JP2021127023A - Vehicle front part structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle front part structure which can utilize a shape unique to a front member to protect an electric power conversion device fixed to the front member from an impact force applied during a front collision of a vehicle with a simple structure.SOLUTION: The invention relates to a vehicle front part structure having: a front member 3 extending along a vehicle width direction of a vehicle and having a bending part 5 bending to the vehicle rear side at an end side; an electric power conversion device 11 disposed at the vehicle rear side of the front member 3; and a fixing member 21 which fixes the front member 3 and a front part as seen in a vehicle fore and aft direction of the electric power conversion device to each other. The fixing member 21 has a wall part 35 which is formed along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle on a back surface at the vehicle rear side of the front member. The wall part 35 extends along the vehicle rear side of the bending part 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to the front structure of a vehicle.

In electric vehicles (PHEV, EV, etc.), a system for controlling a motor is constructed by accommodating an inverter or a converter represented by a power conversion device in a power unit accommodating chamber formed in the front part of the vehicle.
By the way, power conversion devices are being made smaller and lighter. Taking advantage of this feature, the power conversion device is arranged in the front part of the power unit accommodation chamber, and the front member (front member in the front-rear direction of the vehicle) of the power conversion device and the front member arranged in the front part of the power unit accommodation chamber. Specifically, for example, a technique of fixing an upper bar extending in the vehicle width direction with a fixing bracket and installing a power conversion device in the front part of the power unit accommodation chamber is being studied.

However, if the power conversion device is placed at the front of the power unit accommodation chamber, it becomes difficult to secure the distance between the power conversion device and the front member. Therefore, when the vehicle hits the front, the impact force applied to the front member converts the power. The device is vulnerable to damage.
Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the power conversion device is supported above the front cross member by the tray structure, or a dedicated deformable member is separately provided between the tray structure and the power conversion device. The power converter is protected from impact force.

Japanese Patent No. 6269246

However, most of the protection of the power conversion device is an improved structure of the tray structure that separates the power conversion device from the front member. The above-mentioned front member and the front part of the power conversion device are fixed with a fixing bracket, and the power conversion device is protected. There is no consideration of a structure that installs the power unit in the front of the storage chamber.
Moreover, in order to protect the power conversion device by using the technique of Cited Document 1, a deformable member having a complicated structure is separately required. For this reason, problems such as cost burden and complexity have been pointed out, and technology that makes it possible to protect the power conversion device installed by fixing it to the front member from the impact force at the time of a front collision has been developed. It is requested.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to utilize the shape peculiar to the front member to protect the power conversion device fixed to the front member from the impact force at the time of a front collision of the vehicle with a simple structure. Is to provide.

Aspects of the present invention include a front member having a bent portion extending along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and bending to the rear side of the vehicle on the end side, a power conversion device arranged on the rear side of the vehicle of the front member, and a front member. It is a front structure of a vehicle having a fixing member for fixing the front part of the power conversion device in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the fixing member is formed on the back surface of the front member on the rear side of the vehicle along the vehicle width direction. It has a wall portion to be formed, and the wall portion extends along the rear side of the vehicle at the bent portion.

According to the present invention, the impact force applied to the front member at the time of a front collision of the vehicle is received by the wall portion of the fixing member extending along the vehicle width direction of the front member and the rear surface of the front member on the rear side of the vehicle. .. Then, the impact force is dispersed to the bent portion of the front member and the fixing member, and escapes through the other vehicle body skeleton members.
Due to the escape of this impact force, the backward displacement of the front member is suppressed, and the interference between the front member and the power conversion device is suppressed.

Therefore, the power conversion device fixed to the front member can be protected from the impact force at the time of a front collision by utilizing the shape peculiar to the front member (bent portion: present). Moreover, since the wall portion of the fixing member that receives the impact force also fixes the power conversion device, a separate structure for absorbing the impact is not required, and the burden on the simple and cost is small.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a structure in which a front member and a power conversion device arranged immediately after the front member according to an embodiment of the present invention are fixed by a fixing bracket (fixing member). An exploded perspective view of the main parts disassembled. The perspective view which shows the state which exposed the protector by removing the vibration suppression bracket (vibration suppression member). Cross-sectional view of the fixed bracket, vibration suppression bracket, and protector assembled.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to one embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.
FIG. 1 shows the front structure of a vehicle such as a PHEV or EV, and reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates a power unit accommodating chamber. Main equipment (not shown) constituting the power unit is housed in the power unit storage chamber 1.
Reference numeral 3 indicates an upper bar (corresponding to the front member of the present application) arranged on the upper side of the frontmost portion of the power unit accommodating chamber 1. The upper bar 3 extends along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Bent portions 5 that bend in a J shape toward the rear of the vehicle are formed on both end sides of the upper bar 3.

