JP6047044B2 - Body front structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile or the like, and more particularly to a structure that improves pedestrian thigh protection performance and reduces vehicle body damage during a light collision.

In the front body structure of a vehicle such as an automobile, there is a demand for improvement in pedestrian protection performance that reduces pedestrian injury when colliding with a pedestrian.
In a passenger car with a typical vehicle height, the vicinity of the front end of the hood often collides with the thigh of the pedestrian. Therefore, in order to suppress injury to the thigh, energy is effectively applied in this region. It is required to have an absorbable structure.

As a conventional technique related to pedestrian thigh protection in a vehicle body front structure, for example, in Patent Document 1, a pedestrian collision is caused by a bracket that protrudes forward from a radiator upper support that is disposed below the front end of the hood. It is described that it sometimes absorbs energy and reduces injury.
Patent Document 2 describes that a pedestrian protection member formed of a sheet metal panel is provided in front of the bumper beam.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-264495 Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-1358

As in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to improve pedestrian protection performance by attaching an energy absorbing member to the holding member at the upper end of the radiator.
However, if the energy absorbing member moves backward with respect to the vehicle body main body during a light collision with another vehicle, it may interfere with other parts such as a hood, a hood catcher, and other vehicle structural members and damage them. It becomes a problem.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body front structure that improves pedestrian thigh protection performance and reduces vehicle damage during a light collision.

The present invention solves the above-described problems by the following means.
The invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle body structural member that is provided below the front end of the hood and extends substantially along the vehicle width direction, projects from the vehicle body structure member toward the vehicle front side, and extends substantially along the vehicle width direction. A vehicle body front structure having an energy absorbing member that is formed and absorbs energy by being deformed at the time of a vehicle collision, wherein the energy absorbing member is located on a rear side and above a front portion and an upper end portion of the front portion. Connecting the upper surface portion protruding to the side, the lower surface portion protruding from the lower end portion of the front surface portion to the rear side, the rear end portion of the upper surface portion and the rear end portion of the lower surface portion. and a rear part fixed to the vehicle body structural member, the lower surface portion may have a weakened section to induce buckling deformation when a compressive load in the longitudinal direction is loaded, the rear surface portion, in the vertical direction Above the center Serial is a vehicle body front structure, characterized in that attached to the vehicle body structural member.
According to this, when a load is input from the front by a collision, the lower surface portion buckles and deforms due to the compressive load in the front-rear direction, thereby showing a deformation mode in which the front surface portion takes a downward trajectory, and the upper surface portion The tension that pulls the upper end of the energy absorbing member forward acts.
This makes it possible to absorb energy satisfactorily at the time of a collision with a pedestrian leg, and at the time of a light collision with a vehicle or the like, it absorbs energy and the upper end of the energy absorbing member moves backward. It is possible to prevent the parts from being damaged.
Moreover, the moment of the direction which the upper end part of an energy absorption member rotates to the vehicle front side at the time of a collision can be generated, and the effect mentioned above can be heightened more.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the energy absorbing member is formed around the rear end portion of the upper surface portion by buckling deformation of the lower surface portion when a load to the vehicle rear side is applied to the front surface portion. 2. The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 1, wherein the front part rotates in a descending direction.
According to this, the effect mentioned above can be acquired reliably.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the weak body portion of the lower surface portion is a bent portion provided on the vehicle rear side with respect to the center portion in the front-rear direction and projecting upward. 2 is a vehicle body front structure.
According to this, a tension | tensile_strength can be reliably generate | occur | produced in an upper surface part at the time of buckling deformation, and the effect mentioned above can be heightened more.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an angle formed by a portion of the lower surface portion behind the bent portion with respect to the horizontal plane is defined as an angle formed by a load input direction with respect to the horizontal plane at the time of collision with the pedestrian leg. The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle body front part structure is also set to be large.
According to this, even when the input load from the pedestrian thigh acts obliquely from the upper side, a moment for buckling the lower surface portion is generated, and the lower surface portion is securely buckled to thereby absorb energy. Can be secured.

The invention according to claim 5 is the vehicle body front structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the front surface portion has an uneven shape extending in a vehicle width direction. is there.
According to this, even if a load is input locally, the load can be dispersed in the vehicle width direction and energy can be absorbed well.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle body front structure that improves pedestrian thigh protection performance and reduces vehicle damage during a light collision.

