JP2656794B2 - Front body structure of vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a front body structure of a vehicle such as an automobile.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a front body structure of an automobile, for example,
As described in -28669, a front side frame extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is disposed on both sides in the engine room, and a rear end of the front side frame is provided on a dash lower panel that separates the engine room and the vehicle compartment. On the other hand, a suspension tower for accommodating a front suspension member is formed on both side walls of an engine room, and the suspension tower is connected to the front side frame.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described structure, the rigidly high suspension tower portion and the similarly high rigidity front side frame are simply connected to each other. Since the rigidity is smaller than the rigidity of the other parts, at the time of a head-on collision (hereinafter simply referred to as a head-on collision)
The suspension tower part falls down with the extremely small part of the rigidity as a trigger, and as a result, the front part of the front side frame is bent upward with respect to the rear part of the front side frame, and the front side frame receives the impact load in its axial direction. As a result, shock absorption due to bellows deformation of the front side frame cannot be efficiently performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a front body structure of a vehicle that can prevent bending deformation of a front side frame at the time of a head-on collision and can efficiently absorb impact at the time of a head-on collision. The purpose is to:

(Means for Solving the Problems) That is, according to the present invention, a front side frame extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is disposed on both sides in the engine room,
A rear end portion of the front side frame is connected to a dash lower panel separating an engine room and a vehicle room via a reinforcing member, while a suspension tower portion for storing a front suspension member is formed on both side walls of the engine room, In a front body structure of a vehicle in which a reinforcement for reinforcement for preventing the suspension tower from falling inward is provided between a suspension tower and a front side frame, the reinforcement member has the same height as the front side frame. The front portion is joined to the rear side surface of the front side frame, the joint portion extends rearward, and the rear end portion is joined to the dash lower panel. The upper part is joined to the rear part of the suspension tower, and the lower part is In connection portion near the id frame and the reinforcing member, characterized in that it is joined to the inner wall surface of the front side frame so as to form knuckles internal partitions to form transverse bulkhead of the front side frame.

(Operation) Since the reinforcement for reinforcement is connected to the front side frame so as to form a node inside the front side frame, the formation of the node reinforces the front side frame so that its cross-sectional shape does not collapse. The strength of the connection between the suspension tower and the front side frame is high. In addition, since the node is formed near the connecting portion between the front side frame and the reinforcing member, the fact that the load can be distributed to the dash lower panel by the reinforcing member also advantageously works to strengthen the connecting portion. Furthermore, since the reinforcing member is formed in a shape that spreads rearward, the load distribution on the dash lower panel is efficiently performed.

As described above, since the connection portion is reinforced, at the time of a frontal collision, the suspension tower is supported by the rigid dash lower panel via the reinforcement for reinforcement and the reinforcing member, and is supported. This prevents the suspension tower from falling backward and the front side frame from being bent, and allows the front side frame to receive a collision load in the axial direction and efficiently absorb the impact.

In addition, the present invention is based on the idea that the reinforcing member can efficiently transmit the load from the front side frame to the dash lower panel, thereby strengthening the connection between the suspension tower and the front side frame. It is not necessary to raise this reinforcing member high, and it can be formed at the same height as the front side frame. Therefore, the reinforcing member does not hinder installation of the auxiliary equipment in the engine room or maintenance and inspection in the engine room.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the front body structure of the automobile 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a side wall portion of the engine room S is constituted by a wheel apron 2, and a front side frame 4 having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is provided on an inner side surface of the wheel apron 2 on the vehicle width center side. Are joined.

The wheel apron 2 is formed with a wheel house 2A. The upper portion of the wheel house 2A is provided at a substantially central portion thereof for accommodating an upper portion of a shock absorber 11 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) of a front wheel suspension device. The suspension tower 3 (suspension tower), which has extremely high rigidity, is joined to the wheel house 2A in order to fix the vehicle.

The suspension tower 3 has a tower upper 3A having an upper hole and an attachment hole for partially inserting and supporting and fixing the upper end of the shock absorber 11, and a suspension tower 3 which is joined to a lower peripheral wall of the tower upper 3A. And a tower lower 3B that accommodates a part of the shock absorber 11. Here, the tower upper 3A of the suspension tower 3 is slightly inclined toward the inside of the engine room at a predetermined inclination angle and is provided so as to protrude above the upper end of the wheel house 2A by a predetermined height.

Inside the tower lower 3B of the suspension tower 3, a flat vertical wall 3b is formed which is parallel to the outer vertical wall 4a of the front side frame 4 and is flat.
It is joined to the outer vertical wall portion 4a of the front side frame 4. Strength members 10A, 10B are attached to the front and rear surfaces of the tower lower 3B with bolts 9, 9, respectively.

The front side frame 4 is formed in a closed cross section by a frame lower 4A and a frame upper 4B, and a flange 4b is directed inward at an upper end of an inner vertical wall 4c of the frame lower 4A having a U-shaped cross section. It is formed.

