JP6818993B2 - Vehicle cowl louver - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle cowl louver, which is a resin component connected to the lower edge of the windshield of a vehicle and arranged between the windshield and the hood.

Patent Document 1 describes the above-mentioned technology relating to the cowl louver of a vehicle. The cowl louver 100 described in Patent Document 1 includes a mountain portion 102 and a valley portion 103 extending in the vehicle width direction, as shown in the vertical sectional view of FIG. 7. A front rib 105f extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is provided in a range from the front side wall portion 102f forming the mountain portion 102 of the cowl louver 100 to the front portion of the top portion 102t. Further, the rear rib 105b is provided in the range from the rear portion of the top portion 102t forming the mountain portion 102 of the cowl louver 100 to the rear side wall portion 102b and the inclined wall portion 103s forming the valley portion 103. A slit-shaped notch 106 extending downward from the position of the top 102t of the mountain portion 102 of the cowl louver 100 is formed between the front rib 105f and the rear rib 105b.

As described above, since the front rib 105f and the rear rib 105b extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided on the back side of the mountain portion 102 and the valley portion 103 of the cowl louver 100, the rigidity of the cowl louver 100 can be increased individually. Further, since a slit-shaped notch 106 is formed between the front rib 105f and the rear rib 105b, when a collision load is applied to the top 102t of the mountain 102 of the cowl louver 100 from above, the mountain 102 Is easily crushed so that it spreads in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. As a result, the cowl louver 100 can absorb the collision load.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-73504

The cowl louver 100 is generally a resin injection molded product. Therefore, when the cowl louver 100 is taken out from the molding mold after injection molding, it is thermally shrunk by natural cooling. In order to suppress the deformation of the cowl louver 100 due to heat shrinkage, it is effective to provide a rib extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle on the back side of the mountain portion 102 or the like. However, as described above, in the cowl louver 100 according to Patent Document 1, the front rib 105f and the rear rib 105b provided on the back side of the mountain portion 102 or the like are divided back and forth by a slit-shaped notch 106. Therefore, the cowl louver 100 is easily deformed by heat shrinkage at the divided portion between the front rib 105f and the rear rib 105b, that is, at the position of the top 102t of the mountain portion 102.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to make the mountain portion of the cowl louver into a structure that is not easily deformed by heat shrinkage after injection molding, and the cowl louver. It is to prevent the absorption performance of the collision load from deteriorating.

The above-mentioned problems are solved by each invention. The first invention is a resin component connected to the lower end edge of the windshield of a vehicle and arranged between the windshield and the hood, and is a cowl louver of the vehicle having a mountain portion and a valley portion extending in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the mountain portion is provided with a front side wall portion, a top portion, and a rear side wall portion, and a mountain-shaped connecting portion is provided inside the mountain portion and on the back side of the cowl louver so as to cross the mountain portion. , The joint contour portion of the connecting portion to be joined to the front side wall portion, the top portion and the rear side wall portion of the mountain portion, and the vicinity thereof are formed in a continuous state, and the position corresponding to the foot of the mountain portion. the fragile portion toward a joining contour portion of the connecting portion from a portion of the exposed edge portion of the connecting portion is provided with a reinforcing portion is provided between the tip and the joint contours of the fragile portion in The exposed contour portion of the joint portion is provided with a load concentration portion that triggers the breakage of the fragile portion when a collision load is applied, and the fragile portion of the joint portion is exposed of the joint portion. The fragile portion extends from the load concentration portion of the contour portion toward the top of the mountain portion, and the fragile portion is a thin wall portion having a wall thickness dimension smaller than the wall thickness dimension of the joint portion, and the load concentration portion is a notch. The fragile portion and the load concentration portion are arranged on the same surface .

