Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Naohiko Ueno

Yoshiaki Nakamoto

A vehicle side structure includes a pillar upper portion, a pillar lower portion, a joining portion, and a constituent part. The pillar upper portion constitutes, in a side portion of a vehicle, an upper part in the vehicle up-down direction in a pillar outer panel. The pillar lower portion constitutes a lower part, in the vehicle up-down direction, of the pillar outer panel, and has a tensile strength lower than the pillar upper portion. In the joining portion, a first part including an upper end of the pillar lower portion is joined to a second part including a bottom end of the pillar upper portion in a state where the first part overlaps with an inner side of the second part. The constituent part is provided in the first part of the pillar lower portion, at a position above the bottom end in the vehicle up-down direction.

Vehicle side structure

A vehicle panel stricture includes an outer panel, a side member outer panel disposed outward of the outer panel in a vehicle width direction, an inner panel disposed inward of the outer panel in the vehicle width direction, and a first welded portion formed through spot welding in a state where the inner panel, the side member outer panel, and the outer panel are laid over each other while being arranged in this order from an outside of a vehicle or in a state where the side member outer panel, the outer panel, and the inner panel are laid over each other while being arranged in this order from the outside of the vehicle. In the vehicle panel structure, the outer panel is provided with a ridge portion and the thickness of the outer panel at the first welded portion is smaller than the thickness of the ridge portion.

Vehicle panel structure

There is provided a vehicle lower portion structure including: a pillar inner panel; a pillar outer panel having a hat-shaped cross-section, and at whose vehicle front-side end portion and vehicle rear-side end portion are formed outer flange portions that are joined to the inner flange portions; a first ridge portion that extends in a vehicle up-down direction at a front wall of the pillar outer panel and at an end portion on the outer side in the vehicle width direction within an area facing a front wheel in a vehicle front-rear direction; and a second ridge portion that extends in the vehicle up-down direction on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the first ridge portion within the area, and so as to protrude towards the vehicle front side beyond the first ridge portion when viewed in a cross-sectional plan view.

Vehicle lower portion structure

A center pillar structure comprises a center pillar including a center pillar outer panel. The center pillar outer panel includes a pillar upper portion that constitutes an upper portion of the center pillar outer panel and is bonded to a roof side rail, and a pillar lower portion that constitutes a lower portion of the center pillar outer panel and is bonded to a rocker. The pillar lower portion includes a pillar lower main body portion having a tensile strength which is lower than a tensile strength of the pillar upper portion, and a high-strength portion that is disposed on the pillar lower portion and extends in the vehicle height direction, the high-strength portion having a tensile strength which is higher than the tensile strength of the pillar lower main body portion.

Center pillar structure

A front pillar structure includes a pillar outer. The pillar outer includes an outer side wall portion, a front side wall portion, a rear side wall portion, a rear side curved portion, and a front side curved portion. The outer side wall portion constitutes a part of the pillar outer on a side far from a vehicle width center in a width direction of a vehicle. The front side wall portion constitutes a part of the pillar outer on a front side of the vehicle. The rear side wall portion constitutes a part of the pillar outer on a rear side of the vehicle. The rear side curved portion connects the outer side wall portion and the rear side wall portion to each other. The front side curved portion connects the outer side wall portion and the front side wall portion to each other.

Front pillar structure

A pillar structure includes: a pillar inner panel; and an outer reinforcement including a flange portion welded to the pillar inner panel, an outer portion located at a more vehicle-outward position than the flange portion and having a thicknesses that varies in the up-down direction of the vehicle, and a coupling portion coupling the flange portion to the outer portion. The outer reinforcement has a plate-thickness gradual change region where a thickness of the outer reinforcement gradually changes in the front-rear direction of the vehicle such that a thickness of the flange portion becomes equal to or less than a thickness of the thick-plate region between a thick-plate region where a thickness of the outer portion is more than a predetermined thickness and the flange portion.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Naohiko Ueno