U.S. patent application number 17/000631 was filed with the patent office on 2022-02-24 for pillar-box rail-cab back structural joints for unibody vehicles.
The applicant listed for this patent is FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. Invention is credited to Vladimir Vladimirovich BOGACHUK, Marius CUREA, Steve William GALLAGHER, Shawn Michael MORGANS, Scott SEASHORE, Musheeruddin Zubair SYED.
Application Number | 20220055697 17/000631 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220055697 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MORGANS; Shawn Michael ; et
al. |
February 24, 2022 |
PILLAR-BOX RAIL-CAB BACK STRUCTURAL JOINTS FOR UNIBODY VEHICLES
Abstract
This disclosure details exemplary pillar-to-box rail-to-cab back
structural joints for unibody vehicles. An exemplary structural
joint of a unibody vehicle may include a pillar assembly and a box
rail assembly that intersects the pillar assembly and extends
continuously up to a door opening flange of the pillar assembly.
The pillar assembly and box rail assembly may establish a
beam-to-beam connection of the structural joint. A cab back
assembly may be secured relative to the pillar assembly and the box
rail assembly to establish a third portion of the structural joint.
Various spot welds may be provided for joining the various
components of the structural joint.
Inventors: |
MORGANS; Shawn Michael;
(Chelsea, MI) ; GALLAGHER; Steve William;
(Bloomfield Hills, MI) ; BOGACHUK; Vladimir
Vladimirovich; (West Bloomfield, MI) ; CUREA;
Marius; (Canton, MI) ; SYED; Musheeruddin Zubair;
(Farmington Hills, MI) ; SEASHORE; Scott;
(Dearborn, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Appl. No.: |
17/000631 |
Filed: |
August 24, 2020 |
International
Class: |
B62D 33/02 20060101
B62D033/02; B62D 33/077 20060101 B62D033/077; B62D 25/04 20060101
B62D025/04 |
Claims
1. A structural joint of a unibody vehicle, comprising: a pillar
assembly; and a box rail assembly that intersects the pillar
assembly and extends continuously up to a door opening flange of
the pillar assembly.
2. The structural joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the unibody
vehicle is a unibody pickup truck.
3. The structural joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the pillar
assembly includes an inner pillar member and an outer pillar
member.
4. The structural joint as recited in claim 3, wherein the box rail
assembly includes an inner box rail member and an outer box rail
member.
5. The structural joint as recited in claim 4, comprising a first
spot weld joining together a first mating flange of the inner box
rail member, a first door opening flange of the inner pillar
member, a second mating flange of the outer box rail member, and a
second door opening flange of the outer pillar member.
6. The structural joint as recited in claim 5, comprising a second
spot weld joining together the inner box rail member and a rear
loading flange of the inner pillar member.
7. The structural joint as recited in claim 6, comprising a third
spot weld joining together the outer box rail member and a rear
loading flange of the outer pillar member.
8. The structural joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the box rail
assembly intersects the pillar assembly at about a right angle.
9. The structural joint as recited in claim 1, comprising at least
one internal baffle disposed inside the structural joint.
10. The structural joint as recited in claim 9, wherein the at
least one internal baffle includes a first internal baffle inside
the pillar assembly and a second internal baffle inside the box
rail assembly.
11. The structural joint as recited in claim 1, comprising a cab
back assembly secured to a sub-assembly of the pillar assembly and
the box rail assembly.
12. The structural joint as recited in claim 11, wherein the cab
back assembly includes an inner cab back member, an outer cab back
member, and a cab back panel secured between the inner cab back
member and the outer cab back member.
13. A unibody vehicle, comprising: a pillar assembly including an
inner pillar member and an outer pillar member; a box rail assembly
joined to the pillar assembly and including an inner box rail
member and an outer box rail member; and a first spot weld joining
a first mating flange of the inner box rail member, a first door
opening flange of the inner pillar member, a second mating flange
of the outer box rail member, and a second door opening flange of
the outer pillar member.
14. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 13, wherein the unibody
vehicle is a pickup truck.
15. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 13, comprising a second
spot weld joining the inner box rail member to a rear loading
flange of the inner pillar member.
16. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 15, comprising a third
spot weld joining the outer box rail member to a rear loading
flange of the outer pillar member.
17. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 13, wherein the pillar
assembly and the box rail assembly establish a beam-to-beam
connection of a structural joint of the unibody vehicle.
18. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 17, comprising a first
internal baffle disposed between the inner pillar member and the
outer pillar member, and a second internal baffle disposed between
the inner box rail member and the outer box rail member.
19. The unibody vehicle as recited in claim 13, wherein the inner
box rail member extends an entire distance between a first rear
loading flange and the first door opening flange of the inner
pillar member, and the outer box rail member extends an entire
distance between a second rear loading flange and the second door
opening flange of the outer pillar member.
20. The vehicle as recited in claim 13, comprising a cab back
assembly secured to a sub-assembly of the pillar assembly and the
box rail assembly.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to pillar, box rail, and
cab back structural joints for unibody vehicles.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A traditional body-on-frame pickup truck body has a separate
passenger cab and pickup cargo box that are attached to a vehicle
frame. A unibody pickup truck does not have a separate vehicle
frame, and as a result, a pillar, a cab back of the passenger
cabin, and a box rail of the pickup cargo box converge at a
structural joint. The structural joint should be capable of
providing various structural features and characteristics.
SUMMARY
[0003] A structural joint of a unibody vehicle according to an
exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other
things, a pillar assembly and a box rail assembly that intersects
the pillar assembly and extends continuously up to a door opening
flange of the pillar assembly.
[0004] In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing
structural joint, the unibody vehicle is a unibody pickup
truck.
[0005] In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the
foregoing structural joints, the pillar assembly includes an inner
pillar member and an outer pillar member.
[0006] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, the box rail assembly includes an inner box rail
member and an outer box rail member.
[0007] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, a first spot weld joins together a first mating
flange of the inner box rail member, a first door opening flange of
the inner pillar member, a second mating flange of the outer box
rail member, and a second door opening flange of the outer pillar
member.
[0008] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, a second spot weld joins together the inner box
rail member and a rear loading flange of the inner pillar
member.
[0009] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, a third spot weld joins together the outer box
rail member and a rear loading flange of the outer pillar
member.
[0010] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, the box rail assembly intersects the pillar
assembly at about a right angle.
[0011] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, at least one internal baffle is disposed inside
the structural joint.
[0012] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, the at least one internal baffle includes a
first internal baffle inside the pillar assembly and a second
internal baffle inside the box rail assembly.
[0013] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, a cab back assembly is secured to a sub-assembly
of the pillar assembly and the box rail assembly.
[0014] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
structural joints, the cab back assembly includes an inner cab back
member, an outer cab back member, and a cab back panel secured
between the inner cab back member and the outer cab back
member.
[0015] A unibody vehicle according to another exemplary aspect of
the present disclosure includes, among other things, a pillar
assembly including an inner pillar member and an outer pillar
member, a box rail assembly joined to the pillar assembly and
including an inner box rail member and an outer box rail member,
and a first spot weld joining a first mating flange of the inner
box rail member, a first door opening flange of the inner pillar
member, a second mating flange of the outer box rail member, and a
second door opening flange of the outer pillar member.
[0016] In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing
unibody vehicle, the unibody vehicle is a pickup truck.
[0017] In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the
foregoing unibody vehicles, a second spot weld joins the inner box
rail member to a rear loading flange of the inner pillar
member.
[0018] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
unibody vehicles, a third spot weld joins the outer box rail member
to a rear loading flange of the outer pillar member.
[0019] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
unibody vehicles, the pillar assembly and the box rail assembly
establish a beam-to-beam connection of a structural joint of the
unibody vehicle.
[0020] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
unibody vehicles, a first internal baffle is disposed between the
inner pillar member and the outer pillar member, and a second
internal baffle is disposed between the inner box rail member and
the outer box rail member.
[0021] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
unibody vehicles, the inner box rail member extends an entire
distance between a first rear loading flange and the first door
opening flange of the inner pillar member, and the outer box rail
member extends an entire distance between a second rear loading
flange and the second door opening flange of the outer pillar
member.
