JP2023063082A - Vehicle front part structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle front part structure which enables further improvement of steering stability.SOLUTION: A vehicle front part structure includes: a cowl panel 10; a motor bracket 12 fixed onto the cowl panel 10; and a suspension tower brace 16 which extends along a vehicle width direction at the front relative to the cowl panel 10 and is fixed at both ends as seen in the vehicle width direction to a pair of front suspension towers 14. At a center fastening point 40c set at a center as seen in the vehicle width direction of the suspension tower brace 16, the suspension tower brace 16, the motor bracket 12, and the cowl panel 10 are overlapped in a thickness direction and fastened to each other in the overlapping state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

This specification discloses a vehicle front structure having a cowl panel and a suspension tower brace.

Distortion and flexing of the vehicle body (hereinafter referred to as "distortion and the like") cause deterioration in the steering stability of the vehicle. Therefore, conventionally, a reinforcing member called a brace has been provided in a vehicle in order to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body and, by extension, the steering stability. For example, a pair of front suspension towers are provided at the front of a vehicle, and in order to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body, it has been proposed to provide a suspension tower brace straddling the pair of front suspension towers. . The suspension tower brace is a reinforcing member elongated in the vehicle width direction, and both ends of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction are fixed to the front suspension tower. By providing such a suspension tower brace, deformation of the vehicle body is inhibited by the suspension tower brace, so that the rigidity of the vehicle body and, in turn, the steering stability can be improved.

JP 2020-019422 A

However, if the rigidity of the suspension tower brace is insufficient, the rigidity of the vehicle body cannot be sufficiently improved. Of course, if the thickness of the suspension tower brace is increased, the rigidity can be increased, but in this case, another problem of increased weight is caused.

Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of connecting the vehicle width direction center of a suspension tower brace (referred to as a "cowl front member" in Patent Document 1) to a cowl panel via a wiper support bracket. That is, in Patent Document 1, the front portion of the wiper support bracket is connected to the cowl panel, and the rear portion thereof is connected to the suspension tower brace via bolts.

According to the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction is supported by the wiper support bracket, so that distortion or the like of the central portion of the suspension tower brace can be suppressed to some extent. However, since the strength of the wiper support bracket alone is not so high, even if the wiper support bracket is fastened to the wiper support bracket, distortion or the like at the central portion of the suspension tower brace cannot be sufficiently suppressed. As a result, the conventional technology cannot sufficiently improve the steering stability.

Therefore, the present specification discloses a vehicle front structure that can further improve steering stability.

The vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification includes a cowl panel, a motor bracket fixed on the cowl panel, and a pair of motor brackets extending forward of the cowl panel in the vehicle width direction. and a suspension tower brace fixed to the front suspension tower of the suspension tower, wherein the suspension tower brace, the motor bracket, and the cowl panel are aligned in the thickness direction at a central fastening point set at the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction. It is characterized in that it is fastened to each other in a state of being superimposed on each other.

With such a configuration, the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction is supported by both the cowl panel and the motor bracket, so that distortion or the like of the suspension tower brace at the center in the vehicle width direction can be effectively suppressed. As a result, the rigidity of the vehicle body and, by extension, the steering stability can be further improved. Here, "the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction" means a certain range including the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction. means within the area of

The motor bracket has a bead elongated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It may be located on an extension of the ridge defining the directional edge.

With such a configuration, the load applied to the suspension tower brace can be received by the standing wall on one side of the bead, so deformation of the motor bracket and the suspension tower brace can be more reliably suppressed. And thereby, steering stability can be improved more.

Further, the suspension tower brace may be fastened to the cowl panel by being overlapped in the thickness direction at positions on both sides of the central fastening point in the vehicle width direction.

With such a configuration, deformation of the suspension tower brace is more reliably suppressed, and steering stability can be further improved.

In addition, the motor bracket mounted on the left-hand drive vehicle has a shape and arrangement in which the motor bracket mounted on the right-hand drive vehicle is horizontally inverted about the vehicle front-rear direction axis passing through the central fastening point. good too.

