JP2007008187A - Instrument panel reinforcing structure, and attaching bracket for instrument panel reinforcement - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the end section of an instrument panel reinforcement 11 to be firmly bonded to a car body frame, to make it easily attachable onto the instruction surface, and also, to enable an error in shape in the vehicle width direction to be absorbed in an instrument panel reinforcing structure. <P>SOLUTION: This instrument panel reinforcing structure comprises a bracket 12 which is bonded to the car body frame with bolts, and the instrument panel reinforcement 11 which is bonded to the bracket 12 with bolts. The instrument panel reinforcement 11 is made of an aluminum alloy extruded material, and on the end section of a front side flange 15, a rectangular notch 19 is formed. The bracket 12 is formed by cutting the aluminum alloy extruding material by a short dimension, and is set with the extruding direction facing the car body height direction. In the cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement 11, a hollow cross section 28 of the bracket 12 is inserted through the notch 19. Then, the front side flange 15, the extended section 24a of a vertical wall flange 24, a rear wall flange 16, and a vertical wall flange 25 are bonded with bolts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument panel reinforcement mounting structure for automobiles, and more particularly to an instrument panel reinforcement mounting structure excellent in rigidity, deformation strength, and mounting performance.

  In a vehicle body such as an automobile, an instrument panel reinforcement (also referred to as an instrument panel force, a steering support, or a cross car beam) for supporting a steering column is provided in the vehicle body width direction.

  As is well known, this instrument panel reinforcement is arranged so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body and in parallel with the vehicle width direction, and the vehicle body via a bracket provided directly or at an end in the vehicle body width direction. It is attached to the frame and is connected to the vehicle body floor by a part called a stay that extends in the vehicle body downward direction and is installed near the vehicle body center. In such instrument panel reinforcement, various cross-sectional shapes are selected, and bending, swaging, crushing, or the like may be performed in the longitudinal direction in order to avoid interference with other parts. Furthermore, various materials, such as a steel plate, aluminum, and magnesium, are selected from the viewpoint of cost and performance.

  In order to ensure collision safety performance, such an instrument panel reinforcement has a deformation amount with respect to a load applied to the rear of the vehicle body transmitted from the front of the vehicle body through the steering in a frontal collision and a load applied to the front of the vehicle body due to the forward movement of the occupant. Is defined. In addition, from the viewpoint of securing an indoor space in a side collision, a high strength is required for a load load condition in the vehicle width direction, that is, an instrument panel reinforcement axial load. In recent years, further weight reduction and space saving are desired, and it is desired that the instrument panel reinforcement be made smaller in diameter, thinner, rigid and stronger.

  A general instrument panel force end mounting structure is disclosed in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2. As in the mounting structure disclosed in this patent document, an instrument panel reinforcement having the same length as the passenger compartment width is used, and the end of the instrument panel reinforcement is firmly attached to the vehicle body frame by bolting in the vehicle width direction. There are many things to install.

JP 2001-328565 A JP 2000-238665 A

However, the above structure often causes a problem in terms of ease of assembly during manufacture. That is, since the instrument panel reinforcement is assembled after the vehicle body is assembled, the instrument panel reinforcement can be constructed only from the rear of the vehicle body or from above. In the case of the mounting structures disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the beam length is the same as the vehicle interior width, it is necessary to incline once during installation and insert it into the vehicle interior, which makes installation complicated. There is a problem. Further, since the instrument panel reinforcement itself has a certain amount of weight, it is desired that the instrument panel reinforcement be easily attached from the rear to the front of the vehicle rather than from above.
In addition, in the mounting structures disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when there is a difference between the length of the instrument panel reinforcement and the width of the passenger compartment due to variations in product shape, the shape error (difference in length) is caused. There is also a problem that it cannot be easily absorbed.

