JP7430594B2 - cowl top cover - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cowl top cover for an automobile.

A cowl top cover is placed between the front windshield of an automobile and the front hood that covers the engine compartment. A rear end holding portion that holds the front end of the front windshield is disposed at the rear end of the cowl top cover. In addition, the cowl top cover has a seal support part disposed under the front hood, and the seal support part of the cowl top cover is in contact with the back side of the front hood, so that the front hood and the cowl top cover are connected to each other. A sealing member is fixed to seal the space between the two.

It is known that the cowl top cover has a shock absorbing structure that cushions the impact when the front hood is subjected to an impact. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-14677 (Patent Document 1) discloses a cowl top cover that has a deformable portion that can be easily deformed by receiving an impact load from the front hood when an impact is applied to the front hood from above. Are listed.

The cowl top cover described in the embodiment of Patent Document 1 has a cowl top lower front disposed below the front hood, and the cowl top lower front is disposed on the front side of the vehicle and is arranged above and below. It has a vertical plate portion that is long in the direction, and an elongated horizontal plate portion that extends in the horizontal direction from the lower end of the vertical plate portion. Furthermore, a step portion having a crank-shaped cross-sectional shape is formed as a deformed portion at the lower end of the vertical plate portion.

According to the cowl top cover of Patent Document 1, since the step portion is provided as a deformation portion in the vertical plate portion, when the front hood receives an impact from above and an impact load acts on the cowl top cover, the cowl top deforms. The vertical plate portion (step portion) of the cover can be deformed. This allows the front hood to plastically deform without being hindered by the cowl top cover, making it possible to absorb impact energy.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-14677

In the cowl top cover described in Patent Document 1, when the front hood receives an impact, the cowl top cover is deformed in a step portion (deformation portion) provided on the vertical plate portion, thereby reducing the impact energy. Absorption takes place.

On the other hand, in order to further improve the safety of vehicles such as automobiles, cowl top covers are expected to further improve their impact energy absorption characteristics. For example, cowl top covers are required to be able to receive and absorb small impact energy (for example, impact energy at the initial stage of application of impact load).

At the same time, when large impact energy is applied, the deformation of the cowl top cover should not be hindered due to, for example, the cowl top cover being partially stretched or coming into contact with other structures, etc. is required. There is also a need to make it difficult for the portion of the cowl top cover that receives impact to break.

For example, if the cowl top cover bottoms out, such as when the cowl top cover comes into contact with another structure and prevents its deformation, the cowl top cover should be placed under the front hood on parts or structures other than the cowl top cover, such as extension panels or other structures. impact energy is applied to the vehicle body structure (engine compartment structure in the case of front-engine vehicles). In this case, in order to avoid an increase in reaction force, it becomes necessary to provide components and structures other than the cowl top cover with characteristics capable of absorbing impact energy, resulting in increased costs and design freedom. This results in a decrease in On the other hand, if a break occurs in the deformed portion of the cowl top cover, the cowl top cover will not be able to absorb the impact energy at the time of the break and will release it, which may cause the cowl top cover's energy absorption ability to temporarily decrease.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to be able to absorb small impact energy when an impact load is applied to the front hood, and to absorb large impact energy. To provide a cowl top cover that can be smoothly deformed and can stably absorb impact energy.

In order to achieve the above object, the cowl top cover provided by the present invention is arranged at least in the area between the front hood and the front windshield, and when receiving an impact load from the front hood, the cowl top cover increases in height. A cowl top cover having a first deformation part that absorbs impact energy by causing deformation to reduce a dimension in a direction, the cowl top cover comprising: a seal support part supporting a seal member with which the front hood comes into contact; and a front end of the seal support part. a protruding rib disposed in the section and protruding toward the back surface of the front hood; and a second deformed section disposed adjacent to the front end or the rear end of the seal support section; The deformable portion is characterized in that it has a shape that is deformed by an impact load applied when the front hood collides with the protruding rib before the deformation of the first deformable portion occurs.

In the cowl top cover of the present invention, the protruding rib is spaced apart from the back surface of the front hood in the closed position, and the second deformation portion is formed by a step portion that provides a step with respect to the seal support portion. The first deformed portion is preferably formed continuously from the second deformed portion via a bent portion.

