JP5877055B2 - Vehicle cowl louver device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowl louver device for a vehicle provided with a connecting bar that is connected to the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver to retain the shape of the cowl louver.

  Conventionally, there is a cowl louver device for a vehicle described in Patent Document 1 below. According to this publication, a cowl louver extending in the front-rear direction in a side sectional view of a vehicle body between a front edge of the windshield and a rear edge of a hood that is disposed in front of the front edge. And a bent portion that is bent so as to bulge upward is formed in a midway portion of the cowl louver in the front-rear direction. A connecting bar that extends in the front-rear direction below the cowl louver and is connected to the front and rear ends of the cowl louver by a welded portion is provided.

  Here, for example, when a vehicle is washed, it is considered that an operator puts a hand on the upper surface of the bent portion of the cowl louver and wipes the windshield with a part of the weight loaded. It is done. In this case, the bent portion tends to unfold and deform so that the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver are separated from each other in the front-rear direction due to a hand load caused by the hand. However, as described above, since the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver are connected by the connecting bar, the connecting bar prevents the bending portion from expanding and deforming, and the cowl louver is kept in a predetermined shape. Is done.

  On the other hand, while the vehicle is running, the vehicle collides with a certain object in front of it (front collision), and the front collision causes the object to jump up and fall into the bent portion of the cowl louver from above. There are things to do. In this case, the welded portion of the connecting bar to the cowl louver counters the impact force due to the collision of the object with its strength, but since the impact force is usually large in this case, the welded portion has a large stress generated in the welded portion. And the connecting bar is dropped from the cowl louver, and the shape retaining function of the bent portion by the connecting bar is released. As a result, the cowl louver including the bent portion is deformed based on the impact force, and the impact force is alleviated.

JP 2009-161127 A

  By the way, in the prior art, as described above, when the object collides with the cowl louver, the welded portion is broken against the impact force with its strength, and the connecting bar drops off. . However, the strength of the welded portion is determined by specifications such as the shape, thickness, and welding range of the welded portion, and it is considered that it is not easy to ensure the strength of such a welded portion appropriately. It is done.

  If an appropriate strength cannot be ensured in the welded part, there is a possibility that the destruction of the welded part tends to be delayed when an object collides with the cowl louver. In this case, the bending portion is not sufficiently deformed by the impact force, and the impact force is not sufficiently relaxed. That is, the injury value generated in the object by the reaction force of the impact force is sufficiently high. There is a risk that it will not be reduced.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above situation, and the object of the present invention is to hold the cowl louver in a predetermined shape when a hand load is applied to the upper surface of the cowl louver. On the other hand, when an object bounced up by a frontal collision of the vehicle falls and collides with the cowl louver from above, the impact force due to this collision is sufficiently relaxed, and the reaction force of this impact force is reduced. Thus, the injury value that is about to occur in the object is more effectively reduced.

The invention according to claim 1 is a side sectional view of the vehicle body 2 between the front end edge of the windshield 10 and the rear end edge of the hood 14 disposed in front of the front end edge (FIG. 1). A cowl louver 17 extending in the front-rear direction is provided, and a bent portion 31 is formed in the middle part of the cowl louver 17 so as to bulge upward, and extends downward in the front-rear direction. The front and rear ends of the cowl louver 17 are provided with connection bars 34 connected by front and rear connection tools 32 and 33, and at least one of the front and rear connection tools 32 and 33 on one side in the front-rear direction. The connecting tool includes a connecting pin 41 projecting downward from the cowl louver 17, an insertion hole 42 formed in the connecting bar 34 for inserting the connecting pin 41, and the connecting pin from the insertion hole 42. In the cowl louver device for a vehicle having a stop 43 exit to prevent 1 comes out,
Of the outer peripheral surface of the connecting pin 41, a rib 47 is projected on the one-side surface, and the rib 47 is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the connecting pin 41. The vehicle cowl louver device is characterized in that when an external force is applied to the tool 43, the retaining function is released.