[0022] In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing
unibody vehicles, a cab back assembly is secured to a sub-assembly
of the pillar assembly and the box rail assembly.
[0023] The embodiments, examples, and alternatives of the preceding
paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings,
including any of their various aspects or respective individual
features, may be taken independently or in any combination.
Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable
to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.
[0024] The various features and advantages of this disclosure will
become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed
description can be briefly described as follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates select portions of a unibody of a
vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the vehicle is configured as a
pickup truck.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a blown-up view of a structural joint of the
unibody of FIG. 1.
[0027] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the structural joint of FIG.
2.
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates a beam-to-beam intersection between a
pillar assembly and a box rail assembly of the structural joint of
FIGS. 2-3.
[0029] FIG. 5 is an outer side view of the structural joint of
FIGS. 2-3.
[0030] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through section 6-6 of FIG.
5.
[0031] FIG. 7 is a blown-up view of select portions of the
structural joint shown in FIG. 6.
[0032] FIG. 8 illustrates an inner view of a cab back assembly of a
structural joint.
[0033] FIG. 9 illustrates an outer view of a cab back assembly of a
structural joint.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] This disclosure details exemplary pillar-to-box rail-to-cab
back structural joints for unibody vehicles. An exemplary
structural joint of a unibody vehicle may include a pillar assembly
and a box rail assembly that intersects the pillar assembly and
extends continuously up to a door opening flange of the pillar
assembly. The pillar assembly and box rail assembly may establish a
beam-to-beam connection of the structural joint. A cab back
assembly may be secured relative to the pillar assembly and the box
rail assembly to establish a third portion of the structural joint.
Various spot welds may be provided for joining the various
components of the structural joint. These and other features of
this disclosure are described in greater detail in the following
paragraphs of this detailed description.
[0035] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates select portions of a
unibody 10 of a vehicle 12, which in an exemplary embodiment is
configured as a pickup truck. Although a specific component
relationship is illustrated in the figures of this disclosure, the
illustrations are not intended to limit this disclosure. The
placement and orientation of the various components of the vehicle
12 are shown schematically and could vary within the scope of this
disclosure. In addition, the various figures accompanying this
disclosure are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be
exaggerated or minimized to emphasize certain details of a
particular component.
[0036] The vehicle 12 may include a passenger cabin 14 and a cargo
box 16 disposed rearward of the passenger cabin 14. The passenger
cabin 14 may define an interior for accommodating one or more
vehicle passengers. The passenger cabin 14 may include two or more
pillar assemblies 18 located on both a driver side and a passenger
side of the vehicle 12. In an embodiment, the vehicle 12 is an
extended cab pickup truck and therefore includes A-pillars 18A,
which are closest the front of the vehicle 12, C-pillars 18C, which
are closest to the cargo box 16 of the vehicle 12, and B-pillars
18B, which are intermediate pillars disposed between the A-pillars
18A and the C-pillars 18C. However, the teachings of this
disclosure are also applicable to standard cab pickup trucks, which
would only include the A-pillars 18A and the B-pillars 18B.
[0037] Unless stated otherwise in this disclosure, the use of a
given reference numeral (e.g., 18, etc.) without any alphabetic
identifier immediately following the reference numeral may refer to
any of the components identified by that same reference number. For
example, when used alone, the reference numeral "18" may refer to
any of the pillar assemblies 18A, 18B, or 18C.
[0038] A cab back assembly 20 may separate the passenger cabin 14
from the cargo box 16. The cab back assembly 20 may therefore
establish portions of both the passenger cabin 14 and the cargo box
16 within the unibody 10.
[0039] The cargo box 16 establishes a cargo space for storing and
hauling cargo on the vehicle 12. The cargo box 16 may include a
pair of opposing and longitudinally extending box rail assemblies
22 that establish upper rails of the cargo box 16. The box rail
assemblies 22 may also be referred to as belt rail assemblies. One
or more cargo box panels 25 (e.g., cargo box inner and outer
panels) may be secured to each box rail assembly 22 for
constructing the cargo box 16. A floor panel 35 may extend between
the cargo box panels 25.