In this case, the step portion includes a step vertical wall portion that bends and extends from the seal support portion, and a step horizontal wall portion that bends from the step vertical wall portion and extends in a direction away from the seal support portion. It is preferable that the thickness of the stepped horizontal wall portion is thinner than the thickness of the stepped vertical wall portion.

In the cowl top cover of the present invention, the cowl top cover includes a rear end holding portion that holds the front windshield, a cover body portion that extends from the rear end holding portion to a position below the front hood, and the cover It has an upper vertical wall part and a lower vertical wall part that branch and extend vertically from the front end of the cover main body, and the upper vertical wall part extends from the front end of the cover main body to the second deformed part. The lower vertical wall is arranged to be inclined downward from the front end of the cover main body, and the first deformed part is arranged to be inclined upward from the front end of the cover main body, and the first deformed part is arranged to be inclined upward from the front end of the cover main body. Preferably, it is formed by a section.

According to the cowl top cover of the present invention, when an impact load is applied to the front hood, small impact energy can be absorbed, and when large impact energy is applied, deformation occurs smoothly to stabilize the impact energy. and can be absorbed.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of an automobile including a cowl top cover according to Example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of the cowl top cover taken along the line II-II shown in FIG. 1 together with a front windshield and a front hood of the automobile. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing deformation of the cowl top cover (deformation of the second deformation portion) at an initial stage when an impact load is applied to the front hood. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing deformation of the cowl top cover at a middle stage when an impact load is applied. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the deformation of the cowl top cover at the final stage when an impact load is applied. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of a cowl top cover according to Example 2 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of a cowl top cover according to Example 3 of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications may be made as long as they have substantially the same configuration as the present invention and achieve similar effects. It is possible.

For example, the position where the cowl top cover is attached to the vehicle body is not particularly limited as long as it includes at least the area between the front hood and the front windshield in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and depends on the shape of the vehicle, etc. It is possible to change the

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of an automobile equipped with a cowl top cover according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of the cowl top cover taken along line II-II shown in FIG. 1 together with a front windshield and a front hood of the automobile.

In the following description, the longitudinal direction refers to the length direction of the vehicle, and the direction in which the automobile (vehicle) moves forward is defined as the front, and the direction in which the automobile (vehicle) moves backward is defined as the rear. The left-right direction refers to the vehicle width direction, and the left and right directions when the driver faces forward are defined as left and right directions, respectively. The vertical direction is a direction along the vehicle height direction, and the direction toward the ground with respect to the vehicle is defined as the downward direction, and the direction on the opposite side thereof is defined as the upward direction.

In the automobile 1 shown in FIG. 1, a front windshield (windshield) 2 is arranged at the front of the passenger compartment. Further, a front hood (bonnet hood) 3 is provided so as to be openable and closable so as to cover an engine compartment located at the front of the vehicle body from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the front hood 3 includes an outer hood portion 3a and an inner hood portion 3b.

The cowl top cover 10 of the first embodiment is provided so as to cover at least an area sandwiched between the front windshield 2 and a portion of the front hood 3 where a sealing member 4 (described later) comes into contact with the cowl top cover 10. It is formed long in the left and right direction along the Incidentally, as the mounting structure for the cowl top cover 10 to the vehicle body, a generally known conventional mounting structure can be adopted.

The cowl top cover 10 of the first embodiment is made of a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene or elastomer-modified polypropylene. In the present invention, the material of the cowl top cover 10 is not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily selected. The cowl top cover 10 also includes a rear end holding part 11 that holds the front end of the front windshield 2, a cover body part 12 extending forward from the rear end holding part 11, and a cover body part 12 extending from the front end of the cover body part 12. An upper vertical wall portion 13 and a lower vertical wall portion 14 that branch and extend vertically, a vehicle body attachment portion 15 that extends from the lower end of the lower vertical wall portion 14, and a front hood that extends from the upper end of the upper vertical wall portion 13. 3, and a front extending portion 20 that extends forward on the lower side of 3.

