JP6979260B2 - Vehicle structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle structure related to a cowl of a vehicle such as an automobile.

As a specific example of the vehicle structure, there is one described in Patent Document 1.
The structure described in the same document includes a cowl located under and near the windshield and extending in the vehicle width direction. This cowl has an upper surface opening on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the windshield, and this upper surface opening is closed by a cowl louver having an outside air inlet. After entering the cowl, the outside air that has passed through the outside air introduction port is supplied to the vehicle interior side through the vehicle interior air introduction port provided on the rear wall portion of the cowl.
In such a structure, water such as rainwater passes through the outside air inlet and enters the cowl. For this reason, the cowl is configured so that the water that has entered the inside can be guided to the outside in the vehicle width direction and then drained to the outside. However, depending on the traveling direction (angle) of the water passing through the outside air introduction port, this water may enter the vehicle interior air introduction port of the cowl and enter the vehicle interior side as it is.
Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the shape and orientation of the outside air introduction port are devised so that the water passing through the outside air introduction port does not directly proceed toward the vehicle interior air introduction port of the cowl.

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, there is still room for improvement as described below.

That is, according to the above-mentioned prior art, even if it is possible to prevent the water that has passed through the outside air inlet from traveling directly toward the vehicle interior air inlet, the water that has passed through the outside air inlet is large in the cowl. It is difficult to properly eliminate the phenomenon that the air enters the passenger compartment air inlet after bouncing (including water splashing caused by the vertical movement of the vehicle). Therefore, there is still room for improvement in appropriately preventing the phenomenon of water entering the vehicle interior through the vehicle interior air inlet.
As a means for that, it is conceivable to provide an impermeable wall in the cowl or a labyrinth structure, but providing such a means to the cowl deteriorates productivity and increases the manufacturing cost. It will be expensive. In addition, the drainage property of the cowl and the performance of taking in outside air may deteriorate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-190510

The present invention has been conceived under the above-mentioned circumstances, has good productivity, can suppress an increase in manufacturing cost, and does not impair the drainage property of the cowl and the outside air intake performance. The challenge is to provide a vehicle structure that can appropriately prevent water from entering the vehicle interior from inside the cowl.

In order to solve the above problems, the following technical means are taken in the present invention.

The vehicle structure provided by the present invention is located under and near the front glass and extends in the vehicle width direction, and water that has entered the inside is provided at an end portion on the outer side in the vehicle width direction. It is possible to drain water to the outside by guiding it to the first drain port, and the cowl is provided with an air inlet for the passenger compartment on the rear wall, and the vehicle width is located on the front side of the vehicle below the front glass. It extends in a direction, which has whether one outer air introduction port, and includes a cowl louver that is possible to flow the outdoor air passed through the outside air inlet into the cowl, and a vehicle structure A gutter portion is provided on the cowl louver so as to be located below the outside air introduction port and extend in the vehicle width direction, and at least a part of the rear side of the vehicle in the upper region is configured to communicate with the inside of the cowl. Further, the gutter has a bottom wall portion capable of receiving water that has passed through the outside air inlet, and an impermeable wall that rises upward from the bottom wall portion, and these are vehicles. By extending in the width direction, it is possible to allow the received water to flow to the end portion of the gutter portion in the vehicle width direction, and to the end portion of the gutter portion, the water flowing to this end portion. A second drainage port for draining water to the outside and an opening for water passage as an area where the impermeable wall is not provided are provided, and water flowing to the end portion of the gutter portion is provided. By allowing a part of the water to flow from the water passage opening to the outer end of the cowl in the vehicle width direction, it is possible to drain water to the outside using the first drain port. The water passage opening is characterized in that it is arranged so as to be displaced outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the outside air introduction port.

