DE102021130651B4 - VEHICLE BODY FRONT STRUCTURE - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle body front structure comprising: skirt side frames (1) at vehicle body side portions, said skirt side frames (1) including rear side frames (1B) extending from upper portions of outer side portions of an instrument panel (53) extending in the vehicle width direction at the body front portion extending toward the vehicle front side, and including front side frames (1A) connected to front portions of the rear side frames (1B) and extending toward the vehicle front side from the front portions, the rear side frames (1B), upper rear members (30) and lower ones Rear panels (40) connected to lower portions of the upper rear panels (30), the upper and lower rear panels (30, 40) forming first closed cross-sectional structures (SR), the front side frames (1A) upper front panels (10) and lower panels (20) connected to lower portions of the upper panels (10), second closed cross-sectional structures (SF) being formed by the upper and lower panels (10, 20), and the front portions the rear side frames (1B) and the rear portions of the front side frames (1A) are connected to each other at sloping surfaces, characterized in that the sloping surfaces are rear part sloping surfaces (31a) formed at front portions of the upper rear members (30), and Front part sloping surfaces (21a) formed at rear portions of the lower front members (20), and the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) and the front part sloping surfaces are connected to each other, and the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) on a vehicle underside in Are inclined towards the front of the vehicle.

Description

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a vehicle body front structure according to the preamble of claim 1.

[Technical background]

Such a vehicle body front structure is from JP 2016-2955 A and from the DE 10 2009 042 064 A1 known.

A side part frame extending from an outer portion of an instrument panel in the vehicle width direction toward a front side of the vehicle forms a vehicle body side portion of a front part of a vehicle when viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction. A structure of the side part frame including an upper member and a lower member is in the JP 2019-014342 A disclosed. In this example, a bent portion extending toward a front upper side is formed at a connecting portion between the upper member and the lower member, and an end wall separates a closed portion of the lower member and is located in front of the bent portion.

The DE 10 2016 106 720 A FIG. 12 shows a vehicle body front structure in which a reinforcing member extends from a dash panel side toward the vehicle front and toward the vehicle underside. This is intended to transfer part of the impact energy in the event of a frontal collision to the side front part and from there in the direction of the rear of the vehicle.

The structure described above is intended to absorb an impact load caused by a front collision (hereinafter referred to as a front collision) by shaping the side frame at the time of a front collision when an object or the like collides with the vehicle from the front. In this example, the structure described above is intended to stabilize the deformed shape.

[Disclosure of the Invention]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

The structure in the example explained above is intended to absorb an impact load by deforming the bent portion, starting from a fragile area at a bent portion, when the impact load due to a front collision or the like acts on the front portion of the side frame. However, there is a possibility that the bent portion is not deformed in the intended direction due to a positional relationship between a structure of high rigidity and the bent portion when the deforming process starts from the fragile portion. In this case, it is likely that the impact energy cannot be effectively absorbed at the intended location by the impact load. Therefore, there is room for improvement of the structure as in the example explained above in order to effectively absorb an impact load caused by a front-end collision or the like.

The present invention intends to solve the above problem, and its object is to provide a vehicle body front structure capable of efficiently absorbing impact energy caused by an impact load due to a frontal collision or the like.

[Means to Solve the Problem]

A vehicle body front structure according to the invention includes the features of claim 1.

[Advantageous Effect of the Invention]

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently absorb impact energy of an impact load due to a frontal collision or the like.

character list

• 1 14 is a perspective view of a vehicle body front structure according to the invention
• 2 FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which an upper front member is shown in FIG 1 was removed.
• 3 14 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of a connection portion between a front side frame and a rear side frame 1 illustrated in an enlarged manner.
• 4 14 is an enlarged perspective view tracing the vicinity of the connection portion between the front side frame and the rear side frame 1 shown in an enlarged manner.
• 5 Fig. 14 is a perspective view taking section AA in Fig 3 illustrated.
• 5 Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing section BB in Fig 3 illustrated.
• 7 Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing section CC in Fig 3 illustrated.
• 8th Fig. 12 is a plan view of a side skirt frame of Fig 1 .
• 9 Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan view of the skirt side frame 8th in an enlarged view.
• 10 12 is a side view of the vehicle body front structure of FIG 1 when viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction.