A seal member 4 is fixed to the upper surface of the front extending portion 20 of the cowl top cover 10. The sealing member 4 comes into contact with the hood inner portion 3b of the front hood 3 when the front hood 3 is closed, and is thereby elastically deformed so as to be compressed in the vertical direction. By elastically deforming the sealing member 4 in this manner, the space between the cowl top cover 10 and the front hood 3 is sealed.

In the first embodiment, the rear end holding portion 11 of the cowl top cover 10 has a first holding portion 11a in contact with the front surface (outer surface) of the front windshield 2, and a substantially L-shaped cross section from the first holding portion 11a. It has a second holding part 11b that extends like this. This rear end holding part 11 supports the front end part of the front windshield 2 by sandwiching and holding it between a first holding part 11a and a second holding part 11b.

The cover main body part 12 is continuously formed integrally with the rear end holding part 11. This cover main body part 12 has a crank part that bends upward from the rear end holding part 11 in a crank shape, and a straight part that slopes downward in a straight line toward the front from the crank part. In the first embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the cover main body portion 12 changes depending on the cutting position of the cowl top cover 10 in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction). Further, in the present invention, the shape and size of the cover main body can be changed depending on the vehicle body to which the cowl top cover is attached.

The upper vertical wall portion 13 is provided so as to rise upward from the front end portion of the cover body portion 12. Further, when the upper vertical wall portion 13 is viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction of the cowl top cover 10 (see FIG. 2), the upper end portion of the upper vertical wall portion 13 is disposed further forward than the lower end portion. As shown in FIG. The lower vertical wall portion 14 is provided so as to hang downward from the front end portion of the cover body portion 12. Further, the lower vertical wall portion 14 is arranged on the cover main body portion 12 such that the lower end portion of the lower vertical wall portion 14 is located in front of the upper end portion when looking at the above-mentioned cross section (FIG. 2). It is arranged in a straight line that slopes downward from the front end toward the front.

Therefore, the upper vertical wall part 13 and the lower vertical wall part 14 are bent into a dogleg shape in the above-mentioned cross-sectional view (FIG. 2). The vertical wall portion 14 forms a first deformation portion that deforms significantly when the cowl top cover 10 receives an impact load.

In the first deformed portion of the cowl top cover 10 in the first embodiment, for example, when the cowl top cover 10 receives an impact load from above via the front hood 3, the front end of the cover main body 12 On the other hand, the upper vertical wall part 13 and the lower vertical wall part 14 are bent in the direction in which the angle between the upper vertical wall part 13 and the lower vertical wall part 14 becomes smaller. The portion 14 can be modified to reduce its height dimension (see FIGS. 3-5).

The vehicle body mounting portion 15 of the cowl top cover 10 is placed on the vehicle body panel 5 of the automobile 1 and is fixed to the vehicle body panel 5 so as to be caught on a part of the vehicle body panel 5. In the present invention, the method and means for fixing the vehicle body mounting portion 15 to the vehicle body panel 5 are not particularly limited.

The front extending portion 20 of the cowl top cover 10 includes a seal support portion 21 that supports the seal member 4 , a protruding rib 22 provided at the front end of the seal support portion 21 , and a portion between the seal support portion 21 and the upper vertical wall portion 13 . and a second deformed portion 23 formed between the two.

The seal support portion 21 is formed into a flat plate shape and is arranged to face the hood inner portion 3b of the front hood 3. The seal member 4 is fixed to the upper surface of the seal support portion 21 by adhesive. Note that the method and means for fixing the seal member 4 to the seal support portion 21 are not particularly limited.

The protruding rib 22 protrudes from the front end of the seal support portion 21 toward the back surface of the front hood 3 (hood inner portion 3b). In this case, the protruding rib 22 protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the seal support portion 21 . Further, the protruding rib 22 is disposed forward of the seal member 4 with a gap between the protrusion rib 22 and the seal member 4 so as not to inhibit the elastic deformation of the seal member 4 fixed to the seal support portion 21 .

