling by constituting a pillar cover which covers the pillar such as a front or center pillar which constitutes the body of an automobile from a member whose energy absorbing characteristic is improved. CONSTITUTION:A pillar 1 is constituted by oppositely arranging the abutment parts of the pillar-shaped frame bodies 6 and 7 each of which has a projecting sectional surface of the front pillar 1 which constitutes a port of the body and applying the spot weding, Further, the pillar cover 20 has a core member 21 consisting of an iron plate or steel plate, etc., and a polyurethane foam 26 on the periphery. Accordingly, the core member 21 is formed to an inverted OMEGA-shaped section, and possesses the proper elastic force, The pillar cover 20 is used as the inner application member which provides the soft high-class feeling and easy feeling, and in the collision from the side surface of the automobile the shock applied on a driver or fellow passenger through the hit for the head, etc., by the pillar cover can be lightened drastically.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a pillar cover which constitutes a body of an automobile, and more particularly to a pillar cover device for an automobile which is not damaged by a shock.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A body or the like of a general passenger car has a frameless structure and is entirely framed, and there is a system in which the side plates are far apart, and the side plates take on the strength like a monocoque. Such a monocoque body is composed of a front pillar 1 forming left and right side frames of a front window, a rear pillar 5 forming left and right side frames of a rear window, and a center pillar 4 interposed between an underbody 2 and a roof 3. There is. Pillars such as the front pillar 1, the rear pillar 5, and the center pillar 4 (P
The inner structure of the illar (column of the body) has various shapes depending on the formwork structure, but for example, the front pillar 1 has a structure as shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the center pillar 4.

Pillar 1 constituting the body in FIGS. 6 and 7.
Alternatively, 4 is columnar press-processed frame members 6 and 7 having a convex cross-section, which are arranged symmetrically so as to face each other and spot-welded.
It is configured to be covered by a pillar-shaped pillar cover 8 having a convex cross section.

[0004]

The pillar having the pillar cover structure described in the above-mentioned conventional structure has its shape and size determined from the mechanical strength of the body, and the pillar cover is merely used as an interior member. I'm just there. Therefore, when a driver, a passenger, or a passenger is seated in a passenger's seat or a rear seat, and the vehicle collides from the side, the driver or passenger places his or her head on the front pillar 1, the center pillar 4, the rear pillar 5, etc. of the vehicle. Cases that hit the head and seriously damage the head stand out.

The damage given to the human brain at the time of a collision due to such a car accident must be minimized, but the pillar cover 8 simply uses the surfaces of the frame members 6 and 7 constituting the pillars as the interior member PP. Since it was only covered with a molded body, the load when the head collided was very large and the damage to humans was great.

FIG. 8 shows the relationship with the load P received by a passenger or a driver when a predetermined impact (stroke δ) is applied to the front pillar cover 8 and the center pillar cover 8 described above.
It is shown in. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the displacement amount of the pillar cover when a shock is applied to the pillar cover, that is, the stroke δ, and the vertical axis represents the load P received by the human head or the like.
Now, assuming that P ₂ is the maximum load, the static characteristic 9 of the energy absorption characteristic is represented by the area of a triangle O-δ ₁ -X ₁ shown by diagonal lines. Further, the ideal characteristic 11 is a quadrangle O-δ ₂ -X indicated by diagonal lines
It is represented by the area of _2- P ₁ .

In order to increase the amount of energy absorbed in order to absorb the impact on the head, the stroke δ is increased or the load P received by the energy absorbing material is increased. ₁ is determined by various regulations, and it is necessary to make the maximum load P ₂ as small as possible in order to prevent the load P from damaging the human body.

PP used as the above-mentioned interior member
The energy absorption characteristics of the manufactured pillar cover are as shown in the curve 12, which is far from the ideal characteristics 11, and since the consideration of absorbing the energy at the time of collision is not taken into consideration, the head of the pillar cover is not covered. There was a problem that the damage to the human body when it was collided with was extremely large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a pillar cover device for an automobile, which solves the above problems. The object of the present invention is to provide a pillar cover with a sufficient energy absorbing property when it is shocked. (EN) Provided is a pillar cover device which can reduce damage to a human body and can give a feeling of luxury and security while being soft.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle pillar cover device of the present invention has a pillar cover for covering a pillar such as a front pillar or a center pillar, which constitutes a vehicle body, with improved energy absorption characteristics. It is made up of the members. Examples of the member having improved energy absorption characteristics include semi-rigid polyurethane, rigid polyurethane synthetic resin, and expandable bead synthetic resin. The automobile pillar cover device of the present invention is characterized in that a core material is inserted into and integrated with a polyurethane foam molded material forming the pillar cover.

[0011]

In the automobile pillar cover device of the present invention, since the pillar cover for covering the pillar is made of a member having improved energy absorption characteristics, even if the pillar cover collides with the pillar cover, the shock is absorbed and alleviated. For example, a steel material is used as a core material, and RIM-molded polyurethane foam is integrally molded on the surface of the core material to cover it with a cushioning member having improved energy absorption characteristics, so that the impact when a human body collides with a pillar cover is softened. Not only can the damage caused be reduced, but it will also be a pillar cover for automobiles that can give a soft feeling to the vehicle with a luxurious appearance and a sense of security.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of an automobile pillar cover device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of the automobile pillar cover of the present invention as a cut surface.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of the pillar cover shown in FIG.
Incidentally, the same parts as those of the conventional pillar cover are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a front pillar cover for an automobile, for example, and a butting portion 22 of columnar frame bodies 6 and 7 in which the cross section of the front pillar 1 forming a part of the body is formed in a convex shape. Are opposed to each other and spot-welded to form a pillar.

