JP2017154514A - Car body structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To firmly connect a damper housing made of an aluminum alloy and a tower bar to each other while avoiding increase in a weight and numbers of components.SOLUTION: On a top face of a damper housing 25 made of an aluminum alloy which supports a top edge of a damper, plural ribs 25b, which radially extend from a center of the top face, are formed. One end of a tower bar 27 is connected to a fitting seat 25c which connects adjacent ribs 25b of plural ribs 25b to each other. Consequently, a load on a connection of said one end of the tower bar 27 and the top face of the damper housing 25 is supported by the rib 25b, whereby the tower bar 27 can be firmly connected to the damper housing while reducing a weight in such a manner that a general wall thickness of the top face of the damper housing 25 is reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure for an automobile in which one end of a tower bar is connected to the upper surface of an aluminum alloy damper housing that supports the upper end of the damper.

  The left and right damper housings and the bracket provided at the center of the dash panel upper in the vehicle width direction are connected by a pair of left and right suspension stays (tower bars) arranged in a V shape, allowing input from the front wheels via the damper. A device that increases the rigidity of the damper housing with respect to a load is known from Patent Document 1 below.

Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-148978

  By the way, when the damper housing is made of an aluminum alloy casting, it is possible to freely set the thickness of each part, but in order to increase the strength of the tower bar mounting seat provided on the upper wall of the damper housing, If the entire upper wall of the damper housing is made thick, there is a problem that the weight of the damper housing increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to firmly connect an aluminum alloy damper housing and a tower bar while avoiding an increase in the number of parts and weight.

  To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of ribs extending radially from the center are formed on the upper surface of an aluminum alloy damper housing that supports the upper end of the damper. An automobile body structure is proposed in which one end of a tower bar is connected to a mounting seat connecting ribs adjacent to each other among ribs.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a vehicle body structure for an automobile is proposed in which the seating surface of the mounting seat is higher than the upper end of the rib.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the damper housing includes a pair of support walls for supporting a suspension arm on the lower surface of the damper housing, and the mounting seat is the pair of mounting seats. A vehicle body structure is proposed which is arranged between the support walls of the vehicle.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the structure of any one of claims 1 to 3, the dash panel lower is connected to the upper portion of the dash panel lower and opens upward. A dash panel upper; a bulkhead connected to an upper surface of a vehicle width direction central portion of the dash panel upper; a dash cross member connected to a lower portion of the dash panel lower and extending in the vehicle width direction; A vertical member connected to the rear surface, having an upper end connected to the bulkhead across the dash panel upper and a lower end connected to the dash cross member, and the other end of the tower bar sandwiched the dash panel upper A vehicle body structure is proposed which is connected to the bulkhead.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the configuration of claim 4, the bulkhead has a hat-shaped cross section whose lower surface is connected to the upper surface of the dash panel upper, and on the upper surface of the bulkhead. A vehicle body structure is proposed in which a windshield lower support is supported via a support member.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the structure of claim 5, the support member includes an upper support member connected to the windshield lower support and a lower support member connected to the bulkhead. A vehicle body structure characterized by comprising:

  According to the invention described in claim 7, in addition to the configuration of any one of claims 4 to 6, the bulkhead is connected to the dash panel upper and the dash panel lower in a three-layered manner. A vehicle body structure for an automobile is proposed in which the vertical members are connected to the dash panel upper and the dash panel lower in a stacked manner.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of any one of the first to seventh aspects, the tower bar is a first of a horizontally long cross section connected to a mounting seat of the damper housing. A vehicle body structure is proposed which comprises a portion and a second portion having a vertically long cross section connected to the dash panel upper.

