Title of Invention	REAR VEHICLE BODY STRUCTURE
Abstract	A rear vehicle body structure is provided. A cross member is disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment. A wheel house inner panel forms a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and includes a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle. A rear pillar reinforcement is disposed above the wheel house inner panel. A mounting bracket fixes the cross member to a vehicle body and includes a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement.

Title of Invention

REAR VEHICLE BODY STRUCTURE

Abstract

A rear vehicle body structure is provided. A cross member is disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment. A wheel house inner panel forms a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and includes a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle. A rear pillar reinforcement is disposed above the wheel house inner panel. A mounting bracket fixes the cross member to a vehicle body and includes a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement.

Full Text	This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-299941 filed November 19, 2007, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND The present invention relates to a rear vehicle body structure, and more particularly, to a rear vehicle body structure including a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle", and a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel. There is a structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 as an example of the rear vehicle body structure. In this structure, joint portions provided at left and right ends of a cross member overlapped with left and right ends of a flat vertical plate-like partition front panel, which is positioned on the rear side of a rear seat, from the front side of a vehicle, respectively, and were fixed to the left and right ends of the partition front panel by bolts. Patent Document l: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-78674A According to the structure in the related art, only one joint portion is provided at each of the left and right ends of the cross member. Since the strength of the partition front panel to which the joint portions are joined is not sufficient, it was difficult to increase joint strength between the cross member and a vehicle body. SUMMARY It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a rear vehicle body structure that can increase joint strength between a cross member and a vehicle body and reliably prevent luggage from moving into a passenger compartment. According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a rear vehicle body structure, comprising: a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle; a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel; and a mounting bracket fixing the cross member to a vehicle body and including a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement. With this structure, the mounting bracket includes a plurality of joint portions, and the first joint portion of the joint portions is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel, and a second joint portion thereof is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement. Accordingly, for example, as compared to a structure where a single joint portion provided at a mounting bracket is joined to a single member such as the partition front panel, it is possible to increase the joint strength of the mounting bracket. The rear pillar reinforcement is a member having high strength and the second joint portion of the mounting bracket is joined to this member, so that it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the second joint portion. In this manner, the rear pillar reinforcement can be effectively utilized for increasing the joint strength of the mounting bracket without providing new reinforcing members. Therefore, it is possible to stably support the cross member on the vehicle body, and to reliably prevent luggage from moving into a passenger compartment by the cross member. The rear vehicle body structure may further comprise an absorber reinforcement to which a shock absorber of a rear suspension is mounted, the absorber reinforcement overlapping with and being joined to the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from a side of the rear wheel, and the first joint portion of the mounting bracket may overlap with and be joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from an opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the vertical wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. The absorber reinforcement is a member having high strength. The first joint portion overlaps with and is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel, to which the absorber reinforcement is joined to increase strength. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the first joint portion. The first joint portion of the mounting bracket may overlap with and be joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel from the opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the peripheral wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. The absorber reinforcement is a member having high strength. The first joint portion overlaps with and is joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel to which the absorber reinforcement is joined to increase strength. