JP2011183915A - Reinforcement structure for fender panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reinforcement structure for a fender panel capable of preventing deformation to an inner side of a side surface central part of the fender panel made of resin. <P>SOLUTION: On the fender panel 10 made of resin provided on a side surface of a vehicle body 12 of an automobile, the reinforcement member 33 having a support part 39 corresponding to the side surface central part 10a of the fender panel 10 is provided so as to be supportable relative to input in a lateral direction from an outer side in a vehicle width direction relative to the side surface central part 10a of the fender panel 10. The reinforcement member 33 is integrally formed on one end part of the fender panel 10 through an integral hinge 31. An engagement piece 34 formed on a free end of the reinforcement member 33 is engaged with an engagement hole 37 of a mounting flange part 29 of the fender panel 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure for a fender panel provided on a side surface of an automobile body.

A resin-made fender panel according to a conventional example will be described. 12 is a side view showing the fender panel, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, a front fender panel (hereinafter, referred to as a fender panel) 100 is made of resin and has a shape that covers the front side surface of a vehicle body 102 of an automobile. A wheel arch 104 is formed on the fender panel 100. A headlamp unit 106 is disposed at the front end (left end in FIG. 12) of the fender panel 100. A front bumper 108 is disposed on the lower side of the front end of the fender panel 100. A front door 110 is disposed on the rear side (right side in FIG. 12) of the fender panel 100. The outer peripheral edge of the fender panel 100 is fastened to the vehicle body 102 with bolts or the like. Although not shown, the outer peripheral edge of the fender panel 100 is fastened to the vehicle body 102 or a fixing member on the vehicle body 102 side with bolts or the like. Further, the fender panel 100 is formed with a substantially constant plate thickness (wall thickness) over the entire surface (see FIG. 13). Patent Document 1 describes an automobile equipped with a fender panel. Patent Document 2 describes a mounting structure for a vehicle exterior component in which a resin member (over fender) is mounted on a vehicle panel.

JP 2009-83543 A JP 2003-170864 A

According to the resin fender panel 100 described above, the side surface central portion 100 a is not restrained with respect to the vehicle body 102. For this reason, when lateral input from the outside in the vehicle width direction to the side surface central portion 100a of the fender panel 100 (for example, a hand pushing force (see arrow F in FIG. 13)) is applied, the side central portion 100a is inward ( There is a risk of being easily deformed to the left in FIG. 13 (see the two-dot chain line 100a in FIG. 13). Further, in the painting process for manufacturing the vehicle, the side surface central portion 100a of the fender panel 100 may be deformed in the same manner as described above due to heat during painting (for example, about 140 ° C.). As measures for preventing such deformation, for example, it is conceivable to increase the thickness of the entire fender panel or to assemble the retainer. However, this increases the weight of the fender panel itself, This is not preferable because it impedes the shock absorption of the fender panel by an input from above (for example, a pedestrian at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle). Since the metal fender panel has higher rigidity than the resin fender panel, the central part of the side surface is not restrained against the vehicle body, but it has a reinforcing structure that prevents deformation to the inside of the central part of the side surface. There is no need to prepare. Moreover, although the fender panel of patent document 1 is not restrained in the center part of the side with respect to the vehicle body, the reinforcement structure which prevents the deformation | transformation to the inner side of the side part center part is not described. Further, Patent Document 2 only shows an example in which an over fender is attached to a door panel, and does not describe a reinforcing structure that prevents the inner side of the side surface from being deformed.
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a reinforcing structure for a fender panel that can prevent deformation of the resin-made fender panel to the inside of the side central portion.

The above-mentioned problem can be solved by a reinforcing structure for a fender panel having the structure described in the claims.
That is, according to the reinforcing structure for a fender panel according to claim 1, the reinforcing member having a support portion corresponding to the central portion of the side surface of the fender panel is provided on the resin-made fender panel provided on the side surface of the automobile body. The fender panel is provided so as to be able to stretch against the lateral input from the outside in the vehicle width direction with respect to the central portion of the side surface of the fender panel. Therefore, it has a support portion corresponding to the center portion on the side surface of the fender panel with respect to lateral input (for example, hand pushing force, thermal deformation, etc.) from the outside in the vehicle width direction to the center portion on the side surface of the resin-made fender panel. When the reinforcing member is stretched, it is possible to prevent deformation of the central portion of the side surface.

