JP4555139B2 - Front body structure of automobile - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile.

  A conventional front body structure of an automobile is described in Patent Document 1, for example. According to this structure, the plate-like cowl member extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower edge of the front window glass is detachably attached to the body of the automobile. Both the left and right ends of the cowl member and the engine The upper part of the suspension tower provided on the left and right side walls of the room is connected to each other by a rod.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-242784

However, in such a front body structure of an automobile, the suspension tower and the cowl member are each connected by only one rod, and the upper part of the suspension tower will be displaced by the load applied to the suspension tower during steering. In this case, rigidity is ensured in the axial direction of the rod, but the suspension tower tilts to the left and right due to the force applied in the other direction. That is, there is a problem that the effect on the rigidity of the suspension tower is small only by supporting the suspension tower by connecting the suspension tower to the cowl with a single rod.
There is also a structure in which the left and right suspension towers are directly coupled to each other by a cowl member in order to improve the rigidity of the suspension tower, but the cowl member spreads in the front-rear direction of the automobile and blocks the opening of the engine room from above. There was also a problem that workability in the engine room was poor.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a front body structure of an automobile having improved suspension tower rigidity without impairing workability in an engine room. To do.

A front body structure of an automobile according to the present invention includes two suspension towers provided on left and right side walls in an engine room of an automobile, a cowl body that extends below the front window glass and extends in the vehicle width direction, A cowl front located rearward of the suspension tower and extending in the vehicle width direction and having a groove inside, a first connecting member having one end coupled to the suspension tower and the other end coupled to the cowl body, and one end A second coupling member coupled to the suspension tower and having the other end coupled to the cowl body; a body attachment member fixed to the cowl body and coupled to the first coupling member ; The suspension towers are connected to each other, the connecting direction between the first connecting member and the cowl body, and the second connecting member and the cowl. In connection directions are different from each other states of the body are connected and a respective suspension tower and the cowl main body, the bonding position of the second coupling member and the cowl main body, and a fixed position relative to the cowl body body mounting member with each other, car It is characterized by being different in the vertical direction . A cowl front having a groove inside connects the suspension towers, thereby improving the holding force between the suspension towers. In addition, the suspension tower and the cowl body are coupled in a state where the coupling direction of the first coupling member and the cowl body and the coupling direction of the second coupling member and the cowl body are different from each other. The holding power between cowl bodies is improved. Further, since the cowl body extends in the vehicle width direction and the length of the automobile in the front-rear direction is short, a range for closing the engine room is minimized.
The suspension tower includes a tower mounting member having one end coupled to the upper end of the suspension tower and the other end extending toward the rear of the automobile, and the first coupling member and the second coupling member are coupled to the tower mounting member, respectively. By doing so, it may be coupled to the suspension tower.
At least one of the first connecting member and the second connecting member may straddle the groove in the front-rear direction of the automobile .

  According to this invention, the cowl front connects the suspension towers to each other by the first connecting member and the second connecting member, the connecting direction between the first connecting member and the cowl body, and the second connecting member. Since the suspension tower and the cowl body are connected in a state where the connection directions of the member and the cowl body are different from each other, the rigidity of the suspension tower can be improved. In addition, the cowl front extends in the vehicle width direction and the length of the vehicle in the front-rear direction is short, so that the area that covers the engine room is minimized, preventing the workability in the engine room from being impaired. be able to.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front body structure of an automobile according to this embodiment.
Below the front window glass in the engine room of the automobile, a cowl front 7 is attached along the highly rigid cowl body 1 so as to extend from the right side wall 2 to the left side wall 3. In FIG. 1, description of fixing bolts for connecting the members is omitted. The detailed structure in the engine room will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2, and the detailed structure of the cowl front 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front body structure of the automobile with the cowl front 7 removed in FIG. Each of the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3 is provided with mounting holes 117 and 118 through which fixing bolts for fixing the cowl front 7 pass.
The cowl body 1 is provided on a cowl inner 11 having an inclined surface with a downward slope from the lower side of the front window glass in the engine room and extending from the right side wall 2 to the left side wall 3, and an upper part of the cowl inner 11. A cowl outer 12 extending from the wall 2 to the left wall 3 is provided. Four attachment holes 111, 112, 113, and 114 are provided in the lower end edge 11 a of the cowl inner 11. Body attachment members 13a and 13b extending near the lower side edge 11a of the cowl inner 11 along the inclined surface of the cowl inner 11 near the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3 of the cowl inner 11. Is fixed to the cowl inner 11 by welding. Attachment holes 151 and 152 are provided in the body attachment members 13a and 13b, respectively.
Further, drainage holes 14 a and 14 b communicating with the rear of the front wheel (not shown) are provided at the connection portion between the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3 and the cowl inner 11.