  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.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cowl louver extending in the front-rear direction in a side sectional view of a vehicle body between a front end edge portion of a windshield and a rear end edge portion of a hood that is disposed in front of the front end edge portion. A bent portion is formed to be bent so as to bulge upward in the middle of the cowl louver in the front-rear direction, and extends in the front-rear direction below the cowl louver. A connecting bar that is connected by a rear connecting tool, and at least one of the front and rear connecting tools in the front-rear direction has a connecting pin that protrudes downward from the cowl louver, and the connecting bar. A cowl louver device for a vehicle having an insertion hole formed through the insertion hole through which the connection pin is inserted and a retaining member for preventing the connection pin from coming out of the insertion hole.
Of the outer peripheral surface of the connecting pin, a rib is projected from the surface on the one direction side, the rib is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the connecting pin, and an external force is applied to the stopper. When granted, the retaining function is released.

  That is, according to the said invention, the connection bar connected by the front and rear connection tool is provided in the front and rear end part of the cowl louver.

  For this reason, for example, when the vehicle is washed, when an operator puts a hand on the upper surface of the bent portion of the cowl louver and loads a part of the body weight, the cowl louver is caused by a hand load caused by the hand. Before and after, the bent portion tends to expand and deform so that the rear end portions are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. However, as described above, since the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver are connected by the connecting bar, the connecting bar prevents the bending portion from expanding and deforming, and the cowl louver is held in a predetermined shape. The

  Further, according to the invention, a rib is protruded from the outer peripheral surface of the connecting pin on the surface on the one direction side, and the rib is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the connecting pin. When an external force is applied to the retainer, the retainer function is released, and the following effects are produced.

  That is, while the vehicle is running, the vehicle collides with a certain object in front of it (front collision), and the front collision causes the object to jump up and fall into the bent portion of the cowl louver from above and collide. In this case, the front and rear ends of the cowl louver are expanded and deformed so that they are strongly separated from each other in the front-rear direction based on the large impact force caused by the collision of the object.

  Then, the end portion on the one-direction side of the cowl louver is relatively displaced toward the one-direction side with respect to the connection bar together with the connection pin and the rib. At this time, the tapered surface of the rib is the inner surface of the insertion hole of the connection bar. And the connecting bar is forcibly pushed downward relative to the cowl louver. At this time, since an external force is positively applied from the connecting bar to the retainer, the retainer function by the retainer is quickly released.

  For this reason, at the time of the collision of the object, the connecting bar is quickly dropped from the cowl louver, and the shape retaining function by the connecting bar with respect to the bent portion is immediately released. Therefore, the bent portion is more smoothly and reliably expanded and deformed based on the large impact force, and the impact force is sufficiently relieved. As a result, the injury value that is about to occur on the object due to the reaction force of the impact force can be more effectively reduced.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG. 2. It is a top view of a vehicle front part. It is a partial perspective developed view of a rear connector and a connecting bar. It is action explanatory drawing with which the cowl louver side and a connection bar are related. It is a figure equivalent to FIG. 1, and is an operation explanatory view.

  With respect to the cowl louver device for a vehicle according to the present invention, when a hand load is applied to the upper surface of the cowl louver, the cowl louver is held in a predetermined shape while the object is flipped up by a frontal collision of the vehicle. However, when it falls into the cowl louver from above and collides, the impact force due to this collision is sufficiently relaxed, and the damage value that is caused to the object by the reaction force of this impact force is more effectively reduced. In order to realize the purpose of being made, the form for carrying out the present invention is as follows.

  That is, a cowl louver extending in the front-rear direction in a side cross-sectional view of the vehicle body is disposed between the front edge of the windshield and the rear edge of the hood that is disposed in front of the front edge. A bent portion is formed in the middle portion of the cowl louver in the front-rear direction so as to bulge upward. A connecting bar that extends in the front-rear direction below the cowl louver and is connected to the front and rear ends of the cowl louver by front and rear connectors is provided. Of the front and rear connecting tools, at least a connecting tool on one side in the front-rear direction has a connecting pin that protrudes downward from the cowl louver, and an insertion hole that is formed in the connecting bar and through which the connecting pin is inserted. And a stopper for preventing the connecting pin from coming out of the insertion hole. A rib protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the connecting pin on the surface in the one direction, and the rib is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the connecting pin. When an external force is applied to the retainer, the retainer function is released.

