JP2013119365A - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To absorb a collision load F occurred at collision with a collision object 20 with a bracket 9 as much as possible, making a cooling system heat exchanger (3, 6) hard to be disposed backward, in a vehicle front structure in which the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger (3, 6) is mounted, via the bracket 9, to an upper lateral member 1 extending in the width direction of the vehicle front part, the heat exchanger being disposed in front of the upper lateral member.SOLUTION: The bracket 9 is a belt-like plate in a plan view and includes: a base end side flat part 91 connected to the upper lateral member 1; an inclined part 92 which is inclined downward to the vehicle front from the base end side flat part 91; a flat midway part 93 which extends straight from the inclined part 92 and is connected to the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger (3, 6); and an inclined piece 94 which projects in an inclined upward direction toward the vehicle front from the flat midway part 93.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure in which an upper part of a cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front of an upper lateral member extending in the width direction of a vehicle front part is attached via a bracket.

  Generally, in a type in which an engine or the like is mounted on the front of a vehicle such as an automobile, a radiator for cooling the engine and a condenser for an air conditioner are arranged in front of the engine in the engine compartment of the vehicle. .

  The radiator is attached to a radiator support upper and a radiator support lower along the vehicle width direction via appropriate attachments. The capacitor is attached in the vicinity of the radiator.

  Incidentally, in recent years, it has been considered to absorb the collision load as much as possible when a collision object collides with the front part of the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the conventional example according to Patent Document 1, the upper bracket for supporting the capacitor for the air conditioner on the bulkhead upper in the event of a collision is buckled, and the capacitor and radiator for the air conditioner are bent by the buckled upper bracket. By using the lower part of the air-conditioner as a fulcrum, it is configured to be easily tilted backwards, so that damage to the condenser and radiator for the air conditioner is prevented as much as possible while absorbing the collision load.

JP 2009-269451 A

  The conventional example according to Patent Document 1 aims to prevent damage to the condenser and radiator for an air conditioner as much as possible in the event of a collision. For this reason, in the conventional example according to Patent Document 1, the upper bracket is buckled at the time of a collision. However, the buckled upper bracket causes the condenser and radiator for the air conditioner to face backward with the lower side as a fulcrum. Therefore, there is a concern that some components arranged behind the air conditioner condenser and the radiator may be attacked by the air conditioner condenser and the radiator.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a vehicle front structure in which the upper part of a cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front of the upper lateral member extending in the width direction of the vehicle front part is attached via a bracket. In the above, it is intended to make it possible to absorb the collision load as much as possible by the bracket at the time of collision with the collision object, and to make it difficult to displace the cooling system heat exchanger backward.

  The present invention provides a vehicle front structure in which an upper part of a cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front of an upper lateral member extending in the width direction of a vehicle front part is attached via a bracket. A base plate side flat portion connected to the upper lateral member, an inclined portion inclined obliquely downward from the base end flat portion toward the front of the vehicle, and the inclined portion. A midway flat part that extends straight from the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger and an inclined piece that protrudes obliquely upward from the midway flat part toward the front of the vehicle. Yes.

  In this case, when a collision load directed toward the rear of the vehicle acts on the obliquely upward inclined piece due to the collision of the front part of the vehicle with the collision object, first, the inclined piece is pushed down toward the rear of the vehicle with the base as a fulcrum. In addition to being bent and deformed in this manner, the inclined piece that is pushed down is deformed so that the flat part is pulled up, and the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger is detached from the flat part. The collision load is absorbed and reduced by the deformation of the inclined piece and the flat part on the way.

  When the collision load continues to act, the inclined piece and the flat portion on the way are bent and deformed toward the rear of the vehicle, so that the inclined portion inclined downward is pushed toward the rear of the vehicle. Thus, the inclined portion is bent and deformed so as to be pushed down toward the rear of the vehicle. In the course of such deformation, the collision load is further absorbed and reduced.

  When the bracket or the cooling system heat exchanger thus bent and deformed comes into contact with the upper lateral member, the collision load is received by the upper lateral member.

