JP5245639B2 - Front body structure of automobile - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile in which a cowl box portion extending in the vehicle width direction is provided in front of a passenger compartment.

Conventionally, when an obstacle collides with the front of an automobile, it has been a problem how to absorb the impact on the obstacle, and various structures have been proposed to solve such a problem. Yes.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 below, a first support extending substantially horizontally forward from an instrument panel (dashboard) disposed in the front part of the passenger compartment, and a front windshield (windshield) from the front end of the first support. And a second support that extends toward the lower edge, and the deformation of these two support members absorbs the impact on the obstacle.

Patent Document 2 below discloses that the front part of the instrument panel is fitted and supported on the rear flange part of the cowl panel that constitutes the front body structure. When an obstacle collides, By releasing the support state of the instrument panel and greatly deforming it, the impact on the obstacle is absorbed.
JP 2000-38160 A JP 2006-82643 A

  By the way, in the conventional structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, a box portion having a closed cross-sectional structure is disposed below the first support, and the first support is supported by the box portion. Accordingly, the first and second support members can achieve shock absorption, while the box portion can ensure a certain degree of rigidity in the cowl portion in front of the vehicle body. However, in this case, the installation space for the instrument panel is limited by the box portion, and there is a problem in that the space efficiency of the passenger compartment space decreases.

  Further, in the conventional structure disclosed in Patent Document 2, the instrument panel is supported by the cowl panel. However, the cowl panel is generally located below the front window glass. It is not preferable to make the cowl panel highly rigid in consideration of absorbing the impact on the obstacle. Therefore, the conventional structure has a problem that the support rigidity of the instrument panel cannot be sufficiently secured.

Therefore, in recent years, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in order to cope with the weight of the instrument panel, the instrument panel 108 is attached via a mounting bracket 111, a support arm 112, and the like that are relatively rigid. A structure for supporting the cowl panel 172 has been proposed. Here, FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view showing a front body structure of a conventional motor vehicle, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the cowl panel and mounting bracket of Figure 6, the cowl panel 172 in FIG. 6, FIG. 7 A member 171 joined to the rear end portion is a dash upper panel that partitions the engine room E and the vehicle compartment R, a member 106 is a front window glass, and 103 is a bonnet.

Here, as shown in the figure, when the mounting bracket 111 or the like is attached to the cowl panel 172, when the obstacle I collides with the front of the vehicle, the cowl panel 172 is deformed. The fulcrum of the panel 172 comes closer to the load application point P than the joint between the cowl panel 172 and the dash upper panel 171, and the mounting bracket 111 can hardly move downward.

  Therefore, in the conventional structure shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the width L2 in which the cowl panel 172 can be deformed for absorbing the shock, that is, the shock absorbing stroke is inevitably shortened, and a sufficient shock absorbing action cannot be obtained. End up.

  The present invention provides a front portion of a vehicle that can realize shock absorption at the time of obstacle collision at a high level while ensuring the support rigidity of the instrument panel and can improve the space efficiency in the passenger compartment space. An object is to provide a vehicle body structure.

The front body structure of the automobile according to the present invention is provided with a cowl box portion extending in the vehicle width direction in front of the passenger compartment , and the cowl box portion is joined to a dash panel that forms a front wall of the passenger compartment and the upper portion of the dash panel. a first cowl panel which extends forwardly is, the second and a cowl panel, the rear end portion of the first cowl panel front end to the front first cowl panel is extended upward joined The second cowl panel has a rear end portion that is spaced apart from the first cowl panel and extends rearward, and a front window glass is provided at the rear end portion of the second cowl panel. a front body structure for an automobile to be supported, said first cowl panel is substantially flat, flange which is joined to the rear end portion of the first cowl panel to the dash panel upper The instrument panel is formed by combining an upper panel that forms an upper surface that is exposed in the passenger compartment and a lower panel that has a duct portion that bulges downward on the lower surface of the upper panel. The front vertical wall is provided with a support member that extends downward and is coupled to the rear of the flange at the rear end of the first cowl panel, and the instrument panel front end is connected to the rear end of the second cowl panel. It is facing the front window glass support part in the vicinity .

According to this configuration, the support rigidity of the instrument panel can be improved by the first cowl panel without providing a high-rigidity mounting bracket near the load application point. Therefore, while securing a large shock absorbing stroke and enabling shock absorption at the time of obstacle collision to be realized at a high level, a box portion for improving the rigidity of the cowl panel can be eliminated. Ru can improve the space efficiency of the result the cabin space.