According to the present invention, the joint contour portion of the joint portion joined to the front side wall portion, the top portion and the rear side wall portion of the mountain portion of the cowl louver, and the vicinity thereof are formed in a continuous state. Further, a reinforcing portion is provided between the tip of the fragile portion of the connecting portion and the joint contour portion. Therefore, by the action of the continuous joint contour portion of the connecting portion, its vicinity, and the reinforcing portion, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the mountain portion or the like due to heat shrinkage after the cowl louver is injection-molded. Further, a fragile portion is provided from a part of the exposed contour portion of the joint portion of the cowl louver located at a position corresponding to the foot of the mountain portion toward the joint contour portion of the joint portion. Therefore, when a collision load is applied to the cowl louver, the joint portion is liable to break due to the action of the fragile portion, and the mountain portion of the cowl louver is liable to be deformed. Therefore, even if the connecting portion is provided, the collision load absorption performance in the cowl louver can be ensured.
Further, when a collision load is applied, the fragile portion of the connecting portion is likely to break due to the action of the load concentrating portion.
Further, the fragile portion of the connecting portion is broken by the collision load, so that the mountain portion of the cowl louver is easily crushed.

According to the second invention , a connecting portion is provided at an end portion of the mountain portion in the vehicle width direction.

According to the third invention , a step is formed in the joint portion provided at the end portion in the vehicle width direction of the mountain portion in the thickness direction of the joint portion, and the position of the step portion of the joint portion or its vicinity thereof. Is provided with a load concentration section. Therefore, when a collision load is applied to the cowl louver, the load is likely to be concentrated on the load concentration portion of the connecting portion.

According to the fourth invention , the fragile portion of the connecting portion and the ridgeline of the mountain portion are arranged on the same surface. For this reason, the collision load applied to the mountain portion of the cowl louver is likely to be applied to the fragile portion of the connecting portion.

According to the fifth invention , another connecting portion extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is provided at a corner position between the front side wall portion of the mountain portion and the bottom plate portion of the valley portion. Therefore, the rigidity of the cowl louver as a single item is improved. Further, even if the other connecting portion is provided, the absorption performance of the collision load in the cowl louver is hardly affected.

According to the present invention, the mountain portion of the cowl louver or the like has a structure that is not easily deformed by heat shrinkage after injection molding. In addition, the impact load absorption performance of the cowl louver does not deteriorate.

It is a perspective view which looked at the vehicle provided with the cowl louver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention from the right front. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the connection structure of the cowl louver and a windshield, the cowl panel which supports the cowl louver, and the like. It is the whole perspective view which looked at the cowl louver from the left front. It is an enlarged perspective view (VI arrow view of FIG. 3) which looked at the left end part of the cowl louver from the front. It is a perspective view which looked at the left end part of the cowl louver from the back side (rear side). It is a rear view of the left end part of the cowl louver. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the conventional cowl louver.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, the cowl louver of the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. Here, the front-rear left-right and up-down shown in the figure correspond to the front-rear left-right and up-down of the vehicle provided with the cowl louver according to the present embodiment.

<Overview of the front structure of vehicle 10>
First, before explaining the cowl louver 50, the outline of the front structure of the vehicle 10 including the cowl louver 50 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, fender panels 15 are provided on both the front left and right sides of the body of the vehicle 10, and the engine hood 17 is configured so that the engine room ER can be opened and closed between the left and right fender panels 15. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the engine room ER is separated from the inside of the vehicle interior R by a vertical wall-shaped dash panel 33 extending in the vehicle width direction. The upper end 33f of the dash panel 33 is bent forward in a substantially horizontal state, and the upper end 33f constitutes the ceiling portion at the rear of the engine room ER. The rear end edge 40b of the cowl panel 40 is fixed to the front end edge of the upper end 33f (referred to as the ceiling 33f) of the dash panel 33.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cowl panel 40 is a panel that supports the lower end portion 22 of the windshield 20 from the back side, and is configured to extend in the vehicle width direction at a position on the upper end front side of the dash panel 33. The cowl panel 40 has a horizontal plate portion 41 that constitutes the ceiling portion of the engine room ER, a vertical wall portion 43 that is bent upward at a substantially right angle at the front end of the horizontal plate portion 41, and a front at the upper end of the vertical wall portion 43. The cross-sectional shape is formed in a substantially Z shape from the glass support portion 44 bent downward. Then, the back surface of the lower end portion 22 of the windshield 20 is fixed to the glass support portion 44 of the cowl panel 40 by an adhesive or the like. Further, on the lower front side of the vertical wall portion 43 of the cowl panel 40, the upper rear end 45u of the cowl front panel 45, which also constitutes the ceiling portion of the engine room ER, is fixed. The cowl front panel 45 is configured to support the front portion of the cowl louver 50 from below.