  Further, according to the reinforcing structure for a fender panel according to claim 2, the reinforcing member is integrally formed at one end of the fender panel via an integral hinge, and the fender panel is formed at a free end of the reinforcing member. An attachment portion that can be attached to the other end of the reinforcing member is formed, the support portion is formed between the integral hinge and the attachment portion of the reinforcing member, and the integral hinge is provided inside the fender panel. The reinforcing member is folded back, and the attachment portion is attached to the other end portion of the fender panel, whereby the support portion corresponds to the center of the side surface of the fender panel. Therefore, compared with the case where the reinforcing member formed separately from the resin-made fender panel is attached to the fender panel, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced.

  According to the fender panel reinforcing structure described in claim 3, the reinforcing member is provided with a weakened portion that weakens against an input from above the fender panel. Therefore, the weak part of the reinforcing member can be easily deformed (for example, deformed or broken) with respect to the input from above the fender panel (for example, a pedestrian or the like at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle). For this reason, the reinforcing member hardly interferes with the shock absorption of the fender panel by an input from above the fender panel (for example, a pedestrian or the like at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle). That is, impact energy can be absorbed by the fender panel being easily deformed in the vertical direction at the center of the side surface. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the shock absorption (so-called pedestrian protection characteristics) of the fender panel with respect to the pedestrian at the time of the frontal collision of the vehicle, while taking measures against the lateral rigidity with respect to the central portion of the side surface of the resin-made fender panel. .

It is a side view which shows the reinforcement structure of the fender panel concerning Example 1. FIG. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the support part of the upper side of the reinforcement member with respect to a fender panel. It is a side view which shows the molding state of a fender panel. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4. It is sectional drawing which shows the weak part of a reinforcement member. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example 1 of the weak part of a reinforcement member. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example 2 of the weak part of a reinforcement member. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example 3 of the weak part of a reinforcement member. It is a side view which shows the reinforcement structure of the fender panel concerning Example 2. FIG. It is a side view which shows the reinforcement structure of the fender panel concerning Example 3. FIG. It is a side view which shows the fender panel concerning a prior art example. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a side view showing a fender panel, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. In FIG. 1, the left side is the front of the vehicle and the right side is the rear of the vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 1, a front fender panel (hereinafter referred to as a fender panel) 10 is made of resin and has a shape covering a front side surface of a vehicle body 12 of an automobile. The fender panel 10 in this embodiment is a polypropylene (PP) resin. The fender panel 10 is not limited to polypropylene (PP) resin but may be other resin.

  A wheel arch portion 14 is formed on the fender panel 10. Further, a flange portion 15 that protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction (leftward in FIG. 2) is formed at the peripheral edge portion of the wheel arch portion 14. A headlamp unit 17 is disposed at the front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 1) of the fender panel 10. A front bumper 19 is disposed on the lower side of the front end of the fender panel 10. A front door 21 is disposed on the rear side (right side in FIG. 1) of the fender panel 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper edge portion 23 of the fender panel 10 is curved inward in the vehicle width direction (leftward in FIG. 2) and is continuous with the engine hood 25.