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the first joint portion. The rear pillar reinforcement may have a rectangular cross-section so that the rear pillar reinforcement includes a front wall which faces a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is provided on a front side of the vehicle and a side wall which extends toward a rear side of the vehicle from an inner side portion of the front wall in the width direction of the vehicle,' and the second joint portion of the mounting bracket may have an L-shaped cross-section so that one piece of the second joint portion is joined to the front wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the front side of the vehicle and the other piece of the second joint portion is joined to the side wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the inner side in the width direction of the vehicle. With this structure, joint directions where one piece and the other piece of the second joint portion are joined to the rear pillar reinforcement intersect each other. As compared to when the second joint portion is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement only in one direction, it is possible to increase the joint strength between the rear pillar reinforcement and the second joint portion. A joint portion of the mounting bracket may be disposed in an inner side of a corner portion in the width direction of the vehicle, the corner portion which is formed by the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel. Since the corner portion having high rigidity may receive a force that is applied to the joint portion of the mounting bracket, it is possible to stably support the cross member on the vehicle body through the mounting bracket. According to the aspect of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide the rear vehicle body structure that can increase the joint strength between the cross member and the vehicle body and reliably prevent the luggage from moving into the passenger compartment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein^ Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rear vehicle body structure; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rear vehicle body structure; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a wheel house inner panel, a rear pillar reinforcement, and a mounting bracket that are joined to one another; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the wheel house inner panel, the rear pillar reinforcement, and the mounting bracket that are joined to one another. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to drawings. A rear vehicle body structure of an automobile is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The rear vehicle body structure includes a partition panel 3 that partitions a passenger compartment 1 of a vehicle and a luggage compartment 2 formed at the rear portion of a vehicle body? a cross member 4 that is positioned between the luggage compartment 2 and a rear seat 9 to prevent luggage from moving into the passenger compartment 1 from the luggage compartment 2; wheel house inner panels 5 that form wheel houses together with wheel house outer panels to house rear wheels; and rear pillar reinforcements 6 that are positioned over the wheel house inner panels 5 to reinforce rear pillars and the wheel house inner panels 5, and receive forces from shock absorbers and transmit the forces to the rear pillars. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, mounting brackets 7 that fixes the cross member 4 to a vehicle body 8 are provided, so that both ends of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member are mounted to the vehicle body 8 by the pair of (left and right) mounting brackets 7 and the both ends of the cross member 4 is supported by the vehicle body 8. [Structure of partition panel 3] The partition panel 3 includes a vertical plate like partition front panel 10 that is positioned on the rear side of the rear seat 9, and a horizontal plate-like partition rear panel 11 that extends from the upper end of the partition front panel 10 toward the rear side of the vehicle. The partition front panel 10 has a large opening opened in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle, and the opening is closed by a partition board 12 that is made of a resin. A partition member 40, which has an L-shaped cross-section, is welded to the rear surfaces of the partition front panel 10 and the partition rear panel 11. Accordingly, a member having a cross-section where corners of the partition panel 3 are closed is formed. Further, left and right ends of the partition front panel 10 are welded to the surfaces of front walls 22 of the rear pillar reinforcements 6 to be described below. [Structure of cross member 4] The cross member 4 is formed using a metal plate of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which is long in a width direction of a vehicle, and is pressed to be concave and convex. Concave and convex portions of the cross member 4 from a U shape in vertical cross-section (see Fig. 2), and each of the concave and convex portions is continued over the entire length of the cross member 4. As shown in Fig. 1, reinforcements 13, which are formed in a concave and convex shape so as to correspond to the concave and convex portions of the cross member 4, overlap with both ends of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member, and are welded to both ends of the cross member. Further, a plurality of bolt insertion holes 15 is formed at the overlapping portions thereof (see Fig. 2). Since the cross member 4 is formed by pressing the metal plate as described above, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, for example, as compared to when the cross member 4 is formed using two crossing pipes. [Structure of wheel house inner panel 5] The wheel house inner panel 5 includes a peripheral wall 16 that has a circular arc shape in side view and is formed along a circumferential direction of a rear wheel, and a vertical wall 17 that is formed toward the inner side of the peripheral wall 16 in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from a side portion of the peripheral wall 16 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle. A corner portion 18, which is formed by the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17, is formed to have a circular arc shape in cross-sectional view. Further, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, one plate-like absorber reinforcement 19 to which the shock absorber of a rear suspension is mounted overlaps with the rear surfaces of the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 from the side of the rear wheel, and is welded to the rear surfaces. The absorber reinforcement 19 is bent so as to correspond the shapes of the rear surfaces of the peripheral wall 16, the vertical wall 17, and