JP7327309B2 - vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front structure of a vehicle including front pillars that constitute a window frame of a windshield of a passenger compartment and support a roof panel on both sides in the vehicle width direction, and left and right suspension towers that receive a suspension load.

Patent Document 1 describes a technique related to a vehicle front structure. The vehicle described in Patent Document 1 is a sedan type vehicle. As shown in FIG. 9, the body 100 of the vehicle has a vehicle compartment R and an engine room ER partitioned by a vertical wall-shaped dash panel 101 . In the engine room ER on the front side of the dash panel 101, suspension towers 103 for receiving suspension loads are provided on both left and right sides. Further, on the rear side of the dash panel 101, there are provided front pillars 106 that constitute the window frame of the windshield 104 of the passenger compartment R and support a roof panel (not shown) on both sides in the vehicle width direction.

In the vehicle front structure described in Patent Document 1, the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 and the root portion 106k of the front pillar 106 are connected by a reinforcing member 107 in order to suppress the deformation of the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 that receives the suspension load. . Here, in the vehicle, the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 and the root portion 106k of the front pillar 106 are separated in the vehicle front-rear direction. For this reason, the reinforcing member 107 is formed in a bar shape extending obliquely and linearly from the base portion 106k of the front pillar 106. As shown in FIG. As a result, the suspension load applied to the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 via the reinforcing member 107 can be received by the root portion 106k of the front pillar 106. As shown in FIG. Similarly, it is also possible for the upper part of the suspension tower 103 to receive the load applied to the root portion 106k of the front pillar 106 .

Japanese Patent No. 2765249

Since the vehicle described in Patent Document 1 is a sedan type vehicle, the distance in the vehicle front-rear direction between the root portion 106k of the front pillar 106 and the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 is large, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is difficult to efficiently transmit the load applied to the root portion 106 k of the front pillar 106 to the upper portion of the suspension tower 103 . Therefore, in order to improve the load transmission capability of the reinforcing member 107, the reinforcing member 107 needs to be enlarged.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to efficiently transfer the load applied to the base of the front pillar to the upper part of the suspension tower by using a compact load transmission member. It is to be able to communicate to

The above problems are solved by each invention. The first invention constitutes the window frame of the windshield of the vehicle compartment, and constitutes the front pillars that support the roof panel on both sides in the vehicle width direction, the left and right suspension towers that receive the suspension load, and the side walls of the engine room. and a side wall member arranged outside the suspension tower in the vehicle width direction , wherein the root portion of the front pillar is arranged at the same position as the suspension tower in the vehicle front-rear direction. A load transmission member capable of transmitting a load is provided between the root portion of the front pillar and the upper portion of the suspension tower , and the load transmission member is a lower load transmission portion connected to the upper portion of the suspension tower. and an upper load transmission member housed in the side wall member and capable of transmitting a load between the lower load transmission member and the root portion of the front pillar.

According to the present invention, a load transmission member capable of transmitting a load is provided between the root portion of the front pillar and the upper portion of the suspension tower. In addition, the root portion of the front pillar is arranged at the same position as the suspension tower in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. As a result, the distance between the base of the front pillar and the upper part of the suspension tower can be made smaller than before, making it possible to make the load transmission member more compact, and the load applied to the base of the front pillar can be efficiently received by the upper part of the suspension tower. will be available.
In addition, since the upper load transmission member that constitutes the load transmission member is housed in the side wall member that constitutes the side wall of the engine room, the installation space for the load transmission member can be made compact.

According to the second aspect of the invention , the lower load transmission member and the upper load transmission member are formed in a tubular shape having a longitudinally extending axis. Therefore, the load transmission capability of the load transmission member in the vertical direction is improved.