It is the perspective view which looked at the Example of the vehicle body front part structure to which this invention is applied from the diagonally upper side of the vehicle front side. It is the perspective view which looked at the vehicle body front part structure of the embodiment from the diagonally lower side on the vehicle front side. It is the top view which looked at the vehicle body front part structure of the Example from the upper direction. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body front structure that improves pedestrian thigh protection performance and reduces vehicle damage during a light collision. This is solved by forming a bent portion with a convex upward at the rear portion of the material and buckling deformation at the time of collision to obtain a deformation mode in which the front end portion descends.

Embodiments of a vehicle body front structure to which the present invention is applied will be described below.
The vehicle body front portion structure of the embodiment is provided at the vehicle body front portion of an automobile such as a passenger car, for example.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vehicle body front structure according to the embodiment as viewed obliquely from the front side of the vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle body front structure according to the embodiment as viewed obliquely from the lower front side of the vehicle.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle body front structure of the embodiment as viewed from above.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG.
1 to 4, vehicle exterior members, engines, auxiliary machinery, suspensions, and the like are not shown for easy understanding.

  The vehicle body front structure 1 includes a front side frame 10, a radiator panel 20, a strut accommodating portion 30, a front upper frame 40, a hood 50, a bumper face 60, an energy absorbing member 100, and the like.

The front side frame 10 is a main structural member of a vehicle body that extends substantially along the front-rear direction of the vehicle and is spaced apart in the vehicle width direction.
The front side frame 10 protrudes toward the vehicle front side from a lower portion of a toe board (not shown) that is a partition wall that partitions the vehicle compartment and the engine room on the front side thereof.
The front side frame 10 is disposed along the left and right sides of the engine room.
The front side frame 10 has a closed cross section with a rectangular cross section viewed from the front side of the vehicle.

The radiator panel 20 is a frame-like part attached to the front end portion of the front side frame 10 and holds a radiator core (not shown) and a condenser of an air conditioner.
The radiator panel 20 includes a radiator panel side 21, a radiator panel upper 22, a radiator panel lower 23, a center member 24, and the like.

The radiator panel side 21 is a member constituting left and right side portions of the radiator panel 20.
The radiator panel side 21 is formed in a column shape extending in the vertical direction.
In the radiator panel side 21, a portion in the vehicle width direction outside of the intermediate portion in the vertical direction is coupled to a surface portion in the vehicle width direction in the vicinity of the front end portion of the front side frame 10.

The radiator panel upper 22 is a member that connects the upper ends of the left and right radiator panel sides 21.
The radiator panel upper 22 is formed in a beam shape extending in the vehicle width direction.
The radiator panel lower 23 is a member that connects the lower ends of the left and right radiator panel sides 21.
The radiator panel lower 23 is formed in a beam shape extending in the vehicle width direction.
The center member 24 is a beam-like member that vertically connects between the intermediate portion of the radiator panel upper 22 and the radiator panel lower 23 in the vehicle width direction.
Further, a hood catcher C (see FIG. 4) for locking the front end portion of the hood 50 is attached to the center portion of the radiator panel upper 22 in the vehicle width direction.

The strut accommodating portion 30 is a portion for accommodating a strut provided in a McPherson strut type front suspension (not shown).
The strut accommodating portion 30 is formed so as to protrude upward and outward in the vehicle width direction from a portion outside the vehicle width direction in the rear portion of the front side frame 10.
The strut upper mount 31 provided at the upper end portion of the strut accommodating portion 30 supports the upper end portion of the strut so as to be rotatable around the center axis of the rod.

The front upper frame 40 is a member that cooperates with the headlight upper member 41 to connect the upper portion of the strut accommodating portion 30 and the side end portion of the radiator panel upper 22.
The front upper frame 40 is formed to protrude forward from the upper portion of the strut housing portion 30, and the front end portion thereof is connected to a headlight upper member 41 that holds the upper portion of a headlight unit (not shown).
The headlight upper member 41 is formed to protrude outward in the vehicle width direction from the left and right end portions of the radiator panel upper 22.

The hood 50 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a lid that can be opened and closed at the top of the engine room.
The hood 50 is attached to the vehicle body so as to be rotatable around a hinge (not shown) provided at the rear end.
A striker (not shown) that is locked to a hood catcher C (see FIG. 4) attached to the radiator panel upper 22 is provided at a lower portion in the vicinity of the front end portion of the hood 50.
A rubber seal 51 is provided at the front end of the hood 50.