[Way for carrying out the invention]

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle body front structure according to the invention will be explained with reference to drawings ( 1 until 10 ) described. Note that the arrow direction Fr means the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction in the drawings. “The term “front area (front end) and rear area (rear end)” in the description of the embodiment corresponds to the front area and rear area in the vehicle front-rear direction, respectively. Also, the directions of the arrows L and R mean the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction, respectively. Furthermore, the terms “left and right” in the description of the embodiment correspond to left and right when a passenger inside the vehicle faces the vehicle front side.

The vehicle body front structure of this embodiment has a structure having side skirt frames 1 at side portions of the body as shown in Figs 1 until 10 is shown. As the 1 and 2 1, the skirt side frames 1 are members extending in the vehicle front-rear direction and are located on an instrument panel 53 at the front of the vehicle. The instrument panel 53 extending in the vehicle width direction is a sheet separating, for example, a power unit accommodating space in which, for example, an engine or a motor is housed, from the inside of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

The vehicle body front structure of this embodiment includes dash side panels 55, strut towers 50 and side skirts 57 as shown in FIGS 1 , 2 and 10 is shown.

The dash side panels 55 are located at outer side portions of the dash panel 53 in the vehicle width direction, have surfaces facing the vehicle width direction, and extend in the vehicle front-and-rear direction. The strut towers 50 are located on the outer side portions of the front surface of the instrument panel 53 in the vehicle width direction, and are located on the inside of the instrument panel side panels 55 in the vehicle width direction. The strut towers 50 are structures on the vehicle body side for attaching the upper portions of struts (not shown) extending in the vehicle up-down direction from strut-type hangers (not shown), and at front portions of these strut towers 50 is a front wall 51 corresponding to the Vehicle front side faces and extends in the vehicle up-down direction.

The side skirts 57 are flat materials located on the dash side panels 55 and the strut towers 50 on the vehicle front side, and upper portions of the side skirts 57 are connected to the skirt side frames 1 . In addition, the side skirts 57 are connected to a front panel 61, as in FIG 10 is shown.

In addition, the structure of the following embodiment includes the front-side member 61, a front cross-frame 63 and a front bumper cross-member 65. The front-side member 61 is a high-strength member and constitutes a vehicle body frame, located below the outer side portions in the vehicle width direction inside in the vehicle front-rear direction of the drive unit compartment. The front cross frame 63 includes side members spaced at an interval from each other in the vehicle up-down direction, longitudinal members extending in the vehicle up-down direction and connecting ends of the two side members in the vehicle width direction, with the front portion of the front side member being connected to the upper side member. Also, front portions of the skirt side frames 1 are connected to corner portions formed on the left panels and the upper side panel. The front bumper cross member 65 is a member for holding a front bumper, and extends in the vehicle width direction. Outer side portions of the bumper front cross member in the vehicle width direction are connected to portions near the corner portions mentioned above.

The structure of the skirt side frames 1 of these embodiments will be described below. As in the 1 and 2 As shown, the side skirt frames 1 include rear side frames 1B and front side frames 1A.

The rear side frames 1B extend from the front portions of the outer side parts of the instrument panel 53 toward the vehicle front side in the vehicle width direction. In the present example, the rear side frames 1B are inclined in the vehicle longitudinal direction such that front ends of the rear side frames 1B are slightly lower than the rear ends. In addition, the rear side frames 1B include upper back members 30 and lower back members 40 connected to each other as shown in FIGS 2 until 7 is shown.

The upper back members 30 include upper surface portions 31 facing the vehicle upper side and inner surface portions 35 facing an inner side in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIGS 3 until 7 is shown. The upper surface portions 31 of the upper back members 30 extend from the dash side panels 55 toward the vehicle front side. Rear slope surfaces 31a are located at the front portions of the upper surface portions 31. The rear slope surfaces 31a continue from the upper surface portions 31 and are inclined toward the vehicle front side on the vehicle underside. The inner surface portions 35 of the upper back members 30 project from inner ends of the upper surface portions 30 in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle lower side and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the ends of the upper surface portions 31. As for the inner surface portions 35, the length of the inner surface portions 35 in the vehicle height direction increases accordingly rear portion of the rear slope surfaces 31a gradually decrease toward the vehicle front side corresponding to the rear slope surfaces 31a. Also, in this example, the upper back members 30 have an L-shaped cross section. The insides of the front part slanting surfaces 31a are connected to the upper portions of the side skirts 57 .