the corner portion 18. A mounting portion 20 of the shock absorber is formed at the upper portion of the wheel house inner panel 5. A swollen portion 17B, which is swollen toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed in the middle portion of the vertical wall 17 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle so that the vertical wall 17 does not interfere with the shock absorber. [Structure of rear pillar reinforcement 6] As shown in Fig. 3, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is formed in a rectangular cross-sectional shape including a front wall 22 of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which is provided on the front side Fr of the vehicle, a side wall 23 that extends toward the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and a rear wall 24 that extends toward the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle from a side portion of the side wall 23 corresponding to the rear side of the vehicle. In more detail, a flange 22F, which protrudes toward the front side Fr of the vehicle from a lower end of the front wall 22 and a side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed on the front wall 22. Further, a flange 24F (see Figs. 2 and 4), which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a lower end of the rear wall 24 and a side portion of the rear wall 24 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed. Accordingly, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is formed to have a hat shaped cross-section which is opened to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle. Further, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is set to have a width as large as the width of the lower end in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle and the width direction of the vehicle, and is inclined so as to be positioned on the rear side of the vehicle toward the upper end. Further, a flange portion 22F1, which protrudes from the lower end of the front wall 22 toward the front side Fr of the vehicle, overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the flange portion and the absorber reinforcement. The flange portion 22F1, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another, and the flange portion 22F2, which protrudes toward the front side of the vehicle from the side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is welded to a quarter panel 45 (see Fig. 1). As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a notch 25, which is opened downward, is formed at the lower end of the side wall 23. The lower end of the side wall 23, which is positioned closer to the rear side of the vehicle as compared to the notch 25, extends toward the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 6. The notch 25 reaches a side portion of the side wall 23 that corresponds to the front side Fr of the vehicle. Further, a flange portion 24F1 (see Figs. 2 and 4), which protrudes from the lower end of the rear wall 24 toward the rear side of the vehicle, overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the flange portion and the absorber reinforcement. The flange portion 24F1, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another. In addition, the flange portion 24F1 of the rear wall 24, which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle, extends toward the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 so as to be positioned below the extending lower end of the side wall 23. Further, the extending portion 24a thereof overlaps with the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the vertical wall 17 is interposed between the extending portion and the absorber reinforcement. The extending portion 24a, the vertical wall 17, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another. Further, a flange portion 24F2, which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the rear wall 24 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, overlaps with the quarter panel 45 from the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle and is welded to the quarter panel. A flange 5F, which is erected from an end of the wheel house inner panel 5 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is interposed between the lower end of the flange portion 24F2 of the rear wall 24 and the quarter panel 45. The lower end of the flange portion 24F2, the quarter panel 45, and the flange 5F are integrally welded to one another. As shown in Fig. 3, a flange 23F3 that protrudes toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle from the upper end of the side wall 23 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6, and a flange 24F3 that protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from the upper end of the rear wall 24 are integrally connected to each other in the circumferential direction of the rear pillar reinforcement 6. Both the flanges 23F3 and 24F3 overlap with the lower surface of the partition member 40 from below, and are welded to the lower surface of the partition member. [Structure of mounting bracket 7] As shown in Fig. 3, the mounting bracket 7 includes a first joint portion 28 that corresponds to the wheel house inner panel 5, a second joint portion 29 that corresponds to the rear pillar reinforcement 6 provided thereabove, and a bracket body part 30 of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which connects one end of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member from the front side Fr of the vehicle and is long in the longitudinal direction thereof. A joint portion 31 of the bracket body part 30, which is connected to the cross member 4, protrudes from the wheel house inner panel 5 and the rear pillar reinforcement 6 toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and is positioned in the inner side Wl of the corner portion 18, which is formed by the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5, in the width direction of the vehicle. A flange 30F protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the bracket body part 30 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle. As shown in Fig. 3, the first joint portion 28 protrudes toward