Patent ID: 12202544

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The disclosure provides a vehicle frame structure capable of achieving light weight and cost reduction while maintaining good structural rigidity.

The disclosure provides a vehicle frame structure including a side frame and a support frame. The side frame is disposed at a side portion of a vehicle and extends in a vehicle front-rear direction. The support frame is disposed below the side frame to support a suspension member. The support frame includes a body portion, an arm portion extending upwards from the body portion, and a fixing portion disposed on an upper end of the arm portion. The fixing portion of the support frame and a lower end of the side frame are fixed to each other via a fastening member extending in a vehicle up-down direction. The fixing portion has a slit formed towards the outside in a vehicle width direction from a through hole into which the fastening member is inserted.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the slit is configured so that the fastening member is able to be detached to the outside in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle collides in the front or in the rear.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a width of the slit in the vehicle front-rear direction is larger than a width of a shaft portion of the fastening member inserted into the through hole in the vehicle front-rear direction.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the support frame and the fixing portion are integrally formed by casting.

To sum up, in the vehicle frame structure provided by the disclosure, the fixing portion at the upper end of the support frame and the lower end of the side frame are fixed to each other via the fastening member extending in the vehicle up-down direction. Further, the fixing portion has the slit formed towards the outside in the vehicle width direction from the through hole into which the fastening member is inserted. In this way, when the vehicle collides, the fastening member for fixing the support frame and the side frame can be displaced towards the outside in the vehicle width direction from the slit in the fixing portion. The support frame and the side frame are separated in the vehicle width direction, so an additional bracket is not required to be used to connect and fix the support frame and the side frame. The overall structural rigidity (especially in the vehicle up-down direction) is also improved. Accordingly, the vehicle frame structure provided by the disclosure can achieve light weight and cost reduction while maintaining good structural rigidity.

Descriptions of the disclosure are given with reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated by the accompanying drawings.FIG.1is schematic top view of a vehicle frame structure applied to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG.2is a schematic side view of the vehicle frame structure shown inFIG.1.FIG.3is a schematic three-dimensional view of the vehicle frame structure shown inFIG.2in region A.FIG.4is a schematic top view of a fixing portion and a fastening member used in the vehicle frame structure shown inFIG.3.FIG.5andFIG.6are schematic top views of the fixing portion and the fastening member used in the vehicle frame structure shown inFIG.4in other variation examples. The specific structure and the like of a vehicle frame structure100of the present embodiment will be described below with reference toFIG.1toFIG.4, and other variation examples of the vehicle frame structure100will be described with reference toFIG.5andFIG.6. However, the vehicle frame structure100is only one example of the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

With reference toFIG.1andFIG.2, in this embodiment, the vehicle frame structure100is adapted to be mounted on the front or rear of a vehicle50as a part of a vehicle body52. Herein, the vehicle frame structure100includes a side frame110and a support frame120. The side frame110is disposed at a side portion (not shown) of a vehicle and extends in a vehicle front-rear direction (e.g., a vehicle front direction Fr and a vehicle rear direction Rr shown in inFIG.1andFIG.2). The support frame120(or a sub frame) is disposed below the side frame110and is connected to a part of a suspension member60(e.g., a lower arm62of the suspension member60) to support the suspension member60(shown inFIG.1), and an upper end of the support frame120and a lower end of the side frame110are fixed to each other.

Preferably, a pair of side frames110is provided in a vehicle width direction (e.g., a vehicle left direction L and a vehicle right direction R inFIG.1). Further, the support frame120has a horizontal portion122extending in the vehicle width direction and a pair of vertical portions124extending in the vehicle front-rear direction and is configured such that the horizontal portion122is connected between the pair of vertical portions124(shown inFIG.1). In this way, the support frame120can support vehicle components such as a steering gear box70via the horizontal portion122, can support the suspension member60by connecting a part of the suspension member60(e.g., the lower arm62of the suspension member60) via the pair of vertical portions124, and can connect a pair of side frames110via the pair of vertical portions124. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and adjustment can be made according to needs.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown inFIG.1andFIG.2, the support frame120includes a body portion120a(i.e., the aforementioned horizontal portion122and the pair of vertical portions124, but not limited thereto), an arm portion126extending upwards (e.g., a vehicle up direction U shown inFIG.1andFIG.2) from the body portion120a, and a fixing portion128disposed at an upper end (i.e., an end portion corresponding to the vehicle up direction U) of the arm portion126. That is, the horizontal portion122and the pair of vertical portions124constituting the body portion120aare positioned at substantially the same level. The arm portion126extends upwards from the body portion120atowards the side frame110, and the upper end of the arm portion126is formed with the fixing portion128for connecting with the side frame110. Preferably, the support frame120is provided with a pair of arm portions126and a pair of fixing portions128in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the vehicle left direction L and the vehicle right direction R inFIG.1). The pair of fixing portions128corresponds to the pair of side frames110, but is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the fixing portion128at the upper end of the support frame120and the lower end of the side frame110can be fixed to each other via a fastening member130extending in a vehicle up-down direction (e.g., a vehicle up direction U and a vehicle down direction D shown inFIG.2andFIG.3). The connection between the side frame110on one side and the fixing portion128on one side of the support frame120will be described below.