  The rod-shaped portion 28 of the embodiment corresponds to the first portion of the present invention, the connecting portion 29 of the embodiment corresponds to the second portion of the present invention, and the lower support member 39 of the embodiment corresponds to the first portion of the present invention. Corresponding to the support member, the upper support member 40 of the embodiment corresponds to the support member of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the plurality of ribs extending radially from the center are formed on the upper surface of the aluminum alloy damper housing that supports the upper end of the damper, and the adjacent ribs among the plurality of ribs are connected to each other. Since one end of the tower bar is connected to the mounting seat, supporting the load at the connection between one end of the tower bar and the upper surface of the damper housing reduces the general thickness of the upper surface of the damper housing, reducing the weight. The tower bar can be firmly connected while reducing.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the seating surface of the mounting seat is higher than the upper end of the rib, the tower bar can be firmly connected to the mounting seat without interfering with the rib.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the damper housing includes a pair of support walls for supporting the suspension arm on the lower surface of the damper housing, and the mounting seat is disposed between the pair of support walls. The mounting seat can be reinforced.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the dash panel lower, the dash panel upper connected to the upper portion of the dash panel lower and opening upward, and the bulkhead connected to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction central portion of the dash panel upper. A dash cross member connected to the lower part of the dash panel lower and extending in the vehicle width direction, connected to the rear surface of the dash panel lower, connected to the bulkhead across the dash panel upper, and connected to the bulkhead with the lower end connected to the dash cross member Since the other end of the tower bar is connected to the bulkhead across the dash panel upper, even if the cross member cannot be placed inside the dash panel upper, The load is transmitted to the dash cross member via the bulkhead and vertical member. In, it is possible to ensure the supporting rigidity of the tower bar.

  According to the configuration of claim 5, the bulkhead has a hat-shaped cross section whose lower surface is connected to the upper surface of the dash panel upper, and the windshield lower support is supported on the upper surface of the bulkhead via the support member. Since the support member is connected to a strong bulkhead and does not easily fall from side to side, the support rigidity of the windshield lower support and the tower bar is increased.

  Further, according to the configuration of claim 6, the support member is composed of the upper support member connected to the windshield lower support and the lower support member connected to the bulkhead. The assembling property is improved as compared with the case of doing so.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the bulkhead is connected to the dash panel upper and the dash panel lower by three sheets, and the vertical member is connected to the dash panel upper and the dash panel lower by three sheets. The dash panel upper, the dash panel lower and the vertical member can be firmly connected while avoiding the connection of four sheets.

  According to the configuration of the eighth aspect, the tower bar includes the first portion having a horizontally long cross section connected to the mounting seat of the damper housing and the second portion having a long long cross section connected to the dash panel upper. Loads in various directions input to the housing can be efficiently transmitted to the dash panel upper.

The perspective view of the vehicle body front part of a motor vehicle. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of arrows 5 in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present specification, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the up-down direction are defined with reference to an occupant seated in the driver's seat.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the front part of a vehicle body includes a floor panel 11 constituting a floor surface of a passenger compartment, and a pair of left and right side sills 12, 12 extending in the front-rear direction along both sides of the floor panel 11 in the vehicle width direction. A pair of left and right front pillar lowers 13 and 13 standing from the front ends of the left and right side sills 12 and 12, and a pair of left and right front pillar uppers 14 and 14 extending rearward and upward from the upper ends of the left and right front pillar lowers 13 and 13, A dash panel lower 15 standing up from the front end of the floor panel 11 and connecting the left and right front pillar lowers 13 and 13, a pair of left and right front side frames 16 and 16 extending forward from the front end of the floor panel 11, and left and right front pillars A pair of left and right upper members 18, 18 extending forward from the upper ends of the lower 13, 13, and left and right upper members 18, And a pair of left and right lower member 19, 19 extending forward and downward and the vehicle width direction inner side from 8 front end of.

  Further, the front part of the vehicle body includes a pair of left and right connecting members 20, 20 that connect the front ends of the left and right front side frames 16, 16 and the front ends of the left and right lower members 19, 19 in the vehicle width direction, and a left and right connecting member 20. , 20, a pair of left and right bumper beam extensions 21, 21 connected to the front surface, a bumper beam 22 connecting the front ends of the left and right bumper beam extensions 21, 21 in the vehicle width direction, and left and right bumper beam extensions 21, 21 A rectangular frame-shaped front bulkhead 23 supported between the rear ends, and a pair of left and right front bulkheads connecting the upper left and upper right corners of the front bulkhead 23 to the middle portions of the left and right lower members 19, 19. Upper side 24, 24, left and right front side frames 16, 16 Fine left and right upper members 18, 18 while it is connected with the cast aluminum alloy of the pair of left and right dampers housings 25, 25.

