JP5072037B2 - Reinforcement structure at the front of the vehicle body - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure in a front portion of a vehicle body including a joined body having a hollow closed cross-sectional structure for joining a protruding end portion of an apron member to a front side member.

  Conventionally, there is a vehicle body front structure of the vehicle described in Patent Document 1 below. According to this publication, the front body structure of the vehicle body extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and constitutes a lower side portion of the front portion of the vehicle body, and a front pillar projecting upward from the rear side of the side member. An apron member projecting forward from a longitudinal middle portion of the front pillar, and a sheet metal assembly having a hollow closed cross-sectional structure extending in the vertical direction and coupling the projecting end of the apron member to the side member; It has.

  Then, it is assumed that the vehicle collides (front collision) with some object in front of the vehicle while traveling. At this time, usually, an impact force is applied from the object to the front end portion of the side member, and the impact force applies a bending moment to the side member so that the front end side is pushed upward. Then, the moment causes the side member to bend upward.

However, according to the vehicle body front structure, the combined body prevents the side member from bending as described above. That is, this combined body acts as a moment canceller that prevents the action of the moment on the side member. For this reason, at the time of the front collision, the side member is buckled in the longitudinal direction without being bent, and thereby, the side member is more plastically deformed. Therefore, the energy based on the impact force is absorbed more greatly than when the side member is simply bent. As a result, the impact force applied to the front portion of the vehicle body is effectively mitigated.
JP 2005-335619 A

  By the way, in the case where the vehicle body front structure is applied to a small vehicle, the combined body that is a component of this structure remains the same shape and size, and can be applied to a larger vehicle. In other words, it is conceivable that the combined body can be shared between different vehicle types. However, if the vehicle body front structure is applied to a larger vehicle, the large vehicle generally has a larger mass, and thus the moment at the time of a front collision tends to be larger. Therefore, the action as a moment canceller is insufficient with the above combined body, and the side member tends to bend due to the front collision, and the plastic deformation may be insufficient.

  Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to increase the thickness of the above-mentioned combined body applied to a large vehicle so as to reinforce the combined body so as to be able to counter a large moment at the time of a front collision. However, if it does in this way, since it will be necessary to prepare a mutually different coupling body for every various vehicles, there exists a possibility that the whole component management about various vehicles may become complicated.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to make it possible to share the components of the vehicle body front structure between various vehicles having different molds and masses. It is to make it possible to easily manage the entire parts of the vehicle and to effectively reduce the impact force applied to the front part of the vehicle body at the time of frontal collision of the vehicle to which the above-described components are applied.

The invention of claim 1 includes a front side member 3 that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2 and constitutes a lower portion of the front portion of the vehicle body 2, a front pillar 4 that protrudes upward from the rear side of the side member 3, and An apron member 5 projecting forward from a midway in the longitudinal direction of the front pillar 4 and a sheet metal coupling having a hollow closed cross-section structure extending in the vertical direction and coupling the projecting end of the apron member 5 to the side member 3 In the reinforcement structure in the front part of the vehicle body including the body 6,
A reinforcing material 25 that extends in the vertical direction and is fixed to the combined body 6 (S7 to S10) to reinforce the combined body 6 is provided, and the entire reinforcing material 25 is disposed in the internal space 26 of the combined body 6. It is the reinforcement structure in the vehicle body front part of the vehicle characterized by these.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the engine mount 31 is supported on the outer surface in the vicinity of the part (S9, S10) of the combined body 6 to which the reinforcing member 25 is fixed. It is the reinforcement structure in a front part.

  In addition, in this section, the reference numerals and drawing numbers appended to the above terms are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the “Example” section and the contents of the drawings described later.

  The effects of the present invention are as follows.

The invention according to claim 1 is a front side member that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and constitutes a lower side portion of the front portion of the vehicle body, a front pillar that protrudes upward from the rear side of the side member, and a longitudinal direction of the front pillar. A front body of a vehicle comprising an apron member projecting forward from a midway portion and a sheet metal joined body having a hollow closed cross-sectional structure extending in the vertical direction and coupling the projecting end portion of the apron member to the side member. In the reinforcement structure in the part,
A reinforcing material that extends in the vertical direction and is fixed to the combined body to reinforce the combined body is provided, and the entire reinforcing material is disposed in the internal space of the combined body.