A third aspect of the present invention constitutes a window frame of a windshield of a passenger compartment, and includes a front pillar that supports a roof panel on both sides in the vehicle width direction, and left and right suspension towers that receive a suspension load. is disposed at the same position as the suspension tower in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a load transmission member capable of transmitting a load is provided between the root portion of the front pillar and the upper portion of the suspension tower. is arranged on the rear side of a front pillar, the upper end portion thereof is connected to the upper end portion of the front pillar, constitutes the upper front edge portion of the front door opening, and is arranged together with the front pillar for the vehicle. A rear front pillar forming a side window frame of the body, and a lower strut forming a lower front edge of the front door opening while supporting the base of the rear front pillar. and a wheelhouse upper frame that transmits the forward collision load of the vehicle to a connection position between the root portion of the rear front pillar and the lower support column.
That is, since the front collision load of the vehicle is received by the rear front pillar and the lower strut portion, the front collision load is not directly applied to the front pillar, and the front pillar can be made lighter than before.

According to the present invention, the load transmission member can be made compact, and the load applied to the root portion of the front pillar can be efficiently received by the upper portion of the suspension tower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle having a front structure according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, viewed from the front right; FIG. 2 is a side view of the front structure of the vehicle (with the front door, fender panel, etc. removed) viewed from the right outer side; FIG. 2 is a side view of the front structure of the vehicle viewed from the engine room side (left side); FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front structure of the vehicle viewed from the front of the vehicle (cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3); FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the front structure of the vehicle as seen from the front of the vehicle (cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3); 4 is an enlarged view in the direction of arrow VI of FIG. 3; FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6) of the upper load transmission member that constitutes the vehicle front structure; FIG. 7 is a plan cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6) of the lower load transmission member that constitutes the front structure of the vehicle; 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional front structure of a vehicle; FIG.

[Embodiment 1]
A front structure of a vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. The vehicle front structure according to the present embodiment relates to a reinforcement structure for the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 in the vehicle in which the front pillar 145 and the rear front pillar 143 form a side window frame. Here, front, rear, left, right, and up and down shown in the drawing correspond to front, rear, left, right, and up and down of the vehicle.

<Overview of the front portion of the vehicle body 10>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, front door openings 13 that are opened and closed by a front door 12 are provided on the left and right sides of the compartment R of the vehicle body 10 . Here, the vehicle body 10 is symmetrical, and FIGS. 1 to 6 show only the right side of the vehicle body 10 and omit the left side. As shown in FIG. 2, rocker rails 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are provided at both left and right ends of the floor of the passenger compartment R, and these rocker rails 11 form the lower side of the front door opening 13. ing. At the front end of the rocker rail 11, a front lower support pillar 140 forming the lower front edge of the front door opening 13 is erected. A root portion 143k of a rear front pillar 143 forming an upper front edge portion of the front door opening 13 is connected to the rear portion of the upper end of the front lower support column portion 140. As shown in FIG. A base portion 145k of a front pillar 145 forming a window frame of the windshield 18 is connected to the front portion of the upper end of the front lower support portion 140. As shown in FIG.

The upper end of the front pillar 145 and the upper end of the rear front pillar 143 are connected to each other as shown in FIGS. It constitutes a window frame of fixed glass 147 fixed to the front side surface. A front portion of the roof panel 16 is supported by left and right front pillars 145 and a rear front pillar 143 . As shown in FIG. 2, a wheel house 20 that accommodates the front wheels 20f (see FIG. 4) in the vehicle width direction is formed on the vehicle front side of the front lower support column 140 that supports the front pillar 145 and the rear front pillar 143. It is An upper member 27, which is a frame forming a side wall of the engine room ER, is provided above the wheel house 20. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 , the upper member 27 is provided so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the rear end of the upper member 27 is located at the connection position between the base of the rear front pillar 143 and the front lower support pillar 140 . connected to

The front pillar 145, root portions 145k and 143k of the rear front pillar 143, the front lower support portion 140, and the upper member 27 are covered with the fender panel 15, as shown in FIG. An engine hood 17 is provided between the left and right fender panels 15 so as to open and close the engine room ER of the vehicle. A windshield 18 is provided behind the engine hood 17 at a position surrounded by the front pillar 145 and the roof panel 16 .