the front side Fr of the vehicle from the side portion of the bracket body part 30, which faces the wheel house inner panel 5, so as to have a flange shape, and is bent so as to correspond the shapes of the corner portion 18, the peripheral wall 16, and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5. Further, the first joint portion 28 overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 are interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. The first joint portion 28, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another, and the first joint portion 28, the vertical wall 17, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another. The flange 22F1, which is provided at the lower end of the front wall 22 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6, is interposed between a part of the first joint portion 28 and the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5. A lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28 is formed to have a large width, and extends below the absorber reinforcement 19. Further, another reinforcement 39 overlaps with the rear surface of the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house that is positioned below the absorber reinforcement 19, and is welded to the rear surface of the vertical wall. The lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28 overlaps with the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the reinforcement 39 so that the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the lower half part and the reinforce. The lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28, the vertical wall 17, and the reinforcement 39 are integrally welded to one another. The reinforcement 39 is bent so as to correspond to the shapes of the rear surface of the swollen portion 17B that is formed at the vertical wall 17 and swollen toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and the rear surface of an unswollen portion that is positioned closer to the front side Fr of the vehicle as compared to the swollen portion 17B. The second joint portion 29 of the mounting bracket 7 protrudes upward from the side portion of the bracket body part 30 that corresponds to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle. The second joint portion 29 is formed to have an L-shaped cross-section, one piece 29A of the second joint portion 29 is welded to the front wall 22 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6 from the front side Fr of the vehicle, and the other piece 29B is welded to the side wall 23 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6 from the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle. As shown in Fig. 3, a pair of (upper and lower) mounting bolts 32 of which one ends are welded to a rectangular plate 38 is inserted into a pair of (upper and lower) through holes of the bracket body part 30 from the rear side of the vehicle, and the rectangular plate 38 overlaps with the rear surface (the surface corresponding to the rear side of the vehicle) of the bracket body part 30 and is welded to the rear surface of the bracket body part. As a result, the joint portion 31 is formed. The end of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member overlaps with the joint portion 31 from the front side Fr of the vehicle, the pair of (upper and lower) mounting bolts 32 is inserted into a pair of (upper and lower) bolt insertion holes 15 that is formed at the end of the cross member 4, respectively, and nuts are threadably mounted to the mounting bolts 32. As shown in Fig. 2, the cross member 4 is positioned behind a seat back 9A of the rear seat 9 in the middle of the seat back in a vertical direction, and the front surface of the cross member 4 is close to the rear surface of the seat back 9A in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. We Claim: 1. A rear vehicle body structure, comprising: a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle; a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel; and a mounting bracket fixing the cross member to a vehicle body and including a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement. 2. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an absorber reinforcement to which a shock absorber of a rear suspension is mounted, the absorber reinforcement overlapping with and being joined to the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from a side of the rear wheel, wherein the first joint portion of the mounting bracket overlaps with and is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from an opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the vertical wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. 3. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in claim 2, wherein the first joint portion of the mounting bracket overlaps with and is joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel from the opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the peripheral wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. 4. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rear pillar reinforcement has a rectangular cross-section so that the rear pillar reinforcement includes a front wall which faces a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is provided on a front side of the vehicle and a side wall which extends toward a rear side of the vehicle from an inner side portion of the front wall in the width direction of the vehicle; and wherein the second joint portion of the mounting bracket has an L-shaped cross-section so that one piece of the second joint portion is joined to the front wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the front side of the vehicle and the other piece of the second joint portion is joined to the side wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the inner side in the width direction of the vehicle. 5. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a joint portion of the mounting bracket is disposed in an inner side of a corner portion in the width direction of the vehicle, the corner portion which is formed by the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel.