  A dash panel upper 26 formed in a groove shape that opens upward from the upper end of the dash panel lower 15 protrudes forward. The front of the dash panel upper 26 in the center in the vehicle width direction, the left and right damper housings 25, The upper surface of 25 is connected by a tower bar 27 that expands in a V shape toward the front. The tower bar 27 includes a pair of left and right rod-shaped portions 28, 28 formed in a straight line, and a V-shaped connection portion 29 that integrally connects the left and right rod-shaped portions 28, 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the upper surface of the damper housing 25 has a circular opening 25a into which an upper end of a damper (not shown) is fitted, and a plurality of ribs 25b extending radially around the opening 25a. It is formed. An elliptical mounting seat 25c is formed so as to connect the two ribs 25b, 25b extending forward from the opening 25a, and the seating surface of the mounting seat 25c is more than the upper ends of the two ribs 25b, 25b. It is high.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a support wall 25e substantially parallel to the support wall 25d, which is a part of the front wall extending in the vehicle width direction, is formed on the lower surface of the damper housing 25 and extends in the vehicle width direction. A support wall 25g that is substantially parallel to the support wall 25f that is a part of the rear wall is formed, and the front and rear joints 31 and 32 of the U-shaped suspension arm 30 that support the front wheels are connected to a pair of front walls. It is supported between the support walls 25d and 25e and between the pair of rear support walls 25f and 25g. The mounting seat 25c of the damper housing 25 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between a pair of front support walls 25d and 25e that support the front joint 31.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rod-like portion 28 of the tower bar 27 is a pipe member that is flat in the vertical direction, and a bolt 34 that penetrates the collar 33 inserted into the tip portion from the top to the bottom is screwed into the mounting seat 25c. Thus, the rod-shaped portion 28 is connected to the seating surface of the mounting seat 25c. At this time, since the seating surface of the mounting seat 25c is higher than the upper surfaces of the ribs 25b and 25b, the rod-shaped portion 28 does not interfere with the ribs 25b and 25b.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a bulkhead 35 is provided at the center of the dash panel upper 26 in the vehicle width direction. The bulkhead 35 is a hat-shaped member having a rectangular upper wall 35a extending in the front-rear direction, a pair of left and right trapezoidal side walls 35b, 35b extending downward from both side edges in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall 35a, A pair of left and right flanges 35c and 35c are provided by bending the lower ends of the left and right side walls 35b and 35b outward in the vehicle width direction.

  The dash panel upper 26 that opens upward includes a bottom wall 26a, a front wall 26b that rises forward and upward from the front end of the bottom wall 26a, a rear wall 26c that rises rearward and upward from the rear end of the bottom wall 26a, and a front end of the front wall 26b. The front flange 26d is bent forward, and the rear flange 26e is bent rearward at the rear end of the rear wall 26c. The left and right flanges 35c, 35c of the bulkhead 35 are connected to the upper surfaces of the front wall 26b, the rear wall 26c, and the rear flange 26e of the dash panel upper 26, and the front end of the upper wall 35a of the bulkhead 35 is in front of the dash panel upper 26. It is connected to the upper surface of the part flange 26d.

  A dash cross member 36 having an L-shaped cross section and extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed at a connecting portion between the lower end of the dash panel lower 15 and the front end of the floor panel 11. The dash cross member 36 forms a closed cross section.

  Further, the vertical member 37 disposed in the vertical direction on the rear surface of the dash panel lower 15 is a member having a hat-shaped cross section, and a pair of left and right side walls formed by bending the rear wall 37a and both side edges in the vehicle width direction of the rear wall 37a forward. 37b, 37b, a pair of left and right flanges 37c, 37c in which the front ends of the left and right side walls 37b, 37b are bent outward in the vehicle width direction, and an upper wall 37d in which the upper end is bent rearward and upward. The vertical member 37 has an upper wall 37 d and left and right flanges 37 c, 37 c connected to the rear surface of the dash panel lower 15, and an entire lower end portion connected to the upper surface of the dash cross member 36.

