JP2007083916A - Automobile hood seal structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent interference between a seal portion and a projecting portion of a seal member in the case where the projecting portion is on an upper end surface, in a hood seal structure wherein the seal member attached to a front end portion of an automobile engine hood is press-contacted on a front upper end surface of an engine room. <P>SOLUTION: A protrusion 5 projecting to a rear and diagonally lower side and press-contacting with the front upper end surface 20 immediately in front of the projecting portion 3 is formed at a lower end of the hollow seal portion 42 of the seal member 4. A peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 of the seal portion 42 is formed to have a generally dogleg-shaped cross section by an upper half portion 44a and a lower half portion 44b. A bending portion 45 is made to be at an upper position than the projecting portion 3, and have a thin wall. When the seal portion 42 is pressed on the upper end surface 20, the lower half portion 44b is bent forward in an arch-shape to avoid interference with the projecting portion 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hood seal structure for sealing a gap between a front end portion of an engine hood of an automobile and a front upper end surface of an engine room.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, between the front end portion of the engine hood 1 of the automobile and the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room facing the buffer, when the engine hood 1 is closed and when the vehicle is running The sealing member 4 is provided for the purpose of preventing wind noise.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and also described in the following patent document, the seal member 4 includes an attachment base 41 and a hollow seal 42 that bulges from the tip of the attachment base 41. Is attached to the lower surface of the front end of the engine hood 1. The seal member 4 is generally an integrally molded body made of rubber or synthetic resin, the mounting base 41 is made of a hard material, and the seal portion 42 is made of a soft material, generally a sponge material.

A front portion of the engine room is formed by a radiator grille 21 and a headlamp 22, and when the engine hood 1 is closed, the lower end of the seal portion 42 of the seal member 4 is pressed against these upper end surfaces 20.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-3000788 JP-A-4-334668

  By the way, the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room is not necessarily a flat surface, and various projections are often provided. The protrusion 3 in the figure is a protrusion that engages and locks the front end edge of the radiator cover 30 that covers the upper portion of the not-illustrated radiator installed at the rear of the radiator grille 21 and is integrated with the radiator grille 21 of synthetic resin. Is formed.

  When the projecting portion 3 is provided, when the engine hood 1 is closed, the lower half of the rear surface side of the seal portion 42 of the seal member 4 is pressed against the projecting portion 3 so that the closing force of the engine hood 1 is increased. Become. Further, since the entire lower half of the seal portion 42 is pushed forward by the protruding portion 3, the lower end on the front side of the seal portion 42 is from the gap between the front end portion of the engine hood 1 and the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room. It bulges forward and the appearance of the front of the car is impaired.

  Therefore, if the front-rear width of the seal portion 42 is reduced in order to avoid interference between the seal portion 42 and the protruding portion 3, the necessary pressure contact force with respect to the front upper end surface 20 of the seal portion 42 cannot be obtained, and the sealing performance is deteriorated. The problem arises.

  Further, in order to avoid interference between the seal portion 42 and the protruding portion 3, the formation position of the protruding portion 3 may be moved rearward. For this purpose, the structure of the front end portion of the engine room must be modified.

  Therefore, the present invention improves the structure of the seal member without modifying the structure of the front end portion of the engine room, so that the seal portion of the seal member and the protruding portion of the front upper end surface of the engine room do not interfere with each other. An object of the present invention is to realize a hood seal structure of an automobile that exhibits a good sealing performance.

  The present invention attaches a sealing member having a mounting base portion made of a hard material and a hollow seal portion made of a soft material bulging downward from the tip of the mounting base portion to the lower surface of the front end of the engine hood by the mounting base portion. In the hood seal structure of an automobile, when the engine hood is closed, the lower end of the peripheral wall of the seal portion is brought into pressure contact with the front upper end surface of the engine room at a position immediately before the projecting portion formed on the upper end surface. A protrusion protruding obliquely downward and having a tip pressed against the upper end surface of the front portion is formed, and the rear surface of the peripheral wall of the seal portion peripheral wall is formed with an upper half portion that is located above the protrusion when the engine hood is closed, The bent portion is formed in a substantially square shape in which the bent portion protrudes rearward by the lower half portion connecting the half portion and the protrusion, and the bent portion is formed thinner than other portions of the peripheral wall of the seal portion. Flexion As easily, the lower half portion of the protrusion when brought pressed against the front upper surface is no such resiliently deformed into a curved shape protruding frontward (claim 1). When the engine hood is closed, the tip of the protrusion at the lower end of the peripheral wall of the seal part comes into contact with the upper end surface of the front part of the engine room, and when pushed further, the lower end of the peripheral wall tilts forward with the protrusion as a fulcrum. Since the bent portion of the rear surface portion of the peripheral wall is pushed downward while being bent, the lower half of the rear surface portion of the peripheral wall facing the front surface of the protruding portion is bent forward and does not interfere with the protruding portion.

