JPH0134942Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to the front body structure of an automobile, and more specifically to the structure of a dash panel portion that constitutes the rear wall of the engine compartment.

(Prior Art) In an automobile in which an engine room is configured in front of a passenger compartment, the engine room and the passenger compartment are separated by a darts panel, and this darts panel constitutes the rear wall of the engine room.

A front windshield is attached to the top of such a darts panel, and for this reason conventionally, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 55-106180, a windshield has been installed at the top of the darts panel that extends almost the entire length in the vehicle width direction. A cross-sectional reinforcement structure was constructed.

By the way, when considering the safety of occupants in the event of a frontal collision, it is desirable to transmit as little energy as possible during the collision to the upper part of the dash panel. That is, since the upper part of the dash panel supports the lower end of the front windshield, it is desirable to prevent collision energy from acting on the upper part of the dash panel from the front.

The most important factor contributing to the impact energy exerted on the upper part of the dash panel from the front is the backward movement of the engine due to a frontal collision. That is, when the engine moves backward, it presses the lower part of the dash panel, and collision energy is transmitted from the lower part to the upper part of the dash panel.

From this point of view, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-70980, a structure in which the member supporting the front window can be easily separated or edged midway under the pressure of the engine retreating has been developed. Proposed. More specifically, assuming that the front window (lower end) is attached to the upper end of the darts panel via a support structure with a closed cross-section structure, the border between the upper wall and the rear wall of the closed cross-section structure is While installing the front window, a special structure is used to fix the front wall and the upper wall so that the front wall of the closed section structure can be easily separated from the upper wall when subjected to rearward pressure. They are connected using tools.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the device described in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-70980, the closed section structure that should originally support the front window is destroyed, that is, the front window is made to have an open section. Since collisions are dealt with and the impact is absorbed by the closed cross-section structure part closest to the front window, the front window mounting part is affected to some extent, and it is not always sufficient in terms of preventing damage to the front window. Also,
A special fixture must be used to connect the front wall and the upper wall.

In addition, if a front window is attached to the upper end of the dash panel without using a closed cross-section structure, as is required of recent automobiles, especially small vehicles, a structure such as that described in the above-mentioned publication is required. The proposal could not be adopted, and some sort of countermeasure would be desired in this regard as well.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple structure that can sufficiently prevent damage to the front window, assuming that the front window is attached to the upper end of the dash panel without using a closed section structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a front body structure for an automobile.

(Structure and operation of the device) In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present device has the following structure. That is, the darts panel constituting the rear wall of the engine room is divided into a darts panel upper and a darts panel lower, each extending in the vertical direction, and the darts panel is connected to the rear surface of the lower end of the darts panel upper. A polymerized portion obtained by polymerizing the upper end of the darth panel lower is joined by spot welding, and is attached to the upper end of the darth panel upper.
A front window is attached to the rear surface of the dash panel upper without using a closed cross-section structure, and a closed window extends over almost the entire length in the vehicle width direction between the overlapping part and the front window attachment part. The structure is such that the reinforcing members that make up the cross section are joined.

With this configuration, when the engine is moved backwards due to a frontal collision and the dash panel lower is pushed rearward, the upper end of the dash panel lower is pressed against the lower end of the dash panel upper. This prevents the dash panel upper from being significantly displaced rearward. In particular, spot welding ensures a strong bond in the shear direction but a weak bond in the peeling direction, so that the separation of the dash panel lower from the dash panel upper is reliably ensured.

In addition, even when the dash panel lower is separated rearward, the dash panel upper is firmly secured in its mounting position by the reinforcing member provided on the rear surface. This not only makes it possible to reliably separate the above-mentioned dartshi panel lower from the dartshi panel upper, but also to reliably prevent damage to the front window attached to the dartshi panel upper. Connect.

(Effects of the invention) As is clear from the above, the invention has the following effects:
Even if the front window is attached to the upper end of the dash panel top without using a closed cross-section structure, it is possible to prevent the front window from being damaged in the event of a frontal collision. The effect is also extremely excellent.