The linear upper bar portion sandwiched between the bent portions 5 is connected to a pair of side members 9 (only one side is shown) extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle via a support member 7 extending downward, and is a power unit. A skeleton is arranged around the containment chamber 1.
The power conversion device 11 is housed in close proximity to the upper bar 3 on one side of the power unit storage chamber 1. The power conversion device 11 is configured by housing a power conversion circuit, a control circuit, and the like in a housing, and is designed to be compact and lightweight. Because of such a power conversion device 11, the layout of the power conversion device 11 is realized on the rear side of the upper bar 3, for example, at a position closest to the bent portion 5. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 2, a terminal portion 15 that can be connected to the connector 13 of the external device is provided in the middle stage of the front portion (vehicle front-rear direction) of the power conversion device 11.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a protector 16 covering the connected connector 13 is detachably bolted to the middle stage (front portion) of the power conversion device 11. The structure of the protector 16 will be described later.
Fixed seats 17 are provided on both sides of the lower front portion of the power conversion device 11 with a predetermined span as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Further, boss-shaped fixed seats 19 are provided on both sides of the upper stage with a span shorter than that of the fixed seats 17. Incidentally, the terminal portion 15 and the connector 13 are arranged in the span of the fixed seat portion 17.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the front portion of the power conversion device 11 and the bent portion 5 and the periphery of the bent portion 5 of the upper bar 3 are fixed by the fixing bracket 21 on the front side (corresponding to the fixing member of the present application). NS. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear portion of the power conversion device 11 and the side member 9 are fixed by the fixing bracket 23 on the rear side, and the entire power conversion device 11 is installed. Of course, the power conversion device 11 may be installed only by fixing with the fixing bracket 21 on the front side.

In particular, the fixed bracket 21 uses a vibration suppression bracket 27 (corresponding to the vibration suppression member of the present application) described later in combination to move between the front portion of the power conversion device 11 and the bent portion 5 and the periphery of the bent portion 5 of the upper bar 3. It is fixed.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the main body of the fixing bracket 21 is a J-shaped upper wall that overlaps the upper surface of the bent portion 5 of the upper bar 3 and the upper surface of the periphery of the bent portion 5. It is configured to have a portion 31 and a wall portion 35 protruding downward from the rear end (power conversion device 11 side) of the upper wall portion 31 so as to overlap the back surface of the bent portion 5 and the back surface around the bent portion 5. NS. That is, the wall portion 35 extends to the rear side of the vehicle of the bent portion 5.

The upper wall portion 31 is provided with a pair of fixing portions 37a and 37b fixed to the upper bar 3. Further, on both lower ends of the wall portion 35, for example, a strip-shaped leg portion 39a (corresponding to the first leg portion of the present application) and a leg portion 39b (corresponding to the second leg portion of the present application) protruding toward the power conversion device 11 side are provided. It will be provided. Of these, the leg portion 39a arranged on the center side of the upper bar 3 of the wall portion 35 protrudes from the upper bar 3 side to the rear power conversion device 11, and the leg portion 39b arranged on the vehicle rear side of the wall portion 35 is It protrudes from the extending side of the wall portion 35 to the power conversion device 11.

The fixing portions 41 formed at the tip portions of the legs 39a and 39b are fixed to the fixed seat portions 17 of the power conversion device 11, respectively. By the way, bolting is used for fixing.
By fixing the power conversion device 11 with the fixing bracket 21, when the wall portion 35 receives the impact force applied to the upper bar 3 at the time of the front collision of the vehicle, it is transmitted to the bent portion 5 of the upper bar 3 and transmitted to other vehicle body skeleton members. Let it escape. The legs 39a and 39b of the fixing bracket 21 are provided with small holes 41a as positioning portions for positioning the fixing bracket 21.

By the way, by fixing the fixing portions 37a and 37b of the fixing bracket 21 on the upper surface of the upper bar 3, there is a structure in which a gap δ exists between the wall portion 35 of the fixing bracket 25 and the back surface of the upper bar 3. (Shown in FIG. 4), the design is designed to guarantee a manufacturing error of the fixing bracket 21.

The structure in which the fixing positions of the fixing brackets 21 are different, that is, the fixing portions 37a and 37b of the fixing brackets 21 are fixed at positions above the positions where the connectors 13 are connected, and the legs 39a and 39b of the fixing brackets 21 are fixed. Are fixed at a position below the position where the connector 13 is connected so that the maintenance work of the connector 13 is not hindered by each part of the fixing bracket 21.