The first cowl panel is a substantially flat, flange is joined to the rear end portion of the first cowl panel to the dash panel upper is extended rearward, through the support member to the flange the Since the instrument panel is supported , the instrument panel can be easily attached and the first cowl panel itself can be easily molded. For this reason, it is possible to use a high-tensile steel plate that is not easily deformed during press working, and the support rigidity of the instrument panel can be further improved.
Further, even if the second cowl panel cannot absorb the shock, the obstacle and the first cowl panel collide with each other, and the shock can be dispersed and absorbed in the dash panel.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the vertical wall of the instrument panel and the support member extend forward and downward and are coupled to the rear of the flange portion , and the upper portion of the dash panel is the flange portion. It is inclined so as to be inclined forward and downward and further extended downward.

According to this configuration, while securing a large shock absorbing stroke, Ru can be achieved in the longitudinal direction of the support rigidity improvement of the instrument panel.

  According to the present invention, the support rigidity of the instrument panel can be improved by the first cowl panel without providing a highly rigid mounting bracket near the point of application of the load. Therefore, while securing a large shock absorbing stroke and enabling shock absorption at the time of obstacle collision to be realized at a high level, a box portion for improving the rigidity of the cowl panel can be eliminated. As a result, the space efficiency of the passenger compartment space can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle having a front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the front portion of the vehicle 1 mainly includes left and right front fenders 2 (only one side is shown in FIG. 1), a bonnet 3 disposed between the left and right front fenders 2, and a rear portion of the bonnet 3. Hinge pillars 4 and 5 extending obliquely upward from both ends, and a front window glass 6 (including those made of transparent reinforced plastic) located behind the bonnet 3 and disposed between the hinge pillars 4 and 5; It comprises a cowl box portion 7 (see FIG. 2) positioned below the front window glass 6 and an instrument panel 8. In addition, the member 9 shown in the figure is a front wheel.

  In FIG. 2, a dash panel 71 that partitions the engine room E and the vehicle compartment R back and forth and forms a front wall of the vehicle compartment is provided, and from the upper end of the dash lower panel 71 a that constitutes the dash panel 71 toward the front and rear upper direction. An extending dash upper panel 71b is provided.

  A cowl panel portion 72 that extends from the rear end of the above-described dash upper panel 71b toward the inclined lower end of the front window glass 6, that is, the front end in the vehicle front-rear direction, and supports the front end of the front window glass 6 is provided.

  The cowl panel 72 has a substantially flat plate-like first cowl panel 72a that is joined to the upper end of the dash upper panel 71b and extends forward, and a front end joined to the first cowl panel 72a and extends upward. The second cowl panel 72b is provided. The second cowl panel 72b includes a vertical wall portion 72c that extends substantially vertically from the front end portion of the first cowl panel 72a, and a rear end portion that is spaced apart from the first cowl panel 72a and extends rearward. The vicinity of the lower end of the window glass 6 is supported.

  Further, a cowl front cross member 73 (specifically, a cowl front panel) that extends from the front end of the above-described dash upper panel 71b toward the front upper side and supports the rear end of the bonnet 3 is provided. Here, the above-described bonnet 3 is a member that covers the upper portion of the engine room E so as to be opened and closed.

  Further, a cowl grill 74 is provided in which the rear end is supported by the cowl panel portion 72, the front end is supported by the upper end of the cowl front cross member 73, and the seal portion 10 at the rear end of the bonnet 3 is brought into contact therewith. For convenience of illustration, a slit-like opening for introducing outside air formed in the cowl grill 74 is not shown.

In this embodiment, the dash panel 71 mentioned above, the cowl panel 72, a cowl front cross member 73, by and cowl grille 74, constitute the cowl box portion 7 extending in the vehicle width direction at the front of the passenger compartment R Yes.

  In FIG. 2, a member 75 positioned below the cowl grill 74 and having a substantially U-shaped cross section is a cowl center tray, and is a flow for guiding rainwater entering from the cowl grill 74 and the like to be discharged outside the vehicle. Constitutes the road.

Further, of the cowl box portion 7, dash lower panel 71a of the dash panel 71, dash upper panel 71b, and the first cowl panel portion 72, a second cowl panel 72a, 72b is made of steel, in particular, the The 1 cowl panel 72a has higher rigidity than the dash upper panel 71b and the second cowl panel 72b. Meanwhile, cowl front cross member 73, the cowl grille 74, and cowl center tray 75 is made of synthetic resin strength suitable shock absorbing.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. A rear end portion of the first cowl panel 72a constituting the cowl panel portion 72 is joined to a flange portion 71c extending rearward at the upper end portion of the dash upper panel 71b. Further, a clip 11 is attached to a joint portion between the flange portion 71c and the rear end portion of the first cowl panel 72a, and a lower end portion of a support arm 12 described later is fixed at a predetermined position by the clip 11.

