JP2010095045A - Vehicle undercover and its fixing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle undercover capable of fulfilling an air resistance reducing function more positively and stably and provide a structure for effectively fixing it to a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: An undercover 10 is constituted by a resilient member in which it has a concave part 12 for use in causing its lower surface to be positioned near the ground, the outer surface of a front side wall part 22 of such a concave part 12 is formed as a slant surface 32 inclined downwardly to face rearward and further at least one of the front end and the rear end is formed with a recess 46 that extends in forward and rearward directions and can be expanded. Then, this undercover 10 is fixed to a vehicle at its front part and rear part under a state in which it is arranged to cause a clearance part 28 extending in the forward or rearward directions to be formed between an underfloor member 26 arranged at the underfloor of the front part of the vehicle and a bottom wall part 16 of the concave part 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular undercover and its mounting structure, and more particularly to a vehicular undercover disposed so as to cover an under floor of a vehicle body, with the main purpose of reducing air resistance at the lower part of the vehicle body, and the like. The present invention relates to a novel structure for advantageously mounting a vehicle undercover on a vehicle.

  As is well known, in vehicles such as automobiles, if there are irregularities on the surface of the vehicle body, the smooth flow of air on the surface of the vehicle body during travel is inhibited, thereby increasing the air resistance. As a result, problems such as impaired running stability or worsened fuel efficiency are caused. Therefore, in recent years, not only designing the side and upper surface of the vehicle body to be as small as possible in the air resistance, but also covering the under floor of the vehicle body with an under cover further reduces the air resistance. Promotion is planned.

  By the way, when such a vehicle under cover is attached to an automobile or the like, in order to further improve the aerodynamic performance, the position of the lower surface of the under cover is lowered to allow a gap between the lower surface of the under cover and the ground. It is desirable to make it as small as possible.

  However, if you do so, for example, when you park in a parking lot, or when you ride on a curb or step on the shoulder, the under cover may touch the tire stop, curb, or step and deform or break. The air resistance reducing function of the undercover may be impaired. In addition, when the shape of the undercover is a shape along the lower surface of various underfloor members arranged under the floor of the automobile, such underfloor member is also deformed or damaged by deformation of the undercover. There was a possibility that this would happen. And this underfloor member is installed, for example in the lower part of the front part of a car so that it may extend in the front-rear direction, and the front end part is brought into contact with the leg part of a pedestrian that has collided with the front of the vehicle. If the pedestrian protection device is configured to protect the legs, the pedestrian protection device may be deformed or damaged due to the deformation of the undercover, which may cause problems with the pedestrian protection performance. Will come to be.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1 below, an under cover made of an elastic member is provided with a front inclined surface portion inclined downward toward the rear side, and a fold line extending in the left-right direction is formed on the rear side of the front inclined surface portion. Has been proposed. In this undercover, the front inclined surface portion rectifies the air flow from the front, thereby reducing air resistance. In addition, when such a front inclined surface portion comes into contact with an obstacle such as a tire stop, it is elastically deformed along the broken line, and can be restored when the contact state with the tire stop is eliminated. As a result, the loss of the air resistance reduction function due to the under cover is prevented.

  However, since the overall shape of such a conventional undercover is a shape along the lower surface of the underfloor member, the underfloor member is deformed or damaged by deformation of the undercover due to contact with an obstacle. The possibility of a situation to occur still could not be denied. In addition, in such an undercover, the peripheral portion of the fold line portion is bent inwardly with the fold line portion as a bending center so as to be surely bent along the fold line portion. Therefore, in the case of the conventional under cover, when it is molded by molding using a resin material, there is an inherent problem that the peripheral portion of the broken line portion becomes an undercut and the moldability is lowered. is there.

Japanese Patent No. 3853111

  Here, the present invention has been made in the background as described above, and the problem to be solved is that the present invention covers the under-floor member disposed under the front floor of the vehicle and is attached to the vehicle. In the undercover for a vehicle, damage to the undercover itself due to contact with an obstacle when mounted on the vehicle and damage to the underfloor member covered by the undercover are advantageously prevented, and a function of reducing air resistance is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure that can be reliably and stably exhibited and that good moldability can be secured. In addition, in the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel structure in which such a vehicle under cover can be advantageously attached to a vehicle.

