JP2009241667A - Lower structure of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem, in a conventional technology, that: an edge part is superposed so as to be supported by a lower skirt and fixed by screws or resin fasteners, and formed in a thin-walled structure; edges between fixed points are turned over resulting in poor appearance, traveling wind enters from a turned-over part to cause further turn-over, the air resistance is increased; and water and earth and sand enters to adversely affect the travel and the vehicle body itself. <P>SOLUTION: A lower structure of a vehicle comprises a lower skirt 10 having an edge plate part 4 extending to the lower side of the vehicle from a lower end of a longitudinal wall part 8, and a flexible under-plate 9 for covering the inner side of the lower side of the vehicle with its terminal part overlapping the edge plate part 4. A through-hole 6 for passing an insertion and engagement tool 7 and a stopper 5 for regulating the upward movement of the terminal part of the under-plate 9 are provided on the edge-plate part 4. A boss 2 is provided on the terminal part of the under-plate 9 at the overlapping position of the edge plate part 4 on the through-hole 6. The insertion and engagement tool 7 is passed through the boss 2 provided on the terminal part of the under-plate 9 engaged with the through-hole 6 and jointly fastened. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an external structure of a vehicle body, and more particularly to a structure in which a lower skirt and an under protector are attached in combination.

As the lower skirt, for example, a front apron provided at the lower part of the front bumper, a front lower skirt such as a front air dam skirt, a chin spoiler, and a rear bumper provided at the lower part of the rear bumper to have an appearance resembling a racing vehicle. There are skirts, rear diffusers, side skirts that show aerodynamic performance with streamlined modeling that guides air to the sill protector that protects the side sill under the side door.
These are applied to vehicles by appropriately applying a paint that matches the color of the vehicle body with polypropylene resin, nylon resin, or the like, which is improved in impact resistance by adding rubber.
As an under protector, for example, the area around the driving wheel or under the front, where the car body is likely to be damaged (chipping) is focused, and the impact resistance is high, including more rubber. An elastomer resin (olefin elastomer, polyester elastomer, etc.) that is a resin material is used.
In this way, the under protector only needs to be able to prevent chipping, and when it is assembled to the vehicle body, it needs only to be able to hold the shape while being supported by other parts, and it can be thinned to reduce the mass of the vehicle. Figured.
As a conventional example related to the present invention, a rib is provided on the back surface of the lower side of the bumper along the lower side flange with a predetermined gap between the lower side flange, and a fixing insertion hole and a through hole are provided at the front end of the fender liner. A recessed part or a raised part having side walls is provided on both sides of the hole, and the front end part is fitted in a press-fitted state between the lower flange and the rib, and a fastener inserted into the insertion hole is used. There is a structure for attaching a fender liner to a bumper (see, for example, Patent Document 1), wherein the front end is fixed to the rib or the lower flange.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-48446 (refer to the field of claims for utility model registration, the detailed description of the invention, and FIGS. 1 to 7)