The protruding rib 22 of the first embodiment is formed in a size that separates from the back surface of the front hood 3 when the front hood 3 is held in the closed position and the seal member 4 is elastically deformed. That is, the protruding rib 22 changes the height of the protruding rib 22 from the upper surface of the seal support portion 21 (dimension in the height direction or the vertical direction) of the seal member 4 in a state where it is elastically deformed by the pressure of the front hood 3. The height dimension from the upper surface of the support part 21 is smaller than that of the support part 21 .

Thereby, a space can be secured between the hood inner part 3b of the front hood 3 and the protruding rib 22, and thereby, when the front hood 3 receives an impact load, the front hood 3 can be easily moved downward ( deformation). Further, by providing a space between the protruding rib 22 and the front hood 3, when the front hood 3 moves downward and collides with the protruding rib 22, for example, the protruding rib 22 is placed in contact with the front hood 3. The second deformable portion 23 of the front extension portion 20 can be more easily deformed by pressing the protruding rib 22 more strongly than in the case where the second deformable portion 23 of the front extending portion 20 is deformed.

Further, it is preferable that the protruding rib 22 is formed such that the height from the upper surface of the seal support portion 21 is larger than the height of the seal member 4 in a state where it is crushed to its limit. Thereby, when the front hood 3 is deformed downward, the hood inner portion 3b of the front hood 3 can be stably brought into contact with the protruding rib 22 without being hindered by the seal member 4.

The second deformed portion 23 of the front extending portion 20 is provided adjacent to the rear end portion of the seal support portion 21 . Further, the second deformable portion 23 is formed by a step portion that provides a stepped portion with respect to the seal support portion 21 . By providing such a second deformation part (step part) 23, when the front hood 3 deforms and collides with the protrusion rib 22 and presses the protrusion rib 22 downward, the front extension part 20 at the second deformation part 23 to easily transform the front extending part 20 (in particular, the seal support part 21) from a horizontal position or a near-horizontal position to a tilted position that slopes downwardly forward. I can do it.

In particular, the second deformed portion (stepped portion) 23 of the first embodiment includes a stepped vertical wall portion 23a that is bent and extends from the seal support portion 21, and a stepped vertical wall portion 23a that is bent from the stepped vertical wall portion 23a and extends from the seal support portion 21. It has a stepped horizontal wall portion 23b extending in the direction of separation. Further, the stepped horizontal wall portion 23b is formed such that the thickness (vertical dimension) of the stepped horizontal wall portion 23b is thinner than the thickness (front-back dimension) of the stepped vertical wall portion 23a. By forming the second deformed portion 23 in this way, when the front hood 3 presses the protruding rib 22 downward, even with a relatively small pressing force, the seal support portion 21 can be moved to the upper vertical wall portion 13. It becomes possible to deform it so that it is tilted against the object.

Further, in this case, the upper vertical wall portion 13 forming the first deformed portion is formed continuously from the stepped horizontal wall portion 23b of the second deformed portion 23 via the bent portion. As a result, when the front hood 3 further deforms downward by deforming the front extending portion 20 so as to be tilted forward as described above, the upper vertical wall portion 13 is moved from the front end of the cover body portion 12. It can be easily deformed in the direction of tilting forward using the part as a fulcrum.

Next, an impact load F as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3 due to a falling object is applied to the front hood 3 of the automobile 1 (see FIG. 2) to which the cowl top cover 10 of Example 1 as described above is attached. Deformation of the cowl top cover 10 when the cowl top cover 10 is added will be explained.

When an impact load F as shown in FIG. 3 is applied to the front hood 3 from diagonally above the front, the front hood 3 is deformed to move downward by the impact load F. As a result, the sealing member 4 is elastically deformed so as to be further compressed, and the front hood 3 (hood inner part 3b) is caused to collide with the protruding rib 22 of the front extension part 20, so that the protruding rib 22 is directed downward. Press. As a result, in the cowl top cover 10, first, the front extension part 20 deforms so as to tilt the seal support part 21 downward from the second deformation part (step part) 23 forward (in other words, the front extension part 20 deforms from the second deformation part (step part) 23 forward The extending portion 20 is deformed so as to be tilted forward by rotating it counterclockwise around the second deforming portion 23).