  The support arm 12 has a lower end supported by the rear end of the first cowl panel 72 a via the clip 11, and an upper end extending to the vicinity of the lower panel 81 constituting the lower part of the instrument panel 8. The ment panel 8 is supported by the rear end portion of the first cowl panel 72a through the support arm 12.

Here, the instrument panel 8, lower panel 81, and, which are integrally formed by the upper panel 82 to cover from above, the lower panel 81, lower front at the rear portion than a front end portion A plurality of duct portions 81a having vertical wall portions 81b extending in the direction are formed. The duct portion 81a forms an air flow path for guiding conditioned air generated by an air conditioner (not shown). A defroster 82a for blowing the conditioned air to the windshield 6 is formed on the upper panel 82. Has been.

  The support arm 12 described above has an upper end portion located in the vicinity of the vertical wall portion 81b of the duct portion 81a, and extends forward and downward along the surface direction of the vertical wall portion 81b. The upper portion of the dash upper panel 71b extends forward and downward from the vicinity of the support arm 12 and further extends downward toward the dash lower panel 71a.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the panel member is deformed when the obstacle collides. In the present embodiment, when the obstacle I comes into contact with the front surface of the front window glass 6 as shown in FIG. 2 and the load of the obstacle I acts on the cowl box portion 7 during the frontal collision of the vehicle 1, second cowl panel 7 2b of the cowl panel 72 as shown in 4, and, by deforming the front end portion of the instrument panel 8, so as to absorb shocks ranging obstacle I.

  Here, the distance L1 between the point of action P (see FIG. 2) where the load of the obstacle I acts and the fulcrum where the first cowl panel 72a is supported by the dash upper panel 71b is the shock absorbing stroke, and the point of action P The shock is absorbed while is moving by a distance L1.

The second Kaurupane Le 7 2b, and, when an impact by deformation of the instrument panel 8 is not absorbed, by colliding with the obstacle I first cowl panel 72a in surface, the load first The upper end portion of the dash upper panel 71b is deformed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 while being received by the one cowl panel 72a in a plane and obliquely with respect to the rearward downward movement direction of the obstacle I. Dispersing the impact on the dash panel 71 enables further shock absorption.

  In this embodiment, the cowl panel portion 72 is configured by the first cowl panel 72a having higher rigidity than the dash upper panel 71b and the second cowl panel 72b that supports the front window glass 6, so that the action point P can be reduced. Even if a high-rigidity mounting bracket is not provided nearby, the support rigidity of the instrument panel 8 can be improved by the high-rigidity first cowl panel 72a.

Accordingly, it is possible to secure a large shock absorption stroke and realize shock absorption at the time of obstacle collision at a high level, while eliminating the need for a box portion for improving the rigidity of the cowl panel portion 72. As a result , the space efficiency of the passenger compartment space can be improved.

Also, three panel members in the cowl box portion 7 (the first, second cowl panel 72a, 72b, dash upper panel 71b) is nothing Re also has an extending direction component of the front and rear, and an approximately zigzag shape as viewed from the side It is arranged to make. In this case, the longitudinal rigidity in the front part of the vehicle body can be improved. For example, even when an engine (not shown) or the like in the engine room E retreats at the time of the front collision of the vehicle 1, the vehicle interior R thereof Intrusion into the inside can be reliably suppressed by the cooperation of the three panel members 72a, 72b, 71b.

  In the present embodiment, the first cowl panel 72a is installed between the left and right hinge pillars 4 and 5 of the vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. Thereby, the rigidity of the cowl box part 7 in the front-rear direction can be further improved.

  Further, by forming the first cowl panel 72a in a substantially flat plate shape, the instrument panel 8 can be easily attached and the first cowl panel 72a itself can be easily molded.

Incidentally, in recent years, for example , high-tensile steel sheets having a high tensile strength of 500 MPa or more have been used in various fields. However, this high-strength steel plate is problematic in that it is difficult to deform during press working and its workability is poor. In the present embodiment, by forming the first cowl panel 72a in a substantially flat plate shape, complicated press work is not necessary, and the above-described high-tensile steel plate can be used. As a result, it is possible to further improve the support rigidity of the instrument panel 8 while realizing weight reduction in the first cowl panel 72a.

Further, since the second cowl panel 72b has the vertical wall portion 72c extending substantially vertically, the support rigidity of the front window glass 6 can be improved in the vertical direction. For this reason, for example, even if the front window glass 6 receives the traveling wind and vibrates up and down and a large load acts on the second cowl panel 72b , the supporting state can be stably maintained.

