JP7101444B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure such as an automobile.

Specific examples of the vehicle front structure include those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3.
The vehicle front structure described in these documents is provided with a pair of left and right front side members extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in an arrangement spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, and the front and rear of each of these front side members. A suspension tower supporting the upper end of the front suspension damper is joined in an upright position in the middle of the direction. The upper part of the suspension tower is joined to an upper member (eg cowl side panel), and the front part of this upper member is bridge-connected to the front side member via a bridge connecting member located on the front side of the vehicle of the suspension tower. ing.
The bridging connection member is a member called a moment canceller, and when a front collision of the vehicle occurs and a collision load is input to the front side member from the front side of the vehicle, the front side member bends upward. It prevents deformation and plays a role of increasing the amount of compressive load in the longitudinal direction of the front side member. Further, the bridging connection member also plays a role of transmitting the collision load to the rear side of the vehicle body via the upper member and improving the transmission of the collision load.

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

First, since the bridging connection member is a member that suppresses the front side member from being lifted upward when a front collision of the vehicle occurs, it is necessary to have sufficient rigidity. For this reason, conventionally, the bridging connection member is formed into a large-sized panel that occupies a wide range on the front side of the vehicle (for example, a range extending to the front side of the vehicle rather than the engine mount portion) of the suspension tower, and then the suspension. It is joined to the leading edge of the tower and the front side members. Therefore, when the front side member undergoes compression deformation (buckling deformation) in the longitudinal direction when a front collision of the vehicle occurs, this deformation is hindered by the bridging connection member. This is disadvantageous in improving the impact absorption performance due to the compressive load of the front side member.
Secondly, as described above, the conventional bridging connection member is formed in the shape of a panel having a large size, so that the weight is large and the cost is high.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-64638 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-335319 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-30571

The present invention has been conceived under the above-mentioned circumstances, and can improve the shock absorption performance when a front collision of a vehicle occurs as compared with the conventional case, and can reduce the weight and cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle front structure that can be preferably achieved.

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

The vehicle front structure provided by the present invention has a pair of left and right front side members extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in an arrangement spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, and a lower portion joined to each of these front side members in the middle of the vehicle front-rear direction. A suspension tower that stands up upward from this joint, an upper member that is joined to the upper part of the suspension tower, and of the front side members, a portion of the suspension tower on the front side of the vehicle and a front portion of the upper member. It is a vehicle front structure including a bridge connecting member for bridging and connecting the suspension, and a lower portion of the bridging connection member is joined to each front side member in an arrangement separated from the suspension tower toward the front side of the vehicle. In the side view of the vehicle, an opening sandwiched between the bridging connection member and the suspension tower is formed on the upper side of the front side member, and in the side view of the vehicle, the upper portion of the bridging connecting member is formed. Is in a state of crossing and touching the upper part of the front edge portion of the suspension tower, and the joint region between the upper member and the bridging connection member is set so as not to be separated from the upper portion of the front edge portion of the suspension tower. It is characterized in that it is joined to the upper part of the front edge portion .

With such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
First, when a front collision of the vehicle occurs, the collision load from the front side of the vehicle is transmitted from the front side member to the bridge connecting member, and the bridge connecting member acts to lift the upper member. On the other hand, since the suspension tower and the bridging connection member are joined to the front side member in a separated state, the suspension tower functions as a member for preventing the upper member from being lifted upward. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately suppress the rise of the upper member and the bridging connection member and the rise of the front side member (upward bending deformation) when the front collision of the vehicle occurs by using the suspension tower. As a result, the compression deformation in the longitudinal direction of the front side member can be more appropriately generated, and the shock absorption performance can be improved. Further, it is also possible to improve the transmission of the collision load from the bridging connection member to the rear member of the vehicle via the upper member.
Secondly, the lower portion of the bridging connection member can be joined to the front side member in a state where the range occupied on the front side of the vehicle of the suspension tower is smaller than that of the conventional technique. Therefore, when a front collision occurs in the vehicle and the front side member is compressionally deformed in the longitudinal direction thereof, this compression deformation can be less likely to be hindered by the bridging connection member. In particular, in the place where the opening is provided, it becomes possible to more accurately and smoothly perform the compression deformation of the front side member when the front collision of the vehicle occurs. As a result, the impact absorption effect due to the compression deformation of the front side member can be made excellent.
Thirdly, the bridging connection member can be made smaller and lighter than the conventional technique, and the weight of the vehicle and the manufacturing cost can be appropriately reduced.

In the present invention, preferably, in the front edge portion of the suspension tower, the intermediate region between the upper joint portion and the lower joint portion joined to the upper member and the front side members, respectively, has a straight plate shape. It is formed.

