JP2003165464A - Vehicle body front structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain the movement of a dash panel into a vehicle compartment at the time of head-on collision of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: A first reinforcing member 24 extending in a straight line when viewed from the top and side is arranged between a closed cross section part 22 as the top of the dash panel and a bent part 10A of a front pillar 10. A second reinforcing member 26 in a straight line when viewed from the top and in an U form viewed from the side is arranged between an upper support part 16A of a front suspension tower 16 and the closed cross section part 22. The rigidity of the first reinforcing member 24 is formed so as to be higher than that of the second reinforcing member 26, therefore the second reinforcing member 26 is deformed inward in the U form when a load equal to or larger than a prescribed value acts from the front/rear direction of the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body front structure, and more particularly to a vehicle body front structure of a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a vehicle body front structure of a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-316026.

As shown in FIG. 6, in this vehicle body front structure, a rear upper portion 100A of the suspension tower 100 is provided.
The reinforcing member 102 is provided with one end 102A joined thereto and the other end 102B sandwiched between the bottom portion 104A of the cowl portion 104 and the flange 106A of the dash panel 106. Further, the inclined portion 100B and the vertical portion 100C at the rear end of the suspension tower 100 are joined to the dash panel 106. As a result, the input load from the front suspension is transmitted to the dash panel 10 via the suspension tower 100 and the reinforcing member 108.
6 and the cowl portion 104.

[0004]

However, in this vehicle body front structure, since the space between the rear upper part 100A of the suspension tower 100 and the dash panel 106 is reinforced by the reinforcing member 102, when a vehicle front collision occurs, The dash panel 106 may move into the passenger compartment together with the rear end of the suspension tower 100.

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a vehicle body front structure capable of suppressing the movement of the dash panel into the vehicle compartment at the time of a vehicle front collision.

[0006]

A vehicle body front structure according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a first reinforcing member arranged between a dash panel and a frame member in a vehicle compartment, and a front suspension tower. A second reinforcing member disposed between the dash panel and the dash panel, wherein the rigidity of the first reinforcing member is higher than the rigidity of the second reinforcing member.

Therefore, when the front suspension tower is pushed toward the rear of the vehicle, this load can be efficiently transmitted to the vehicle interior frame member by the second reinforcing member and the first reinforcing member, so that the vehicle body The rigidity and strength can be improved. Further, when the load becomes larger than a predetermined value at the time of a vehicle front collision, the second reinforcing member, which has lower rigidity than the first reinforcing member, is deformed so that the collision energy can be absorbed and the second reinforcing member can be absorbed. The first reinforcing member having higher rigidity than the member can prevent the dash panel from moving rearward of the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to suppress the movement of the dash panel into the vehicle interior during a vehicle front collision.

The vehicle body front structure according to the second aspect of the present invention is
A first reinforcing member arranged between the upper part of the dash panel and the front pillar; and a second reinforcing member arranged between the front suspension tower and the upper part of the dash panel. The rigidity of the first reinforcing member is the second
The rigidity of the reinforcing member is higher than that of the reinforcing member.

Therefore, when the front suspension tower is pushed rearward of the vehicle, this load can be efficiently transmitted to the front pillar by the second reinforcing member and the first reinforcing member, so that the rigidity of the vehicle body and Strength can be improved. Further, when the load becomes larger than a predetermined value at the time of a vehicle front collision, the second reinforcing member, which has lower rigidity than the first reinforcing member, is deformed so that the collision energy can be absorbed and the second reinforcing member can be absorbed. The first reinforcing member having higher rigidity than the member can prevent the upper part of the dash panel from moving rearward of the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to suppress the movement of the dash panel into the vehicle interior at the time of a vehicle front collision.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body front structure according to any of the first and second aspects, the second reinforcing member is curved in the vehicle front-rear direction. And

Therefore, in addition to the contents of claims 1 and 2, the rigidity of the second reinforcing member can be easily adjusted by changing the curved shape of the second reinforcing member in the vehicle front-rear direction. .