At this time, since the second deformation part 23 is provided at the rear end of the front extension part 20, the protruding rib 22 arranged at the front end of the front extension part 20 is pushed downward. For example, even when the impact energy applied to the protruding rib 22 from the front hood 3 is relatively small (for example, even at the initial stage of applying the impact load F), the front extension part 20 is bent by the second deformation part 23 to easily deform it. be able to. In particular, the second deformed portion 23 is formed in a step shape (step shape) by the thick stepped vertical wall portion 23a and the thin stepped horizontal wall portion 23b as described above, so that the second deformed portion 23 is formed in the forward extending portion 20 (especially the first The above-described deformation of the front extension portion 20 can be promoted while suppressing the occurrence of breakage in the second deformation portion 23).

As the front extending portion 20 deforms as described above, the front hood 3 further moves (deforms) downward due to the impact load F, so that the front hood 3 (hood inner portion 3b) collides with the upper end of the upper vertical wall portion 13. At this time, the front extension part 20 has fallen forward due to the collision with the protruding rib 22 of the front hood 3 in the previous stage, and the front extension part 20 has been pushed forward due to the downward movement of the front hood 3. ing. Therefore, when the front hood 3 collides with the upper vertical wall part 13 from above, the upper vertical wall part 13 is not stretched against the impact load F, and the cover main body part 12 and the upper vertical wall part 13 are connected. It can be efficiently deformed so as to tilt the portion forward (in other words, to move the upper end portion of the upper vertical wall portion 13 obliquely forward and downward). Further, thereby, further downward deformation of the front hood 3 can be allowed.

Thereafter, the cowl top cover 10 receiving the impact load F, as shown in FIG. By bending the connecting portion with the main body portion 12, the upper vertical wall portion 13 and the lower vertical wall portion 14 can be smoothly deformed so as to reduce the overall height dimension. By deforming the cowl top cover 10 in this manner, it is possible to stably absorb and alleviate the large impact energy applied to the front hood 3, and therefore, excellent impact absorption performance can be exhibited. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the reaction force of the cowl top cover 10 that occurs at the final stage as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the cowl top cover 10 of the first embodiment, when receiving relatively small impact energy at the initial stage of application of the impact load F as shown in FIG. By deforming the second deforming portion (step portion) 23, the impact energy can be absorbed. Particularly in this case, by causing the front hood 3 to directly collide with the protruding rib 22 of the cowl top cover 10, the front extending portion 20 can be efficiently deformed by the cowl top cover 10 first. Therefore, for example, the effects of friction, deformation, breakage, etc. on the seal member 4 can be suppressed, and it is possible to realize stable absorption of impact energy in the initial stage, and also to suppress an increase in reaction force in the initial stage.

Furthermore, by first deforming the front extending portion 20 as described above, it is possible to promote smooth deformation of the upper vertical wall portion 13 and the lower vertical wall portion 14 (i.e., the first deforming portion) thereafter. Therefore, when a higher level of impact energy is applied, the impact energy can be stably absorbed by the deformation of the upper vertical wall portion 13 and the lower vertical wall portion 14. Furthermore, by promoting the deformation of the first deformation portion in this way, it is possible to effectively prevent problems such as tension and bottoming out of the cowl top cover 10, and also prevent problems such as the cowl top cover 10 from breaking. A decrease in energy absorption capacity can also be effectively suppressed or prevented.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of the cowl top cover according to the second embodiment.

In this Example 2 and Example 3, which will be described later, the members other than the cowl top cover are formed substantially the same as those in Example 1, so those members are similar to those in Example 1. The description thereof will be omitted by using the same reference numerals as .

The cowl top cover 30 of the second embodiment includes a rear end holding part 31 that holds the front windshield 2, a cover body part 32 extending forward from the rear end holding part 31, and a cover body part 32 extending upward from the front end of the cover body part 32. It has an upper vertical wall part 33 that stands up toward the upper vertical wall part 33, and a front extending part 40 that extends forward from the upper end part of the upper vertical wall part 33.

