JP2013241074A - Wheel housing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheel housing configured to properly mount a baffle without using a bracket or directly making a hole on the wheel housing.SOLUTION: A wheel housing 102 enclosing the top of a wheel in an arch shape includes: a wheel housing outer 114; an extension 116 that extended downward from a lower end 114a of the wheel housing outer 114 to extend the wheel housing outer 114; and an outer panel 106 that encloses the wheel housing outer 114 and the extension 116 in an arch shape. The lower end 114a of the wheel housing outer 114 or an upper end 116a of the extension 116 is bent to the outside of the arch shape to form a flange surface 118. The wheel housing 102 includes a baffle 112 which is assembled to the flange surface 118 and closes a gap between the wheel housing outer 114, the extension 116, and the outer panel 106.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wheel house of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  A vehicle such as an automobile is provided with a wheel house having an arch shape. This is to secure a rolling space for the wheel. As exemplified in Patent Document 1, the wheel house includes a wheel house inner and a wheel house outer. Further, as exemplified in Patent Document 1, a configuration in which the front end portion of the wheel house outer is divided is known from the viewpoint of assembly.

  Since the wheel house is formed so as to bend upward, the wheel house is likely to be close to the passenger's ear in the passenger compartment space. Under such circumstances, a configuration is adopted in which a baffle is disposed in the hollow space of the wheel house, and noise that reaches the occupant's ear through the wheel house is sound-insulated or absorbed. As exemplified in Patent Document 2, a foamed resin that is foamed by heat is used as the baffle, and foams and expands during the baking process or the like in the manufacturing process to close the hollow space.

JP 2001-1947 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-34058

  Conventionally, a baffle is attached to a wheel house by using a bracket or by directly making a hole in the wheel house.

  However, when the bracket is used, the number of parts increases, and the cost increases. Considering the problem of parts management and the time and effort of joining the bracket, the labor will be increased. On the other hand, when a hole is made directly in the wheel house, it is impossible to prevent water from entering from the outside through the hole unless measures are taken. For countermeasures, it is necessary to use parts having a special structure such as a water stop clip, which increases costs. In addition, there is a risk that the NVH performance (“Noise”, “Vibration”, “Harshness” performance) performance will deteriorate.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel house capable of suitably assembling a baffle without using a bracket or directly making a hole in the wheel house.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a representative configuration of the present invention includes: a wheel house that surrounds an upper portion of a wheel in an arch shape in a side view of the vehicle; a wheel house outer that forms a vehicle side surface of the wheel house; An extension that extends downward from the lower end of the wheel house to extend the wheel house outer and forms an arch shape with the wheel house outer, and an outer panel that covers the wheel house outer and the extension from the outside of the arch shape. A part of the upper end of the arch is bent outwardly of the arch shape to form a flange surface, and the wheel house further includes a wheel house outer and a baffle that closes a gap between the extension and the outer panel. And wherein the door.

  According to the said structure, since a baffle can be assembled | attached without using a bracket, the increase in cost and labor can be avoided. Moreover, since a hole is not directly formed in the wheel house, a hole through which water can enter is not formed, and generation of rust is suppressed. Since holes are not directly formed in the wheel house, it is possible to prevent a decrease in NVH performance. Furthermore, since the vehicle side surface side of the wheel house is formed by combining the wheel house outer (that is, the main body) and separate members such as extensions, the yield can be improved.

  It is preferable to further include a water sealer for preventing water from entering the wheel house at the joint between the wheel house outer and the extension.

  According to the said structure, it can prevent that water permeates from the exterior through a junction part. Therefore, the generation of rust can be prevented.

  The extension is smaller than the wheel house outer, the upper end of the extension is overlapped and joined to the lower end of the wheel house outer from the outside of the arch shape, and the flange surface may be formed by bending the upper end of the extension. .

  According to the said structure, since a flange surface is formed in the upper end of the extension which is a comparatively small component, a flange surface can be formed easily (working). In addition, this configuration facilitates setting during joining (welding).

  It is preferable that the flange surface has at least two through holes having different shapes, and the baffle has two clips having different shapes that respectively fit into the two through holes.

  According to the said structure, since the clip fitted to a through-hole is decided, the incorrect assembly | attachment of a baffle can be reduced.

  It is preferable that a concave portion is formed on one side of the flange surface, and a convex portion having a shape capable of entering the concave portion is formed on the baffle.

  According to the said structure, only when correctly assembled, the convex part of a baffle enters a recessed part, and when not correctly assembled, a convex part does not enter a recessed part, but the assembly | attachment is prevented. Therefore, an incorrect assembly of the baffle can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wheel house capable of suitably assembling a baffle without using a bracket or directly making a hole in the wheel house.