  When the obstacle I collides, a load acting downward and rearward as indicated by an arrow α shown in FIG. 2 can be received obliquely by the vertical wall portion 72c. Compared with the case of extending in parallel, the impact applied to the obstacle I can be reduced, and the impact absorption performance can be improved.

  Further, in the dash upper panel 71b, this is formed so as to extend along the extending direction of the support arm 12 in a side view, and both are connected by a substantially smooth line.

  Specifically, when a load F (see FIG. 5) is applied to the support arm 12, the load component Fa transmitted along the dash upper panel 71b of the load F is the support arm 12 and the dash upper. The angle θ of the dash upper panel 71b with respect to the support arm 12 is set so as to be larger than the load component Fb that bends between the panel 71b.

Chi words, the angle theta, FIG. 5 (b), the as (c) dash upper panel 71b shown in ', 71b ", θ = 135 °, the load component Fa when the 225 °, Fb is In consideration of the same, it is set to be in the range of 135 ° <θ <225 °.

  As a result, the load F from the support arm 12 can be efficiently transmitted and distributed downward through the dash upper panel 71b, and the vertical support rigidity of the instrument panel 8 can be improved.

Further, the vertical wall portion 81b of the instrument panel 8, and, together with the support arm 12 extends forward and downward, the dash upper panel 71b, the upper portion is extended so as to face further downward inclined forward and downward Therefore, it is possible to improve the support rigidity in the front-rear direction of the instrument panel 8 while ensuring a large shock absorption stroke (distance L1).

Further, by forming the vertical wall portion 8 1b by the front wall portion of the duct portion 81a, the instrument panel 8 can be a high strength, and additionally need not be provided vertical wall for supporting arm 12 Thus, the instrument panel 8 can be made compact.

  Further, in the instrument panel 8, the duct portion 81a is integrally formed, resulting in an increase in weight. However, in the present embodiment, the instrument panel 8 is provided by the highly rigid first cowl panel 72a. Can be stably supported.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The upper part of the dash panel of the present invention corresponds to the dash upper panel 71b,
The lower part of the instrument panel corresponds to the lower panel 81,
Similarly,
The upper part of the instrument panel corresponds to the upper panel 82,
The support member corresponds to the support arm 12,
The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

The perspective view which shows the vehicle provided with the front vehicle body structure of the motor vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. The principal part enlarged view of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state which the panel member deform | transformed at the time of the collision of an obstruction. It is a figure for demonstrating distribution of the load at the time of a load acting on a support arm, (a) The figure which shows the case of this embodiment, (b) The angle (theta) which a support arm and a dash upper panel make is 135 degrees. The figure which shows the case where it sets to (c), The figure which shows the case where the angle (theta) which a support arm and a dash upper panel make is set to 225 degrees. The side sectional view showing the front body structure of the conventional automobile. Perspective view of the cowl panel and the support bracket of FIG.

4, 5 ... Hinge pillar 6 ... Front window glass 7 ... Cowl box 8 ... Instrument panel 12 ... Support arm (support member)
71 ... Dash panel
71b ... Dash upper panel (upper part of dash panel)
71c ... flange <br/> 72a ... first Kaurupane Le 72b ... second Kaurupane Le 72c ... vertical wall portion 81 ... lower panel 81a ... duct section 81b ... vertical wall (front vertical wall)
82 ... Upper panel

Claims (2)

A cowl box extending in the vehicle width direction is provided in front of the passenger compartment ,
The cowl box portion includes a dash panel that forms a vehicle compartment front wall,
A first cowl panel joined to the top of the dash panel and extending forward;
A second cowl panel having a front end joined to the front part of the first cowl panel and extending upward ;
An instrument panel is supported at the rear end of the first cowl panel,
The rear end of the second cowl panel extends away from the first cowl panel,
A front body structure of an automobile in which a front window glass is supported at a rear end portion of the second cowl panel ;
The first cowl panel has a substantially flat plate shape, and a flange joined to a rear end portion of the first cowl panel on the upper portion of the dash panel extends rearward.
The instrument panel is formed by combining an upper panel that forms an upper surface exposed in a passenger compartment and a lower panel that has a duct portion that swells downward on the lower surface of the upper panel,
Provided on the front vertical wall of the duct portion is a support member that extends downward and is coupled to the rear of the flange portion of the rear end portion of the first cowl panel;
The front body structure of the automobile , wherein the front end portion of the instrument panel is opposed to the front window glass support portion at the rear end portion of the second cowl panel . The vertical wall of the instrument panel and the support member extend forward and downward, and are coupled to the rear of the flange portion,
The dash panel is inclined forwardly downward from the top said flange portion, further front body structure of a motor vehicle extending to the <br/> claim 1 so as to downward.

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