The lower back members 40 include underside portions 41 facing the vehicle underside, outer surface portions 45 facing outer sides in the vehicle width direction, inner flanges 42, and outer flanges 46. The lower side portions 41 of the lower back members 40 extend toward the outer sides of the instrument panel side panels 55 in the vehicle width direction the vehicle front side, and they are spaced apart from the upper surface portions 31 of the rear members 30 on the vehicle underside.

The inner flanges 42 of the lower back members 40 protrude from the inner ends of the bottom side portions 41 of the lower back members 40 in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle front side, and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the ends of the bottom side portions 41 in the vehicle width direction. The inner flanges 42 are connected to the lower portions of the inner surface portions 35 of the upper back members 30 by spot welding or the like.

The outer surface portions 45 of the lower back members 40 extend from the outer ends of the underside portions 41 in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle upper side, and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the outer ends of the underside portions 41 in the vehicle width direction. The outer flanges 46 protrude from the upper ends of the outer surface portions 45 of the upper back members 40 to the outer sides in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the upper ends of the outer surface portions 45. The outer flanges 46 are connected to the outer side portions of the upper surface portions 31 of the upper back members 30 in Vehicle width direction connected for example by spot welding. The inner flanges 42 and the outer flanges 46 of the lower back members 40 are connected to the upper back member 30, and thereby attached to the rear side frames 1B as shown in FIGS 5 and 6 is shown, rear closed cross-sectional structures having a substantially square shape as viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction are formed.

The front side frames 1A are connected to the front portions of the rear side frames 1B and extend from the front portions toward the front of the vehicle as shown in FIGS 3 , 4 , 6 and 7 is shown. In this example, the front side frames 1A are inclined while gently curving toward the vehicle underside and toward the vehicle front side. The slope of the front side frames 1A is a steep slope compared to the slope of the rear side frames 1B. In addition, the front side frames 1A include upper front members 10 and lower front members 20 connected to each other.

The upper front members 10 include top surface portions 11 facing the vehicle upper side, outer surface portions 15 facing outer sides in the vehicle width direction, and outer flanges 16. The upper surface portions 10 of the upper front members 10 extend on the vehicle rear side to converge to the upper surface portions 31 of the upper rear member 30 to continue towards. In this example, the rear ends of the top surface portions 11 of the upper front members 10 are located on a rear vehicle side than the rear ends of the rear part sloping surfaces 31a. Extension portions 17 are located on the upper surface portions 31 of the upper front members 10, the exten bracing portions are connected to the top portions 11 of the upper rear panels 30 via extension portions 27 of the lower front panel 20, which will be discussed later. The extension portions 17 will be described later.

The outer surface portions 15 of the upper front panels 10 protrude from outer ends of the top side portions 11 in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle lower side, extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the ends of the top side portions 11, and extend toward the vehicle rear side to continue the outer surface portions 45 of the lower rear panels 40. Rear ends of the outer surface portions 15 in this example correspond to the front end locations of the extension portions 17. Also, the lower ends of the outer surface portions 15 are inclined to correspond to the rear part inclined surfaces.

The outer flanges 16 of the upper front members 10 protrude from the lower ends of the outer surface portions 15 toward outer sides in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction along the lower ends of the outer surface portions 15. Also, rear portions of the outer flanges 16 are inclined to correspond to the rear part inclined surfaces 31a, and they are connected to the rear part slanting surfaces 31a by spot welding, for example.

The lower front members 20 include underside portions 21 facing the vehicle underside, inner surface portions 25 opposite to the inside in the vehicle width direction, and inner flanges 26, as shown in FIGS 4 and 7 is shown. The underside portions 21 of the lower front members 20 are spaced from the upper side portions 11 of the upper front members 10 on the vehicle underside and continue to the underside portions 41 of the lower rear members 40 in a vehicle from the vehicle underside. Front-part sloping surfaces 21a are located at rear areas of the underside portions 21 in this example ( 4 ). The front part slanting surfaces 21a are slanted toward the vehicle front side on the vehicle underside.

