JP2020082778A - Engine undercover for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an engine undercover that prevents breakage during transport and upgrades workability for succeeding work.SOLUTION: An engine undercover 1 includes a cover body 10 having an access hole 11 formed in it, a lid 20 whose proximal edge 20a integrally joins the cover body 10 via a thin hinge 30 on a lateral margin 11a of a front part of the access hole 11, and lock means that locks the lid 20 into the cover body 10 at a position where the lid 20 blocks the access hole 11. An elastic claw 40 is formed on a distal edge 20b of the lid 20. The elastic claw 40 includes an elastic piece 41 projecting in a direction intersecting the lid 20, and a claw part 42 formed at a distal part of the elastic piece 41. When the claw part 42 hooks on a lateral margin 11b of a rear part of the access hole 11, the lid 20 is tentatively locked with an inclination of the lid 20 relative to the cover body 10 confined to an angle associated with a dimension of the elastic piece 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an engine undercover that covers a lower portion of an engine room of a vehicle.

Generally, in a vehicle such as an automobile, an engine under cover is attached to a lower side of an engine room. The engine under cover prevents mud, pebbles, and the like from entering the engine room during traveling, rectifies the air flow accompanying traveling, and prevents engine noise from leaking out of the vehicle. The engine undercover is provided with an opening and a lid that opens and closes the opening in order to enable various work such as inspection of the engine room after the vehicle body assembly work and normal maintenance. There is something.

The engine undercover disclosed in Patent Document 1 below includes a cover body having an opening formed therein, and a lid portion having one side edge integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge portion at one side edge of the opening portion. , Are provided. The lid part is locked to the cover body by the locking means at a position where the opening part is closed. The locking means is composed of a bolt and a nut that fasten the other side edge of the opening and the leading edge (the other side edge) of the lid portion that overlaps with the other side edge.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-76483

The engine under cover of Patent Document 1 is formed of a synthetic resin material and manufactured by injection molding or the like. The molding die used for manufacturing is configured in a state in which the lid is opened so that the leading edge of the lid and the other side edge of the opening do not overlap each other. Therefore, the molded engine undercover is in a state where the lid is opened in a natural state.

When the engine undercover is assembled to the vehicle body at the shipping destination, it is placed on a rack and conveyed. A plurality of slits are formed in the rack, and the engine undercovers are vertically arranged for each slit. At this time, since the lid portion projects toward the opening of the adjacent engine undercover, it may be caught in the adjacent opening. Therefore, when the engine undercover is taken out from the rack, the engine undercover may be damaged.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
A cover body with an opening formed,
A lid portion whose one side edge is integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge portion at one side edge of the opening;
Locking means for locking the cover to the cover body at a position where the cover closes the opening,
In a vehicle engine undercover equipped with
An elastic claw is formed on the other side edge of the lid part, and the elastic claw has an elastic piece protruding in a direction intersecting with the lid part, and a claw part formed at a tip end part of the elastic piece, When the claw portion is hooked on the other side edge of the opening portion, the lid portion is temporarily fixed while the inclination angle of the lid portion with respect to the cover body is limited to the angle corresponding to the dimension of the elastic piece. It is characterized by being done.

According to the above configuration, after the engine undercover is molded, the lid portion is temporarily fixed with the elastic claw, so that the protrusion amount of the lid portion with respect to the cover body is limited to a small amount. This prevents the lid part from being caught by other parts or the like when the engine undercover is transported. When the engine under cover is inspected through the opening after the engine under cover is mounted on the vehicle body, the lid projects from the engine under cover, so the lid can be easily opened. After the work, the lid is closed and the lid is locked to the cover body by the locking means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an engine undercover that prevents damage during transportation and improves workability of subsequent inspection work and the like.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle engine undercover according to the embodiment of the present invention seen from above the vehicle, showing a state in which a lid is opened. (A) It is an enlarged plan view of a main part of FIG. 1. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A, showing a state where the elastic claw is in contact with the cover body. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIB-IIB of FIG. 2, showing a state where the lid is temporarily fixed. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line IIIC-IIIC in FIG. 2, showing a state in which the lid is locked. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view showing a molding die for molding the same engine undercover, in a state in which the die is clamped and filled with a resin material corresponding to a portion along the line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A. Indicates. (B) It is a cross-sectional view showing the same molding die, showing a state in which the mold is opened after molding, corresponding to the portion along the line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2. It is the figure which expanded the circle part V of FIG. 4(A).