The bumper face 60 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is an exterior member formed of a resin material such as PP, and is provided at the front end portion of the vehicle.
The upper end portion of the bumper face 60 is disposed adjacent to the front end portion of the hood 50.
The front surface of the bumper face 60 is provided with a grill 61 or the like that is a frame-like body for introducing running air.

The energy absorbing member 100 is a member that protrudes from the radiator panel upper 22 to the front side of the vehicle and absorbs energy at the time of a collision with a pedestrian thigh or a light collision with another vehicle.
The energy absorbing member 100 includes a front panel 110, a rear panel 120, a bracket 130, and the like.
Each of these members is formed as a panel obtained by press-molding a steel plate, and is joined to each other by spot welding or the like.

  The front panel 110 is a main body that absorbs energy by being deformed at the time of a collision in the energy absorbing member 100, and is provided at a front portion of the energy absorbing member 100.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front panel 110 includes a front surface portion 111, an upper surface portion 112, a lower surface portion 113, and the like.
The front surface portion 111 is a surface portion disposed opposite to the rear surface portion in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the bumper face 60 with a space in the front-rear direction, and is disposed substantially along the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction.
A rib 111a extending over the entire width of the front panel 110 is formed substantially along the vehicle width direction (longitudinal direction of the front surface portion 111) at the lower portion of the front surface portion 111.

The upper surface portion 112 is formed so as to protrude obliquely rearward and upward from the upper end portion of the front surface portion 111.
At the rear end portion of the upper surface portion 112, a flange portion 112a protruding substantially horizontally on the rear side is provided.

The lower surface portion 113 is formed so as to protrude rearward from the lower end portion of the front surface portion 111.
A bent portion 113a formed by bending the lower surface portion 113 in a convex upward direction is formed in a region on the rear side of the center portion in the front-rear direction of the lower surface portion 113.
The lower surface portion 113 is disposed substantially horizontally on the front side of the bent portion 113a and is inclined so that the rear side is lowered on the rear side of the bent portion 113a.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the length α in front of the bent portion 113a of the lower surface 113 in the vehicle longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) is set to be longer than the length β behind the bent portion 113a. Yes.
In addition, the angle γ formed by the portion of the lower surface 113 on the rear side of the bent portion 113a with respect to the horizontal direction is such that the input direction of the load FI from the impactor I imitating the pedestrian thigh is with respect to the horizontal direction. It is set to be larger than the angle δ.
At the rear end portion of the lower surface portion 113, a flange portion 113b that protrudes substantially horizontally toward the rear side is formed.

The rear panel 120 is a rear plate that is attached to the rear portion of the front panel 110 and forms a closed section in cooperation with the front panel 110.
The rear panel 120 is a member extending substantially along the vertical direction and the vehicle width direction.
Flange portions 121 and 122 extending substantially along the horizontal direction are formed on the rear side of the vehicle at the upper and lower ends of the rear panel 120.

The flange portion 121 is fixed to the flange portion 111a by, for example, spot welding or the like while being attached to the lower surface of the flange portion 111a of the upper surface portion 111 of the front panel 110.
In addition, a welding nut 121 a is provided at the lower portion of the flange portion 121, and the upper end portion of the bumper face 60 is fastened by a bolt B.

  The flange portion 122 is attached to the upper surface of the flange portion 113b of the lower surface portion 113 of the front panel 110, and is fixed to the flange portion 113b by, for example, spot welding.

The bracket 130 is a member that connects the rear surface portion of the rear panel 120 and the bracket 22 a protruding forward from the radiator panel upper 22 and fixes the energy absorbing member 100 to the radiator panel 20.
The bracket 130 has an intermediate part 131 and flange parts 132 and 133.
The intermediate portion 131 is a main body portion of the bracket 130 that is disposed so as to be inclined such that the front side is higher than the rear side.
The flange portion 132 protrudes upward from the front end portion of the intermediate portion 131 and is fixed to the rear surface portion of the rear panel 120 by, for example, spot welding.
The flange portion 133 is formed to protrude rearward from the rear end portion of the intermediate portion 132, and is fastened by a bolt B to a bracket 22 a that protrudes forward from the radiator panel upper 22.
The attachment position of the rear panel 120 of the flange part 132 is set to a position higher than the center part in the height direction of the rear panel 120 and the upper end part of the front part 111 of the front panel 110.

