Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The subject matter in general relates to a vehicle rear body structure for mounting tailgate. More particularly, but not exclusively, the subject matter relates to structure of a side body extension outer panel for preventing stress concentration at mounting location of a tailgate balancer of the tailgate.
BACKGROUND
[002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present subject matter.
[003] In hatch back and SUV vehicles, tailgates flip-up (open and close) along rear roof panel in vehicle width direction. Generally, the tailgate is hinged at two locations on the roof panel to perform open and close operations. Due to lifting and holding operation of tailgate, balancing forces are required in opposite direction of the tailgate opening direction. Also, the exerted force varies according to the weight of the tailgate. To counter-balance the balancing force, hydraulic balancer is connected to the both sides, i.e., left hand side and right hand side of the tailgate. The hydraulic balancers are joined with the tailgate at one end and with side body extension outer panel of the rear pillar at other end.
[004] To support the mounting of the hydraulic balancers and to cater load applied by the tailgate in downward direction when the tailgate is opened, the mounting location of the hydraulic balancer on a side body extension outer panel is reinforced by a reinforcement at rear side of the side body extension outer panel towards vehicle front. The reinforcement joins the side body extension outer panel at two surfaces, one at the rear side of extension surface of the side body extension outer panel along vehicle width direction and other at bend part which is joined with the side body outer panel along vehicle length direction. The existing two sided balancer reinforcement uses two angled surfaces for spot welds with rear side of the side body outer extension panel which cause difficulty in matching due to manufacturing constraints. The mismatch in the mounting surfaces creates technical problem of water ingress in the gap formed between the reinforcement of the hydraulic balancer and the rear side of the side body extension outer panel.
[005] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 illustrate a tailgate hydraulic balancer 103 mounted on the side body extension outer panel 101 by means of a bracket 104 that is mounted on the extension surface 101a of the side body extension outer panel 101. The side body extension outer panel 101 is joined with a side body outer panel 102 at an extension surface 101b that extends in vehicle length direction or on the extension surface 101b which is at an angle to the extension surface 101a. The tailgate hydraulic balancer 103 is mounted on the extension surface 101a of the side body extension outer panel 101 at both right hand side and left hand side of the vehicle and provides support during opening and closing of the tailgate.
[006] As shown in Fig. 2, two surfaces 106a and 106b of the balancer reinforcement 106 are mounted on two surfaces 101a and 101b of rear side of the side body extension outer panel 101, respectively. Fig. 2b illustrates front side of the extension surface 101a of the side body extension outer panel 101 where bracket 104 (shown in Fig. 1) of the tailgate balancer 103 is mounted.
[007] With the existing structure of the side body extension outer panel 101, the vehicle provides less lateral visibility due to high width of the extension surface 101a of the side body extension outer panel 101.
[008] In order to increase lateral visibility of the vehicle, the overall width ‘D’ of the side body extension outer panel 101 needs to be reduced which in turn reduces the stiffness of the area and mounting of the tailgate balancer 103 and the side body extension outer panel 101.
[009] Fig. 3a illustrates mounting of the tailgate balancer 103 on the side body extension outer panel 101 and Fig. 3b illustrates cross section along line AA of the fig. 3a.
[0010] In order to solve the above technical problem, an obvious solution which is conceivable is to increase thickness of the side body extension outer panel 101. However, increased thickness of the side body extension outer panel 101 increases weight of the side body extension outer panel 101, which is contrary to the weight reduction of the vehicle for improving fuel efficiency.
[0011] In view of the above, there is need to change structure of side body extension outer panel 101 at tailgate balancer 103 mounting location to counter the balancing force generated at tailgate balancer 103 mounting location due to lifting and holding operation of tailgate. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a solution for the tailgate balancer mounting location that is more simple and inexpensive, and which can be adopted to overcome above mentioned technical problems and without addition in weight and parts.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0012] In view of the foregoing limitations inherent in the state of the art, some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed herein below.
[0013] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a side body extension outer panel structure with a balancer reinforcement at inner side of vehicle and mounted at one surface of the side body extension outer panel structure at tailgate balancer mounting location to reduce stress.
[0014] It is another object of the present disclosure to counter the balancing force generated at tailgate balancer mounting location due to lifting and holding operation of the tailgate.
[0015] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of the present invention is illustrated.
SUMMARY
[0016] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to vehicle rear body structure for mounting of tailgate balancer at rear side of the vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0017] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle rear body structure for mounting tailgate balancer. The vehicle rear body structure comprising a side body outer panel and a side body extension outer panel joined with the side body outer panel at one end to define the vehicle rear body structure. The side body extension outer panel comprises: a horizontal extension surface extending along vehicle width direction (WL) and a vertical extension surface extending at an angle away from the horizontal extension surface and extend along vehicle length direction (LL). The horizontal extension surface defines a flange toward the tailgate opening side. The vertical extension surface further bends to define a flange portion to join with the side body outer panel. The horizontal extension surface defines a bead structure to reinforce a tailgate balancer mounting location. The bead structure comprises a horizontal portion that extends along vehicle width direction (WL) on the horizontal extension surface and merges with a longitudinal portion at one end, the longitudinal portion integrated with fillet of the flange portion in vehicle height direction (HL). The horizontal portion at other end define a converging portion that converges towards the vertical extension surface and merges with boundary fillet of the horizontal extension surface and the vertical extension surface.
[0018] In an aspect, the horizontal portion and the longitudinal portion together define a half T-shaped bead structure to reinforce the tailgate balancer mounting location.
[0019] In an aspect, a single-sided balancer reinforcement is spot welded on the horizontal extension surface from inner side of vehicle to reduce stress concentration on the side body extension outer panel.
[0020] In an aspect, the horizontal portion is positioned above the tailgate balancer mounting location to prevent load transfer from top portion onto the tailgate balancer mounting location.
[0021] In an aspect, the flange portion of the side body extension outer panel joins with the side body outer panel along vehicle width (WL) direction.
[0022] Other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0023] While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter that is regarded as forming the present subject matter, it is believed that the present disclosure will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals designate like structural and other elements, in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates rear body structure of vehicle with a tailgate balancer as known in the art;
[0025] FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate structure of existing two-sided spot welded tailgate balancer reinforcement and tailgate balancer mounting location on the side body extension outer panel respectively as known in the art;
[0026] FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate mounted tailgate balancer on the side body extension outer panel with two-sided spot welded tailgate balancer reinforcement at rear side and cross section view along line AA respectively as known in the art;
