Method for joining members and joined body

Abstract

A method for joining members according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: providing a bumper stay including two integrated pipe portions extending in an identical direction, the bumper stay including a recess provided between the pipe portions being adjacent to each other, the recess extending in a longitudinal direction of the pipe portions from end surfaces of the pipe portions, a part of the recess serving as a locking portion, and a bumper beam including a rear inclined wall formed with two hole portions into which the pipe portions of the bumper stay are insertable respectively; inserting the bumper stay into the hole portions of the bumper beam until the locking portion abuts on the rear inclined wall; and pipe-expanding an insertion portion of the bumper stay into the bumper beam to join the insertion portion to the bumper beam by press-fitting.

Claims

1. A method for joining members, the method comprising: providing a first member including at least two pipe portions extending in an identical direction and integrated, the first member including a recess provided between two adjacent pipe portions of the at least two pipe portions, the recess extending in a longitudinal direction of the at least two pipe portions from end surfaces of the at least two pipe portions, a part of the recess serving as a locking portion, and a second member including a locking wall formed with at least two hole portions into which the at least two pipe portions of the first member are insertable respectively; inserting the at least two pipe portions of the first member into the at least two hole portions of the second member until the locking portion abuts on the locking wall; and pipe-expanding an insertion portion of the at least two pipe portions of the first member inserted into the second member to join the insertion portion to the second member by press-fitting.

2. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the first member penetrates the second member.

3. The method for joining members according to claim 1, further comprising: providing an elastic body insertable into the at least two pipe portions of the first member; inserting the elastic body into the at least two pipe portions of the first member; and compressing the elastic body in a longitudinal direction of the at least two pipe portions of the first member to expand the elastic body radially outward of the at least two pipe portions, thereby pipe-expanding the first member.

4. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the second member is pipe-shaped and has a partition wall partitioning an inside of the second member, and the at least two pipe portions of the first member are inserted into the at least two hole portions of the second member so that the partition wall is disposed in the recess.

5. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed by: end portions of the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member; and two connection walls connecting the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member, the two connection walls orthogonal to the locking wall, and the locking portion is a part of the connection wall.

6. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed by: end portions of the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member; and one connection wall connecting the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member, the one connection wall orthogonal to the locking wall, and the locking portion is a part of the connection wall.

7. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed by a cutout portion obtained by cutting out an end portion of one of the at least two pipe portions of the first member, and the locking portion is a part of the cutout portion.

8. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the first member is a bumper stay of a vehicle, and the second member is a bumper beam of a vehicle.

9. The method for joining members according to claim 1, wherein the hole portion of the second member is burring-machined.

10. A joined body comprising: a first member including at least two pipe portions extending in an identical direction and integrated, the first member including a recess between two adjacent pipe portions of the at least two pipe portions, the recess extending in a longitudinal direction of the at least two pipe portions from end surfaces of the at least two pipe portions, a part of the recess serving as a locking portion; and a second member including a locking wall formed with at least two hole portions into which the at least two pipe portions of the first member is insertable, the joined body being formed by joining the first member and the second member, wherein the at least two pipe portions of the first member are inserted into the at least two hole portions of the second member, and the locking portion abuts on the locking wall of the second member, and an insertion portion inserted into the second member is joined to the second member in a state where the insertion portion is pipe-expanded.

11. The method for joining members according to claim 2, further comprising: providing an elastic body insertable into the at least two pipe portions of the first member; inserting the elastic body into the at least two pipe portions of the first member; and compressing the elastic body in a longitudinal direction of the at least two pipe portions of the first member to expand the elastic body radially outward of the at least two pipe portions, thereby pipe-expanding the first member.

12. The method for joining members according to claim 2, wherein the second member is pipe-shaped and has a partition wall partitioning an inside of the second member, and the at least two pipe portions of the first member are inserted into the at least two hole portions of the second member so that the partition wall is disposed in the recess.

13. The method for joining members according to claim 2, wherein the recess is formed by: end portions of the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member; and two connection walls connecting the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member, the two connection walls orthogonal to the locking wall, and the locking portion is a part of the connection wall.

14. The method for joining members according to claim 2, wherein the recess is formed by: end portions of the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member; and one connection wall connecting the two adjacent pipe portions of the first member, the one connection wall orthogonal to the locking wall, and the locking portion is a part of the connection wall.

15. The method for joining members according to claim 2, wherein the recess is formed by a cutout portion obtained by cutting out an end portion of one of the at least two pipe portions of the first member, and the locking portion is a part of the cutout portion.