The rear end holding portion 31 of the cowl top cover 30 is formed similarly to the rear end holding portion 11 of the cowl top cover 10 in the first embodiment described above. The cover main body part 32 includes a first main body part 32a extending forward from the rear end holding part 31 in a flat plate shape, and a first main body part 32a projecting upward in a substantially V-shape from the front end of the first main body part 32a. It has two main body parts 32b, and a vehicle body attachment part 32c extending forward from the front end of the second main body part 32b via a bent part. In this case, the second main body part 32b of the cover main body part 32 has an up-sloping part that slopes up from the front end of the first main body part 32a, a top end that extends forward from the upper end of the up-slope part, and a top end that goes down from the top end. and a downwardly sloped portion. The vehicle body mounting portion 32c of the cover main body portion 32 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 5.

The upper vertical wall portion 33 is provided so as to rise upward from the front end portion of the cover body portion 32 (that is, the front end portion of the vehicle body attachment portion 32c). In particular, the upper vertical wall portion 33 is formed so that it slopes linearly upward from the front end of the cover main body portion 32 so that the upper end portion of the upper vertical wall portion 33 is disposed further forward than the lower end portion. has been done. The upper vertical wall portion 33 forms a first deformation portion that deforms when the cowl top cover 30 receives a large impact load. For example, when the cowl top cover 30 receives an impact load via the front hood 3, After the second deformable portion 33 of the front extension portion 40 is deformed when the cowl top cover 30 is received, the cowl top cover 30 is smoothly tilted forward using the front end portion of the cover body portion 32 as a fulcrum. It can be transformed.

The front extending portion 40 of the second embodiment is formed substantially the same as the front extending portion 20 of the cowl top cover 10 in the first embodiment described above. That is, the front extending portion 40 of the second embodiment includes a seal support portion 41 that supports the seal member 4, a protruding rib 42 provided at the front end of the seal support portion 41, and a seal support portion 41 and an upper vertical wall portion. 33 and a second deformed portion 43 formed between the two portions.

Further, the second deformed portion 43 is formed by a stepped portion adjacent to the rear end portion of the seal support portion 41 . The second deformed portion 43 includes a stepped vertical wall portion 43a that bends and extends from the seal support portion 41, and a stepped vertical wall portion 43a that bends from the stepped vertical wall portion 43a and extends rearward, and is formed to be thinner than the stepped vertical wall portion 43a. It has a stepped horizontal wall portion 43b.

The cowl top cover 30 of the second embodiment as described above can also provide the same effects as the cowl top cover 10 of the first embodiment described above.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of the cowl top cover according to the third embodiment.

The cowl top cover 50 of the third embodiment includes a rear end holding part 51 that holds the front windshield 2, a cover body part 52 extending forward from the rear end holding part 51, and a front end part of the cover body part 52. A front extending portion 60 extending forward via a crank-shaped bent portion, a lower vertical wall portion 54 hanging downward from the front end of the front extending portion 60, and a vehicle body extending from the lower end of the lower vertical wall portion 54. It has a mounting part 55.

The rear end holding portion 51 and the vehicle body mounting portion 55 of the cowl top cover 50 are formed similarly to the rear end holding portion 11 and the vehicle body mounting portion 15 of the cowl top cover 10 in the first embodiment described above, respectively. The cover main body portion 52 has a crank portion bent upward from the rear end holding portion 51 in a crank shape, and a straight portion extending linearly forward from the crank portion.

The front extending portion 60 includes a flat seal support portion 61 , a protruding rib 62 provided at the front end of the seal support portion 61 , and a second rib 62 formed between the seal support portion 61 and the lower vertical wall portion 54 . It has a deformed part 63. The seal support portion 61 and the protruding rib 62 of the third embodiment are formed substantially the same as the seal support portion 21 and the protrusion rib 22 of the cowl top cover 10 in the first embodiment described above.

The second deformed portion 63 of the third embodiment is provided adjacent to the front end portion of the seal support portion 61. The second deformable portion 63 is formed by a step portion that forms a step with respect to the seal support portion 61, and includes a step vertical wall portion 63a that bends and extends from the front end of the seal support portion 61, and a step vertical wall portion 63a that is bent and extends from the front end of the seal support portion 61. It has a stepped horizontal wall portion 63b that is bent from the wall portion 63a and extends forward, and is formed thinner than the stepped vertical wall portion 63a. By providing such a second deforming portion 63, when the protruding rib 62 is pressed downward by the front hood 3, the front extending portion 60 can be easily deformed relative to the lower vertical wall portion 54. I can do it.

