001]
The present
su
bject matter described herein, relates to
a
vehicle side body
structure
,
and
, in particular,
to a
rear wheel house structure to improve
torsion
al
stiffness
i
n
passenger automotive vehicle.
5
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002]
In a conventional vehicle side portion structure, a rear wheel house is
configured by a wheel house inner panel and a wheel house outer panel, and a
suspension part for damping vibrat
ion, etc., of a vehicle
while
travelling is
attached to the wheel house inner panel. Further, the lower end of the wheel house
10
inner panel is connected to a rear side member and has a role of suppressing
deformation of the rear side member when the rear si
de member receives a load
from a rear coil or the like.
The rear wheel house structure
has a suspension
receiving part where suspension of the vehicle is attached.
[003]
Fig. 1 shows the conventional rear wheel house structure from vehicle
15
cabin. The rear wheel
house structure 100 has front panel 101, intermediate panel
102, and the rear panel 103. In the figure 1, the direction of an arrow L represents
longitudinal direction towards front side of the vehicle and arrow V represents
vertical direction towards upp
er side of the vehicle.
The intermediate panel 102
has suspension receiving bracket 104 to damp the vibrations.
All the panels 101,
20
102, 103 are joined with each other to define the rear wheel house structure 100.
The rear wheel house structure 100 has a c
ross section line XX which shows the
joining of the panels
as shown in the figure 2(a),
2(b)
, and 2(c)
.
As shown in the
figure 2(a), the front panel 101 is joined with front portion of the intermediate
panel 102 towards L direction and the rear panel 103
is joined with the rear
25
portion of the intermediate panel 102 toward
s
rear L direction.
In the figure 2(a),
joints of the front panel 101 and the rear panel 103 are joined with the
intermediate panel 102 with joint section E and F
respectively
. As shown in
the
figure 2(b), the front panel 101 and the intermediate panel 102 are bent joined
with each other. Similarly, the rear panel 103 and the intermediate panel 102 are
30
3
bent joined with each other.
In order to increase the
torsional stiffness of the
vehicle,
in the
rear wheel house structure 100
, the height of the intermediate panel
102 is increased.
T
he increased height of the intermediate panel 102 impacts the
aesthetics of the vehicle. If aesthetic is improved, torsional stiffness is decreased.
[004]
Indian Pat
ent Application
IN201614027193A
with title “Vehicle side
5
portion structure”
discloses a rear wheel house structure
for increasing the
torsional stiffness and vibration damping. In this structure, front panel,
intermediate panel, and rear panel are joined
w
ith each other by a recess which
provides strength and rigidity to the structure. This patent application adds extra
weight and cost to the rear wheel house structure which is not desirable in view of
10
fuel efficiency and economy of the vehicle.
[005]
With the e
xisting rear wheel house structure, in
running condition when
the vehicle encounters a bump, it experiences the twisting effect. As a result, it
gives an undesirable feeling to the customer sitting inside the vehicle. Torsional
stiffness of the B
ody
I
n
W
hi
te (BIW)
is an important parameter which directly
15
controls
the
twist effect and improves the handling performance of the vehicle.
Higher the torsional stiffness of the BIW, better
is
handling performance of the
vehicle.
High torsional stiffness
can be achi
eved either by proposing the increase
in panel thickness of the BIW or reinforcement addition in sensitive areas of the
BIW, or increasing the height of wheel housing area in vertical direction
V
.
20
However, these proposals cause weight addition that would b
ring down the
overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle and also deter with the aesthetics of the
vehicle which otherwise would have to be covered by trims. These all measures
increase the overall cost of the vehicle which a manufacturer would not prefer.
The
design of the wheel housing area
as shown in the figure 1
is such that it
25
causes high bending zone along the bending line
X
-
X.
[006]
In
the current automotive environment, automakers are striving hard to
introduce innovative ideas in order to reduce weight an
d cost of the vehicle
keeping the aesthetics and performance of the vehicle unaffected.
Further,
structure of
the wheel housing area is an important parameter that contributes in
30
4
the overall torsional stiffness of the vehicle. One idea to improve the torsi
onal
stiffness of the vehicle is to increase the wheel house panel height in vertical
direction upwards.
