JP6902242B2 - Front body structure of the car - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front body structure that forms the front of an automobile.

A subframe that supports the lower arm connected to the front wheels may be arranged below the main frame that forms part of the vehicle body (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). The subframes of Patent Documents 1 and 2 include a frame main body, a columnar mounting portion protruding upward from the frame main body, and a support portion for supporting the lower arm. Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose connecting a support portion to a columnar mounting portion in the frame body.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-80090 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-30352

As shown in Patent Document 1, the drive shaft is located in front of the columnar mounting portion. Therefore, the knuckle used for connecting to the front wheel is located in front of the columnar mounting portion. However, since the support portion is located behind the columnar mounting portion, the support portion is largely separated from the knuckle rearward. This results in a decrease in rigidity for supporting the lower arm.

Patent Document 2 proposes to form a bulging portion on the peripheral wall portion of the columnar mounting portion to increase the rigidity of the region around the nut used to support the lower arm. However, in order to form the bulging portion, the peripheral wall portion of the columnar mounting portion must be thin to some extent, and the rigidity of the structure for supporting the lower arm may not be sufficiently increased.

An object of the present invention is to provide a front body structure capable of supporting a lower arm under high rigidity.

The front vehicle body structure according to one aspect of the present invention is defined by a frame body having a connecting portion connected to the vehicle body, a position rearward of the drive shaft and in front of the connecting portion, and in the vehicle width direction. A columnar mounting portion that stands above the frame body and is attached to the vehicle body on a virtual vertical plane parallel to the vertical plane, a support portion that supports the lower arm in front of the vertical plane, and the lower arm. It is provided with a nut for fixing to the support portion. The nut includes a peripheral wall extending from a base end to a tip connected to the support. The peripheral wall intersects with the vertical flat face, and is bonded to the frame body.

According to the above configuration, the front vehicle body structure is defined on the connecting portion of the frame body, behind the drive shaft, in front of the connecting portion, and on a virtual vertical plane parallel to the vehicle width direction. Then, it is stably connected to the vehicle body by a columnar mounting portion erected above the frame body. Since the support portion supports the lower arm in front of the vertical plane, it does not excessively separate from the drive shaft. That is, the support portion can be substantially aligned with the knuckle used for connecting the wheels in the vehicle width direction.

Since the peripheral wall of the nut for fixing the lower arm to the support portion intersects the vertical plane and extends from the base end portion connected to the support portion to the tip end portion, the support position of the lower arm is a columnar shape connected to the vehicle body. Do not leave the mounting part forward or backward. Therefore, the lower arm is attached to the frame body under high rigidity. Since the peripheral wall of the nut is joined to the frame body, the rigidity for supporting the lower arm is effectively reinforced by the frame body as well.

With respect to the above configuration, the frame body is inserted with an upper panel to which the columnar mounting portion is joined, a storage space that is overlapped with the upper panel and at least partially accommodates the support portion, and the lower arm. A lower panel, which is formed in cooperation with the upper panel, may be included. The nut may be sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel, and may be joined to the upper panel and the lower panel.

According to the above configuration, the support portion is at least partially accommodated in the accommodation space formed by the upper panel and the lower panel, and is therefore protected by the frame body. Since the lower arm is inserted into the insertion port formed by the upper panel and the lower panel, it is connected to the support portion in the frame body. Therefore, the connecting portion of the lower arm and the support portion is protected by the frame body. Since the nut is sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel and is joined to the upper panel and the lower panel, the load from the lower arm is distributed to the upper panel and the lower panel. Therefore, the lower arm will be supported under high rigidity. In addition, the nut is sandwiched between the upper and lower panels so that it can be easily incorporated into the frame body.

With respect to the above configuration, the peripheral wall may include a weight platform-like base sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel. The upper panel may include an upper joining edge that is joined to the base. The lower panel may include a lower joining edge that is joined to the base. The upper joint edge and the lower joint edges may form a junction contour extending in the vertical direction toward the interpolation communication port.

According to the above configuration, since the peripheral wall includes a weight platform-like base sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel, the upper joint edge and the lower joint edge become long. Therefore, the nut will be joined to the upper and lower panels under high strength. Upper joint edges and the lower joint edges, so to form a joint contour extending in the vertical direction toward the interpolation communication port, nut may be fitted to facilitate the joining position through interpolation communication port. Therefore, the operator who manufactures the front body structure can easily assemble the nut to the frame body.