[0040] Because of the unibody 10 configuration of the vehicle 12,
the passenger cabin 14 and the cargo box 16 are not supported on a
separate vehicle frame. As such, in the illustrated embodiment, the
pillar assembly 18C (or pillar assembly 18B for standard cab
configurations), the cab back assembly 20, and the box rail
assembly 22 converge at a structural joint 24 of the unibody 10. As
discussed in greater detail below, the pillar assembly 18C and the
box rail assembly 22 may establish a high strength and durable
beam-to-beam interconnection of the structural joint 24.
[0041] The unibody 10 of the vehicle 12 of FIG. 1 is shown relative
to a three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system 26 that
generally orients the unibody 10 relative to X, Y, and Z axis
directions. Axis line X generally represents an X-axis direction
along a length of the unibody 10 of the vehicle 12, the axis line Y
generally represents a Y-axis direction across a width of the
unibody 10 of the vehicle 12, and the axis line Z generally
represents a Z-axis direction along a height of the unibody 10 of
the vehicle 12. Reference may be made periodically throughout this
specification to the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis directions.
These directions coincide with the X, Y, and Z axes indicated by
the Cartesian coordinate system 26 shown in FIG. 1.
[0042] The exemplary structural joint 24 of the unibody 10 of FIG.
1 is shown in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-7. Although
only a passenger side structural joint 24 of the vehicle 12 is
illustrated, a substantially similar structural joint 24 would also
be located on the driver side of the vehicle 12 (see, for example,
FIG. 1).
[0043] The structural joint 24 is established at a location of the
unibody 10 where the pillar assembly 18, the cab back assembly 20,
and the box rail assembly 22 each meet together. In the illustrated
embodiment, the box rail assembly 22 extends in the X-axis
direction of the structural joint 24, the cab back assembly 20
extends in a Y-axis direction of the structural joint 24 (e.g., to
connect the pillar assembly 18 to an opposing pillar assembly of
the unibody 10), and the pillar assembly 18 extends in the Z-axis
direction of the structural joint 24. The pillar assembly 18, the
cab back assembly 20, and the box rail assembly 22 may be directly
joined (e.g., welded) together to establish the structural joint 24
of the unibody 10.
[0044] The pillar assembly 18 may include an outer pillar member 28
and an inner pillar member 30. The pillar assembly 18 may be a
B-pillar or a C-pillar of the passenger cabin 14 of the unibody 10
within the scope of this disclosure. The outer pillar member 28 and
the inner pillar member 30 may cooperate to establish a rear
loading flange 32 and a door opening flange 34 of the pillar
assembly 18. In an embodiment, the rear loading flange 32 faces
rearward toward the cargo box 16 of the unibody 10, and the door
opening flange 34 faces forward toward a front end of the unibody
10.
[0045] The box rail assembly 22 may include an outer box rail
member 36 and an inner box rail member 38. In an embodiment, the
box rail assembly 22 intersects the pillar assembly 18 and extends
continuously up to the door opening flange 34 of the pillar
assembly 18 (best illustrated in FIG. 4). In an embodiment, the box
rail assembly 22 extends across an entire distance between the rear
loading flange 32 and the door opening flange 34 of pillar assembly
18. In another embodiment, the box rail assembly 22 intersects the
pillar assembly 18 at about a right angle. In this disclosure, the
term "about` means that the expressed quantities or ranges need not
be exact but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller,
reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, measurement
error, etc.
[0046] Once welded or otherwise affixed together, the box rail
assembly 22 and the pillar assembly 18 establish a beam-to-beam
connection of the structural joint 24. The beam-to-beam connection
provides a stronger and more durable structural joint 24 compared
to prior unibody constructions.
[0047] The pillar assembly 18 and the box rail assembly 22 of the
structural joint 24 may be hollow or may include one or more hollow
sections. One or more internal baffles 40 may therefore be disposed
inside the box rail assembly 22 and/or the pillar assembly 18. The
internal baffles 40 may be implemented to reduce sound transmission
and to seal the hollow passages established by the pillar assembly
18 and the box rail assembly 22. In an embodiment, the internal
baffles 40 are made of heat reactive, expandable, thermoplastic or
elastomeric adhesive materials. However, the exact material make-up
of the internal baffles is not intended to limit this
disclosure.