Full Text

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-299941 filed November 19, 2007, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to a rear vehicle body structure, and more particularly, to a rear vehicle body structure including a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle", and a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel.
There is a structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 as an example of the rear vehicle body structure. In this structure, joint portions provided at left and right ends of a cross member overlapped with left and right ends of a flat vertical plate-like partition front panel, which is positioned on the rear side of a rear seat, from the front side of a vehicle, respectively, and were
fixed to the left and right ends of the partition front panel by bolts.
Patent Document l: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-78674A
According to the structure in the related art, only one joint portion is provided at each of the left and right ends of the cross member. Since the strength of the partition front panel to which the joint portions are joined is not sufficient, it was difficult to increase joint strength between the cross member and a vehicle body.
SUMMARY
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a rear vehicle body structure that can increase joint strength between a cross member and a vehicle body and reliably prevent luggage from moving into a passenger compartment.
According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a rear vehicle body structure, comprising: a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the
peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle; a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel; and a mounting bracket fixing the cross member to a vehicle body and including a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement.
With this structure, the mounting bracket includes a plurality of joint portions, and the first joint portion of the joint portions is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel, and a second joint portion thereof is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement. Accordingly, for example, as compared to a structure where a single joint portion provided at a mounting bracket is joined to a single member such as the partition front panel, it is possible to increase the joint strength of the mounting bracket. The rear pillar reinforcement is a member having high strength and the second joint portion of the mounting bracket is joined to this member, so that it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the second joint portion. In this manner, the rear pillar reinforcement can be effectively utilized for increasing the joint strength of the mounting bracket without providing new reinforcing members. Therefore, it is possible to stably support the cross member on the vehicle body, and to reliably prevent luggage from moving into a passenger compartment by the cross member.
The rear vehicle body structure may further comprise an absorber reinforcement to which a shock absorber of a rear suspension is mounted, the
absorber reinforcement overlapping with and being joined to the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from a side of the rear wheel, and the first joint portion of the mounting bracket may overlap with and be joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from an opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the vertical wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement.
The absorber reinforcement is a member having high strength. The first joint portion overlaps with and is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel, to which the absorber reinforcement is joined to increase strength. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the first joint portion.
The first joint portion of the mounting bracket may overlap with and be joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel from the opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the peripheral wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement.
The absorber reinforcement is a member having high strength. The first joint portion overlaps with and is joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel to which the absorber reinforcement is joined to increase strength. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the joint strength of the first joint portion.
The rear pillar reinforcement may have a rectangular cross-section
so that the rear pillar reinforcement includes a front wall which faces a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is provided on a front side of the vehicle and a side wall which extends toward a rear side of the vehicle from an inner side portion of the front wall in the width direction of the vehicle,' and the second joint portion of the mounting bracket may have an L-shaped cross-section so that one piece of the second joint portion is joined to the front wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the front side of the vehicle and the other piece of the second joint portion is joined to the side wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the inner side in the width direction of the vehicle.
With this structure, joint directions where one piece and the other piece of the second joint portion are joined to the rear pillar reinforcement intersect each other. As compared to when the second joint portion is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement only in one direction, it is possible to increase the joint strength between the rear pillar reinforcement and the second joint portion.
A joint portion of the mounting bracket may be disposed in an inner side of a corner portion in the width direction of the vehicle, the corner portion which is formed by the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel.
Since the corner portion having high rigidity may receive a force that is applied to the joint portion of the mounting bracket, it is possible to stably support the cross member on the vehicle body through the mounting bracket.
According to the aspect of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide the rear vehicle body structure that can increase the joint strength between the cross member and the vehicle body and reliably prevent the luggage from moving into the passenger compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein^