With respect to the above configuration, the frame body may include a side surface on which the insertion slot is formed. The side surface may include a first opening edge that forms the anterior contour of the insertion opening and a second opening edge that forms the posterior contour of the insertion opening. The side surface is inclined with respect to the axis of the nut so that the second opening edge is located behind the first opening edge and inward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the first opening edge. May be good.

According to the above configuration, the second opening edge forming the rear contour of the insertion port is behind the first opening edge forming the front contour of the insertion port and inward in the vehicle width direction from the first opening edge. Since the side surface is inclined with respect to the axis of the nut so as to be located, the joint length between the nut and the frame body becomes long. Therefore, the nut will be joined to the frame body under high strength.

With respect to the above configuration, the columnar mounting portion may include a lower end portion welded to the upper panel.

According to the above configuration, since the columnar mounting portion includes the lower end portion welded to the upper panel, it does not penetrate the frame body unlike the prior art. Therefore, the designer who designs the front vehicle body structure can change the position of the columnar mounting portion without changing the design of the frame body.

The front body structure described above can support the lower arm under high rigidity.

It is a schematic left side view of the subframe exemplified as a front body structure. It is a schematic perspective view of the subframe shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the bracket of the subframe shown in FIG. It is a schematic left side view of the subframe shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the subframe shown in FIG. It is schematic cross-sectional view of the extension part in the plane orthogonal to the extension direction of the extension part of the subframe shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic left side view of the subframe 100 exemplified as the front vehicle body structure. Subframe 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The subframe 100 has a symmetrical structure. The structure on the left side of the subframe 100 is mainly described. The description of the structure on the left side of the subframe 100 is incorporated into the structure on the right side of the subframe 100.

With respect to the structure on the left side, the term "left" means outward in the vehicle width direction. The term "right" means inward in the vehicle width direction. As described above, since the subframe 100 has a symmetrical structure, the structure on the right side of the subframe 100 is "right" on the outside in the vehicle width direction and is "right" on the inside in the vehicle width direction. , "Left".

The subframe 100 includes a frame main body 110 and a columnar mounting portion 120. FIG. 1 shows a mainframe MFM arranged above the subframe 100 in addition to the subframe 100. The frame body 110 includes a connecting portion 111 connected to the lower surface of the main frame MFM. The connecting portion 111 forms the rear end portion of the subframe 100. The mainframe MFM extends upward from the lower surface connected to the connecting portion 111 and curves forward. The mainframe MFM extends substantially straight forward from the curved position. For this embodiment, the vehicle body is exemplified by a mainframe MFM.

FIG. 1 shows a drive shaft DSF and a knuckle NCL attached to the drive shaft DSF. FIG. 1 further shows a virtual vertical plane VPN defined behind the drive shaft DSF and in front of the connecting portion 111. The vertical plane VPN is parallel to the vehicle width direction (that is, the extension direction of the drive shaft DSF).

The frame main body 110 is separated downward from the main frame MFM except for the connecting portion 111. The columnar mounting portion 120 is erected above the frame body 110 along the vertical plane VPN. The upper end of the columnar mounting portion 120 is connected to the main frame MFM.

FIG. 1 shows the lower arm LAL. The lower arm LAL is supported by a subframe 100 between the drive shaft DSF and the vertical plane VPN.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the subframe 100. Subframe 100 will be further described with reference to FIG.

The lower arm LAL includes an arm portion AMP and a protruding portion PRN. The arm portion AMP includes a base end portion PXE and a tip end portion DTE. The base end portion PXE is connected to the connecting portion 111 of the frame body 110. The tip DTE is located in front of and to the left of the base PXE. The arm portion AMP extends forward from the base end portion PXE and further extends to the left. Therefore, the arm portion AMP forms an arc-shaped shape in the section from the base end portion PXE to the tip end portion DTE. The protruding portion PRN protrudes to the right from the arm portion AMP at an intermediate position between the base end portion PXE and the tip end portion DTE.

In addition to the connecting portion 111, the frame main body 110 includes an extending portion 112 extending diagonally forward to the left from the connecting portion 111. The extending portion 112 is hollow. The protruding portion PRN is inserted into the extending portion 112.

