JP2010221879A - Cowl structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cowl structure reducing both of injury of pedestrians and booming noise. <P>SOLUTION: In this cowl structure 10, a reinforcing member 14 is provided to a portion requiring rigidity in a cowl part 11. Noise due to vibrations of a front window 2 and the like is thereby restrained, so as to reduce booming noise. The reinforcing member 14 is made of resin with lower strength and density than those of a material of the cowl part 11. When a shock load is applied, therefore, the reinforcing member 14 is deformed to absorb shock energy, and injury of pedestrians is reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowl structure for a vehicle.

  As a conventional cowl structure, a folding part configured to bend when subjected to a collision load is provided with a cowl panel formed so as to extend in the vehicle width direction. What was formed so that it might remove | deviate from a bending part is known (for example, refer patent document 1).

JP 2007-182113 A

  According to the cowl structure as described above, since the cowl panel is bent at the bent portion when receiving a collision load, the collision energy can be efficiently absorbed and pedestrian injury can be reduced. Also, since the cowl panel is provided with irregularities to increase the surface rigidity, the cowl panel can be made difficult to be bent and vibration of the cowl panel itself can be suppressed, and so-called booming noise (noise in the vehicle interior) is reduced. It becomes possible. Thus, for the cowl structure of a vehicle, both reduction of pedestrian injury and reduction of booming noise are required.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the cowl structure which can aim at coexistence of reduction of a pedestrian injury, and reduction of a booming sound.

  In order to achieve the above object, a cowl structure according to the present invention extends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and is provided at a predetermined position of the cowl portion and the cowl portion that supports the front window, and constitutes the cowl portion. And a reinforcing member made of a material whose strength is lower than that of the material.

  In addition, the cowl structure according to the present invention extends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and is provided at a predetermined position of the cowl portion and the cowl portion that supports the front window, and has a lower density than the material constituting the cowl portion. And a reinforcing member made of a material.

  In these cowl structures, a reinforcing member is provided at a predetermined position of the cowl portion (for example, a portion requiring rigidity). As a result, sound generation due to vibration of the windshield or the like is suppressed, so that it is possible to reduce the muffled sound. Furthermore, the reinforcing member is made of a material having lower strength and density than the material constituting the cowl portion. Thereby, when a collision load is received, the reinforcing member is deformed and absorbs collision energy, so that pedestrian injury can be reduced. Therefore, according to these cowl structures, it is possible to achieve both reduction of pedestrian injury and reduction of booming noise.

  The strength means a longitudinal elastic modulus, a transverse elastic modulus, a tensile strength, a compressive strength, a shear strength, and the like. The density means mass per unit volume.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the material which comprises a reinforcement member is resin. In this case, the freedom degree of the shape which a reinforcement member can take can be enlarged.

  The reinforcing member is preferably fixed to the cowl portion via a vibration reducing member. In this case, since the vibration of the front window and the like is absorbed, it is possible to further reduce the booming noise.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a reinforcement member has the 1st part erected with respect to the front window, and the 2nd part erected with respect to the dash panel attached to a cowl part. According to this configuration, sound generation due to the vibration of the windshield is suppressed by the first portion, and sound generation due to the vibration of the dash panel is suppressed by the second portion, so that the muffled sound can be more reliably reduced. it can.

  At this time, it is preferable that the first portion is provided with a notch so as to be positioned at least on the rear side of the vehicle. According to this configuration, when the collision load is received via the front window, the first portion is deformed with the notch as a starting point, so that pedestrian injury can be more reliably reduced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, coexistence of reduction of a pedestrian injury and reduction of a booming sound can be aimed at.

It is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cowl structure concerning the present invention. It is sectional drawing along the II-II line of FIG. It is a perspective view of the reinforcement member of FIG. It is a perspective view of the cowl structure as a comparative example. It is sectional drawing along the VV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the cowl structure when a motor vehicle drive | works. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the cowl structure when a motor vehicle drive | works. It is a graph which shows the frequency response of a booming sound. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the cowl structure at the time of receiving a collision load.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same or equivalent part, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cowl structure according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cowl structure 10 is employed in a front body structure of an automobile (vehicle) 1. The cowl structure 10 includes a cowl portion 11 that extends in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1, and the cowl portion 11 supports the front window 2. The cowl portion 11 includes a cowl panel 12 that is integrally molded so as to include a front wall 12a, a bottom wall 12b, and a rear wall 12c, and a rear wall 12c that faces a portion (rear side portion) of the bottom wall 12b. And a cowl outer 13 fixed to the upper end portion by spot welding or the like. That is, the cowl portion 11 has a so-called open sectional structure. The cowl panel 12 and the cowl outer 13 are made of iron.

  A lower end portion of the front window 2 and a front end portion of an instrument panel (not shown) are fixed to the cowl outer 13. On the front wall 12a of the cowl panel 12, an upper end portion of the dash panel 3 that separates the compartment C and the engine room E of the automobile 1 is fixed by spot welding or the like. A reinforcing member 14 is provided at a location (predetermined position) where rigidity is required in the cowl portion 11. Here, the reinforcing members 14 are provided at three locations in the center of the cowl portion 11 in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1 and on both sides thereof (1/4 position from the center and both left and right sides).