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rear vehicle body structure;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rear vehicle body structure;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a wheel house inner panel, a rear pillar reinforcement, and a mounting bracket that are joined to one another; and
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the wheel house inner panel, the rear pillar reinforcement, and the mounting bracket that are joined to one another.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to drawings. A rear vehicle body structure of an automobile is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The rear vehicle body structure includes a partition panel 3 that partitions a passenger compartment 1 of a vehicle and a luggage
compartment 2 formed at the rear portion of a vehicle body? a cross member 4 that is positioned between the luggage compartment 2 and a rear seat 9 to prevent luggage from moving into the passenger compartment 1 from the luggage compartment 2; wheel house inner panels 5 that form wheel houses together with wheel house outer panels to house rear wheels; and rear pillar reinforcements 6 that are positioned over the wheel house inner panels 5 to reinforce rear pillars and the wheel house inner panels 5, and receive forces from shock absorbers and transmit the forces to the rear pillars.
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, mounting brackets 7 that fixes the cross member 4 to a vehicle body 8 are provided, so that both ends of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member are mounted to the vehicle body 8 by the pair of (left and right) mounting brackets 7 and the both ends of the cross member 4 is supported by the vehicle body 8.
[Structure of partition panel 3]
The partition panel 3 includes a vertical plate like partition front panel 10 that is positioned on the rear side of the rear seat 9, and a horizontal plate-like partition rear panel 11 that extends from the upper end of the partition front panel 10 toward the rear side of the vehicle. The partition front panel 10 has a large opening opened in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle, and the opening is closed by a partition board 12 that is made of a resin. A partition member 40, which has an L-shaped cross-section, is welded to the rear surfaces of the partition front panel 10 and the partition rear panel 11. Accordingly, a member having a
cross-section where corners of the partition panel 3 are closed is formed. Further, left and right ends of the partition front panel 10 are welded to the surfaces of front walls 22 of the rear pillar reinforcements 6 to be described below.
[Structure of cross member 4]
The cross member 4 is formed using a metal plate of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which is long in a width direction of a vehicle, and is pressed to be concave and convex. Concave and convex portions of the cross member 4 from a U shape in vertical cross-section (see Fig. 2), and each of the concave and convex portions is continued over the entire length of the cross member 4. As shown in Fig. 1, reinforcements 13, which are formed in a concave and convex shape so as to correspond to the concave and convex portions of the cross member 4, overlap with both ends of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member, and are welded to both ends of the cross member. Further, a plurality of bolt insertion holes 15 is formed at the overlapping portions thereof (see Fig. 2). Since the cross member 4 is formed by pressing the metal plate as described above, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, for example, as compared to when the cross member 4 is formed using two crossing pipes.
[Structure of wheel house inner panel 5]
The wheel house inner panel 5 includes a peripheral wall 16 that has a circular arc shape in side view and is formed along a circumferential
direction of a rear wheel, and a vertical wall 17 that is formed toward the inner side of the peripheral wall 16 in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from a side portion of the peripheral wall 16 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle. A corner portion 18, which is formed by the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17, is formed to have a circular arc shape in cross-sectional view. Further, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, one plate-like absorber reinforcement 19 to which the shock absorber of a rear suspension is mounted overlaps with the rear surfaces of the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 from the side of the rear wheel, and is welded to the rear surfaces.
The absorber reinforcement 19 is bent so as to correspond the shapes of the rear surfaces of the peripheral wall 16, the vertical wall 17, and the corner portion 18. A mounting portion 20 of the shock absorber is formed at the upper portion of the wheel house inner panel 5. A swollen portion 17B, which is swollen toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed in the middle portion of the vertical wall 17 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle so that the vertical wall 17 does not interfere with the shock absorber.
[Structure of rear pillar reinforcement 6]
As shown in Fig. 3, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is formed in a rectangular cross-sectional shape including a front wall 22 of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which is provided on the front side Fr of the vehicle, a side wall 23 that extends toward the rear
side of the vehicle from a side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and a rear wall 24 that extends toward the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle from a side portion of the side wall 23 corresponding to the rear side of the vehicle.
In more detail, a flange 22F, which protrudes toward the front side Fr of the vehicle from a lower end of the front wall 22 and a side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed on the front wall 22. Further, a flange 24F (see Figs. 2 and 4), which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a lower end of the rear wall 24 and a side portion of the rear wall 24 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is formed. Accordingly, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is formed to have a hat shaped cross-section which is opened to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle. Further, the rear pillar reinforcement 6 is set to have a width as large as the width of the lower end in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle and the width direction of the vehicle, and is inclined so as to be positioned on the rear side of the vehicle toward the upper end.