Further, both the leg portion 39a and the leg portion 39b are inclined inward in the vehicle width direction toward the tip side, and when the impact force applied to the upper bar 3 exceeds a predetermined value at the time of a front collision, the leg portion The structure is such that the 39a and 39b are deformed to absorb the impact force, and the excessive backward displacement of the upper bar 3 is suppressed. For example, since the leg portion 39a protrudes from below the fixing portion 37a to which the upper bar 3 and the fixing bracket 21 are fixed, the leg portion 39a is deformed in a stepped manner in the height direction, and the leg portion 39b is deformed in a stepped manner in the height direction. Since the 21 is projected from the outside of the fixed portion 37b to which the 21 is fixed, the structure is such that the 21 is deformed so as to be folded inward.

On the other hand, the protector 16 is a component that protects the connector 13 from interference with the upper bar 3 when the upper bar 3 is excessively retracted and displaced.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the protector 16 receives power from an upper wall 51 that covers the immediate upper part of the connector 13 connected to the power conversion device 11 and a rear end portion (vehicle front-rear direction) of the upper wall 51. From the L-shaped leg portion 53 extending toward the fixed seat portion 19 on one side of the conversion device 11 and the side end portion (center side in the vehicle width direction) of the upper wall 51 on the vehicle width direction center side, the fixing portion It has an inverted L-shaped leg portion 57 (both corresponding to the fixed portion of the present application) extending toward the fixed seat portion 55 arranged between the 41.

That is, when the legs 53 and the tips of the legs 57 are detachably fixed to the power converter 11 by bolting, the protector 16 is fixed so as to surround the connector 13.
With this protector 16, even if the upper bar 3 is excessively retracted and displaced at the time of a front collision of the vehicle and the connector 13 may interfere with the upper bar 3, only the interference of the fragile connector 13 can be prevented.

On the other hand, the vibration suppression bracket 27 is composed of a plate-made component that suppresses vibration generated in the power conversion device 11. The vibration suppression bracket 27 is connected between a point where the power conversion device 11 tends to swing, for example, the upper side of the front portion of the power conversion device 11 and the upper surface of the upper bar 3, and the rigidity of the vibration suppression bracket 27 causes electric power. The vibration of the conversion device 11 is suppressed. Of course, the vibration suppression bracket 27, like the fixed bracket 2, has an intermediate portion that can be deformed when an impact force of a predetermined value or more is applied.

The vibration suppression bracket 27 and the fixing bracket 21 allow the connector 13 to be maintained (replaced or repaired) with a quick operation after the power conversion device 11 is installed.
Specifically, one side of the pair of left and right fixing portions 61 provided on the power conversion device 11 side of the vibration suppression bracket 27 and the leg portion 53 of the protector 16 are powered together by a common bolt member 65. It is fastened together with the fixed seat 19 of the conversion device 11. The remaining fixing portion 61 is bolted to the remaining fixing seat portion 19.

Similarly, the fixing portion 63 provided on the upper bar 3 side of the vibration suppression bracket 27 and the fixing portion 37b of the fixing bracket 21 are jointly fastened to the upper bar 3 with a common bolt member 65.
That is, after installing the power converter 11, simply removing the vibration suppression bracket 27 reduces the number of places where the protector 6 is fixed, so only the work of removing the minimum number of bolts holding the protector 16 is sufficient, which is quick. The structure is such that the connector 13 can be maintained.

Next, the operation of the front structure of the vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4.
Now, it is assumed that a front collision occurs in the vehicle and an impact force F is applied to the upper bar 3.
The impact force F causes the upper bar 3 to be displaced toward the rear side of the vehicle.
Here, since the upper bar 3 and the power conversion device 11 are close to each other (close), there is a concern that they may interfere with the power conversion device 11 as they are.

At this time, the main body of the fixing bracket 21 for fixing the upper bar 3 and the power conversion device 11 has a wall portion 35 along the back surface of the upper bar 3.
Therefore, the impact force F applied to the upper bar 3 is received by the wall portion 35 extending along the bent portion 5 of the upper bar 3. Then, the impact force F is dispersed to the bent portion 5 (bending direction) of the upper bar 3 through the wall portion 35 as shown by the arrow direction in FIG. 1, and escapes to other vehicle body skeleton members.

Due to the escape of the impact force, the backward displacement of the upper bar 3 is suppressed, and the interference of the power conversion device 11 is suppressed.
When an impact force F of a predetermined value or more is applied to the upper bar 3, the vibration suppressing bracket 27 and the legs 39a and 39b of the fixed bracket 21 begin to deform toward the rear side of the vehicle as shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, and the impact force F is applied. Absorb. As a result, excessive backward displacement of the upper bar 3 can be suppressed.