  In order to absorb the shape error due to this product shape variation, as disclosed in Patent Documents 3 to 5 below, an attempt is made to set an elastic member or a slide member that can be plastically deformed at the end of the instrument panel reinforcement. Can also be seen. However, with such a combination of expansion and contraction members and slide members, the deformation starting load in the vehicle width direction (axial direction) in a side collision is extremely reduced, and the requirement for securing an indoor space in a side collision cannot be satisfied. There is.

JP 2002-53070 A JP 2002-211141 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-300485

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of ease of assembly at the time of manufacture and absorption of variation in shape, as seen in Patent Document 6 below, a structure that is joined by bolt joining from the rear to the front of the vehicle body is the main component. In the case of this method, it can be said that the variation in shape can be absorbed by a method such as providing a long hole in the bolt joint, and that it can be easily attached to the vehicle body.
In addition, as shown in Patent Document 7 below, there is an example in which a bracket mounting structure is proposed in which brackets manufactured by plate molding are used to enable joining to the vehicle body from the rear and ensure mounting rigidity. .
In these methods, there is a problem that positioning in the vertical direction of the vehicle becomes complicated at the time of assembly. To solve this problem, a method using a guide member as shown in Patent Document 8 has been proposed.

JP 2001-1946 A JP 2001-10509 A JP 2003-26169 A

  However, the structures disclosed in Patent Documents 6 to 8 are structures in which an instrument panel reinforcement and a bracket are joined on either one of the front side and the rear side of the vehicle body and are assembled to the vehicle body via the bracket. In the case of such a structure, in a portion that is not joined to the bracket of the instrument panel reinforcement, slip deformation in the axial direction easily occurs when a load in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body against a frontal collision is applied. For this reason, compared with the structure disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a problem that rotational deformation is likely to occur and the amount of deformation becomes large.

  12 (a) and 12 (b) show a modified form of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 due to a load when the bracket 2 is welded (welded part 3) to the rear side of the vehicle body at the end of the instrument panel reinforcement 1. FIG. The broken line is the planar view shape of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 before deformation, and the solid line is the planar view shape of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 after deformation due to load. As shown in FIG. 12 (a), when a load is applied from the front side to the center part, a tensile force is applied to the bent outer side (front side) of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 to cause slip deformation there. Rotational deformation occurs due to the deformation, and the deformation amount increases. Also, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), when a load is applied from the rear side to the central portion, rotational deformation is still caused, although not as much as when a load is applied from the front side.

In order to reduce the amount of deformation with respect to the load applied in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a method of increasing the bending rigidity of the instrument panel reinforcement itself and a method of attaching the end portions are conceived to suppress the rotational deformation. However, as described above, it is difficult to increase the rigidity of the instrument panel reinforcement itself in a situation where further weight reduction and space saving are required.
On the other hand, as one method for strengthening the restrained state of the end, a method of caulking and joining the entire periphery of the end of the instrument panel reinforcement with a bracket is proposed in Patent Document 9 below. However, this method has a problem that when the cross-sectional shape of the instrument panel reinforcement or the shape of the bracket is varied, the caulking force is greatly varied, and the strength cannot be guaranteed. In addition, in order to caulk and join recent instrument panel reinforcements with increased strength, it is necessary to use bolts with very high strength, and depending on the conditions, it is difficult to obtain the required tightening strength. is there.

JP-A-11-222158

From the above prior art, technical issues are summarized as follows.
(1) In order to reduce the deformation amount in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, it is desired to strengthen the restraint state of the beam end.
(2) In order to ensure the ease of assembly on the construction surface, we want to create a structure that can be joined forward from the rear of the vehicle body. It is desirable that positioning can be easily performed at the time of joining.
(3) It is desirable to be able to absorb the shape error variation in the vehicle body width direction.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an instrument panel for an automobile in which the end of the instrument panel reinforcement can be firmly joined to the vehicle body frame, can be easily attached on the construction surface, and can absorb shape errors in the vehicle width direction. It is intended to provide a force structure.

