JP4848922B2 - Vehicle fender structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fender portion structure for a vehicle in which an inner end portion of a fender panel is attached to an apron upper member via an impact absorbing bracket.

  In the front part of the vehicle, the inner end of the fender panel may be attached to the apron upper member via a shock-absorbing bracket in order to absorb the shock from the upper side of the vehicle at the parting part between the fender and the hood. Yes (for example, see Patent Document 1). In such a structure, the brackets are arranged at a predetermined interval.

For this reason, in this conventional structure, there is a difference in shock absorption performance with respect to load input to the fender panel from the upper side of the vehicle between the portion where the bracket is disposed and the portion where the bracket is not disposed. .
JP 2001-287669 A

  In view of the above fact, an object of the present invention is to provide a fender portion structure for a vehicle that can reduce a difference due to a portion of shock absorption performance with respect to a load input from above the vehicle.

The fender portion structure for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention is a fender portion structure for a vehicle in which an inner end portion of a fender panel is attached to an apron upper member via an impact absorption bracket. the inner end of the fender panel is attached by bolt fastening, the upper wall portion extending substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction and, extending therefrom to a lower end portion from the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall to the lower side of the vehicle There is attached to the apron upper member, a first side wall portion extending continuously substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction, extending out the bottom end portion is the apron from the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall to the lower side of the vehicle disposed opposite the vehicle width direction with respect to the first side wall portion with attached to upper member, load from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel is disposed at a distance in a substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle A support leg for supporting the input load at the time of input, possess a second sidewall portion supporting rigidity from the vehicle upper side for the adjustment of the energy absorption amount at the time of load input to the fender panel is set, and further The first side wall portion and the second side wall portion both incline outward in the vehicle width direction toward the upper side of the vehicle, and the upper wall portion, the first side wall portion, the second side wall portion, and the apron The upper member forms a substantially parallelogram-shaped closed space portion when the vehicle is viewed from the front, and the position of the second side wall portion in the vehicle front-rear direction on the support leg portion corresponds to the inner end portion of the fender panel and the shock absorption The bracket is displaced from a position in the vehicle front-rear direction at a bolt fastening portion with the upper wall portion of the bracket .

  According to the fender portion structure of the vehicle of the present invention described in claim 1, the first side wall portion extends substantially continuously in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the second side wall portion is a load applied from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel. Support stiffness is set to adjust the amount of energy absorbed at the time of input, so when the load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the fender panel, it extends continuously in the vehicle longitudinal direction regardless of where the load is input. The first side wall portion that deforms deforms to the vehicle lower side while stably supporting the load, and the second side wall portion deforms to the vehicle lower side according to the support rigidity.

In addition, since the second side wall portion is provided with support leg portions that are arranged at intervals in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the first side wall portion stably loads when a load is input from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel. While being supported, the second side wall portion that supports the input load by the support leg portion is deformed to the lower side of the vehicle according to the support rigidity.

Further, the first side wall portion extends from the inner side of the upper wall portion in the vehicle width direction to the vehicle lower side, and the second side wall portion extends from the outer side of the upper wall portion in the vehicle width direction to the vehicle lower side. The side wall covers the second side wall from the inside in the vehicle width direction. For this reason, even if the second side wall portion has a poor-looking shape, for example, when the hood is opened, the second side wall portion is not visually recognized by an operator on the vehicle front side.
Further, both the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion are inclined outward in the vehicle width direction toward the upper side of the vehicle, and the upper wall portion, the first side wall portion, the second side wall portion, and the apron upper member are front of the vehicle. A closed space portion having a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed is formed. For this reason, when a load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the fender panel, the shock absorbing bracket is deformed so as to fall outside in the vehicle width direction and absorbs energy. Therefore, the deformation mode in which the shock absorbing bracket falls to the vehicle lower side when receiving a collision load is stabilized.
Here, the position of the support leg portion of the second side wall portion in the vehicle front-rear direction is shifted from the position of the bolt fastening portion between the inner end portion of the fender panel and the upper wall portion of the shock absorbing bracket in the vehicle front-rear direction. For this reason, when a load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the fender panel, the support leg portion of the shock absorbing bracket does not interfere with the bolts of the bolt fastening portion, so that a large deformation stroke of the shock absorbing bracket is ensured.