  A vertical wall portion 27 extending downward is formed from the inner end portion of the upper edge portion 23 of the fender panel 10. Furthermore, an attachment flange portion 29 is formed on the lower edge portion of the vertical wall portion 27 so as to protrude inward in the vehicle width direction (leftward in FIG. 2). Although not shown, the outer peripheral edge portion including the attachment flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10 is fastened to the vehicle body 12 or a fixing member on the vehicle body 12 side by bolts or the like. In the present embodiment, the fender panel 10 is formed with a substantially constant plate thickness (wall thickness) over the entire surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a reinforcing member 33 is connected to an inner end portion (protruding end portion) of the flange portion 15 at an upper end portion (top portion) of the wheel arch portion 14 via an integral hinge 31. ing. The reinforcing member 33 is formed in a band plate shape extending upward from the inner end portion (projecting end portion) of the flange portion 15. A locking piece 34 projects from the center of the free end (upper end) of the reinforcing member 33. A claw portion 35 is formed at the tip of the inside of the locking piece 34 (left side in FIG. 2). On the other hand, an elongated locking hole 37 corresponding to the locking piece 34 is formed in the mounting flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the upper support portion of the reinforcing member for the fender panel.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the locking piece 34 is engaged with the locking hole 37 from below, and the claw portion 35 is engaged with the mouth edge of the locking hole 37 in a retaining state. Are combined. Thereby, the locking piece 34 of the reinforcing member 33 is attached to the attachment flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10. The flange portion 15 of the wheel arch portion 14 corresponds to “one end portion of a fender panel” in the present specification. The mounting flange portion 29 corresponds to “the other end portion of the fender panel” in the present specification. The locking piece 34 corresponds to an “attachment portion” in the present specification. The reinforcing member 33 is attached to the fender panel 10 by the integral hinge 31 (corresponding to the lower support portion), and is attached by the locking piece 34 and the locking hole 37 (on the upper support portion). Are supported in a doubly supported manner, that is, supported at two points.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plate-like support portion 39 corresponding to the side surface center portion 10 a of the fender panel 10 is formed at the center portion of the reinforcing member 33 in the vertical direction. The support portion 39 is in contact with the side surface central portion 10 a in a surface contact manner inside the fender panel 10. The lower end portion of the support portion 39 and the integral hinge 31 are connected via a lower connecting plate portion 41. The lower connecting plate portion 41 is inclined inwardly and outwardly (lowered leftward and upwardly rightward in FIG. 2). Further, the upper end portion of the reinforcing member 33 is formed as a vertical plate portion 43 having the locking piece 34. The lower end portion of the vertical plate portion 43 and the upper end portion of the support portion 39 are connected via an upper connecting plate portion 45. The upper connecting plate portion 45 has an inclined shape that rises inward and outwards (upwardly leftward and downwardly rightward in FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the reinforcing member 33 is formed with a substantially constant plate thickness (wall thickness) over the entire surface. The plate thickness of the reinforcing member 33 is set to be equal to the plate thickness of the fender panel 10. The reinforcing member 33 (excluding the locking piece 34) is formed with a substantially constant width in the vehicle front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1). Further, the support portion 39 is elastically pressed against the side surface central portion 10a of the fender panel 10 by utilizing elastic deformation of the reinforcing member 33, that is, bending deformation.

Next, resin molding of the fender panel 10 will be described. 4 is a side view showing a molded state of the fender panel, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the resin molding of the fender panel 10 is performed, the reinforcing member 33 protrudes below the fender panel 10, that is, in a space portion radially inward of the wheel arch portion 14. It is integrally formed with. For this reason, it can shape | mold in the state which expand | deployed the fender panel 10 which has the reinforcement member 33 planarly. Thereby, the structure of the molding surface of the shaping | molding die 47 (refer FIG. 4) can be simplified.

  The reinforcing member 33 is folded inside the fender panel 10 formed as described above via the integral hinge 31 (see arrow Y in FIG. 5), and the locking piece 34 is locked to the mounting flange 29. It is locked or attached to the hole 37 (see FIG. 3). Accordingly, the support portion 39 corresponds to the side surface central portion 10a of the fender panel 10 in a contact state (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Therefore, compared with the case where the reinforcing member formed separately from the resin-made fender panel 10 is attached to the fender panel 10, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced.

  According to the reinforcing structure of the fender panel 10, the lateral input from the outside in the vehicle width direction with respect to the side central portion 10a of the resin-made fender panel 10 (for example, hand pushing force, thermal deformation, etc. (see arrow F1 in FIG. 2) )), The deformation of the side surface central portion 10a can be prevented by stretching the reinforcing member 33 having the support portion 39 corresponding to the side surface central portion 10a of the fender panel 10.