D
ue
to
high height of the intermediate
panel
, the panels are
visible from inside of the vehicle and
expos
e
wheel housing area to customer’s
sight. Henc
e, the idea of increasing the wheel house component height
is not good
5
proposal
as it would impact the aesthetics of the vehicle.
Some of the existing
vehicles have such type of arrangement to increase the torsional stiffness of the
vehicle.
[007]
The
refore, the
re is a need in the art to manufacture
a
rear wheel house
structure with panels having equal height for aesthetic point of view and with high
10
torsional stiffness.
The
present invention has been conceived in view of the
aforementioned circumstances.
O
BJECT
S OF THE INVENTION:
[008]
T
he principal objective of the present invention is to
provide
a
rear wheel
house structure.
15
[009]
Another object of the present
invention
is to
provide
a rear wheel house
structure with panels having equal height to increase aesthetics of t
he rear wheel
house structure from inner side of the vehicle.
[0010]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a
rear wheel house
structure with high
torsional stiffness of vehicle and
which
provides strength to
20
the rear end of the BIW when the vehic
le is subjected to torsional loads in running
conditions
.
[0011]
Yet another object of the present
invention
is
to
provide a simple
,
effective,
and cost efficient
rear wheel house structure
for
high torsional
stiffness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
25
[0012]
The
subject mat
ter disclosed herein relates to
a rear wheel inner house
structure for improving torsional stiffness. The rear wheel inner house structure
has a front panel located at front side along longitudinal direction (L) of the
vehicle, an intermediate panel locate
d at middle position, and a rear panel located
5
at longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle. The front panel and the rear panel have
extending flange which extend toward the intermediate panel. The extending
flange of the front panel and the rear panel ove
rlapped with the intermediate panel
at both end along vertical height and joined with the intermediate panel to form
the
rear wheel inner house structure. The joint between the front panel and the
5
intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U sha
ped hump or bent
profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement. Similarly, joint between the
rear panel and the intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped
hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement
.
[0013]
In order to
further understand the characteristics and technical contents of
10
the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with
reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative
only but not used to limit scope o
f the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014]
It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only
15
typical embodiments of
the present subject matter
and are therefore not to be
considered for limiting of its scope, for
the invention may admit to other equally
effective embodiments.
The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left
-
most digit(s) of a reference number
identifies the figure in which the reference numb
er first appears. The same
20
numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and
components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with
embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example,
and with
reference to the accompanying figures, in which
:
[0015]
Fig.
1
illustrate
s
conventional structure of rear wheel
inner
house
;
25
[0016]
Fig.
2
(a), (b), and (c)
i
llustrate
cross section view
s
of the
rear wheel
inner
house structure of figure 1;
[0017]
Fig.
3 illustrates
structure
of rear wheel
inner
house with panels having
equal height
,
in accordance with an embodiment
of the present subject matter;
6
[0018]
Fig.
4(a), (b), and (c) illustrate
joint cross section view
s
of different panels
of the rear wheel
inner
house structure
,
in accorda
nce with an embodiment
of the
present subject matter;
and
[0019]
Fig. 5
illustrates
strain energy test result of the rear wheel
inner
house
structure
of figure 3,
in accordance with an embodiment
of the present subject
5
matter.
[0020]
The
figures
depict embodiments of th
e
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
10
of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0021]
The
subject matter disclosed herein relates to
a
rear wheel inner house
structure for improving torsional stiffness. The rear wheel inner house structure
ha
s a front panel located at front side along longitudinal direction (L) of the
15
vehicle, an intermediate panel located at middle position, and a rear panel located
at longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle. The front panel and the rear panel have
extendin
g flange which extend toward the intermediate panel. The extending
flange of the front panel and the rear panel overlapped with the intermediate panel
at both end along vertical height and joined with the intermediate panel to form
20
the
rear wheel inner hou
se structure. The joint between the front panel and the
intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped hump or bent
profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement. Similarly, joint between the
rear panel and the intermediate panel is pl
ane smooth joint without any U shaped
hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement.