With such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
First, since most of the water that has passed through the outside air inlet of the cowl louver can be drained to the outside after being received by the gutter, the amount of water that enters the cowl is reduced and the air inlet for the passenger compartment is reduced. It is possible to appropriately prevent a large amount of water from entering the vehicle interior side through the vehicle interior. In this case, since the impermeable wall that prevents the splashed water from advancing to the cowl side can be formed by using the above-mentioned gutter portion, it is possible to more appropriately prevent water from entering the vehicle interior side. It is possible to do.
Secondly, since the drainage route by the gutter is different from the drainage route of the cowl, it is possible to improve the overall drainage property by not causing a burden of drainage on the cowl, and to provide an outside air inlet. Even when the amount of water that has passed through is large, it is possible to properly and smoothly discharge this water to the outside.
Thirdly, since the rear side of the vehicle and the inside of the cowl are in communication with each other in the upper region of the gutter portion, there is no problem that the performance of taking in outside air into the cowl is hindered.
Fourth, from the above, the following advantages can also be obtained. That is, from the viewpoint of securing the vehicle interior space, it is expected that the engine room space of the vehicle will be further reduced in the future. Then, the cross-sectional area of the cowl is also reduced, and it becomes difficult to achieve both efficient intake of outside air and reliable water insulation, and there is a risk that the drainage property as a gutter, which is the basic performance of the cowl, deteriorates. On the other hand, most of the ingress of water into the cowl is from the outside air inlet of the cowl louver. According to the present invention, by additionally setting a gutter portion with an exhaust function below such an outside air introduction port, stable drainage, efficient outside air intake performance, and reliable water impermeability can be obtained at the same time. It is possible.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a main part perspective view which shows an example of the vehicle to which this invention is applied. It is a partial breakage main part perspective view which shows an example of the main part structure of the vehicle structure of this invention. It is a main part exploded perspective view which shows an example of the main part structure of the vehicle structure of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in a state where the cowl upper member is assembled on the cowl lower member shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a portion corresponding to IVa-IVa in FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of the part corresponding to, (c) is the cross-sectional view of the part corresponding to IVc-IVc, and (d) is the cross-sectional view of the part corresponding to IVd-IVd.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings, the arrow Fr indicates the front of the vehicle, the arrow Up indicates the upper side in the vehicle height direction, and the arrow W indicates the vehicle width direction.

The vehicle structure A shown in FIG. 2 is a portion indicated by reference numeral II of the vehicle V shown in FIG. 1, and has a structure in which the engine hood 1 is omitted. In this vehicle structure A, a windshield 2 (shield window), a cowl 3, and a cowl louver 4 are provided.

The cowl 3 is a portion located below or in the vicinity of the windshield 2 and extending in the vehicle width direction, and includes a cowl outer panel 30 and a cowl inner panel 31, which are via a rear wall portion 32a. It is a structure that is connected to each other. The rear wall portion 32a is the upper part of the dash panel 32 in the present embodiment. The rear wall portion 32a is provided with a vehicle interior air introduction port 35 for supplying the outside air introduced into the cowl 3 to the vehicle interior side (the vehicle rear side of the dash panel 32).

A front-down inclined plate portion 33 is provided at a portion near the front end of the cowl outer panel 30, and a lower end portion of the windshield 2 is attached to and supported on the front portion of the inclined plate portion 33. The front ends 30a and 31a of the cowl outer panel 30 and the cowl inner panel 31 are formed as an opening 34 for introducing outside air from the cowl louver 4 side.