  For this reason, when trying to fix the reinforcing material to the joined body which is a component of the front structure of the vehicle body, the shape of the joined body is not changed and the desired shape of the joined body is not changed. The reinforcing material can be fixed. Therefore, since the said coupling body can be shared between the various vehicles from which a type | mold and mass differ, the whole component management between these various vehicles can be made easier.

  And when applying the said coupling body to a large sized vehicle with a large mass, what is necessary is just to fix a reinforcing material to a coupling body as mentioned above. In this case, even if the bending moment given to the side member due to the impact force at the time of the frontal collision of the vehicle is larger than that of a small vehicle with a small mass, the coupling reinforced by the reinforcing material is used. The body strongly opposes the moment and prevents the side member from attempting to bend.

  For this reason, at the time of a front collision, the side member is buckled in the longitudinal direction without being bent, and thereby is plastically deformed more greatly. Therefore, the energy based on the impact force is absorbed more than when the side member is simply bent, and as a result, the impact force applied to the front portion of the vehicle body is effectively mitigated.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, an engine mount is supported on an outer surface in the vicinity of a portion of the combined body to which the reinforcing material is fixed.

  For this reason, since the engine is supported via the engine mount on the portion of the combined body reinforced by the reinforcing material, the support strength of the engine with respect to the vehicle body can be simplified by using the reinforcing material that reinforces the combined body. Depending on the configuration, it can be improved.

  With regard to the reinforcing structure in the vehicle body front portion of the vehicle according to the present invention, the components of the vehicle body front structure can be shared among various vehicles having different molds and masses, and overall component management for these various vehicles is facilitated. To implement the present invention in order to achieve the object of enabling the impact force applied to the front portion of the vehicle body to be effectively mitigated during a frontal collision of a vehicle to which the above components are applied The best mode is as follows.

  That is, the reinforcing structure in the front part of the vehicle body extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, forms a lower side part of the front part of the vehicle body, a front pillar protruding upward from the rear side of the side member, An apron member that protrudes forward from a middle part in the longitudinal direction of the front pillar, and a sheet metal combined body that extends in the vertical direction and has a hollow closed cross-section structure that connects the protruding end of the apron member to the side member. . A reinforcing material that is fixed to the combined body and reinforces the combined body is provided, and the entire reinforcing material is disposed in the internal space of the combined body.

  In order to explain the present invention in more detail, an embodiment thereof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle exemplified by an automobile. An arrow Fr indicates the front of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction. The left and right described below refer to the width direction of the vehicle body 2 toward the front.

  The front portion of the vehicle body 2 is made of sheet metal as a whole. The vehicle body 2 extends in the front-rear direction and has a slightly upward posture, and a front side member 3 constituting a lower portion of the front portion of the vehicle body 2 and a cross member (not shown) that couples the left and right side members 3 to each other. A front pillar 4 projecting upward from the rear side of the side member 3; an apron member 5 projecting forward from a midway in the longitudinal direction of the front pillar 4; and the apron member 5 extending in the vertical direction. Of the side member 3 and a suspension tower 7 supported across the members 3 to 6.

  The side member 3, front pillar 4, apron member 5, and joined body 6 all have a hollow closed cross-sectional structure, and each has a large strength and rigidity, and is a skeleton member of the vehicle body 2. The vehicle body 2 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the center in the width direction.

  A front cowl (not shown) is installed in the middle of the left and right front pillars 4 in the longitudinal direction, and a dash panel is installed below the left and right front pillars 4. The interior of the vehicle body 2 in front of the dash panel is an engine room 11 having the engine 10 inside, and the interior of the vehicle body 2 behind the dash panel is a vehicle compartment 12.

  The side member 3 includes outer and inner panels 15 and 16 that face each other in the width direction of the vehicle body 2 and are coupled to each other. Each section of the inner panel 16 in the longitudinal direction has a lateral hat shape that opens toward the outside of the vehicle body 2.

  The apron member 5 includes an outer and inner panels 18 and 19 that face each other in the width direction of the vehicle body 2 and are coupled to each other, and an extension panel that extends further forward from the projecting end of the inner panel 19. 20. In this case, the inner panel 19 and the extension panel 20 may be formed integrally with each other.

