JPH042137Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cowl structure formed below a windshield at the front of an automobile body.

(Prior art) A space is formed below the windshield at the front of the vehicle body by the dash panel top and the cowl front panel, and this space serves as an air passage into the passenger compartment. A cowl structure in which a functional component such as a wiper can be housed in a space is common. In such a cowl structure, a cowl top panel that covers the upper part of the space is removable in order to improve the workability of assembling functional parts stored in the space or maintenance service. has already been proposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 14576/1983).

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In recent years, in order to improve the style of automobiles, the cowl point (i.e., the position of the front edge of the windshield) has been moved to the front of the vehicle body.
There is a demand for a design in which the front window glass surface and the engine hood surface form a smooth continuous curved surface. However, in a car with such a design, the upper opening of the cowl has to become extremely narrow at the center in the vehicle width direction due to the forward movement of the cowl point.
As in the above-mentioned prior art, when the cowl top panel is attached and detached to perform assembly or maintenance services on functional parts within the space (particularly located at the center in the width direction of the vehicle), work efficiency becomes extremely poor. Therefore, in the case of a type of automobile in which the cowl point is moved forward, there is a problem that the above-mentioned prior art cannot solve the problem.

This invention was made in view of the above points,
The purpose of this invention is to enable assembly or maintenance of functional parts within the cowl from the front side of the cowl, thereby improving assembly or serviceability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, a space is formed below the front windshield by a dash panel top and a cowl front panel, and a space is formed below the front windshield. In an automobile cowl structure in which a functional part such as a wiper is housed in a space, the cowl front panel is fixed to the vehicle body side and has a cutout portion formed approximately at the center in the width direction of the vehicle. and a second cowl front panel made of a soft material with excellent shock absorption performance and detachably attached to the notch.

(Function) In the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the above means.

That is, when assembling a functional part such as a wiper into the cowl part, it is only necessary to assemble it from the cutout part of the first cowl front panel before attaching the second cowl front panel. In this case, the second cowl front panel may be removed and the process may be performed from the cutout portion of the first cowl front panel. Therefore, work efficiency during assembly of functional parts into the cowl portion or during maintenance services is significantly improved.

In addition, since the second cowl front panel is made of a soft material with excellent shock absorption performance, even if the engine moves rearward in the event of a car collision, the engine will first collide with the second cowl front panel. , the shock will be absorbed.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The automobile of this embodiment has a front edge 2a of the front windshield 2 (in other words, a cowl point).
is a type in which the is moved further forward than usual,
The cowl portion 3 is configured such that a dash panel upper 4, a cowl front panel 5, and a cowl top panel 6 form a space 7 extending in the vehicle width direction below the front windshield 2. ing. Reference numeral 8 is the dash panel lower.

The cowl portion 3 in this embodiment has a structure in which the upper opening becomes extremely narrow at the center in the vehicle width direction by the amount that the cowl point is moved forward.

The space 7 functions as an air passage for guiding air taken in from the opening 9 formed in the cowl top panel 6 into the vehicle interior, and a wiper device is located in the center of the space 7 in the width direction of the vehicle. 10 are stored. The wiper device 10
The wiper pivot 11 is pivotally mounted on the cowl top panel 6 at a position facing the opening 9 at the center in the vehicle width direction, a wiper arm 12 rotatably supported on the wiper pivot 11, and the wiper arm 12. Driving wiper link 13
The wiper link 13 is driven by a drive source (namely, a wiper motor) not shown.

Note that the engine 14 is located in front of the cowl portion 3.
The engine room 15 is located in the engine room 15.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a bonnet that serves as an engine hood that covers the upper part of the engine room 15.

The cowl front panel 6 is a first cowl front panel 18 that is fixed to the panel on the vehicle body 1 side, that is, the dash panel upper 4 and the cowl sides 17, 17, and has a notch 19 formed approximately at the center in the vehicle width direction. and a second cowl front panel 20 that is detachably attached to the edge of the notch 19. The code 21 is the second
These are screws for attaching the cowl front panel 20.

