JP2007050783A - Vehicle front part structure and its assembling method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle front part structure with high rigidity improved in anti-collision performance, while reducing the number of parts by a simple structure, and its assembling method. <P>SOLUTION: A front side frame 2, a wheel apron part 4 having a lower end part joined to the front side frame 2 to constitute an engine compartment side wall, and a suspension tower 6 to swell from the wheel apron part 4 to an engine compartment side are provided in a front part of the vehicle. A mount member 30 for supporting a side part of the vehicle width direction of a power plant unit 10 is fixed to a side wall part of the suspension tower 6, and is not fixed to the front side frame 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure for supporting a power plant unit composed of an engine, a transmission, and the like mounted on the front of a vehicle such as an automobile, and an assembling method thereof.

  A power plant unit including a vehicle engine, a transmission, and the like is elastically supported by the vehicle body via a plurality of cushion rubbers, and supports the front part of the power plant unit at two points and the rear part at one point. Things have been proposed.

  In this power plant unit support structure, the engine side stay attached above the center of gravity of the power plant unit is coupled to the first bracket, and the second bracket is attached to the front surface of the suspension tower. Is connected to a mount body attached to the upper surface of the side frame (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-345387 (FIG. 1)

  Recently, the development of practical and low-impact hybrid vehicles has progressed rapidly by having two types of power sources: internal combustion engines and electric motors. Although the development is progressing, the size is larger and heavier than the engines installed in gasoline and diesel vehicles.

  By the way, when the power plant unit including the engine is attached to the front part of the vehicle body, it is necessary to consider the impact absorbability (collision performance) at the time of the vehicle collision. When the power plant unit is attached to the front side frame via the mount body, there is a problem that deformation of the front side frame at the time of a vehicle collision is restricted and the collision energy cannot be absorbed sufficiently.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides a highly rigid vehicle front structure having improved collision performance while reducing the number of parts with a simple structure and an assembling method thereof. The purpose is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a front side frame, a wheel apron portion having a lower end joined to the front side frame and constituting an engine room side wall, and the wheel. A vehicle front structure including a suspension tower that bulges from the apron to the engine room side, and a mounting member that supports the side of the power plant unit in the vehicle width direction is fixed to the side wall of the suspension tower. The front side frame is separated from the front side frame.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the mount member is fixed only to a side wall portion of the power plant unit and the suspension tower.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the mount member is fixed to a side wall portion of the suspension tower in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm is swingably attached to an inner portion of a wheel house formed in the suspension tower, and the mount member is a vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm. And an elastic bush having a central axis coaxial with the swing axis of the suspension arm, and one bolt is inserted through the body side of the suspension arm and the elastic bush.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support bracket that swingably supports a vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm, and the support bracket is suspended to the front side frame and joined to the front side frame. It is characterized by being.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the method of assembling the vehicle front part structure according to claim 4, wherein the bolt is inserted into the vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm and the mount member and attached to the suspension tower. After that, the power plant unit is mounted on the vehicle body by attaching the power plant unit to the mount member.

  According to the present invention, the mount member that supports the side portion of the power plant unit in the vehicle width direction is fixed to the side wall portion of the suspension tower and is not fixed to the front side frame. The mount member is not restricted against deformation, and the absorbability of collision energy is improved.

  Further, since the mount member is fixed only to the side wall portions of the power plant unit and the suspension tower, the above effect can be achieved with a simple structure.

  Furthermore, since the mount member is fixed to the side wall portion of the suspension tower in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the side wall portion of the suspension tower can also be used as a bracket for the mount member, and the support strength and rigidity of the mount member can be achieved with a simple structure. Can be improved.

  In addition, the elastic bush of the mount member is arranged so that its central axis is coaxial with the swing axis of the suspension arm body side, and one bolt is inserted into the suspension arm body side and the elastic bush. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced with a simple configuration, and the support rigidity of the mount member can be improved using the reinforcement member for supporting the suspension arm.

  Also, since the bracket for swingably supporting the vehicle body side of the suspension arm is joined to the front side frame, the suspension arm support rigidity, and thus the mount member support rigidity can be improved with a simple structure. Can do.

  Further, if the power plant unit is attached to the mount member after the bolts are inserted into the vehicle body side portion and the mount member of the suspension arm and attached to the suspension tower, the assembly on the assembly line can be easily performed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle front structure (an internal structure of an engine room) according to the present invention, and a pair of front side frames 2 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body are attached to both sides of the engine room. The lower end part of the wheel apron part 4 is joined to each front side frame 2, and the wheel apron part 4 comprises the side wall of an engine room.

  In the engine room, a pair of suspension towers 6 that support the upper part of the suspension device are arranged on both the left and right sides of the engine room so as to bulge from the wheel apron portion 4 to the engine room side, thereby forming a wheel house. is doing. The suspension tower 6 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by a steel plate member, and a part of components of the suspension device such as a damper and a coil spring is accommodated in the suspension tower 6.

  Further, a cowl member 8 extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed at the upper rear end of the engine room, and the cowl member 8 is positioned at the front end of the vehicle compartment and supports the lower end side of the front window glass. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 1, the left and right suspension towers 6 are located in front of the cowl member 8.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in an engine room formed between a pair of front side frames 2, a power plant unit 10 including an engine, a transmission, and the like is attached to a vehicle body by a plurality of mounting members described later. A front wheel 12 is attached below the wheel apron portion 4 and the suspension tower 6 on both sides of the power plant unit 10.