  The combined body 6 includes outer and inner panels 22 and 23 that face each other in the width direction of the vehicle body 2. The front edges of these panels 22 and 23 are joined by spot welding S1, and the rear edges and the front edge of the suspension tower 7 are joined by spot welding S2. Each of the cross sections of the inner panel 23 in the longitudinal direction has an L shape. The inner panel 23 constitutes a front portion of the inner panel 23 and extends in the width direction of the vehicle body 2. And a rear piece 23b integrally extending rearward from the inner edge of the front piece 23a.

  The front end of the outer panel 18 of the apron member 5 and the upper end of the outer panel 22 of the joined body 6 are joined by spot welding S3, and the extension panel 20 of the apron member 5 and the upper edge of the outer panel 22 of the joined body 6 are connected. They are joined by spot welding S4. On the other hand, the front end portion of the outer panel 18 of the apron member 5 and the outer edge portion of the upper end of the front piece 23a of the inner panel 23 of the joined body 6 are joined by spot welding S5. The extension panel 20 of the apron member 5, the rear edge of the rear piece 23b of the joined body 6, and the front edge of the suspension tower 7 are joined by spot welding S6. Further, the lower edge portion of the combined body 6 is connected to the upper edge portion of the side member 3.

  A reinforcing material 25 extending in the vertical direction and fixed to the combined body 6 by spot welding S7 to S10 to reinforce the combined body 6 is provided, and the reinforcing material 25 is shown in a satin pattern. The entire reinforcing member 25 is disposed in the internal space 26 of the combined body 6. Each cross section of the reinforcing member 25 in the longitudinal direction has an L shape. The reinforcing member 25 constitutes a front portion of the reinforcing member 25 and extends in the width direction of the vehicle body 2. And a rear piece 25b extending integrally rearward from the inner edge of the front piece 25a.

  In addition, a gap that allows a part of the reinforcing member 25 to be inserted is formed between the opposing surfaces of the outer and inner panels 22 and 23 constituting the combined body 6, or the formation of this gap is scheduled. In this case, the gap is also included in the internal space 26.

  In the upper part of the reinforcing member 25 (FIG. 3), the front piece 25a of the reinforcing member 25 is spot-welded S7 to the front piece 23a of the inner panel 23 of the joined body 6. The rear piece 25b of the reinforcing member 25 is spot-welded S8 to the rear piece 23b of the inner panel 23 of the joined body 6. In the lower part of the reinforcing member 25 (FIG. 4), the front and rear edges of the rear piece 25b of the reinforcing member 25 are spot-welded S9 and S10 to the rear piece 23b of the inner panel 23 of the joined body 6. In this case, the reinforcing member 25 is fixed (S7 to S10) only to a single panel (inner panel 23) among the plural (two) panel bars 22 and 23 constituting the combined body 6. .

  A midway portion in the front-rear direction of the rear piece 25b of the reinforcing member 25 bulges toward the outside of the vehicle body 2, and the rear piece 25b of the reinforcing member 25 and the inner panel 23 of the joined body 6 have a hollow closed cross-sectional structure. Therefore, large strength and rigidity are ensured. The internal space 28 between the combined body 6 and the reinforcing member 25 forms a part of the internal space 26 of the combined body 6.

  An engine mount 31 for elastically supporting the engine 10 on the vehicle body 2 is provided. The engine mount 31 includes a base 32 that is fixedly supported on the upper surface of the inner panel 16 of the side member 3, a portal-type support frame 34 that is supported on the base 32 by a fastener 33, and the support A cylindrical support body 36 supported by welding to the frame 34 and holding an elastic body 35 therein, and one end portion is fixed to the support body 36, and the other end portion is a rear portion of the inner panel 23 of the combined body 6. A reinforcing bar 38 fixed to the piece 23b by a fastener 37 is provided. The engine 10 is elastically supported by the fastener 41 via the bracket 40 on the elastic body 35.

  In the above case, the other end of the reinforcing bar 38 is fixed to the outer surface in the vicinity of the portion (S9, S10) of the combined body 6 to which the reinforcing member 25 is fixed. That is, a part of the engine mount 31 is supported by the portion of the joined body 6 reinforced by the reinforcing member 25 via the reinforcing bar 38. Specifically, the closed cross-sectional structure formed by the inner panel 23 and the reinforcing material 25 of the combined body 6 and the substantially central portion between the parts (S9, S10) of the combined body 6 to which the reinforcing material 25 is fixed. A part of the engine mount 31 is supported by the part via the reinforcing bar 38. In this case, the inner panel 23 and the reinforcing member 25 of the joined body 6 may be overlapped, and one end portion of the reinforcing bar 38 may be fixed to the overlapped portion of the two sheets by a fastener 37.

