JPH0134939Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to the front body structure of an automobile.

(Prior Art) Generally, in the front body structure of an automobile, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-89772, for example,
A wheel apron reinforcement is joined to the upper part of the wheel apron that makes up the side wall of the engine room to form a closed cross section that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, increasing the rigidity of the wheel apron and preventing the closed cross section structure from occurring in the event of a frontal collision. It is designed to absorb shock by buckling.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, when the present inventors actually conducted a frontal collision experiment, the closed cross-section structure described above buckled uniformly over its entire length in the longitudinal direction (front and rear direction of the vehicle body). However, due to the front wheels moving backward and pushing up from the suspension strut, the wheel apron bends in a dogleg shape toward the engine compartment only between the suspension tower and the front hinge pillar on the rear end side. It was found that local buckling occurred. In particular, when the wheel apron reinforcement has a closed cross-section consisting of an inner member with a cross-sectional shape of a hat having an opening on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and a flat outer member that covers the opening of the inner member, the outer member is Since the strength is considerably weaker than that of other members, such local buckling is likely to occur. Local buckling of the wheel apron reinforcement, which has a closed cross-section structure, not only makes it unable to absorb impact effectively, but also causes damage to the front windshield, potentially endangering the occupants.

The present invention was developed in view of such experimental results, and its purpose is to effectively reinforce the locations where local buckling of the wheel apron reinforcement with the closed cross-section structure is likely to occur, thereby preventing head-on collisions. At times, the entire closed cross-section structure buckles uniformly, thereby increasing the impact absorption effect and ensuring the safety of the occupants.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the solution of the present invention is a suspension tower part that constitutes the side wall of the engine room and bulges toward the engine room as a front body structure of an automobile. a wheel apron having a wheel apron, a wheel apron reinforcement extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body joined to an upper part of the wheel apron, and a front hinge pillar connected to a rear end of the wheel apron, It is assumed that the reinforcement has a closed cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, consisting of an inner member with a hat-shaped cross section that has an opening on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and a flat outer member that covers the opening of the inner member. shall be.

In such a front vehicle body structure, a box-shaped reinforcement is disposed within the closed cross section of the wheel apron reinforcement at a portion between the suspension tower portion of the wheel apron and the front hinge pillar, The opening side of the box-shaped reinforcement is joined to the outer member of the wheel apron reinforcement to form a double closed section within the closed section.

(Function) With the above configuration, in the present invention, the opening side of the box-shaped reinforcement is located at the portion corresponding to the suspension tower portion of the wheel apron and the front hinge pillar within the closed cross section of the wheel apron reinforcement. It is joined to the flat plate-shaped outer member, which is weak in strength, to form a double closed cross-section structure, effectively increasing the rigidity at that location, so buckling will only occur at the above location in the event of a head-on collision. Instead, the closed cross-sectional structure of the wheel apron reinforcement will buckle almost uniformly over its entire longitudinal length.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

1 to 3 show the front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is an engine room, 2 is a darts panel that partitions the engine room 1 and the passenger compartment, and 3 is a side wall of the engine room 1. The wheel apron 3 is formed with a suspension tower part 4 and a tire house part 5 that bulge toward the engine room 1 at the upper part thereof, and a tire house part 5 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body at the lower part. An extending side frame 6 is provided.

Further, a front hinge pillar 8 is connected to the rear end of the wheel apron 3 via a cowl side panel 7 that constitutes a front side wall of the vehicle interior.
The front hinge pillar 8 constitutes the front edge of the door opening, supports a side door (not shown) provided in the door opening, and constitutes the side edge of the front window opening 9, and supports the front edge of the door opening. It supports a front window glass (not shown) attached to the window opening 9.

Furthermore, a wheel apron reinforcement 10 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is joined to the upper end portion of the wheel apron 3. The wheel apron reinforcement 10 includes an inner member 1 having a hat-shaped cross section and having an opening on the outside in the vehicle width direction.
0b and a flat outer member 10a that covers the opening of the inner member 10b constitute a closed section 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the rear end of this wheel apron reinforcement 10 is connected to the front hinge pillar 8. connected.