With such a configuration, there is no need to change the shape of the suspension tower brace and the cowl panel between the left-hand drive vehicle and the right-hand drive vehicle, and an increase in the number of types of parts to be handled by the manufacturer can be suppressed.

According to the vehicle front structure disclosed herein, steering stability can be further improved.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a front portion of a vehicle; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view around a suspension tower brace; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the A part of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 with the suspension brace removed; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a difference in shape between a motor bracket for a right-hand drive vehicle and a motor bracket for a left-hand drive vehicle;

The vehicle front structure will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle front portion. In addition, in FIG. 1, only main elements are illustrated, and illustration of other elements is omitted. In each drawing, "Fr", "Up", and "Rh" indicate the front, upper, and right sides of the vehicle, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, a front compartment 22, which is a space in which parts (not shown) such as a prime mover are arranged, is provided in front of the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The front compartment 22 is separated from the passenger compartment by the dash panel 18 . A bumper reinforcement 19 elongated in the vehicle width direction is arranged at the front end of the front compartment 22 . Front side members 20 extend rearward of the vehicle from both ends of the bumper reinforcement 19 in the vehicle width direction.

A cowl panel 10 elongated in the vehicle width direction is arranged above the dash panel 18 . The cowl panel 10 is a panel material that fills the gap between the front end of the windshield (not shown) and the rear end of the hood (not shown). A wiper (not shown) and its related parts are arranged on the upper side of the cowl panel 10 . A motor bracket 12 is fixed to the center of the cowl panel 10 in the vehicle width direction, and the motor bracket 12 holds a wiper motor (not shown) for driving the wiper.

A suspension tower brace 16 elongated in the vehicle width direction is arranged in front of the cowl panel 10 . The suspension tower brace 16 is a reinforcing member provided to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body and, in turn, the steering stability. Both ends of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction are bolted to the upper surface of a front suspension tower (hereinafter referred to as "Fr suspension tower") 14 . By fastening both ends of the suspension tower brace 16 to the Fr suspension tower 14, the suspension tower brace 16 functions as a "stick bar" that prevents distortion of the vehicle body, so that distortion of the vehicle body can be suppressed to some extent.

However, even if both ends of the suspension tower brace 16 are fastened to the Fr suspension tower 14, if the intermediate portion of the suspension tower brace 16 is free, the distortion of the suspension tower brace 16 at the intermediate portion, etc., and eventually the rigidity of the vehicle body will be effectively reduced. Uncontrollable. Therefore, in this example, part of the suspension tower brace 16 is bolted to the cowl panel 10 . This will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view around the suspension tower brace 16. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the A portion of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 with the suspension tower brace 16 removed. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4. FIG.

As is clear from FIG. 3 , the suspension tower brace 16 is constructed by combining an upper brace 30 and a lower brace 32 . The brace upper 30 has a hat-shaped cross section that opens downward. Specifically, the brace upper 30 includes a groove-shaped main portion 30m that opens downward, a front flange 30f that projects forward from the front end of the main portion 30m, and a rear flange that projects rearward from the rear end of the main portion 30m. and a flange 30r. In addition, the brace lower 32 has a hat-shaped cross section that opens upward. Specifically, the brace lower 32 includes a groove-shaped main portion 32m that opens upward, a front flange 32f that projects forward from the front end of the main portion 32m, and a rear flange that projects rearward from the rear end of the main portion 32m. 32r and . The suspension tower brace 16 is constructed by welding front flanges 30f and 32f and rear flanges 30r and 32r of the brace upper 30 and brace lower 32 together.

Hereinafter, the portion composed of the front flange 30f and the front flange 32f is referred to as the "front flange 16f" of the suspension tower brace 16, and the portion composed of the rear flange 30r and the rear flange 32r is referred to as the "rear flange 16f" of the suspension tower brace 16. 16r”.