Further, a flange portion 22F1, which protrudes from the lower end of the front wall 22 toward the front side Fr of the vehicle, overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the flange portion and the absorber reinforcement. The flange
portion 22F1, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another, and the flange portion 22F2, which protrudes toward the front side of the vehicle from the side portion of the front wall 22 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is welded to a quarter panel 45 (see Fig. 1).
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a notch 25, which is opened downward, is formed at the lower end of the side wall 23. The lower end of the side wall 23, which is positioned closer to the rear side of the vehicle as compared to the notch 25, extends toward the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 6. The notch 25 reaches a side portion of the side wall 23 that corresponds to the front side Fr of the vehicle.
Further, a flange portion 24F1 (see Figs. 2 and 4), which protrudes from the lower end of the rear wall 24 toward the rear side of the vehicle, overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the flange portion and the absorber reinforcement. The flange portion 24F1, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another.
In addition, the flange portion 24F1 of the rear wall 24, which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle, extends toward the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 so as to be positioned below the extending lower end of the side wall 23. Further, the extending portion 24a thereof overlaps with the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the
absorber reinforcement 19 so that the vertical wall 17 is interposed between the extending portion and the absorber reinforcement. The extending portion 24a, the vertical wall 17, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another.
Further, a flange portion 24F2, which protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the rear wall 24 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, overlaps with the quarter panel 45 from the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle and is welded to the quarter panel. A flange 5F, which is erected from an end of the wheel house inner panel 5 corresponding to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle, is interposed between the lower end of the flange portion 24F2 of the rear wall 24 and the quarter panel 45. The lower end of the flange portion 24F2, the quarter panel 45, and the flange 5F are integrally welded to one another.
As shown in Fig. 3, a flange 23F3 that protrudes toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle from the upper end of the side wall 23 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6, and a flange 24F3 that protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from the upper end of the rear wall 24 are integrally connected to each other in the circumferential direction of the rear pillar reinforcement 6. Both the flanges 23F3 and 24F3 overlap with the lower surface of the partition member 40 from below, and are welded to the lower surface of the partition member.
[Structure of mounting bracket 7]
As shown in Fig. 3, the mounting bracket 7 includes a first joint portion 28 that corresponds to the wheel house inner panel 5, a second joint portion 29 that corresponds to the rear pillar reinforcement 6 provided thereabove, and a bracket body part 30 of which the surface faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which connects one end of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member from the front side Fr of the vehicle and is long in the longitudinal direction thereof.
A joint portion 31 of the bracket body part 30, which is connected to the cross member 4, protrudes from the wheel house inner panel 5 and the rear pillar reinforcement 6 toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and is positioned in the inner side Wl of the corner portion 18, which is formed by the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5, in the width direction of the vehicle. A flange 30F protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the bracket body part 30 corresponding to the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle.
As shown in Fig. 3, the first joint portion 28 protrudes toward the front side Fr of the vehicle from the side portion of the bracket body part 30, which faces the wheel house inner panel 5, so as to have a flange shape, and is bent so as to correspond the shapes of the corner portion 18, the peripheral wall 16, and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5. Further, the first joint portion 28 overlaps with the peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the absorber reinforcement 19 so that the
peripheral wall 16 and the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 are interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement. The first joint portion 28, the peripheral wall 16, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another, and the first joint portion 28, the vertical wall 17, and the absorber reinforcement 19 are integrally welded to one another. The flange 22F1, which is provided at the lower end of the front wall 22 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6, is interposed between a part of the first joint portion 28 and the peripheral wall 16 of the wheel house inner panel 5.
A lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28 is formed to have a large width, and extends below the absorber reinforcement 19. Further, another reinforcement 39 overlaps with the rear surface of the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house that is positioned below the absorber reinforcement 19, and is welded to the rear surface of the vertical wall. The lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28 overlaps with the vertical wall 17 from the side opposite to the reinforcement 39 so that the vertical wall 17 of the wheel house inner panel 5 is interposed between the lower half part and the reinforce. The lower half part 28K of the first joint portion 28, the vertical wall 17, and the reinforcement 39 are integrally welded to one another.
