JPH0558343A - Front car body structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To rationally improve rigidity of the front part of a car body against a load exerted on a member of which the front part of the car body is composed and to also improve strength of the part against a force exerted during collision. CONSTITUTION:In a structure having a cross member 1, a shroud panel 2, a shroud upper member 3, and a wheel apron 11, arranged in the lower front part of a car body, a coupling part 5 curved along the outer part of the shroud member 2 and intercoupling the end part of the cross member 1 with the end part of the shroud upper member 3 is provided. The outer side part of the shroud upper panel 2 is joined with the coupling part, and further, the front end part of the wheel apron 11 is joined with a joining spot between the coupling part 5 and the shroud panel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile, which includes a member extending in the vehicle width direction, a portion forming a front portion of a vehicle body, a wheel apron, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-20763, there are a cross member located at the lower front portion of the vehicle body and extending in the vehicle width direction, and a cross member located at the upper front portion of the vehicle body. An upper member (radiator core support / upper rail referred to in the above publication) extending substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction, and a shroud panel (radiator core support / side panel referred to in the above publication) located on the front side of the vehicle body between them. A front vehicle body structure of an automobile in which a front side portion of the vehicle body is constituted by the wheel apron is provided on the rear side portion of the vehicle body is known. Although the invention disclosed in the above publication is applied to a monocoque vehicle body structure, even in the chassis frame structure, the front vehicle body supported by the chassis frame via the mount has the above-mentioned structure. Are known.

Further, in the one disclosed in the above publication, a connector member is provided on the inner side of the shroud panel in order to improve rigidity. That is, the lower end of a vertically extending box-shaped connector member is joined to the cross member, the shroud panel is fixed to the outer side of the connector member, and the end of the upper member is joined to the upper end of the shroud panel. It has a structured structure.

[0004]

According to the above structure, although the rigidity is increased to some extent by the connector member having the box-shaped cross section, it is sufficiently effective for the load transmitted between the cross member and the upper member. It cannot be said to be the target. That is, the vibration acting on the vehicle body via the suspension, the lateral direction G at the time of turning, the load applied at the time of closing the bonnet, etc. are mainly transmitted between the cross member and the upper member via the connector member, but the connector member is Since the shroud panel is arranged at a right angle to the cross member and the upper member inside the shroud panel, the path through which the load is transmitted is bent by 90 °, and a rotational moment is easily generated between the members. In order to improve the rigidity against such a load, the connector member should be made thicker or the shroud panel located outside the connector member should be made thicker to distribute the load to this panel. However, this causes an increase in weight.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can reasonably increase the rigidity of this portion against the load acting on the member constituting the front portion of the vehicle body while avoiding an increase in weight.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a front body structure of an automobile that can increase the strength against the load at the time of a collision.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a cross member which is located at a lower front portion of a vehicle body and extends in the vehicle width direction, and a lower member which is located at a front side portion of the vehicle body and has a lower end as described above. A front part of an automobile having a shroud panel coupled to the cross member, a shroud upper member extending in the vehicle width direction and coupled to an upper end of the shroud panel, and a wheel apron located on a side of the vehicle body and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. In the vehicle body structure, a connecting portion is provided which is curved along an outer side portion of the shroud panel and connects the end portion of the cross member and the end portion of the shroud upper member.
The outer side portion of the shroud panel is joined to the connecting portion, and the front end portion of the wheel apron is joined to the joining portion between the connecting portion and the shroud panel.

In this structure, it is preferable that the joint section and the shroud panel form a closed cross section at the joint. This closed cross section is arranged, for example, on the front side of the vehicle body of the shroud panel.

In the above structure, more preferably, the connecting portion is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section having joint portions with the shroud panel on both sides, and the connecting portion and the outer side portion of the shroud panel form a closed cross section. At the same time, the front end portion of the wheel apron is joined to a portion corresponding to a range across the joint portion across the joint portion.

Further, it is preferable that a cab mount bracket that is connected to a frame to which the suspension is assembled via a cab mount is coupled to an end portion of the cross member.

Further, it is preferable that a bonnet stopper is provided at an end of the shroud upper member.

[0011]

According to the above construction, the portion between the cross member and the shroud upper member is along the outer side of the shroud panel with respect to the load acting on the front portion of the vehicle body through the suspension or the like and the load acting from the bonnet. It is reinforced reasonably by the curved connecting part, and the front end of the wheel apron is joined to the joint between the connecting part and the shroud panel to increase the rigidity and also the supporting force for the force applied during a collision. ..

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows an entire front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a main part, and FIG. 3 shows each component in a disassembled state. As shown in these drawings, a cross member (No1 cross member) 1, a shroud panel 2, a shroud upper member 3, and a shroud side member 4 are arranged on the front side of the vehicle body.