25
[0022]
It
should
be
noted
that the description and figures merely illustrate the
principles of the present subject
matter
. It should be appreciated by those sk
illed
in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily
utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the
7
same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those
skill
ed in the art that by devising various
assembly
that, although not explicitly
described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter
and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are
principally intende
d expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in
5
understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts
contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as
being without limitation to such sp
ecifically recited examples and conditions. The
novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter,
both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects
10
and advantages will be better understoo
d from the following description when
considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0023]
These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be
described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be
noted that th
e description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject
15
matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise
various
arrangements
that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the
principles of th
e present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0024]
To cater the aesthetics and vehicle handling performance, an optimized
section and curvature is proposed in the present subject matter. The present
20
structure of rear wheel inner house improves th
e torsional stiffness of vehicle and
provides strength to the rear end of the Body In White (BIW) when the vehicle is
subjected to torsional loads in running conditions.
The present structure provides
better stiffness in the region which restricts the defo
rmation about bending line A
-
A and increases the torsional stiffness of the vehicle.
25
[0025]
Fig.
3
illustrates
structure of
rear wheel inner house
,
in accordance with an
embodiment
of the present subject matter
.
The
rear wheel inner house
structure
300 has a fron
t panel 301, an intermediate panel 302, and a rear panel 303. In the
figure 3, arrow L represents longitudinal direction toward front side of the vehicle
and arrow V represents vertical direction toward upper side of the vehicle. The
30
8
front panel 301, the i
ntermediate panel 302, and the rear panel 303 are provided in
longitudinal direction L of the vehicle.
From front side direction, the front panel
301 is located at front side and the rear panel is located at rear side in longitudinal
direction of the vehic
le. The intermediate panel 302 is positioned at middle of the
front panel 301 and the rear panel 303.
The intermediate panel 302 has suspension
5
receiving plate on which wheel suspension can be mounted. The suspension
receiving plate receives the vibrations
from the vehicle suspension and distributes
the vibrations into the vehicle side body structure via the rear wheel inner house
structure.
The front panel 301
and the rear panel 303 are join
ed with the
intermediate panel 302.
The front panel 301 has extend
ed flange towards the
10
intermediate panel 302 for joining. In other words, the front panel 301 has
extended flange from rear side. Similarly, the rear panel 303 has extending flange
towards the intermediate panel 302.
In other words, the rear panel 303 has
extended flange from front side.
The extending flange of the front panel 301 and
the rear panel 303 overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 through complete
15
vertical depth with straight planar profile. There is no hump or U section profile at
the overlapp
ing section.
The joinery portion of the front and intermediate panel;
and rear and intermediate panel has straight profile.
[0026]
The front panel 301 and the rear panel 303 are joined with the intermediate
panel 302 by any joining means, specifically by welding
. The
front panel 301
, the
20
intermediate panel 302, and the rear panel 303 has equal height
.
Due to equal
heights of the front panel 301, the intermediate panel 302,
and
the rear panel 303,
a straight/linear upper profile 304 of the rear wheel inner house i
s achieved.
The
straight joining of the front panel 301 with the intermediate panel 302 goes upto
vertical end of the front panel 301 and the intermediate panel 302. Similarly, the
25
straight joining of the rear panel 303 with the intermediate panel 302 goes
upto
vertical end of the rear panel 303 and the intermediate panel 302.
The rear wheel
inner house structure 300 is joined with floor of the vehicle at 305.
[0027]
Figure 4(a) illustrates the cross section along JJ of the rear wheel inner
house structure, in ac
cordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
30
9
Further, the figure 4(a) indicates joining K and L of the front panel with the
intermediate panel and rear panel with the intermediate panel, respectively. In the
zoom version of the K
as shown in
figure 4(b)
, the extending flange of the front
panel 301 overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 and define a straight and
planar section
without any U shaped hump or any bent profile. Similarly, zoom
5
version of L
as shown in figure 4(b)
, the extending fl
ange of the rear panel 303
overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 and define a straight and planar section
without any U shaped hump or any bent profile. In the joining between the front
panel and the intermediate panel, a simple plane smoother joint is
present without
any bent profile.
10
[0028]
The planar section at the joinery provides appropriate stiffness in the
wheel house region, thus allowing it to withstand the twist load in the vehicle
running condition and restricts the structure to bend about line X
-
X.
[0029]
The strain energy contours in figure 5 shows the low strain at the wheel
house joinery location where the section has smooth section. The scale shown on
15
the right side mentions that red areas indicate higher strain energy and grey area
indicates low strai
n energy in the region. Thus, by keeping the upper profile of the
wheel house area linear and making the section in the wheel house area straight
(removal of U shaped humps or any bent profile or an addition of a reinforcement
or recess) both the requireme
nts of inner trim removal by making equal heights
20
and required handling performance by increasing the torsional stiffness
are
met.