Additionally, since spot welding is a very common method for joining panel materials that make up an automobile body, it is clearly advantageous over using special fixing devices to ensure separation. It is.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the attached drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a dash panel, and with this dash panel 1 as a boundary, the front part is an engine room A, and the rear part is a vehicle compartment B.

A pair of left and right wheel aprons 2 extend forward from the left and right end portions of the dash panel 1, respectively, and a radiator shroud 3 is located at the front end portions of the wheel aprons 2. As a result, the engine room A is constituted by the dash panel 1, the left and right pair of wheel aprons 2, and the radiator shroud 3.

The wheel apron 2 is formed with a wheel arch portion 4 that bulges toward the engine room, and a front frame 5 is joined to the wheel apron 2 directly below the wheel arch portion 4. A suspension tower portion 6 is joined across the wheel arch portion 4 and the wheel apron 2 above.

As shown in FIG. 3, behind the wheel apron 2 and on the sides of the dash panel 1, there are an inner panel 7A and an outer panel 8 extending in the vertical direction.
Front pillar that forms a closed cross section with B (Front pillar lower, also called hinge pillar)
7 is placed. The rear end of the wheel apron 2 and the side of the dash panel 1 are joined (welded) to the front pillar 7, for example, as shown in FIG. There is.

The dash panel 1 is comprised of a top panel 8 as a dash panel top and a lower panel 9 as a dash panel lower.
The dividing line between both panels 8 and 9 extends substantially horizontally, and the height position of the lower edge 8a of the upper panel 8 is slightly higher than the engine (engine body), not shown. This engine height position is shown in FIG. 4E, and is generally at approximately the same height as the suspension tower portion 6). Then, as shown in FIG. 2, with the upper end 9a of the lower panel 9 superimposed on the rear surface of the lower end 8a of the upper panel 8, both edges 8a and 9a are joined by spot welding. has been done.

The lower panel 9 is configured as a flat plate as a whole, while the upper panel 8 is curved to have a predetermined shape. That is,
The center portion of the upper panel 8 in the vehicle width direction is inclined forward as shown by the arrow X in FIG. 2, and the left and right sides of the upper panel 8 are inclined backward as shown by the arrow Y in FIG. As a result, the shape of the upper edge 8b of the atsupa panel 8 is different from that of the front windshield 10 (see FIG. 4) when viewed from above.
It has a substantially arcuate shape that is convex toward the front, matching the curved shape of the lower end edge (not shown in FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a reinforcing member 11 is bonded to the rear surface of the upper panel 8, that is, the surface facing the passenger compartment B. As shown in FIGS. This reinforcing member 11
has a substantially U-shaped cross section, extends over the entire vehicle width of the upper panel 8, forms a closed cross section in cooperation with the upper panel 8, and has side ends joined to the front pillar 7. Of course, the joint surface of the reinforcing member 11 to the atsupah panel 8 is curved to match the above-described curved shape of the atsupah panel 8, and by providing such a reinforcing member 11, the rigidity of the atsupah panel 8 is improved. , the upper panel 8 can firmly maintain the predetermined curved shape described above. And the reinforcing member 11
As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5,
A plurality of joint members 12 are arranged and joined at intervals in the vehicle width direction, and such joint members 12 further improve the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing member 11.

In addition, since such a reinforcing member 11 only needs to be considered for reinforcing the upper panel 8, the front-to-back length of the closed cross section formed by this reinforcing member 11 is as follows:
It is much smaller than the conventional cowl structure for attaching a windshield. Also,
As in the embodiment, this reinforcing member 11 can be easily formed by joining it to the lower part of the upper panel 8, that is, to the part where the degree of curvature formed by the inclinations X and Y is relatively small. .

The reinforcing member 11 is located approximately in the lower half of the upper panel 8, that is, near the joint with the lower panel 9, and the upper edge 8b of the upper panel 8 located above the reinforcing member 11 is
It is bent slightly backwards. And reinforcing member 1
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a plurality of box-shaped reinforcing members 13 are seated and arranged on the vehicle 1 at intervals in the vehicle width direction. This reinforcing member 13
is joined to the reinforcing member 11 and the upper panel 8, and is tightly fitted into the upper end edge 8b of the upper end panel 8 which is bent backward, so that the upper end edge 8b is It is firmly supported by the reinforcing member 11 so that the above-mentioned predetermined curved shape can be firmly supported.