The extension portions 27 are located on the front part sloping surfaces 21a on the vehicle rear side, similar to the upper front members 10. The extension portions 27 extend from the rear ends of the front part sloping surfaces 21a toward the vehicle rear side and are directly connected to the front portions of the upper surface sections 31 of the upper back members 30 connected by, for example, spot welding. Front ends of the front part slanting surfaces 21 a are connected to rear areas of the underside portions 21 of the lower front members 20 .

In addition, the outer flanges 16 of the upper front members 10 are connected to the outer side portions of the underside portions 21 of the lower front members 20 in the vehicle width direction by spot welding or the like.

Moreover, the inner surface portions 25 of the lower front members 20 extend from their ends of the underside portions 21 of the lower front members 20 toward the vehicle upper side in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction to continue toward the inner surface portions 35 of the upper rear members 30 . The inner flanges 26 protrude from upper ends of the inner surface portions 25 of the lower front members 20 toward the inside in the vehicle width direction and extend along the upper ends in the vehicle front-rear direction. The inner flanges 26 are connected to the inner portions of the top side portions 11 of the upper front members 10 in the vehicle width direction by, for example, spot welding. On the front side frames 1A, by the inner flanges 26 and the outer flanges 15 connected as described above, front closed cross-sectional structures SF having a substantially square shape when viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction are formed, as shown in FIGS 6 and 7 is shown.

For example, when the vehicle body receives an impact load in a frontal collision and this impact load is applied to the front side frames 1A, this impact load is applied to the front part slope surfaces 21a of the front side frames 1a and then applied to the rear upper members 30 of the rear side frames 1B. At this time, the front side frames 1A are deformed to curve or sag toward the vehicle underside by stretching the upper rear members 30 of the rear side frames 1B against the impact load. In this way, the impact energy due to the impact load released in the frontal collision is absorbed, and transmission of the impact load to the vehicle rear side beyond the instrument panel 53 is restrained.

In addition, the rear slope surfaces 31a are formed at the front portions of the upper rear members 30 in the manner described above, and the front slope surfaces 21a are formed at the rear portions of the lower front members 20, the rear slope surfaces 31a and the front slope surfaces 21a connected to each other by, for example, spot welding in this embodiment. In this way, the rear part sloping surfaces 31a and the front part sloping surfaces 21a serve as connecting portions, shear stress occurs at the connected portions due to the impact load from the vehicle front side, and as a result, the connected portions undergo the above-described deformation such as curvature or bending.

In addition, in this embodiment, the lower front panels 20 and the upper rear panels 30 are welded, for example, by spot welding. In this example, the rear part sloping surfaces 31a and the front part sloping surfaces 21b are welded, and also the extension portions 27 of the lower front members 20 are welded to the upper surface portions 31 of the upper rear members 30. Further, the extension portions 27 of the lower front panels 20, the extension portions 17 of the upper front panels 10, and the upper surface portions 31 of the upper rear panels 30 are welded in a state where the three portions are superimposed on each other in this example. With such a configuration, the rigidity of the three means welded together is improved. Since the load is applied along the shape of the rear part sloping surfaces 31a of, for example, the upper rear members 30, the above-described deformation, for example, in the form of curvature or bending, is easily caused at a portion located on the vehicle front side beyond the three superimposed portions located.

Also, the rear part sloping surfaces 31a are slanted toward the lower vehicle side toward the vehicle front side, as for this embodiment in FIG 4 is shown. With such arrangement of the inclination direction, the load coming from the underside of the vehicle front side is efficiently transmitted to the vehicle rear side, and this load transmission acts favorably on the above-described deformation such as curvature or deflection.

In addition, the front ends of the rear part sloping surfaces 31a are located on the vehicle front side beyond the strut towers 50, as shown in FIGS 4 and 8th until 10 shown in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the rigidity of the rear side frames 1B is set higher than the rigidity of the front side frames 1A by adjusting the plate thicknesses or the like of those portions constituting the rear closed cross-sectional structures SR. In addition, the strut towers 50 have higher rigidity than the rear side frames 1B. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate the initiation of deformation from portions near the front ends of the rear part sloping surfaces 31a as starting points of the above deformation, such as curvature, when the impact load is applied to the front side frames 1A.

In addition, since the rear ends of the rear part sloping surfaces 31a are located so as to correspond to the front walls 51 of the strut towers 50 in the vehicle front-rear direction, it is possible to efficiently receive the load from the rear side frames 1B and thus cause the above-mentioned Deformation progresses in a simple manner.