Hereinafter, a vehicle engine undercover that constitutes an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. To facilitate understanding, the front and rear of the vehicle and the left and right in the vehicle width direction are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, and the front and rear of the vehicle are shown in FIG. 2B.

An engine under cover 1 shown in FIG. 1 that covers an engine room (not shown) is attached to the lower side of the vehicle body. The engine under cover 1 is made of a hard synthetic resin plate material, and is molded by an injection molding method or another molding method. A substantially rectangular inspection port 11 (opening) is formed in the cover body 10 of the engine undercover 1. The inspection port 11 is used for checking for oil leaks in the engine room, wire breakages, and the like in the final process after the engine undercover 1 is assembled to the vehicle body in the vehicle manufacturing process.

As shown in FIG. 2, a lid portion 20 that closes the inspection port 11 is provided on the front side edge 11 a of the inspection port 11. The lid portion 20 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its base end edge 20a (front side edge) is connected to the front side edge 11a of the inspection port 11 via the thin hinge portion 30 and is integrated with the cover body 10. Is becoming The width of the lid portion 20 in the left-right direction (the up-down direction in FIG. 2A) is slightly smaller than the width of the inspection port 11 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 2B, in a natural state, the lid portion 20 inclines downward as it goes rearward from the hinge portion 30, and with the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, the leading edge 20b (rear portion) The side edge) is rotatable up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2A, two standing wall portions 12 projecting upward from the cover body 10 are provided around the inspection port 11 on the right side and the left side (the upper side and the lower side in FIG. 2A). And constitutes a side edge of the inspection port 11. These standing wall portions 12, 12 extend from the left and right ends of the front side edge 11a of the inspection port 11 to the vicinity of the center of the rear side edge 11b via the left and right sides of the inspection port 11, respectively, and surround the inspection port 11. There is. Each standing wall portion 12 is inclined toward the inside of the inspection port 11 as it goes upward. An eaves portion 13 that horizontally protrudes toward the inside of the inspection port 11 is provided from the top of each standing wall portion 12. At the center of the rear side edge 11b of the inspection port 11 in the left-right direction, the ends of the right standing wall 12 and the eaves 13 and the ends of the left standing wall 12 and the eaves 13 are hung from below. A suspension portion 14 is provided so as to pass. The suspension portion 14 has a U-shaped vertical cross section, and a bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14 extends horizontally forward from the cover body 10 that constitutes the rear side edge 11b of the inspection port 11.

The locking means for locking the lid 20 in the closed state will be described.
The engine undercover 1 is provided with a locking means for locking the lid 20 to the cover body 10 at a position where the lid 20 closes the inspection port 11 as shown in FIG. The lock means is formed on each of the cover body 10 side and the lid portion 20 side.

As the locking means on the cover body 10 side, as shown in FIG. 2A, the engagement holes 15 and 15 (first engagement) are formed in the standing wall portions 12 and 12 at the rear side edge 11b of the inspection port 11, respectively. Part) is provided and penetrates each standing wall part 12. Each engagement hole 15 has a long shape in the left-right direction (up-down direction in FIG. 2A).

As a locking means on the lid portion 20 side, the tip edge 20b of the lid portion 20 has a rectangular shape in a plan view at a position spaced apart in the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2A) corresponding to the engagement holes 15 and 15. Two shaped engaging claws 21 and 21 (second engaging portions) are provided. As shown in FIG. 2B, the tip of each engaging claw 21 is formed as an inclined surface 22 that inclines downward as it goes backward. As shown in FIG. 2A, a reinforcing rib 23 is provided on the upper surface of the lid portion 20 in front of each engaging claw 21, and extends to near the base end edge 20 a of the lid portion 20.