  At a position above the upper end of the vertical member 37, the flanges 35c, 35c of the bulkhead 35, the rear wall 26c of the dash panel upper 26, and the dash panel lower 15 are overlapped and welded w1, w1 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 2). 3).

  Further, notches 35d and 35d are formed in the left and right flanges 35c and 35c of the bulkhead 35 that abuts the rear wall 26c of the dash panel upper 26. The rear wall 26c, the dash panel lower 15, and the upper wall 37d of the vertical member 37 are welded w2 and w2 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) in a three-ply manner.

  The rear flange 26e of the dash panel upper 26 is connected to a flange 38a at the rear end of the windshield lower support 38 disposed so as to cover the upper portion of the dash panel upper 26. The upper end of the lower support member 39 whose lower end is connected to the upper wall 35 a of the bulkhead 35 is connected to the lower end of the upper support member 40 whose upper end is connected to the lower surface of the windshield lower support 38.

  The connecting portion 29 of the tower bar 27 has a closed cross section which is flat in the front-rear direction by connecting the front member 41 and the rear member 42, and has two collars 43, 43 sandwiched between the center portions in the vehicle width direction. Bolts 44, 44 penetrating from the front to the rear are screwed into nuts 45, 45 provided on the flanges 35 c, 35 c of the bulkhead 35, so that they are connected to the front surface of the front wall 26 b of the dash panel upper 26.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

  When the load inputted from the road surface to the front wheels is transmitted to the upper surfaces of the aluminum alloy damper housings 25 and 25 via the dampers and the suspension arms 30 and 30, the damper housings 25 and 25 are moved in the vehicle width direction or front and rear by the load. Although the left and right damper housings 25, 25 are connected to the dash-barnel upper 26 via the tower bar 27, the support rigidity of the damper housings 25, 25 with respect to the vehicle body is increased to suppress the collapse. Is done.

  At this time, a large load is applied in the vicinity of the mounting seat 25c of the damper housing 25 to which the front end of the tower bar 27 is connected, but the mounting seat 25c has a plurality of ribs 25b formed radially on the upper surface of the damper housing 25. Of the two ribs 25b, 25b (see FIG. 1), the mounting seat 25c is reinforced by the ribs 25b, 25b and the connection with the tower bar 27 is disconnected. Can be prevented.

  Since the thickness of each part of the damper housing 25, which is an aluminum alloy cast member, can be arbitrarily set, the strength of the mounting seat 25c can be increased by thickening the entire upper wall of the damper housing 25. However, in this case, there is a problem that the weight of the damper housing 25 increases. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the mounting seat 25c can be effectively reinforced only by providing the thin ribs 25b, the strength of the mounting seat 25c can be increased while avoiding an increase in the weight of the damper housing 25. it can.

  In particular, since the seating surface of the mounting seat 25c is higher than the upper ends of the ribs 25b (see FIG. 6), the tower bar 27 can be firmly connected to the mounting seat 25c without interfering with the ribs 25b. In addition, the lower surface of the damper housing 25 is provided with a pair of support walls 25d and 25e for supporting the joint 31 at the front end of the suspension arm 30, and the mounting seat 25c is disposed between the pair of support walls 25d and 25e (see FIG. 5). ), The mounting seat 25c can be reinforced using the strong support walls 25d and 25e.

  Further, the bulkhead 35 is connected to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction center portion of the dash panel upper 26, the dash cross member 36 extending in the vehicle width direction is connected to the lower portion of the dash panel lower 15, and the vertical member is connected to the rear surface of the dash panel lower 15. 37, the upper end of the vertical member 37 is connected to the bulkhead 35 with the dash panel upper 26 interposed therebetween, and the lower end is connected to the dash cross member 36, so that the cross member cannot be disposed inside the dash panel upper 26. Even if it exists, the load input into the dash panel upper 26 from the tower bar 27 to the dash panel upper 26 is increased by increasing the rigidity of the dash panel upper 26 to which the connecting portion 29 in the vehicle width direction of the tower bar 27 is connected. 37 to efficiently transmit to the dash cross member 36, It is possible to ensure the supporting rigidity of the PowerBar 27.