  An instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention comprises an instrument panel reinforcement installed in a vehicle body width direction of an automobile, and a bracket fixed to a vehicle body frame and to which the instrument panel reinforcement is bolted. The reinforcement has a hollow closed cross-sectional structure, and has a pair of flanges arranged parallel to each other at a distance from the front side and the rear side of the vehicle body, of which the flange on the front side of the vehicle body has a notch formed at an end, and the bracket Is made of an aluminum extruded profile installed with the extrusion direction oriented substantially in the vehicle body height direction, and a pair of vertical wall flanges arranged in parallel to each other at an interval on the front side and the rear side of the vehicle body, A pair of wall-shaped ribs which are arranged on the inner side and extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and connect the pair of vertical wall flanges A part of the vertical wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body projects inward in the vehicle width direction from the closed cross-section portion constituted by these vertical wall flanges and wall-shaped ribs, and the wall-shaped rib on the outer side in the vehicle width direction is the joint surface with the vehicle body frame A portion protruding from the hollow cross section of the vertical wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body has a joint surface with the flange on the front side of the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement, and the front side of the vehicle body on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the notch Bolts are joined to the front side of the flange, and the vertical wall flange on the rear side of the vehicle body has a joint surface with the flange on the rear side of the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement. It is characterized by being bolted to the front side of the.

  The instrumental reinforcement is preferably made of an extruded aluminum profile. A typical cross-sectional shape is a substantially rectangular cross-section including the front and rear flanges of the vehicle body and upper and lower wall-like ribs connecting them. Here, aluminum means both pure aluminum and an aluminum alloy, and as the aluminum alloy, it is desirable that both the instrument panel reinforcement and the bracket are JIS 6000 series and 7000 series aluminum alloys. Further, in order to increase the strength at the time of collision, it is most preferable to use a high-strength JIS7000 series alloy for the aluminum alloy to be used. In addition, the 7000 series aluminum alloy has an advantage that the strength decrease due to welding softening is smaller than that of the 6000 series aluminum alloy.

In the instrument panel reinforcement structure, if the notch is formed only in the flange on the front side of the vehicle body, the width in the pushing direction of the bracket (at least about the portion on the rear side of the vertical wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body) It is necessary to set the width to be smaller than the width of the notch in the same direction and accommodated in the hollow cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement. This is because the vertical wall flange on the rear side of the vehicle body of the bracket must be disposed in the cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement through the notch through a portion on the rear side of the vertical wall flange on the vehicle body front side of the bracket. Is obvious because it cannot be joined to the flange on the rear side of the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement.
On the other hand, in addition to the notch, when a notch having the same depth as the notch is formed at the end of the upper or lower wall-like rib of the instrument panel reinforcement, the width of the bracket in the extrusion direction The size is not limited as described above. This is because the bracket can protrude upward or downward from the cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement through a notch formed in the upper or lower wall-like rib of the instrument panel reinforcement.

  In the instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention, any load from the vehicle body front side and the rear side can be obtained by bolting the instrument panel reinforcement and the bracket at two locations on the vehicle body front side and the rear side of the instrument panel reinforcement. Even under load conditions, it is possible to prevent slip deformation of the outer portion of the instrument panel reinforcement. In addition, since the bracket has a closed cross section, the bracket has high bending rigidity with respect to bending deformation in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and is highly resistant to rotational deformation caused by the sliding deformation.

12 (c) and 12 (d) schematically show the effects of the present invention in comparison with the prior art ((a) and (b)). The front side of the vehicle body at the end of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 and FIGS. When the bracket 2 is bolted (represented by 3) at the rear side, a modified form of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 due to a load is schematically shown. A broken line is a plan view shape of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 before deformation, and a solid line is a plan view shape of the instrument panel reinforcement 1 after deformation due to a load.
As shown in FIG. 12 (c), when a load is applied from the front side to the center portion, a tensile force is similarly applied to the bent outer side (front side) of the instrument panel reinforcement 1, but the instrument panel reinforcement 1 Since the bracket 2 is also fixed to the front side of the vehicle body, slip deformation is unlikely to occur there, and rotational deformation is suppressed, so that the amount of deformation can be greatly reduced as compared with FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 12 (d), when the load is applied from the rear side to the central portion, the amount of deformation is reduced as compared with FIG. 12 (b).

