JP2019131012A - Cowl structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cowl structure that can secure rigidity of a cowl panel and appropriately exert pedestrian protection performance.SOLUTION: In a vehicle 10 in which a cowl structure is applied, a lower end 20A of a windshield glass 20 is supported from a lower side of the vehicle by a cowl outer panel 12 extending in a width direction of the vehicle. Further, the cowl outer panel 12 is bonded to an upper end of a cowl inner panel 14, and the cowl inner panel 14 extends in an up-down direction of the vehicle as viewed from the side of the vehicle. Here, the cowl outer panel 12 includes a bent portion 12D provided at a bonded portion 13 to the cowl inner panel and having a thickness smaller than other portions of the cowl outer panel 12. Furthermore, the cowl inner panel 14 includes a bent portion 14G provided between the bonded portion 13 and a bonded portion 15 to a dash panel 18 and having a thickness smaller than other portions of the cowl inner panel 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowl structure.

  In Patent Document 1, as a cowl structure including a cowl panel that supports the lower end portion of the windshield glass, a cowl outer panel (cowl upper panel) that supports the windshield glass and a cowl inner panel joined to the cowl outer panel are disclosed. A configuration having an open cross-sectional structure is disclosed. In this prior art, a notch is provided in the cowl inner panel, and when a pedestrian collides with the vehicle, the cowl inner panel is bent starting from the notch. Thereby, the collision energy with respect to a pedestrian is absorbed.

JP 2005-193873 A

  However, if the collision energy to the pedestrian is absorbed by the technique described in Patent Document 1, the thickness of the cowl outer panel and the cowl inner panel is determined in order to obtain certainty that the cowl inner panel is deformed at the time of the collision. getting thin. For this reason, the rigidity of the cowl panel is lowered, and the stability during traveling of the vehicle and the function of suppressing noise and vibration are reduced.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a cowl structure capable of satisfactorily exhibiting pedestrian protection performance while securing the rigidity of the cowl panel.

  The cowl structure according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a cowl outer panel that extends in the vehicle width direction and supports the lower end portion of the windshield glass from the vehicle lower side, and extends in the vehicle width direction and is viewed from the side of the vehicle. A cowl inner panel extending in the vehicle vertical direction and having an upper end joined to the cowl outer panel, and a plate thickness is set thinner than other parts of the cowl outer panel, and the cowl inner panel of the cowl outer panel The first bent portion provided in the vicinity of the joint portion, the plate thickness is set thinner than other portions of the cowl inner panel, and the joint portion between the cowl outer panel and the cowl outer panel is joined to the front dash panel. And a second bent portion provided between the first and second portions.

  In the cowl structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper end portion of the cowl inner panel is joined to the cowl outer panel. Also, a first bent portion having a thickness set thinner than other portions of the cowl outer panel is provided in the vicinity of the joint portion of the cowl outer panel with the cowl inner panel. Furthermore, a second bent portion having a thickness set thinner than other portions of the cowl inner panel is provided between a joint portion of the cowl inner panel with the cowl outer panel and the front dash panel. Thereby, bending rigidity is set lower in the first bent portion and the second bent portion than in other portions.

  According to the above configuration, for example, when a pedestrian collides with the windshield glass of the vehicle and a collision load is input, the cowl outer panel is plastically deformed from the first bent portion, and the cowl inner panel is second bent. It is plastically deformed starting from the part. Thereby, the collision load is absorbed by the cowl outer panel and the cowl inner panel, and the protection performance of the pedestrian is exhibited well.

  On the other hand, the portions other than the first bent portion in the above-described cowl outer panel and the second bent portion in the cowl inner panel can have sufficient rigidity by being set to appropriate plate thicknesses.

  As described above, the cowl structure according to claim 1 has an excellent effect that the pedestrian protection performance can be satisfactorily exhibited while securing the rigidity of the cowl panel.

It is a front view which shows the cowl structure which concerns on this embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view which expands and shows the state cut | disconnected along 2-2 line | wire of FIG. In the cowl structure of FIG. 2, it is an expanded sectional view which shows a deformation | transformation when a collision body collides with the front lower end part vicinity of a windshield glass, Comprising: The state before a collision is shown as a continuous line, The state after a collision is a dashed-two dotted line It is shown by.

  The cowl structure according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, an arrow FR appropriately shown indicates the vehicle front side, an arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side, and an arrow RH indicates the vehicle right side when facing the traveling direction. Further, in the following description, when using the front / rear, up / down, and left / right directions, the front / rear direction of the vehicle, the up / down direction of the vehicle up / down direction, and the left / right direction in the traveling direction are indicated.