To be specific, in this embodiment, as shown inFIG.3, the fixing portion128is formed on the upper end of the arm portion126of the support frame120. Preferably, the support frame120and the fixing portion128are integrally formed by casting. That is, the support frame120may be formed by casting metal materials to obtain the aforementioned body portion120a, the arm portion126, and the fixing portion128. Therefore, the fixing portion128is a part of the structure integrally formed at the upper end of the support frame120in the vehicle up-down direction. As such, the fixing portion128may exhibit good structural rigidity by being formed by casting and may stably support the fastening member130in the vehicle up-down direction. Further, an additional bracket is not required to be used to connect and fix the support frame120to the side frame110, and a fixing member (e.g., a bolt, etc.) required to be used to connect the bracket to the support frame120is also not needed. Therefore, light weight and cost reduction may be achieved. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and adjustment can be made according to needs.

Further, in this embodiment, the fixing portion128of the support frame120is provided with a through hole128a. The through hole128ais, for example, a passage extending in the vehicle up-down direction (e.g., the vehicle up direction U and the vehicle down direction D shown inFIG.3) and penetrating through the fixing portion128. The fastening member130has a shaft portion132and a stopper portion134. Herein, the through hole128ais, for example, a circular hole. The shaft portion132of the fastening member130is, for example, a round rod whose size is smaller than that of the through hole128a, and the stopper portion134is, for example, a bump whose size is larger than that of the through hole128a. As such, a lower end of the shaft portion132of the fastening member130is inserted into the through hole128ato connect the fixing portion128, and the stopper portion134of the fastening member130abuts against a lower edge of the fixing portion128to restrain the fastening member130from moving upwards in the vehicle up-down direction. However, the connection between the lower end of the fastening member130and the fixing portion128of the support frame120may be adjusted according to needs, and the configuration of the shaft portion132and the stopper portion134is not limited in the disclosure.

Similarly, although not shown in the drawings, the upper end of the fastening member130is fixed onto the side frame110(e.g., by bolt fixing, welding fixing, etc.) to restrain the movement of the fastening member130in the vehicle up-down direction. The fixing of the upper end of the fastening member130and the side frame110may be adjusted according to needs, and the disclosure is not limited thereto. As such, the fixing portion128at the upper end of the support frame120and the lower end of the side frame110face each other in the vehicle up-down direction, and the fixing portion128of the support frame120and the side frame110may be fixed to each other via the fastening member130extending in the vehicle up-down direction.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown inFIG.3, the fixing portion128of the support frame120has a slit128bformed towards the outside in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the vehicle left direction L and the vehicle right direction R shown inFIG.3) from the through hole128ainto which the fastening member130is inserted. The outside in the vehicle width direction refers to both sides corresponding to the vehicle left direction L and the vehicle right direction R of the vehicle body52of the vehicle50shown inFIG.1. For instance, the fixing portion128corresponding to the vehicle left direction L shown inFIG.3has a slit128bformed towards the vehicle left direction L from the through hole128a. Likewise, the fixing portion128(not shown) corresponding to the vehicle right direction R has a slit128bformed towards the vehicle right direction R from the through hole128a. The slit128bis, for example, a slot extending in the vehicle up-down direction (e.g., the vehicle up direction U and the vehicle down direction D shown inFIG.3) and penetrating through the fixing portion128. Further, the slit128bis formed from an edge of the through hole128atowards the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the through hole128aand the slit128bform a structure that is open towards the outside of the fixing portion128. The slit128bis configured so that the fastening member130is able to be detached to the outside in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle50collides in the front or in the rear. In this way, the fastening member130is fixed in the vehicle up-down direction to provide good structural rigidity. The fastening member130can move outwards in the vehicle width direction, so as to be detached to the outside in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle50collides in the front or in the rear.