  In this way, when the front part of the vehicle collides with the collision object, the bracket is bent and deformed to absorb the collision load, and the bracket is pulled away from the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger, thereby the cooling system heat exchanger. However, unlike the conventional example according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is not tilted obliquely rearward of the vehicle, so that the stroke for pushing the upper lateral member toward the rear of the vehicle by the bracket becomes relatively small. Therefore, for example, when any part is installed behind the upper lateral member, the part can be prevented from being damaged.

  Preferably, the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger may be configured such that both ends in the width direction are attached to the upper lateral member via separate brackets.

  As described above, the two brackets separately provided at both ends in the width direction of the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger absorb the collision load at the time of the collision, so that the shock absorbing ability is enhanced.

  Preferably, the bracket is manufactured by bending several portions in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped plate material by press molding, and the intermediate flat portion has a through-hole penetrating in the plate thickness direction, and the intermediate flat portion In the through hole, an upward shaft provided at an upper portion of the cooling system heat exchanger is fitted through a cylindrical elastic body, and the midway flat portion is fitted into the cooling system heat by the fitting. It can be configured to be engaged with the top of the exchanger.

  Here, the form of the bracket and the form of attachment of the intermediate flat portion of the bracket to the cooling system heat exchanger are specified. In this case, since several places in the longitudinal direction of the bracket are bent, it becomes clear that the bracket is easily bent and deformed in the above-described form by a collision load. In addition, it becomes clear that the flat part of the bracket is easily detached from the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger during the bending deformation of the bracket.

  Preferably, the lower part of the cooling system heat exchanger can be attached to a lower lateral member provided in parallel to the lower side of the upper lateral member.

  The present invention provides a vehicle front structure in which an upper part of a cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front of the upper lateral member extending in the width direction of the front part of the vehicle is attached via a bracket. Sometimes this collision load can be absorbed by the bracket as much as possible, making it difficult to displace the cooling system heat exchanger backwards.

  As a result, when any part is arranged behind the cooling system heat exchanger, it is possible to reduce the aggression against the part.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of a vehicle front structure according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the single unit of the bracket used for the vehicle front part structure of FIG. It is a figure which shows the connection part of a bracket and a cooling system heat exchanger (a radiator and a shroud) in the cross section in the vehicle front part structure of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing an initial stage when the front part of the vehicle collides with a collision object in FIG. 3. It is a side view which shows the continuation of FIG.

  BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, although not shown, a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor is cited as an example of a drive source that generates driving force for traveling, and the engine and motor are mounted in front of the vehicle. An example is given.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a radiator support upper 1 (corresponding to an upper lateral member) and a radiator support lower 2 (corresponding to a lower lateral member) along the vehicle width direction are provided substantially vertically in the front part of the vehicle. It has been.

  A radiator 3 for cooling the engine is attached in front of the radiator support upper 1 and the radiator support lower 2. A condenser 4 for an air conditioner and a radiator 5 for a hybrid system are further attached in front of the radiator 3.

  Specifically, the radiator 3 is a substantially horizontally long rectangle when viewed from the front, and a shroud 6 (see FIG. 3) is attached to the outer periphery thereof. The shroud 6 covers the outer periphery of the radiator 3 and is provided to guide the traveling wind to the radiator 3.

  The condenser 4 for the air conditioner and the radiator 5 for the hybrid system are attached to the shroud 6 so as to be positioned in front of the radiator 3.

  The one including the radiator 3 and the shroud 6 corresponds to the “cooling system heat exchanger” described in the claims. In this embodiment, the shroud 6 is exemplified as a member attached to the outer periphery of the radiator 3. However, the shroud 6 may be simply referred to as an “outer frame member”.

  An electric fan (not shown) is attached to the rear side of the radiator 3. Further, behind the radiator 3 and near the radiator support upper 1, components 7 such as an inverter used in a hybrid system are installed with a predetermined distance therebetween. Further, a bumper reinforcement 8 as a reinforcing part of a vehicle bumper (not shown) is disposed in front of the radiator 3 at a predetermined interval. The bumper reinforcement 8 is attached to a front frame (not shown) of the vehicle.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the attachment form of the radiator 3 with respect to the radiator support upper 1 and the radiator support lower 2 is demonstrated in detail.