A bracket 14 is fixed on the upper edge 8b of the upper panel 8 (see FIG. 4, not shown in FIG. 1). This bracket 14 extends forward from the upper panel 8 and extends over almost the entire length in the vehicle width direction, and is joined to the bracket 14 at the rear end of the bracket 14, that is, at a position directly above the upper edge 8b of the upper panel 8. The auxiliary bracket 15 is also used to attach and support the front window glass 10 (lower edge 10a).

Of course, both the brackets 14 and 15 are shaped to follow the curved shape of the upper edge 8b of the upper panel 8, and the brackets 14 and 15 are
A rain rail section 16 is formed at the front end of the bonnet 17, and the front end of the rain rail section 16 forms a seal section 18 of a bonnet 17 that covers the upper part of the engine room A. Although not shown, a wiper arm (its pivot shaft) is attached to the bracket 14 at a position rearward of the rain rail portion 16 and at a predetermined position in the vehicle width direction.

Of the plurality of joint members 12 provided in the reinforcing member 11 described above, the reinforcement member 1 is partitioned by two joint members 12 located at the central portion in the vehicle width direction.
The space C in 1 is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
It constitutes a duct for introducing outside air, etc. into the vehicle compartment B.
That is, an entrance 19 that opens into this space C is formed in the atsupah panel 8, and the reinforcing member 1
An outlet 20 that opens into this space C is formed in the bottom wall of 1. The inlet 19 is connected to an outside air inlet 21 formed in the bracket 14 through a duct 22. As a result, the outside air introduced into the space C from the outside air inlet 21 via the duct 22 flows out from the duct 23 connected to this through the outlet 20, and enters the passenger compartment B via the air conditioner or directly. It is starting to be introduced.

In addition, in FIG. 1, 24 is a wheel reinforcement, 25 is a reinforcing member, and this reinforcing member 2
Since the wheel apron 2 is considerably higher than the suspension tower portion 6, the reference numeral 5 is for reinforcing this raised portion.

In the above configuration, if the engine in the engine room A is moved back significantly due to a frontal collision, the lower panel 9 is pushed rearward by the engine. As the lower panel 9 is pressed rearward, the joint between the lower panel 9 and the upper panel 8 is relatively easily peeled off, and only the lower panel 9 is displaced rearward together with the engine.
The upper panel 8 substantially maintains its original design position, and only a relatively small force required for the above-mentioned peeling is applied. Therefore, a large impact due to a frontal collision is suppressed from being applied to the front window glass 10 supported by the upper panel 8, and damage to the front window glass 10 is prevented. Further, although a steering column is normally attached to the upper part of the upper panel, as a result of suppressing a large rearward displacement of the upper panel 8, a large retreat of the steering column is also prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a top perspective view from the engine room side. FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of one end of the dash panel viewed from the passenger compartment side. FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view showing an example of the joining relationship between the dash panel, wheel apron, and front pillar. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a part where outside air is introduced into the vehicle compartment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 4. A... Engine room, B... Vehicle interior, 1... Dash panel, 8... Atsushi panel, 9... Lower panel, 10... Front windshield, 10
a...lower edge, 11...reinforcing member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A darts panel constituting the rear wall of the engine room is divided into a dash panel top and a dash panel lower that extend in the vertical direction, and the lower end of the dash panel top extends vertically. An overlapping portion of the upper end of the darth panel lower is joined to the rear surface by spot welding, and to the upper end of the darth panel upper,
A front window is attached to the rear surface of the dash panel upper without using a closed cross-section structure, and a closed window extends over almost the entire length in the vehicle width direction between the overlapping part and the front window attachment part. A front body structure of an automobile, characterized in that a reinforcing member constituting a cross section is joined.