JP2006240392A - Cowl cover structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cowl cover structure capable of improving load absorbing efficiency by increasing permitted deforming amount of an engine hood rear end portion when a load not less than a predetermined value is acted on the engine hood rear end portion, and on the other hand, certainly supporting the engine hood rear end portion at the time of load input less than the predetermined value. <P>SOLUTION: A vertical wall portion 11f tilting backward is formed on a cowl cover 11 covering an upper side of a cowl portion 10, and a folded portion 17 elastically a flat supporting portion 13 formed on the cowl portion 10 is formed at a lower part of the vertical wall portion 11f. A clearance portion 19 with predetermined width is provided between a tilting edge 18a at a lower end of a rib 18 formed on the vertical wall portion 11f and extending in a vertical direction and the flat supporting portion 13. Therefore, the supporting stiffness of the rear end portion of the engine hood 2 is ensured in a normal use state. On the other hand, when the load not less than the predetermined value is inputted on the rear end portion of the engine hood 2, by the leverage of the tilting edge 18a, the folded portion 17 is separated from the flat supporting portion 13, and the deformation of the vertical wall portion 11f is promoted, thereby increasing permitted displacement amount to a lower side of the rear end portion of the engine hood 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowl cover structure disposed between a lower end portion of a front windshield and a rear end portion below an engine hood.

  Generally, the structure around the front waist of an automobile is located between the lower end of the front windshield (front window glass) and the lower end of the rear end of the engine hood, and a cowl box as a cowl is provided at the top of the dash panel. The outside air is taken into the passenger compartment from the cowl box (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The upper side of the cowl box is covered with a cowl cover (cowl louver), and this cowl cover has an opening formed by slits and meshes to prevent foreign matter such as rainwater, snow and fallen leaves from entering, and can also guide drainage. The outside air is introduced into the cowl box while removing the foreign matter with the cowl cover, and the outside air is taken into the passenger compartment.

  The cowl cover is usually formed by injection molding with a resin material such as polypropylene and colored black. The front end of the cowl cover is fastened to the front end of the front wall of the cowl box with a clip or the like, and the rear cover The end is supported by the lower part of the front windshield.

In addition, the cowl cover is a part that may be directly touched by hands in practice, and therefore requires a certain degree of single-piece rigidity, and is provided with a rib or the like to ensure the required rigidity. To prevent damage to the engine hood due to direct interference of the hard cowl cover between the cover and the lower side of the rear end of the engine hood, and to prevent water droplets and other foreign objects from entering the engine room Is provided with a seal member.
JP 2001-322562 A (page 3, FIG. 1)

  However, in such a conventional cowl cover structure, it is necessary to support the rear end of the engine hood with a relatively high rigidity in a normal state, and a load of a predetermined value or more is input to the rear portion of the engine hood from an obliquely upper front of the vehicle body. In this case, it is desirable to increase the amount of allowable displacement (stroke) downward of the engine hood to improve the load absorption efficiency.

  However, when the front end of the cowl cover having a certain degree of rigidity is firmly connected to the front side wall of the cowl box via, for example, a screw or a clip as described above, the load is input to the cowl cover. In addition, since the coupling portion does not easily disengage, the cowl cover becomes a stretched portion, making it difficult to earn a large amount of the allowable displacement of the engine hood, and consequently, the load absorption efficiency is lowered.

  For this reason, it is conceivable that a weak portion is formed at the front end of the cowl cover and the cowl cover is easily deformed from the weak portion when the load is input. Therefore, when a certain amount of load is input to the engine hood due to snow or by hand, the engine hood is greatly bent and deformed.

  Therefore, in the case where a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the rear end portion of the engine hood, the present invention increases the allowable deformation amount of the rear end portion of the engine hood to increase the load absorption efficiency, while the load input is less than the predetermined value. In some cases, a cowl cover structure that can reliably support the rear end of the engine hood is provided.

  In the present invention, the front end covers the front side wall of the cowl part, covering the upper side of the cowl part arranged across the lower part of the front windshield at the front part of the passenger compartment and the lower side of the rear end part of the engine hood. The front end of the cowl cover is formed on the front end portion of the front side wall of the cowl portion by forming a flat support portion that projects substantially horizontally toward the front of the vehicle. Is attached to the front end of the cowl cover so as to be detachable toward the front of the vehicle with a load of a predetermined value or more, while forming a vertical wall portion close to the lower side of the rear end portion of the engine hood, A rib extending in the vertical direction is formed on the inner side surface, and an inclined edge inclined obliquely rearward and upward is provided at the lower end of the rib, and a gap having a predetermined width is provided between the inclined edge and the flat support portion. The main feature is the provision of a section.

  According to the present invention, by forming the rib on the vertical wall portion of the cowl cover, it is possible to increase the vertical rigidity of the vertical wall portion, and in a normal state, the load of the engine hood input from above is reduced. It can be supported by the front side wall of the cowl.

  In other words, when a relatively large load is input to the rear end of the engine hood due to snow accumulation or handling, the load acts on the upper end of the vertical wall of the cowl cover and tends to push down the vertical wall. Since the vertical wall portion is enhanced in the vertical direction by the ribs, the rear end portion of the engine hood can be supported with little bending.