In the engine room ER of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 4, front side members 21 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are provided on both left and right sides. The above-described wheel houses 20 for housing the front wheels 20f are provided outside the left and right front side members 21 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 (a side view seen from the opposite side of FIG. 2), and FIG. It is configured. The suspension tower 24 has a ceiling portion 24t to which the upper end portion of the shock absorber 24s is connected at the upper end position, and is configured to receive the suspension load via the shock absorber 24s.

A rear edge of the suspension tower 24 is connected to a dash panel 25 that partitions the engine room ER and the vehicle room R, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 and the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 are positioned at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an upper member 27 forming an upper vertical wall portion in the engine room ER is provided outside the wheel house 20 (the apron panel 22 and the suspension tower 24) in the vehicle width direction. . The upper member 27 is covered with the fender panel 15 as described above.

<Regarding the upper member 27>
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper member 27 is formed in a tubular shape extending in the vehicle front-rear direction from an outer panel 271 on the outside in the vehicle width direction and upper and lower inner panels 272 and 273 on the inside in the vehicle width direction. That is, the upper member 27 is connected to the upper end flange portion 271u of the outer panel 271 and the upper end flange portion 272u of the upper inner panel 272, and is connected to the central portion of the outer panel 271 and the lower end flange portion 272d of the upper inner panel 272. , an upper space S1 is formed. Further, the lower end flange portion 271d of the outer panel 271 and the lower end flange portion 273d of the lower inner panel 273 are connected to the upper member 27, and the upper end flange portion 273u of the lower inner panel 273 is connected to the lower side surface of the upper inner panel 272. , a lower space S2 is formed. The lower space S2 is vertically partitioned by a reinforcing panel 274 having a Z-shaped cross section, thereby reinforcing the lower portion of the upper member 27. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper member 27 has a drain hole 271h formed in front of the base portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and in front of the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24. As shown in FIG. The drain hole 271h is connected to a groove-shaped cowl front panel 28 (see two-dot chain lines in FIG. 3, etc.) extending in the vehicle width direction. As a result, rainwater flowing down along the surface of the windshield 18 is received by the cowl front panel 28 and guided to the vehicle right side and the vehicle left side by the cowl front panel 28 . Rainwater guided to both ends of the vehicle by the cowl front panel 28 is discharged to the outside of the upper member 27 through the drain holes 271h.

<Reinforcing Structure of Root 145k of Front Pillar 145 (Front Structure of Vehicle)>
As described above, the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 are arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Between the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24, as shown in FIGS. A side load transmission member 50 is installed. The upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 are members for transmitting a load Ff (described later) applied to the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 to the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 during a frontal collision of the vehicle. . Here, in FIGS. 3 and 6, the upper inner panel 272 and the lower inner panel 273 that constitute the upper member 27 are omitted.

<Regarding the upper load transmission member 60>
The upper load transmission member 60 is a member that transmits the load Ff received from the root portion 145 k of the front pillar 145 to the upper member 27 and transmits it to the lower load transmission member 50 via the upper member 27 . The upper load transmission member 60 is accommodated in the upper space S1 of the upper member 27, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the upper load transmission member 60 is formed in the shape of a vertically extending ridge, and the upper portion of the upper load transmission member 60 is fixed to the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper load transmission member 60 has a front vertical wall portion 63 and a rear vertical wall portion 64 which are formed in a substantially chevron shape, and FIGS. Thus, the inclined wall portion 62 connecting the front and rear vertical wall portions 63 and 64 forms a substantially U-shaped flat cross section.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper load transmission member 60 has vertical flange portions 60f formed by bending the left edges of the front and rear vertical wall portions 53 and 54, respectively. The vertical flange portion 60f of the upper load transmission member 60 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the outer panel 271 of the upper member 27, as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the inclined wall portion 62 of the upper load transmission member 60 is formed in a substantially mountain-like shape in accordance with the shape of the front vertical wall portion 63, and the top portion of the inclined wall portion 62 ( lower part) is fixed to the inner wall surface of the upper inner panel 272 of the upper member 27 . In a state where the upper load transmission member 60 is fixed to the inner wall surface of the outer panel 271 of the upper member 27, the upper load transmission member 60 is formed in a tubular shape having a vertically extending axis.