  And in the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems or the problems grasped from the entire description and drawings of the present specification, it can be suitably implemented in various modes as listed below. is there. Moreover, each aspect described below can be employed in any combination. It should be noted that aspects or technical features of the present invention are not limited to those described below, and can be recognized based on the description of the entire specification and the inventive concept disclosed in the drawings. Should be understood.

(1) An undercover that is attached to a vehicle at a front portion and a rear portion in a state of covering an underfloor member disposed below the front floor of the vehicle and extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, The lower surface is positioned close to the ground and has a recess for forming a gap with the underfloor member, and the outer surface of the front side wall of the recess is an inclined surface inclined downward toward the rear. The vehicle undercover further comprises an elastic member in which at least one of the front end portion and the rear end portion is formed with an expandable cut extending in the front-rear direction.

(2) The vehicle under cover according to the aspect (1), wherein the cut is provided only in the rear end portion.

(3) The vehicle undercover according to the aspect (1) or (2), wherein the cut has a length that extends from an edge in the front-rear direction to a bottom wall portion of the recess.

(4) Of the above aspects (1) to (3), the concave portion has a rear side wall portion, and the outer surface of the rear side wall portion is an inclined surface inclined upward toward the rear side. The undercover for vehicles as described in any one.

(5) To attach an under cover attached to the vehicle at the front and the rear in a state where the vehicle is positioned so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle so as to cover an underfloor member disposed under the floor at the front of the vehicle The vehicle under cover according to any one of the above aspects (1) to (4) is used, the vehicle under cover is placed under the floor at the front of the vehicle, and the underfloor member is An undercover for a vehicle, wherein the vehicle undercover is attached to a vehicle at a front portion and a rear portion in a state where a space is formed between the underfloor member and the bottom wall portion of the recess. Mounting structure.

(6) The underfloor member is installed at a lower part of the front portion of the vehicle so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and at the front end, by contacting the leg of the pedestrian that has collided with the front of the vehicle, The vehicle undercover attachment structure according to the above aspect (5), which is a vehicle pedestrian protection device configured to protect the leg portion.

  That is, in the vehicle undercover according to the present invention, the recess is provided to position the lower surface of the vehicle under cover close to the ground, so that the position of the lower surface is lowered, and the gap between the lower surface and the ground is reduced. Is made as small as possible. Therefore, it is possible to increase the flow velocity of the air flowing under the under cover, thereby more effectively reducing the air resistance generated in the lower part of the vehicle to which the under cover is attached. Further, since the outer surface of the front side wall portion of the concave portion provided in the under cover is an inclined surface inclined downward toward the rear, such an inclined surface functions to rectify the airflow flowing under the floor of the vehicle. As a result, the aerodynamic resistance at the lower part of the vehicle can be reduced more advantageously.

  The vehicle under cover according to the present invention is made of an elastic member. Therefore, for example, when such an under cover comes into contact with an obstacle such as a tire stop under the state of being attached to the vehicle, the contact portion is elastically deformed, and the contact state with the obstacle is eliminated. Moreover, such an elastically deformed state is restored. This can advantageously avoid breakage or destruction at the contact portion. And in the undercover of this invention, the space | gap part is provided between the underfloor members inside the recessed part provided in it. Therefore, when the under cover is elastically deformed by contact with an obstacle, it can be avoided as much as possible that the inner surface of the deformed portion comes into contact with the underfloor member covered by the under cover. Thereby, it can prevent effectively that an underfloor member deform | transforms or breaks with a deformation | transformation of an undercover.

  Furthermore, in such an undercover, at least one of the front end portion and the rear end portion is provided with an expandable cut extending in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when elastically deforming due to contact with an obstacle, the incision can be expanded by an amount corresponding to the amount of deformation. As a result, stress concentration in a part of the undercover is avoided as much as possible during such elastic deformation, and as a result, durability is reduced due to the occurrence of such stress concentration. Can also be prevented in advance. For example, even when the undercover is formed by mold forming using a resin material, an undercut portion is formed to form a notch that contributes to improved durability. There is no possibility that the moldability of the cover is impaired.