However, it is not preferable that the edge of the under protector protrudes outside the lower skirt at the connection portion with the prior art lower skirt. From the viewpoint of assembly work, it is convenient to overlap the edge portion so as to be supported by the lower skirt and fix it with a screw or a resin fastener. However, since it is thin as described above, the edge between the fixed points is turned over, and the appearance is deteriorated. There is also a concern that running wind will enter from the turned-up area, turn up further, air resistance will increase, and water and earth and sand may invade and adversely affect running and the car body itself (see FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1). (See Fig. 7).
Further, in the structure as shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, the edges of the lower skirt are alternately sandwiched between the upper and lower plate parts, but intrusion of water or the like cannot be avoided from the slit part. As pointed out in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that the strength cannot be obtained unless the fixed points are increased. In order to increase the pinching strength, the strength of the under protector is necessary, and some means such as using a rigid material with some impact strength, increasing the plate thickness, or adding a reinforcing rib can be considered. All have problems in terms of mass, cost, and performance.
Therefore, if the edge part of the under protector is overlapped and fixed on the lower skirt, there is a possibility of improvement in terms of the mass, cost, and performance, but the edge part rises with respect to the insertion of a fastener such as a screw. There is also a problem that work is difficult due to the so-called “escape” phenomenon.
FIG. 5 (attached figure of the present case) is a diagram for explaining the outline of a method that has been conventionally performed in this technical field. The U nut 12 is fitted to the edge part, and the edge plate part 4 of the lower skirt 10 is fitted. The position of the locking hole 13 is aligned with the through hole 6 and tightened with a resin screw. However, since the above-mentioned “escape” phenomenon (arrow Z) occurs, a work hole is made in the under protector 14, a finger is inserted, and the U nut 12 is attached. While searching and holding, the resin screw is tightened. As a result, since water and earth and sand enter from the work hole, the above concerns are not eliminated.
As shown in FIG. 1, the invention described in Patent Document 1 is provided with two parallel flanges 5 and 6 having a dimension M on the inner side (anti-design side) of a bumper, and an under protector 1 (fender liner). The front recess 1 is in contact with the lower flange 5, and the front end 1 a is applied to the rib 6, which is the upper flange, and is fixed by the clip 7. In this case, since the clip 7 can be passed through the under protector 1 and then the bumper 4 can be locked, there is no “escape”. However, when the assembly state of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1 is viewed, the fastening points 7 may be reduced, but the recessed portions 12 between the fastening points 7 are alternately arranged in two directions. It is necessary to maintain the shape between the step flanges 5 and 6, and it has not been sufficient to constitute the under protector 1 in which the mass is suppressed and the characteristics of the high impact resistance elastomer are sufficiently utilized.
Further, the surface suddenly rises behind the lower side portion 4a of the bumper 4, where air flow is disturbed, earth and sand adhere to the lower flange 5 (sticking), and there is a concern about the occurrence of a gap between the recessed portion 12 and the lower side portion 4a. There is also.
The present invention solves these problems.

A first invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a vehicle lower structure as described in claim 1, and is as follows.
A lower skirt having a vertical wall portion, an edge plate portion extending from the lower end of the vertical wall portion to the lower side of the vehicle, and a flexible covering the inner side of the lower side of the vehicle by overlapping a terminal portion on the edge plate portion A through hole through which the insertion engagement tool is inserted, and a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the terminal portion of the under plate. An engagement hole is provided at a position overlapping the through hole of the edge plate portion, and the insertion engagement tool can be fastened together through the through hole and the engagement hole.

A second invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a vehicle lower structure as described in claim 2, and is as follows.
In addition to the first aspect of the invention, the end portion of the under plate is provided with an elastic piece that elastically contacts the stopper and presses the end portion against the edge plate portion.

A third invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a vehicle lower structure as described in claim 3, and is as follows.
In addition to the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the engagement hole is formed in a boss portion provided at a terminal portion of the under plate that bulges toward the edge plate portion, and the through hole has a boss portion. It is the structure which can be inserted.

Since the lower structure of the vehicle according to the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects are achieved.
(1) By applying an elastomer resin that has high impact resistance but does not necessarily have high rigidity, it is possible to provide a vehicle lower structure including a lightweight, low-cost, high-performance under protector.
(2) The under protector can be assembled efficiently.