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle body front structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the figure, an arrow FR indicates a vehicle front direction, an arrow UP indicates a vehicle upward direction, and an arrow IN indicates a vehicle width inner direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel reinforcement 12 extends along the vehicle width direction at the rear of the bent portion 10A of the left and right front pillars 10 of the vehicle body (only the right front pillar is shown in FIG. 1). Is installed,
An apron upper member 14 is connected to the vehicle front side of the bent portion 10A along the vehicle front-rear direction. Further, a front suspension tower 16 is disposed inside the front portion of the apron upper member 14 in the vehicle width direction, and a vehicle rear side of an upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 is arranged along the vehicle width direction. A cowl panel 18 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cowl panel 18 is provided.
Has a substantially U-shaped cross section with the opening facing upward, and a cowl reinforcement 20 is provided inside the cowl panel 18. The cowl reinforcement 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the rear wall portion 18A of the cowl panel 18 along the vehicle width direction.
A closed cross-section portion 22 that is an upper portion of the dash panel is formed in the vehicle width direction by the cowl panel 18 and the cowl reinforcement 20 at the inner rear portion.

A front wall portion 18B of the cowl panel 18 and a flange 18C formed on an upper end portion of the front wall portion 18B.
Are fixed to the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, between the closed cross section 22 and the bent portion 10A of the front pillar 10, that is, between the rear wall portion 18A of the cowl panel 18 and the bent portion 10A of the front pillar 10, A first reinforcing member 24 is provided that extends linearly in a plan view and a side view. In addition, between the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 and the closed cross-section portion 22, that is, between the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 and the vertical wall portion 20A of the cowl reinforcement 20 is a plan view. A second reinforcing member 26 having a linear shape and a U shape in a side view is arranged.

Further, when the rigidity of the first reinforcing member 24 is higher than that of the second reinforcing member 26 and a load equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied in the vehicle front-rear direction, a two-dot chain line is shown in FIG. As shown by, the second reinforcing member 26 is adapted to deform inward of the U-shape.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first reinforcing member 24
The cross-sectional shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction is a U-shape with the opening facing the outside of the vehicle, and the flange 24 is provided at the opening edge.
A and 24B are formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first reinforcing member 24
The flange 24A formed on the front edge of the cowl panel 18 is fixed to the rear wall 18A and the lower wall 18D of the cowl panel 18, and the flange 24B formed on the rear edge of the first reinforcing member 24 is It is fixed to the bent portion 10A of the front pillar 10.

The instrument panel reinforcement 12
End portion 12A is fixed to the bent portion 10A of the front pillar 10 in the vicinity of the rear of the flange 24B of the first reinforcing member 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second reinforcing member 26
The base portion 30 has a U-shaped cross section, and a flange 32 is formed at the opening edge portion.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second reinforcing member 26
The front portion 32A of the flange 32 at is the cowl panel 1
It is fixed to the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 with the eight flanges 18C interposed therebetween.
On the other hand, the rear portion 32 </ b> B of the flange 32 of the second reinforcing member 26 has the vertical wall portion 2 of the cowl reinforcement 20.
It is fixed at 0A. A lower portion 32C of the flange 32 of the second reinforcing member 26 is fixed to the cowl bottom portion 36.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second reinforcing member 26
A rear end portion 26A and a front end portion 24C of the first reinforcing member 24.
Are opposed to each other in the vehicle front-rear direction with the closed cross section 22 interposed therebetween. The second reinforcing member 26 is arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction behind the vehicle at the load input point P in the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 in a plan view.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second reinforcing member 26
Is the front suspension tower 1 when viewed from the side.
6 is horizontally disposed behind the vehicle at the load input point P in the upper support portion 16A of 6, and the first reinforcing member 24 is located behind the second reinforcing member 26 with the closed cross section 22 interposed therebetween in a side view. It is arranged horizontally.