In addition, the upper rear members 30 or the lower rear members 40 of the rear side frames 1B are connected to the front side members 61 via the lower front members 20 of the front side frames 1A. In this way, the rigidity of the vehicle body is secured with a simple structure. Moreover, spot welds are provided between the rear part sloping surfaces 1A and the front part sloping surfaces 21a at intervals in the vehicle front-rear direction on outer sides and inner sides of the sloping surfaces. In this way, it is possible to balance the effect of the load at the weld points between the insides and the outsides (the left and right sides) and apply the load efficiently.

The description of the present embodiment is an illustration for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection according to the claims. In addition, the configuration of this component of the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

Although the rear inclined surfaces are configured to face the vehicle upper side in this embodiment, the invention is not limited to this. The rear inclined surfaces may be designed to face the outer sides or the inner sides in the vehicle width direction. In addition, the inclined surfaces may be set to face the bottom.

In addition, the vehicle body frame is formed even if the front side frames 1A and the front cross frames 63 are not present in the configuration of the vehicle body frame of this embodiment. In this case, for example, the side skirts 57 with the upper surface portions 31 of the upper rear members 30, the rear part sloping surfaces 31a and the inner surface portions 35 may be connected. With such a vehicle body frame, the side skirts may be deformed by the rear upper members 30 of the rear side frames 1B stretching against an impact load when the impact load is applied from the upper portions of the side skirts 57 to the rear slope surfaces 31a.

Further, it is possible to achieve the vehicle body front structure according to the invention and the corresponding effects by adding the front side frames 1A and the front cross frame 63 to a vehicle body frame different from the vehicle body frame of this embodiment and not adding the front side frames 1A and 1A the front cross frame 63 includes. Therefore, the vehicle body front structure according to the present embodiment can facilitate production differentiation of model types depending on whether the front side frames 1A and the front cross frame 63 are present or not.

Reference List

1

side apron frame

1A

front side frame

1B

rear side frame

10

upper front element

11

top section

15

exterior surface section

16

outer flange

17

extension section

20

lower front element

21

subpage section

21a

front slope surface

25

inner surface section

26

inner flange

27

extension section

30

upper rear element

31

upper surface section

31a

Back Tilt Surface

35

inner surface section

40

lower rear element

41

subpage section

42

inner flange

45

exterior surface section

46

outer flange

50

strut dome

51

front wall

53

dashboard

55

Dashboard side plate

57

side skirt

61

front element

63

front cross frame

65

front bumper cross member

SF

front closed cross-section structure (second closed cross-section structure)

SR

rear closed cross-section structure (first closed cross-section structure)

Claims (4)

A vehicle body front structure comprising: skirt side frames (1) at vehicle body side portions, said skirt side frames (1) including rear side frames (1B) extending from upper portions of outer side portions of a vehicle width direction extending instrument panel (53) at the body front portion extending toward the vehicle front side, and including front side frames (1A) connected to front portions of the rear side frames (1B) and extending toward the vehicle front side from the front portions, the rear side frames (1B), rear upper members (30) and lower rear panels (40) connected to lower portions of the upper rear panels (30), the upper and lower rear panels (30, 40) forming first closed cross-sectional structures (SR), the front side frames (1A) being upper ones Front elements (10) and lower front elements (20), which are connected to lower regions of the upper front elements (10), containing second closed cross-sectional structures (SF) being formed by the upper and lower front elements (10, 20), and the front portions of the rear side frames (1B) and the rear portions of the front side frames (1A) are connected to each other at inclined surfaces, characterized in that the inclined surfaces are rear part inclined surfaces (31a) formed at front portions of the upper rear members (30). and front part sloping surfaces (21a) formed at rear portions of the lower front members (20) ent and the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) and the front part sloping surfaces are connected to each other, and the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) are sloping on a vehicle lower side toward the vehicle front side. Vehicle body front structure claim 1 wherein the lower front panels (20) and the upper rear panels (30) are joined together by welding. Vehicle body front structure claim 1 wherein the front ends of the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) are located on a vehicle front side beyond strut towers (50) provided at side portions of the vehicle body. Vehicle body front structure claim 3 wherein rear ends of the rear part sloping surfaces (31a) are arranged so as to correspond to front walls of the strut towers (50) in the vehicle front-rear direction.

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