It is a figure which shows the rear part of the motor vehicle which is embodiment of the wheel house of this invention. It is an AA cut part end elevation of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the X section which removed the outer panel of FIG. It is the figure which removed the extension of FIG. It is the figure which looked at the junction part of the wheel house outer and extension of FIG. 3 from the wheel side. It is a figure which attaches a baffle to the flange surface of FIG. It is a figure which shows the baffle of FIG. It is a BB cutting part end elevation of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  In the figure, “vehicle front side” is represented by arrow Fwd, “vehicle right side” is represented by arrow Rh, and “vehicle upper side” is represented by arrow Up.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a rear portion of an automobile 100 which is an embodiment of the wheel house of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an end view taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel house 102 that surrounds the upper part of the wheel in an arch shape when viewed from the side of the vehicle is formed so as to bend upward. Therefore, the wheel house 102 is likely to be in a position close to the passenger's ear in the passenger compartment space. As shown in FIG. 2, sound is transmitted to the wheel house 102 through the hollow space of the front side sill 104 (between the outer panel 106 and the side sill strength 108 and between the side sill strength 108 and the side sill reinforcement 110). there is a possibility.

  In the present embodiment, a baffle 112 (see FIG. 7) made of foamed resin that is foamed by heat is disposed in the hollow space 136 (see FIG. 8) of the wheel house 102 so that noise reaching the occupant's ear through the wheel house 102 is sound-insulated. Or absorb sound. The specific configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion X from which the outer panel 106 of FIG. 1 is removed. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which the extension 116 of FIG. 3 is removed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, the vehicle side surface side of the wheel house 102 is divided into a wheel house outer 114 and an extension 116. That is, the extension 116 is a member that extends downward from the lower end 114 a of the wheel house outer 114 to extend the wheel house outer 114 and forms an arch shape with the wheel house outer 114. Then, a part of the upper end 116a of the extension 116 is bent outward (non-wheel side) of the arch shape to form the flange surface 118.

  The upper end 116 a of the extension 116 having the flange surface 118 is overlapped and joined to the lower end 114 a of the wheel house outer 114 from the outside of the arch shape. Here, they are joined by spot welding. Thereby, the upper end 116a of the extension 116 continues to the lower end 114a of the wheel house outer 114, and an arch shape surrounding the upper part of the wheel is formed. The front side of the extension 116 is continuous (joined) to the side sill strength 108.

  FIG. 5 is a view of the joint portion of the wheel house outer 114 and the extension 116 of FIG. 3 as viewed from the wheel side (in the direction of arrow Y). As shown in FIG. 5, a water stop sealer 130 (represented by a cross hatch) that prevents water from entering is provided at the joint between the wheel house outer 114 and the extension 116. This is to prevent water from entering from the outside through the joint and prevent the generation of rust.

  FIG. 6 is a view of assembling the baffle 112 to the flange surface 118 of FIG. FIG. 6A is a view in which the baffle 112 is assembled to the same flange surface 118 on the right side of the vehicle as in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6B is a view of the flange surface 118 on the left side of the vehicle (for convenience, the same reference numerals as those on the right side of the vehicle). It is a figure which attaches the baffle 112. FIG. FIG. 7 shows the baffle 112 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the flange surface 118 is provided with two through holes 120 and 122 having different shapes. As shown in FIG. 7, the baffle 112 is provided with two clips 124 and 126 that fit into the two through holes 120 and 122, respectively. Then, the baffle 112 is assembled to the flange surface 118 by fitting the clips 124, 126 into the through holes 120, 122.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, a bracket is not required for assembling the baffle 112. When the bracket is used, the number of parts increases and the cost increases. Considering the problem of parts management and the time and effort of joining the bracket, the labor will be increased. Therefore, according to this embodiment, an increase in cost and labor can be avoided.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to make a hole directly in the wheel house 102 (the wheel house outer 114 and the extension 116). When a hole is directly formed, water may enter from the outside through the hole, and rust may be generated. In addition, NVH performance (noise, vibration, ride comfort performance) may be reduced. Therefore, according to this embodiment, generation | occurrence | production of the rust by the penetration | invasion of water and the fall of NVH performance can also be avoided.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the baffle 112 is assembled to the flange surface 118 formed by bending a part of the upper end 116a of the extension 116 to the outside of the arch shape, the clips 124, 126 can be set near the center of gravity of the baffle 112. it can. By setting the clips 124 and 126 near the center of gravity of the baffle 112, it becomes easy to ensure the positional accuracy of the baffle 112, and the occurrence of poor assembly of the baffle 112 and its surrounding panels (such as the outer panel 106) is reduced. Can do. In the present embodiment, the vehicle side surface of the wheel house 102 is formed by combining the wheel house outer (that is, the main body) and the separate members, ie, the extension, so that the yield can be improved.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the baffle 112 is used in common on the right side and the left side of the vehicle with the assembly direction turned upside down. Thereby, an increase in the number of parts can be avoided. However, if left and right are common, there is a high possibility that the baffle 112 will be mistakenly assembled. Therefore, in this embodiment, the through hole 120 is a round hole, the through hole 122 is a long hole, the clip 124 can be fitted only to the round through hole 120, and the clip 126 can be fitted only to the long through hole 122. Each is formed in a different shape. Thereby, when the baffle 112 is assembled from above and when the baffle 112 is assembled from below, erroneous assembly of the baffle 112 can be prevented.