<Regarding the lower load transmission member 50>
The lower load transmission member 50 is a member that transmits the load received from the upper load transmission member 60 via the upper member 27 to the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower load transmission member 50 is installed at the corner portion between the vertical wall surfaces of the upper inner panel 272 and the lower inner panel 273 of the upper member 27 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24. . The lower load transmission member 50 includes, as shown in FIG. 5, a trapezoidal front vertical wall portion 53 and a rear vertical wall portion 54, and as shown in FIGS. The flat cross-sectional shape is formed in a substantially U shape by the inclined wall portion 52 connecting the 54 . Upper openings formed at upper ends of the front and rear vertical wall portions 53 and 54 and the inclined wall portion 52 are closed by the ceiling wall portion 55 . That is, the lower load transmission member 50 is formed into a substantially truncated pyramid shape by the front and rear vertical wall portions 53 and 54 , the inclined wall portion 52 and the ceiling wall portion 55 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the lower load transmission member 50, a peripheral vertical flange portion 50f continuous with the left edges of the front and rear vertical wall portions 53 and 54 and the left edge of the ceiling wall portion 55 is bent. formed. 4 and 5, the peripheral vertical flange portion 50f of the lower load transmission member 50 is fixed to the vertical wall surfaces of the upper inner panel 272 and the lower inner panel 273 of the upper member 27. As shown in FIGS. With the peripheral vertical flange portion 50f of the lower load transmission member 50 fixed to the vertical wall surfaces of the upper inner panel 272 and the lower inner panel 273 of the upper member 27, the axis of the lower load transmission member 50 extends vertically. It is formed in a cylindrical shape. Here, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the upper end portion of the peripheral vertical flange portion 50f of the lower load transmission member 50 is connected to the inclined wall portion of the upper load transmission member 60 via the upper inner panel 272 of the upper member 27. It is connected with the crest portion at 62 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower load transmission member 50 has a vertical flange portion 53d formed at the lower edge of the front and rear vertical wall portions 53 and 54, and a vertical flange portion 53d formed at the lower edge of the inclined wall portion 52. A horizontal flange portion 52f is formed. 5, the vertical flange portion 53d of the lower load transmission member 50 is fixed to the side surface of the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24, and the horizontal flange portion 52f is fixed to the upper surface of the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24. be. As a result, the load Ff applied to the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 during a frontal collision of the vehicle can be received by the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 via the upper load transmission member 60, the upper member 27, and the lower load transmission member 50. become.

<Function of Reinforcement Structure of Root 145k of Front Pillar 145>
When the vehicle has a frontal collision, as shown in FIG. 2, the collision load Fb (see the black arrow) is received by the front side members 21, the rocker rails 11 and the like and transmitted rearward. Further, the collision load Fb is received by the upper member 27 and the like, and transmitted rearward by the rear front pillar 143 from the connecting portion between the front lower support pillar 140 and the root portion 143k of the rear front pillar 143 . In addition, the inertial force caused by the front collision of the vehicle lifts the rear portion of the vehicle, and the load Ff (see the white arrow) caused by the inertial force is transmitted to the front pillar 145 through the roof panel 16 and the like. As a result, the load Ff caused by the inertial force is concentrated on the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145. As shown in FIG.

As described above, the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 are arranged at the same position in the vehicle front-rear direction. Between the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24, as shown in FIGS. A side load transmission member 50 is installed. The upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 are configured to transmit the load Ff applied to the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 to the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 during a frontal collision of the vehicle. That is, the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 is supported by the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 via the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50. As shown in FIG. As a result, even if the load Ff is applied to the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145, the front pillar 145 is less likely to deform. As a result, deformation such as forward bending of the root portion 143k of the rear front pillar 143 can be suppressed.

Furthermore, since the front collision load Fb of the vehicle is received by the rear front pillar 143 and the front lower strut portion 140 , the front collision load Fb is not directly applied to the front pillar 145 . Therefore, the weight of the front pillar 145 can be reduced.