<Overview of Cowl Luba 50>
The cowl louver 50 is a vehicle body exterior component having an outside air introduction function, and is arranged between the engine hood 17 and the windshield 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cowl louver 50 includes a mountain portion 54 and a valley portion 52 extending in the vehicle width direction. The valley portion 52 is a portion that guides rainwater or the like to both sides in the vehicle width direction, and is provided on the front side of the cowl louver 50. As shown in FIG. 2, a shelf-shaped flange portion 52f projecting forward is provided at the upper end position of the front wall portion 52k of the valley portion 52. A seal member 50w that seals between the engine hood 17 and the cowl louver 50 is attached to the upper surface of the flange portion 52f along the flange portion 52f. Further, the valley portion 52 of the cowl louver 50 is supported from below by the front end flange portion 45f of the cowl front panel 45.

A mountain portion 54 is provided behind the valley portion 52 of the cowl louver 50. The mountain portion 54 includes a front side wall portion 54f, a top portion 54t, and a rear side wall portion 54b, and the front side wall portion 54f of the mountain portion 54 is also used as a rear wall portion of the valley portion 52. As shown in FIG. 2, the mountain portion 54 is arranged at a position where the front side wall portion 54f and the top portion 54t are covered with the rear end edge 17b of the engine hood 17, and the rear side wall portion 54b is on the rear side of the engine hood 17. It is exposed in. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear side wall portion 54b of the mountain portion 54 is provided with an outside air introduction portion 54x at a position closer to the left of the center.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50 has a narrow right end and a central portion, and a wiper rear wall portion 51 is provided on the rear side of the narrowly formed mountain portion 54. Has been done. A through hole 51k through which the wiper drive shaft (not shown) is passed is formed at the lower end position of the wiper rear wall portion 51. Further, a glass connecting wall 55 is provided on the rear side of the wiper rear wall portion 51 and the rear side of the wide mountain portion 54 on the left side. As shown in FIG. 2, the glass connecting wall 55 is a portion fixed to the lower end portion 22 of the windshield 20 by the fixing member 56, and the windshield 20 is lowered at an inclination equal to that of the windshield 20 so as to be higher at the rear. It is provided at a position that extends to.

<About the first rib 60 of the cowl louver 50>
At the left end of the cowl louver 50, a mountain portion 54 is formed wide as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Inside the left end of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50, a mountain-shaped first rib 60 is provided so as to cross the mountain portion 54. Here, the cowl louver 50 is, for example, an injection-molded product of polypropylene resin (PP) (melting point 165 ° C.), and is heat-shrinked when it is taken out from a mold after molding and naturally cooled. Therefore, the first rib 60 is provided so that the wide mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50 is not deformed by heat shrinkage. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first rib 60 is formed at the rib joint contour portion 62 joined to the front side wall portion 54f, the top portion 54t, and the rear side wall portion 54b of the mountain portion 54, and the foot of the mountain portion 54. It is composed of a rib exposed contour portion 63 at a corresponding position, and a rib central portion 64 surrounded by a rib joining contour portion 62 and a rib exposed contour portion 63.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a substantially U-shaped notch 63u is formed at a substantially central position in the height direction of the rib exposed contour portion 63 of the first rib 60. Further, in the rib exposed contour portion 63 and the rib central portion 64 of the first rib 60, a thin-walled portion 64s extending linearly from the position of the notch 63u toward the ridge line Ry at the top 54t of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50. It is formed. Here, the tip of the thin portion 64s is separated from the ridge line Ry (rib joint contour portion 62 joined to the top 54t), and the separation dimension is set to a predetermined value L. Therefore, the rib-joined contour portion 62 of the first rib 60 joined to the front side wall portion 54f, the top portion 54t, and the rear side wall portion 54b of the mountain portion 54, and the vicinity thereof are predetermined in a substantially flange-like continuous state. It is formed with strength. That is, the portion where the separation dimension is set to the predetermined value L from the tip of the thin portion 64s to the ridge line Ry corresponds to the reinforcing portion of the present invention.