The instrument panel reinforcement 12
A steering shaft 40 is fixed to the steering shaft 40 via a bracket 42.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, when the upper support portion 16A of the front suspension tower 16 is pushed rearward of the vehicle, the load indicated by the arrow F in FIGS.
By the second reinforcing member 26 and the first reinforcing member 24,
Since it can be efficiently transmitted to the front pillar 10, the rigidity of the vehicle body can be improved.

Further, when the load F is larger than a predetermined value at the time of a vehicle front collision, the second reinforcing member 26 having a lower rigidity than the first reinforcing member 24 is deformed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. By doing so, the collision energy can be absorbed, and the movement of the closed cross-section portion 22 into the vehicle interior can be suppressed by the first reinforcing member 24 having higher rigidity than the second reinforcing member 26.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the instrument panel reinforcement 12 and the steering shaft 40 attached to the instrument panel reinforcement 12 from moving rearward of the vehicle, and it is possible to secure a vehicle interior space.

In the present embodiment, the second reinforcing member 2
By changing the curved shape of 6 in the vehicle front-rear direction, the rigidity of the second reinforcing member 26 can be easily adjusted.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that For example, in the above embodiment, the second reinforcing member 26
Although the shape of the second reinforcing member 26 is linear in a plan view and U-shaped in a side view, the shape of the second reinforcing member 26 is not limited to this, and may be curved in the vehicle front-rear direction. The shape of the second reinforcing member 26 is linear in a plan view, inverted U-shaped in a side view,
Alternatively, the shape of the second reinforcing member 26 is U-shaped in a plan view,
The shape may be another shape such as a straight line in a side view.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first reinforcing member 24 is arranged between the rear wall portion 18A of the cowl panel 18 and the bent portion 10A of the front pillar 10, but instead of this, the first reinforcing member 24 is provided. The reinforcing member 24 may be disposed between the rear wall portion 18A of the cowl panel 18 and a vehicle interior frame member such as a floor tunnel portion.

[0034]

According to the vehicle body front structure of the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the first reinforcing member disposed between the dash panel and the frame member in the vehicle compartment, the front suspension tower and the dash panel are provided. And a second reinforcing member disposed between the first reinforcing member and the second reinforcing member, the rigidity of the first reinforcing member is higher than the rigidity of the second reinforcing member. It has an excellent effect that it can be suppressed.

The vehicle body front structure according to the second aspect of the present invention is
A first reinforcing member arranged between the upper part of the dash panel and the front pillar; and a second reinforcing member arranged between the front suspension tower and the upper part of the dash panel. Since the rigidity of the reinforcing member is higher than that of the second reinforcing member, there is an excellent effect that the movement of the dash panel into the vehicle interior can be suppressed at the time of a vehicle front collision.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body front structure according to any one of the first and second aspects, the second reinforcing member is curved in the vehicle front-rear direction. In addition to the effect described in any one of 1 and 2, it has an excellent effect that the rigidity of the second reinforcing member can be easily adjusted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle body front structure according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from an obliquely rearward inside of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle body front structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a second front body structure according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the reinforcing member of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a conventional vehicle body front structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 front pillar 12 Instrument panel reinforcement 16 Front suspension tower 18 cowl panels 20 cowl reinforcements 22 Closed section (upper part of dash panel) 24 First reinforcing member 26 Second reinforcing member 36 cowl bottom

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first reinforcing member arranged between a dash panel and a frame member in a vehicle compartment, and a second reinforcing member arranged between a front suspension tower and the dash panel. And the rigidity of the first reinforcing member is higher than the rigidity of the second reinforcing member. 2. A first reinforcing member arranged between the upper part of the dash panel and the front pillar, and a second reinforcing member arranged between the front suspension tower and the upper part of the dash panel. A vehicle body front structure, wherein the rigidity of the first reinforcing member is higher than the rigidity of the second reinforcing member. 3. The vehicle body front structure according to claim 1, wherein the second reinforcing member is curved in the vehicle front-rear direction.