  Shafts 6a projecting upward are provided at both ends in the width direction of the upper portion of the shroud 6 to which the radiator 3 is attached. Shaft portions projecting downward are provided at both ends of the shroud 6 in the width direction. 6b is provided. In the drawing, the lower part of the shroud 6 is visible only on one of the left and right sides.

  An upward shaft portion 6 a of the shroud 6 is attached to the radiator support upper 1 via a pair of left and right brackets 9 and an upper rubber mount 10. A downward shaft portion 6 b of the shroud 6 is attached to the pair of left and right radiator support lowers 2 via a lower rubber mount 11. In the drawing, the lower part of the shroud 6 is visible only on one of the left and right sides.

  The bracket 9, the upper rubber mount 10 and the lower rubber mount 11 are used at both ends in the width direction of the shroud 6 as described above, but are exactly the same on the left and right.

  First, the upper rubber mount 10 and the lower rubber mount 11 are, for example, cylindrical elastic bodies and are buffer members for preventing vibrations from the vehicle body from being transmitted to the radiator 3.

  Further, the bracket 9 is a belt-like plate member in plan view, and as shown in FIG. 2, a base end side flat portion 91 connected to the radiator support upper 1 and a vehicle front side from the base end side flat portion 91. An inclined portion 92 inclined obliquely downward toward the vehicle, a midway flat portion 93 extending straight from the inclined portion 92 and connected to the upper portion of the radiator 3, and an obliquely upward direction from the midway flat portion 93 toward the front of the vehicle And an inclined piece 94 projecting from the bottom.

  The bracket 9 is manufactured by bending several places in the longitudinal direction of a metal strip-shaped plate material by press molding. In addition, the strip | belt-shaped board | plate material shown to this embodiment is bending the two long sides upward 90 degree | times, respectively, in order to aim at rigidity improvement.

  The base flat portion 91 is provided with a through hole 91a penetrating in the plate thickness direction. The through hole 91 a is a bolt insertion hole for fastening the base end flat portion 91 to the radiator support upper 1 with the bolt 12.

  A through hole 93a that penetrates in the plate thickness direction is provided in the midway flat portion 93. The through hole 93a of the midway flat portion 93 is such that the shaft portion 6a provided at the upper portion of the shroud 6 is fitted through the upper rubber mount 10, and the midway flat portion 93 is shroud by the fitting. The upper part of 6 is engaged.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a state when the front part of the vehicle collides with the colliding object 20 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the front part of the vehicle collides with the colliding object 20, the bumper reinforcement 8 collides with the condenser 4 for the air conditioner and the radiator 3 for cooling the engine and buckles them. The collision load F toward the rear of the vehicle acts on the obliquely upward inclined piece 94 of the bracket 9.

  As a result, first, the inclined piece 94 of the bracket 9 is bent and deformed so as to be pushed down toward the rear of the vehicle with the base as a fulcrum, and the flat portion 93 is deformed so as to be pulled up by the inclined piece 94 pushed down. Thus, the upward shaft portion 6 a of the shroud 6 is detached from the through hole 93 a of the flat portion 93 on the way. The collision load is absorbed and reduced by the deformation of the inclined piece 94 and the flat part 93 on the way. In particular, in this embodiment, since the upward shaft portion 6a of the shroud 6 is merely engaged with the through hole 93a of the intermediate flat portion 93, the intermediate flat portion 93 is deformed as described above. The shaft portion 6a is easily detached from the through hole 93a.

  When the collision load continues to act, the inclined piece 94 and the flat part 93 are further bent and deformed toward the rear of the vehicle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Is pushed rearward of the vehicle, and the inclined portion 92 is bent and deformed so as to be pushed down toward the rear of the vehicle. In the course of such deformation, the collision load is further absorbed and reduced.

  When the upward shaft portion 6a of the shroud 6 comes into contact with the rear lower portion 1a of the radiator support upper 1 (see FIG. 5), the collision load F is received by the radiator support upper 1.