[0030]
T
he term “vehicle” as used throughout this detailed description and in the
claims refers to any moving vehicle that is capabl
e of carrying one or more human
occupants and is powered by any
form of energy. The term “v
ehicle”
is a motor
vehicle which
includes, but is not limited to: car
s, trucks, vans, minivans,
25
hatchback, sedan, MUVs, and SUVs
.
[0031]
It will be further appreciated that
functions or structures of a plurality of
components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the
functions or structures of one
-
step or component may be split among plural steps
or components. The present invention contemplates all of
these combinations.
30
10
Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures
depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other
dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the pres
ent
invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated
embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of
5
other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the
above that t
he fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof
also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present
invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the
practice of the methods herei
n. The use of “comprising” or “including” also
10
contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited
feature.
[0032]
Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been
described
in
language specific to structural features,
it is to be understood that the
present
subject matter
is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather,
15
the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present
subject matter.
Numerous modifications and adaptati
ons of the system
/
component
of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is
intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations
which fall within
the
scope of
the present subject matter

Claims:We claim:
1. A rear wheel inner house structure (300) for providing torsional stiffness to a vehicle, the rear wheel inner house structure (300) comprising:
a front panel (301) located at front side along longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle;
an intermediate panel (302) located at middle position;
a rear panel (303) located at longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle;
characterized in that
the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) has extending flange which extend toward the intermediate panel (302); and
the extending flange of the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) overlapped with the intermediate panel (302) at both ends along vertical height and joined with the intermediate panel (302) to form the rear wheel inner house structure (300).

2. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extending flange of the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) overlaps the intermediate panel (302) with planar section for joining.

3. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front panel (301), the intermediate panel (302), and the rear panel (303) have equal vertical heights.

4. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate panel (302) is joined with the extending flange of the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) upto vertical end.

5. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) are joined directly with the intermediate panel (302) throughout the vertical depth.
6. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein joining of the front panel (301) and the rear panel (303) with the intermediate panel (302) is straight.

7. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front panel (301), the intermediate panel (302) and the rear panel (303) are joined with floor panel in vehicle longitudinal direction.

8. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front panel (301), the intermediate panel (302) and the rear panel (303) are joined with outer panel of vehicle side portion in vehicle vertical direction.

9. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate panel (302) has suspension receiving plate.

10. The rear wheel inner house structure (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein upper profile of the rear wheel inner house structure (300) is linear.
, Description:REAR WHEEL INNER HOUSE STRUCTURE OF VEHICLE
FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to a vehicle side body structure, and, in particular, to a rear wheel house structure to improve torsional stiffness in passenger automotive vehicle.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] In a conventional vehicle side portion structure, a rear wheel house is configured by a wheel house inner panel and a wheel house outer panel, and a suspension part for damping vibration, etc., of a vehicle while travelling is attached to the wheel house inner panel. Further, the lower end of the wheel house inner panel is connected to a rear side member and has a role of suppressing deformation of the rear side member when the rear side member receives a load from a rear coil or the like. The rear wheel house structure has a suspension receiving part where suspension of the vehicle is attached.
[003] Fig. 1 shows the conventional rear wheel house structure from vehicle cabin. The rear wheel house structure 100 has front panel 101, intermediate panel 102, and the rear panel 103. In the figure 1, the direction of an arrow L represents longitudinal direction towards front side of the vehicle and arrow V represents vertical direction towards upper side of the vehicle. The intermediate panel 102 has suspension receiving bracket 104 to damp the vibrations. All the panels 101, 102, 103 are joined with each other to define the rear wheel house structure 100. The rear wheel house structure 100 has a cross section line XX which shows the joining of the panels as shown in the figure 2(a), 2(b), and 2(c). As shown in the figure 2(a), the front panel 101 is joined with front portion of the intermediate panel 102 towards L direction and the rear panel 103 is joined with the rear portion of the intermediate panel 102 towards rear L direction. In the figure 2(a), joints of the front panel 101 and the rear panel 103 are joined with the intermediate panel 102 with joint section E and F respectively. As shown in the figure 2(b), the front panel 101 and the intermediate panel 102 are bent joined with each other. Similarly, the rear panel 103 and the intermediate panel 102 are bent joined with each other. In order to increase the torsional stiffness of the vehicle, in the rear wheel house structure 100, the height of the intermediate panel 102 is increased. The increased height of the intermediate panel 102 impacts the aesthetics of the vehicle. If aesthetic is improved, torsional stiffness is decreased.