  As described above, according to the fender portion structure of the vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the difference due to the portion of the shock absorbing performance with respect to the load input from the vehicle upper side. It has the effect.

In addition, by setting the support rigidity of the second side wall according to the shape, size, arrangement interval, number, etc. of the support legs, it is easy to tune the amount of energy absorbed when a load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the fender panel. It has an excellent effect that it can be made.

Moreover, it has the outstanding effect that an appearance can be improved because the 1st side wall part covers the 2nd side wall part from the vehicle width direction inner side.
Furthermore, when a load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the fender panel, the deformation mode of the shock absorbing bracket can be stabilized and a large deformation stroke of the shock absorbing bracket can be secured.

(Configuration of the embodiment)
An embodiment of a vehicle fender structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, arrow UP indicates the upward direction of the vehicle, arrow FR indicates the forward direction of the vehicle, and arrow IN indicates the inner side in the vehicle width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a metal hood 14 that covers the engine room 12 in an openable and closable manner is disposed on the vehicle upper side of the engine room 12 in the vehicle body front portion 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the hood 14 is a hood outer panel 16 that constitutes the outer plate of the hood 14, and is spaced from the hood outer panel 16 toward the hood lower side to constitute the inner plate of the hood 14. And a food inner panel 18. The outer periphery of the hood outer panel 16 is coupled to the hood inner panel 18 by hemming.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a front fender panel 20 is disposed on the side of the hood outer panel 16, that is, on the side surface of the vehicle body front portion 10. The parting part 22 that becomes the boundary between the hood outer panel 16 and the front fender panel 20 extends substantially along the vehicle front-rear direction at both ends of the hood 14 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the front fender panel 20 is suspended from an outer vertical wall portion 20A that covers the upper side of the front wheel 19 (see FIG. 1) and forms a design surface, and an upper end portion of the outer vertical wall portion 20A. The inner vertical wall portion 20B, and a horizontal flange portion 20C extending substantially horizontally from the lower end portion of the inner vertical wall portion 20B toward the engine room 12 are configured. A seal material (not shown) made of an elastic material (rubber) is disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the inner vertical wall portion 20B, and is pressed in a state where it is elastically deformed at both ends in the width direction at the outer peripheral portion of the hood 14. It has come to be.

  An apron upper member 24 is disposed on the vehicle lower side of the horizontal flange portion 20C of the front fender panel 20. The apron upper member 24 is a vehicle body skeleton member. The apron upper member upper 26 is disposed on the upper side and has a trapezoidal cross-section with an opening facing downward, and the apron upper member lower is disposed on the lower side and has an L-shaped cross section. 28.

  The apron upper member upper 26 has a flange portion 26A with a lower end portion on the outer side in the vehicle width direction extending outward in the vehicle width direction. The flange portion 26A and the vehicle of the lateral wall portion 28A in the apron upper member lower 28 are provided. The width direction outer side end portion 28B is welded. The apron upper member upper 26 has a lower end edge portion 26C of the vehicle width direction inner side wall portion 26B and a vertical wall portion extending downward from the vehicle width direction inner end portion of the lateral wall portion 28A of the apron upper member lower 28. 28C is welded. As a result, the apron upper member 24 forms a closed section 30 that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction by the apron upper member upper 26 and the apron upper member lower 28. The top wall portion 26D of the apron upper member upper 26 and the lateral wall portion 28A of the apron upper member lower 28 are arranged in parallel, and the top wall portion 26D is connected to the horizontal flange portion 20C of the front fender panel 20. On the other hand, it is arranged on the vehicle lower side and the vehicle width direction inner side.