More specifically, in this embodiment, as shown inFIG.4, the through hole128ais, for example, a circular hole having a width w1in the vehicle front-rear direction (the vehicle front direction Fr and the vehicle rear direction Rr shown inFIG.3andFIG.4). The shaft portion132of the fastening member130is, for example, a round rod having a width w2in the vehicle front-rear direction. The width w1of the through hole128ais larger than the width w2of the shaft portion132of the fastening member130. Further, since the slit128bis open to the outside from the edge of the through hole128a, it is preferable that a width w3of the slit128bin the vehicle front-rear direction is equivalent to the width w1of the through hole128a. That is, the slit128bextends outwards from the semicircle (the largest diameter) of the through hole128a, and the width w3of the slit128bis kept uniform in the vehicle front-rear direction. Accordingly, the width w3(equivalent to the width w1) of the slit128bin the vehicle front-rear direction is larger than the width w2of the shaft portion132of the fastening member130inserted into the through hole128ain the vehicle front-rear direction. The fastening member130may thus be easily detached to the outside in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle50collides in the front or in the rear.

Besides, in this embodiment, the slit128bshown inFIG.4extends from the through hole128ato the outside in the vehicle width direction in an extending direction D1parallel to the vehicle width direction. However, in the variation examples shown inFIG.5andFIG.6, the slit128bmay extend from the through hole128ato the outside in the vehicle width direction in an extending direction D2(shown inFIG.5) or in an extending direction D3(shown inFIG.6) inclined towards the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle width direction. The inclination towards the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle width direction means that the extending directions D2and D3are not parallel to the vehicle width direction. However, when the inclination angle between the extending direction and the vehicle width direction differs by a certain angle or greater (e.g., 45 degrees), the extending direction is closer to the vehicle front-rear direction than the vehicle width direction, and the extending direction is not referred to as extending to the outside in the vehicle width direction.

It thus can be seen that in this embodiment, as long as the width w3of the slit128bin the vehicle front-rear direction is larger than the width w2of the shaft portion132of the fastening member130in the vehicle front-rear direction, the relative relationship between the width w3of the slit128bin the vehicle front-rear direction and the width w1of the through hole128ain the vehicle front-rear direction is not limited in the disclosure. The width w3of the slit128bis also not limited to be kept uniform in the vehicle front-rear direction and may be adjusted according to needs. Further, the relative relationship between the extending direction of the slit128band the vehicle width direction is not limited in the disclosure and may be adjusted according to needs as long as the slit128bcan extend from the through hole128ato the outside in the vehicle width direction.

In view of the foregoing, in the vehicle frame structure provided by the disclosure, the fixing portion at the upper end of the support frame and the lower end of the side frame are fixed to each other via the fastening member extending in the vehicle up-down direction. Further, the fixing portion has the slit formed towards the outside in the vehicle width direction from the through hole into which the fastening member is inserted. Preferably, the slit is configured so that the fastening member is able to be detached to the outside in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle collides in the front or in the rear. The width of the slit in the vehicle front-rear direction is larger than the width of the shaft portion of the fastening member inserted into the through hole in the vehicle front-rear direction. Further, the support frame and the fixing portion are integrally formed by casting. In this way, when the vehicle collides, the fastening member for fixing the support frame and the side frame can be displaced towards the outside in the vehicle width direction from the slit in the fixing portion. The support frame and the side frame are separated in the vehicle width direction, so an additional bracket is not required to be used to connect and fix the support frame and the side frame. The overall structural rigidity (especially in the vehicle up-down direction) is also improved. Accordingly, the vehicle frame structure provided by the disclosure can achieve light weight and cost reduction while maintaining good structural rigidity.

Finally, it is worth noting that the foregoing embodiments are merely described to illustrate the technical means of the disclosure and should not be construed as limitations of the disclosure. Even though the foregoing embodiments are referenced to provide detailed description of the disclosure, people having ordinary skill in the art should understand that various modifications and variations can be made to the technical means in the disclosed embodiments, or equivalent replacements may be made for part or all of the technical features; nevertheless, it is intended that the modifications, variations, and replacements shall not make the nature of the technical means to depart from the scope of the technical means of the embodiments of the disclosure.