<Correspondence between the terms used in this embodiment and the terms of the present invention>
The ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 in this embodiment corresponds to the upper portion of the suspension tower of the present invention. Also, the upper member 27 corresponds to the side wall member and the wheel house upper frame of the present invention. Furthermore, the front lower strut portion 140 corresponds to the lower strut portion of the present invention.

<Advantages of the vehicle front structure according to the present embodiment>
According to the vehicle front structure according to the present embodiment, between the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t (upper portion) of the suspension tower 24, an upper load transmission member 60 capable of transmitting a load and a lower load transmission member 60 are provided. A member 50 is provided. Also, the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 is arranged at the same position as the suspension tower 24 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Therefore, the distance between the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24 can be made smaller than in the conventional art. The load Ff applied to the root portion 145k of the suspension tower 24 can be efficiently received by the ceiling portion 24t of the suspension tower 24.

Further, since the upper load transmission member 60 is housed in the upper member 27 (side wall member) forming the side wall of the engine room ER, the installation space for the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 can be made compact. In addition, since the lower load transmission member 50 and the upper load transmission member 60 are formed in a cylindrical shape with the axis extending in the vertical direction, the load transmission capability of the load transmission members in the vertical direction is improved. In addition, since the rear front pillar 143 and the front lower strut portion 140 (lower strut portion) receive the front collision load Fb of the vehicle, the front collision load Fb is not directly applied to the front pillar 145. , the front pillar 145 can be made lighter than before.

<Change example>
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 are provided between the root portion 145k of the front pillar 145 and the ceiling portion 24t (upper portion) of the suspension tower 24. However, it is also possible to integrate the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 together. Further, in this embodiment, the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 are formed to have a substantially U-shaped flat cross-section, and are fixed to the upper member 27 to form a rectangular tube. However, it is also possible to form the upper load transmission member 60 and the lower load transmission member 50 into a rectangular tubular shape or a box shape.

18... Windshield 24... Suspension tower 24t... Ceiling part (upper part)
27 Upper member (side wall member, wheel house upper frame)
50 Lower load transmission member 60 Upper load transmission member 140 Front lower strut portion (lower strut portion)
143 Rear front pillar 143k Root portion 145 Front pillar 145k Root portion ER Engine room

Claims (3)

It constitutes the window frame of the windshield of the passenger compartment, the front pillar that supports the roof panel on both sides in the vehicle width direction, the left and right suspension towers that receive the suspension load, and the side walls of the engine room. a side wall member arranged outside in the vehicle width direction;
A vehicle front structure comprising:
The root portion of the front pillar is arranged at the same position as the suspension tower in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
A load transmission member capable of transmitting a load is provided between the root portion of the front pillar and the upper portion of the suspension tower ,
The load transmission member is housed in a lower load transmission member connected to the upper part of the suspension tower and in the side wall member, so that the load can be transmitted between the lower load transmission member and the root portion of the front pillar. and an upper load transmission member . A vehicle front structure according to claim 1,
The lower load transmission member and the upper load transmission member are formed in a tubular shape having a longitudinally extending axis . It comprises the window frame of the windshield of the passenger compartment, and is equipped with front pillars that support the roof panel on both sides in the vehicle width direction, and left and right suspension towers that receive the suspension load.
The root portion of the front pillar is arranged at the same position as the suspension tower in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
A front structure for a vehicle, wherein a load transmission member capable of transmitting a load is provided between the root portion of the front pillar and the upper portion of the suspension tower,
It is arranged behind the front pillar, has an upper end connected to the upper end of the front pillar, forms an upper front edge of a front door opening, and forms a side window frame of the vehicle body together with the front pillar. A rear front pillar that constitutes a
a lower strut that forms a lower front edge of the front door opening while supporting the base of the rear front pillar;
A vehicle front structure comprising a wheel house upper frame that transmits a front collision load of the vehicle to a connection position between a root portion of the rear front pillar and the lower strut portion.

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