The cowl louver 4 is configured by connecting the cowl upper member 40 and the cowl lower member 41 located below the cowl upper member 40 in combination, and extends in the vehicle width direction like the cowl 3. The cowl upper member 40 and the cowl lower member 41 are both made of resin, for example. The rear end portion 40b of the cowl upper member 40 is overlapped and joined to the front surface of the lower end portion of the windshield 2. The rear end portion 41a of the cowl lower member 41 is joined to the front end portion 31a of the cowl inner panel 31. The cowl upper member 40 is provided with a plurality of small hole-shaped outside air introduction ports 40a (see FIG. 3). The outside air that has passed through the outside air introduction port 40a and entered the cowl louver 4 then passes through the opening 34 and enters the cowl 3, and is supplied to the vehicle interior side through the vehicle interior air introduction port 35. To.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cowl lower member 41 forms a plurality of gutter portions 42a to 42c (see also FIG. 4B). These gutter portions 42a to 42c are formed by providing rib-shaped impermeable walls 43a to 43c that stand upward and extend in the vehicle width direction on the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 41b of the cowl lower member 41. .. The gutter portion 42a is a portion including a front wall portion 41c of the cowl lower member 41, an impermeable wall 43a approaching the front wall portion 41c, and a region between them. The gutter portion 42b is a portion including the impermeable walls 43a and 43b and a region between them. The gutter portion 42c is a portion including the impermeable walls 43b and 43c and the inter-regional region thereof. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 (b) and 4 (c), the cowl upper member 40 is provided with a protruding piece portion 49 extending downward in the vehicle width direction so as to approach the impermeable wall 43a. ing.

The gutter portions 42a to 42c are located below the plurality of outside air introduction ports 40a of the cowl upper member 40, and when water flows in from the outside air introduction ports 40a, the water is guided outward in the vehicle width direction and drained to the outside. It is possible. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the gutter portions 42a to 42c are all in the form of extending in the vehicle width direction, but the gutter portions 42a and 42b are the vehicle width direction ends of the cowl lower member 41. They are combined at the locations indicated by the reference numerals Na in the vicinity of the portions (see also FIG. 4 (c)). A drainage port 48 provided on the side wall portion 41d of the cowl lower member 41 is provided on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the portion Na where the gutter portions 42a and 42b are combined. The water that has entered the gutters 42a and 42b is drained to the outside of the cowl louver 4 through the drainage port 48 as shown by the arrow Nb (see also FIG. 4D). A cowl side panel 5 is joined to the end portion of the cowl 3 in the vehicle width direction, and the water drained from the drain port 48 flows down the vehicle along the upper surface of the cowl side panel 5.

On the other hand, gutter portion 42c is not gutter section 42a, and 42b fit Sacchan. An opening 46 for water passage is formed between the outer end portion of the impermeable wall 43c in the vehicle width direction and the side wall portion 41d of the cowl lower member 41, so that the end of the gutter portion 42c is an opening. It communicates with the cowl 3 via 46. As shown by the arrow Nc, the water that has entered the gutter portion 42c passes through the opening 46 and flows into the region near the end portion in the vehicle width direction in the cowl 3. The cowl 3 itself is also configured so that the water that has entered the inside can be guided outward in the vehicle width direction and then discharged to the outside. For example, between the longitudinal end of the cowl 3 and the cowl side panel 5. Is provided with a drainage port 47 capable of draining the cowl 3 to the outside, and drainage is performed by a route as indicated by an arrow Nd.

The impermeable walls 43a to 43c constituting the gutter portions 42a to 42c are provided at a height that forms a gap between the gutter portions 42a to 42c and the cowl upper member 40. As a result, any of the upper regions of the gutter portions 42a to 42c communicate with the cowl 3, and the outside air can flow into the cowl 3 from the outside air introduction port 40a.

A region in which the gutter portions 42a to 42c are not provided is also provided in the vicinity of the central portion of the cowl louver 4 in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 4A). In this region, the water that has flowed onto the cowl lower member 41 is made to flow into the cowl 3 as it is. The vehicle interior air introduction port 35 is not provided on the rear side of the vehicle in this region.
In FIG. 3, only one side of the cowl louver 4 in the vehicle width direction is shown, but a portion having the same configuration as described above may be set in the region on the opposite side.

Next, the operation of the vehicle structure A described above will be described.