  Therefore, in the vehicle under cover according to the present invention as described above, sufficient durability can be advantageously ensured without causing damage due to contact with an obstacle in the mounted state on the vehicle. It is also possible to effectively prevent damage to the underfloor member covered with the undercover when in contact with an obstacle, and the function of reducing air resistance can be reliably and stably exerted. Good moldability can be sufficiently secured.

  And, even with the vehicle undercover mounting structure according to the present invention, the substantially same operation and effect as the excellent operation and effect exhibited in the above vehicle undercover can be enjoyed extremely advantageously. is there.

  Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically, the configuration of a vehicle undercover according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, as an example of a vehicle undercover having a structure according to the present invention, an automobile undercover that covers and is attached to a pedestrian protection device disposed under a floor at the front of the automobile is shown. It is schematically shown in a top form and a longitudinal section form, respectively. As is clear from these drawings, the under cover 10 of the present embodiment is made of a thin plate material.

  More specifically, the under cover 10 is formed using an elastic material. The type of the elastic material used for forming the under cover 10 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include known resin materials having elasticity such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and ethylene-propylene. Examples thereof include a rubber material such as a co-polymer (EPDM) or an elastic material such as a thermoplastic elastomer. Among them, an elastic resin material is preferably used from the viewpoint of light weight. And generally the undercover 10 is easily shape | molded by implementing injection molding etc. using those elastic body materials.

  The under cover 10 made of an injection-molded product or the like has a lateral direction corresponding to the left and right direction in FIG. 1 (up and down direction in FIG. 2) in the state of being installed in the lower part of the front portion of the automobile. On the other hand, the vertical direction corresponding to the vertical direction of the paper in FIG. 1 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) is configured to be the width direction of the vehicle body. And as a whole, it has a horizontally long rectangular shape. Moreover, in this under cover 10, the front end surface positioned on the front side of the vehicle body has a curved surface shape that protrudes forward. In the following description, in principle, the lateral direction of the under cover 10 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1 or the vehicle longitudinal direction) is referred to as the front-rear direction, and the vertical direction of the under cover 10 (the vertical direction in FIG. The width direction is referred to as the left-right direction.

  In such an undercover 10, a recess 12 is provided at a central portion excluding the outer peripheral portion with a relatively deep depth. And the outer flange part 14 extended continuously in the circumferential direction is integrally formed in the outer peripheral part so that it may protrude outward from the upper end of the side wall part of the recessed part 12. As shown in FIG.

  The concave portion 12 provided at the center of the under cover 10 includes a bottom wall portion 16 that has a horizontally long rectangular shape in the left-right direction, and a left side wall that is erected on four edge portions of the bottom wall portion 16. There are four side walls including a portion 18, a right side wall portion 20, a front side wall portion 22, and a rear side wall portion 24. The bottom wall portion 16 and the four side wall portions 18 to 24 are all made of thin flat plates, and as described above, the entire undercover 10 including these wall portions uses an elastic material. Is formed. Accordingly, the bottom wall portion 16 and the four side wall portions 18 to 24 can be elastically deformed relatively easily.

  In addition, the bottom wall portion 16 of the recess 12 is a flat surface without unevenness, in which the inner surface (upper surface) and the outer surface (lower surface) both extend horizontally. Both the left side wall part 18 and the right side wall part 20 are also flat surfaces without irregularities, with the inner surface and the outer surface extending vertically in the vertical direction. Thereby, the air resistance at the side surface and the lower surface of the under cover 10 is reduced with respect to the airflow flowing from the front to the rear of the lower portion of the automobile under the state in which the under cover 10 is attached to the automobile.