16. The method for joining members according to claim 2, wherein the hole portion of the second member is burring-machined.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is an upper cross-sectional view of a first step of a method for joining members according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a rear cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a bumper stay to be joined by a method for joining members according to the first embodiment;

(5) FIG. 5 is an upper cross-sectional view of a second step of a method for joining members according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 6 is an upper cross-sectional view of a third step of a method for joining members according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of a first modified example of a method for joining members according to the first embodiment;

(8) FIG. 8 is a rear cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

(9) FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a bumper stay to be joined by a method for joining members of the first modified example;

(10) FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a second modified example of a method for joining members according to the first embodiment;

(11) FIG. 11 is a rear cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI in FIG. 10;

(12) FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a bumper stay to be joined by a method for joining members of the second modified example;

(13) FIG. 13 is an upper cross-sectional view of a first step of a method for joining members according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

(14) FIG. 14 is an upper cross-sectional view of a second step of a method for joining members according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

(15) FIG. 15 is an upper cross-sectional view of a third step of a method for joining members according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(16) In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present embodiments relate to a method for joining members of joining a bumper stay (first member) 10 and a bumper beam (second member) 20 by using rubber (elastic body) 30. In each embodiment described below, the materials of the bumper stay 10 and the bumper beam 20 are not particularly limited, and the method for joining members according to each embodiment of the present invention can be applied to each optional material.

First Embodiment

(17) The structure of each component used in the joining method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

(18) The bumper stay 10 is a member for connecting a bumper beam 20 described below and a vehicle framework (not shown). As illustrated in FIG. 1, one bumper beam 20 is connected to the vehicle framework with two bumper stays 10. In the bumper stay 10, one end (lower end in FIG. 1) connected to the vehicle framework has a flat surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11, but the other end (upper end in FIG. 1) connected to the bumper beam 20 is cut in accordance with the inclination of the bumper beam 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bumper stay 10 is a double pipe formed by two pipe portions 11 of the same shape extending in the same direction being connected with the connection wall 12 on the side surface. The connection wall 12 extends from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the bumper stay 10. However, the connection wall 12 does not extend to the end surfaces (left end in FIG. 2) of the two pipe portions 11 of the bumper stay 10, and extends to the portion other than the portion where the pipe portions 11 of the bumper stay 10 is inserted into the bumper beam 20 (insertion portion) in the joined state. The connection wall 12 and the end portions of the two pipe portions 11 form a recess 13 extending in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11 from the end surface of the pipe portion 11 between the two pipe portions 11. In addition, a part of the connection wall 12 constituting the recess 13 is a locking portion 12a as described below. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11, the shape of the bumper stay 10 is substantially rectangular. In addition, in the present embodiment, two connection walls 12 having the same shape are provided. In addition, in order to make the shape of the bumper stay 10 described here clearer, FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a part of the bumper stay 10. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the recess 13 is flush with the aligned end surfaces of the two pipe portions 11 and has an opening 13a provided between the two pipe portions 11. The locking portion 12a is positioned one step descending from the opening 13a in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11. This bumper stay 10 may be an extruded material made of an aluminum alloy, for example.

(19) The bumper beam 20 is attached to the front of the vehicle and is for protecting the vehicle framework (not shown) from impact. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bumper beam 20 includes: a front wall 21 on the front side when mounted on a horizontally extending vehicle; a rear wall 22 on the rear side disposed parallel to the front wall 21; two front inclined walls 23 extending obliquely from both end portions of the front wall 21; two rear inclined walls (locking walls) 24 disposed parallel to the front inclined walls 23 and extending from both end portions of the rear wall 22; and an upper wall 25 and a lower wall 26, being horizontal, connecting these at the top and bottom. That is, the bumper beam 20 of the present embodiment has a pipe shape whose both end portions are inclined. Each of the two rear inclined walls 24 has two hole portions 24a into which each of the two pipe portions 11 of the bumper stay 10 is inserted (see FIG. 3). The hole portion 24a has a rectangular shape substantially similar to the outer shape of the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10, and is formed slightly larger than the outer shape of the bumper stay 10. In addition, the bumper beam 20 includes a partition wall 27 for partitioning the internal space (see FIG. 2). The partition wall 27 is disposed parallel to the upper wall 25 and the lower wall 26. The partition wall 27 connects the front wall 21 and the rear wall 22, and connects the front inclined wall 23 and the rear inclined wall 24. This bumper beam 20 may be made of an extruded material made of an aluminum alloy, for example.

(20) The rubber 30 has a square pole shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11 (see FIG. 3). The outer shape of the rubber 30 is formed slightly smaller than the inner shape of the bumper stay 10 to the extent that the rubber 30 can be inserted into the bumper stay 10. One end of the rubber 30 has a flat surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rubber 30, but the other end has a flat surface inclined to the longitudinal direction of the rubber 30 according to the shape of the bumper beam 20 (see FIG. 1). This is similar to the bumper stay 10 described above. As a quality of material of the rubber 30, for example, it is preferable to use any one of urethane rubber, chloroprene rubber, CNR rubber (chloroprene rubber+nitrile rubber), or silicone rubber. In addition, the hardness of the rubber 30 is preferably 30 or more in Shore A.

