JP2000335442A - Front end frame body structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily secure strength of an upper rail part. SOLUTION: In a resin front end frame body in which a linear upper rail 3 connecting front end parts of hood ridge upper reinforcements on left and right sides of a vehicle and having substantially U-shaped cross section and a lower panel enclosing and surrounding a radiator and a head lamp are integrally provided, a metallic reinforcing material 7 which is substantially U-shaped in cross section is inserted and arranged at the inside of the upper rail 3 and a resin reinforcing rib 14 intersecting a longitudinal direction 13 of the upper rail 3 is provided at the inside of the upper rail 3 and the metallic reinforcing material 7. This reinforcing rib 14 is connected at not less than three positions of both flange parts 11, 11 of the upper rail 3 having U-shaped cross section and a web part 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front end frame structure for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle such as an automobile is provided with a front end frame called a module carrier at a front end (front end).

This module carrier comprises an upper rail having a substantially U-shaped cross section connecting the front ends of the left and right hood ridge upper reinforcements of the vehicle, a radiator holder surrounding the radiator and a head surrounding the head lamp. The upper rail and the lower panel are integrally formed of resin. As this type of module carrier, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-105115 has been conventionally known.

The upper rail secures the torsional rigidity of the front end portion and can prevent an impact load due to a hood lock when the hood is closed and a deformation due to a weight when a hand is touched during maintenance of the engine room. Need to be For that purpose, conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-199
No. 400, a resin reinforcing rib is provided inside a metal upper rail having a substantially U-shaped cross section, a hole is formed in the metal upper rail, and the resin reinforcing rib is formed in the resin upper rib. It is known that an anchor portion penetrating a hole is formed to obtain a connection state between a metal upper rail and a resin reinforcing rib.

[0005]

However, in the upper rail structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-199400, a hole is formed in a metal upper rail, and a resin reinforcing rib is provided with an anchor portion penetrating the hole. The formation of the metal upper rail and the reinforcing ribs made of resin to obtain the bonding state complicates the manufacturing process, and furthermore, the appearance of the anchor is exposed on the outer surface side, so that the appearance quality is poor. there were.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle front end frame structure which can solve the above-mentioned problems and can easily secure the strength of an upper rail portion.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle having a substantially U-shaped cross section for connecting the front end portions of the left and right hood ridge upper reinforcements of a vehicle. And a lower end panel surrounding and surrounding the radiator and the headlamp, a metal reinforcing material having a substantially U-shaped cross section is inserted inside the upper rail, and the upper rail and the metal A resin reinforcing rib intersecting the longitudinal direction of the upper rail is provided inside the reinforcing material, and the reinforcing rib is connected by three or more connecting portions of both flange portions and a web portion of the upper rail having a U-shaped cross section. It is characterized by doing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing ribs are connected to the flanges of the upper rail having a U-shaped cross section at three or more positions of the web. It is possible to provide a lightweight, highly synthetic front end frame that can absorb the relative deformation of the resin upper rail and the metal reinforcing material due to the difference in thermal shrinkage between the two.

Therefore, it is possible to easily realize the torsional rigidity of the front end portion, and to prevent the impact load due to the hood lock when the hood is closed and the deformation due to the weight when the operator touches the hand during maintenance of the engine room. .