  According to the above configuration, the reinforcing member 25 that extends in the vertical direction and is fixed to the combined body 6 (S7 to S10) and reinforces the combined body 6 is provided. 26.

  For this reason, when trying to fix the reinforcing member 25 to the joined body 6 which is a component part of the front structure of the vehicle body 2, the joined body 6 is not changed without changing the shape or size of the joined body 6. The reinforcing material 25 having a desired shape can be fixed to the combined body 6 by using the internal space 26. Therefore, since the said coupling body 6 can be shared between the various vehicles from which a type | mold and mass differ, the whole component management between these various vehicles can be made easier.

  And when applying the said coupling body 6 to a large sized vehicle with a large mass, what is necessary is just to fix the reinforcing material 25 to the coupling body 6 as mentioned above. In this way, even if the bending moment applied to the side member 3 due to the impact force at the time of the frontal collision of the vehicle is larger than that of a vehicle having a small size and a small mass, the reinforcing member 25 reinforces the bending moment. The joined body 6 strongly opposes the moment and prevents the side member 3 from bending.

  For this reason, at the time of a front collision, the side member 3 is buckled in the longitudinal direction without being bent, and thereby is plastically deformed more greatly. Therefore, the energy based on the impact force is absorbed more than when the side member 3 is simply bent, and as a result, the impact force applied to the front portion of the vehicle body 2 is effectively reduced.

  Further, the reinforcing member 25 is bonded to only a single panel among the plurality of panels 22 and 23 constituting the combined body 6.

  Therefore, when the reinforcing member 25 is to be bonded to the combined body 6, the reinforcing member 25 is first bonded to the single panel prior to the assembly work of the combined body 6 itself, Each panel 22,23 can be combined. According to the said structure, the freedom degree of the assembly | attachment operation | work of the coupling body 6 and the reinforcing material 25 improves.

  Further, as described above, the engine mount 31 is supported on the outer surface in the vicinity of the portion (S9, S10) of the combined body 6 to which the reinforcing member 25 is fixed.

  For this reason, since the engine 10 is supported by the portion of the combined body 6 reinforced by the reinforcing material 25 via the engine mount 31, the supporting strength of the engine 10 with respect to the vehicle body 2 is a reinforcing material that reinforces the combined body 6. It is possible to improve by a simple configuration by using 25.

  In addition, although the above is based on the example of illustration, you may make the said reinforcing material 25 surface-contact with the inner surface of the inner panel 23 of the said coupling body 6 entirely, and may adhere. The reinforcing member 25 may be fixed to the outer panel 22 of the combined body 6 or may be fixed to straddle the outer and inner panels 22 and 23.

It is the partial side view which looked at the right side part of the vehicle body front part from the inner side of this vehicle body. It is a front fragmentary sectional view of what was shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of what was shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: It is an expanded view of an elastic body (35) and a bracket (40).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Car body 3 Side member 4 Front pillar 5 Apron member 6 Combined body 10 Engine 11 Engine room 22 Outer panel 23 Inner panel 23a Front piece 23b Rear piece 25 Reinforcement material 25a Front piece 25b Rear piece 26 Internal space 28 Internal space 31 Engine mount 38 Reinforcing bar

Claims (2)

A front side member that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and constitutes the lower portion of the front portion of the vehicle body, a front pillar that protrudes upward from the rear side of the side member, and a front halfway portion of the front pillar that extends forward. In the reinforcing structure in the vehicle body front part of the vehicle body, which includes an apron member protruding in the vertical direction and a sheet metal combined body having a hollow closed cross-sectional structure that extends in the vertical direction and connects the protruding end of the apron member to the side member.
Reinforcing at the front of the vehicle body of the vehicle, characterized in that a reinforcing material is provided that extends in the vertical direction and is fixed to the combined body to reinforce the combined body, and the entire reinforcing material is disposed in the internal space of the combined body. Construction.   2. The reinforcing structure in the front part of the vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein an engine mount is supported on an outer surface in the vicinity of the portion of the combined body to which the reinforcing material is fixed.

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