  And in this embodiment, when the depth of the recessed part 12 is made comparatively deep, ie, the height of the left side wall part 18 and 20 on the right side is made high enough, Under the installation state in the automobile, the position of the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 16 that forms the lowermost surface of the undercover 10 is made lower, and the size of the gap between the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 16 and the ground is possible. It is made small. In addition, although the specific depth of the recessed part 16 is not specifically limited, Here, the height from the ground of the outer surface of the bottom wall part 16 under the state where the under cover 10 is attached to the automobile, It is set to be about 140 mm.

  In addition, since the concave portion 12 has a deep depth, the bottom wall portion 16 of the concave portion 12 is disposed under the floor of the automobile under the installation state of the under cover 10 in the automobile (a figure to be described later). 3, in this embodiment, when the underfloor member is composed of the pedestrian protection device 26), the bottom wall portion of the concave portion 12 is not only contactless, but also by the inner space of the concave portion 12. A sufficiently large space 28 is formed between the floor 16 and the underfloor member (see FIG. 3).

  The rear side wall portion 24 of the recess 12 is formed of a thin flat plate that integrally extends in a state of being inclined upward from the rear side edge portion of the bottom wall portion 16. The outer surface (rear surface) of the rear side wall portion 24 is a sliding inclined surface 30 composed of an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the rear.

  The front side wall portion 22 extends integrally from the front side edge portion of the bottom wall portion 16 to a position higher than the rear side wall portion 24 in a state of being inclined upward toward the front. That is, the front side wall portion 22 has an outer surface portion that is an inclined surface inclined downward toward the rear, and this outer surface portion is the front side of the under cover 10 when the under cover 10 is attached to the automobile. A rectifying surface portion 32 is provided to smoothly flow the air colliding with the outer surface (front surface) of the side wall portion 22 from behind. And this rectification | straightening surface part 32 occupies most except the upper end part of the front side wall part 22, and has a larger area than the outer surface of the rear side wall part 24, Therefore, more sufficient rectification | straightening effect | action is exhibited. It has come to be able to do. A bent portion 34 that bends inward of the recess 12 is provided at the upper end portion of the front side wall portion 22 above the rectifying surface portion 32. Thereby, the strength of the front side wall portion 22 larger than the rear side wall portion 24 is improved.

  On the other hand, the outer flange portion 14 is integrated integrally with the front outer flange portion 36 extending horizontally from the upper end of the front side wall portion 22 toward the front, and from the upper end of the rear side wall portion 24 toward the rear. A rear outer flange portion 38 extending from the upper side, a left outer flange portion 40 extending integrally from the upper end of the left side wall portion 18 toward the left side, and inclined downward from the front side to the rear side, and the right side It consists of a right outer flange portion 42 that integrally extends from the upper end of the side wall portion 20 toward the right side while being inclined downward from the front side to the rear side.

  Among them, the front outer flange portion 36 and the rear outer flange portion 38 are provided with insertion holes 44 that pass through in the side plate thickness direction and through which predetermined fixing bolts or the like can be inserted, at regular intervals in the left-right direction. A plurality of each are provided (here, five on the front outer flange portion 36 and three on the rear outer flange portion 38). Each of these insertion holes 44 has a long hole shape extending long in the front-rear direction. As will be described later, the plate portion 10 is attached to the automobile by the fixing bolts inserted through the respective insertion holes 18.

  And in the undercover 10 of this embodiment, the slit 46 as a notch that extends straight in the front-rear direction with respect to the rear end portion including the rear outer flange portion 38 has a constant interval in the left-right direction. A plurality (6 in this case) are provided. Each of the slits 46 has a length that reaches from the rear end edge of the rear outer flange portion 38 to the rear end portion of the bottom wall portion 16 of the concave portion 12 through the rear side wall portion 24 of the concave portion 12 and a narrow width. And a plurality (three in this case) of each of the plurality of insertion holes 44 of the rear outer flange portion 38 that are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction are positioned. In other words, the under cover 10 is cut into a length reaching the bottom wall portion of the concave portion 12 from the rear end edge at a plurality of positions separated by a certain distance in the left-right direction of the rear portion.