The lock operation of the lid portion 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(B) and 3(C).
When the lid portion 20 in the opened state shown in FIG. 3B is rotated upward with the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, the inclined surface 22 of the engaging claw 21 is moved to the standing wall portion 12 shown in FIG. 3C. The lid 20 moves while sliding along the lower part of the inner side, and the lid 20 closes the inspection port 11. At this time, the lid part 20 is locked to the cover body 10 by the engagement of the engagement claw 21 and the engagement hole 15 which constitute the locking means.

Next, the temporary holding means for holding the lid 20 in the open state will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3(B), the engine undercover 1 has a temporary holding means for temporarily fixing the lid 20 to the cover body 10 in a state where the lid 20 is opened from the cover body 10 by a certain amount. It is provided. The temporary holding means is provided on each of the cover body 10 side and the lid portion 20 side.

As a temporary holding means on the side of the lid 20, as shown in FIG. 2, an elastic claw 40 protruding upward is provided on the tip edge 20b of the lid 20. The elastic claw 40 is arranged at an intermediate position in the left-right direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2A) of the two engaging claws 21 on the lid portion 20, and at a position corresponding to the bottom portion 14 a of the suspension portion 14. Has been done. The elastic claw 40 has an elastic piece 41 extending in a direction intersecting with the lid section 20, and a claw section 42 formed at the tip of the elastic piece 41.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the claw portion 42 bulges in a direction away from the hinge portion 30. The claw portion 42 has, on the top thereof, a first chamfered portion 42a that is gently inclined downward as it goes backward, and a second chamfered portion 42b that is continuous with the first chamfered portion 42a and has a steeper inclination than the first chamfered portion 42a. The second chamfered portion 42b has a hooking portion 42c formed below the second chamfered portion 42b and inclined upward as it goes backward.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the width of the elastic claw 40 in the left-right direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2A) is the same as or smaller than the width of the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14. As will be described later, when the lid portion 20 is temporarily held in the open state, the elastic claw 40 is hooked on the bottom portion 14a, and the bottom portion 14a is provided as a temporary holding means on the cover body 10 side.
A reinforcing rib 43 is provided at the base end portion of the elastic piece 41, and is integrally connected to the front surface of the elastic piece 41 and the upper surface of the lid portion 20.

The temporary holding of the lid 20 will be described.
When the lid portion 20 in the opened state shown in FIG. 2 is rotated upward with the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, as shown in FIG. 3(A), the first chamfer is formed on the edge of the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14. The portion 42a abuts. When the lid portion 20 is further rotated, the elastic claw 40 elastically deforms so as to fall forward as the second chamfered portion 42b abuts on the edge of the bottom portion 14a and moves while sliding. As shown in FIG. 3(B), when the edge of the bottom portion 14a gets over the second chamfered portion 42b and reaches the hooking portion 42c, the elastic claw 40 elastically returns, and the hooking portion 41c is caught by the edge of the bottom portion 14a. The lid 20 is temporarily fixed to the bottom portion 14a with the lid 20 slightly opened. In the state where the lid 20 is temporarily held by the cover body 10, the inclination angle of the lid 20 with respect to the cover body 10 is limited to an angle corresponding to the size of the elastic piece 41. In the present embodiment, the lid portion 20 is inclined with respect to the cover body 10 with a gap such that a human finger is caught at the tip thereof. The lid portion 20 in the temporary holding state is subjected to the elastic force of the hinge portion 30 in the opening direction.