  A horizontal flange portion 20 </ b> C as an end portion in the vehicle width direction of the front fender panel 20 is attached to the apron upper member 24 via an impact absorbing bracket 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the shock absorbing bracket 32 is a shock absorbing structural member obtained by press-molding a sheet metal (for example, an aluminum alloy plate or a steel plate), and is substantially attached with the horizontal flange portion 20 </ b> C of the front fender panel 20. An upper wall portion 34 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a first side wall that is bent from one side of the upper wall portion 34 in the vehicle width direction (in this embodiment, the inner side in the vehicle width direction) and extends to the vehicle lower side. Part 36 and a second side wall part 38 that is bent from the other side of the upper wall part 34 in the vehicle width direction (in this embodiment, the outside in the vehicle width direction) and extends to the vehicle lower side. ing. Further, the vertical dimension of the vehicle in the shock absorbing bracket 32 shown in FIG. 3 is a necessary stroke required for pedestrian protection performance when a load is input to the parting portion 22 between the front fender panel 20 and the hood 14 from the upper side of the vehicle. The dimensions are in accordance.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper wall portion 34 of the shock absorbing bracket 32 has a rectangular flat plate shape and is disposed in parallel with the top wall portion 26 </ b> D of the apron upper member upper 26. A plurality of bolt insertion holes 40 (see FIG. 3) are formed through the upper wall portion 34 at positions spaced substantially along the vehicle longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a weld nut 42 is welded in advance on the back side of the bolt insertion hole 40 in the upper wall portion 34. A horizontal flange portion 20 </ b> C of the front fender panel 20 is placed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 34 of the shock absorbing bracket 32. Bolts 44 are inserted and screwed into the weld nuts 42 from the vehicle upper side of the horizontal flange portion 20C.

  The first side wall portion 36 has a lower end portion 36A attached to the upper part of the vehicle width direction inner side wall portion 26B of the apron upper member upper 26 by surface welding in a surface contact state, and is substantially continuous in the vehicle longitudinal direction. It extends (see FIG. 2). The first side wall portion 36 is an inclined wall portion 36B whose upper side portion is inclined from the vehicle width direction inner lower side toward the vehicle width direction outer upper side than the lower end portion 36A.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second side wall portion 38 has a lower end portion 38A attached to the upper portion of the apron upper member upper 26 in the vehicle width direction outer wall portion 26E by spot welding or the like in a surface contact state. The one side wall portion 36 is disposed so as to oppose the vehicle width direction. The second side wall portion 38 has an upper portion inclined from the lower side in the vehicle width direction toward the upper side in the vehicle width direction (in parallel with the inclined wall portion 36B) from the lower side in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the shock absorbing bracket 32 and the apron upper member upper 26 form a substantially parallelogram-shaped closed space 46 in a front view of the vehicle. In a load input state from the vehicle upper side to the front fender panel 20, Corresponding to the positional relationship in the vehicle width direction between the horizontal flange portion 20C of the front fender panel 20 and the top wall portion 26D of the apron upper member upper 26, the shock absorbing bracket 32 is folded (folded out) in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 5, it is deformed to absorb energy. With the above configuration, the deformation mode in which the shock absorbing bracket 32 falls to the vehicle lower side when receiving a collision load is stabilized.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the second side wall portion 38, the upper side portion of the lower end portion 38 </ b> A is bent from the outside in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion 34 and extends to the vehicle lower side and is substantially in the vehicle front-rear direction. An upper end 38C that extends continuously from the upper end 38C, and extends from the upper end 38C to the vehicle lower side and is disposed at an interval in the vehicle front-rear direction so that a load is applied to the front fender panel 20 from the vehicle upper side. A plurality of support legs 38B that support the input load. The second side wall portion 38 that supports the input load by the support leg portion 38B has a support rigidity for adjusting the amount of energy absorbed when the load is input to the front fender panel 20 from the upper side of the vehicle.

  In other words, the FS characteristic of the shock absorbing bracket 32 is set so that optimum energy absorption by the shock absorbing bracket 32 is realized by setting the support rigidity of the second side wall portion 38. Since the input load is supported by the plurality of support legs 38B at the time of load input in the second side wall 38, reaction force (F of FS characteristics) when the shock absorbing bracket 32 is deformed can be easily achieved. Can be set. Further, the setting of the support rigidity of the second side wall 38 is tuned by the shape, size (including leg width), arrangement interval, number, etc. of the support legs 38B.

