JP2572013Y2 - Car front body structure - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a measure for improving the rigidity of a front body structure of an automobile using a link member for supporting a rear end of a suspension link.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a front body structure of an automobile, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 1-130884, a body frame extending in a lower part of a vehicle body in a front-rear direction and an upper part of a vehicle body in a vehicle front-rear direction. A suspension tower is provided at the center in the front-rear direction of the wheel apron provided between the extending apron upper member, and the front and rear ends of the suspension link at the center of the suspension tower are front and rear ends of the suspension link at the front and rear ends. A reinforcement having an upper end connected to a lower end of a spring support plate fixed to the apron upper member so as to be supported by a bracket, and a lower end fixed to the lower end of the spring support plate to the vehicle body frame. Of the suspension link to the vehicle body. Those to be mounted to a solid is known.

[0003] Also, depending on the front body structure of the automobile,
A side sill extending in the front-rear direction at a position closer to the vehicle body than the body frame may be provided at the center position in the vehicle front-rear direction. A dash lower is continuously provided at a front end of the floor panel, and extends between the lower end of the dash lower and the floor panel between the side sill and the vehicle body frame. A torque box having a closed cross section that connects between the frames is provided.

[0004]

With the recent improvement in steering stability, the rear end of the suspension link may be provided further rearward than the rear end position of the suspension tower. In that case, usually, since the rear end of the wheel apron is joined to the side end of the dash lower,
A link member is provided near the joint to support the rear end of the suspension link.

However, depending on the mounting position of the link member, there is a drawback that sufficient mounting rigidity of the link member cannot be obtained, and an opening for separating the dash lower from the wheel apron by a torsional load acting on the vehicle body. There is a possibility that the opening may occur, and there has been a demand to effectively distribute the link members.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and its purpose is to focus on a torque box having high rigidity provided near the lower end of the dash lower,
An object of the present invention is to dispose a link member so that the torque box can be used to improve the mounting rigidity of the link member and reliably prevent the dash lower and the wheel apron from opening when the vehicle body is twisted.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a solution taken by the invention according to claim 1 is a side sill extending in the front-rear direction at an end position on the side of the vehicle cabin, and a vehicle body inner side than the side sill. Is provided extending in the front-rear direction, a body frame joined to the lower surface of the floor panel, a dash lower having a lower end connected to the front end of the floor panel, and a straddle between the lower end of the dash lower and the floor panel. And a torque box having a closed cross-sectional shape that connects the side sill and the body frame to each other. Then, the rear end of the wheel apron is joined to the side end of the dash lower, and at the joint between the side end of the dash lower and the rear end of the wheel apron,
A link member for supporting the rear end of the suspension link is attached so as to form a closed cross section extending vertically between the dash lower and the wheel apron. Further, the lower end of the link member is connected to the torque box.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a reinforcer for identifying a torque box according to the first aspect of the present invention and joining the torque box to vertically divide a closed cross section of the torque box. With a statement. Then, the lower end of the link member is connected to a corresponding portion of the torque box corresponding to the joint of the reinforcement.

[0009]

With the above arrangement, the invention according to claim 1 has the following features.
The rear end of the suspension link is attached to a link member that is mounted so as to form a closed cross section that extends vertically between the side ends of the dash lower and the rear end of the wheel apron (between joints), Since the lower end of the link member is connected to the torque box, a sufficient mounting rigidity of the link member itself can be obtained with the link member straddling the two members from a substantially orthogonal direction. In addition, the torsional load acting on the vehicle body is distributed to the torque box with high rigidity by the link member straddling between the side end of the dash lower and the rear end of the wheel apron. The opening that separates from the apron is reliably prevented.

In the invention according to the second aspect, the lower end of the link member is connected to the corresponding portion of the torque box corresponding to the joint of the reinforcement that divides the closed section of the torque box into upper and lower parts. As a result, the mounting rigidity of the lower end of the link member is increased to improve the mounting rigidity of the link member itself, and the torsional load acting on the vehicle body is more effectively dispersed to the torque box, so that the opening between the dash lower and the wheel apron is increased. Opening is more reliably prevented.

[0011]

As described above, according to the front body structure of the vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rear end of the suspension link straddles the dash lower side end and the rear end of the wheel apron from a substantially orthogonal direction. Since the lower end of the link member to be mounted is connected to the torque box, sufficient mounting rigidity of the link member itself can be secured, and the torsional load acting on the vehicle body is distributed to the high-rigidity torque box so that the dash lower and the wheel apron can be used. Opening can be reliably prevented.