  The bulkhead 35 is a strong member having a hat-shaped cross section whose lower surface is connected to the upper surface of the dash panel upper 26, and a windshield lower support 38 via the lower support member 39 and the upper support member 40 on the upper surface of the bulkhead 35. Therefore, the lower support member 39 and the upper support member 40 are not easily tilted to the left and right, and the support rigidity of the windshield lower support 38 and the tower bar 27 is increased. In addition, since the lower support member 39 and the upper support member 40 are divided as separate members, the assembly is made in a narrow space sandwiched between the bulkhead 35 and the windshield lower support 38 as compared with the case where they are configured as a single member. Adhesiveness is improved.

  Although the four-layer spot welding may not obtain a sufficient welding strength, the bulkhead 35, of the four members of the bulkhead 35, the dash panel upper 26, the dash panel lower 15 and the vertical member 37, The dash panel upper 26 and the dash panel lower 15 are welded w1 and w1 in a three-ply manner, and are welded w2 and w2 in three layers on the vertical member 37, the dash panel upper 26 and the dash panel lower 15 (see FIG. 2 and A sufficient weld strength can be obtained.

  Further, the tower bar 27 includes horizontally long bar-like portions 28 and 28 connected to the mounting seats 25c and 25c of the damper housings 25 and 25 (see FIGS. 2 and 6), and a vertically long cross-section connecting portion connected to the dash panel upper 26. 29 (see FIG. 3), loads in various directions inputted from the damper to the damper housing 25 can be efficiently transmitted to the dash panel upper 26.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

15 Dash panel lower 25 Damper housing 25b Rib 25c Mounting seat 25d Support wall 25e Support wall 26 Dash panel upper 27 Tower bar 28 Bar-shaped part (first part)
29 Connecting part (second part)
30 Suspension arm 35 Bulkhead 36 Dash cross member 37 Vertical member 38 Windshield lower support 39 Lower support member (support member)
40 Upper support member (support member)

Claims (8)

  A plurality of ribs (25b) extending radially from the center are formed on the upper surface of an aluminum alloy damper housing (25) that supports the upper end of the damper, and the ribs (25b) adjacent to each other among the plurality of ribs (25b) are formed. 1) A vehicle body structure for an automobile, wherein one end of a tower bar (27) is connected to a mounting seat (25c) connecting the two.   The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein a seating surface of the mounting seat (25c) is higher than an upper end of the rib (25b).   The damper housing (25) has a pair of support walls (25d, 25e) for supporting the suspension arm (30) on the lower surface thereof, and the mounting seat (25c) is disposed between the pair of support walls (25d, 25e). The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body structure is a vehicle body structure.   A dash panel lower (15), a dash panel upper (26) connected to the upper portion of the dash panel lower (15) and opening upward, and connected to the upper surface of the center of the dash panel upper (26) in the vehicle width direction A bulkhead (35), a dash cross member (36) connected to the lower part of the dash panel lower (15) and extending in the vehicle width direction, connected to a rear surface of the dash panel lower (15), and having an upper end A vertical member (37) connected to the bulkhead (35) across the dash panel upper (26) and having a lower end connected to the dash cross member (36); The end is connected to the bulkhead (35) with the dash panel upper (26) in between. Body structure of a vehicle according to any one of.   The bulkhead (35) has a hat-shaped cross section whose lower surface is connected to the upper surface of the dash panel upper (26), and a windshield lower is provided on the upper surface of the bulkhead (35) via a support member (39, 40). 5. The vehicle body structure according to claim 4, wherein the support is supported.   The support members (39, 40) include an upper support member (40) connected to the windshield lower support (38) and a lower support member (39) connected to the bulkhead (35). The vehicle body structure according to claim 5, wherein the vehicle body structure is a feature.   The bulkhead (35) is connected to the dash panel upper (26) and the dash panel lower (15) in a three-layered manner, and the vertical member (37) is connected to the dash panel upper (26) and the dash panel lower ( The vehicle body structure according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the vehicle body structure is connected to 15) in a three-ply manner. The tower bar (27) includes a first portion (28) having a horizontally long cross section connected to a mounting seat (25c) of the damper housing (25) and a second portion having a long cross section connected to the dash panel upper (26). The vehicle body structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by comprising (29).

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