As a feature of the present invention, within the closed section 11 of the wheel apron reinforcement 10, a box-shaped reinforcement 12 is provided at a portion corresponding to the suspension tower portion 4 of the wheel apron 3 and the front hinge pillar 8. is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the box-shaped reinforcement 12 is box-shaped with an opening on one side, and has a joining flange 12 on the periphery of the opening.
a, 12a, ... are formed, and the joining flanges 12a, 12a, ... are joined to the outer member 10a of the wheel apron reinforcement 10 to form the wheel apron reinforcement 1.
A double closed cross section is formed within the closed cross section 11 of zero.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the closed cross section 11 of the wheel apron reinforcement 10
The structure has a double closed section structure with a box-shaped reinforcement 12 between the suspension tower part 4 of the wheel apron 3 and the front hinge pillar 8, and the box-shaped reinforcement 12 has an oil The wheel apron reinforcement 10 is connected to the outer member 10a of the apron reinforcement 10, and the rigidity of the part of the wheel apron reinforcement 10 that is most likely to buckle is effectively increased. The wheel apron reinforcement 10 does not buckle prematurely at any point, and after sufficiently resisting the impact load, the wheel apron reinforcement 10 is almost uniformly applied over its entire length in the longitudinal direction (vehicle body longitudinal direction). This causes buckling. As a result, it is possible to effectively exert the impact absorption effect due to the buckling of the wheel apron reinforcement 10 having a closed cross-section structure, and also to suppress the fluctuation in the inclination of the front hinge pillar 8 due to the buckling, so that the front windshield can be Damage can be prevented and the safety of passengers can be ensured.

In addition, the assembly procedure of the box-shaped reinforcement 12 is as follows:
The smaller outer member 10 of the two constituent members of the wheel apron reinforcement 10
This can be done relatively easily by joining the outer member 10a to the inner member 10b that has already been assembled to the vehicle body, and the assembly work can be facilitated and speeded up.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, according to the front body structure of an automobile according to the invention, the wheel apron reinforcement with a closed cross-section structure consisting of an inner member with a hat-shaped cross section and an outer member with a flat plate shape can be attached to a wheel apron. The box-shaped reinforcement bonded to the outer member between the suspension tower and front hinge pillar creates a double closed cross-section structure, effectively increasing the rigidity of that area. In the event of a frontal collision, buckling can be prevented from occurring only at the above points, and the uniform buckling over the entire length of the closed cross-section structure can effectively exert the impact absorption effect. This is very advantageous in ensuring safety. Moreover, it can also contribute to improving the ease of assembly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure near the joint between the wheel apron reinforcement and the front hinge pillar, and Fig. 2 shows the overall structure of the front body structure of an automobile. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the box-shaped reinforcement. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Engine room, 3...Wheel apron, 4...Suspension tower part, 8...Front hinge pillar, 10...Wheel apron reinforcement, 10a...Outer member, 1
0b...Inner member, 11...Closed section, 12...
Box-shaped reinforcement.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a wheel apron that constitutes a side wall of the engine room and has a suspension tower portion that bulges toward the engine room; a wheel apron reinforcement that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and is connected to the upper part of the wheel apron; The wheel apron reinforcement includes a front hinge pillar connected to the rear end, and the wheel apron reinforcement includes an inner member having a hat-shaped cross section and an opening on the outside in the vehicle width direction, and a flat plate-shaped inner member that covers the opening of the inner member. The outer member constitutes a closed section extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and within the closed section of this wheel apron reinforcement, there is a box-shaped rain between the suspension tower part of the wheel apron and the front hinge pillar. reinforcement is disposed, and the box-shaped reinforcement is characterized in that its opening side is joined to the outer member of the wheel apron reinforcement to form a double closed cross section within the closed cross section. The front body structure of a car.