In the instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention, since the bracket is made of an aluminum extruded shape and the direction of extrusion is set in the vehicle body height direction, the bracket can be easily cut at a low cost. It can be mass-produced, and can be reduced in weight by providing an appropriate thickness distribution for each vertical wall flange and wall rib.
In the instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention, the instrument panel reinforcement can be easily assembled to the bracket using a bolt from the rear of the vehicle body, and either the instrument panel reinforcement or the bolt hole provided in the bracket is mounted on the vehicle body. If a long hole is formed in the width direction, even if there is a problem in the shape accuracy of the instrument panel reinforcement in the vehicle width direction, the shape error can be easily absorbed.

The instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 1 shows an instrument panel reinforcement structure (bolt) in which an end portion of an instrument panel reinforcement 11 made of an aluminum alloy extruded member is bolted to a bracket 12 made of an aluminum alloy extruded member fixed to a vehicle body frame (not shown). FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part showing the state of assembly. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the instrument panel reinforcement 11 extends in the vehicle width direction, both ends are bolted to the bracket 12, and is not shown by a stay 14 extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle body near the center of the vehicle body. Joined to the car floor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is obtained by cutting an extruded profile in a cross section perpendicular to the extrusion direction, and the cross section is trapezoidal, and the front and rear flanges 15 and 16 are parallel to each other. , And upper and lower wall-shaped ribs 17 and 18 connecting them, each having a substantially uniform thickness, and the vehicle body front side flange 15 is wider than the vehicle body rear side flange 16 in the vehicle body height direction width. The lower wall-like rib 18 is formed perpendicular to both flanges 15 and 16.
The end of the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body has a predetermined width (length in the vehicle body height direction) and depth (length in the vehicle body width direction from the end of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 to the bottom (shown by 19a)). A rectangular cutout 19 is formed, and a part of the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body remains a little above and below the cutout 19. This notch 19 is formed by shear cutting, for example.
Further, a bolt hole (long hole) 21 is formed at a position inside the vehicle width direction of the notch 19 in the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body, and a position of the notch 19 on the rear side of the vehicle body at the flange 16 on the rear side of the vehicle body. A bolt hole (long hole) 22 is formed at the rear side, and a work hole 23 for bolt tightening is formed at a position on the vehicle body rear side of the bolt hole 21.

The bracket 12 is formed by cutting an extruded profile into a predetermined width by a plane perpendicular to the extrusion direction and a plane inclined, and is installed with the extrusion direction facing the vehicle body height direction. The angle formed by the plane perpendicular to the extrusion direction and the inclined plane is made to coincide with the angle formed by the upper and lower wall-shaped ribs 17 and 18 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11.
The bracket 12 includes a vertical wall flange 24 on the front side of the vehicle body and a vertical wall flange 25 on the rear side of the vehicle body that are parallel to each other, and a wall-like rib 26 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction that connects them, and a vehicle body width. It consists of wall-like ribs 27 on the inner side in the direction, each having a substantially uniform thickness. The wall-shaped rib 26 connects the ends of the vertical wall flanges 24, 25. The wall-shaped rib 27 connects the intermediate position of the vertical wall flange 24 and the end of the vertical wall flange 25. The portion, the vertical wall flange 25 and the wall-like ribs 26 and 27 constitute a hollow cross-sectional portion 28.
The vertical wall flange 24 on the front side of the vehicle body is cut so that the width in the vehicle body height direction (extrusion direction) is larger than the vertical wall flange 25 on the rear side of the vehicle body. As a whole, the instrument panel reinforcement 11 has a width smaller than the width of the notch 19 (width in the vehicle body height direction). Further, the width in the vehicle body width direction of the hollow cross-section portion 28 of the bracket 12 is formed to be approximately the same as the depth of the notch 19 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11.