Further, the notch 63u and the thin portion 64s formed in the first rib 60 are arranged on the same surface as the ridge line Ry of the top 54t in the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50. Further, as shown in the rear view of FIG. 6, the first rib 60 formed at the left end portion of the cowl louver 50 has the notch 63u and the upper side of the thin-walled portion 64s below the notch 63u and the thin-walled portion 64s. On the other hand, it gently protrudes to the left. That is, the first rib 60 formed at the left end portion of the cowl louver 50 has a step D formed in the thickness direction (left-right direction), and a notch 63u and a thin portion 64s are formed at the position of the step D. In this way, the first rib 60 corresponds to the connecting portion of the present invention.

<About the second rib 70 of the cowl louver 50>
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a triangular second rib 70 is provided at a corner position between the front side wall portion 54f of the mountain portion 54 and the bottom plate portion 52b of the valley portion 52 at the left end portion of the cowl louver 50. There is. Then, the joint contour portion 71 of the second rib 70 corresponding to the two sides other than the bottom side of the triangle is joined to the front side wall portion 54f of the mountain portion 54 and the bottom plate portion 52b of the valley portion 52. Further, a thin portion 73 is formed from the center of the exposed contour portion 72 of the second rib 70 corresponding to the base of the triangle to the central portion of the second rib 70. That is, the second rib 70 corresponds to another connecting portion of the present invention.

<Advantages of the cowl louver 50 of the vehicle 10 according to this embodiment>
In the cowl louver 50 of the vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment, the rib joint contour portion 62 of the first rib 60 (connecting portion) joined to the front side wall portion 54f, the top portion 54t, and the rear side wall portion 54b of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50. And its vicinity are formed with a predetermined strength in a state of being continuous in a flange shape. Therefore, the continuous rib joint contour portion 62 of the first rib 60 and the function in the vicinity thereof can suppress the deformation of the mountain portion 54 and the like due to heat shrinkage after the cowl louver 50 is injection-molded. Further, the corner positions of the front side wall portion 54f of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50 and the bottom plate portion 52b of the valley portion 52 are connected by a triangular second rib 70 (another connecting portion). Therefore, the deformation of the valley portion 52 with respect to the mountain portion 54 can be suppressed.

Further, the first rib 60 of the cowl louver 50 is formed with a substantially U-shaped notch 63u at the center position in the height direction of the rib exposed contour portion 63, and further, the top of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50 is formed from the position of the notch 63u. A thin portion 64s extending linearly toward the ridge line Ry at 54t is provided. The notch 63u of the first rib 60 and the thin portion 64s are arranged on the same surface as the ridge line Ry of the top 54t of the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50. Further, the first rib 60 is formed with a step D in the thickness direction (left-right direction), and a notch 63u and a thin portion 64s are formed at the position of the step D.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the collision load F is applied to the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50, the load is concentrated on the notch 63u of the first rib 60 in response to the collision load F. As a result, the thin portion 64s of the first rib 60 is broken by using the notch 63u as a trigger. As a result, the mountain portion 54 of the cowl louver 50 is easily deformed, and even if the first rib 60 is present, the absorption performance of the collision load F in the cowl louver 50 can be ensured. That is, the notch 63u and the step D correspond to the load concentration portion of the present invention, and the thin wall portion 64s or the like corresponds to the fragile portion of the present invention.