The reinforcement 39 is bent so as to correspond to the shapes of the rear surface of the swollen portion 17B that is formed at the vertical wall 17 and swollen toward the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle, and the rear surface of an unswollen portion that is positioned closer to the
front side Fr of the vehicle as compared to the swollen portion 17B.
The second joint portion 29 of the mounting bracket 7 protrudes upward from the side portion of the bracket body part 30 that corresponds to the outer side W2 in the width direction of the vehicle. The second joint portion 29 is formed to have an L-shaped cross-section, one piece 29A of the second joint portion 29 is welded to the front wall 22 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6 from the front side Fr of the vehicle, and the other piece 29B is welded to the side wall 23 of the rear pillar reinforcement 6 from the inner side Wl in the width direction of the vehicle.
As shown in Fig. 3, a pair of (upper and lower) mounting bolts 32 of which one ends are welded to a rectangular plate 38 is inserted into a pair of (upper and lower) through holes of the bracket body part 30 from the rear side of the vehicle, and the rectangular plate 38 overlaps with the rear surface (the surface corresponding to the rear side of the vehicle) of the bracket body part 30 and is welded to the rear surface of the bracket body part. As a result, the joint portion 31 is formed. The end of the cross member 4 in the longitudinal direction of the cross member overlaps with the joint portion 31 from the front side Fr of the vehicle, the pair of (upper and lower) mounting bolts 32 is inserted into a pair of (upper and lower) bolt insertion holes 15 that is formed at the end of the cross member 4, respectively, and nuts are threadably mounted to the mounting bolts 32. As shown in Fig. 2, the cross member 4 is positioned behind a seat back 9A of the rear seat 9 in the middle of the seat back in a vertical direction, and the
front surface of the cross member 4 is close to the rear surface of the seat back 9A in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We Claim:
1. A rear vehicle body structure, comprising:
a cross member disposed between a luggage compartment and a rear seat to prevent a luggage from moving into a passenger compartment from the luggage compartment;
a wheel house inner panel forming a wheel house together with a wheel house outer panel to house a rear wheel and including a peripheral wall which is provided along a circumferential direction of the rear wheel and a vertical wall which is directed toward an inner side of the peripheral wall in a radial direction of the peripheral wall from an inner side portion of the peripheral wall in a width direction of a vehicle;
a rear pillar reinforcement disposed above the wheel house inner panel; and
a mounting bracket fixing the cross member to a vehicle body and including a first joint portion which is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel and a second joint portion which is joined to the rear pillar reinforcement.
2. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in claim 1, further
comprising an absorber reinforcement to which a shock absorber of a rear
suspension is mounted, the absorber reinforcement overlapping with and
being joined to the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house
inner panel from a side of the rear wheel,
wherein the first joint portion of the mounting bracket overlaps with
and is joined to the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel from an opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the vertical wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement.
3. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in claim 2, wherein the first joint portion of the mounting bracket overlaps with and is joined to the peripheral wall of the wheel house inner panel from the opposite side to the absorber reinforcement so that the peripheral wall is interposed between the first joint portion and the absorber reinforcement.
4. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the rear pillar reinforcement has a rectangular cross-section so that the rear pillar reinforcement includes a front wall which faces a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is provided on a front side of the vehicle and a side wall which extends toward a rear side of the vehicle from an inner side portion of the front wall in the width direction of the vehicle; and
wherein the second joint portion of the mounting bracket has an L-shaped cross-section so that one piece of the second joint portion is joined to the front wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the front side of the vehicle and the other piece of the second joint portion is joined to the side wall of the rear pillar reinforcement from the inner side in the width direction of the vehicle.
5. The rear vehicle body structure as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein a joint portion of the mounting bracket is disposed in an inner side of a corner portion in the width direction of the vehicle, the corner portion which is formed by the peripheral wall and the vertical wall of the wheel house inner panel.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=6xc/P7R4L7ejAF5q+NlsbQ==&loc=+mN2fYxnTC4l0fUd8W4CAA==

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Patent Number

270265

Indian Patent Application Number

2591/DEL/2008

PG Journal Number

50/2015

Publication Date

11-Dec-2015

Grant Date

07-Dec-2015

Date of Filing

18-Nov-2008

Name of Patentee

SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION

Applicant Address

300, TAKATSUKA-CHO, MINAMI-KU, HAMAMATSU-SHI, SHIZUOKA 432-8611 (JP)

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	TANAKA, HIROKAZU	C/O SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, 300, TAKATSUKA-CHO, MINAMI-KU, HAMAMATSU-SHI, SHIZUOKA 432-8611 (JP)
2	HOSHINO, MASAHARU	C/O SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, 300, TAKATSUKA-CHO, MINAMI-KU, HAMAMATSU-SHI, SHIZUOKA 432-8611 (JP)

PCT International Classification Number

B62D25/08

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	2007-299941	2007-11-19	Japan