  FIG. 1 shows a front view of a main part of a vehicle 10 to which a cowl structure according to this embodiment is applied as viewed from the front of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state cut along line 2-2 in FIG. In FIG. 1, the windshield glass 20 is not shown for convenience of explanation.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cowl structure of the present embodiment includes a cowl outer panel 12 extending in the vehicle width direction, and a cowl inner panel 14 joined to the cowl outer panel 12. Has been. As an example, the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 are configured by substantially the same plate thickness and are made of steel plates. Further, both sides of the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 in the vehicle width direction are joined to a pair of cowl sides 16. The cowl side 16 is fixed to front pillars (not shown) provided on both sides of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction. Thus, the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 constitute a skeleton member of the vehicle 10 that connects the pair of left and right front pillars in the vehicle width direction via the cowl side 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cowl outer panel 12 is arranged with the vehicle width direction as a longitudinal direction along the lower surface of the lower end portion 20A of the windshield glass 20, and the lower end portion 20A of the windshield glass 20 is disposed on the vehicle lower side. I support from.

  Specifically, the cowl outer panel 12 includes a support portion 12A that extends along the windshield glass 20 in a vehicle side view. Further, the support portion 12A and the windshield glass 20 are fixed by an adhesive 22, and a seal member (not shown) is provided at a site on the vehicle rear side with respect to the adhesive 22. And the lower end part 20A of the windshield glass 20 is supported by the support part 12A from the vehicle lower side through this sealing member. Further, the cowl outer panel 12 includes an inclined wall portion 12B that extends obliquely from the rear end portion of the support portion 12A toward the vehicle lower side and the vehicle rear side. Further, a flange 12C extends from the rear end portion of the inclined wall portion 12B to the vehicle upper side and the vehicle rear side. A bent portion 12D is formed between the inclined wall portion 12B and the flange 12C.

  Here, the bending portion 12 </ b> D is set to be thinner than other portions of the cowl outer panel 12. For this reason, the bending rigidity in bending part 12D is lower than another site | part.

  A cowl inner panel 14 is joined to the flange 12C. As with the cowl outer panel 12, the cowl inner panel 14 is arranged with the vehicle width direction as the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 1). The cowl inner panel 14 extends substantially in the vehicle vertical direction as viewed from the side of the vehicle, and an upper flange 14A joined to the flange 12C is formed at the upper end of the cowl inner panel 14. Hereinafter, the joint portion between the flange 12C and the upper flange 14A will be described as the joint portion 13.

  The upper flange 14A is joined to the lower surface of the flange 12C of the cowl outer panel 12. The cowl inner panel 14 includes an upper inclined wall portion 14B extending from the front end portion of the upper flange 14A to the vehicle lower side and the vehicle front side. Further, an intermediate inclined wall portion 14C extends slightly from the lower end of the upper inclined wall portion 14B toward the vehicle lower side and the vehicle rear side. Thus, the upper side of the cowl inner panel 14 is bent toward the vehicle front side by the upper inclined wall portion 14B and the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C. Further, a bent portion 14G is formed between the upper inclined wall portion 14B and the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C. In other words, the upper side of the cowl inner panel 14 is formed in a substantially V-shaped cross section with the bent portion 14G as the bottom when viewed from the side of the vehicle and the vehicle rear side being opened.

  Further, similarly to the above-described bent portion 12D, the bent portion 14G has a lower plate thickness than other portions of the cowl inner panel, and the bending rigidity at the bent portion 14G is lower than other portions. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a lower vertical wall portion 14D extends from the lower end portion of the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C of the cowl inner panel 14 to the vehicle lower side. Further, a lower flange 14E extends from the lower end of the lower vertical wall portion 14D to the vehicle lower side and the vehicle front side.

  Further, a panel attachment portion 14F extends from the lower end portion of the lower flange 14E to the vehicle lower side and the vehicle front, and a not-shown cowl lower panel is attached to the panel attachment portion 14F. Further, a dash panel 18 that partitions a cabin from a vehicle front chamber (not shown) such as an engine room is joined to a surface of the lower flange 14E on the vehicle rear side. The dash panel 18 extends substantially vertically in the vehicle side view, and a lower end portion of the dash panel 18 is joined to a floor panel (not shown). Hereinafter, the joint portion between the lower flange 14 </ b> E and the dash panel 18 will be described as the joint portion 15.