(21) As illustrated in FIG. 1, the plunger 31 is attached to a press device or the like (not shown), and driving the plunger 31 with the press device allows the rubber 30 to be compressed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11. The plunger 31 has a protrusion 31a. The protrusion 31a is a portion for pressing the rubber 30. The pressing surface 31b being an end surface of the protrusion 31a has a flat surface perpendicular to the protruding direction.

(22) Joining the bumper stay 10 and the bumper beam 20 by press-fitting is performed in the following procedure.

(23) First, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the bumper stay 10, the bumper beam 20, and the rubber 30 having the structure as described above are provided. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the bumper stay 10 is inserted into the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20 until the connection wall 12 abuts on the rear inclined wall 24. At this time, since the connection wall 12 is disposed in the direction orthogonal to the rear inclined wall 24, the connection wall 12 does not abut on the rear inclined wall 24 at a point, but abuts on the rear inclined wall 24 at a side. In addition, at this time, the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 is inserted into the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20 so that the partition wall 27 is disposed in the recess 13. Then, the rubber 30 is inserted into the bumper stay 10.

(24) After the rubber 30 is inserted, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the protrusion 31a of the plunger 31 is inserted into the bumper stay 10, and the rubber 30 is compressed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 and expanded in the direction orthogonal to the compression direction, whereby the bumper stay 10 is pipe-expanded. The bumper stay 10 is joined to the bumper beam 20 by press-fitting due to the pipe expansion.

(25) After the joining by press-fitting, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the compression by the plunger 31 is released. The rubber 30 from which the compression force is removed is restored to its original shape by its own elastic force. Therefore, the rubber 30 can be easily removed from the bumper stay 10.

(26) The effect by a method for joining members of the present embodiment will be described.

(27) According to the present embodiment, the recess 13 is provided at the end portion of the pipe portion 11 in the bumper stay 10, and a part of the recess 13 is the locking portion 12a (see FIGS. 2 and 4). That is, the locking portion 12a is not flush with the end surface of the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10, but is provided at a position one step descending from the end surface of the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10. Therefore, when the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 is inserted into the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20, any of the locking portions 12a is not inserted, and can abut on the rear inclined wall 24 outside the bumper beam 20. Therefore, when force is applied in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction of the vehicle) of the bumper stay 10, the force can be received not only at the joint portion but also at the abutting portion. As described above, since the force can also be dispersed to parts other than the joint portion, it is possible to prevent the joining from being broken and to prevent the bumper stay 10 from breaking through the bumper beam 20. In addition, even when force is applied, for example, in the longitudinal direction of the bumper beam 20 (the width direction of the vehicle) other than the longitudinal direction of the bumper stay 10, since the bumper stay 10 is supported by the bumper beam 20 at this abutting portion, it is possible to prevent the bumper stay 10 from falling sideways due to the joining being broken.

(28) In addition, according to the present embodiment, the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 can be uniformly expanded due to the isotropic deformability of the rubber 30. Therefore, the local load on the bumper stay 10 can be reduced, and local deformation of the bumper stay 10 can be prevented. Therefore, the bumper stay 10 and the bumper beam 20 can be fitted with high accuracy, that is, the joining strength can be improved, as compared with other joining methods.

(29) In addition, according to the present embodiment, the rigidity of the bumper beam 20 is improved by the partition wall 27. In addition, when the bumper stay 10 is expanded inside the bumper beam 20, the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 also abuts on the partition wall 27. Therefore, since the area of the joint portion is increased, the joining strength can be improved, and since the bumper stay 10 can be supported by the partition wall 27, the fall of the bumper stay 10 can be further prevented as described above. In addition, if machining for providing the hole portion 24a to the partition wall 27 is needed, such complicated machining is generally difficult. However, in the above method, since the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 is inserted into the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20 so that the partition wall 27 is disposed in the recess 13, that is, the partition wall 27 engages in the recess 13, the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 can be inserted into the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20 while avoiding the partition wall 27. Therefore, the partition wall 27 does not need to be subjected to complicated machining for providing the hole portions 24a, and the above method is effective from the viewpoint of machining property. It should be noted that although the partition wall 27 of the bumper beam 20 is preferably provided, the partition wall 27 is not essential to the present invention.

(30) In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the locking portion 12a being a part of the two connection walls 12 abuts on the rear inclined wall 24 in the joined state, the bumper stay 10 is supported by the bumper beam 20 at two places other than the joint portion. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the breaking through the bumper beam 20 and falling of the bumper stay 10 described above, as compared with the case of supporting at one place other than the joint portion.