The subframe 100 includes a support portion 200 and a nut 300. The support portion 200 is connected to the protruding portion PRN of the lower arm LAL to support the lower arm LAL. The nut 300 is used to fix the lower arm LAL to the support portion 200.

The support 200 includes a bracket 210, a cylindrical bush 220, and a screw 230. The bracket 210 is welded to the inner wall surface of the extension portion 112 and fixed in the extension portion 112. The bush 220 is assembled to the bracket 210. The protrusion PRN of the lower arm LAL is connected to the bush 220. The nut 300 is fixed to the bracket 210. The nut 300 is substantially coaxial with the bush 220. The nut 300 projects rearward from the extension 112. The screw 230 penetrates the bracket 210 and the bush 220 and is screwed into the nut 300. As a result, the lower arm LAL is fixed to the support portion 200. For the present embodiment, the support portion 200 is housed in the extension portion 112 as a whole. However, a part of the support portion may be exposed from the extension portion 112.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the bracket 210. The support portion 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bracket 210 may be a single plate material that has been subjected to a bending process. The bracket 210 includes a front wall portion 211, a bottom wall portion 212, and a rear wall portion 213. The front wall portion 211 is bent upward at the front edge of the bottom wall portion 212. The front wall portion 211 is further bent forward to match the shape of the inner wall surface of the extension portion 112 (see FIG. 2). The rear wall portion 213 is bent upward at the trailing edge of the bottom wall portion 212. The rear wall portion 213 is bent rearward to match the shape of the inner wall surface of the extending portion 112. The bush 220 (see FIG. 2) is arranged between the front wall portion 211 and the rear wall portion 213.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear wall portion 213 includes a front surface 214 and a rear surface 215. The front surface 214 faces the front wall portion 211. The nut 300 is fixed to the rear surface 215 on the side opposite to the front surface 214.

As shown in FIG. 3, the through hole 216 is formed in the front wall portion 211. The screw 230 (see FIG. 2) is inserted into the bush 220 (see FIG. 2) through the through hole 216 and screwed into the nut 300.

FIG. 4 is a schematic left side view of the subframe 100. The subframe 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 4 shows only the bracket 210 as the support portion 200 described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the nut 300 includes a base end portion 311 and a tip end portion 312. The base end portion 311 of the nut 300 is welded to the rear surface 215 of the rear wall portion 213 of the bracket 210 (see FIG. 3). The tip portion 312 of the nut 300 is an end face on the side opposite to the base end portion 311. The above-mentioned vertical plane VPN is between the base end portion 311 and the tip end portion 312 in a side view and is along the columnar mounting portion 120 (in the present embodiment, it passes through the lower end of the columnar mounting portion 120 and extends in the vertical direction). ) It may be defined as a virtual plane. As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 210 is located in front of the vertical plane VPN.

The nut 300 includes a peripheral wall 313 extending from the base end 311 to the tip 312. The peripheral wall 313 is welded to the frame body 110 at the extending portion 112. Therefore, the lower arm LAL (see FIG. 2) will be supported by a support structure also reinforced by the frame body 110.

As shown in FIG. 4, the columnar mounting portion 120 includes a columnar portion 121 and a connecting pin 122. The pillar portion 121 is erected above the frame main body 110. The connecting pin 122 projects upward from the upper end surface of the column portion 121 and is fitted into the main frame MFM (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, not only the pillar portion 121 but also the connecting pin 122 extends upward along the vertical plane VPN. However, the connecting pin 122 may be arranged at a position slightly offset forward or backward from the vertical plane VPN.

The vertical plane VPN (ie, the position of the tip portion 312 of the nut 300) can be set at various positions intersecting the joint portion of the columnar mounting portion 120 and the frame body 110. Therefore, the principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific position of the vertical plane VPN.

Unlike the prior art, the support portion 200 is connected to the frame body 110 instead of the columnar mounting portion 120. Therefore, the support 200 can be easily placed near the drive shaft DSF (see FIG. 1) to which the knuckle NCL (see FIG. 1) is mounted. In addition, the lower arm LAL can be supported under high stiffness.

<Other features>
The designer can give various features to the above structure. The features described below do not limit any of the design principles described in connection with the embodiments described above.