  However, even if it is as described above, the possibility that the clips 124 and 126 are assembled to the through holes 120 and 122 from the direction opposite to the correct assembly direction cannot be excluded. Therefore, in this embodiment, the concave portion 132 (bead shape) that is recessed in the assembly direction of the baffle 112 is provided on the flange surface 118, and the convex portion 134 is provided on the baffle 112, and the convex portion 134 enters the concave portion 132 only when correctly assembled. Like to do. The convex part 134 of the baffle 112 does not enter the concave part 132 when the baffle 112 is not correctly assembled, and the assembling is prevented. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if the baffle 112 is used in common on the left and right sides, it is possible to reliably prevent erroneous assembly of the baffle 112.

  The through holes 120 and 122 and the clips 124 and 126 are not limited to two and may be three or more. In this case, as described above, at least two of them may have different shapes. Moreover, the recessed part 132 and the convex part 134 may each be provided in reverse.

  FIG. 8 is an end view taken along the line BB of FIG. The baffle 112 assembled to the flange surface 118 foams and expands during baking coating or the like in the manufacturing process, and between the wheel house outer 114 or the extension 116 shown in FIG. 8 and the outer panel 106 covering these from the outside of the arch shape. (The hollow space 136 of the wheel house 102) is closed. The baffle 112 not only contributes to the above-described noise prevention, but also has an effect of preventing the intrusion of water to prevent the generation of rust and preventing the entry of foreign matters such as dust.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this example. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the flange surface 118 is formed on the upper end 116a of the extension 116 that is relatively small (the arch shape is short). This is because the press working can be easily performed by forming the flange surface 118 on a relatively small side. In addition, since the direction where the flange surface 118 is formed is overlapped on the outer side (upper side) of the arch shape at the time of joining, the setting at the time of joining becomes more stable, that is, easier when the flange surface 118 is formed on the extension 116. It is. However, as a matter of course, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained by bending the lower end 114a of the wheel house outer 114 to the outside of the arch shape to form the flange surface 118. It may be formed.

  The present invention can be used for a wheel house of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Automobile, 102 ... Wheel house, 104 ... Side sill, 106 ... Outer panel, 108 ... Side sill strength, 110 ... Side sill reinforcement, 112 ... Baffle, 114 ... Wheel house outer, 114a ... Lower end, 116 ... Extension, 116a ... Upper end, 118 ... Flange surface, 120, 122 ... Through hole, 124, 126 ... Clip, 130 ... Water sealer, 132 ... Concave portion, 134 ... Convex portion, 136 ... Hollow space

Claims (5)

In the wheel house that surrounds the upper part of the wheel in an arch shape in the vehicle side view,
A wheel house outer forming a vehicle side surface of the wheel house;
An extension that extends downward from the lower end of the wheel house outer to extend the wheel house outer and forms the arch shape with the wheel house outer;
An outer panel that covers the wheel house outer and the extension from the outside of the arch shape,
A part of the lower end of the wheel house outer or the upper end of the extension is bent outward of the arch shape to form a flange surface,
The wheel house is further provided with a baffle that is assembled to the flange surface and closes a gap between the wheel house outer and the extension and the outer panel.   2. The wheel house according to claim 1, further comprising a water stop sealer that prevents water from entering the wheel house at a joint between the wheel house outer and the extension. The extension is smaller than the wheel house outer,
The upper end of the extension is overlapped and joined to the lower end of the wheel house outer from the outside of the arch shape,
The wheel house according to claim 1, wherein the flange surface is formed by bending an upper end of the extension. The flange surface has at least two through holes having different shapes,
The wheel house according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the baffle includes two clips having different shapes, which are fitted into the two through holes, respectively. A concave recess is formed on one side of the flange surface,
The wheel house according to claim 4, wherein a convex portion having a shape capable of entering the concave portion is formed on the baffle.

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