(31) In addition, according to the present embodiment, when collision force from the front is applied to the vehicle, since the bumper stay 10 can be prevented from breaking through the bumper beam 20 as described above, the bumper stay 10 is crushed in the event of a collision. When the bumper stay 10 is crushed, the energy of the collision is absorbed, so that the collision force can be dispersed before reaching the cabin, and the driver can be protected safely. In addition, when the collision force is applied from the side of the vehicle, the bumper stay 10 can be prevented from falling down (falling sideways) as described above, so that the bumper stay 10 can be prevented from coming out of the bumper beam 20. Therefore, the reliability of the bumper can be improved. In addition, although, as the application object of the present invention, the bumper (joined body) is illustrated as described above, the present invention is applicable to a joined body accompanied by pipe-expanded joining besides a bumper.

(32) FIGS. 7 to 9 illustrate a first modified example of the present embodiment. As in the present modified example, the number of connection walls 12 of the bumper stay 10 may be one.

(33) According to the present modified example, since there is only one connection wall 12, the connection wall 12 can be easily formed, and the breaking through the bumper beam 20 and falling of the bumper stay 10 can be easily prevented.

(34) FIGS. 10 to 12 illustrate a second modified example of the present embodiment. In the present modified example, the bumper stay 10 is not provided with a connection wall 12 (see FIGS. 4 and 10), and one of the two pipe portions 11 of the bumper stay 10 is cut out to form a cutout portion (recess) 14. In the present modified example, one of the two pipe portions 11 constituting the bumper stay 10 is relatively larger than the other one, and the cutout portion 14 of the present modified example is formed by cutting out in a rectangular shape the side end portion of the relatively larger pipe portion 11. In addition, a part of the cutout portion 14 is a locking portion 14a being a portion for abutting on the rear inclined wall 24 of the bumper beam 20.

(35) According to the present modified example, when the cutout portion 14 is formed, the cutout portion 14 can be easily formed by cutting work or the like without the need to provide the connection wall 12 as described above. In addition, the cutout portion 14 can be formed later by using, for example, an existing double pipe as the bumper stay 10.

(36) In addition, the hole portion 24a of the bumper beam 20 may be burring-machined. Since the joining area between the bumper stay 10 and the bumper beam 20 can be increased by burring, the joining strength can be improved.

Second Embodiment

(37) In the method for joining members of the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 15, the bumper stay 10 completely penetrates the bumper beam 20. Except for the matter relating to this, it is the same as the method for joining members of the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 6. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, and description thereof will be omitted.

(38) As illustrated in FIG. 13, in the present embodiment, the bumper stay 10 penetrates the bumper beam 20. The shapes of both ends of the bumper stay 10 and the rubber 30 respectively have flat surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11 and the rubber 30. The front inclined wall 23 of the bumper beam 20 is provided with a hole portion 23a concentrically of the same shape as the hole portion of the rear inclined wall 24. The plungers 31 are arranged at both end portions of one bumper stay 10, that is, two plungers are arranged, and the plungers 31 are inserted from both end portions of the bumper stay 10.

(39) As illustrated in FIG. 14, at the time of joining by press-fitting, in the present embodiment, one plunger 31 is fixed and disposed, and the other plunger 31 is inserted from the end portion of the bumper stay 10. Then, the rubber 30 is compressed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 by the plungers 31 and expanded in the direction orthogonal to the compression direction, whereby the pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 is expanded. The pipe portion 11 of the bumper stay 10 is joined to the two hole portions 23a and 24a of the bumper beam 20 by press-fitting due to pipe expansion. That is, in the present embodiment, one bumper stay 10 is joined to the bumper beam 20 in at least two places (two hole portions 23a and 24a) by press-fitting.

(40) As illustrated in FIG. 15, after joining by press-fitting, the compression by the plungers 31 is released, and the rubber 30 from which the compression force is removed is restored to its original shape by its own elastic force. Therefore, the rubber 30 can be easily removed from the bumper stay 10.

(41) According to the present embodiment, when the hole portions 23a and 24a are formed in the bumper beam 20, through holes can be formed. The through hole is easy to form from the viewpoint of machining as compared with a half stop (half through) hole. In addition, since the bumper stay 10 penetrates the bumper beam 20, the rubber 30 can be inserted from any of the end portions of the pipe of the bumper stay 10, so that the convenience is improved as compared with that of the first embodiment. In addition, the joining strength is improved as compared with that of the first embodiment due to joining at two places by press-fitting.

(42) As described above, although the specific embodiments and their modified examples of the present invention are described, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the present invention. For example, an appropriate combination of contents of the individual embodiments may be one embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the bumper stay 10 may be formed by connecting three or more pipe portions 11. In addition, pipe expansion machining does not have to be performed on all the pipe portions 11, and only a part of the pipe portions 11 may be expanded to be joined by press-fitting. In addition, the pipe expansion machining is also not limited to machining using the rubber 30, and may be electromagnetic molding, machining, or the like.