  As described above, in the vicinity of the joint portion 13 of the cowl outer panel 12 with the cowl inner panel 14, the bent portion 12 </ b> D whose thickness is set thinner than other portions of the cowl outer panel is provided. Further, between the joint portion 13 of the cowl inner panel 14 with the cowl outer panel 12 and the joint portion 15 of the dash panel 18, a bent portion 14G having a plate thickness set thinner than other portions of the cowl inner panel 14. Is provided. When a collision load is input to the windshield glass 20 from the front side of the vehicle, the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 are plastically deformed starting from the bent portions 12D and 14G. That is, in the present embodiment, a portion of the cowl inner panel 14 on the vehicle upper side from the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C functions as a so-called crushable zone at the time of collision with a collision object. On the other hand, the vehicle upper side portion of the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C functions as a support portion that supports the crushable zone from the vehicle lower side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the above-described crushable zone (a portion above the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C of the cowl inner panel 14) and the support portion of the crushable zone (from the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C). The vehicle lower portion is disposed so as to overlap in the vehicle vertical direction.

  The bent portion 12D corresponds to the “first bent portion” in the present invention, and the bent portion 14G corresponds to the “second bent portion” in the present invention.

(Action and effect)
Next, functions and effects of the cowl structure according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the bent portion 12D formed between the inclined wall portion 12B and the flange 12C of the cowl outer panel 12 is set to be thinner than other portions of the cowl outer panel 12. Has been. Further, the bent portion 14G formed between the upper inclined wall portion 14B and the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C of the cowl inner panel 14 is set to be thinner than other portions of the cowl inner panel 14. Thereby, bending part 12D and bending part 14G set bending rigidity lower than other parts. As a result, compared with the case where the plate thickness of the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 is set to be constant, the protection performance of the pedestrian in the cowl structure of the vehicle is satisfactorily exhibited and sufficient rigidity can be secured. it can.

  The above effect is demonstrated based on the deformation | transformation aspect at the time of the collision body S colliding from the vehicle forward side in the vicinity of the lower end part 20A of the windshield glass 20 of the vehicle 10. FIG. In FIG. 3, the positions of the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 before the collision object S collides with the windshield glass 20 are indicated by solid lines, and the cowl outer panel after the collision object S has collided. 12 and the position of the cowl inner panel 14 are indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in this figure, when the collision object S collides with the windshield glass 20 of the vehicle 10 from the front side of the vehicle, the cowl outer panel 12 is plastically deformed starting from the bent portion 12D due to the collision load, and further, the cowl inner panel 14 Is plastically deformed starting from the bent portion 14G.

  Specifically, the inclined wall portion 12B of the cowl outer panel 12 is plastically deformed while rotating toward the vehicle lower side and the vehicle front side from the bent portion 12D. On the other hand, the upper inclined wall portion 14B of the cowl inner panel 14 is plastically deformed while rotating from the bent portion 14G to the vehicle lower side and the vehicle rear side. Thus, the collision load is absorbed by the portion of the cowl inner panel 14 on the vehicle upper side from the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C functioning as a so-called crushable zone. As a result, the protection performance of the collision object is exhibited well.

  On the other hand, in the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14, the portions other than the bent portion 12D and the bent portion 14G described above can be set to plate thicknesses that can sufficiently ensure the bending rigidity in the vehicle width direction. Thereby, the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 can ensure sufficient rigidity as a strong skeleton member that connects the front pillars disposed on both sides of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the rigidity of the vehicle 10 is increased, stability during traveling is improved, and noise and vibration can be suppressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, a portion functioning as a so-called crushable zone (a portion above the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C of the cowl inner panel 14) and the crushable zone are supported. To be overlapped in the vertical direction of the vehicle (portion below the intermediate inclined wall portion 14C of the cowl inner panel 14). Thereby, in the crushable zone, a stable reaction force can be obtained from the vehicle lower side by the support portion. As a result, the collision load can be efficiently absorbed in the crushable zone.

  In the present embodiment, the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 are configured with substantially the same thickness, but the present invention is not limited to this. The thicknesses of the cowl outer panel 12 and the cowl inner panel 14 may be set to different thicknesses.

  In the present embodiment, the upper side of the cowl inner panel 14 is bent toward the vehicle front side, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, you may bend to the vehicle rear side.

10 vehicle 12 cowl outer panel 12D bent portion (first bent portion)
13 joint 14 cowl inner panel 14G bent part (second bent part)
15 joint 20 windshield glass

Claims (1)

A cowl outer panel extending in the vehicle width direction and supporting the lower end of the windshield glass from the vehicle lower side;
A cowl inner panel extending in the vehicle width direction and extending in the vehicle vertical direction in a side view of the vehicle, and having an upper end joined to the cowl outer panel;
A plate thickness is set to be thinner than other portions of the cowl outer panel, and a first bent portion provided in the vicinity of a joint portion of the cowl outer panel with the cowl inner panel;
A plate thickness is set thinner than other portions of the cowl inner panel, and a second bent portion provided between a joint portion of the cowl inner panel with the cowl outer panel and a joint portion of the front dash panel; ,
With cowl structure.