JPH018461Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile in which the outer shell of the front end of the automobile is constituted by a soft fascia made of a soft skin member. It is something.

(Prior Art) Recently, the outer shell of the front end of an automobile has been constructed of a soft skin member called a soft fascia in order to have a high degree of molding freedom or to reduce weight. Conventionally, in order to fix the upper end of such a soft fascia to the vehicle body, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-112045, a retainer integrated with the soft fascia was attached to a radiator shroud such as a shroud asspa. This was done by fixing it to the member.

By the way, recently, from a design standpoint,
The front nose is required to project significantly further forward than the radiator shroud members; It will be placed. Therefore, in such a vehicle, when supporting the soft fascia by the means described in the above-mentioned publication, the retainer integrated with the soft fascia must be extended far to the rear of the vehicle body and attached to the radiator. Alternatively, a retainer on the radiator shroud member side that extends further forward than the radiator shroud member may be separately provided, and the retainer on the soft facia side may be attached to the retainer on the radiator shroud member side. Become.

However, in any of the above cases, the retainer will extend significantly in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
Problems will arise in terms of the support strength of the soft fascia. In other words, the weight of the soft fascia and the external force applied to its upper end are borne by the radiator shroud member via the elongated retainer supported in a cantilevered manner by the radiator shroud member. This poses a problem in that the retainer is easily bent and the attachment position of the soft fascia is greatly distorted.

Generally, the bonnet locking device is provided on the radiator shroud member, but when the front nose protrudes further forward than the radiator shroud member as described above,
Since the bonnet has to be locked well behind its open front end, a fairly large locking device must be used to securely lock the bonnet. This causes problems such as the sub-lock release lever of the locking device becoming extremely long in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and its operating stroke becoming extremely large.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and even in cases where the soft fascia is located further forward than the radiator shroud member, the soft fascia can be To provide a front body structure of an automobile which can be securely attached to and supported by a vehicle body, and can have a bonnet locking device mounted farther forward than a radiator shroud member.

(Structure of the invention) In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention has the following structure. In other words, it is a mounting structure for a soft fascia made of a soft skin member that covers the front of the vehicle body, and extends forward from a radiator shroud member that extends in the width direction of the vehicle to direct the running wind introduced from the front of the vehicle body to the radiator. A pair of left and right air guide side panels are provided for guiding, the lower ends of the pair of left and right air guide side panels are connected to the left and right side frames, and the lower ends of the pair of left and right air guide side panels are lower than the radiator shroud members of the pair of left and right air guide side panels. The upper ends located at the front are connected by a fascia set plate extending in the vehicle width direction, and a stay extending upward from a cross member of the vehicle body located below the fascia set plate increases the vehicle width of the fascia set plate. A bonnet locking device is provided at a connecting portion between the face set plate and the stay, and an upper end portion of the soft face is supported by the face set plate. There is,
It is structured like this.

With this configuration, in front of the radiator shroud member, there are a pair of left and right air guide side panels, a fascia set plate that connects the upper and lower ends of the pair of left and right air guide side panels, and a cross section. The member and the stay form a "field"-shaped structure with excellent strength when viewed from the front of the vehicle, and the force applied to the soft fascia is applied to the side frame through this "field"-shaped structure. It will be accepted.

Further, since the locking device for the bonnet is provided in the above-mentioned "rice field" structure, the locking device can be installed in the same way, that is, the bonnet can be supported together with the locking device. Of course, since this locking device is located near the front end of the bonnet (near the rear end of the soft fascia), there is no need to make the locking device particularly large, and the lever for operating the locking device can also be short.

(Example) In FIG. 1, the front end outer shell of an automobile A is constructed of a soft fascia 1 made of a soft skin member. In this embodiment, the soft fascia 1 includes a bumper portion 1a located at the frontmost position, and an air skirt portion 1b extending downward from the bumper portion 1a, and a central portion of the air skirt portion 1b in the vehicle width direction. A running wind inlet 1c for introducing running wind is opened.