As shown in FIG. 2, fastening points 40a that are bolted to the Fr suspension tower 14 are set near both ends of the front flange 16f. A hole through which a bolt is inserted is formed in the fastening point 40a. Further, three fastening points 40b, 40c, and 40d are set at intervals in the vehicle width direction in a portion of the rear flange 16r inside the Fr suspension tower 14 in the vehicle width direction. A hole through which a bolt is inserted is formed at each fastening point 40b, 40c, 40d. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the locations where the fastening points 40b, 40c, and 40d are formed protrude toward the rear of the vehicle compared to other portions.

The suspension tower brace 16 is bolted to the cowl panel 10 at these fastening points 40b, 40c, and 40d. Of these components, the suspension tower brace 16 is overlapped with the cowl panel 10 in the thickness direction at fastening points 40b and 40d and bolted. Also, the suspension tower brace 16 overlaps the cowl panel 10 and the motor bracket 12 in the thickness direction at fastening points 40c and is bolted to them. The fastening point 40c is positioned near the center of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction. This fastening point 40c is hereinafter referred to as the "central fastening point 40c".

Next, the cowl panel 10 and the motor bracket 12 will be explained. The cowl panel 10 is a panel material that fills the gap between the windshield and the hood, as described above. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cowl panel 10 of this example has a groove 10a elongated in the vehicle width direction. The cowl panel 10 is fastened to the suspension tower brace 16 at three fastening points 40b, 40c and 40d.

A motor bracket 12 is fixed to the upper side of the cowl panel 10 . The motor bracket 12 is a bracket that holds a wiper motor that drives the wiper. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the motor bracket 12 has a central portion that protrudes upward away from the cowl panel 10, forming a bead 12a that is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and protrudes upward. there is The periphery of this bead 12a contacts the surface of the cowl panel 10 and is joined by welding. Accordingly, a housing space 13 (see FIG. 5) for housing the wiper motor is formed between the cowl panel 10 and the bead 12a.

The vicinity of the front end of the motor bracket 12 functions as a fastening area 12p to be fastened to the suspension tower brace 16 together with the cowl panel 10. As shown in FIG. A central fastening point 40c is set in this fastening area 12p.

Here, as is clear from the above description, both ends of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction are fastened to the Fr suspension tower 14 in this example. Furthermore, in this example, the suspension tower brace 16, the cowl panel 10, and the motor bracket 12 are overlapped in the thickness direction at a central fastening point 40c set in the center of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction, and then fastened with fastening bolts 34. there is With such a configuration, the deformation of the suspension tower brace 16 at the center of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction is suppressed by the cowl panel 10 and the motor bracket 12, so that the rigidity of the suspension tower brace 16 and the steering stability are improved. can improve. In particular, in this example, as described repeatedly, the three members of the suspension tower brace 16, the cowl panel 10, and the motor bracket 12 are overlapped and fastened. Therefore, compared to the case where the suspension tower brace 16 is fastened only to the cowl panel 10 or only to the motor bracket 12, the rigidity of the suspension tower brace 16 can be greatly improved without increasing the plate thickness.

2 and 4, in this example, the center fastening point 40c for fastening the suspension tower brace 16, the cowl panel 10, and the motor bracket 12 is positioned at the center fastening point 40c of the bead 12a of the motor bracket 12 in plan view. It is arranged on the extended line of the ridge defining one edge in the width direction. With such a configuration, the load applied to the central fastening point 40c can be received by the vertical wall of the bead 12a, and the rigidity of the central fastening point 40c and the rigidity of the suspension tower brace 16 can be further improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in this example, fastening points 40b and 40d are also provided on both sides of the central fastening point 40c in the vehicle width direction, and the suspension tower brace 16 and the cowl panel 10 are bolted at the fastening points 40b and 40d. are doing. With such a configuration, the rigidity of the suspension tower brace 16 can be further improved, and the steering stability can be further improved.