Except for the part of the front side frame 4 located inside the suspension tower 3, a flange 4d is formed outward at the upper end of the outer vertical wall 4a of the front side frame 4, and a frame lower 4A is formed. At the upper end, the inner edge of the frame upper 4B that closes the upper end, the flange 4b, and the outer edge of the frame upper 4B and the flange 4d are joined to form a closed cross-section with the frame lower 4A and the frame upper 4B. Have been. The portion of the wheel apron 2 before and after the wheel house 2A extends substantially horizontally at the same height position as the upper end of the front side frame 4, and its inner edge is joined to the upper surface of the frame upper 4B.

Here, in order to strengthen the coupling structure between the suspension tower 3 and the front side frame 4 and prevent the suspension tower 3 from falling down, a pair of front and rear reinforcing rains are provided over the suspension tower 3 and the front side frame 4. Forces 5A and 5B are provided.

That is, both front and rear sides of the suspension tower 3 are formed in a substantially vertical and flat vertical wall shape, and reinforcement reinforcements 5A and 5B are respectively joined along the vertical wall portions on both front and rear sides.

A flange portion 5a is formed on the lower edge side of the upper portion of the reinforcement reinforcement 5A on the front side, and the flange portion 5a is located below the wheel house portion 2A and the tower upper 3A at a joint portion on the front side between the tower upper 3A and the tower lower 3B. The side flange portion 3c and the flange portion 10a of the strength member 10A on the front side of the tower lower 3B are connected by a pair of bolts 8,8. On the other hand, the lower part of the reinforcement 5A for reinforcement extends to the inside of the front side frame 4 and is disposed in the shape of a transverse partition partitioning the inside of the front side frame 4, and each flange formed at the lower part of the reinforcement 5A for reinforcement is provided. The portions 5b, 5c, 5d and the inner wall surface of the frame lower 4A are joined to form a node inside the front side frame 4. The connection structure of the reinforcement reinforcement 5B on the rear side to the joint between the tower upper 3A and the tower lower 3B is the same as that on the front side.

As described above, since the suspension tower 3 is connected to the front side frame 4 via the pair of reinforcement reinforcements 5A and 5B for front and rear, the suspension device is moved from the suspension device to the suspension tower 3 toward the inside of the engine room during traveling. When an external force in the direction is applied, the load from the suspension tower 3 is applied to the front side frame 4 via a pair of front and rear reinforcing reinforcements 5A and 5B.
And the suspension tower 3 can be prevented from falling inward.

Since the reinforcement reinforcements 5A and 5B form a node inside the front side frame 4, the joining strength between the suspension tower 3 and the front side frame 4 is significantly enhanced, and the rigidity of the front side frame 4 is improved. Is also raised at the same time.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned pair of reinforcing reinforcements
Inside the front side frame 4 partitioned by 5A and 5B, a bracket 6 for mounting a lower arm of a suspension device and a sub-frame in a vehicle width direction for mounting an engine is provided.

The above frame upper 4B is for reinforcement reinforcement
5A and 5B, the upper end of the frame lower 4A is located between the reinforcing reinforcements 5A and 5B.
The cover member 7 and the frame lower 4A are formed with through holes for attaching a cross member 16 described later with a pair of bolts. The inner end portion of the lid member 7 is joined to the flange portion 4b of the frame lower 4A, and the vertical flange portion 7a provided at the outer end portion of the lid member 7 is provided at the upper end of the outer vertical wall portion 4a of the frame lower portion 4A. Direction flange part 4e,
Further, flange portions 7b at both front and rear end portions of the lid member 7 are respectively joined to reinforcing reinforcements 5A and 5B, and the lid member 7 and the frame lower 4A form a closed cross section.

In addition, a flange portion 5b for increasing rigidity is provided at the upper edge of the reinforcement reinforcements 5A and 5B joined to the suspension tower 3 so as to extend.

The rear end of the frame lower 4A of the front side frame 4 extends to the vicinity of the dash lower panel 12 that separates the engine room and the vehicle compartment, and is connected to the dash lower panel 12 via gussets 13A and 13B as reinforcing members. Have been. That is, the gussets 13A and 13B are formed at the same height as the frame lower 4A, and the front end thereof is joined to the rear end side surface of the front side frame, and the gussets 13A and 13B spread rearward from the joint portion and extend rearward. The part is joined to the dash lower panel. And these two gussets
Near the connection between the front end of 13A, 13B and the frame lower 4A,
The lower part of the reinforcing reinforcement 5B on the rear side is connected.

The lid member 18 joined to the upper side of the gussets 13A and 13B
Has a vertical flange portion 18a on the outer edge and a horizontal flange portion 18b on the inner edge, and the outer flange portion 18a has a vertical flange portion of the gusset 13A at the same height position as the frame upper 4B. While being joined to 13a, the inner flange portion 13b is joined to the lateral flange portion 13b of the gusset 13B. At the same time, the lid member 18 has a vertical wall portion 18c at the rear edge, the vertical wall portion 18c is joined to the dash lower panel 12, and the reinforcing member protrudes upward near a joint with the dash lower panel 12. A projection 18d is formed.

Further, reinforcing members 14 and 15 are provided at connecting portions between the tower lower 3B of the suspension tower 3 and the frame lower 4A of the front side frame 4, respectively. That is, the front side reinforcing member 14 has a substantially U-shaped cross section in which the vertical wall portions 14b and 14c having a height extending upward from both side edges of the substrate portion 14a, and the front side portion is divided by the reinforcing reinforcement 5A. It is provided across the frame lower 4A of the frame 4 and is connected to a cross member 16 having a hat-shaped cross section that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle body and supports an engine (not shown). The outer vertical wall portion 14c is the front side frame 4
Bolts 19,1 at the bottom of the frame lower 4A and tower lower 3B
9 are linked through.

On the other hand, the reinforcing material 15 on the rear side has low vertical wall portions 15b and 15c on both side edges of the substrate portion 15a, and similarly, the front side frame 4 is divided by the reinforcing reinforcement 5B.
Is provided over the frame lower 4A. That is, the reinforcing reinforcement 5B on the rear side is connected near the connecting portion between the front side frame 4 and the reinforcing material 15,
The connection is reinforced. Also, the outer vertical wall 15c is connected to the frame lower 4A and the tower lower 3B of the front side frame 4 with bolts 20, and the rear end is a floor panel.
It is also connected to 17.

The structure of the right front body of the automobile has been described above, but the structure of the left front body is symmetric and similar.

With the above configuration, the reinforcing reinforcements 5A and 5B are connected to the front side frame 4 and the gussets 13.
The connection between the front side frame 4 and the suspension tower 3 is reinforced, and the suspension tower 3 is supported by the dash lower panel 12 via the gussets 13A and 13B. In the case of a head-on collision, even if the suspension tower 3 tries to fall rearward due to an impact, the suspension support prevents the suspension tower 3 from falling backward. As a result,
The connection portion does not become a starting point of bending deformation, bending deformation is suppressed, and the front side frame 4 is bellows deformed, and the impact force is absorbed by the bellows deformation. In addition, since the connecting portion is reinforced to prevent bending deformation, the gusset 13 which is widened rearward is provided.
The load is effectively distributed to A and 13B, and the load is distributed to the dash lower panel 12.

As described above, according to the present invention, the rear end of the front side frame is formed at the same height as the front side frame with respect to the dash lower panel, and the rear end of the front side frame is provided. While connecting via the reinforcing member extending from the side to the rear, the upper part of the reinforcement for reinforcement is joined to the rear part of the suspension tower part, and the lower part is near the connection part between the front side frame and the reinforcing member. Since the interior of the front side frame was joined to the inner wall surface of the front side frame so as to form a node by partitioning the interior of the front side frame into a partition wall, the reinforcing member and the reinforcing reinforcement were used for auxiliary equipment in an engine room. The cross-section of the front side frame is formed by the formation of the above-mentioned joints, while avoiding obstruction of installation and maintenance inspection. So that the load at the time of a frontal collision can be efficiently transmitted to the dash lower panel through the reinforcing member that spreads rearward, and the connecting portion between the suspension tower and the front side frame is reinforced. The impact can be reliably absorbed by the front side frame without causing the suspension tower to fall backward and the front side frame to bend at the time of a frontal collision.

[Brief description of the drawings]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automobile, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part of a front body structure of the automobile, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V, FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part of a front body structure of an automobile, and FIG. 1 ... Car, 2 ... Wheel apron, 3 ... Suspension tower, 4 ... Front side frame, 5A, 5
B: Reinforcement for reinforcement, 11: Shock absorber, 12: Dash lower panel, 13A, 13B: Gusset.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A front side frame extending in the front-rear direction of a vehicle body is disposed on both sides in an engine room, and a rear end of the front side frame is connected to a dash lower panel separating an engine room and a vehicle room via a reinforcing member. On the other hand, a suspension tower for storing a front suspension member is formed on both side walls of the engine room, and a reinforcement for preventing the suspension tower from falling down between the suspension tower and the front side frame is provided in a vertical direction. In the front body structure of a vehicle that is erected, the reinforcing member is formed at the same height as the front side frame, and a front portion thereof is joined to a rear side surface of the front side frame. Spreads rearward, the rear end is joined to the dash lower panel, The upper portion of the reinforcement is joined to the rear portion of the suspension tower portion, and the lower portion partitions the interior of the front side frame into a transverse partition near the connecting portion between the front side frame and the reinforcing member to form a node. A front body structure of the vehicle, wherein the front body structure is joined to an inner wall surface of the front side frame.