[004] Indian Patent Application IN201614027193A with title “Vehicle side portion structure” discloses a rear wheel house structure for increasing the torsional stiffness and vibration damping. In this structure, front panel, intermediate panel, and rear panel are joined with each other by a recess which provides strength and rigidity to the structure. This patent application adds extra weight and cost to the rear wheel house structure which is not desirable in view of fuel efficiency and economy of the vehicle.
[005] With the existing rear wheel house structure, in running condition when the vehicle encounters a bump, it experiences the twisting effect. As a result, it gives an undesirable feeling to the customer sitting inside the vehicle. Torsional stiffness of the Body In White (BIW) is an important parameter which directly controls the twist effect and improves the handling performance of the vehicle. Higher the torsional stiffness of the BIW, better is handling performance of the vehicle. High torsional stiffness can be achieved either by proposing the increase in panel thickness of the BIW or reinforcement addition in sensitive areas of the BIW, or increasing the height of wheel housing area in vertical direction V. However, these proposals cause weight addition that would bring down the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle and also deter with the aesthetics of the vehicle which otherwise would have to be covered by trims. These all measures increase the overall cost of the vehicle which a manufacturer would not prefer. The design of the wheel housing area as shown in the figure 1 is such that it causes high bending zone along the bending line X-X.
[006] In the current automotive environment, automakers are striving hard to introduce innovative ideas in order to reduce weight and cost of the vehicle keeping the aesthetics and performance of the vehicle unaffected. Further, structure of the wheel housing area is an important parameter that contributes in the overall torsional stiffness of the vehicle. One idea to improve the torsional stiffness of the vehicle is to increase the wheel house panel height in vertical direction upwards. Due to high height of the intermediate panel, the panels are visible from inside of the vehicle and expose wheel housing area to customer’s sight. Hence, the idea of increasing the wheel house component height is not good proposal as it would impact the aesthetics of the vehicle. Some of the existing vehicles have such type of arrangement to increase the torsional stiffness of the vehicle.
[007] Therefore, there is a need in the art to manufacture a rear wheel house structure with panels having equal height for aesthetic point of view and with high torsional stiffness. The present invention has been conceived in view of the aforementioned circumstances.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[008] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a rear wheel house structure.
[009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a rear wheel house structure with panels having equal height to increase aesthetics of the rear wheel house structure from inner side of the vehicle.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a rear wheel house structure with high torsional stiffness of vehicle and which provides strength to the rear end of the BIW when the vehicle is subjected to torsional loads in running conditions.
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, effective, and cost efficient rear wheel house structure for high torsional stiffness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0012] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a rear wheel inner house structure for improving torsional stiffness. The rear wheel inner house structure has a front panel located at front side along longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle, an intermediate panel located at middle position, and a rear panel located at longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle. The front panel and the rear panel have extending flange which extend toward the intermediate panel. The extending flange of the front panel and the rear panel overlapped with the intermediate panel at both end along vertical height and joined with the intermediate panel to form the rear wheel inner house structure. The joint between the front panel and the intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement. Similarly, joint between the rear panel and the intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement.
[0013] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0015] Fig. 1 illustrates conventional structure of rear wheel inner house;
[0016] Fig. 2(a), (b), and (c) illustrate cross section views of the rear wheel inner house structure of figure 1;
[0017] Fig. 3 illustrates structure of rear wheel inner house with panels having equal height, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0018] Fig. 4(a), (b), and (c) illustrate joint cross section views of different panels of the rear wheel inner house structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0019] Fig. 5 illustrates strain energy test result of the rear wheel inner house structure of figure 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0020] 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.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0021] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a rear wheel inner house structure for improving torsional stiffness. The rear wheel inner house structure has a front panel located at front side along longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle, an intermediate panel located at middle position, and a rear panel located at longitudinal direction (L) of the vehicle. The front panel and the rear panel have extending flange which extend toward the intermediate panel. The extending flange of the front panel and the rear panel overlapped with the intermediate panel at both end along vertical height and joined with the intermediate panel to form the rear wheel inner house structure. The joint between the front panel and the intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement. Similarly, joint between the rear panel and the intermediate panel is plane smooth joint without any U shaped hump or bent profile or any addition of recess or reinforcement.