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

  1-3, the code | symbol 1 is a vehicle illustrated by the motor vehicle, The arrow Fr has shown the front of the advancing direction of this vehicle 1. In FIG.

  The front portion of the vehicle body 2 of the vehicle 1 extends to the left and right front pillars 3 and 3 constituting the side portion of the vehicle body 2 and the vehicle body 2 in the width direction. A front cowl 4 that is supported at both ends in the vertical direction of the front pillars 3 and 3, and extends in the width direction and the vertical direction of the vehicle body 2, and the left and right end edges thereof are coupled to the left and right front pillars 3 and 3. And a dash panel 5 whose upper edge is coupled to the front cowl 4. The front pillar 3, the front cowl 4, and the dash panel 5 are made of sheet metal, and the front pillar 3 and the front cowl 4 constitute a skeleton member of the vehicle body 2 and have high strength and rigidity.

  A space surrounded by the upper portions of the left and right front pillars 3 and 3 and the rear upper end portion of the front cowl 4 is a window opening 9 of the front window 8. A front window glass 10 for closing the window opening 9 is provided, and the front window glass 10 is inclined forward and downward in a side view of the vehicle body 2 (FIG. 1). The front lower end edge of the front windshield 10 is supported on the rear upper end edge of the front cowl 4 via a sealing material 11.

  The interior of the vehicle body 2 behind the front cowl 4, the dash panel 5, and the front window glass 10 is a vehicle compartment 12. The interior of the vehicle body 2 in front of the dash panel 5 is an engine room 13, and a hood 14 that closes the engine room 13 so as to be openable and closable from above is provided. The hood 14 is disposed away from the front edge of the front window glass 10 forward.

  A resin cowl louver 17 is disposed between the front edge of the windshield 10 and the rear edge of the hood 14 so as to cover the internal space of the front cowl 4 from above. The cowl louver 17 extends in the front-rear direction in a side sectional view of the vehicle body 2 (FIG. 1) and extends in the width direction of the vehicle body 2. The front end edge of the cowl louver 17 is supported on the front upper end edge of the front cowl 4 via a clip (not shown) and a sealing material 18, while the rear end edge is the front lower end edge of the front window 8. It is supported by.

  The cowl louver 17 is provided with a vent hole 19 through which the outside of the vehicle body 2 communicates with the interior space of the front cowl 4. The front cowl 4 is formed with a communication hole (not shown) that communicates the interior space of the front cowl 4 with the vehicle compartment 12 side. The air outside the vehicle body 2 can flow into the interior space of the front cowl 4 through the vent hole 19 of the cowl louver 17 and then flow into the vehicle compartment 12 through the communication hole.

  The cowl louver 17 will be described in more detail. The cowl louver 17 integrally extends from the louver main body 23 constituting the rear side thereof and the front end edge of the louver main body 23 to the front lower side and the front upper side. Lower and upper pieces 24 and 25, and an engaging groove 26 formed at the rear end edge of the louver main body 23 and opened rearward and upward.

  The lower piece 24 is supported on the front upper end edge portion of the front cowl 4 through the sealing material 18. On the other hand, a rubber sealing material 28 is attached to the upper piece 25, and the rear edge of the hood 14 is in pressure contact with the sealing material 28. Further, the engaging groove 26 of the louver body 23 is fitted to the front lower end edge of the windshield 10 and the rear edge of the louver body 23 is supported by the windshield 10. . In this case, a first gap 29 is formed between the front lower end edge of the front window glass 10 and the groove bottom surface of the engagement groove 26 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2.

  In a side cross-sectional view of the vehicle body 2 (FIG. 1), a bent portion 31 is formed which is bent so as to bulge upward in a midway portion in the front-rear direction of the louver body portion 23 and forms an inverted U-shape. A pair of right and left resin-made connecting bars 34 that extend in the front-rear direction below the cowl louver 17 and that are connected to the front and rear ends of the cowl louver 17 by the front and rear connecting tools 32 and 33 at both ends are provided. .