Further, since the reinforcing ribs are connected to the upper rail at three places, the effect of suppressing the cross-sectional deformation by the reinforcing ribs can be sufficiently exhibited.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing rib and the upper rail are connected by a connecting portion so that the metal reinforcing member cannot be moved in the surface direction of the web portion and can be moved in the longitudinal direction. It is characterized by having been done.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the metal ribs are movably pressed in the longitudinal direction by the reinforcing ribs, so that the thermal expansion of the resin and the metal is achieved. Thermal strain in the longitudinal direction at the time of molding due to the difference in coefficient can be relaxed and absorbed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the connecting portion between the reinforcing rib and the flange portion of the upper rail is formed by making the flange portion of the metal reinforcing material shorter than the flange portion of the upper rail. A longitudinally extending resin-exposed portion formed at a distal end of the flange portion, wherein a connecting portion between the reinforcing rib and a web portion of the upper rail has an opening extending in the longitudinal direction formed on a web portion of a metal reinforcing material; It is characterized by being a department.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member is shorter than the flange portion of the upper rail to form a strip-shaped resin exposed portion and to strengthen the metal reinforcement. By forming the opening substantially at the center of the web portion of the material, a simple structure can be achieved, and good appearance quality can be maintained.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a continuous portion without a notch is formed in a flange portion of the upper rail and a metal reinforcing member in a connecting portion between the upper rail and the lower panel, and It is characterized in that the rail and the metal reinforcement are maintained in a constant cross section over the entire length.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a continuous portion having no notch in the flange portion of the upper rail and the flange portion of the metal reinforcement at the connection portion between the upper rail and the lower panel. To form
By maintaining the upper rail and the metal reinforcement at a constant cross section over the entire length, the rigidity of the upper rail can be further improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the angle of the corner between the web portion and the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member is obtuse.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the angle of the corner between the web portion and the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member is made obtuse to have a substantially wedge-shaped cross section. The die-cutting property of the entire end frame can be improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a hollow portion formed by gas injection is formed at a thick corner portion between the web portion and the flange portion of the upper rail.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the hollow portion is formed by gas injection at the thick corner between the web portion and the flange portion of the upper rail. It is possible to prevent sink marks at the time.

[0021]

First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the construction will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a front end frame called a module carrier 1 or the like attached to a front end (front end) portion of a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with left and right hood ridge uppers of the vehicle. An upper rail 3 having a substantially U-shaped cross-section and connecting the front ends of the reinforcements 2 and 2 has a linear shape, a radiator holding portion 4 surrounding and surrounding the radiator, and a head lamp holding portion 5 surrounding and surrounding the head lamp. The upper rail 3 and the lower panel 6 are integrally formed of resin.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a metal reinforcing member 7 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is inserted into the upper rail 3 made of resin without any gap by insert molding or the like. It is fitted. This metal reinforcement 7
Has a length substantially equal to that of the web portion 9 of the upper rail 3. The U-shaped flanges 10, 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 are formed shorter than the flanges 11, 11 of the upper rail 3. Strip-shaped resin exposed portions 12 extending in the direction 13
Is formed.

Further, inside the resin upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7, a resin reinforcing rib 14 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 13 of the upper rail 3 is provided.
3 are provided at predetermined intervals. And
The resin-made reinforcing ribs 14 and the side portions of the resin-made upper rail 3 are connected to the resin exposed portions 1 of the two flange portions 11, 11.
Are connected to each other at portions 2 and 12 (connection portion 1
5). At least in a substantially central portion of the web portion 8 of the metal reinforcing member 7, a substantially rectangular opening 18 having a dimension 17 longer than the thickness 16 of the reinforcing rib 14 and extending in the longitudinal direction 13 is provided. The bottom of the reinforcing rib 14 made of resin and the upper rail 3 made of resin are connected to each other at a substantially central portion of the opening 18 in the longitudinal direction 13 (connecting portion 19). As a result, the reinforcing ribs 14 cannot move the metal reinforcing member 7 having the U-shaped cross section at the both sides 20 and the bottom 21 in the plane direction of the web portion 9 and in the longitudinal direction 13.
Is movably held down.

The resin upper rail 3 and the reinforcing ribs 14 are integrally formed. Also, the opening 18 is formed in the web 9 of the resin upper rail 3.
May be formed.

