JP3436079B2 - Front fender connection structure - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile front fender connection structure.

[0002]

When the vehicle body is changed and the like, the engine compartment is shared to differentiate the appearance of the vehicle body, and particularly when a vehicle body front structure having a front fender having a high ground clearance is constructed, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8 (1999) -96 -2
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 439, a spacer having a substantially U-shaped cross section is connected to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel along the front-rear direction, and a flange formed by folding back the upper part of the front fender is connected to the upper wall of the spacer. Then, the front fender is coupled to the hood ridge panel via the spacer.

However, since the spacer is an open cross-section structure in which the panel material is press-molded into a substantially U-shaped cross-section as described above, the molding accuracy is low due to the spring-back phenomenon of the panel material due to the press molding, or the spacer is transported or transported. If the spacer expands and deforms during storage or storage of parts, the vertical dimensions of the hood ridge panel and the front fender will deviate from the designed values, and the front fender installation adjustment will be forced, reducing the number of assembly steps. It cannot be denied that it will be bulky.

Further, even if the front fender is properly installed and adjusted, when an upward external force acts on the front fender, the spacer expands and deforms, and the parting between the front fender and the engine hood becomes inconsistent. May damage the appearance.

From the above, it is possible to reinforce the spacer by increasing the panel thickness of the spacer or providing the spacer with rib walls for connecting the upper and lower walls. However, this reduces the weight of the spacer. Not only is it bulky and it goes against the weight reduction of the vehicle body, but there is a new problem that it is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

Therefore, the present invention provides a front fender connecting portion structure which can reinforce the spacers advantageously in terms of weight and cost and can enhance the accuracy of assembling the front fender and the hood ridge panel. It is a thing.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A spacer including upper and lower walls and a vertical wall in which the upper and lower walls are connected to each other is connected to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel along the front-rear direction, and is intermittently attached to the upper wall of the spacer in the front-rear direction. In a structure in which a flange formed by folding back is connected to the upper portion of the front fender on a plurality of mounting seats provided, the front and rear end portions of the upper wall of the spacer are bent downward to the lower wall of the spacer. At the same time as joining, bend the upper wall downward between each adjacent mounting seats and join to the lower wall of the spacer,
It is characterized in that each mounting seat forming portion is formed in a box shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the upper wall is bent downward at a required distance from the vertical wall of the spacer between the adjacent mounting seats of the first aspect, and is joined to the lower wall of the spacer. , A closed cross section along the vertical wall of the spacer is formed between the adjacent mounting seats.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ridge line portion on the upper edge side of the downwardly bent upper wall of the first and second aspects is
It is characterized in that a bead portion that is orthogonal to the ridge is provided in a concave shape.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the spacer has the front and rear end portions of the upper wall bent downward to be joined to the lower wall of the spacer to close the spacer end portion, and the upper wall By bending the part between the adjacent mounting seats downward and joining it to the lower wall of the spacer, since each mounting seat molded part is formed in a box shape, due to the springback due to the press molding of the spacer, Alternatively, since the upper and lower walls of the spacer do not expand and deform due to the external force acting in the vertical direction, and the rigidity of the spacer is increased, the front fender is displaced to the design value of the vertical dimension at the upper edge of the hood ridge panel. Can be connected without occurring.

Therefore, the workability of assembling the front fender can be improved without the need for adjusting the front fender installation, and the front fender is lifted by the upward external force to make it impossible to part the engine hood. It is possible to further improve the sense of quality and reliability without causing a match.

Further, since the rigidity of the spacer is increased, the torsional rigidity of the front fender around the spacer axis is increased, and the vibration of the front fender can be prevented.

In addition, since the rigidity of the spacer is increased in this manner, the spacer functions as a collision energy absorbing member at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the collision energy absorbing effect can be enhanced, and the collision energy absorbing is performed by the spacer. The mode can also be adjusted easily.

Further, the spacer can be increased in weight and cost because the rigidity can be increased without increasing the panel thickness of the spacer or adding rib walls between the upper and lower walls.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the closed cross section along the vertical wall of the spacer is formed between the adjacent mounting seats of the spacer upper wall, the spacer rigidity is improved. Further, it is possible to further improve the construction accuracy and the collision energy absorption performance of the front fender.

According to the third aspect, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, since the ridge line portion of the upper edge portion of the upper wall bent downward is reinforced by the bead portion, the mounting seat is provided. The rigidity of the spacer can be further enhanced by suppressing the collapse deformation caused by the ridgeline of the box-shaped portion as a fold, and therefore, the reinforcing effect around the connecting portion between the front fender and the hood ridge panel can be further enhanced. it can.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a hood ridge panel forming a side wall of an engine room, 2 is a front fender connected to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel 1, and a flange 3 is formed by folding back a flange on its upper side. I am doing it.

The front fender 2 is connected to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel 1 through a spacer 4 connected to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel 1 along the front-rear direction.

The spacer 4 includes upper and lower walls 5 and 6, and above these,
The upper wall 5 is provided with a plurality of mounting seats 8 which are intermittently provided in the front-rear direction, and the lower wall 6 is provided with the mounting seats 8. A plurality of notches 10 for inserting bolts are formed at positions offset in the front-rear direction.

The mounting seat 8 is formed by bulging upward to increase the surface rigidity, and a bolt insertion hole 9 is formed in the center thereof.

The front and rear parts of the upper wall 5 are bent downward to form the leg pieces 1.
1, and the flange 11a at the end of the lower wall 6
It is polymerized on top and joined by spot welding.