  A lower skirt having a vertical wall portion, an edge plate portion extending from the lower end of the vertical wall portion to the lower side of the vehicle, and a flexible covering the inner side of the lower side of the vehicle by overlapping a terminal portion on the edge plate portion A through hole through which the insertion engagement tool is inserted, and a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the terminal portion of the under plate. , An elastic piece that elastically contacts the stopper and presses the end portion against the edge plate portion, and an engagement hole is provided at a position overlapping the through hole of the edge plate portion, and the engagement hole is formed in the edge plate portion. It is formed in the boss part provided in the terminal part of the underplate which bulges out, the through hole can be inserted through the boss part, and the insertion engagement tool is tightened together through the through hole and the engagement hole. It is the lower structure of a vehicle.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing a state before assembling of the front extension 1 and the corresponding corner portion of the front bumper 15 before assembling, and FIG.
The front bumper 15 is injection-molded using a polypropylene resin whose rigidity has been improved by adding talc, and is provided with through-holes 6, edge plate portions 4, and receiving ribs 5. At the time of molding, since the mold is opened in the Y direction of FIGS. 1 and 2, the edge of the opening for introducing the auxiliary light and the cooling air is normally removable in the Y direction. Similarly, the receiving rib 5 has a shape that does not cause a so-called undercut (catch at the time of demolding) so that it can be demolded in the Y direction.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of the lower part on the front side of the vehicle using the present invention.
The under protector 14 (fender protector) covers the inside of the tire house in a side view arc shape to prevent pebbles that are repelled by the tire rotating at high speed during traveling from directly colliding with the inner surface of the tire house (pressed product of steel plate). can do. Moreover, since it is provided by injection molding of elastomer-modified polypropylene, it is possible to prevent pebbles from directly hitting the tire house, causing chipping (deteriorating the rust-proof coating) and causing rust. .
The under protector 14 is provided with a plate-like extension portion (front extension 1) on the front side, and has a shape along the corner of the front bumper 15. The front panel is provided with bosses 2 and elastic pieces 3 at three positions at predetermined intervals.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the attachment locus of the front extension 1 and the corresponding front bumper 15 with (a) to (d). The front extension 1 is inserted, and the tip of the elastic piece 3 is the receiving rib 5. Is guided between the edge plate portion 4 and the receiving rib 5. The boss 2 is fitted so as to fall into the through-hole 6, and as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to suppress positional deviation in the FR-RR (front-rear) direction, OX-XX (left-right) direction, and UPR-LWR (up-down) direction. Is.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state after the front extension 1 and the corresponding front bumper 15 are attached. The front extension 1 and the front bumper 15 assembled in FIG. 3 are attached to the boss 2 of the under protector 9 with screws 7. Secure by screwing in.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the prior art of the lower structure of the vehicle body. A U-nut 12 is fitted to the edge portion, and the locking hole 13 is formed in the through hole 6 of the edge plate portion 4 of the lower skirt 10. The position is aligned and tightened with a resin screw.
FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the screw 7 of the above embodiment is a two-piece clip 7 ', and the boss 2 protrudes downward and is not provided on the upper side. . This is because the length of the boss 2 is not required as much as the screw 7 of the above embodiment in which the screw of the screw is applied to the longitudinal direction by a predetermined length. The boss 2 is shortened because it needs to extend to the side. The receiving rib 5 'is an example of a box-shaped rib having a vertical wall. By attaching the vertical wall, the receiving rib 5 'is less likely to fall down in the UPR direction with the elastic piece 3 inserted. Note that since the undercut does not occur on the front side of the vehicle, the receiving rib 5 'can be set without any problem of demolding.
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a thread of a screw 7 is hung on the receiving rib 5 ″, and the front extension 1 receiving rib 5 ″ is viewed from above. An uneven portion is provided so that the screw 7 is threaded on the lower portion of the screw receiving rib 5 ″, and can be more firmly fixed together with the edge plate portion 4. .

  It can be used for the substructure of vehicles of various automobiles.

(A) which concerns on the lower structure of the vehicle of this invention is the state before the assembly | attachment of the front extension and the corner | angular part of a corresponding front bumper, (b) is the schematic perspective view which showed the assembly | attachment. It is the schematic perspective view which showed the state of the vehicle front side lower part using this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed front extension and the attachment locus | trajectory of a corresponding front bumper by (a)-(d). It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the state after attachment of a front extension and a corresponding front bumper. It is the schematic sectional drawing which showed the prior art example of the lower structure of a vehicle body. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the 3rd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Front extension 2 ... Boss 3 ... Elastic piece 4 ... Edge plate part 5 ... Receiving rib 5 '... Receiving rib 5 "... Receiving rib 6 .... Through hole 7 .... Screw 7 '... 2 piece clip 8 .... Vertical wall 9 ... Under plate 10 ... Lower skirt 12 ...・ U nut 13 ・ ・ ・ ・ Locking hole 14 ・ ・ ・ ・ Under protector
15 ... Front bumper

Claims (3)

A lower skirt having a vertical wall portion, an edge plate portion extending from the lower end of the vertical wall portion to the lower side of the vehicle, and a flexible covering the inner side of the lower side of the vehicle by overlapping a terminal portion on the edge plate portion A through hole through which the insertion engagement tool is inserted, and a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the terminal portion of the under plate. A vehicle lower structure characterized in that an engagement hole is provided at a position overlapping with the through hole of the edge plate portion, and the insertion engagement tool is fastened together through the through hole and the engagement hole. The vehicle lower structure according to claim 1, wherein an elastic piece that elastically contacts the stopper and presses the end portion against the edge plate portion is provided at the end portion of the under plate. The engagement hole is formed in a boss portion provided at a terminal portion of the under plate that bulges toward the edge plate portion, and the through hole can be inserted through the boss portion. The substructure of the vehicle as described in 1.

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