  2 to 4, an upper end portion of a damper 16 around which a coil spring 14 is wound is attached to the upper portion of the suspension tower 6, and the lower end portion of the damper 16 is a lower arm (lower suspension arm). 18 is connected. The lower arm 18 is connected to a lower end portion of a knuckle 22 to which a front wheel 12 is attached via a hub 20, and the upper end portion of the knuckle 22 is connected to a substantially central portion of an upper arm (upper suspension arm) 24. ing.

  The upper arm 24 is substantially U-shaped, and both end portions (portions on the vehicle body side) located in the front and rear of the damper 16 are connected to the upper ends of the pair of front and rear support brackets 28 and 29 via mounting bolts 26 and 27. By being connected to each other, the upper arm 24 is swingably attached in the vertical direction. The pair of support brackets 28 and 29 are suspended to the front side frame 2, and the lower ends thereof are joined to the front side frame 2.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 5, a mount member 30 is disposed between the power plant unit 10 and the damper 16, and the mount member 30 is a bracket formed integrally with the power plant unit 10. An attachment portion 30a attached to 31 and a cylindrical elastic bush 30b formed integrally with the attachment portion 30a are provided.

  In addition, two bolt insertion holes 32 are formed in the mounting portion 30a of the mount member 30 in parallel in the vertical direction, and a bolt (not shown) is inserted into each of the two bolt insertion holes 32 so that the power The mount member 30 is attached to the power plant unit 10 by being screwed to the bracket 31 of the plant unit 10. On the other hand, the elastic bush 30b of the mount member 30 is made of a metal inner cylinder 34 and outer cylinder 36 arranged coaxially, and an elastic material such as a rubber press-fitted or vulcanized and bonded between the inner cylinder 34 and the outer cylinder 36. The elastic bush 30b is attached to the front side wall portion of the suspension tower 6 by inserting the mounting bolt 26 through the bolt insertion hole formed in the axial direction of the inner cylinder 34. The displacement of the elastic body 38 is absorbed by its elastic range.

  That is, the mount member 30 is attached only to the front side wall portions of the power plant unit 10 and the suspension tower 6, and is not fixed to the front side frame 2 but separated.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting bolt 26 also serves as the above-described mounting bolt for connecting one end of the upper arm 24 to the support bracket 28, and one end of the elastic bush 30 b and the upper arm 24. Are arranged on the same axis, and both are attached to the suspension tower 6 and the support bracket 28 by a single mounting bolt 26, thereby ensuring a predetermined rigidity and reducing the number of parts.

  When the power plant unit 10 is mounted in the engine room, the mounting bolt 26 is first inserted into the suspension tower 6 through one end of the upper arm 24 and the elastic bush 30b of the mount member 30, and then the power plant unit 10 is mounted on the mount member 30. The power plant unit 10 is mounted on the vehicle body by attaching the power plant unit 10 to other mounting members (not shown) in the same manner.

  The power plant unit 10 is attached to the vehicle body by a plurality of (for example, three) mounting members. As an example, both sides thereof are attached to the side wall portion in front of the suspension tower 6 via the mounting members 30. The side of the power plant unit 10 in the vehicle width direction is supported, and the rear side is attached to a cross member (not shown) that connects the left and right front side frames 2 via separate mounting members. The rear part of the plant unit 10 is supported.

  According to the vehicle front structure according to the present invention, the mount member that supports the side portion of the power plant unit in the vehicle width direction is fixed to the side wall portion of the suspension tower and is not fixed to the front side frame. Since the performance is improved, it is useful, for example, as a heavy power plant unit mounting structure mounted on a hybrid vehicle or the like.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle front part structure concerning this invention. It is a top view which shows a part of vehicle front part structure of FIG. 1 in the state which mounts a power plant unit etc. It is a perspective view of the front suspension apparatus provided in the vehicle front part structure of FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front suspension device of FIG. 3. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the vehicle front part structure of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Front side frame,
4 Wheel apron club,
6 Suspension tower,
8 cowl members,
10 power plant units,
12 Front wheels,
14 coil spring,
16 Damper,
18 Lower arm,
20 hubs,
22 knuckle,
24 upper arm,
26, 27 mounting bolts,
28, 29 support bracket,
30 Mount member,
30a mounting part,
30b elastic bush,
32 bolt insertion hole,
34 Inner cylinder,
36 outer cylinder,
38 Elastic body.

Claims (6)

The vehicle front part structure includes a front side frame, a wheel apron part having a lower end joined to the front side frame to form an engine room side wall, and a suspension tower bulging from the wheel apron part to the engine room side. And
A vehicle front portion structure, wherein a mount member for supporting a side portion of the power plant unit in the vehicle width direction is fixed to a side wall portion of the suspension tower and separated from the front side frame. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the mount member is fixed only to a side wall portion of the power plant unit and the suspension tower. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the mount member is fixed to a side wall portion of the suspension tower in the vehicle front-rear direction. A vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm is swingably attached to an inner portion of the wheel house formed in the suspension tower, and the mount member has a central axis that is coaxial with the swing shaft of the vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm. 4. The vehicle front structure according to claim 3, further comprising an elastic bush, wherein one bolt passes through a side of the vehicle body of the suspension arm and the elastic bush. The support bracket for swingably supporting a vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm is provided, and the support bracket is suspended to the front side frame and joined to the front side frame. Vehicle front structure. A method for assembling the vehicle front structure according to claim 4,
The power plant unit is mounted on the vehicle body by attaching the power plant unit to the mount member after the bolt is inserted into the vehicle body side portion of the suspension arm and the mount member and attached to the suspension tower. A method of assembling a vehicle front structure characterized by the above.

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