Further, a leg piece 12 is cut and raised downward at a portion between the adjacent mounting seats 8 of the upper wall 5, and a flange 12a of the end thereof is superposed on the lower wall 6 to be spot-welded. And the upper wall 5 is joined to the lower wall 6 by straddling the respective mounting seats 8 and 8 by the leg pieces 12 and 12 and the leg pieces 11, and thereby the portions where the respective mounting seats 8 and 8 are formed are joined together. It is shaped like a box.

In addition, a bead portion 13 is formed in a ridge line portion of the upper wall 5 where the leg pieces 11 and 12 are bent so as to be orthogonal to the ridge line.

The spacer 4 is placed along the front-rear direction on the upper edge of the hood ridge panel 1 with the vertical wall 7 facing the engine room, and the lower wall 6 is formed at the portion where the notch 10 is formed. The hood ridge panel 1 is fastened and fixed to the upper edge of the hood ridge panel 1 by the bolt 14 and the weld nut 15, and the flange 3 of the front fender 2 is superposed on the mounting seat 8 of the upper wall 5, and the bolt 14 is passed through the bolt insertion hole 9. The flange 3 is fastened and fixed to the mounting seats 8, 8 by means of a weld nut 15.

According to the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment, the spacer 4 is formed by joining the leg pieces 11 bent downward at the front and rear ends of the upper wall 5 to the lower wall 6 of the spacer 4. 4 is closed, and leg pieces 12, 12 formed by cutting and raising downward are joined to the lower wall 6 at a portion between the adjacent mounting portions 8, 8 of the upper wall 5. , The upper wall 5 is joined to the lower wall 6 by straddling the respective mounting seats 8 by the leg pieces 12, 12 and the leg pieces 11, so that the respective mounting seats 8, 8 are joined.
Since the forming portion of the spacer 4 is formed in a box shape, the upper and lower walls 5 and 6 of the spacer 4 may be expanded and deformed by springback caused by press molding of the spacer 4 or by external force acting in the vertical direction. Since the rigidity of the spacer 4 is increased, the front fender 2 can be connected to the upper edge portion of the hood ridge panel 1 without any deviation in the design value of the vertical dimension.

Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the installation of the front fender 2, and the workability of assembling the front fender 2 can be improved, and the front fender 2 is lifted by the external force upward, so that the engine hood not shown in the figure can be seen. It is possible to further improve the feeling of quality and reliability without causing inconsistency in parting with.

Further, since the rigidity of the spacer 4 is increased, the torsional rigidity of the front fender 2 around the ridgeline of the spacer 4 is increased and the front fender 2 is improved.
Vibration can be prevented.

Moreover, by increasing the rigidity of the spacer 4 in this way, the spacer 4 functions as a collision energy absorbing member at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle, and the collision energy absorbing effect can be enhanced, and at the same time, by the spacer 4. The collision energy absorption mode can also be easily adjusted.

Further, since the spacer 4 can be increased in rigidity without increasing the panel thickness or adding rib walls between the upper and lower walls 5, 6, it can be obtained in weight and cost advantages. .

Further, particularly in this embodiment, the leg piece 1 of the upper wall 5 is used.
Since the ridge line portion obtained by bending 1 and 12 is reinforced by the bead portion 13, the spacer 4 is suppressed by suppressing the collapse deformation caused by the ridge line of the box-shaped portion where the mounting seat 8 is provided.
Of the front fender 2 and the hood ridge panel 1 can be further strengthened.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the front and rear end portions of the upper wall 5 of the spacer 4 are closed by leg pieces 11 joined to the lower wall 6. The same as in the first embodiment, but a recess 16 is formed in the upper wall 5 between the adjacent mounting seats 8, 8 at a required distance from the vertical wall 7 to reach the lower wall 6. , The flange 1 at the lower edge of the peripheral wall of the recessed portion 16
6a is superposed on the lower wall 6 and joined by spot welding. The leg 12 and the peripheral wall of the recessed portion 16 form the molded portions of the mounting seats 8 and 8 in a box shape, and the recessed portion 16 is formed. Due to the formation, a closed cross-section portion 17 is formed between the mounting seats 8 and 8 along the vertical wall 7.

Therefore, according to the structure of the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the spacer 4 is provided between the adjacent mounting seats 8 of the upper wall 5 of the spacer 4. Since a closed cross section 17 is formed along the vertical wall 7 of
The rigidity of the spacer 4 can be further increased, and the construction accuracy of the front fender 2 and the collision energy absorption performance can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a spacer used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a spacer used in the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 hood ridge panel 2 front fender 3 flange 4 spacers 5 Upper wall 6 lower wall 7 vertical walls 8 mounting seat 13 bead part 17 Closed cross section

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A spacer having upper and lower walls and a vertical wall in which the upper and lower walls are continuously provided is connected to an upper edge portion of a hood ridge panel along the front-rear direction, and the spacer is attached to the upper wall in the front-rear direction. In a structure in which a flange formed by folding back is connected to the upper part of the front fender on a plurality of mounting seats intermittently provided in the direction, the front and rear ends of the upper wall of the spacer are bent downward. A front fender characterized in that it is joined to the lower wall of the spacer, and the upper wall is bent downward between adjacent mounting seats to join to the lower wall of the spacer, and each mounting seat forming part is formed in a box shape. Connection structure. 2. The upper wall is bent downward at a required distance from the vertical wall of the spacer between adjacent mounting seats to join the lower wall of the spacer, and the vertical wall of the spacer is provided between the adjacent mounting seats. The front fender connection part structure according to claim 1, wherein a closed cross-section part is formed. 3. The front fender connecting portion structure according to claim 1, wherein a bead portion orthogonal to the ridge is provided in a ridge line portion on an upper edge side of a portion where the upper wall is bent downward.