[0022] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various assembly that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0023] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0024] To cater the aesthetics and vehicle handling performance, an optimized section and curvature is proposed in the present subject matter. The present structure of rear wheel inner house improves the torsional stiffness of vehicle and provides strength to the rear end of the Body In White (BIW) when the vehicle is subjected to torsional loads in running conditions. The present structure provides better stiffness in the region which restricts the deformation about bending line A-A and increases the torsional stiffness of the vehicle.
[0025] Fig. 3 illustrates structure of rear wheel inner house, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The rear wheel inner house structure 300 has a front panel 301, an intermediate panel 302, and a rear panel 303. In the figure 3, arrow L represents longitudinal direction toward front side of the vehicle and arrow V represents vertical direction toward upper side of the vehicle. The front panel 301, the intermediate panel 302, and the rear panel 303 are provided in longitudinal direction L of the vehicle. From front side direction, the front panel 301 is located at front side and the rear panel is located at rear side in longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The intermediate panel 302 is positioned at middle of the front panel 301 and the rear panel 303. The intermediate panel 302 has suspension receiving plate on which wheel suspension can be mounted. The suspension receiving plate receives the vibrations from the vehicle suspension and distributes the vibrations into the vehicle side body structure via the rear wheel inner house structure. The front panel 301 and the rear panel 303 are joined with the intermediate panel 302. The front panel 301 has extended flange towards the intermediate panel 302 for joining. In other words, the front panel 301 has extended flange from rear side. Similarly, the rear panel 303 has extending flange towards the intermediate panel 302. In other words, the rear panel 303 has extended flange from front side. The extending flange of the front panel 301 and the rear panel 303 overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 through complete vertical depth with straight planar profile. There is no hump or U section profile at the overlapping section. The joinery portion of the front and intermediate panel; and rear and intermediate panel has straight profile.
[0026] The front panel 301 and the rear panel 303 are joined with the intermediate panel 302 by any joining means, specifically by welding. The front panel 301, the intermediate panel 302, and the rear panel 303 has equal height. Due to equal heights of the front panel 301, the intermediate panel 302, and the rear panel 303, a straight/linear upper profile 304 of the rear wheel inner house is achieved. The straight joining of the front panel 301 with the intermediate panel 302 goes upto vertical end of the front panel 301 and the intermediate panel 302. Similarly, the straight joining of the rear panel 303 with the intermediate panel 302 goes upto vertical end of the rear panel 303 and the intermediate panel 302. The rear wheel inner house structure 300 is joined with floor of the vehicle at 305.
[0027] Figure 4(a) illustrates the cross section along JJ of the rear wheel inner house structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. Further, the figure 4(a) indicates joining K and L of the front panel with the intermediate panel and rear panel with the intermediate panel, respectively. In the zoom version of the K as shown in figure 4(b), the extending flange of the front panel 301 overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 and define a straight and planar section without any U shaped hump or any bent profile. Similarly, zoom version of L as shown in figure 4(b), the extending flange of the rear panel 303 overlaps with the intermediate panel 302 and define a straight and planar section without any U shaped hump or any bent profile. In the joining between the front panel and the intermediate panel, a simple plane smoother joint is present without any bent profile.
[0028] The planar section at the joinery provides appropriate stiffness in the wheel house region, thus allowing it to withstand the twist load in the vehicle running condition and restricts the structure to bend about line X-X.
[0029] The strain energy contours in figure 5 shows the low strain at the wheel house joinery location where the section has smooth section. The scale shown on the right side mentions that red areas indicate higher strain energy and grey area indicates low strain energy in the region. Thus, by keeping the upper profile of the wheel house area linear and making the section in the wheel house area straight (removal of U shaped humps or any bent profile or an addition of a reinforcement or recess) both the requirements of inner trim removal by making equal heights and required handling performance by increasing the torsional stiffness are met.
[0030] 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.
[0031] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.
[0032] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.