[0048] An exemplary placement of the internal baffles 40 is
schematically depicted in FIG. 4. In an embodiment, one of the
internal baffles 40 is disposed inside each of the pillar assembly
18 and the box rail assembly 22. However, it should be understood
that other placements and configurations, which are design
dependent, are further contemplated within the scope of this
disclosure.
[0049] Referring now primarily to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the box rail
assembly 22 and the pillar assembly 18 may be joined together by a
plurality of spot welds, which are shown schematically with an "X."
In an embodiment, a first spot weld 42 is provided to join together
each of a mating flange 44 of the inner box rail member 38, the
door opening flange 34 of the inner pillar member 30, a mating
flange 44 of the outer box rail member 36, and the door opening
flange 34 of the outer pillar member 28. Although a single spot
weld is schematically shown in FIG. 7, one or more spot welds could
be utilized to join together the mating flange 44 of the inner box
rail member 38, the door opening flange 34 of the inner pillar
member 30, the mating flange 44 of the outer box rail member 36,
and the door opening flange 34 of the outer pillar member 28.
[0050] In another embodiment, a second spot weld 46 is provided to
join the inner box rail member 38 to the rear loading flange 32 of
the inner pillar member 30. Although a single spot weld is
schematically shown in FIG. 7, one or more spot welds could be
utilized to joint the inner box rail member 38 to rear loading
flange 32 of the inner pillar member 30.
[0051] In yet another embodiment, a third spot weld 48 is provided
to join the outer box rail member 36 to the rear loading flange 32
of the outer pillar member 28. Although a single spot weld is
schematically shown in FIG. 7, one or more spot welds could be
utilized to join the outer box rail member 36 to the rear loading
flange 32 of the outer pillar member 28.
[0052] Referring again primarily to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the cab back
assembly 20 may be secured to a sub-assembly of the pillar assembly
18 and the box rail assembly 22 to construct the unitized
structural joint 24. The cab back assembly 20 may include an inner
cab back member 50, an outer cab back member 52, and a cab back
panel 54 secured between the inner cab back member 50 and the outer
cab back member 52. The cab back panel 54 may be secured to each of
the inner and outer cab back members 50, 52 by providing one or
more additional spot welds and/or an adhesive/sealer (not
shown).
[0053] The inner cab back member 50 may include a first hand-off
bracket 56, and the outer cab back member 52 may include a second
hand-off bracket 58. The first and second hand-off brackets 56, 58
may be utilized for securing the cab back assembly 20 to the
sub-assembly of the pillar assembly 18 and the box rail assembly
22. One or more additional spot welds 70 and/or an adhesive/sealer
72 may be provided for securing the cab back assembly 20 to the
sub-assembly of the pillar assembly 18 and the box rail assembly 22
(see, e.g., FIGS. 8 and 9). Once secured, the cab back assembly 20
extends along the Y-axis in a direction toward an opposite side of
the vehicle 12 from the structural joint 24.
[0054] An appropriate body sealer may be applied in combination
with any of the spot welds described above for joining the various
components of the structural joint 24. In addition, a paint shop
sealer may be applied over exposed seams of the structural joint 24
for additional leak protection.
[0055] The unibody structural joints of this disclosure establish
pillar-to-box rail-to-cab back mating configurations. The proposed
mating configurations provide for cost and weight optimizations
within a unibody construction, thereby improving noise, vibration,
and harshness (NVH) performance and durability performance.
[0056] Although the different non-limiting embodiments are
illustrated as having specific components or steps, the embodiments
of this disclosure are not limited to those particular
combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or
features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination
with features or components from any of the other non-limiting
embodiments.
[0057] It should be understood that like reference numerals
identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several
drawings. It should be understood that although a particular
component arrangement is disclosed and illustrated in these
exemplary embodiments, other arrangements could also benefit from
the teachings of this disclosure.
[0058] The foregoing description shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in any limiting sense. A worker of ordinary
skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could
come within the scope of this disclosure. For these reasons, the
following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and
content of this disclosure.
* * * * *