  Thus, in such an undercover 10, each of the rear portions located between the adjacent slits 46 expands each slit 46 in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, or various directions combining them, An easily deformable portion 48 that elastically deforms relatively easily is provided. Specifically, in the easily deformable portion 48 that is provided with the insertion hole 44 and is bolted to the automobile with the under cover 10 attached to the automobile, the peripheral portion of the insertion hole 44 that is pressed down by the fixing bolt is removed. In the easily deformable portion 48 that does not include the insertion hole 44, the entire portion can be elastically deformed by bending or curving in various directions while expanding the slit 46, respectively. It is like that.

  And the under cover 10 of this embodiment made into such a structure is attached to the lower site | part of the front part of a motor vehicle in the structure as shown, for example in FIG.

  That is, the under cover 10 is attached to the automobile in a state where the pedestrian protection device 26 installed in the lower part of the front part of the automobile is positioned so as to cover from the lower side. More specifically, the pedestrian protection device 26 has a plate portion 52 that is integrally formed with a form in which a plurality of reinforcing ribs 50 protrude downward and block the flow of air. And this plate part 52 is arrange | positioned so that the front-end part may protrude in the bumper cover of the front bumper which is not shown in figure so that it may extend in the front-back direction of a motor vehicle, and it supports the radiator 54 in a rear-end part. The radiator support 56 is bolted, and the pedestrian protection device 26 is attached to the lower part of the front part of the automobile. Thus, in the pedestrian protection device 26, when the pedestrian contacts or collides with the front surface of the automobile, the front surface of the plate portion 52 contacts the leg portion of the pedestrian via the bumper cover. At that time, the reaction force generated by the plate portion 52 is applied to the leg portion of the pedestrian, so that the pedestrian can be protected and protected by a shock absorbing member such as a bonnet. Yes.

  In the under cover 10 of the present embodiment, the front outer flange portion 36 enters the bumper cover of the front bumper (not shown) and overlaps the lower surface of the front end portion of the plate portion 52 of the pedestrian protection device 26. On the other hand, the rear outer flange portion 38 is disposed so as to overlap the lower surface of the rear end portion of the plate portion 52 of the pedestrian protection device 26. Thus, the entire pedestrian protection device 26 including the under cover 10 including all of the plate portion 52 and the reinforcing ribs 50 protruding from the lower surface of the plate portion 52 and blocking the flow of air from the front to the rear. Covered from below and positioned. Moreover, in the state by which the inner surface (upper surface) of the bottom wall part 16 of the recessed part 12 of the undercover 10 and the lower end surface (tip surface) of the some reinforcement rib 50 of the pedestrian protection apparatus 26 were made non-contact, Between the pedestrian protection device 26, a gap portion 28 having a relatively large volume and made of the inner space of the recess 12 is formed so as to extend in the front-rear direction.

  And in such an arrangement | positioning state, the fixing bolt 58 is each 1 in the center of the length direction of each insertion hole 44 which consists of a long hole each provided in the front side outer flange part 36 and the rear side outer flange part 38. Further, each of the fixing bolts 58 is inserted through bolt mounting holes 60 provided at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the plate portion 52 of the pedestrian protection device 26, respectively. The nut 62 is fixed. At this time, an amount corresponding to the distance from the rear end of the inner peripheral surface of each insertion hole 44 made of a long hole to the leg portion of the fixing bolt 58 and the leg of the fixing bolt 58 from the front end of the inner peripheral surface of each insertion hole 44. The nut 62 is fastened to the fixing bolt 58 with such a fastening force that the front and rear displacements of the front outer flange portion 36 and the rear outer flange portion 38 can be allowed by an amount corresponding to the distance to the portion. As a result, the undercover 10 is fixed to the pedestrian protection device 26, and is attached to the lower part of the front portion of the automobile through the pedestrian protection device 26 so as to be displaceable in the front-rear direction by a predetermined dimension. It is done.