The pillar cover 20 is made of an iron plate, a steel plate or the like as a core material 21, and a polyurethane foam is formed around the core material 21. That is, the core member 21 is a frame member having a reverse Ω cross section and having an appropriate elastic force.

Polyurethane foam (Polyuret)
han Form) is a porous material that is foamed and hardened by a gas generated when water-crosslinking a polymer substrate and an isocyanate, and is generally thermoplastic, but FIGS.
As shown in, the cross-sectional shape of the polyurethane foam is a crescent shape that covers the outer surface of the frame body 7 that constitutes the pillar,
It is integrally molded with the core material 21 having a spring effect.
Further, the connecting portion 23 having a columnar shape with a U-shaped cross section so as to cover the abutting portion 22 of the pillar may be formed integrally with the pillar cover 20 of the urethane foam 26.

Such a pillar cover 20 is attached to the body by a clip or the like on the surface of the frame body 7 constituting the pillar.

The pillar cover 20 obtained in this way is not only extremely soft and gives a feeling of luxury and security when viewed as an interior material, but also when the vehicle is collided from the side of the vehicle, the driver and passengers can feel the pillars. It is possible to provide a pillar cover for an automobile in which the head or the like is struck on the cover and the impact on the brain or the like can be significantly reduced.

That is, the reason why such an impact can be reduced will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a comparative characteristic of the energy absorption characteristics of the pillar cover using the polyurethane foam 13 of the present invention and the core material 21 such as a steel plate, and the energy absorption characteristics of the pillar cover using the conventional PP. A characteristic curve of the load P with respect to the stroke δ of the pillar cover using the conventional PP is indicated by reference numeral 12, and the conventional absorbed energy 10 is surrounded by a triangular area O-δ ₁ -X ₁ and expressed as an area of a range. Can be done.

In contrast to such characteristics, the δ-P characteristic of the steel core material 21 is shown by the characteristic curve 14. Similarly, the δ-P characteristic of the polyurethane foam alone is shown by characteristic curve 13. Therefore, the synthetic characteristic curve of the steel material and urethane foam in which these two characteristic curves 14 and 13 are combined is a characteristic curve as indicated by reference numeral 15. Therefore, the absorbed energy 15 of the pillar cover described in the present invention is the triangle O−δ ₁
It is shown by the area of the triangle surrounded by -X ₂ . It can be seen that the area of this triangle has a smaller maximum load P ₂ than the area surrounded by the area O-δ ₁ -X ₁ of the conventional triangle, and the characteristic that energy can be absorbed by a small stroke δ is improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the core material 21 is imparted with an elastic force so that the core material 21 and the polyurethane foam are integrated with each other to form the automobile pillar cover 20. However, semi-rigid polyurethane, hard polyurethane, Urethane rubber or the like may be molded into a predetermined shape and attached to the surface of the pillar cover 8 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, or may be attached directly to the surface of the frame member 7. Further, not only urethane type resin but also foamable beads made of synthetic resin such as PP and polyethylene (PE) are used to foam into a predetermined shape and fix the pillar or pillar cover surface after molding. You may

FIG. 4 shows the δ-P characteristics when the above materials are used. 4 is a characteristic curve diagram in which the stroke δ is plotted on the horizontal axis and the load P is plotted on the vertical axis as in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, 12 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of the PP pillar cover.
6 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of semi-rigid polyurethane, 1
7 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of hard polyurethane, and 18 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of expandable beads (PP, PE, etc.). It can be seen that the energy absorption characteristics of each of these materials are significantly improved as compared with the energy absorption characteristics of the PP pillar cover.

In the above-mentioned structure, the case where the polyurethane molding member and the PP or PE foam molding member are adhered to the pillar or the pillar cover 8 has been described, but the pillar cover is made of PP.
It is obvious that polyurethane or expandable beads may be mixed in the mold at the time of molding so as to perform simultaneous molding, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0023]

According to the pillar cover device for an automobile of the present invention, a driver or a passenger rides on the pillars constituting the body with a head when a collision occurs from the side of the automobile, causing brain damage or whiplash. Not only is it possible to avoid such adverse effects, but the interior portion (cover surface) of the pillar cover has a soft feeling, and it is possible to give a feeling of luxury and security to the object to be seen.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal structure in which a part of an automobile pillar cover of the present invention is cut.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of an automobile pillar cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of an automobile pillar cover according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of pillars of a conventional monocoque body.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional pillar.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a conventional pillar.

FIG. 8 is an energy absorption characteristic diagram of a conventional automobile pillar cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Front Pillar 4 Center Pillar 5 Rear Pillar 6,7 Frame (Pillar) 8,20 Pillar Cover 21 Core Material 26 Polyurethane Foam

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pillar cover device for an automobile, characterized in that a pillar cover for covering a pillar such as a front pillar or a center pillar constituting a body of the automobile is composed of a member having improved energy absorption characteristics. 2. The pillar cover device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the member having improved energy absorption characteristics is made of semi-hard polyurethane or hard polyurethane synthetic resin. 3. The pillar cover device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a foamable bead synthetic resin is used for the member having improved energy absorption characteristics. 4. A pillar cover device for an automobile, wherein a core material is inserted into and integrated with a polyurethane foam molded material forming the pillar cover.