The mounting structure part of the soft fascia 1 is attached to the second
To explain this with reference to Figures 4 to 4, 2 is a shroud top that extends in the vehicle width direction and is a component of the radiator shroud member, 3 is a pair of left and right side frames that extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and 4 is a pair of left and right apron rainforests. Reference numeral 5 denotes a pair of left and right fender brackets, which extend forward arm portions 4a of the side frame 3 and apron reinforcement 4.
and the fender bracket 5 extend forward from the shroud upper 2, respectively.

Both ends of the shroud upper 2 are joined to the apron reinforcement 4, and a portion slightly inward in the vehicle width direction from both ends is connected via a pair of left and right struts 6 having a closed cross-section structure and extending in the vertical direction. , coupled to and supported by the side frame 3.
A space formed below the shroud upper 2 on the outer side of the pillar 6 in the vehicle width direction is partitioned in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body by a radiator shroud panel 7 whose plate surface is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
The radiator shroud panel 7 is joined to the shroud upper 2, the apron reinforcement 4, and the support column 6 at its peripheral edge. Also, for this radiator shroud panel 7, a rear flange portion 5 of the fender bracket 5 is attached.
A is joined to the upper end of the fender bracket 5, and a front extending arm 4a of the apron reinforcement 4 is joined to the upper end of the fender bracket 5. The lower front end of the fender bracket 5 is connected to the front end of the side frame 3 via a reinforcing bracket 8.

On the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the pair of left and right struts 6,
As shown in FIG. 4, each is provided with a radiator support bracket 9 whose plate surface is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction. This radiator support bracket 9 is
Its upper end is connected to the shroud topper 2, its lower end is connected to the side frame 3, and its vertical middle part is connected to the support column 6.
The radiator 10 arranged at the rear of the shroud upper 2 is attached to the rear flange part 9a formed at the rear end.
Supported.

In front of the shroud upper 2, a fascia set plate 11 extending in the vehicle width direction and a pair of left and right air guide side panels 12 are disposed. The air guide side panel 12 has its lower end joined to the side frame 3, and its flange 12a is joined to the front flange 9b of the radiator support bracket 9. Then, both ends of the face set plate 11 are
Joined to the left and right pair of wind guide side panels 12,
Supported. Further, a cross member 13 is installed between the lower ends of the pair of left and right side air guide side panels 12, and is positioned forward of the shroud uppers 2 and extends in the vehicle width direction. 12 has been reinforced to increase the rigidity in the vehicle width direction. The cross member 13 and the face set plate 11 are connected to each other at approximately the center in the vehicle width direction by a stay 14, thereby reinforcing the middle part of the face set plate 11 in the vehicle width direction. . At the connecting portion between the stay 14 and the face set plate 11,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 3, a locking device 17 for locking the bonnet 16 is provided. Of course, this locking device 17 acts on the striker 18 provided on the bonnet 16, as in the conventional case.
By operating the main lock release knob (not shown) inside the vehicle, the main lock is released and the bonnet 16 opens slightly, and the sub-lock release lever 17a of the lock device 17 is released by inserting your finger into the slightly opened gap. By operating the lock device 17, the lock by the lock device 17 is completely released. Since the locking device 17 is provided on the face set plate 11 side, it is no longer necessary to provide this locking device at the intermediate portion of the shroud upper 2 in the vehicle width direction, so it is no longer necessary to provide this locking device at the intermediate portion of the shroud upper 2 in the vehicle width direction. No stays are provided.

Between the cross member 13 and the shroud upper 2, a central air guide panel 19 having a downwardly convex arc shape is installed, thereby increasing the rigidity of the vehicle body. This central wind guide panel 19
In the embodiment, the front end thereof is the cross member 13
As a result, the cross member 13 has a closed cross-sectional structure and its rigidity is increased. Of course, the vertical position of the front end of the central wind guide panel 19 is set at approximately the same height as the upper opening edge of the running wind inlet 1c of the soft fascia 1, so that The introduced running wind flows between the pair of left and right wind guide side panels 12 and between the central wind guide panel 1.
9 and is guided to the radiator 10. In addition, in the embodiment, the central wind guide panel 1
The side end portions of 9 are joined to the wind guide side panel 12 to further improve the strength.