  Suspension towers 4 a and 4 b are provided in the vicinity of the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3, respectively. Tower mounting members 6a and 6b are coupled to the suspension towers 4a and 4b by bolts at upper ends 5a and 5b of the suspension towers 4a and 4b, respectively. Here, the tower mounting members 6a and 6b constitute part of the suspension towers 4a and 4b, respectively. The tower mounting member 6a has a triangular shape that opens rearward with respect to the longitudinal direction of the automobile, and is divided into three coupling portions 6a1, 6a2, and 6a3. Mounting holes 101, 102, and 103 are provided in the coupling portions 6a1, 6a2, and 6a3, respectively. Of these three coupling portions, the central coupling portion 6a2 has a shape raised in a convex shape with respect to the left and right coupling portions 6a1 and 6a3. For convenience of explanation, the shape of only the tower mounting member 6a has been described, but the other tower mounting member 6b has the same shape, and has three coupling portions 6b1, 6b2, 6b3, Mounting holes 104, 105, and 106 are provided in the coupling portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cowl front 7, the first connecting members 8a and 8b, and the second connecting members 9a and 9b, and FIG.
The cowl front 7 has an elongated shape extending in the vehicle width direction, and has a groove portion 10 having a substantially U-shaped cross section extending in the longitudinal direction. A front edge portion 15 and a rear edge portion 16 having substantially horizontal surfaces are provided at both edges along the longitudinal direction of the cowl front 7. The front edge 15 is formed to be higher than the rear edge 16. A staircase-shaped attachment portion 17 is formed between the front edge portion 15 and the groove portion 10 (see FIG. 4). Further, in the vicinity of the left and right end portions 7a and 7b of the cowl front 7, the first connecting members 8a and 8b and the second connecting members 9a and 9b located on the center side of the first connecting members 8a and 8b are provided. And are provided.
Four attachment holes 121, 122, 123, 124 are provided in the rear edge portion 16. The mounting holes 121 and 124 are provided so as to overlap the mounting holes 161 and 162 provided in the second connecting members 9a and 9b, respectively, and the fixing bolts are connected to the second connecting members 9a and 9b and the rear edge portion 16. It has come to penetrate. In addition, mounting holes 127 and 128 are provided at both end portions 7a and 7b of the cowl front 7, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cowl front 7 at a portion where the first connecting members 8a and 8b are provided.
As shown in FIG. 5A, the first connecting member 8 a extends substantially horizontally from the attachment portion 17 so as to straddle the groove portion 10 and protrudes rearward from the rear edge portion 16. The first connecting member 8a and the mounting portion 17 are arranged so as to overlap each other, and the mounting hole 143 provided in the first connecting member 8a and the mounting hole 131 provided in the mounting portion 17 are overlapped and fixed. The bolt for use penetrates the first connecting member 8 a and the mounting portion 17. In the first connecting member 8a, a mounting hole 141 is also provided in a portion protruding rearward from the rear edge portion 16. As shown in FIG. 5B, the other first connecting member 8b has the same shape. The first connecting member 8b is provided with mounting holes 144 and 142. The mounting hole 144 overlaps with the mounting hole 134 provided in the mounting portion 17, and the fixing bolt is connected to the first connecting portion 8b and the mounting portion 17. It has come to penetrate.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cowl front 7 at a portion where the second connecting members 9a and 9b are provided.
As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the second connecting member 9 a is in contact with the side surface 18 connecting the front edge portion 15 and the attachment portion 17 and the attachment portion 17, and the rear edge portion 16 so as to straddle the groove portion 10. It extends to. In the portion where the second connecting member 9a and the mounting portion 17 overlap, the mounting hole 163 provided in the second connecting member 9a and the mounting hole 133 provided in the mounting portion 17 overlap, and the fixing bolt is The two connecting portions 9a and the attaching portion 17 are penetrated. As shown in FIG. 6B, the other second connecting member 9b has a similar shape. The mounting hole 164 provided in the second connecting member 9b and the mounting hole 136 provided in the mounting portion 17 overlap so that the fixing bolt penetrates the second connecting member 9b and the mounting portion 17. .