Bolt holes 31 for joining to the vehicle body frame are formed in the wall-like ribs 26 of the bracket 12. The vertical wall flange 24 is formed with a bolt hole 32 for joining with the flange 15 on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 on the projecting portion 24a projecting inward in the vehicle width direction from the hollow cross-section portion 28. A bolt hole 33 for joining with the flange 16 on the rear side of the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is formed.
In the vertical wall flange 24 of the bracket 12, the rear surface side of the projecting portion 24 a serves as a joint surface with the front surface side of the flange 15 on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11, and the rear surface side of the vertical wall flange 25 is the vehicle body rear side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11. It becomes a joint surface with the front surface side of the flange 16 on the side.

The assembly procedure of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is performed as follows, for example.
(1) The pair of left and right brackets 12 are bolted to predetermined positions of left and right body frames (not shown) with the pushing direction in the vehicle body height direction (in this example, the cut surface perpendicular to the pushing direction is downward). At this time, the vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 of the bracket 12 are installed in parallel to the vehicle body width direction. In the instrument panel reinforcement structure of the present invention, the vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 on the vehicle body front side and rear side of the bracket 12 and the vehicle body front side and rear flanges 15 and 16 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 are bolted to each other. Therefore, the objects to be joined must be arranged substantially parallel to each other.
(2) The instrument panel reinforcement 11 is supported horizontally in the vehicle body width direction, moved from the vehicle body rear side to the vehicle front side, and the vertical wall flange 25 on the vehicle body rear side of the bracket 12 is first passed through the notch 19. The instrument panel reinforcement 11 is moved forward while sliding the upper edge of the notch 19 along the upper surface (cut surface) of the bracket 12, and the flange 15 on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is the vertical wall of the bracket 12. When the flange 16 on the rear side of the vehicle body comes into contact with the protruding portion 24a of the flange 24 and the vertical wall flange 25 comes into contact with the flange 24, the operation is stopped. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the portion on the rear side of the vertical wall flange 24 of the bracket 12 enters the notch 19 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 and the inside of the hollow cross section.
(3) Subsequently, after positioning in the vehicle width direction, the flange 15 on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 and the vertical wall flange 24 of the bracket 12 are bolted at the bolt holes 21 and 32, and the vehicle body rear The side flange 16 and the vertical wall flange 25 are bolted at the bolt holes 22 and 33.

In the above-described instrument panel reinforcement structure, both the instrument panel reinforcement 11 and the bracket 12 are formed such that the width in the vehicle body height direction (the pushing direction of the bracket 12) increases toward the vehicle body front side (open toward the front side). Therefore, the operation of inserting the bracket 12 into the hollow cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 through the notch 19 can be easily performed. Further, the instrument panel reinforcement 11 can be pushed forward while sliding the upper edge of the notch 19 along the upper surface of the bracket 12. By forming the bolt holes so that the positions of the bolt holes 22 and 33 in the vehicle body height direction match when pushed to the end, the instrument panel reinforcement 11 can be easily positioned in the vertical direction of the vehicle body.
In the instrument panel reinforcement structure, the left and right ends 11a of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 do not protrude from the wall-like ribs 26 of the bracket 12 in the vehicle width direction, and the bottom 19a of the notch 19 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is provided. However, it is desirable to be located as close as possible to the wall-like ribs 27 of the bracket 12.