By the way, among vehicles, there are vehicles whose steering wheels are arranged on the right side of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "right-hand drive vehicles") and vehicles whose steering wheels are arranged on the left side of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "left-hand drive vehicles"). The swinging direction of the wiper is opposite between a right-hand drive vehicle and a left-hand drive vehicle. Therefore, motor brackets 12 having different shapes are used for right-hand drive vehicles and left-hand drive vehicles in order to accommodate such a difference in swing direction.

If the shapes of the suspension tower brace 16 and the cowl panel 10 are changed according to the shape of the motor bracket 12, the number of types of parts increases. Therefore, in this example, the motor bracket 12 for the right-hand drive vehicle and the motor bracket 12 for the left-hand drive vehicle are made bilaterally symmetrical. This will be described with reference to FIG. The upper part of FIG. 6 shows the periphery of the motor bracket 12 in a right-hand drive vehicle, and the lower part of FIG. 6 shows the periphery of the motor bracket 12 in a left-hand drive vehicle. As shown in FIG. 6, the motor bracket 12 mounted on a left-hand drive vehicle has a shape obtained by horizontally reversing the motor bracket 12 mounted on a right-hand drive vehicle about the vehicle front-rear direction axis Lc passing through the central fastening point 40c. and placement. By adopting such a configuration, it is necessary to use the motor bracket 12 properly between the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle, but it is not necessary to use the suspension tower brace 16 and the cowl panel 10 properly. As a result, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of kinds of parts to be handled by the manufacturer. In addition, with such a configuration, the central fastening point 40c is positioned on the extension of the ridge line that defines the edge of the bead 12a of the motor bracket 12 in the vehicle width direction in both left-hand drive vehicles and right-hand drive vehicles. , distortion of the suspension tower brace 16 and the like can be effectively suppressed.

The configuration described so far is only an example, and the cowl panel 10, the motor bracket 12, and the suspension tower brace 16 are fastened together in a state of being overlapped in the thickness direction at the center of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction. If so, other configurations may be changed as appropriate. Therefore, the shapes of the cowl panel 10, the motor bracket 12, the suspension brace 16, etc. may be changed as appropriate. Further, the central fastening point 40c may be set at a different position as long as it is positioned at the center of the suspension tower brace 16 in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the central fastening point 40c may be provided at a position apart from the extended line of the ridge line that defines the vehicle width direction edge of the bead 12a. In the above example, two fastening points 40b and 40d are provided between the suspension tower brace 16 and the cowl panel 10. As shown in FIG. However, the fastening points for fastening only the suspension tower brace 16 and the cowl panel 10 may be omitted or may be provided in a greater number.

10 cowl panel, 10a groove, 12 motor bracket, 12a bead, 12p fastening area, 13 accommodation space, 14 Fr suspension tower, 16 suspension tower brace, 18 dash panel, 19 bumper reinforcement, 20 front side member, 22 front compartment, 30 upper brace, 32 lower brace, 34 fastening bolt, 40a, 40b, 40d fastening point, 40c central fastening point.

Claims (4)

cowl panel,
a motor bracket fixed on the cowl panel;
a suspension tower brace extending along the vehicle width direction in front of the cowl panel and having both ends in the vehicle width direction fixed to a pair of front suspension towers;
wherein the suspension tower brace, the motor bracket, and the cowl panel are fastened together in a state of being superimposed in the thickness direction at a central fastening point set at the center of the suspension tower brace in the vehicle width direction.
A vehicle front structure characterized by: The vehicle front structure according to claim 1,
The motor bracket has a bead elongated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
The vehicle front portion structure, wherein the central fastening point is positioned on an extension line of a ridgeline defining an edge of the bead in the vehicle width direction in a plan view. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle front portion structure, wherein the suspension tower brace is further overlapped and fastened to the cowl panel in the thickness direction at positions on both sides of the central fastening point in the vehicle width direction. The vehicle front structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The motor bracket mounted on the left-hand drive vehicle has a shape and arrangement that is the left-right inversion of the motor bracket mounted on the right-hand drive vehicle about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle that passes through the central fastening point. A vehicle front structure characterized by:

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