Further, the reinforcing member 33 is provided with a weakened portion that weakens against input from above the fender panel 10 (see arrow F2 in FIG. 2). FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the weakened portion of the reinforcing member.
As shown in FIG. 6, a concave groove having a semicircular cross section extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 6) is formed on the inner side surface (left side surface in FIG. 6) of the upper end portion of the support portion 39 in the reinforcing member 33. 52 is formed. A portion thinned by the concave groove 52 is a fragile portion 51. The concave groove 52 can also be formed on the outer side surface (right side surface in FIG. 6) of the support portion 39.

  Therefore, the weakened portion 51 (see FIG. 6) of the reinforcing member 33 can be easily input from above the fender panel 10 (for example, a pedestrian or the like at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle (see arrow F2 in FIG. 2)). Deformation (for example, bending deformation, breakage, etc.). For this reason, the reinforcing member 33 hardly disturbs the shock absorption of the fender panel 10 by the input from above the fender panel 10. In other words, impact energy can be absorbed by the fender panel 10 being easily deformed in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). Therefore, while taking measures against the rigidity in the lateral direction (see arrow F1 in FIG. 2) with respect to the central side surface 10a of the resin-made fender panel 10, the shock absorption of the fender panel 10 against a pedestrian at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle is so-called. Pedestrian protection characteristics can be ensured.

Moreover, the weak part 51 (refer FIG. 6) of the said reinforcement member 33 can be changed into the following another example (refer FIGS. 7-9).
[Example 1]
In another example, as shown in FIG. 7, the weakened portion 54 is formed by thinning the periphery of the corner portion at the connection portion between the upper connecting plate portion 45 and the support portion 39 in the reinforcing member 33. That is, the plate thickness is gradually reduced from the vertical center portion of the upper connecting plate portion 45 toward the lower corner portion, and the plate thickness is increased from the vertical center portion of the support portion 39 toward the upper corner portion. The fragile portion 54 is formed around the corner portion by gradually reducing the thickness.

[Example 2]
As shown in FIG. 8, the second example has a cross-sectional half extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 8) on the inner side surface (left side surface in FIG. 8) of the lower end portion of the vertical plate 43 in the reinforcing member 33. A circular concave groove 57 is formed. A portion thinned by the concave groove 57 is a fragile portion 56. The concave groove 57 can also be formed on the outer side surface (the right side surface in FIG. 8) of the vertical plate portion 43.

[Example 3]
As shown in FIG. 9, another example 3 is a semicircle extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 9) toward the inner corner of the connecting portion between the vertical plate 43 and the upper connecting plate 45 in the reinforcing member 33. A concave groove 60 is formed. A portion thinned by the concave groove 60 is a fragile portion 59. The concave groove 60 can also be formed on the outer corner side at the connecting portion between the vertical plate portion 43 and the connecting plate portion 45.

  Further, the fragile portions 51, 54, 56, 59 (see FIGS. 6 to 9) can be set with respect to the reinforcing member 33, or one or a combination thereof.

[Example 2]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the present embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, the changed portion will be described and redundant description will be omitted. FIG. 10 is a side view showing the reinforcing structure of the fender panel.
As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, a reinforcing member (reference numeral 62) formed separately from the resin-made fender panel 10 is attached to the fender panel 10. That is, the reinforcing member 62 is formed of, for example, a resin band plate material. A mounting portion 63 is formed at one end (upper end) of the reinforcing member 62, and a support portion 64 is formed at the other end (lower end). The attachment portion 63 is coupled to the lower surface of the attachment flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10 by welding or adhesion. As a result, the support portion 64 corresponds to the side surface central portion 10 a of the fender panel 10. The support portion 64 is elastically pressed against the side surface central portion 10a of the fender panel 10 by using elastic deformation of the reinforcing member 33, that is, bending deformation. In the case of the present embodiment, the reinforcing member 62 is supported in a cantilever manner, that is, supported at one point with respect to the fender panel 10. The reinforcing member 62 can be made of metal instead of resin. In this case, the attachment portion 63 of the reinforcing member 62 can be coupled to the attachment flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10 by fastening with bolts or the like or by adhesion.