4 and 5 show another instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention.
The instrument panel reinforcement structure shown here differs from that of the notch 19 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the vehicle body front flange 15 is all cut away above the notch 19. The width in the height direction is wide. Other points are the same as the structure shown in FIGS.
In the case of this structure, when assembling the instrument panel reinforcement 11, when passing the vertical wall flange 25 on the rear side of the vehicle body of the bracket 12 through the notch 19, and further moving the instrument panel reinforcement 11 from the rear side of the vehicle body to the front side, The lower surface of the wall-like rib 17 on the upper side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is moved while sliding along the upper surface (cut surface) of the bracket 12, and the vertical wall flange 25 of the bracket 12 remains behind the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement 11. The instrument panel reinforcement 11 can be pushed in until it comes into contact with the side flange 16 and the protrusion 24a of the vertical wall flange 24 comes into contact with the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body. At this time, the vertical wall flange 25 and the rear flange 16 of the vehicle body, and the protrusion 24a of the vertical wall flange 24 and the front flange 15 of the vehicle body are in contact with each other in parallel with each other. If the bolt holes are formed so that the positions of the bolt holes 21 and 33 in the vehicle body height direction coincide with each other, only the alignment in the vehicle body width direction may be performed at that time, and the positioning operation of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is performed. Is even easier.
From the viewpoint of facilitating the positioning operation, the vehicle body front flange 15 can be cut off at the lower side of the notch 19 or can be cut off both at the top and bottom.

6 and 7 show another instrument panel force structure according to the present invention.
In the instrument panel reinforcement structure shown here, a notch 19 is formed in the flange 15 on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement 11, and a notch 35 is formed in the end portion of the lower wall-shaped rib 18. 2 and 3 is different from the instrument panel reinforcement structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in that the width of the bracket 12 in the vehicle body height direction is larger than the instrument panel reinforcement 11.
The notch 35 formed at the end of the lower wall-like rib 18 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 has the same depth as the notch 19 formed in the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body, and the notches 19 and 35 are continuous. is doing.
The width of the bracket 12 in the vehicle body height direction is larger than that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the bolt holes 31 for joining to the vehicle body frame formed in the wall-like ribs 26 on the outside of the vehicle body have the instrument panel reinforcement 11. It is located considerably below the bolt holes 32 and 33 for joining.

The assembly procedure of this instrument panel reinforcement structure is the same as that shown in FIGS. However, since the width of the bracket 12 in the vehicle body height direction is larger than the instrument panel reinforcement 11, the bracket 12 does not fit in the hollow cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement 11, and as shown in FIG. A part of the projection protrudes from the lower part of the instrument panel reinforcement 11.
In this form of the instrument panel reinforcement structure, the bolt joint position of the bracket 12 with respect to the vehicle body frame (position of the bolt hole 31) is lower than the bolt joint position of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 (position of the bolt holes 32, 33). Available to: A similar notch can be formed at the end of the upper side wall-like rib 17 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 depending on the relationship between both bolt joint positions.

8 and 9 show another instrument panel force structure according to the present invention.
The instrument panel reinforcement structure shown here is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in that the end of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is cut along a plane oblique to the extrusion direction so that the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body is shortened. Different from instrument panel force structure. The cut-out portion at the end of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 includes a rectangular cutout 19 formed at the end of the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body, an oblique cutout 36 formed at the end of the upper wall-shaped rib 17, Further, it can be considered that the oblique cutouts 35 formed at the end portions of the lower wall-shaped rib 18 are gathered. This oblique cutting can be performed by saw cutting without a mold.

  In this instrument panel reinforcement structure, since a part of the vehicle body front side flange 15 does not remain on the upper edge and the lower edge of the notch 19 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11, when the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is assembled to the bracket 12, FIG. As in the instrument panel reinforcement structure shown in FIG. 5, when the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is moved from the rear side of the vehicle body to the front side, the lower surface of the upper sidewall rib 17 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 is moved to the upper surface (cut surface of the bracket 12). ) Can be moved and positioned while sliding along.