First, a large amount of water may enter the cowl louver 4 from the outside air inlet 40a of the cowl louver 4. Most of such water is received by the gutters 42a to 42c and guided to the outside in the vehicle width direction, drained to the outside from the drainage port 48, or inside the cowl 3 through the water passage opening 46. After flowing into the end portion in the vehicle width direction, the water is drained to the outside from the drain port 47. Therefore, it is possible to enter the cowl 3 and reduce the amount of water flowing in the cowl 3, and prevent a large amount of water from entering the vehicle interior side through the vehicle interior air introduction port 35. Can be done. The water that has passed through the outside air introduction port 40a and hit the cowl lower member 41 and bounced greatly, and the water that bounced due to the vertical movement of the vehicle V while flowing through the gutters 42a to 42c, are the impermeable walls 43a to 43b and protruding. Since the one portion 49 blocks the cowl 3 from advancing toward the inside of the cowl 3, it is possible to more reliably prevent water from entering the vehicle interior side.

Although the end of the gutter 42c is configured to allow water to flow into the cowl 3, the other parts of the gutters 42a to 42c guide water separately from the cowl 3 and are external. The drainage is done. Therefore, it is possible to improve the overall drainage property by preventing the cowl 3 from being burdened with drainage. This is a more preferable effect when the cross-sectional area of the cowl 3 is reduced and the drainage capacity of the cowl 3 is reduced.

On the other hand, since the upper region of the gutter portions 42a to 42c communicates with the inside of the cowl 3, there is no problem that the outside air intake performance into the cowl 3 is hindered by the presence of the gutter portions 42a to 42c. Therefore, it is possible to improve the performance of taking in outside air into the cowl 3.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the gutter portions 42a to 42c are configured to be provided on the cowl lower member 41 combined with the cowl upper member 40, and it is necessary to provide a water blocking wall on the cowl 3 that requires high rigidity. However, the structure of the cowl 3 itself can be relatively simple. Therefore, the manufacturing of the entire structure is easy, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiments. The specific configuration of each part of the vehicle structure according to the present invention can be variously redesigned within the scope of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the gutter lower members 41 to be combined with the cowl upper member 40 are provided with the gutter portions 42a to 42c. Therefore, a gutter portion having a concave cross section and extending in the vehicle width direction may be provided on the lower surface side thereof.

In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of gutter portions 42a to 42c are provided, but the gutter portion intended by the present invention may be provided at least one, and the specific number thereof is not limited. In addition, the gutter is designed to guide water to the outside in the vehicle width direction by a route different from that of the cowl, but the drainage port to the outside may be shared with the drainage port of the cowl.
The specific cross-sectional shape, size, material, number of constituent members and the shape of the cowl in the present invention are not limited.

A Vehicle structure 2 Windshield 3 Cowl 35 Vehicle interior air inlet 4 Cowl louver 4a Outside air inlet 42a-42c Gutter 43a-43c Impermeable wall

Claims (1)

It is located under and near the windshield and extends in the vehicle width direction, and the water that has entered the inside is guided to the outside by a first drainage port provided at the end on the outer side in the vehicle width direction. A cowl that can be drained and has an air inlet for the passenger compartment on the rear wall.
Together with the front located on the front side of the vehicle at the bottom of the glass extends in the vehicle width direction, or One outer air introduction port, and can be made to flow outside air that has passed through the outside air inlet into the cowl With the cowl louver that was done,
The vehicle structure is equipped with
A gutter portion that is located below the outside air inlet and is provided on the cowl louver so as to extend in the vehicle width direction and has a structure in which at least a part of the rear side of the vehicle in the upper region communicates with the inside of the cowl. Further prepared,
The gutter portion has a bottom wall portion capable of receiving water that has passed through the outside air inlet, and an impermeable wall that rises upward from the bottom wall portion, and these extend in the vehicle width direction. As a result, it is possible to allow the received water to flow to the end of the gutter in the vehicle width direction.
At the end of the gutter, there is a second drainage port for draining the water flowing to the end to the outside, and an opening for water passage as a region not provided with the impermeable wall. And, and a part of the water that has flowed to the end of the gutter portion is allowed to flow from the water passage opening to the outer end of the cowl in the vehicle width direction. It is possible to drain water to the outside using the drainage port of 1.
The vehicle structure is characterized in that the water passage opening is arranged so as to be displaced outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the outside air introduction port.

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