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates side body extension outer panel and structure of bead on the side body extension outer panel, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0028] FIG. 5a discloses a tailgate balancer mounted on the tailgate balancer mounting location of fig. 4, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0029] FIG. 5b illustrates cross section view along line AA of fig. 5a; and
[0030] Fig. 6 illustrates rear view of the side body extension outer panel with single sided tailgate balancer reinforcement, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0033] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0034] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “consisting” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0035] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0036] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", “third”, and the like in the present invention are used for the purpose of description only, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or implicitly.
[0037] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0038] Rear pillar: A vehicle, in particularly hatchback or wagon type, comprising three pillars front pillar (A-pillar), middle pillar (B-pillar) and rear pillar (C-pillar). The front pillar defines gate entry for front seat, i.e., for driver and co-driver, the middle pillar defines gate entry for passenger seat, and rear pillar defines entry from rear side of the vehicle. The rear pillar is combination of side body extension outer panel, side body inner panel, and side body outer panel.
[0039] Side body extension outer panel defines extension part to receive the bracket of the tailgate balancer, flange part and bend portion to be mounted with the side body outer panel.
[0040] The present subject matter discloses a tailgate balancer mounting structure on a side body extension outer panel of the vehicle at rear side of the vehicle. For ease of lifting the heavy tailgate and to hold it up in the air, a tailgate balancer is provided which connects the tailgate with rear side of the vehicle. On the vehicle body side, tailgate balancer is mounted on the side body extension outer panel and on tailgate side, the tailgate balancer is mounted on inner panel of the tailgate. During tailgate opening/closing, the tailgate balancer exerts a force along its axis. This force varies according to the weight of the tailgate. Heavier the tailgate, higher the balancing force.
[0041] Due to this force, stress is generated at the mounting location of the tailgate balancer on the side body extension outer panel. To overcome this stress, a balancer reinforcement is provided inside the vehicle at the tailgate balancer mounting location as seen in figures 4-6 to reduce stress concentration on the side body extension outer panel.
[0042] The present subject matter herein relates to a structure of a side body extension outer panel of rear side of the vehicle where tailgate balancer is mounted. The vehicle rear body structure 200 comprises a side body extension outer panel 201 for preventing stress concentration at tailgate balancer mounting location 204. Due to the exerted force, stress is generated at the balancer mounting location 204 which reduces the rigidity of the mounting location.
[0043] FIG. 4, Fig.5a, and Fig. 5b illustrate the side body extension outer panel 201 with a half T-shaped bead structure 203 to reinforce the balancer mounting location 204 and to counter the stress generated at the balancer mounting location 204 due to weight of tailgate during opening, closing and holding operations, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. Fig. 5b illustrates cross section view along line AA of Fig. 5a with the tailgate balancer 206. The arrow WL indicates vehicle width direction and arrow HL indicates vehicle height direction. As shown in the fig. 4, the half T-shaped bead 203 extends along vehicle width direction ‘WL’ and vehicle height direction ‘HL’.
[0044] As shown in fig. 5b, the side body extension outer panel 201 defines a horizontal extension surface 201a extending along vehicle width direction ‘WL’ and a vertical extension surface 201b extending at an angle away from the horizontal extension surface 201a toward outside of the vehicle and extend along vehicle length direction ‘LL’.
[0045] The horizontal extension surface 201a defines a flange 201aa towards the tailgate opening side. The flange 201aa joins with rear inner panel of the vehicle to define a tailgate opening for entry and exit which is closed by the tailgate.
[0046] The vertical extension surface 201b further bends to define a flange portion 201c to join with the side body outer panel 202 along vehicle width direction (WL).
[0047] Referring to fig.4, the horizontal extension surface 201a defines a bead structure 203 to reinforce a tailgate balancer mounting location 204. The bead structure 203 comprises a horizontal portion 203a that extends along vehicle width direction ‘WL’ on the horizontal extension surface 201a and merges with a longitudinal portion 203b at one end. The longitudinal portion 203b is integrated with fillet of the flange portion 201aa in vehicle height direction ‘HL’. The longitudinal portion 203b is seamlessly integrated with fillet on the boundary of flange 201aa thereby protecting the failure of spot welds at the flange area defining the tailgate opening side. The horizontal portion 203a is located just above the tailgate balancer, i.e., tailgate balancer mounting location 204 to prevent load transfer from top portion onto the balancer mounting face.
[0048] The horizontal portion 203a at other end define a converging portion 203c that converges toward the vertical extension surface 201b and merges with boundary fillet of the horizontal extension surface 201a and the vertical extension surface 201b. The converging portion 203c of the bead structure 203 transfers the stress into the boundary fillet in a uniform manner. The horizontal portion 203a and the longitudinal portion 203b together define a half T-shaped bead structure 203 to reinforce the tailgate balancer mounting location 204.
[0049] Referring to fig. 6, to overcome the stress generated by the tailgate weight on the side body extension outer panel 201, a single-sided balancer reinforcement 205 is provided inside the vehicle at balancer mounting location 204. Due to single sided surface of the balancer reinforcement 205, the balancer reinforcement 205 can be mounted on the side body extension outer panel 201 without any mismatch thus avoiding any gap issues.
[0050] The bead structure 203 is provided on side body extension outer panel 201 which provides stiffness in the area and prevents stress concentration in the vicinity of tailgate balancer mounting location 204.
[0051] Technical advantages:
[0052] Due to single sided surface of the balancer reinforcement 205, the balancer reinforcement can be provided to reinforce the tailgate balancer mounting location. Further, there is no problem of parts mismatch and water leakage issue.
[0053] With lesser width ‘d’ of the side body extension outer panel as compared to existing structures, lateral visibility is also increased. The present structure maintains the section strength of tailgate balancer mounting location even with the reduced width of side body extension outer panel.
[0054] With the present structure of the side body extension outer panel, it is possible to meet balancing force for SUV vehicles which require a heavier tailgate design due to additional trim garnish, styling requirements and bigger opening on rear side of the vehicle.
[0055] With the present structure of the side body extension outer panel, it is possible to incorporate sharp styling features without hampering the rigidity of the structure as loss in rigidity due to decrease in width of the side body extension outer panel is compensated with the help of bead structure as explained.
[0056] Furthermore, each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the “invention” may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases, it will be recognized that references to the “invention” will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.
[0057] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.
[0058] Furthermore, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as encompassed by the following claims.
[0059] The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
[0060] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is determined by the claims that follow. The present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
[0061] The term “vehicle” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to any moving vehicle that is capable of carrying one or more human occupants and is powered by any form of energy. The term “vehicle” is a motor vehicle which includes, but is not limited to: cars, trucks, vans, minivans, hatchback, sedan, MUVs, and SUVs.