On the other hand, the metal reinforcing member 7 is provided in the longitudinal direction 1.
3 and has a length substantially equal to that of the upper rail 3. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, at the end of the metal reinforcing member 7, a web portion 8 and flange portions 10 and 10 are provided. Each of the projections 23 formed by embossing or the like has an upper rail 3
The upper rail 3 is formed with receiving holes 24 at positions corresponding to the web portion 9 and the flange portions 11, 11. By fitting, the metal reinforcing member 7 and the upper rail 3 are formed in a state where the positioning is performed. The height of the projection 23 is set to be slightly shorter than the thickness of the upper rail 3, and the hole diameter of the receiving hole 24 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the projection 23. When the front end frame 1 is attached to the hood ridge upper reinforcement 2, the protrusion 23 of the metal reinforcing member 7 is attached to a weld nut 28 provided in the hood ridge upper reinforcement 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the bolt 27 is screwed into the weld nut 28 from the front side of the front end frame 1 with a washer 301 interposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. At this time, the tightening force of the metal reinforcing member 7 and the washer 301 on the resin upper rail 3 allows relative deformation due to a difference in thermal contraction between the resin upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7. Set as much as possible.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

Since the resin upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7 hardly have an adhesive force even after the insert molding and are deformed in a state where they are separated when a load is applied, the metal reinforcing member 7 is left as it is. No. 7 does not exhibit a sufficient reinforcing effect. However, in the first embodiment,
The flange portions 10, 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 are shorter than the flange portions 11, 11 of the upper rail 3 to form strip-shaped resin exposed portions 12, 12, and substantially the center of the web portion 8 of the metal reinforcing member 7. An opening 18 is formed in the upper portion 3, and the reinforcing ribs 14 are connected at the three ends of the flanges 11, 11 of the resin upper rail 3 and substantially at the center of the web portion 9. In addition, the metal reinforcement 7 having a U-shaped cross section is pressed by the bottom 21 so as to be immovable in the surface direction of the web portion 9 and movably in the longitudinal direction 13.

This makes it possible to absorb the relative deformation of the resin upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7 due to the difference in thermal shrinkage, and to achieve a lightweight and highly synthetic front end frame 1.
Can be provided.

Accordingly, it is possible to easily realize the torsional rigidity of the front end portion and to prevent the impact load due to the hood lock when the hood is closed and the deformation due to the weight when the operator puts his hand during maintenance of the engine room. .

Further, since the reinforcing ribs 14 are connected to the upper rail 3 at three places, the effect of suppressing the cross-sectional deformation by the reinforcing ribs 14 can be sufficiently exhibited.

Further, since the metal reinforcing member 7 is movably pressed in the longitudinal direction 13 by the both side portions 20 and the bottom portion 21 of the reinforcing rib 14, the molding is performed by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the resin and the metal. The thermal strain in the longitudinal direction can be relaxed and absorbed.

Moreover, the above is achieved with a simple structure and good appearance quality.

[0035]

[Modification 1] FIG. 6 is a modification 1 of the first embodiment.
At least two openings 18 are formed at approximately three equal points of the web portion 8 of the metal reinforcing member 7 so that the reinforcing ribs 1 are formed.
4 are connected to the upper rail 3 at a total of four locations, two locations at the tip of the flange portions 11 and 11 and two locations at the web portion 9. By doing so, the reinforcing rib 1
4 and the fluidity of the resin to the peripheral portion of the web portion 8 during molding can be improved.

This structure is particularly suitable for the flange 11
This is effective when the web portions 8 and 9 are longer than those in the first embodiment. Further, the openings 18 may be formed at three or more places of the web portion 8.

[0037]

[Modification 2] FIGS. 7 and 8 show a modification 2 of the first embodiment. The width 31 of the connecting portion 19 between the bottom of the reinforcing rib 14 made of resin and the upper rail 3 made of resin is changed in the longitudinal direction. 13 is enlarged. By doing so, the support rigidity of the reinforcing ribs 14 can be improved. The connecting portion 19 may have a hollow portion 32 formed therein.