  In the present embodiment, the positions of the plurality of support legs 38B in the vehicle front-rear direction are deviated from the positions in the vehicle front-rear direction of the bolts 44 and the weld nuts 42 (see FIG. 3). In a load input state to the front fender panel 20, the support leg portion 38B of the shock absorbing bracket 32 does not interfere with the bolt 44 and the weld nut 42 (see FIG. 3), and the shock absorbing bracket 32 has a large deformation stroke. Secured.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of the above embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when a load is input to the front fender panel 20 from the upper side of the vehicle, that is, when the colliding body 50 collides with the parting part 22 between the front fender panel 20 and the hood 14 from the upper side of the vehicle, The collision load F at that time is input to the impact absorbing bracket 32 via the inner vertical wall portion 20B and then transmitted to the apron upper member 24. In this process, the shock absorbing bracket 32 is plastically deformed downward (crushes so as to fall down), thereby absorbing energy at the time of collision (demonstrating pedestrian protection performance).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the shock absorbing bracket 32 has a first side wall portion 36 extending continuously in a substantially vehicle front-rear direction and a second side wall portion 38 spaced substantially in the vehicle front-rear direction. The support rigidity is set for adjusting the amount of energy absorption when the load is input to the front fender panel 20 from the upper side of the vehicle.

  That is, when a load is input to the front fender panel 20 from the upper side of the vehicle, the first side wall 36 and the second side wall 38 are respectively separated by the component force distributed to the first side wall 36 and the second side wall 38. Deform. At this time, in the second side wall portion 38, the load is further distributed to each support leg portion 38B. Here, regardless of where the load is input from the upper side of the vehicle to the front fender panel 20 (for example, the input such as the collision load F1 is performed by the collision body 50 in FIG. 1), the first side wall portion 36 extending substantially continuously in the vehicle front-rear direction is deformed to the vehicle width direction outer side and the vehicle lower side while stably supporting the load, and is input at the support leg 38B. The second side wall portion 38 that supports the load is deformed outward in the vehicle width direction and below the vehicle in accordance with the support rigidity. In this way, the shock absorbing bracket 32 is deformed so as to fall down (to be folded) so as to fall to the vehicle width direction outer side and the vehicle lower side, and absorbs energy.

  Thus, according to the fender portion structure of the vehicle of the present embodiment, the support rigidity of the second side wall portion 38 is set by the shape, size (including leg width), arrangement interval, number, etc. of the support leg portion 38B. By doing so, it is possible to easily tune the energy absorption amount and the energy absorption characteristics when a load is input to the front fender panel 20 from the upper side of the vehicle (easy to control the load of the parting part), and the front fender panel from the upper side of the vehicle. The difference (load variation) due to the portion of the shock absorption performance with respect to the load input to 20 can be made small (uniformization of the shock absorption performance).

  Further, the first side wall portion 36 is bent from the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion 34 and extends to the vehicle lower side, and the second side wall portion 38 is bent from the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion 34. Since it extends downward, the first side wall portion 36 covers the second side wall portion 38 from the inner side in the vehicle width direction. For this reason, when the hood 14 (see FIG. 1) is opened, the support leg portions 38B scattered as a part of the second side wall portion 38 are not visually recognized by an operator on the front side of the vehicle and look good.

  Supplementally, in the conventional configuration, the shock absorbing brackets are disposed at a predetermined interval, and from the viewpoint of appearance, there is a case where a separate fender cover is disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the shock absorbing bracket. In such a configuration, the number of parts is increased as compared with the present embodiment. Moreover, according to this embodiment, it is easy to ensure a deformation stroke when a load is input from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel as much as there is no fender cover as in the conventional configuration. Further, in the conventional configuration, the fender cover has a function of blocking heat from the engine room. However, even if there is no fender cover, in the present embodiment, the first side wall portion 36 is provided in the engine room 12 (see FIG. 3 and the like). Serves the function of blocking heat from Furthermore, since the shock absorbing bracket 32 is manufactured from a single sheet metal, the shock absorbing bracket 32 can be manufactured at a lower cost than a conventional fender cover that has been injection-molded.

(Supplementary explanation of the embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, the second side wall portion 38 includes the support leg portions 38B that are disposed at intervals in the vehicle longitudinal direction. As a reference example that is not an embodiment of the present invention, for example, The second side wall portion extends substantially continuously in the vehicle front-rear direction and is provided with a weak portion (for example, a slit) that causes buckling, thereby supporting the load when the load is input from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel. It may be another second side wall portion in which the rigidity is set.