  Thus, in such an attachment structure, in the under cover 10 attached to the lower part of the front portion of the automobile, the air flowing through the lower portion of the automobile collides with the front side wall portion 22 of the recess 12 when the automobile is running. However, as shown by the arrow: A in FIG. 3, the air flows along the lower surface of the rectifying surface portion 32 and the bottom wall portion 16 of the recess 12 at the rectifying surface portion 32 formed of the outer surface of the front side wall portion 22. It can flow smoothly backwards. As a result, the air resistance at the front surface of the automobile to which the under cover 10 is attached is reduced, and the outer and bottom wall portions 16 are formed of flat surfaces of the left and right side wall portions 18 and 20 of the recess 12. The aerodynamic performance at the lower part of the front part of the automobile can be improved extremely effectively in combination with the action of reducing the air resistance by the lower surface made of the flat surface.

  Further, in the under cover 10, the depth of the concave portion 12 is increased, so that the position of the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 16 of the concave portion 12 is further lowered, and the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 16 and the ground surface are reduced. The size of the gap is made as small as possible. As a result, the speed of the airflow flowing under the automobile to which the under cover 10 is attached is effectively increased, and this can also advantageously increase the aerodynamic performance at the lower part of the front part of the automobile. .

  And in the undercover 10 of this embodiment, the bottom wall part 16 and the four side wall parts 18-24 of the recessed part 12 are all easily elastically deformable. Therefore, at the time of advancement of the automobile in which the undercover 10 covers the pedestrian protection device 26 and is attached to the lower portion of the front portion, for example, as shown in FIG. When contacting an obstacle 64 such as a tire stop, a curb on the road shoulder, or a step, the front side wall portion 22 and the bottom wall portion 16 continuing to the front side wall portion 22 are arranged inside the recess 12 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is elastically deformed so as to be recessed. At this time, the rear side portion of the under cover 10 with respect to the obstacle 64 is pressed rearward by the collision load, and the legs of the fixing bolt 58 from the front end of the inner peripheral surface of each insertion hole 44 made of a long hole. It is displaced backward by an amount corresponding to the distance to the part. In addition, although not shown, some of the slits 46 provided in the rear portion of the under cover 10 are expanded, and some of the easily deformable portions 48 are in various directions. It is elastically deformed to be bent or curved.

  For this reason, when the front side wall portion 22 of the under cover 10 is brought into contact with the obstacle 64 and is elastically deformed, it is avoided as much as possible that stress concentration occurs in any part of the under cover 10. As a result, it is possible to advantageously prevent the under cover 10 from being broken or damaged due to the occurrence of such stress concentration. Then, when the automobile retreats from the contact state of the undercover 10 with the obstacle 64, the elastically deformed portion of the undercover 10 is restored, and the function of reducing the air resistance of the undercover 10 is fully exhibited again. Will come to be.

  Moreover, since the rectification | straightening part 32 provided in the outer surface of the front side wall part 22 is comprised by the inclined surface which inclines downward toward the back, with respect to the obstacle which contacted the front side wall part 22 at the time of advance of a motor vehicle, The front side wall portion 22 smoothly elastically deforms while sliding on the surface of the obstacle 64. As a result, a reduction in stress generated in the undercover 10 can be expected. In addition, it can be advantageously avoided that the elastically deformed portion is caught by the obstacle 64 when the automobile moves backward from the contact state of the undercover 10 with the obstacle 64.

  Furthermore, at the time of reversing of the automobile in which the undercover 10 covers the pedestrian protection device 26 and is attached to the lower part of the front part, for example, as shown in FIG. When contacted with an obstacle 64 such as a tire stop, a curb on the shoulder of a road, or a step, the rear side wall 24 and the bottom wall 16 continuous therewith, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is elastically deformed so as to be recessed inside. Then, in the same manner as when the obstacle 64 comes into contact with the front side wall portion 22 of the undercover 10, the inner portion of each insertion hole 44 whose front side portion is a long hole than the contact portion with the obstacle 64 of the undercover 10. It is displaced forward by an amount corresponding to the distance from the rear end of the surface to the leg of the fixing bolt 58. At this time, although not shown, some of the easily deformable portions 48 are elastically deformed so as to bend or curve in various directions while expanding some of the slits 46. Thus, stress concentration in any part of the undercover 10 is avoided as much as possible due to elastic deformation accompanying the contact with the obstacle 64 on the rear side wall portion 22 of the undercover 10. It is possible to advantageously prevent the cover 10 from being broken or damaged. When the automobile advances from the contact state of the undercover 10 with the obstacle 64, the elastically deformed portion of the undercover 10 is restored, and the function of reducing the air resistance of the undercover 10 is fully exhibited again. Will come to be.