  On the other hand, when an excessive load of a predetermined value or more is input to the rear end of the engine hood from above, the vertical wall portion is deformed and pushed down in the range of the gap, and the inclined edge of the rib is fixed to the flat support portion. At this time, a large moment acts on the lower part of the vertical wall part by the principle of the lever with the rear end of the inclined edge of the bottomed rib as a fulcrum, and the front end part of the cowl cover fixed to the flat support part by the moment. A force in the front of the vehicle is generated in the vehicle, and the vehicle is separated from the flat support.

  Then, the lower portion of the vertical wall portion becomes a free end, and the deformation of the vertical wall portion is further promoted, and the allowable displacement amount downward of the engine hood further increases. Therefore, the energy absorption rate of the excessive load is increased. Improvements can be made.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of a cowl cover structure according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cowl cover as viewed from above. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed state of the cowl cover when a load is input on the rear end of the engine hood, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cowl box 10 as a cowl portion is disposed across the lower part of the front windshield 1 at the front part of the vehicle compartment and the lower side of the rear end of the engine hood 2, and the upper opening of the cowl box 10 is opened. Covered with a cowl cover 11.

  The cowl box 10 is formed in a U-shaped cross section by a front side wall 10a, a rear side wall 10b, and a bottom wall 10c, and a flange portion 12 formed on the upper end portion of the rear side wall 10b is disposed on the lower surface of the lower portion of the front windshield 1, and thereafter The upper end portion and the bottom wall 10c of the side wall 10b are coupled to the upper panel 3u of the dash panel 3.

  Further, a flat support portion 13 bent substantially horizontally toward the front of the vehicle is formed at the front end portion (upper end portion) of the front side wall 10a, and the front end portion 11a of the cowl cover 11 is formed on the flat support portion 13. While being supported, a bifurcated clip portion 14 projecting intermittently from the rear end portion 11 b of the cowl cover 11 in the vehicle width direction is sandwiched and fixed to the lower end portion of the front windshield 1.

  The cowl cover 11 can be seen from the outside by extending the engine hood 2 so as to be close to the front window shield 1 by letting the front end portion 11a under the rear end portion of the engine hood 2 and extending the engine hood 2 close to the front window shield 1. It has become a body design that makes it difficult.

  The cowl cover 11 is formed by injection-molding a synthetic resin material having a certain degree of rigidity, such as polypropylene, into a thin plate shape, and is colored, for example, black, and frontward from the rear end portion 11b toward the front. After inclining in the downward extension direction of the windshield 1, the upright wall 11c is raised obliquely so that a V-shaped valley 15 is formed near the position below the rear end of the engine hood 2, and the upright wall 11c This prevents snow and other foreign objects from entering the engine room, and the valley 15 is used as a drainage guide in the vehicle width direction so that the rear surface of the engine hood 2 can be seen from the vehicle compartment side through the front windshield 1 or obliquely upward. There is no way.

  Then, an inclined surface 11d inclined downward in a mountain shape is formed along the lower surface 2a of the engine hood 2 from the top of the upright wall 11c, and a flat portion 11e extending forward in a substantially horizontal direction from the lower portion of the inclined surface 11d is formed. A seal member 16 is attached to the flat portion 11e, and the seal member 16 seals between the cowl cover 11 and the lower surface 2a of the engine hood 2 in the closed state shown in the figure. The engine hood 2 is prevented from coming into direct contact with the hard cowl cover 11 so that the engine hood 2 is not damaged.

  In addition, a vertical wall portion 11f is formed in which the lower portion of the flat portion 11e is bent forward and inclined backward from the front end portion, and the flat support portion 13 is elastically formed below the vertical wall portion 11f. A folded portion 17 is formed between the front end portion 11a of the cowl cover 11 and supported on the front side wall 10a of the cowl box 10 so as to be detachable toward the vehicle with a load of a predetermined value or more. is there.

  A rib 18 extending in the vertical direction is formed on the inner side surface (rear side surface) of the vertical wall portion 11f so that the cowl cover 11 has a certain degree of rigidity. A high support rigidity of the engine hood 2 is obtained by increasing the vertical rigidity of the vertical wall portion 11f.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, by providing an inclined edge 18 a slightly inclined toward the rear obliquely upward at the lower end portion of the rib 18, a space between the inclined edge 18 a and the flat support portion 13 is provided. Is provided with a gap 19 having a predetermined width.

  An engaging portion 20 that can be engaged and disengaged is formed between the folded back end portion 17 a of the folded portion 17 and the lower surface of the flat support portion 13.

  The engaging portion 20 includes a flange portion 20a formed upward at the end of the folded back end portion 17a, and a protrusion 20b that is formed on the flat support portion 13 and protrudes downward to a position that engages with the flange portion 20a. The engagement state of the flange 20a and the protrusion 20b can be separated by moving the tip of the folded back end 17a by a predetermined amount in a direction away from the flat support portion 13.