[Example 3]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the present embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, the changed portion will be described and redundant description will be omitted. FIG. 11 is a side view showing the reinforcing structure of the fender panel.
As shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, a reinforcing member (indicated by reference numeral 66) formed separately from the resin-made fender panel 10 is attached to the fender panel 10. That is, the reinforcing member 66 is made of, for example, resin, and the basic configuration is the same as that of the reinforcing member 33 of the first embodiment. For this reason, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Therefore, an attachment portion 67 is formed at the lower end portion of the connecting plate portion 41 on the lower side of the reinforcing member 66. The attachment portion 67 is coupled to the flange portion 15 of the wheel arch portion 14 of the fender panel 10 by welding or adhesion. As a result, the support portion 39 corresponds to the side surface central portion 10 a of the fender panel 10. The support portion 39 is elastically pressed against the side surface central portion 10a of the fender panel 10 by utilizing elastic deformation of the reinforcing member 33, that is, bending deformation. The reinforcing member 66 can be made of metal instead of resin. In this case, the attachment portion 67 of the reinforcing member 66 can be coupled to the flange portion 15 of the fender panel 10 by fastening with a bolt or the like or by adhesion.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the reinforcing structure for a fender panel according to the present invention is not limited to a front fender panel, but can be applied as a reinforcing structure for a rear fender panel. Further, the lower support portion of the reinforcing member 33 by the integral hinge 31 with respect to the fender panel 10 and the upper support portion by the locking piece 34 and the locking hole 37 with respect to the fender panel 10 are oppositely arranged. You can also That is, the reinforcing member 33 is connected to the mounting flange portion 29 of the fender panel 10 via the integral hinge 31, while the locking hole 37 is formed in the flange portion 15 of the wheel arch portion 14, and the free end of the reinforcing member 33 is It is good also as a structure which engages the latching piece 34 which protruded in the part (lower end part) with the latching hole 37. FIG. Moreover, in the said Example, although the reinforcement member was supported at 1 point or 2 points with respect to the fender panel, it is good also as a structure supported at three or more points. Moreover, a weak part is provided as needed and can also be abbreviate | omitted. Moreover, in the said Example, although the support part was pressed elastically with respect to the side surface center part of a fender panel, a support part can also be contact | abutted or adjoined to the side surface center part of a fender panel. In addition to the fragile portion due to the thinning of the reinforcing member, the fragile portion also forms the fragile portion by forming a hole penetrating the reinforcing member or reducing the width of the reinforcing member in the vehicle front-rear direction. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fender panel 10a ... Side surface center part 12 ... Vehicle body 29 ... Mounting flange part (other end part)
31 ... Integral hinge 33 ... Reinforcing member 34 ... Locking piece (mounting part)
37 ... Locking hole 39 ... Supporting part 51 ... Fragile part 54 ... Fragile part 56 ... Fragile part 59 ... Fragile part 62 ... Reinforcing member 63 ... Mounting part 64 ... Supporting part 66 ... Reinforcing member 67 ... Mounting part

Claims (3)

  A reinforcing member having a support portion corresponding to the center portion of the side surface of the fender panel is provided in a resin fender panel provided on the side surface of the body of the automobile. A reinforcing structure for a fender panel, characterized by being provided so as to be able to stretch against an input. The fender panel reinforcing structure according to claim 1,
The reinforcing member is integrally formed at one end of the fender panel via an integral hinge,
An attachment portion that can be attached to the other end of the fender panel is formed at the free end of the reinforcing member,
The support portion is formed between the integral hinge and the attachment portion in the reinforcing member,
The reinforcing member is folded back through an integral hinge inside the fender panel, and the attachment portion is attached to the other end portion of the fender panel, so that the support portion corresponds to the center of the side surface of the fender panel. Fender panel reinforcement structure characterized by A fender panel reinforcing structure according to claim 1 or 2,
A reinforcing structure for a fender panel, wherein the reinforcing member is provided with a weakened portion that weakens against an input from above the fender panel.

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