Further, since the thin portion 73 is easily broken in the second rib 70 as well, the breakage of the second rib 70 is likely to cause deformation between the mountain portion 54 and the valley portion 52. As described above, in the cowl louver 50 according to the present embodiment, deformation of the mountain portion 54 and the like due to heat shrinkage after injection molding by the first rib 60 and the like can be suppressed. Further, even if the first rib 60 or the like is provided, the absorption performance of the collision load F in the cowl louver 50 can be ensured.

<Change example>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the first rib 60 is provided at the left end portion of the cowl louver 50, but it can also be provided near the left end portion and the central portion. Further, although an example in which a fragile portion composed of a notch 63u and a thin-walled portion 64s is provided in the first rib 60 is shown, it is also possible to provide a slit or the like instead of the thin-walled portion 64s and omit the notch 63u. It is also possible to provide a plurality of through holes instead of the thin portion 64s. Further, a material having a relatively high strength is used for the rib joint contour portion 62 of the first rib 60 and its vicinity, and a material having a relatively low strength is used for the rib exposed contour portion 63 and the rib central portion 64. Is also possible. Further, although an example in which a polypropylene resin is used as the material of the cowl louver 50 is shown, it is also possible to use a thermoplastic resin other than the polypropylene resin.

17 ... Engine hood (hood)
20 ... Windshield 50 ... Cowl louver 52 ... Valley part 52b ... Bottom plate part 54 ... Mountain part 54b ... Rear side wall part 54f ... Front side wall part 54t ... Top Ry ... Ridge line D・ ・ ・ ・ Step 60 ・ ・ ・ First rib (connecting part)
62 ... Rib joint contour part (joint contour part)
63 ... Rib exposed contour part (exposed contour part, position corresponding to the foot of the mountain part)
64 ... Rib center (center)
63u ... Notch (load concentration part)
64s ... Thin wall part (fragile part)
70 ... 2nd rib (another connecting part)
72 ... Exposed contour part (position corresponding to the foot of the mountain)
L ... Predetermined value (reinforcement part)
F ... Collision load

Claims (5)

A resin component connected to the lower edge of the windshield of a vehicle and arranged between the windshield and the hood, and a cowl louver of the vehicle having peaks and valleys extending in the vehicle width direction.
The mountain portion includes a front side wall portion, a top portion, and a rear side wall portion.
On the inside of the mountain and on the back side of the cowl louver , a mountain-shaped joint is provided so as to cross the mountain.
The joint contour portion of the connecting portion to be joined to the front side wall portion, the top portion and the rear side wall portion of the mountain portion, and the vicinity thereof are formed in a continuous state.
A fragile portion is provided from a part of the exposed contour portion of the joint portion at a position corresponding to the foot of the mountain portion toward the joint contour portion of the joint portion, and the tip of the fragile portion and the joint contour portion are provided. There is a reinforcement between them,
The exposed contour portion of the connecting portion is provided with a load concentration portion that triggers the breakage of the fragile portion when a collision load is applied.
The fragile portion of the joint portion extends from the load concentration portion of the exposed contour portion of the joint portion toward the top of the mountain portion.
The fragile portion is a thin-walled portion having a wall-thickness dimension smaller than that of the connecting portion.
The load concentration portion is a notch and
The fragile portion and the load concentration portion are vehicle cowl louvers arranged on the same surface . The vehicle cowl louver according to claim 1.
A cowl louver of a vehicle in which the connecting portion is provided at an end portion of the mountain portion in the vehicle width direction . The vehicle cowl louver according to claim 2.
The connecting portion provided at the end of the mountain portion in the vehicle width direction has a step formed in the thickness direction of the connecting portion.
A vehicle cowl louver in which a load concentration portion is provided at or near a step at the connecting portion . The vehicle cowl louver according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A vehicle cowl louver in which the fragile portion of the connecting portion and the ridgeline of the mountain portion are arranged on the same surface . The vehicle cowl louver according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
A vehicle cowl louver provided with another connecting portion extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at a corner position between the front side wall portion of the mountain portion and the bottom plate portion of the valley portion .

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