The first cowl front panel 18 is made of a metal plate material, and the notch 19 thereof is formed so as to be continuous with the opening 9 of the cowl top panel 6 in this embodiment. In other words,
This notch 19 is located on the second cowl front panel 2.
0 is removed, and the wiper device 1 opens wide when the wiper device 1 is removed.
It functions as a work opening when assembling or performing maintenance services.

Therefore, the assembly or maintenance service of the wiper device 10 into the cowl part 3 is difficult even if the upper opening of the cowl part 3 at the center in the vehicle width direction is narrowed due to the forward movement of the cowl point.
This can be done extremely easily from the notch 19 with the second cowl front panel 20 removed.

Further, the second cowl front panel 20 includes:
In this embodiment, it is made of plastic, which is easily destroyed. In other words, the second cowl front panel 20 is not a member that contributes to the rigidity of the vehicle body 1, but rather closes the notch 19 formed in the first cowl front panel 18 to allow access from the front engine room 15 side. This contributes to preventing dust from entering the space 7 within the cowl portion 3.
Therefore, as in this embodiment, it may be constructed of easily broken plastic.

Further, as described above, by constructing the second cowl front panel 20 from plastics that are easily destroyed, the following effects can be expected.

That is, when a car collides, the engine 14 located in the engine compartment 15 may move rearward, but in that case, the engine 1
4 collides with the second cowl front panel 20 and breaks it into pieces, thereby absorbing the impact. As a result, the impact force is transmitted to the seal portion of the front windshield 2 via the cowl top panel 6. This effectively prevents the front window glass 2 from coming off.

In addition, the second cowl front panel 2 as described above
Considering the effects of be. In short, it is sufficient to have excellent impact absorption performance so that the impact force is not transmitted to the rear (i.e., to the seal part of the front windshield 2) when the engine moves rearward in the event of a collision. It is considered a soft material within the scope of the patent registration claim.

In the drawing, reference numeral 22 denotes a cowl seal rubber that is detachably attached to the upper end of the cowl front panel 5 to ensure a seal with the bonnet 16, 23 denotes a fastener for attaching the cowl seal rubber, and 24 denotes a cowl frame. be.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and that the design can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the invention.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, in the cowl structure of an automobile, the first cowl front panel is fixed to the vehicle body side and has a notch formed approximately at the center in the width direction of the vehicle; The cowl front panel is separated from the second cowl front panel that is detachably attached to the cowl section, and the second cowl front panel is detachably attached to the cowl section when assembling functional parts such as wipers into the cowl section or when performing maintenance services on the functional parts. Since this can be done from the notch in the first cowl front panel in the removed state, this has the practical effect of significantly improving workability when assembling functional parts into the cowl or during maintenance services. It is particularly effective for vehicles with a cowl point located in the front, so it greatly contributes to improving the style of the vehicle.

Furthermore, since the second cowl front panel is made of a soft material with excellent shock absorption performance, even if the engine moves rearward in the event of a car collision, the engine will first collide with the second cowl front panel. The impact is absorbed, and the impact force is no longer transmitted to the front windshield seal portion behind the cowl, which greatly contributes to preventing the windshield from coming off.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts showing a cowl structure for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken from FIG. 1. 1...Vehicle body, 2...Front window glass,
4... Dash panel top, 5... Cowl front panel, 7... Space, 10... Functional parts (wiper device), 18... First cowl front panel, 19... Notch, 20... 2nd cowl front panel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A space is formed below the front windshield by the dash panel top and the cowl front panel, and functional parts such as a wiper are housed in the space, and the cowl front panel is fixed to the vehicle body. The first cowl front panel has a notch formed approximately in the center in the vehicle direction, and the second cowl front panel is detachably attached to the notch and is made of a soft material with excellent shock absorption performance. An automobile cowl structure characterized by: