JP3394184B2 - 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 crushable vehicle body structure in which, for example, a front body is plastically deformed to absorb an impact in order to ensure passenger safety.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a crushable structure in a vehicle body structure. When the vehicle encounters an accident, for example, the front body is plastically deformed to absorb a shock so that the vehicle interior is not deformed. It is to prevent and ensure the safety of passengers. Regarding this crushable structure, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-175437, “Vehicle body front structure” has been proposed, and the technology will be described with reference to FIG. 2 again. In the re-illustrated figure, FIG. 2 of the same publication is horizontally reversed and the reference numerals are newly reassigned.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional vehicle body structure. In the vehicle body structure 100, a dash panel member 103 extends diagonally downward from a rear end of a front side member 102 arranged in an engine room 101, a floor member 104 is connected to a rear end of the dash panel member 103, and the dash panel member 103 and the floor are connected. The dash panel 105 and the front floor 106 are placed on the members 104, respectively, and the plate 107 is placed on the dash panel 105.
The upper surface 107 a of the plate 107 faces the rear end of the front side member 102.

The upper surface 107a of the plate 107 is extended along the extension line 108 of the front side member 102 into the passenger compartment 10.
By projecting only L1 into the inside 9, the external force F acting from the front to the rear can be efficiently supported by the upper surface 107a of the gusset 107. Therefore, the dash panel 105 is not largely deformed into the vehicle interior 109.

[0005]

However, the above technique is
Since the upper surface 107a of the plate 107 is extended by L1 along the extension line 108, the plate 107 is not
The amount L2 overhanging inward becomes large and may be an obstacle to the occupant.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of suppressing the amount of gusset overhanging into the passenger compartment.

[0007]

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the first aspect of the present invention is to extend a dash panel frame obliquely downward from a rear end of a front side member arranged in an engine room. In the vehicle body structure in which the floor frame is connected to the rear end of the frame, the rear end of the front side member and the dash panel are placed on the dash panel frame, and the floor panel is placed on the floor frame, the dash panel is placed above the dash panel frame. Mount the gusset on the dash panel, extend the front end of this gusset to the rear end of the front side member, and at the upper position of the floor frame, attach the reinforcing member on the floor panel and extend the reinforcing member forward. Characterized by joining at least part of the front end in the middle of the gusset .

At least a part of the front end of the reinforcing member was joined in the middle of the gusset to reinforce the gusset with the reinforcing member. Therefore, the external force can be efficiently supported by the gusset even if the front end of the gusset is not greatly extended to the passenger compartment side. As a result, the amount of gusset overhanging toward the passenger compartment can be suppressed.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an auxiliary panel is placed on the reinforcing member. By covering the reinforcing member with the auxiliary panel, the floor surface of the passenger compartment can be made flat.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings should be viewed in the direction of the reference numerals. In the description, “left”, “right”, “front”, and “rear” indicate directions or positions when viewed from the driver. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle including a vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention. The vehicle 1 is a front engine / rear drive vehicle as an example. 2 is engine 2, 4
Is an engine room, 6 and 8 are front seats, 10 is a rear seat, 14 and 14 are front wheels, and 16 and 16 are rear wheels.

The vehicle body structure 20 is mainly composed of the engine room 4
The left and right front side members 21, 22 arranged in
A dash panel 28 that separates the vehicle compartment 12 from the engine room 4 and a floor panel 30 that constitutes the floor of the vehicle compartment 12
And the left and right gussets 3 that reinforce the dash panel 28
2, 33 and left and right reinforcing members 35, 36.
40 is a front cross member, 42 is a floor cross member (cross member), and 44 is a rear floor. In addition,
Since the left and right front side members 21, 22 and the left and right gussets 32, 33 and the left and right reinforcing members 35, 36 are bilaterally symmetrical, only the left side member will be described below and the right side member will not be described.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention, and shows the vehicle body structure 20 in detail. The vehicle body structure 20 includes a left front side member 21.
A left dash panel frame 24 is extended obliquely downward from the rear end 21a, a floor frame 26 is connected to the rear end 24a of the dash panel frame 24, and a dash is formed on the rear end 21a of the left front side member 21 and the dash panel frame 24. The panel 28 is placed, the floor panel 30 is placed on the floor frame 26, the left gusset 32 is mounted on the dash panel 28 at a position above the dash panel frame 24, and the front end 32a of the left gusset 32 is attached.
Is extended to the rear end 21a of the left front side member 21, and the left reinforcing member 35 is attached on the floor panel 30 above the floor frame 26. The left reinforcing member 35 is extended forward and the upper surface of the front end 35a ( At least a part of the front end) 35b is joined in the middle of the left gusset 32, and the auxiliary panel 38 is placed on the left reinforcing member 35. 30a is a floor tunnel through which the drive shaft is passed.

The left reinforcing member 35 is the upper surface 3 of the front end 35a.
The channel 5b is raised upward, and the left and right side portions are provided with left and right attachment sides 35d and 35e. The left and right attachment sides 35d and 35e are, for example, spot welded or bolts and nuts (not shown), and are formed at the front end 3
5a is attached to the left gusset 32, and the rear portion from the center is attached to the floor panel 30.

The auxiliary panel 38 is a member formed by molding a foam material made of polypropylene, for example, into a plate shape. As shown by an imaginary line, the upper surface 38a is formed flat and the lower reinforcing member 35 is housed in the lower surface 38b. The recess 38c is formed. This auxiliary panel 38 is arranged on the floor panel 30 as shown by the solid line, and the recess 38c is formed in the left reinforcing member 35.
The left reinforcing member 35 by mounting it on the auxiliary panel 3
It is covered with 8. As a result, the floor of the vehicle interior 12 can be made flat. In addition, by setting the auxiliary panel 38 on the floor panel 30, soundproofing (vibration control and sound insulation)
The effect can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, in which the front end 32a of the left gusset 32 is attached to the left front side member 21.
The front end 35a of the left reinforcing member 35 is made to face the rear end 21a.
Of the left gusset 32 is joined to the middle 32b of the left gusset 32, the rear portion 35c of the left reinforcing member 35 is extended to the floor cross member 42, and, for example, spot welding or bolts and nuts are attached to the floor cross member 42. Shown in a state of being attached (not shown).

Since the upper surface 35b of the left reinforcing member 35 is joined to the middle 32b of the left gusset 32 and the left gusset 32 is reinforced by the left reinforcing member 35, the front end 3 of the left gusset 32 is
When an external force due to a collision acts on 2a, the fulcrum of the bending moment is midway 32b of the left gusset 32. From the fulcrum of bending moment to the action point (front end 32b of gusset 32)
It is possible to shorten the distance L3 to. Therefore, since the external force transmitted to the front end 32a of the gusset 32 can be sufficiently supported, as described in FIG.
It is not necessary to extend the front end 32a of the gusset 32 largely along the extension line of the front side member. Therefore, the overhang amount L4 of the left gusset 32 can be suppressed to be small.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, in which the auxiliary panel 38 is fitted into the floor panel 30 and the recess 38c of the auxiliary panel 38 is placed on the left reinforcing member 35 so that the auxiliary panel 38 can be used. The left reinforcing member 35 is covered and the upper surface 38a of the auxiliary panel 38 makes the passenger compartment 12 a flat floor surface. Reference numeral 46 is a drive shaft.

The operation of the vehicle body structure 20 described above will be described below. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are explanatory views of the operation of the vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention. In (a),
When the component force F1 of the external force F acting from front to back (right to left in the figure) acts on the left gusset 32, the bending moment M1 applied to the left gusset 32 becomes (F1 × cos θ × L3).

(B) shows a comparative example. In this comparative example,
The length of the left gusset 111 becomes L5 by simply applying the front end of the left reinforcing member 110 to the left gusset 111. In this case, the bending moment M2 is (F1
× cos θ × L5). Since L3 <L5,
The bending moment M1 in the embodiment shown in (a) is sufficiently small. As a result, the left front side member 21 is plastically deformed to absorb the shock,
The deformation of the passenger compartment can be sufficiently suppressed.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a vehicle body structure (second embodiment) according to the present invention. In the vehicle body structure 50, the front end 32 a of the left gusset 32 is attached to the left front side member 2.
The front end 51 of the left reinforcing member 51 facing the rear end 21a
It shows a state in which the upper surface 51b of a is raised obliquely upward and joined to the middle 32b of the left gusset 32, and the rear end 51c of the left reinforcing member 51 is cut midway without extending to the floor cross member 42. The left reinforcing member 51 can be simplified and can be easily attached.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a vehicle body structure (third embodiment) according to the present invention. The body structure 55 includes the left gusset 32.
The front end 32a of the rear end 21 of the left front side member 21
the upper surface 56 of the front surface 56a of the left reinforcing member 56.
It shows a state in which b is raised obliquely upward and joined to the middle 32b of the left gusset 32, and the rear end 56c of the left reinforcing member 56 is lowered obliquely downward to be joined to the floor panel 30. The left reinforcing member 56 can be simplified and can be easily attached.

In the above embodiment, the description has been given of the application of the vehicle body structure according to the present invention to the front engine / rear drive vehicle, but it may be applied to other vehicles such as a front engine / front drive vehicle.
In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the description was made of the case where the polypropylene foam material is used for the auxiliary panel 38, but the auxiliary panel 38 may be formed of other synthetic resin material or steel material.

Further, in the above embodiment, the left reinforcing member 3
Although the upper surface 35b of the front end 35a of No. 5 is joined to the middle 32b of the left gusset 32, at least a part of the front end 35a of the left reinforcing member 35 (for example, only the upper surface and the left and right side surfaces or the left and right side surfaces) is left. The same effect can be obtained by joining the gusset 32 to the middle 32b.

[0024]

The present invention has the following effects due to the above configuration. According to the first aspect, at least a part of the front end of the reinforcing member is joined in the middle of the gusset to reinforce the gusset with the reinforcing member. Therefore, the external force can be efficiently supported by the gusset even if the front end of the gusset is not greatly extended to the passenger compartment side. As a result, the amount of gusset overhanging toward the passenger compartment can be suppressed, and there is no concern that the gusset will interfere with the occupant.

In the second aspect, the auxiliary panel is placed on the reinforcing member. By covering the reinforcing member with the auxiliary panel,
The floor surface of the passenger compartment can be made flat.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle including a vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention.

3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the vehicle body structure (first embodiment) according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a vehicle body structure (second embodiment) according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a vehicle body structure (third embodiment) according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional vehicle body structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Engine room, 20, 50, 55 ... Body structure, 2
1 ... Left front side member (front side member), 21a ... Rear end, 22 ... Right front side member (front side member), 24 ... Dash panel frame, 24a ... Rear end, 24b ... Top surface, 26 ... Floor frame, 28 … Dash panel, 30… Floor panel, 3
2 ... Left gusset (gusset), 32a ... Front end, 32b ...
In the middle of gusset, 33 ... right gusset (gusset), 3
5, 51, 56 ... Left reinforcing member (reinforcing member), 35
a, 51a, 56a ... Front end, 35b, 51b, 56b ...
Upper surface (at least a part of the front end), 36 ... right reinforcing member (reinforcing member), 38 ... auxiliary panel.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-10-86853 (JP, A) JP-A-8-113165 (JP, A) JP-A-5-270444 (JP, A) JP-A-1- 119482 (JP, A) JP-A-9-175437 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 25/20 B62D 25/08

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A dash panel frame extends obliquely downward from a rear end of a front side member arranged in an engine room, and a floor frame is connected to a rear end of the dash panel frame, the rear end of the front side member and the dash panel. In a vehicle body structure in which a dash panel is placed on a frame and the floor panel is placed on the floor frame, a gusset is attached to the dash panel at a position above the dash panel frame, and a front end of the gusset is attached to a front side member. A reinforcing member is mounted on the floor panel at a position above the floor frame, the reinforcing member is extended forward, and at least a part of the front end is joined to the middle of the gusset. Car body structure to do. 2. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary panel is placed on the reinforcing member.