Further, in the above embodiment, the shock absorbing bracket 32 has the first side wall portion 36 bent from the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion 34 and extended to the vehicle lower side, and the second side wall portion 38 has the upper wall portion 34. As a reference example that is not an embodiment of the present invention, the shock absorbing bracket is, for example, a first side wall portion of the upper wall portion in the vehicle width direction. The second side wall portion is bent from the inner side of the upper wall portion in the vehicle width direction and extended to the vehicle lower side, and the second side wall portion extends from the vehicle upper side to the fender panel. It is possible to reduce the difference due to the portion of the shock absorbing performance with respect to the load input.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the shock absorbing bracket 32 is formed from a single sheet metal. For example, the shock absorbing bracket includes a first plate member including a part of the upper wall portion and the first side wall portion, and an upper plate. After forming a part of the wall part and the second plate member having the second side wall part as separate bodies (press molding), a part of the upper wall part is connected (for example, welded in a stacked state). It is good also as other shock absorption brackets formed by. In addition, when the shock absorbing bracket is configured including the first plate member and the second plate member, there is an advantage that the plate thickness of the first plate member and the plate thickness of the second plate member can be easily changed. .

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the shock absorbing bracket 32 includes the inclined wall portion 36B in the first side wall portion 36, the upper end portion 38C and the support leg portion 38B in the second side wall portion 38 from the lower side in the vehicle width direction. As a reference example that is inclined toward the vehicle width direction outer upper side but is not an embodiment of the present invention, the shock absorbing bracket includes, for example, a horizontal flange portion of a front fender panel and a top wall portion of an apron upper member upper When the positions in the vehicle width direction overlap, the middle part of the shock absorbing bracket in the vertical direction is separated or approached so as to deform (crush) the shock absorbing bracket to the vehicle lower side (directly below). Other shapes may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of support legs 38B extend from the upper end 38C of the second side wall 38 to the vehicle lower side, but the plurality of support legs are the upper wall of the second side wall. You may extend directly to the vehicle lower side.

1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle to which a vehicle fender structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a half section showing a part of a fender portion structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 showing a fender portion structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to a cross section taken along line 3A-3A in FIG. 1). FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the deformation | transformation state of the fender part structure of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

20 Front fender panel 20C Horizontal flange (end inside fender panel)
24 Apron upper member 32 Shock absorbing bracket 34 Upper wall portion 36 First side wall portion 38 Second side wall portion 38B Support leg portion
42 Weld nut (bolt fastening part)
44 Bolt (Bolt fastening part)
46 Closed space

Claims (1)

A fender part structure for a vehicle in which an inner end portion of a fender panel is attached to an apron upper member via a shock absorbing bracket,
The shock absorbing bracket is
An upper end portion of the fender panel that is attached by bolt fastening and extends substantially in the vehicle front-rear direction;
The lower end portion from the inner side in the vehicle width direction extends toward the vehicle lower side of the upper wall portion is attached to the apron upper member, a first side wall portion extending continuously substantially in the vehicle longitudinal direction,
Disposed opposite the vehicle width direction with respect to the first side wall portion with a lower end portion extending from the outer side to the lower side of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion is attached to the apron upper member, substantially in the vehicle It is provided with support legs that are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction and support the input load when a load is input to the fender panel from the upper side of the vehicle, and the amount of energy absorbed when the load is input to the fender panel from the upper side of the vehicle A second side wall portion for which support rigidity is set for adjustment of
I have a,
Further, both the first side wall and the second side wall are inclined outward in the vehicle width direction toward the vehicle upper side, and the upper wall, the first side wall, the second side wall, and the The apron upper member forms a substantially parallelogram-shaped closed space portion when the vehicle is viewed from the front, and the position of the second side wall portion on the support leg portion in the vehicle front-rear direction corresponds to the inner end portion of the fender panel and the impact. A fender part structure for a vehicle , wherein the bolt fastening part with the upper wall part of the absorption bracket is displaced from a position in the vehicle front-rear direction .

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