  Further, since the outer surface of the rear side wall portion 24 is a sliding inclined surface portion 30 that is inclined upward toward the rear side, the rear side against the obstacle contacting the rear side wall portion 24 when the automobile is moved backward. The side wall portion 24 is smoothly elastically deformed while sliding on the surface of the obstacle 64, which helps to reduce the stress generated in the under cover 10. Further, it can be advantageously avoided that the elastically deformed portion is caught by the obstacle 64 when the automobile moves forward from the contact state of the undercover 10 with the obstacle 64.

  In addition, since a sufficiently large gap 28 is provided between the undercover 10 and the pedestrian protection device 26 covered by the undercover 10, contact with the obstacle 64 on the front side wall 22 of the undercover 10. At times, the elastically deformed front side wall portion 22 and bottom wall portion 16 are in contact with a reinforcing rib 50 or the like protruding below the pedestrian protection device 26, and the reinforcing rib 50 and the plate portion on which the reinforcing rib 50 is provided. Deformation or damage of 52 etc. can also be effectively avoided.

  Therefore, in the undercover 10 of the present embodiment, a sufficient air resistance reduction function can be exhibited more effectively, and in addition, due to a collision with or contact with an obstacle 64 in the state of being attached to an automobile. Sufficient durability can be advantageously ensured without causing breakage. As a result, the aerodynamic performance of the lower part of the automobile to which the under cover 10 is attached can be stably maintained at a higher level over a longer period.

  In addition, the undercover 10 can effectively prevent the pedestrian protection device 26 covered with the undercover 10 from being deformed or damaged due to elastic deformation due to contact with the obstacle 64, Thereby, in addition to the aerodynamic performance, the pedestrian protection performance can be stably maintained.

  Moreover, in the under cover 10 according to the present embodiment, in order to improve the aerodynamic performance as described above, the plurality of slits 46 are merely provided in the rear portion. Even when 10 is obtained by mold molding such as injection molding, since the plurality of slits 46 are provided, there is no occurrence of an undercut portion, whereby good moldability can be advantageously ensured.

  Further, in such an undercover 10, a plurality of reinforcing ribs integrally formed so as to block the flow of air from the front to the rear from the lower surface of the plate portion 52 of the pedestrian protection device 26. 50 is disposed so as to cover all from the lower side, and this can also improve the aerodynamic performance in the lower part of the automobile. Furthermore, since the lower part of the pedestrian protection device 26 formed into a concavo-convex shape by the plurality of reinforcing ribs 50 can be concealed so as not to be visible from the outside, there is an advantage that the appearance of the lower part of the automobile is improved. .

  Furthermore, in the under cover 10 of this embodiment, since the plurality of slits 46 are provided in the rear end side portion, the slits 46 are not easily visually recognized from the outside. Therefore, the deterioration of the appearance of the undercover 10 due to the formation of the slit 46 can be effectively eliminated.

  The specific configuration of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, this is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited by the above description.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the under cover 10 covers the pedestrian protection device 26 that is an under-floor member disposed below the front floor of the automobile and is attached to the automobile. However, the under cover 10 is covered with the under cover 10. Of course, the underfloor member is not limited to the pedestrian protection device 26.

  Further, the overall shape of the undercover 10 and the shape of the gap formed between the undercover member and the like can be changed as appropriate according to the shape of the underfloor member.