In all of the above examples, the bracket 12 is installed so that the push-out direction is just in the vehicle body height direction (that is, the push-out direction is vertical). In this case, the front and rear flanges 15 and 16 of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 and the vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 of the bracket 12 on the front and rear sides of the bracket 12 are arranged in parallel to the vehicle body height direction. Such an arrangement may be difficult to avoid interference with other parts or due to the relationship of the bolt joint position with the vehicle body frame.
In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the bracket 12 is fixed to the vehicle body frame in a state where the pushing direction is inclined with respect to the vehicle body height direction, and the flanges 15 and 16 and the vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 are connected to the vehicle body. It can be arranged inclined with respect to the height direction.
However, when this inclination angle becomes too large, the joint position (bolt joint position 3) between the bracket 12 and the instrument panel reinforcement 11 approaches the side near the bending neutral axis when a load is applied. Therefore, the rotational deformation restraining effect obtained by bolting the outermost and innermost positions (flanges 15 and 16) of the instrument panel reinforcement 11 to the bracket 12 is reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to install the bracket 12 so that the push-out direction thereof is in the just vehicle body height direction, and it is desirable to keep it at about 15 degrees or less even when it is inclined.

FIG. 11 shows another instrument panel reinforcement structure according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the basic shape of the bracket 12 according to the present invention is composed of a pair of vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 and a pair of wall-like ribs 26 and 27 connecting them. For this purpose, the cross-sectional shape may be different from that described above. FIGS. 11A to 11D show an example thereof, and reinforcing ribs for preventing bending deformation of the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body which is a joint portion with the instrument panel reinforcement 11 are provided.
In the bracket 12 shown in FIG. 11A, a wall-shaped rib 26 has an extension 26a on the front side of the vehicle body, and a reinforcing rib 41 that connects the extension 26a and the flange 15 on the front side of the vehicle body is integrally formed. . The reinforcing rib 41 connects the tip of the extension 26 a and the intersection of the vertical wall flange 24 and the wall-shaped rib 27.

In the bracket 12 shown in FIG. 11B, a wall-like rib 26 for mounting a vehicle body frame further has an extension 26b on the rear side of the vehicle body. The extension 26b is used for joining to the vehicle body frame.
In the bracket 12 shown in FIG. 11C, the wall-like rib 26 has an extension 26a on the front side of the vehicle body, and a wall-like rib 42 extending forward of the vehicle body is formed at the end of the extension 24a of the vertical wall flange 24. A reinforcing rib 41 that connects the tip of the extension portion 26 a of the wall-like rib 26 and the tip of the wall-like rib 42 is integrally formed.
The bracket 12 shown in FIG. 11 (d) is used for reinforcement to connect the opposing corners of the hollow cross-section portion 28 in the hollow cross-section portion 28 constituted by the vertical wall flanges 24 and 25 and the wall-like ribs 26 and 27. Ribs 43 and 44 are integrally formed.

  In the above example, the instrument panel reinforcement is made of an aluminum alloy extruded material. However, the instrument panel reinforcement may be made of other materials such as a steel pipe.

It is the top view (a) of the instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention, and the front view (b) which looked at it from the vehicle body rear. It is an expansion perspective view (exploded view) of the edge part of the instrument panel reinforcement structure of FIG. It is the side view (a) of the instrument panel reinforcement structure, and a partially cutaway plan sectional view (b). It is an expansion perspective view (exploded view) of the edge part of another instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention. It is the side view (a) of the instrument panel reinforcement structure, and a partially cutaway plan sectional view (b). It is an expansion perspective view (exploded view) of the edge part of another instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention. It is the side view (a) of the instrument panel reinforcement structure, and a partially cutaway plan sectional view (b). It is an expansion perspective view (exploded view) of the edge part of another instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention. It is the side view (a) of the instrument panel reinforcement structure, and a partially cutaway plan sectional view (b). It is a side view of another instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of another instrument panel reinforcement structure which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the deformation | transformation form of the instrument panel reinforcement by a load load about one side support (a), (b) and both side support (c), (d).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Instrument panel reinforcement 12 Bracket 15 Car body front side flange of instrument panel reinforcement 16 Car body rear side flange of instrument panel reinforcement 17 Upper side wall rib of instrument panel reinforcement 18 Bottom wall rib 19 of instrument panel reinforcement 19 Notch 24 Vertical wall flange 24a on the front side of the vehicle body of the bracket 25 Extension thereof 25 Vertical wall flange on the rear side of the vehicle body of the bracket 26 Wall-shaped rib on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction of the bracket 27 Wall-shaped rib on the inner side in the vehicle body width direction of the bracket 28