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reinforcing member 14 includes a rectangular parallelepiped first portion 15 erected with respect to the front window 2, and a rectangular parallelepiped second erected with respect to the dash panel 3. Are integrally formed of resin so as to include the portion 16. The first portion 15 is provided with a notch portion 17 having a U-shaped cross section so as to be located on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1 and on the rear side in the front-rear direction of the automobile 1. In this way, by using resin as the material constituting the reinforcing member 14, the degree of freedom of the shape that the reinforcing member 14 can take can be increased.

  The reinforcing member 14 is disposed in a region surrounded by the cowl panel 12 and the cowl outer 13. The upper end surface of the first portion 15, the rear end surface of the first portion 15, the front end surface of the second portion 16, and the lower end surface of the second portion 16 are respectively foamed resin materials (vibration reducing members). 18 are bonded to the inner surface of the cowl outer 13, the inner surface of the rear wall 12c of the cowl panel 12, the inner surface of the front wall 12a, and the inner surface of the bottom wall 12b.

  As described above, in the cowl structure 10, the reinforcing member 14 is provided at a location where rigidity is required in the cowl portion 11, and the reinforcing member 14 is fixed to the cowl portion 11 via the foamed resin material 18. Yes. As a result, sound generation due to vibrations of the front window 2 and the dash panel 3 is suppressed by the reinforcing member 14, and vibrations are absorbed by the foamed resin material 18, so that the muffled noise can be reduced.

  Here, suppression of sound generation by vibration will be described more specifically. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cowl structure as a comparative example, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cowl structure 110 is different from the above-described cowl structure 10 in that the reinforcing member 14 is not provided. That is, the cowl structure 110 includes a cowl part 111 corresponding to the cowl part 11, and the cowl part 111 includes a cowl panel 112 corresponding to the cowl panel 12 and a cowl outer 113 corresponding to the cowl outer 13. Yes.

  When an automobile to which the cowl structure 110 is applied travels, as shown in FIG. 6A, the cowl outer 113 of the cowl portion 111 vibrates with the vibration of the front window 2, or FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the cowl panel 112 of the cowl part 111 vibrates with the vibration of the dash panel 3, and a muffled sound is generated. On the other hand, when the automobile to which the cowl structure 10 is applied travels, the first portion 15 of the reinforcing member 14 erected with respect to the front window 2 as shown in FIG. The vibration of the front window 2 is reduced, and the vibration of the dash panel 3 is reduced by the second portion 16 of the reinforcing member 14 erected with respect to the dash panel 3 as shown in FIG. The

  Thus, according to the cowl structure 10, sound generation due to vibration of the front window 2 is suppressed by the first portion 15, and sound generation due to vibration of the dash panel 3 is suppressed by the second portion 16. Compared to the structure 110, it is possible to reliably reduce the muffled sound. FIG. 8 is a graph showing the frequency response (noise level in the passenger compartment) of the booming noise. As shown in FIG. 8, the muffled noise when the automobile to which the cowl structure 10 is applied travels is generally (particularly noise) compared to the muffled noise when the automobile to which the cowl structure 110 is applied. It is greatly reduced (in peak levels).

  Further, in the cowl structure 10, the reinforcing member 14 is made of a resin having lower strength and density than the iron constituting the cowl portion 11, and the first portion 15 includes both sides in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1, And the notch part 17 is provided so that it may be located in the back side in the front-back direction of the motor vehicle 1. As a result, when the collision load F is received through the front window 2, the first portion 15 is deformed so as to be bent forward from the notch portion 17 as shown in FIG. Since the reinforcing member 14 absorbs collision energy, pedestrian injury can be reliably reduced.

  As described above, according to the cowl structure 10, the use of the reinforcing member 14 can achieve both reduction of pedestrian injury and reduction of booming noise. Further, by providing the reinforcing member 14 at a location where rigidity is required in the cowl portion 11, it is possible to reduce the weight of the cowl portion 11 by reducing the thickness of the cowl panel 12 and the cowl outer 13.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the material of the reinforcing member is not limited to the resin as long as the material has a lower strength than the material forming the cowl portion or the material having a lower density than the material forming the cowl portion. If the reinforcing member is made of a material whose strength and density are lower than that of the material constituting the cowl portion, it is possible to achieve both reduction of pedestrian injury and reduction of the booming noise. Moreover, the notch part provided in the 1st part of a reinforcement member should just be located in the back side of vehicles, such as a motor vehicle, in the 1st part.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automobile (vehicle), 2 ... Front window, 3 ... Dash panel, 10 ... Cowl structure, 11 ... Cowl part, 14 ... Reinforcement member, 15 ... 1st part, 16 ... 2nd part, 17 ... Notch Part 18: Foamed resin material (vibration reducing member).

Claims (6)

A cowl that extends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and supports the windshield,
A cowl structure comprising: a reinforcing member provided at a predetermined position of the cowl portion and made of a material having lower strength than a material constituting the cowl portion. A cowl that extends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and supports the windshield,
A cowl structure comprising: a reinforcing member that is provided at a predetermined position of the cowl portion and is made of a material having a density lower than that of the material constituting the cowl portion.   The cowl structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the material constituting the reinforcing member is resin.   The cowl structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing member is fixed to the cowl portion via a vibration reducing member.   The reinforcing member has a first portion standing upright with respect to the front window and a second portion standing upright with respect to the dash panel attached to the cowl portion. The cowl structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   6. The cowl structure according to claim 5, wherein the first portion is provided with a notch so as to be positioned at least on the rear side of the vehicle.

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