[0038]

[Modification 3] FIG. 9 is a modification 3 of the first embodiment.
In FIGS. 1 to 5, the reinforcing ribs 14 are vertically intersected with the flange portions 11, 11 of the upper rail 3. However, as in the third modification, the reinforcing ribs 14 are connected to the flange portions 11, 11 of the upper rail 3. May be arranged obliquely and crosswise, and the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing ribs 14 is further enhanced. In addition,
The form of the reinforcing ribs may be other than that described above. In the third modification, the opening 9 formed in the web 9 of the upper rail 3 is one, but as shown in FIG. 22 may be two.

[0039]

[Modification 4] FIG. 10 shows a modification 4 of the first embodiment. In order to attach the end of the front end frame 1 to the hood ridge upper reinforcement 2, the hood ridge upper reinforcement 2 is attached to the hood ridge upper reinforcement 2. An elongated hole 29 extending in the longitudinal direction 13 of the resin upper rail 3 is formed corresponding to the weld nut 28 provided, and a bolt insertion hole (symbol omitted) is also formed in the metal reinforcing member 7. A bolt 27 is screwed onto a weld nut 28 with a collar 30 interposed from the front side of the end frame 1. Also in this modified example 4, the metal reinforcing member 7 and the collar 30 for the resin upper rail 3 are provided.
The height of the collar 30 is set to such an extent that relative deformation due to a difference in thermal contraction between the resin upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7 can be tolerated.

[0040]

Fifth Modification FIG. 11 shows a fifth modification of the first embodiment, in which the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 is embedded in the flange portion 11 of the upper rail 3 and
Resin exposed portion 12 and flange portion 10 of metal reinforcing member 7
And the same. According to the fifth modification, the insert holding force of the metal reinforcing member 7 by the resin upper rail 3 can be improved. The end face of the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 is
Rust prevention effect on the end face of the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 can be obtained. Further, since the resin exposed portion 12 of the flange portion 11 of the upper rail 3 and the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 are flush with each other, the molding die of the front end frame 1 can be simplified accordingly. .

[0041]

Second Embodiment FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same or equivalent parts as those in the first embodiment are described with the same reference numerals.

In the second embodiment, notches are formed in the flange portion 11 of the upper rail 3 and the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 at the connection portion 35 between the upper rail 3 and the radiator holding portion 4 of the lower panel 6. By forming continuous portions 36 and 37 without holes, the upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7 are maintained at a constant cross section over the entire length.

The angle of the corner 39 between the web portion 8 and the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 is set to an obtuse angle of 90 ° or more so as to have a substantially wedge-shaped cross section. At this time, the corner 3 between the web 9 and the flange 11 of the upper rail 3
Since 9 becomes thick, a hollow portion 38 is formed in this portion by gas injection.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.

The flange part 1 of the upper rail 3 at the connection part 35 between the upper rail 3 and the radiator holding part 4
1 and the flange portion 10 of the metal reinforcing member 7 are formed with continuous portions 36, 37 having no notch, and the upper rail 3 and the metal reinforcing member 7 are maintained in a constant cross section over the entire length, so that the upper rail 3 Can be further improved in rigidity.

Further, by making the angle of the corner portion 39 between the web portion 8 of the metal reinforcing member 7 and the flange portion 10 into an obtuse angle of 90 ° or more to have a substantially wedge-shaped cross section, the entire module carrier 1 can be removed from the mold. Can be improved. At this time, the web portion 9 of the upper rail 3 and the flange portion 11
By forming the hollow portion 38 by gas injection in the thickened corner portion 39, sink can be prevented during molding.

Except for the above, the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the same operation and effect can be obtained.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing ribs are connected at three or more positions of the flange portion and the web portion of the upper rail having the U-shaped cross section. In addition, it is possible to provide a lightweight, highly synthetic front end frame that can absorb the relative deformation of the resin upper rail and the metal reinforcing member due to the difference in thermal shrinkage.

Therefore, it is possible to easily realize the torsional rigidity of the front end portion and to prevent the impact load due to the hood lock when the hood is closed and the deformation due to the weight when the hand is touched during maintenance of the engine room. .