  Among the front and rear connectors 32, 33, the front connector 32 on the front side is a front connector pin 36 that protrudes downward from the front portion of the cowl louver 17 and the front end of the connector bar 34. A front insertion hole 37 that is formed in a portion and through which the front connection pin 36 is inserted, and is provided at a protruding end portion of the front connection pin 36 that passes through the front insertion hole 37, and the front connection pin 37 extends from the front insertion hole 37. And a front stopper 38 for preventing the 36 from slipping out. The front stopper 38 is a rivet formed by heating and melting the protruding end of the front connecting pin 36.

  Of the front and rear connectors 32, 33, the rear-side rear connector 33 includes a rear connection pin 41 that integrally protrudes downward from the rear portion of the cowl louver 17 and a rear end of the connection bar 34. A rear insertion hole 42 that is formed in a portion and through which the rear connection pin 41 is inserted, and a projecting end portion of the rear connection pin 41 that passes through the rear insertion hole 42. And a rear stopper 43 that prevents the terminal 41 from slipping out. The rear retainer 43 has a circumferential groove 44 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the protruding end portion of the rear connecting pin 41 and a circlip 45 fitted into the circumferential groove 44. The connecting bar 34 is in contact with the lower surface of the rear end portion. A portion where the circumferential groove 44 is formed in the projecting end portion of the rear connecting pin 41 has a small diameter and is a fragile portion.

  Of the outer peripheral surface of the rear connecting pin 41, a rib 47 is integrally provided on the rear side surface. The rib 47 is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the rear connecting pin 41. The rear inner peripheral surface 42 a of the rear insertion hole 42 is inclined with respect to the hole core of the rear insertion hole 42, and is an inclined surface that is in surface contact with the tapered surface of the rib 47 so as to be relatively slidable.

  A second gap 49 is formed between the rear connecting pin 41 and the front inner peripheral surface of the rear insertion hole 42. Here, in the assembly work of the cowl louver 17 on the vehicle body 2 side, when the engagement groove 26 of the cowl louver 17 is engaged with the front end edge of the front window 8, the cowl louver is engaged with the rear end of the connecting bar 34. In some cases, the rear end of 17 may be relatively displaced forward together with the rear connecting pin 41. In this case, the second gap 49 allows the rear connecting pin 41 to move forward relative to the front, whereby the cowl louver 17 can be assembled smoothly and easily. Yes.

  Although the above description is based on the illustrated example, the front retaining member 38 has the same configuration as the rear retaining member 43, and the rib 47 projects from the front surface of the outer peripheral surface of the front connecting pin 36. You may set up. Further, the rear retainer 43 may be a rivet having the same configuration as the front retainer 38. Further, a single connecting bar 34 may be provided, or three or more connecting bars 34 may be provided at predetermined intervals such as at equal intervals in the width direction of the vehicle body 2. Also, the rear inner peripheral surface 42a of the rear insertion hole 42 may be parallel to the hole core of the rear insertion hole 42, and the rear insertion hole 42 may be simply oval. Further, the rear insertion hole 42 may be a simple circular hole.

  According to the above configuration, the connection bar 34 connected to the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver 17 by the front and rear connection tools 32 and 33 is provided.

  For this reason, for example, when the vehicle 1 is washed, when an operator puts a hand on the upper surface of the bent portion 31 of the cowl louver 17 and loads a part of the body weight, it is caused by a hand load caused by placing the hand. The bent portion 31 tends to expand and deform so that the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver 17 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. However, as described above, since the front and rear ends of the cowl louver 17 are connected by the connecting bar 34, the connecting bar 34 prevents the bending portion 31 from being expanded and deformed, and the cowl louver 17 has a predetermined shape. Is retained.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the rib 47 projects from the rear side surface of the outer peripheral surface of the rear connection pin 41, and the rib 47 is tapered toward the protruding end side of the rear connection pin 41. When the external force is applied to the rear retainer 43, the retainer function is released, and the following effects are produced.