The lower vertical wall portion 54 of the third embodiment is formed to be inclined so that the upper end portion of the lower vertical wall portion 54 is disposed on the front side of the lower end portion, for example, in the left-right direction of the cowl top cover 50. When viewed in a cross section perpendicular to (FIG. 7), the front extending portion 60, the lower vertical wall portion 54, and the vehicle body mounting portion 55 are provided so as to have a substantially Z-shape in opposite directions.

The lower vertical wall portion 54 forms a first deformation portion that deforms when the cowl top cover 50 receives a large impact load. For example, the cowl top cover 50 receives an impact load via the front hood 3. When the second deformable portion 63 is deformed, the cowl top cover 50 is smoothly deformed so as to tilt the lower vertical wall portion 54 forward using the rear end portion of the vehicle body attachment portion 55 as a fulcrum. can be done.

The cowl top cover 50 of the third embodiment as described above can also provide the same effects as the cowl top cover 10 of the first embodiment described above.

1 Car 2 Front windshield (windshield)
3 Front hood (bonnet hood)
3a Hood outer part 3b Hood inner part 4 Seal member 5 Body panel 10 Cowl top cover 11 Rear end holding part 11a First holding part 11b Second holding part 12 Cover body part 13 Upper vertical wall part 14 Lower vertical wall part 15 Vehicle body Mounting part 20 Front extension part 21 Seal support part 22 Projecting rib 23 Second deformation part (step part)
23a Step vertical wall portion 23b Step horizontal wall portion 30 Cowl top cover 31 Rear end holding portion 32 Cover main body portion 32a First main body portion 32b Second main body portion 32c Vehicle mounting portion 33 Upper vertical wall portion 40 Front extension portion 41 Seal support portion 42 Projecting rib 43 Second deformation portion 43a Stepped vertical wall portion 43b Stepped horizontal wall portion 50 Cowl top cover 51 Rear end holding portion 52 Cover body portion 54 Lower vertical wall portion 55 Vehicle body attachment portion 60 Front extension portion 61 Seal support portion 62 Projecting rib 63 Second deformation portion 63a Step vertical wall portion 63b Step lateral wall portion F Impact load

Claims (4)

A first deformation, which is disposed at least in a region between the front hood and the front windshield, and absorbs impact energy by causing a deformation that reduces the dimension in the height direction when receiving an impact load from the front hood. A cowl top cover having a portion,
a seal support part that supports a seal member that the front hood contacts; a protruding rib that is arranged at the front end of the seal support part and projects toward the back surface of the front hood; and a front end or rear part of the seal support part. a second deformed portion disposed adjacent to the end portion;
The cowl top cover is characterized in that the second deformable portion has a shape that is deformed by an impact load applied when the front hood collides with the protruding rib before the first deformable portion is deformed. The protruding rib is spaced apart from the back surface of the front hood in the closed position,
The second deformation part is formed by a step part that provides a step with respect to the seal support part,
The cowl top cover according to claim 1, wherein the first deformable portion is formed continuously from the second deformable portion via a bent portion. The stepped portion has a stepped vertical wall portion that is bent and extends from the seal support portion, and a stepped horizontal wall portion that is bent from the stepped vertical wall portion and extends in a direction away from the seal support portion,
The cowl top cover according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the stepped horizontal wall portion is thinner than the thickness of the stepped vertical wall portion. The cowl top cover includes a rear end holding part that holds the front windshield, a cover body part that extends from the rear end holding part to a position below the front hood, and a cover body part that extends up and down from the front end part of the cover body part. It has an upper vertical wall portion and a lower vertical wall portion that branch and extend,
The upper vertical wall portion is arranged to be inclined upward from the front end of the cover main body portion toward the second deformed portion,
The lower vertical wall portion is arranged to be inclined downward from the front end portion of the cover main body portion,
The cowl top cover according to claim 1, wherein the first deformation portion is formed by the upper vertical wall portion and the lower vertical wall portion.

Images