A manufacturing apparatus for the engine undercover 1 having the above structure will be described.
When manufacturing the engine undercover 1 having the cover body 10 and the lid portion 20 integrally by injection molding, a molding die 50 including an upper mold 51 and a lower mold 52 shown in FIG. 4 is used. The molding space 50a of the molding die 50 filled with the resin material is provided with the lid 20 so that the engine undercover 1 can be integrally manufactured only by vertically moving the upper die 51 and the lower die 52 without using a slide die. The front edge 20b and the cover body 10 on the rear side edge 11b side of the inspection port 11 are configured so as not to overlap each other. Specifically, in the molding die 50, the molding space 50a is configured to be molded in a state where the lid 20 is opened downward at an inclination of about 45 degrees, and the distal end edge 20b of the lid 20 and the inspection port 11 are formed. A separation distance L is set between the side edge 11b on the rear side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4(B), in order to allow the engine undercover 1 formed when the molding die 50 is opened to be pulled out from the lower die 52, as shown in FIG. The inclination angle θ ₁ of the second chamfered portion 42b and the angle θ ₂ formed by the sliding surface 50b of the upper die 51 and the lower die 52 when the molding die 50 moves are set to be equal. That is, the second chamfered portion 42b and the sliding surface 50b are parallel to each other. Thus, when the upper mold 51 and the lower mold 52 are moved up and down to open the mold, the second chamfered portion 42b can slide out of the corresponding shape of the lower mold 52 and come out of the lower mold 52.
As described above, it becomes possible to easily and inexpensively manufacture the engine undercover 1 having the above-mentioned configuration by using the simplified molding die 50 that does not use the slide die.

The engine under-cover 1 manufactured in this manner is conveyed by a rack (not shown) having a plurality of slits in order to be assembled to the vehicle body in the vehicle manufacturing process. The engine undercover 1 is arranged on the rack in a state in which each slit is vertically placed with its front end portion facing downward. At this time, by temporarily holding the lid 20 on the cover body 10, the amount of protrusion of the lid 20 with respect to the cover body 10 can be limited to a small amount. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lid 20 from being caught by the adjacent engine undercover. As a result, it is possible to prevent the engine undercover 1 from being damaged when taken out from the rack.

In the final step of assembling the engine undercover 1 to the vehicle body in the vehicle manufacturing process, the lid 20 is opened and the inspection port 11 is checked for oil leaks in the engine room, wire breaks, and the like. At this time, since the lid portion 20 temporarily held by the cover body 10 slightly projects from the cover body 10, it is possible to easily open it by putting a finger on the tip of the lid portion 20. After the inspection, by closing the lid portion 20, the lid portion 20 is locked to the cover body 10 by the locking means. Therefore, according to the engine under cover 1 of the present embodiment, the workability of the inspection work can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention.
The present invention can be applied to any vehicle having an engine arrangement such as a vehicle front, a vehicle rear, a vehicle front axle rear, and a vehicle rear axle front.
In the above-mentioned embodiment, the inspection port for inspection at the time of manufacturing the vehicle has been described as an example of the opening, but the present invention can be applied to other openings such as an opening for maintenance work and an opening for inserting the vehicle towing member.

The present invention can be applied to an engine undercover that covers a lower part of an engine room of a vehicle.

1 Engine undercover 10 Cover body 11 Inspection port (opening)
11a Front side edge of inspection port 11b Rear side edge of inspection port 12 Standing wall portion 13 Eaves portion 14 Suspension portion 14a Bottom portion (temporary holding means)
15 Engagement hole (first engagement part; locking means)
20 Lid 20a Proximal edge of lid (front side edge)
20b Tip edge of the lid portion (rear side edge)
21 Engaging claw (second engaging part; locking means)
22 inclined surface 23 reinforcing rib 30 hinge part 40 elastic claw (temporary holding means)
41 elastic piece 42 claw portion 42a first chamfered portion 42b second chamfered portion 42c latching portion 50 molding die 50a molding space 50b sliding surface 51 upper die 52 lower die

Claims (1)

A cover body with an opening formed,
A lid portion whose one side edge is integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge portion at one side edge of the opening;
Locking means for locking the cover to the cover body at a position where the cover closes the opening,
In a vehicle engine undercover equipped with
An elastic claw is formed on the other side edge of the lid part, and the elastic claw has an elastic piece protruding in a direction intersecting with the lid part, and a claw part formed at a tip end part of the elastic piece, When the claw portion is hooked on the other side edge of the opening portion, the lid portion is temporarily fixed while the inclination angle of the lid portion with respect to the cover body is limited to the angle corresponding to the dimension of the elastic piece. An engine undercover for a vehicle, which is characterized by:

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