Claims (7)

In an instrument panel reinforcement structure comprising an instrument panel reinforcement installed in a vehicle body width direction and a bracket fixed to a vehicle body frame and bolted to the instrument panel reinforcement, the instrument panel reinforcement is hollowly closed. It has a cross-sectional structure and has a pair of flanges arranged in parallel to each other at a distance from the front and rear sides of the vehicle body. Of the flanges on the front side of the vehicle body, a notch is formed at the end, and the bracket has an approximately pushing direction. A pair of vertical wall flanges, which are made of aluminum extrusions installed in the vehicle body height direction and spaced in parallel on the front and rear sides of the vehicle body, and spaced on the outside and inside of the vehicle body width direction. A pair of wall-shaped ribs extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and connecting the pair of vertical wall flanges. A part of the vertical wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction from the closed cross-section portion constituted by the vertical wall flange and the wall rib, and the wall rib on the outer side in the vehicle width direction has a joint surface with the vehicle body frame. The portion of the longitudinal wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body that protrudes from the hollow cross-section has a joint surface with the flange on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement, and the flange on the vehicle body front side on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the notch. Bolt-joined to the front side, and the vertical wall flange on the rear side of the vehicle body has a joint surface with the flange on the rear side of the vehicle body of the instrument panel reinforcement, and the front surface of the flange on the rear side of the vehicle body at the rear side position of the notch An instrument panel reinforcement structure for automobiles that is bolted to the side. 2. The instrument panel reinforcement structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the instrument panel reinforcement is made of an extruded aluminum material. The notch at the end of the flange on the vehicle body front side of the instrument panel reinforcement is formed by cutting the end of the instrument panel reinforcement at an angle with respect to the extrusion direction so that the side of the front flange of the vehicle body is shortened. The instrument panel reinforcement structure for an automobile according to claim 2. In the instrument panel reinforcement, the upper and lower wall ribs are connected to the pair of flanges to form a substantially square shape in a cross section perpendicular to the extrusion direction, and the bracket is at least rearward of the vertical wall flange on the front side of the vehicle body. The width in the extrusion direction of the side portion is smaller than the width in the same direction of the notch, and is set to a width that can be accommodated in the hollow cross section of the instrument panel reinforcement. 3 is an instrument panel reinforcement structure for automobiles. In the instrument panel reinforcement, the upper and lower wall-shaped ribs connect the pair of flanges to form a substantially quadrangular shape in a cross section perpendicular to the extrusion direction, and the lower wall-shaped rib is cut at the end. The instrument panel reinforcement structure for an automobile according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the instrument panel has a notch having substantially the same depth as the notch. In the instrument panel reinforcement, the upper and lower wall ribs are connected to the pair of flanges to form a substantially square shape in a cross section perpendicular to the extrusion direction, and the bracket has a width in the extrusion direction toward the front of the vehicle body. 6. The vehicle instrument panel reinforcement according to claim 2, wherein the instrument panel reinforcement is cut so as to be larger, and the instrument panel reinforcement is formed so that a width in the same direction is larger toward a front side of the vehicle body. Construction. A bracket fixed to a body frame of an automobile and attached to an end portion of an instrument panel reinforcement, made of an extruded aluminum material, and having a structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Instrument panel reinforcement bracket.

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