In addition, 20 in FIG. 1 is a retractable headlamp, and 21 in FIG. 2 is a cross member in the form of a circular tube installed between a pair of left and right side frames 3 below the shroud upper 2. Although not shown, the bumper portion 1 of the soft fascia 1
A shock absorber substantially constituting a bumper is provided immediately behind a, and the shock absorber is held by the side frame 3.

The installation of the soft fascia 1 described above is performed in the second
As shown in the figure, the upper end of the retainer 22 is connected to the face set plate 11.
It is fixed with screws 23 while being seated on top. In addition, the left and right ends of the soft fascia 1 are
It is fixed to the front flange portions 5b of the pair of left and right fender brackets 5 using screws (screw holes for this purpose are shown as 24 in FIG. 2). The front end of the forward extending arm 4a of the apron reinforcement 4 is joined to the front flange 5b, thereby reinforcing the front flange 5b.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and includes, for example, the following cases.

The upper front end of the fender bracket 5 is connected to the upper front end of the assembly of the wind guiding side panel 12 and the fascia set plate 11 via the reinforcing bracket 25, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. In this case, the reinforcing bracket 25 may be integrally molded with the face set plate 11. By doing this, not only the rigidity of the fender bracket 5 is improved, but also the retractable headlamp 20 is prevented from being damaged by the soft fascia 1 that tends to protrude and deform rearward in the event of a collision or the like. This can be prevented as much as possible.

Facia set plate 11, wind guide side panel 12, cross member 13, and front and rear stays 1
4, 15 and the central air guide panel 19 are made into one set in advance, and this assembled set is later integrated into the shroud upper 2 side, the precision of these assemblies can be improved. can.

(Effects of the invention) As is clear from the above, the invention has the following effects:
A pair of left and right air guide side panels, a fascia set plate, a cross member, and a stay constitute a support body for the soft fascia with excellent strength in front of the radiator shroud member. Even when the shear is positioned farther forward than the radiator shroud member, the soft fascia can be firmly supported by the vehicle body.

In addition, the fascia set plate has a considerable length in the vehicle width direction, but this makes it possible to support the soft fascia over a wide area, and because it is a soft member, it is possible to support the soft fascia over a wide area. It is also excellent in terms of rational support for soft facias that are weak against force.

Furthermore, as the length of the fascia set plate increases in the vehicle width direction, the intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction becomes more prone to bending in the vertical direction. It is possible to reliably prevent a situation in which the soft fascia is displaced in the vertical direction due to an external force in the direction.

Of course, the soft fascia support described above is
Since it is configured by using the existing pair of left and right air guide side panels, it is preferable from the viewpoint of reducing the number of parts and cost.

In addition to the above, when focusing on the bonnet locking device, it is possible to securely install the locking device, that is, support the bonnet, and to prevent the locking device from increasing in size and to make the operating lever long. It is possible to prevent

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line shown in FIG. 1. Third
The figure is a front perspective view showing the framework of the automobile with the soft fascia removed. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 3. A...Automobile, 1...Soft fascia, 2...
... Shroud topper, 7... Radiator shroud panel, 10... Radiator, 11... Facial set plate, 13... Cross member, 14...
...Stay, 17...Lock device, 17a...Sublock release lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of claim for utility model registration] A soft fascia mounting structure consisting of a soft skin member covering the front of the vehicle body, which extends forward from a radiator shroud member extending in the width direction of the vehicle and is introduced from the front of the vehicle body. A pair of left and right wind guide side panels are disposed to guide running wind to the radiator, lower ends of the pair of left and right wind guide side panels are connected to left and right side frames, and the lower ends of the pair of left and right wind guide side panels are connected to the left and right side frames. The upper ends located forward of the radiator shroud members are connected by a fascia set plate extending in the vehicle width direction, and the fascia is connected by a stay extending upward from a cross member of the vehicle body below the fascia set plate. A substantially intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction of the chassis set plate is supported, and the upper end of the soft face is supported by the face set plate, and a bonnet lock is provided at a connecting portion between the face set plate and the stay. A front body structure of an automobile, characterized in that a device is provided.