  In the present invention, the protrusion is formed to have substantially the same thickness as the peripheral wall of the seal portion (claim 2). When closing the engine hood, if the tip of the protrusion comes into pressure contact with the upper end surface of the front part, the protrusion will fold forward together with the lower end of the peripheral wall, and the bent part will form a groove on the inner surface, making it easier to bend. The lower half of the surface portion is surely bent forward and deformed like a bow.

  In the present invention, the upper half of the rear surface of the peripheral wall is formed in an inclined direction extending obliquely downward and rearward relative to the seal portion pressing direction of the front end of the engine hood. And this invention forms a notch in the connection part of the outer surface of the base part of the upper end of the said surrounding wall rear surface part, and the lower surface of the said attachment base part, and makes tilting of the said upper half part easy (Claim 4). As a result, the bent portion of the rear surface portion of the peripheral wall of the seal portion is reliably folded with a small load when the engine hood is closed.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the front portion of the engine hood 1 that opens and closes the engine room includes a hood outer plate 11 and a hood inner plate 12, which are coupled by hemming at the front end. The joint end of the hood outer plate 11 with the hood inner plate 12 is covered with a sealer 13. On the other hand, the front part of the engine room is constituted by a radiator grille 21 and headlamps 22 on both the left and right sides thereof, and these upper end surfaces 20 extend in a strip shape in the vehicle width direction. When the engine hood 1 is closed, the front upper end surface 20 and the front end of the engine hood 1 face each other with a gap therebetween.

  A radiator (not shown) is provided at a position behind the radiator grille 21, and an upper portion thereof is covered with a radiator cover 30. The radiator grille 21 is made of synthetic resin, and an upper end surface 20 is integrally formed with a protruding portion 3 that fits and locks the front end edge of the radiator cover 30.

  At the front end of the engine hood 1, a seal member 4 is attached to the lower surface of the hood inner plate 12 along the front end edge of the engine hood 1 in the vehicle width direction. The seal member 4 is made of rubber or synthetic resin and includes an attachment base portion 41 and a seal portion 42. The mounting base 41 is a flat strip and is made of a hard material such as EPDM solid rubber. The seal portion 42 is a hollow shape having a substantially oval cross section, and bulges substantially downward from the front end of the mounting base portion 41. The general portion of the peripheral wall of the seal portion 42 is made of a sponge material, for example, EPDM sponge rubber, and the front and rear root portions are made of a hard material that branches into the front and rear from the front end of the mounting base end 41. The sealing base 4 of the seal member 4 is fixed to the lower surface of the hood inner plate 12 with a clip 40 at a predetermined interval. The seal member 4 is integrally formed by extrusion molding.

  A protrusion 5 is formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall of the seal portion 42. The base of the protrusion 5 has a taper shape with substantially the same thickness as the peripheral wall of the seal portion 42, and protrudes diagonally downward. When the engine hood 1 is closed, the protrusion 5 is in pressure contact with the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room at a position immediately before the protrusion 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the peripheral wall front surface portion 43 of the seal portion 42 extending from the front base portion to the protrusion 5 has a gently curved shape projecting forward. The peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 extending from the rear base portion to the protrusion 5 is formed in a substantially square shape in cross section by an upper half portion 44a and a lower half portion 44b. The upper half portion 44a including the hard base portion is pressed substantially vertically downward so that the seal portion 42 is pressed against the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room by the front end of the engine hood 1 when the engine hood 1 is closed. (In the direction of the arrow Y in the figure), it is formed in a slanting direction that extends slightly rearward and lower than that, and the gently bent portion 45 that protrudes rearward is more than the protrusion 3 of the front upper end surface 20. It is set to be in the upper position.

  The bent portion 45 is formed with a groove 451 on the inner surface side so that it is thinner than the other portions of the peripheral wall of the seal portion 42 and is easily bent and deformed. Further, a notch 46 is formed in the connecting portion between the outer surface of the hard base portion of the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 and the front end lower surface of the mounting base portion 41, and the base portion is applied when a load from above acts on the base portion. It is easy to tilt.

  A lower half portion 44b that connects the bent portion 45 of the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 of the seal portion 42 and the protrusion 5 below the front side thereof is a portion facing the front surface of the protruding portion 3 when the engine hood 1 is closed. The lower end is connected to the protrusion 5 in a substantially square shape protruding forward.

  When the engine hood 1 is closed, first, the protrusion 5 at the lower end of the seal portion 42 comes into contact with the front upper end surface 20 at a position in front of the protruding portion 3, and the seal portion 42 is pushed in from above as shown in FIG. The protrusion 5 and its peripheral part fall forward with the tip of the protrusion 5 as a fulcrum. On the other hand, the upper half portion 44a of the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 of the seal portion 42 is pushed in by a load from the engine hood 1, and the bent portion 45 having a thin wall is further bent and moved downward to move the lower half portion of the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44. 44b, coupled with the forward tilting of the lower end of the peripheral wall of the seal portion 42, bends like a bow so as to project forward, and the entire peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 has an S-shape. Therefore, the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 does not interfere with the protruding portion 3. In this case, since a notch 46 is formed at the base of the upper end of the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44, the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 can be easily tilted in a tilting direction with respect to a load from above, and the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 is deformed into an S shape. Stabilize more.

  Thus, when the seal portion 42 is pressed against the front upper end surface 20 of the engine room when the engine hood 1 is closed, the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 of the seal portion 42 facing the protruding portion 3 of the front upper end surface 20 is bent forward in a bow shape. Therefore, the peripheral wall rear surface portion 44 does not interfere with the projecting portion 3, and the pressing force of the seal portion 42 efficiently acts on the front upper end surface 20 to exhibit good sealing performance. Further, since the seal portion 42 does not interfere with the protruding portion 3, the closing force of the engine hood 1 does not increase. Further, when the seal portion 42 is pressed against the front upper end surface 20, the lower end including the protrusion 5 falls forward, so that the entire lower portion of the peripheral wall front portion 43 of the seal portion 42 moves slightly forward. It does not bulge out from the gap between the front end of the front end 1 and the front upper end surface 20.

It is a figure which shows the cross section in the position which follows the AA line of FIG. 3 of the hood seal structure of this invention. It is a figure which shows the cross section at the time of the engine hood closing in the position which follows the AA line of FIG. 3 of the hood seal structure of this invention. 1 is a front perspective view of an automobile to which a hood seal structure of the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the cross section at the time of the engine hood closing in the position which follows the AA line of FIG. 3 of the conventional hood seal structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engine hood 20 Front part upper end surface 21 Radiator grille 22 Headlamp 3 Protrusion part 4 Seal member 41 Mounting base 42 Seal part 43 Perimeter wall front part 44 Peripheral wall rear surface part 44a Upper half part 44b Lower half part 45 Bending part 451 Groove 46 Notch 5 Protrusions

Claims (4)

A sealing member having a mounting base portion made of a hard material and a hollow seal portion made of a soft material bulging downward from the tip of the mounting base portion is attached to the lower surface of the front end of the engine hood by the mounting base portion, and the engine hood is closed. In the automobile hood seal structure in which the lower end of the peripheral wall of the seal portion peripheral wall is sometimes brought into pressure contact with the front upper end surface of the engine room at a position immediately before the protrusion formed on the upper end surface.
At the lower end of the peripheral wall, a protrusion that protrudes obliquely downward rearward and whose tip is pressed against the front upper end surface is formed, and the rear surface of the peripheral wall of the seal portion peripheral wall is positioned above the protrusion when the engine hood is closed. The upper half and the lower half connecting the upper half and the projection are formed in a substantially square cross section where the bent portion protrudes rearward, and the bent portion is the other part of the peripheral wall of the seal portion. The lower half is bent and deformed into a curved shape projecting forward when the projection is pressed against the upper end surface of the front part so as to be bent and easily deformed. Automobile hood seal structure.   The automobile hood seal structure according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is formed to have substantially the same thickness as the peripheral wall of the seal portion.   The hood seal structure for an automobile according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the upper half portion of the rear surface portion of the peripheral wall is formed in an inclined direction extending obliquely rearward and downward with respect to the seal portion pressing direction of the front end of the engine hood. The hood seal structure for an automobile according to claim 3, wherein a notch is formed in a connecting portion between an outer surface of a base portion at an upper end of the rear surface portion of the peripheral wall and a lower surface of the mounting base portion to facilitate tilting of the upper half portion. .

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