  According to the structure of the cowl cover 11 of the present embodiment with the above configuration, the load F input onto the rear end portion of the engine hood 2 is the top portion (upper end) of the vertical wall portion 11f of the cowl cover 11 via the seal member 16. At this time, the rib 18 is formed on the vertical wall portion 11f, so that the vertical rigidity of the vertical wall portion 11f can be increased, so that the normal wall is input via the seal member 16. The load F of the engine hood 2 can be supported by the front side wall 10 a of the cowl box 10.

  That is, when a relatively large load is input on the rear end portion of the engine hood 2 due to snow accumulation or handling, the load acts on the upper end portion of the vertical wall portion 11f of the cowl cover 11 via the seal member 16. The vertical wall portion 11f tends to be pushed down, but since the vertical wall portion 11f has increased rigidity in the vertical direction by the rib 18, the rear end portion of the engine hood 2 can be supported almost without bending. .

  On the other hand, when an excessive load F (see FIG. 4) of a predetermined value or more is input on the rear end of the engine hood 2, for example, the head of the pedestrian is inclined from the front of the engine hood 2 due to a collision with the pedestrian. When the collision load F at that time is input on the rear end portion, the vertical wall portion 11f is deformed and pushed down in the range of the gap portion 19, and the inclined edge 18a at the lower end of the rib 18 is flatly supported. The portion 13 is bottomed, and the load F further acts from this state.

  For this reason, a large moment acts on the vertical wall portion 11f due to the principle of the lever with the rear end of the inclined edge 18a of the rib 18 having a bottom as a fulcrum, and the cowl cover 11 fixed to the flat support portion 13 by the moment. As shown by the arrow a in FIG.

  Then, the lower portion of the vertical wall portion 11f becomes a free end, and the deformation of the vertical wall portion 11f is further promoted, and the allowable displacement amount below the engine hood 2 further increases. The energy absorption efficiency can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the vertical wall portion 11f is inclined backward, the vertical wall portion 11f is smoothly deformed, while being elastically flat by the folded portion 17 having a U-shaped cross section. Since the support portion 13 is sandwiched and fastened, the folded portion 17 is pushed open by the moment, and the above-described detachment to the front can be performed smoothly.

  Of course, the folded-back portion 17 formed at the lower portion of the vertical wall portion 11f has a rigidity that prevents the folded portion 17 from being opened to the extent that a load that normally acts due to snow accumulation, hand attachment, or the like is input.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the engaging portion 20 that can be engaged and disengaged is formed between the folded back end portion 17 a of the folded portion 17 and the lower surface of the flat support portion 13, input from the engine hood 2 is performed. Since the engagement portion 20 can be maintained in the engagement state of the load F in such a magnitude that the load F does not open the turn-up portion 17, that is, when the load F is received in a normal use state, such as when snow is attached or hands are attached, the turn-up portion 17 is flat. It is possible to reliably prevent the engine hood 2 from being detached from the support portion 13 and to secure the support rigidity of the engine hood 2.

  By the way, although this invention was demonstrated taking the example for the said embodiment, various other embodiment can be employ | adopted in the range which is not restricted to this embodiment and does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

It is the perspective view which looked at the arrangement state of the cowl cover in one embodiment of the present invention from the upper part. It is an expanded sectional view along the AA line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the deformation | transformation state of the cowl cover at the time of applying load to an engine hood. It is an expanded sectional view of the principal part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Front windshield 2 Engine hood 10 Cowl box (cowl)
10a Front wall of cowl box 11 Cowl cover 11f Vertical wall part 13 Flat support part 16 Seal member 17 Folding part 17a Folding rear end part 18 Rib 18a Inclined edge 19 Cavity part 20 Engagement part

Claims (4)

A cowl cover that covers the upper part of the cowl part that is disposed across the lower part of the front windshield at the front part of the passenger compartment and the rear end part of the engine hood, and that the front end part is fixed to the front side wall of the cowl part is arranged. Structure,
A flat support portion that protrudes substantially horizontally toward the front of the vehicle is formed at the front end portion of the front side wall of the cowl portion, and the front end portion of the cowl cover faces the front of the vehicle with a load of a predetermined value or more on the flat support portion. While detachably fastened,
Forming a vertical wall portion close to the lower side of the rear end portion of the engine hood at the front end portion of the cowl cover, and forming a rib extending in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the vertical wall portion;
A cowl cover structure characterized in that an inclined edge inclined obliquely rearward and upward is provided at the lower end of the rib, and a gap portion having a predetermined width is provided between the inclined edge and the flat support portion.   The cowl cover structure according to claim 1, wherein the vertical wall portion is formed to be inclined backward.   A folded portion having a U-shaped cross section protruding forward is formed at the lower end of the vertical wall portion of the front end portion of the cowl cover, and the flat support portion is elastically sandwiched by the folded portion, and the cowl cover The cowl cover structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front end portion is fixed to the flat support portion.   The cowl cover structure according to claim 3, wherein an engaging portion that can be engaged and disengaged is formed between a folded back end portion of the folded portion and a lower surface of the flat support portion.

Images