  As shown in FIG. 7A, a mounting hole 132 is provided in the mounting portion 17 between the first connecting member 8a and the second connecting member 9a. As shown in FIG. 7B, a fixing bolt mounting hole 135 is also provided in the mounting portion 17 between the first connecting member 8b and the second connecting member 9b.

Next, a method for mounting the cowl front 7 in the engine room will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the four attachment holes 121 to 124 provided in the rear edge portion 16 of the cowl front 7 are replaced with the four attachment holes 111 to 114 provided in the lower end edge 11 a of the cowl inner 11. The rear edge 16 of the cowl front 7 and the lower edge 11a of the cowl inner 11 are fixed by overlapping from above and tightening with nuts through bolts. The mounting holes 127, 128 provided in the left and right ends 7a, 7b in the longitudinal direction of the cowl front 7 are superimposed on the mounting holes 117, 118 provided in the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3 from above, respectively. By tightening with a nut through a bolt, the left and right ends 7a, 7b of the cowl body and the right side wall 2 and the left side wall 3 are fixed.

As shown in FIG. 8, a mounting hole 131 provided in the mounting portion 17 is overlapped with the mounting hole 101 provided in the coupling portion 6a1 of the tower mounting member 6a from above, and further provided in the first connecting member 8a. The first attachment member 8a, the cowl front 7 and the tower attachment member 6a are fixed by overlapping the attachment holes 143 from above and tightening each with a nut through a bolt. Similarly, the first connecting member 8b, the cowl front 7, and the tower mounting member 6b are fixed.
Further, the mounting holes 141 provided in the first connecting member 8a are overlaid on the mounting holes 151 provided in the body mounting member 13a, and each of them is tightened with a nut through a bolt, whereby the first connecting member 8a and The body attachment member 13a is coupled. Similarly, the first connecting member 8b and the body attaching member 13b are coupled. Thus, the first connecting members 8a and 8b are coupled to the tower mounting members 6a and 6b and the body mounting members 13a and 13b so as to straddle the groove portion 10.
Here, the connecting direction of the first connecting member 8 a is a direction connecting the mounting hole 141 and the mounting hole 143.

As shown in FIG. 9, the mounting hole 133 provided in the mounting portion 17 is overlapped with the mounting hole 103 provided in the coupling portion 6a3 of the tower mounting portion 6a from above, and further provided in the second connecting member 9a. The second attachment member 9a, the cowl front 7 and the tower attachment member 6a are fixed by overlapping the attachment holes 163 from above and tightening each with a nut through a bolt. Similarly, the second connecting member 9b, the cowl front 7, and the tower mounting member 6b are fixed.
Here, the connecting direction of the second connecting member 9a is a direction connecting the attaching hole 161 (see FIG. 3) and the attaching hole 163, and the connecting direction of the first connecting member 8a and the second connecting member 9a are connected to each other. The connecting directions are different from each other. Similarly, the connecting direction of the first connecting member 8b and the connecting direction of the second connecting member 9b are different from each other.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the mounting hole 132 provided in the mounting portion 17 is overlapped with the mounting hole 102 provided in the coupling portion 6a2 of the tower mounting member 6a from above, and each is tightened with a nut through a bolt. The cowl front 7 and the tower mounting member 6a are fixed. Similarly, the cowl front 7 and the tower mounting member 6b are fixed.

By installing the cowl front 7 extending in the vehicle width direction in the engine room by such a method, the cowl front 7 connects the suspension towers 4a and 4b.
Further, the tower mounting members 6a and 6b, the first connecting members 8a and 8b, and the body mounting members 13a and 13b are coupled to each other, whereby the tower mounting members 6a and 6b and the second connecting members 9a and 9b are combined. As a result, the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the cowl body 1 are connected to each other by coupling the lower end edge 11a of the cowl inner 11 with each other. That is, each of the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the cowl body 1 are connected in the longitudinal direction of the automobile and the vehicle width direction of the automobile.
Further, since the body attaching members 13a and 13b are fixed from the vicinity of the lower end edge 11a of the cowl inner 11 to the position immediately below the cowl outer 12 along the cowl inner 11, the body attaching members 13a and 13b are fixed to the cowl inner 11. The position is higher than the coupling position between the second connecting members 9 a and 9 b and the lower end edge 11 a of the cowl inner 11. In other words, the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the automobile body are connected at two places whose positions are different in the height direction.