  Thus, when the front part of the vehicle collides with the collision object 20, the bracket 9 is bent and deformed to absorb the collision load, and the bracket 9 is held by the shroud 6 by being pulled away from the upper part of the shroud 6. Since the radiator 3 is not tilted obliquely rearward of the vehicle as in the conventional example according to Patent Document 1 described above, the stroke for pushing the radiator support upper 1 toward the rear of the vehicle by the bracket 9 becomes relatively small. Therefore, for example, when some component 7 is installed behind the radiator support upper 1, the component 7 can be prevented from being damaged.

  As described above, in the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the upper portion of the shroud 6 that holds the radiator 3 disposed in front of the radiator support upper 1 that extends in the width direction of the front portion of the vehicle is attached via the bracket 9. In the vehicle front structure, the collision load F is absorbed as much as possible at the time of collision with the collision object 20, and damage can be reduced.

  As a result, when any part 7 is arranged behind the radiator support upper 1, it is possible to reduce the aggression against the part 7 and to contribute to the reduction of repair costs.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, It can change suitably in the range equivalent to the claim and the said range.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the length and shape of the inclined piece 94 are not particularly limited. In short, the inclined piece 94 has a function as a “trigger” when acting so as to separate the flat portion 93 from the upper portion of the shroud 6 (the upper portion of the radiator 3) when the collision load F is received. If it is.

  (2) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the condenser 4 for the air conditioner and the radiator 5 for the hybrid system are attached in the vicinity of the radiator 3 for cooling the engine, but the present invention is limited to this. is not.

  In addition to the above, for example, a case where an intercooler (not shown) of a supercharger is attached in the vicinity of the radiator 5 is also included in the present invention. The air conditioner condenser 4, the hybrid system radiator 5 and the supercharger intercooler are not provided near the radiator 3, or the air conditioner condenser 4 and the hybrid system radiator 5 are provided. The present invention also includes a case where at least one of the intercoolers of the supercharger is attached in the vicinity of the radiator 3.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used for a vehicle front structure in which an upper lateral member extending in the width direction of a vehicle front portion is attached to the upper portion of a cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front thereof via a bracket. Is possible.

1 Radiator support upper
2 Radiator support lower
3 Radiator for engine cooling
4 Capacitor for air conditioner
6 Shroud
6a Shaft upward shaft
6b Shroud downward shaft
7 parts
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Bracket 91 Bracket end side flat part 92 Bracket inclination part 93 Intermediate flat part 93a Through hole of intermediate flat part 94 Inclined piece 10 Upper rubber mount 11 Lower rubber mount 20 Colliding object

Claims (4)

In the vehicle front structure in which the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger disposed in front of the upper lateral member extending in the width direction of the vehicle front part is attached via a bracket,
The bracket is a belt-like plate member in plan view, and is connected to the upper lateral member, and a base portion side flat portion, and an inclined portion that is inclined obliquely downward from the base end side flat portion toward the front of the vehicle. And an intermediate flat portion that extends straight from the inclined portion and is connected to the upper portion of the cooling system heat exchanger, and an inclined piece that protrudes obliquely upward from the intermediate flat portion toward the front of the vehicle. A vehicle front structure characterized by that. In the vehicle front structure according to claim 1,
The vehicle front part structure characterized by the upper part of the said cooling system heat exchanger being attached to the said top horizontal member through the bracket in the width direction both ends. In the vehicle front structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The bracket is manufactured by bending several places in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped plate material by press molding,
The halfway flat part has a through hole penetrating in the plate thickness direction, and the halfway flat part has a cylindrical elastic body with an upward shaft provided at the upper part of the cooling system heat exchanger. The vehicle front structure, wherein the intermediate flat portion is engaged with the upper portion of the cooling system heat exchanger by the fitting. In the vehicle front structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The lower part of the said cooling system heat exchanger is attached to the lower horizontal member provided in parallel with the lower side of the said upper horizontal member, The vehicle front part structure characterized by the above-mentioned.

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