  That is, when the vehicle 1 collides with a certain object 50 ahead (front collision) while the vehicle 1 is traveling, the object 50 jumps up due to the front collision as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, the bent portion 31 of the cowl louver 17 may fall from above and collide with it. In this case, the bent portion 31 expands and deforms so that the front and rear end portions of the cowl louver 17 are strongly separated from each other in the front-rear direction based on the large impact force F caused by the collision of the object 50 described above.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear end portion of the cowl louver 17 is displaced relative to the rear side with respect to the rear portion of the connecting bar 34 together with the rear connecting pin 41 and the rib 47. At this time, the taper surface of the rib 47 slides on the rear inner peripheral surface 42a of the rear insertion hole 42 of the connection bar 34 so that the rear end of the connection bar 34 is relatively lowered with respect to the cowl louver 17. Pushing force B toward you. In other words, the cowl louver 17 is pushed upward relative to the rear end portion of the connecting bar 34 by the rib 47 sliding on the rear inner peripheral surface 42a. At this time, an external force is positively applied to the circlip 45 of the rear retainer 43 from the rear end of the connection bar 34, and the rear connection pin of the rear retainer 43 is connected to the circlip 45. Since the external force is positively applied to the fragile portion around the circumferential groove 44 in 41 and stress concentration occurs, the tip of the protruding end portion of the rear connecting pin 41 is broken.

  In other words, the taper surface of the rib 47 slides on the inner surface of the rear insertion hole 42 of the connection bar 34 based on the large impact force F at the time of the collision of the object 50, thereby moving the connection bar 34 relative to the cowl louver 17. By forcibly pushing B downward, an external force is positively applied to the rear retainer 43 so that the retainer function by the rear retainer 43 is quickly released. .

  Therefore, when the object 50 collides, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting bar 34 is quickly dropped from the cowl louver 17 and the shape retaining function by the connecting bar 34 with respect to the bent portion 31 is immediately released. Accordingly, the bent portion 31 is more smoothly and reliably expanded and deformed based on the large impact force F, and the impact force F is sufficiently relaxed. As a result, the injury value that is to occur in the object 50 due to the reaction force of the impact force F can be reduced more effectively.

  Further, as described above, the first gap 29 is formed between the front lower end edge of the windshield 10 and the groove bottom surface of the engagement groove 26 of the connecting bar 34 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2.

  For this reason, when the bent portion 31 is deployed and deformed so that the front and rear ends of the cowl louver 17 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction by the impact force F, the front of the cowl louver 17 due to the presence of the first gap 29, The rear end portions can be smoothly separated from each other. Therefore, the drop of the connecting bar 34 from the cowl louver 17 is achieved more quickly. The first gap 29 may not be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Car body 8 Front window 10 Front window glass 12 Car compartment 13 Engine room 14 Hood 17 Cowl louver 23 Louver main body part 24 Lower piece 25 Upper piece 26 Engaging groove 29 First clearance 31 Bending part 32 Front coupling tool 33 Rear coupling tool 34 connecting bar 41 rear connecting pin 42 rear insertion hole 42a rear inner peripheral surface 43 rear stopper 44 peripheral groove 45 circlip 47 rib 49 second gap 50 object F impact force

Claims (1)

A cowl louver extending in the front-rear direction in a cross-sectional side view of the vehicle body is disposed between the front edge of the front windshield and the rear edge of the hood disposed in front of the front edge. A bent portion that bends upward in the middle in the front-rear direction is formed, extends in the front-rear direction below the cowl louver, and is connected to the front and rear ends of the cowl louver by front and rear connectors. A connecting bar that protrudes downward from the cowl louver, and at least one of the front and rear connecting tools is formed on the connecting bar. In a cowl louver device for a vehicle having an insertion hole through which the connecting pin is inserted and a stopper for preventing the connection pin from coming out of the insertion hole,
Of the outer peripheral surface of the connecting pin, a rib is projected from the surface on the one direction side, the rib is formed to be tapered toward the protruding end side of the connecting pin, and an external force is applied to the stopper. A cowl louver device for a vehicle, wherein the retaining function is released when it is given.

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