Thus, since the cowl front 7 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, the rigidity in the vehicle width direction of the automobile is increased, so that the holding force between the suspension towers 4a and 4b can be improved. Further, since each of the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the cowl body 1 are connected in two different directions, the holding force between the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the cowl body 1 can be improved. Therefore, the suspension towers 4a and 4b, the suspension towers 4a and 4b, and the cowl body 1 are firmly connected, so that the suspension tower rigidity can be improved. By improving the rigidity of the suspension tower, it is possible to promote the maneuverability of the automobile.
Further, the cowl front 7 is located behind the suspension towers 4a and 4b and has a short shape with respect to the front-rear direction of the automobile, so that when the cowl front 7 is attached to the engine room, the range for closing the engine room is minimized. Therefore, the workability in the engine room can be prevented from being impaired.

Since the first connecting members 8a and 8b are coupled to the tower mounting members 6a and 6b and the body mounting members 13a and 13b so that the first connecting members 8a and 8b straddle the groove portion 10, rigidity in the front-rear direction is increased. And the holding | maintenance force between the cowl main bodies 1 can further be improved.
In addition, since the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the automobile body are connected at two places having different positions in the height direction, the holding force between the suspension towers 4a and 4b and the cowl body 1 can be further improved.
Further, both end portions 10a and 10b of the groove portion 10 communicate with the drain grooves 14a and 14b. As a result, when rainwater or the like flowing down a front window (not shown) enters the engine compartment, it is collected in the groove 10 and can be drained to the rear of the front wheel (not shown) via the left and right drain grooves 14a and 14b.

  In this embodiment, the cowl front 7, the tower mounting members 6a and 6b, the first connecting members 8a and 8b, and the second connecting members 9a and 9b are separate parts, but the present invention is not limited to this. . By integrating these, the rigidity can be further increased, and the assembling work can be simplified.

1 is a perspective view showing a front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, it is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the cowl front. It is a perspective view of the cowl front in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing along the Va-Va line | wire and Vb-Vb line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the VIa-VIa line and VIb-VIb line of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the VIIa-VIIa line | wire and VIIb-VIIb line | wire of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the VIII-VIII line of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the IX-IX line of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the XX line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1 cowl body, 2 right side wall, 3 left side wall, 4a, 4b suspension tower, 6a, 6b tower mounting member, 7 cowl front, 8a, 8b first connecting member, 9a, 9b second connecting member, 10 Groove, 13a, 13b Body mounting member.

Claims (3)

Two suspension towers provided on the left and right side walls in the engine room of the car,
A cowl body extending in the vehicle width direction below the front window glass;
A cowl front located rearward of the suspension tower and extending in the vehicle width direction and having a groove inside;
A first connecting member having one end coupled to the suspension tower and the other end coupled to the cowl body;
A second connecting member having one end coupled to the suspension tower and the other end coupled to the cowl body ;
A body attachment member fixedly attached to the cowl body and coupled to the first connecting member ;
The cowl front connects the suspension towers,
The suspension tower and the cowl body are connected in a state where the connection direction of the first connecting member and the cowl body and the connection direction of the second connecting member and the cowl body are different from each other .
A front vehicle body structure for an automobile, wherein a coupling position between the second connecting member and the cowl body and a fixing position of the body attachment member with respect to the cowl body are different from each other in the vertical direction of the automobile. The suspension tower includes a tower mounting member having one end coupled to an upper end portion of the suspension tower and the other end extending toward the rear of the automobile.
2. The front body structure of an automobile according to claim 1, wherein each of the first connecting member and the second connecting member is connected to the suspension tower by being connected to the tower mounting member.   The front body structure of an automobile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the first connecting member and the second connecting member straddles the groove portion in the front-rear direction of the automobile.

Images