(Panel structure of the frame body)
The support is housed in an extension of the frame body, while the nut welded to the support projects out of the frame body. If the extension is formed from a plurality of panels divided at the height position where the nut is disposed, the nut can be easily assembled to the frame body. The panel structure of the frame body is described below.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the subframe 100. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the extension portion 112 in a plane orthogonal to the extension direction of the extension portion 112. Subframe 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-6.

The extending portion 112 includes an upper panel 410 and a lower panel 420. The upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420 are overlapped in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper panel 410 includes a left wall 411, a right wall 412, and an upper wall 413. The lower end of the columnar mounting portion 120 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is welded to the upper surface of the upper wall 413. Unlike the prior art, the columnar mounting portion 120 does not penetrate the frame body 110, so the designer determines the position of the columnar mounting portion 120 to fit the vehicle body without changing the design of the frame body 110. can do.

The left wall 411 is bent downward from the left edge of the upper wall 413. The right wall 412 is bent downward from the right edge of the upper wall 413. The lower edges of the left wall 411 and the right wall 412 are welded to the lower panel 420.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower panel 420 includes a left wall 421, a right wall 422, and a lower wall 423. The bottom wall portion 212 of the bracket 210 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is welded to the upper surface of the lower wall 423. Therefore, the bracket 210 is fixed to the lower wall 423.

The left wall 421 is bent upward from the left edge of the lower wall 423. The upper edge of the left wall 421 of the lower panel 420 is welded to the lower edge of the left wall 411 of the upper panel 410. The right wall 422 is bent upward from the right edge of the lower wall 423. The upper edge of the right wall 422 of the lower panel 420 is welded to the upper edge of the right wall 412 of the upper panel 410.

As shown in FIG. 6, the width dimension of the upper wall 413 is larger than the height dimension of the left wall 411 and the right wall 412. The width dimension of the lower wall 423 is larger than the height dimension of the left wall 421 and the right wall 422. Therefore, even if the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420 are formed of a high-strength steel plate having a tensile strength exceeding 490 MPa, the U-shaped cross section of the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420 is easily formed by bending. ..

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420 are overlapped with each other, a storage space for accommodating the bracket 210 is formed. In addition, interpolation communication port 430 is formed in the left face of the extension portion 112 formed by left wall 411 and 421 of the upper panel 410 and lower panel 420. Protrusions PRN lower arm LAL described with reference to FIG. 2 is inserted into inserted through opening 430, is connected to the bushing 220. For this embodiment, the side surface is exemplified by the left side surface of the extension portion 112.

The left wall 411 of the upper panel 410 includes a front contour edge 431, an upper contour edge 432, and a rear contour edge 433. Before contour edge 431, upper contour edge 432 and trailing edge edge 433 form the upper contour of the interpolation communication port 430. The front contour edge 431 and the rear contour edge 433 extend upward from the boundary between the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420. The upper contour edge 432 extends substantially horizontally between the front contour edge 431 and the rear contour edge 433.

The left wall 421 of the lower panel 420 includes a front contour edge 434, a lower contour edge 435, and a rear contour edge 436. Before contour edge 434, the lower contour edge 435 and trailing edge edge 436, forms the lower edge of the inserted communication port 430. The front contour edge 434 and the rear contour edge 436 extend downward from the boundary between the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420. The lower contour edge 435 extends substantially horizontally between the front contour edge 434 and the rear contour edge 436.

The front contour edges 431 and 434 are located in front of the rear contour edges 433 and 436. The left surface of the extension 112 is the axis of the nut 300 (ie, the nut 300) so that the rear contour edges 433 and 436 are located to the right of the front contour edges 431 and 434 (ie, inward in the vehicle width direction). It is inclined from the central axis of. For this embodiment, the first opening edge is exemplified by the front contour edges 431,434. The second opening edge is exemplified by the trailing contour edges 433 and 436.

The upper panel 410 includes an upper joining edge 441 extending rearward from the rear contour edge 433. The lower panel 420 includes a lower joint edge 442 that extends rearward from the posterior contour edge 436 below the upper joint edge 441. When the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420 are overlapped, the upper joint edge 441 and the lower joint edge 442 form an opening region 440 in which the nut 300 is incorporated. Opening region 440 is continuous with the interpolation communication port 430, extends from the interpolation communication port 430 to the rear. Therefore, the worker to produce a sub-frame 100 by inserting the bracket 210 nut 300 is welded to the interpolation communication port 430, it is possible to fit the nut 300 in the opening region 440. That is, the operator can assemble the nut 300 to the frame body 110. When the nut 300 is assembled to the frame body 110, the nut 300 is sandwiched between the upper joint edge 441 and the lower joint edge 442.

As shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral wall 313 of the nut 300 includes a base 314 and a tip cylinder 315. The base portion 314 is a truncated cone-shaped tubular portion extending rearwardly from the base end portion 311. The tip cylinder 315 is a cylindrical portion extending rearward from the base portion 314 to the tip portion 312. The upper joint edge 441 and the lower joint edge 442 sandwiching the base portion 314 of the nut 300 are welded to the base portion 314.

As described above, the base 314 are the frustoconical upper joint edges 441, slopes upward toward the inserted communication port 430. Lower joint edges 442 are inclined downward toward the inserted communication port 430. Therefore, the opening region 440 extends vertically toward the inserted communication port 430. Therefore, the operator can easily insert the nut 300 into the opening region 440.

As described above, the upper joint edge 441 and the lower joint edge 442 form a joint contour extending toward the opening region 440, so that the welding length of the base portion 314 of the nut 300 and the frame body 110 becomes longer. In addition, since the left surface of the extension portion 112 is inclined with respect to the axis of the nut 300, the inclination of the left surface of the extension portion 112 also contributes to a large welding length of the base portion 314 of the nut 300 and the frame body 110. .. Therefore, the nut 300 is fixed to the frame body 110 under high rigidity.

The load transmitted from the lower arm LAL (see FIG. 2) is transmitted to the frame body 110 having high rigidity. As described above, since the frame body 110 is formed by the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420, the load from the lower arm LAL is distributed to the upper panel 410 and the lower panel 420. As a result, the lower arm LAL will be attached to the frame body 110 under high rigidity.

The various features described above may be combined or modified to fit the overall design of the various vehicles.

The principles of the above embodiments are suitably used for subframes mounted on various vehicles.

100 ... Subframe (front body structure)
110 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・···················································································································· ····················································································································・ ・ ・ Tip part 313 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Peripheral wall 314 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Base 410 ・ ・ ・ ・・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Upper panel 420 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Lower panel 430 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・........... interpolation feed apertures 431,434 ............... front contour edge (first opening edge)
433,436 ················································································································
441 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Upper joint edge 442 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Lower joint edge DSF ・ ・ ・・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Drive shaft LAL ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Lower arm VPN ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Vertical plane

Claims (5)

A frame body with a connecting part that is connected to the car body,
It is erected above the frame body and attached to the vehicle body on a virtual vertical plane that is rearward of the drive shaft, is defined at a position ahead of the connecting portion, and is parallel to the vehicle width direction. Columnar mounting part and
A support portion that supports the lower arm in front of the vertical plane,
A nut for fixing the lower arm to the support portion is provided.
The nut includes a peripheral wall that extends from the proximal end to the distal end connected to the support.
The peripheral wall intersects with the vertical flat face, and the front vehicle body structure which is bonded to the frame body. The frame body has an upper panel to which the columnar mounting portion is joined, a storage space that is overlapped with the upper panel and at least partially accommodates the support portion, and an insertion port through which the lower arm is inserted. Including a lower panel formed in collaboration with the upper panel,
The front vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein the nut is sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel, and is joined to the upper panel and the lower panel. The peripheral wall includes a weight-bearing base sandwiched between the upper panel and the lower panel.
The upper panel includes an upper joining edge that is joined to the base.
The lower panel includes a lower joining edge that is joined to the base.
The upper joint edge and the lower joint edge, front body structure of claim 2 which forms a junction contour extending in the vertical direction toward the interpolation communication port. The frame body includes a side surface on which the insertion port is formed.
The side surface includes a first opening edge that forms the anterior contour of the insertion opening and a second opening edge that forms the posterior contour of the insertion opening.
The side surface is inclined with respect to the axis of the nut so that the second opening edge is located behind the first opening edge and inward of the first opening edge in the vehicle width direction. The front body structure according to claim 2 or 3. The front vehicle body structure according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the columnar mounting portion includes a lower end portion welded to the upper panel.

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