Next, operations and effects at the time of collision in the above-described embodiment will be described.
At the time of a light collision with the barrier B imitating the front end of the other vehicle, a load is input in the horizontal direction over a relatively second half range in the vehicle width direction.
When the bumper face 60 retreats and the front surface portion 111 of the front panel 110 of the energy absorbing member 100 is pushed rearward, a compressive load in the front-rear direction acts on the lower surface portion 113, and the lower surface portion starts from the bent portion 113a. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, 113 is buckled and deformed in a direction in which the upper surface is convex.
At this time, by setting the position of the bent portion 113a to satisfy α> β, the lower end portion of the front surface portion 111 moves downward as indicated by a broken line in FIG.
Since the length (string length) of the upper surface portion 112 is not changed, the tension T acts on the upper surface portion 112 to pull the flange portion 112a side forward and downward in the vehicle.

In addition, the bracket 130 supports the rear panel 120 above the central portion thereof, so that the moment M that rotates (turns) the energy absorbing member 100 in the direction in which the upper end portion moves forward by an input load from the front. Will occur.
This moment M works to displace the upper end portion of the energy absorbing member 100 forward in cooperation with T acting on the upper surface portion 112 described above.
For this reason, it is possible to prevent the energy absorbing member 100 itself from moving backward and interfering with other parts such as the hood catcher C and the radiator panel upper 22 to cause damage.

On the other hand, at the time of a collision with a cylindrical impactor I imitating the thigh of a pedestrian, a load FI is input from a diagonally upper side to a local region in the vehicle width direction.
When the bumper face 60 moves backward and the load FI is transmitted to the front panel 110 of the energy absorbing member 100, the angle γ on the rear side of the bent portion 113a of the lower surface portion 113 of the front panel 110 is set to the input angle δ of the load FI. In this case, as in the case of the light collision, the lower surface portion 113 can be buckled and the energy can be absorbed by the cross-sectional deformation of the energy absorbing member 100.
Also, ribs 111a are provided on the front portion 111 to disperse the load in the vehicle width direction, thereby effectively absorbing energy and preventing an increase in load due to bottoming with the vehicle body structural member such as the radiator panel upper 22. In addition, the harm to the pedestrian thigh can be reduced.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the technical scope of the present invention.
For example, the shape, structure, material, manufacturing method and the like of each member constituting the vehicle body front structure are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate.

10 Front side frame 20 Radiator panel 21 Radiator panel side 22 Radiator panel upper 22a Bracket 23 Radiator panel lower 24 Center member 30 Strut housing part 31 Strut upper mount 40 Front upper frame 41 Headlight upper member 50 Hood 51 Seal C Food catcher 60 Bumper Face 61 Grill 100 Energy absorbing member 110 Front panel 111 Front surface portion 111a Rib 112 Upper surface portion 112a Flange portion 113 Lower surface portion 113a Bending portion 113b Flange portion 120 Rear panel 121 Flange portion 121a Welding nut 122 Flange portion 130 Bracket 131 Intermediate portion 132 Flange portion 133 Flange part I Impactor B Barrier

Claims (5)

A vehicle body structural member provided below the front end of the hood and extending substantially along the vehicle width direction;
A vehicle body front structure having an energy absorbing member that protrudes from the vehicle body structural member and extends substantially along the vehicle width direction and absorbs energy by deformation when the vehicle collides,
The energy absorbing member is
The front part,
An upper surface formed to protrude rearward and upward from the upper end of the front surface;
A lower surface portion formed to protrude rearward from the lower end portion of the front surface portion,
A rear surface portion that connects the rear end portion of the upper surface portion and the rear end portion of the lower surface portion and is fixed to the vehicle body structural member,
The lower surface may have a weakened section to induce buckling deformation when a compressive load in the longitudinal direction is loaded,
The vehicle body front part structure is characterized in that the rear surface part is attached to the vehicle body structural member above the center part in the vertical direction . When the load on the vehicle rear side is applied to the front surface portion, the energy absorbing member is bent in the buckling deformation of the lower surface portion so that the front surface portion descends around the rear end portion of the upper surface portion. The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body front part structure rotates. The vehicle body front structure according to claim 1, wherein the weak body portion of the lower surface portion is a bent portion that is provided on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the center portion in the front-rear direction and protrudes upward. . The angle formed by the rear side portion of the lower surface portion relative to the bent portion with respect to the horizontal plane is set to be larger than the angle formed by the load input direction at the time of collision with the pedestrian leg portion with respect to the horizontal plane. The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 3. The vehicle body front part structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the front portion has an uneven shape extending in a vehicle width direction.

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