With such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, when a front collision of the vehicle occurs, as described above, the collision load input to the front side member from the front side of the vehicle is transmitted to the bridging connection member and acts to lift the upper member, whereas the suspension. The tower acts to prevent such upper member lifting. At that time, a large pulling force in the vertical height direction acts on the leading edge of the suspension tower, and the intermediate region between the upper joint and the lower joint of the leading edge is formed in a straight plate shape. Therefore, it is possible to effectively increase the strength of the leading edge portion against the above-mentioned tensile force. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need to make each part of the suspension tower unnecessarily thick for the purpose of improving the strength of the suspension tower.

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 schematic plan view of the main part which shows an example of the vehicle front structure which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the main part of FIG. (A) is a sectional view taken along line IIIa-IIIa of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line IIIb-IIIb of FIG. It is a schematic side view of the main part of the arrow view IV of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a main part showing another example of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

The vehicle front structure B shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for a pair of left and right front side members 1, suspension tower 2, upper member 3, bridging connection member 4, and engine (not shown) mount as vehicle body skeleton members of vehicle A. It is provided with a plurality of brackets 5a and 5b.
In the drawings, reference numeral 60 indicates a cowl, and reference numeral 61 indicates a dash panel 61.

The pair of front side members 1 extend in the vehicle front-rear direction at intervals in the vehicle width direction, and the portions near the front end thereof are located on both sides of the engine room 70 in the vehicle width direction. The rear portion is joined to the lower surface side of the floor portion 72 of the vehicle interior 71. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, each front side member 1 is a closed cross-sectional structure in which, for example, a cross-section hat-shaped member 10 having a lateral opening and a plate-shaped member 11 closing the lateral opening are joined. be.

The suspension tower 2 is a portion that supports the upper end portion of the front suspension damper (not shown), is located on the front side member 1 at a position adjacent to the vehicle front side of the dash panel 61, and stands upright in the vertical height direction. is doing. The lower portion of the suspension tower 2 is welded (for example, spot welded) to the upper portion of the front side member 1.
On the other hand, the upper portion of the suspension tower 2 is welded to the upper member 3. The upper member 3 is, for example, a cowl side panel, which is a closed cross-sectional structure in which a cowl side inner 30 and a cowl side outer 31 are combined and joined. The rear side of the upper member 3 is attached to a side outer panel (not shown) in which an opening for a door or the like is formed, and the upper member 3 projects to the front side of the vehicle from this attachment portion.

The bridging connection member 4 (moment canceller) is a member that bridges and connects the front portion of the front side member 1 in the vehicle front-rear direction and the front portion of the upper member 3, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 3 (b), for example. Alternatively, it is a closed cross-section structure in which an outer member 41 having a hat-shaped cross section is joined to the outer surface side of the inner member 40 bent in a V shape. The bridging connection member 4 is formed in an arm shape extending diagonally downward on the vehicle front side from the front portion of the upper member 3 in the vehicle side view, and the lower portion thereof is formed in the front side member 1 from the suspension tower 2 to the vehicle front. It is welded to a place separated by an appropriate dimension La. In the side view of the vehicle, a substantially triangular opening 8 having a relatively large area sandwiched between the bridging connection member 4 and the suspension tower 2 is formed on the upper side of the front side member 1 (see also FIG. 4). ..
Of the leading edge portions of the suspension tower 2, the intermediate region 22c between the upper joint portion 22a and the lower joint portion 22b joined to the upper member 3 and the front side member 1, respectively, has a straight plate shape (flat plate) without a bent portion. It is formed in the shape of a band or a band). The action of this configuration will be described later.

A plurality of brackets 5a and 5b for engine mounting are mounted on the front side member 1 by welding or the like, and among these, the bracket 5a located on the front side of the vehicle is near the lower part of the front end of the opening 8. positioned. Preferably, it is also welded to the bridging connection member 4. The bracket 5b located on the rear side of the vehicle is located near the lower rear end of the opening 8.

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

When a front collision of the vehicle A occurs and a collision load F1 is input to the front side member 1 from the front side of the vehicle as shown in FIG. It functions as a moment canceller that prevents it from transforming into. In this case, a load F2 diagonally backward from the front side member 1 acts on the bridging connection member 4. This load F2 acts as a force F3 that tries to raise the front portion of the upper member 3. On the other hand, since the suspension tower 2 and the bridging connection member 4 are separated from each other in the vehicle front-rear direction through the opening 8, a tensile force F4 that opposes the force F3 acts on the suspension tower 2. , The suspension tower 2 plays a role of preventing the upper member 3 from rising.