  In the above-described embodiment, the incision is configured by the narrow slit 46 provided in the rear portion of the under cover 10. However, the incision may be expanded with the elastic deformation of the under cover. For example, the form is not particularly limited. Therefore, for example, the incision can be wide, or can be constituted by a simple linear incision having substantially no width.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of such cut formation positions are provided as slits 46 in the front end portion in addition to the rear end portion of the undercover 10 at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction. You can also Further, although not shown in the drawing, it is of course possible to omit the rear end portion and provide only the front end portion. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the incision is made by attaching the under cover to the vehicle (in the above-described embodiment, the fixing bolt insertion hole 44) and the width direction of the under cover (to the vehicle of the under cover). Although not shown in the drawing, the front and back of the bottom wall portion 16 of the concave portion 12 is located more than the formation position of the mounting portion. It is preferable to be provided at a position deviated toward the center of the direction. Thereby, when the under cover comes into contact with the obstacle, the cut can be more reliably expanded.

  For example, when each slit 46 is provided only in the rear portion, the length of each slit 46 to be cut is a length that stops only at the rear outer flange portion 38 or from the rear outer flange portion 38 to the rear side wall portion 24. Even if it is set to a length that does not reach the bottom wall portion 16, there is no problem.

  The inclination angle of each of the rectifying surface portion 32 formed from the outer surface of the front side wall portion 22 and the sliding inclined surface portion 30 formed from the outer surface of the rear side wall portion 24 or the depth of the concave portion 12 is not particularly limited. Needless to say.

  In addition, the present invention includes an under cover attached to the under floor of the front portion of the automobile, a vehicle under cover attached to the under floor of the front portion of a vehicle other than the automobile, in addition to a structure for attaching the under cover to the automobile, Of course, the present invention can be advantageously applied to any structure for mounting the vehicle undercover to the vehicle.

  The specific configuration of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, this is merely an example, and the present invention can be implemented in various forms. Accordingly, various embodiments relating to various changes, modifications, and improvements of the present invention adopted based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art are all within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood that it belongs.

It is upper surface explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the undercover which has a structure according to this invention. It is II-II sectional explanatory drawing in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the state which attached the under cover shown by FIG. 1 to the motor vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the deformation | transformation state of an under cover when the front side wall part of an under cover contacts an obstruction by advance of the motor vehicle with which the under cover shown in FIG. 1 is attached. It is a figure for demonstrating the deformation | transformation state of an under cover when the back side wall part of an under cover contacts with an obstruction by the retreat of the motor vehicle with the under cover shown in FIG. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows another embodiment of the undercover which has a structure according to this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Undercover 12 Recessed part 16 Bottom wall part 22 Front side wall part 24 Rear side wall part 26 Pedestrian protection device 28 Air gap part 30 Sliding inclined surface part 32 Current regulating surface part 46 Slit 48 Easy deformable part 64 Obstacle

Claims (6)

An under cover that is attached to the vehicle at the front and rear portions in a state of covering the under-floor member disposed below the front floor of the vehicle and positioned to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle,
The lower surface is positioned close to the ground and has a recess for forming a gap with the underfloor member, and the outer surface of the front side wall of the recess is an inclined surface inclined downward toward the rear. The vehicle undercover further comprises an elastic member in which at least one of the front end portion and the rear end portion is formed with an expandable cut extending in the front-rear direction.   The vehicle undercover according to claim 1, wherein the cut is provided only in a rear end portion.   The vehicle undercover according to claim 1, wherein the cut has a length that extends from an edge in the front-rear direction to a bottom wall portion of the recess.   The said recessed part has a rear side wall part, and the outer surface of this rear side wall part is made into the inclined surface which inclines upward toward the rear part side. The vehicle under cover as described. A structure for attaching an under cover attached to the vehicle at the front part and the rear part to the vehicle in a state of covering the under-floor member arranged under the floor at the front part of the vehicle and extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. And
A vehicle undercover according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vehicle undercover is covered under the floor of a front portion of the vehicle, covers the underfloor member, and the underfloor member. A mounting structure for an undercover for a vehicle, wherein the mounting structure is attached to a vehicle at a front portion and a rear portion in a state where a gap portion is formed between the bottom wall portion of the concave portion. The underfloor member is installed at a lower portion of the front portion of the vehicle so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and comes into contact with the leg portion of the pedestrian that has collided with the front surface of the vehicle at the front end portion. The vehicle undercover mounting structure according to claim 5, which is a vehicle pedestrian protection device configured to protect the vehicle.

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