Further, since the reinforcing ribs are connected to the upper rail at three places, the effect of suppressing the cross-sectional deformation by the reinforcing ribs can be sufficiently exhibited.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the metal reinforcing member is movably pressed in the longitudinal direction by the reinforcing rib, so that the metal reinforcing member is formed by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the resin and the metal. Thermal strain in the direction can be relaxed and absorbed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member is shorter than the flange portion of the upper rail to form a strip-shaped resin exposed portion, and substantially the center of the web portion of the metal reinforcing member. By forming an opening in
The structure can be simple, and good appearance quality can be maintained.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a continuous portion without a notch is formed in the flange portion of the upper rail and the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member at the connection portion between the upper rail and the lower panel, and By maintaining the metal reinforcement at a constant cross section over the entire length, the rigidity of the upper rail can be further improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the angle of the corner portion between the web portion and the flange portion of the metal reinforcing material is made obtuse to have a substantially wedge-shaped cross-section, so that the entire front end frame body can be removed. Can be improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, by forming a hollow portion by gas injection in a thick corner portion between the web portion and the flange portion of the upper rail, it is possible to prevent sink during molding. Can have a practically beneficial effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a central portion of the upper rail of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an end portion of the upper rail of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to a position along line BB in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion similar to FIG. 2 in Modification Example 1 of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion similar to FIG. 2 in Modification 2 of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line CC of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a portion similar to FIG. 5 in a third modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a portion similar to FIG. 5 in Modification 4 of Embodiment 1.

11 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion similar to FIG. 2 in Modification Example 5 of Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a connection portion between an upper rail and a radiator holding portion according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front end frame (module carrier) 2 Hood ridge upper reinforcement 3 Upper rail 6 Lower panel 7 Metal reinforcing material 8 Web part 9 Web part 10 Flange part 11 Flange part 12 Resin exposed part 12 13 Longitudinal direction 14 Reinforcing rib 15 connecting part 18 opening part 19 connecting part 35 connecting part 36 continuous part 37 continuous part 38 hollow part 39 corner part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A front end frame comprising an upper rail made of resin having a substantially U-shaped cross section for connecting between front end portions of left and right hood ridge upper reinforcements of a vehicle, and a lower panel surrounding and surrounding a radiator and a headlamp. In the body, a metal reinforcing material having a substantially U-shaped cross section is inserted inside the upper rail, and a resin reinforcing rib intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the upper rail is provided inside the upper rail and the metal reinforcing material. A front end frame structure for a vehicle, wherein the reinforcing ribs are connected at three or more connecting portions of both flange portions and a web portion of the upper rail having a U-shaped cross section. 2. The reinforcing rib and the upper rail are connected by a connecting portion so that the metal reinforcing member cannot move in the surface direction of the web portion and can move in the longitudinal direction. Item 4. The vehicle front end frame structure according to Item 1. 3. The connecting portion between the reinforcing rib and the flange portion of the upper rail is formed at the tip of the flange portion of the upper rail by making the flange portion of the metal reinforcing material shorter than the flange portion of the upper rail. It is a resin exposed portion extending in the longitudinal direction, and a connecting portion between the reinforcing rib and the web portion of the upper rail is an opening extending in the longitudinal direction formed in the web portion of the metal reinforcing material. The vehicle front end frame structure according to claim 2. 4. A continuous portion without a notch is formed in a flange portion of the upper rail and a metal reinforcing member in a connecting portion between the upper rail and the lower panel, so that the upper rail and the metal reinforcing member are extended over a whole length. The front end frame structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front end frame structure is maintained at a constant cross section over the entire length. 5. The front end frame structure for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the angle of the corner between the web portion and the flange portion of the metal reinforcing member is obtuse. 6. The front end frame structure for a vehicle according to claim 5, wherein a hollow portion formed by gas injection is formed in a thick corner portion between the web portion and the flange portion of the upper rail.