The above-mentioned pulling force F4 is concentrated on the leading edge portion of the suspension tower 2, and as described above, the leading edge portion has a region strong against the pulling force F4 because the intermediate region 22c thereof has a straight plate shape. Become. Therefore, it is more preferable to suppress the increase of the upper member 3.

For this reason, the front side member 1 is appropriately prevented or suppressed from being deformed in a forward rising shape, and the front side member 1 can be accurately compressed and deformed (buckling deformation) in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. can. Due to this compression deformation, impact absorption is achieved at the time of front collision of the vehicle A. Further, it is also possible to improve the load transferability from the bridge connecting member 4 to the vehicle body member (side outer panel) on the rear side of the vehicle via the upper member 3.

The lower part of the bridging connection member 4 has a relatively small width and is joined to the front side member 1. The compression deformation of the front side member 1 in the vehicle front-rear direction when a front collision of the vehicle A occurs is a bridging connection member. It is less likely to be inhibited by 4. In particular, in the front side member 1 where the opening 8 is provided, the compression deformation of the front side member 1 tends to occur smoothly. As a result, it is possible to further improve the impact absorption performance due to the compression deformation of the front side member 1.

On the other hand, in the front side member 1, the vicinity of the lower part of the front end and the vicinity of the lower part of the rear end of the opening 8 are portions where the rigidity is sharply lowered as compared with the other portions. Brackets 5a and 5b for mounting are provided to increase the strength. Therefore, when a front collision of the vehicle A occurs, it is possible to appropriately eliminate the possibility that the front side member 1 causes an unreasonable bending deformation starting from the position of the lower front end or the lower rear end of the opening 8. Will be.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, the bridging connection member 4 can be made smaller and lighter, and the weight of the vehicle can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same or similar elements as those in the embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the embodiment, and duplicate description will be omitted.

In the vehicle front structure Ba shown in FIG. 5, the bridging connection member 4 has a panel shape or a form close thereto, and the rear portion of the bridging connecting member 4 and the region near the center in the vertical height direction are formed. It is joined to the leading edge of the suspension tower 2. As a result, the opening 8 is made smaller than that of the embodiment.
Also in this embodiment, the opening 8 is formed between the bridging connection member 4 and the suspension tower 2, and the lower portions of the bridging connecting member 4 and the suspension tower 2 are separated from each other in the vehicle front-rear direction. It is possible to obtain the effect intended by the present invention.

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

As can be understood from the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the specific size of the opening 8 does not matter. Moreover, the specific shape does not matter. Although it is preferable that the bridging connection member 4 and the upper member 3 have a closed cross-section structure, they may be, for example, a non-closed cross-section structure using one thick plate material. Further, as the closed cross-section structure, a tubular member can also be used.
The brackets 5a and 5b described above are for engine mounting, but in the case of an electric vehicle, they are, for example, mounting brackets for a charging device or a motor.

B, Ba Vehicle front structure 1 Front side member 2 Suspension tower 22a Upper joint (at the front edge of the suspension tower)
22b Lower joint (at the leading edge of the suspension tower)
22c Intermediate region (at the leading edge of the suspension tower)
3 Upper member 4 Bridging connection member 5a, 5b Bracket 8 Opening

Claims (2)

A pair of left and right front side members that extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle in an arrangement that is spaced apart in the vehicle width direction,
A suspension tower in which the lower part of each of these front side members is joined in the middle of the vehicle front-rear direction and stands upward from this joint,
With the upper member joined to the top of this suspension tower,
Among the front side members, a bridging connection member for bridging and connecting a portion of the suspension tower on the front side of the vehicle and the front portion of the upper member.
The front structure of the vehicle, which is equipped with
The lower portion of the bridging connection member is joined to each of the front side members in an arrangement separated from the suspension tower on the front side of the vehicle, and in the side view of the vehicle, the upper side of the front side member is the bridging connecting member. An opening sandwiched between the suspension tower and the suspension tower is formed.Ori
In the side view of the vehicle, the upper portion of the bridging connection member is in a state of crossing and touching the upper portion of the leading edge portion of the suspension tower, and the joint region between the upper member and the bridging connecting member is the suspension tower. It is set so as not to be separated from the upper part of the leading edge portion and is joined to the upper part of the leading edge portion. The front structure of the vehicle, which is characterized by being present. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1.
Of the front edge portion of the suspension tower, the intermediate region between the upper joint portion and the lower joint portion joined to the upper member and each front side member, respectively, is formed in the shape of a straight plate in front of the vehicle. Part structure.

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