According to the front body structure of the vehicle according to the second aspect of the present invention, the lower end of the link member is connected to the portion corresponding to the reinforcement of the torque box, so that the mounting rigidity of the link member itself is improved. And the opening between the dash lower and the wheel apron can be more reliably prevented.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

2 and 5 show a right front portion of a vehicle using a front body structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 is a wheel apron, and a rear portion of the wheel apron 1 has an upper portion. A suspension tower 3 bulging toward the engine room 2 is provided. The suspension tower 3 includes a spring support member 3a whose periphery is fixedly attached to the upper edge of the bulging portion of the wheel apron 1.
have. A wheel apron member 4 having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is provided at an upper end of the wheel apron 1, and a closed cross sectional shape extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is provided at a lower end of the wheel apron 1. A front frame 5 is provided as a body frame. The shape of the wheel apron member 4 is changed in the vicinity of the suspension tower portion 3, and a front portion of the wheel apron member 3 has a substantially hat-shaped cross section that opens downward, and a wheel apron reinforcement 6. The inner member of the wheel apron reinforcement 6 is joined and fixed to the upper end of the wheel apron 1 by a flat member member 7 joined and fixed to the inner and outer flanges of the reinforcement 6. On the other hand, in the rear part of the wheel apron member 4 corresponding to the suspension tower 3, the inner and outer flanges of the wheel apron reinforcement 6 are directly joined and fixed to the outer end of the spring support member 3a. The outer flange of the rear portion of the rear portion of the wheel apron member 4 corresponding to the upper surface of the wheel apron 1 behind the suspension tower portion 3 has an upper end of a cowl side drain reinforcement 8 having a substantially L-shaped cross section. Are joined and fixed via the outer end of the spring support member 3a.

On the other hand, the front frame 5 has an inner frame 11 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section and opening to the outside of the vehicle body.
A flat outer frame 12 is joined and fixed to upper and lower flanges of the inner frame 11, and an upper flange of the front frame 5 is joined and fixed to a lower end of the wheel apron 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear end of the wheel apron 1 is joined and fixed to the inside of the side end of a dash lower panel 13 that partitions the engine room 2 and the vehicle compartment R. The tire house 14 that covers the tire T is formed by the apron 1 and the outer portion of the side end of the dash lower panel 13. A side end of the dash lower panel 13 is joined and fixed to a front end of a cowl side panel 16 which forms a cowl side 15 together with the cowl side reinforcement 8. Further, a front end of a floor panel 17 forming a floor surface of the vehicle compartment R is fixedly connected to a lower end of the dash lower panel 13.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a side sill 21 is provided at a side end position of the floor panel 17, that is, at a side end position of the vehicle cabin R, in the vehicle body longitudinal direction. ing. The side sill 21 is formed in a closed cross section by a side sill inner 22 and a side sill outer 23. Further, the inner frame 11 of the front frame 5 extends further rearward than the dash lower panel 13. This inner frame 1
The extended portion 1 is provided extending in the front-rear direction on the inward side of the vehicle body beyond the side sill 21 and has a substantially hat-shaped cross section which has a flange inside and outside and opens upward. The shape of the floor panel 17 has been changed.
Are joined and fixed to the lower surface of the side end portion by inner and outer flanges. A lower end of the front end of the dash lower panel 13 and a front end of the lower surface of the floor panel 17 are straddled between the lower end of the dash lower panel 13 and the front end of the floor panel 17. And a torque box 24 having a closed cross-sectional shape that connects the front box 5 and the front end of the extended portion of the front frame 5 (the inner frame 11). The torque box 24 has a front end at the lower front end of the dash lower panel 13, a rear end at the front lower end of the floor panel 17, and an outer end at the side sill 21.
Is formed by a torque box frame 25 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section in a side view and having an inner end joined and fixed to the front end of the extending portion of the front frame 5 at the front end.

As a characteristic part of the present invention, a joint fixing portion 31 between the rear end of the wheel apron 1 and the inner side end of the dash lower panel 13 is provided with a suspension link 32 for suspending the tire T with respect to the vehicle body. A link member 33 having a substantially U-shaped cross section for supporting the end is provided. A bush 3 for rotatably supporting the rear end of the suspension link 32 is provided above the link member 33 corresponding to the rear end support of the suspension link 32.
An opening 33a into which the bush 4 is loosely fitted is provided, and a shaft 34a extending inward and outward of the bush 34 is fastened and fixed to the inner and outer peripheral edges of the opening 33a. The link member 33 has an inner front end at a rear end of the wheel apron 1 on the front side of the bonding portion 31 and an outer rear end at a side end of the dash lower panel 13 outside of the bonding portion 31. By being bonded and fixed to each other, a closed cross section extending in the up-down direction is formed so as to straddle the two. Further, the torque box 24 has a torque box frame 25 therein.
The flanges 35a, 35b, 35c, 3
A reinforcement 35 joined and fixed by 5d and dividing the closed cross section of the torque box 24 into upper and lower parts is provided. The reinforcement 35 has a front end flange 35a attached to the torque box frame 25 below a portion where the front end flange 35a is joined and fixed to the dash lower panel 13, and the rear end flange 3a.
5b is provided on the torque box frame 25 below the joint portion with the floor panel 17, the inner end flange 35c is provided on the outer surface of the front end of the extended portion of the inner frame 11, and the outer end flange 35d is provided on the inner surface of the side sill inner 22. Each is fixedly joined. The lower end of the link member 33 is joined and fixed to the outer surface (front surface) of a corresponding portion of the torque box 24 (torque box frame 25) corresponding to the joint fixing portion of the front end flange 35a of the reinforcement 35. The upper portion of the link member 33 is formed to be curved outward in accordance with the upper shape of the wheel apron 1 behind the suspension tower portion 3, and the upper end thereof is formed at the lower end of the cowl side drain force 8. Bonded and fixed.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the rear end of the suspension link 32 forms a closed cross section extending vertically between the dash lower panel 13 and the wheel apron 1 (between the joint fixing portions 31). A link member having an inner front end joined and fixed to the rear end of the wheel apron 1 on the front side of the joint fixing portion 31, and an outer rear end joined to a side end of the dash lower panel 13 outside the joint fixing portion 31. A lower end of the link member 33 is attached to a torque box frame 25 corresponding to a joint fixing portion of a front end flange 35a of a reinforcement 35 which divides a closed cross section of the torque box 24 into upper and lower parts. Since the dash lower panel 13 and the wheel apron 1 are straddled from a direction substantially perpendicular to the wheel apron 1, It is possible to ensure a sufficient mounting rigidity strength of the link member 33 itself has a link member 33.

Further, the torsional load acting on the vehicle body is effectively distributed to the torque box 24 having high rigidity by the link member 33 extending between the side end of the dash lower panel 13 and the rear end of the wheel apron 1. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the opening that separates the dash lower panel 13 and the wheel apron 1 from each other when a torsional load is applied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a rear portion of a right wheel house, which is cut near an opening.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of an upper part of a link member cut at a rear side of a suspension tower.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of a lower portion of a link member cut in the vicinity of a torque box.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the torque box.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a right front portion of the vehicle body as viewed from outside the vehicle body with a dash lower panel and a floor panel removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheel apron 5 Front frame (body frame) 13 Dash lower panel (dash lower) 17 Floor panel 21 Side sill 24 Torque box 31 Joint fixing part (Junction part) 32 Suspension link 33 Link member 35 Reinforcement R

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B62D 25/08 B62D 25/20

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A side sill extending in the front-rear direction at a vehicle compartment side end position, a vehicle body frame provided to extend in a front-rear direction on an inner side of the vehicle body from the side sill, and joined to a lower surface of a floor panel, A dash lower connected to a front end of the floor panel; and a torque box having a closed cross-sectional shape provided to extend between a lower end of the dash lower and the floor panel and connecting between the side sill and the body frame. The rear end of the wheel apron is joined to the side end of the dash lower, and the rear end of the suspension link is joined to the joint between the side end of the dash lower and the rear end of the wheel apron. The link member for supporting the vehicle is mounted so as to form a closed cross section extending vertically between the dash lower and the wheel apron. And, the lower end of said link member, a front body structure for an automobile, characterized in that it is connected to the torque box. 2. The torque box has a reinforcement joined to the torque box to divide a closed cross section of the torque box into upper and lower portions, and a lower end of the link member corresponds to a joint of the reinforcement. The front body structure of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the front body structure is connected to a corresponding portion of a torque box that operates.