Claims:

We claim:

1. A vehicle rear body structure (200) for mounting tailgate balancer (203), the vehicle rear body structure (200) comprising:
a side body outer panel (202);
a side body extension outer panel (201) joined with the side body outer panel (202) at one end to define the vehicle rear body structure (200),
characterized in that:
a side body extension outer panel (201) comprises:
a horizontal extension surface (201a) extending along vehicle width direction (WL) and a vertical extension surface (201b) extending at an angle away from the horizontal extension surface (201a) and extend along vehicle length direction (LL),
the horizontal extension surface (201a) defines a flange (201aa) toward the tailgate opening side;
the vertical extension surface (201b) further bends to define a flange portion (201c) to join with the side body outer panel (202);
the horizontal extension surface (201a) defines a bead structure (203) to reinforce a tailgate balancer mounting location (204), the bead structure (203) comprises:
a horizontal portion (203a) that extends along vehicle width direction (WL) on the horizontal extension surface (201a) and merges with a longitudinal portion (203b) at one end, the longitudinal portion (203b) integrated with fillet of the flange portion (201aa) in vehicle height direction (HL).
2. The vehicle rear body structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal portion (203a) at other end define a converging portion (203c) that converges towards the vertical extension surface (201b) and merges with boundary fillet of the horizontal extension surface (201a) and the vertical extension surface (201b).

3. The vehicle rear body structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal portion (203a) and the longitudinal portion (203b) together define a half T-shaped bead structure (203).

4. The vehicle rear body structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a single-sided balancer reinforcement (205) is spot welded on the horizontal extension surface (201a) from inner side of vehicle.

5. The vehicle rear body structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal portion (203a) is positioned above the tailgate balancer mounting location (204).

6. The vehicle rear body structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flange portion (201c) of the side body extension outer panel (201) joins with the side body outer panel (202) along vehicle width (WL) direction.