Further, since the connector 13 which is a fragile part of the power conversion device 11 is protected by the protector 16, interference with the connector 13 can be prevented even if the upper bar 3 is excessively retracted.
As described above, as in the present embodiment, the fixing bracket 21 is provided with a wall portion 35 along the back surface of the bent portion 5 so that the applied impact force F is released from the bent portion 5, so that the shape (bending portion) peculiar to the upper bar 3 is released. 5: Yes) can be utilized to protect the power conversion device 11 from the impact force at the time of a front collision of the vehicle. Moreover, since the wall portion 35 that receives the impact force F also serves as the fixing bracket 21, a separate structure for absorbing the impact is not required, and the burden on the simple and cost is small.

Further, the fixing bracket 21 can be deformed by the impact force F applied by using the legs 39a and 39b for fixing to the power conversion device 11 and by inclining the legs 39a and 39b in the vehicle width direction. Excessive backward displacement of 3 can be suppressed.
Moreover, since the connector 13 connected to the power converter 11 is protected by the protector 16, even if the upper bar 3 is excessively retracted, interference with the fragile connector 13 can be prevented.

When the connector 13 is arranged in the front middle stage of the power converter 11, the fixing portions 37a and 37b of the fixing bracket 21 fixed to the upper bar 3 are fixed above the connector 13 and fixed to the power converter 11. Since the legs 39a and 39b to be formed are fixed below the connector 13, the maintenance work of the connector 13 is not hindered by each part of the fixing bracket 21.

In addition, since the upper bar 3 and the power conversion device 11 are connected by a vibration suppression bracket 27, the vibration of the power conversion device 11 can be suppressed.
When the vibration suppression bracket 27 is arranged on the upper side of the power conversion device 11 in which vibration is particularly likely to occur to suppress vibration, the vibration suppression bracket 27 is arranged on the upper side of the fixed bracket 21 and the upper bar 3 side of the vibration suppression bracket 27 is arranged. , The fixing bracket 21 is fastened and fixed together with the fixing portion 37b, and the power conversion device 11 side of the vibration suppression bracket 27 is fastened and fixed together with the leg portion 53 of the protector 16 to quickly maintain the connector 13. Can be done.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be varied and implemented within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

3 Upper bar (front member)
5 Bending part 11 Power converter 13 Connector 16 Protector 21 Fixing bracket (fixing member)
27 Vibration suppression bracket (vibration suppression member)
35 Walls 37a, 37b Fixed bracket fixing 39a Fixed bracket legs (first leg)
39b Fixed bracket leg (second leg)
53,57 Protector legs (fixed part)
61, 63 Fixed part of vibration suppression member

Claims (6)

A front member having a bent portion extending along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and bending to the rear side of the vehicle on the end side, a power conversion device arranged on the rear side of the vehicle of the front member, and the front member and the power conversion. A fixing member that fixes the front part of the device in the front-rear direction of the vehicle,
The front structure of the vehicle with
The fixing member is
A wall portion formed along the vehicle width direction of the front member is provided on the rear surface of the front member on the rear side of the vehicle.
The front structure of a vehicle, characterized in that the wall portion extends along the vehicle rear side of the bent portion. The fixing bracket
A fixed portion fixed to the front member,
It has a first leg portion that protrudes from the front member side of the back wall portion to the power conversion device, and a second leg portion that protrudes from the extending side to the power conversion device on the vehicle rear side of the wall portion.
The front structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front structure of the power converter is fixed to the front portion of the power conversion device. A connector of an external device can be connected to the front part of the power converter in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
The vehicle front structure according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein a protector for protecting the connector is provided on the front portion of the power conversion device in the vehicle front-rear direction. The connector is arranged in the middle stage of the front part of the power converter in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
The fixing portion of the fixing bracket is fixed at a position above the position where the connector is connected.
The front structure of a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the first and second legs of the fixing bracket are fixed at a position lower than a position to which the connector is connected. Any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the front member and the front portion of the power conversion device in the vehicle front-rear direction are further connected by a vibration suppression member that suppresses vibration of the power conversion device. The front structure of the vehicle described in one. The vibration suppressing member is arranged on the upper side of the fixing bracket.
The protector has a fixed portion fixed to the power converter and has a fixed portion.
The fixing portion on the front member side of the vibration suppressing member is fixed to the front member together with the fixing portion of the fixing member.
The front portion of the vehicle according to any one of claims 5, wherein the fixing portion of the vibration suppression member on the power conversion device side is fixed to the power conversion device together with the fixing portion of the protector. structure.

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