The cross member 1 is located in the lower front portion of the vehicle body, extends in the vehicle width direction, is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section open rearward, and has flanges 1a on both sides thereof.
It has 1b. A shroud upper member 3 is arranged above the cross member 1 at a predetermined distance from the cross member 1, and the shroud upper member 3 also extends in the vehicle width direction. A shroud panel 2 is arranged on the front side of the vehicle body between the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3, and a shroud side member 4 is arranged inside thereof. The flange 2a on the inner side of the shroud panel 2 is welded to the side surface 4a of the shroud side member 4, and the lower ends thereof are joined to the cross member 1 by welding. The front flange 3a of the shroud upper member 3 is joined to the upper ends of the shroud panel 2 and the shroud side member 4 by welding.

The end of the cross member 1 and the end of the shroud upper member 3 are connected by a curved connecting portion 5 along the outer side portion 2b of the shroud panel 2. In this embodiment, this connecting portion is connected. 5 is formed integrally with the cross member 1. That is, the connecting member 5 is formed by extending the end of the cross member 1, and the connecting member 5 is curved so as to extend from the outer side to the upper side along the front surface of the outer side portion 2b of the shroud panel 2. The tip of the shroud reaches the end of the shroud upper member 3 and is welded thereto. The connecting portion 5 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section continuous from the cross member 1, and has flanges 5a, 5 as joint portions with the shroud panel 2 on both side portions thereof.
b. The outer side portion 2b of the shroud panel 2 is joined to the rear surface side of the connecting portion 5 by welding,
And the outer side portion of the shroud panel 2 form a closed cross section (see FIG. 4).

The portion where the lower end of the inner portion of the shroud panel 2 is joined to the end of the cross member 1 also has a closed cross section, and the cab mount bracket 6 is joined to this portion. This cab mount bracket 6 is shown in FIG.
As also shown, the shroud panel 2 is welded to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2 so as to project rearward. Then, a suspension frame is attached to a chassis frame (not shown) via a cab mount 7 made of an elastic material such as rubber and a chassis bracket 8 provided on the chassis frame. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and as shown in FIG. 6, a bonnet stopper 9 made of rubber or the like is provided on the upper surface of the end portion of the shroud upper member 3 in the vicinity of the connection portion with the connecting portion 5, and the bonnet is provided. 10 is adapted to come into contact with the bonnet stopper 9 when closed.

A wheel apron 11 and an apron lane hosement 12 are arranged on the side of the vehicle body behind the shroud panel 2 and extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The wheel apron 11 is formed of a single steel plate, and has a shape in which a vertically curved portion 11b is connected to a lower portion of the vertical wall portion 11a and an edge portion 11c is provided at the upper end. At the front end of the wheel apron 11, flanges 11d, 11e, 11f are formed from the vertical wall portion 11a to the inwardly bent portion 11b, and these flanges 11d, 11e, 11f are formed.
f is joined to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2 at the joint between the connecting portion 5 and the shroud panel 2.

In this embodiment, as shown in detail in FIG.
Flanges 5a, 5b on both sides of the connecting portion 5
The front end of the wheel apron 11 is joined to the portion corresponding to the range extending over. That is, the vertical flange 11d at the front end of the wheel apron 11 corresponds to the range from the upper portion of the inner flange 5a of the connecting portion 5 to the vicinity of the outer flange 5b across the curved portion of the connecting portion 5 in the shroud panel. 2 is welded to the rear surface and the flange 11e is connected to the outer flange 5 of the connecting portion 5.
The flange 11f is welded to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2 at a portion corresponding to b, and further, the flange 11f is attached to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2 at a portion corresponding to a range extending across both side flanges 5a and 5b of the connecting portion 5 in the vehicle width direction. It is welded. In addition, the inner part on the front end side of the wheel apron 11 is
It is welded to the upper surface of the cab mount bracket 6.

Further, the apron lane hosement 1 described above.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, 2 includes a first panel 13 having an L-shaped cross section and a second panel 14 having an L-shaped cross section at the front and a U-shaped cross section at the rear. The first panel 13 is welded to the wheel apron 11 so as to form a closed cross section together with the wheel apron 11,
Further, the tip portion is welded to the middle portion of the second panel 14, the second panel 14 is welded to the wheel apron 11 so as to form a closed cross section together with the wheel apron 11, and the tip portion of the connecting portion 5 is formed. It is welded to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2 at a location corresponding to the upper portion of the flange 5b. The rear end portions of both panels 13 and 14 of the wheel apron 11 and the apron lane hosement 12 are
It is welded to the hinge pillar 15. Reference numeral 16 is a side sill connected to the hinge pillar 15, and 17 is a mount portion provided on the side sill 16.

According to the structure of this embodiment, the end portion of the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3 are provided between the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3 in addition to the shroud panel 2 and the shroud side panel 4.
By providing the connecting portion 5 that connects the end of the
The front portion of the vehicle body is reinforced, and the load transmitted between the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3 is distributed to the shroud side member 4 on the inner side of the shroud side panel 4 and the connecting portion 5 on the outer side. It Further, since the connecting portion 5 is curved along the outer side portion of the shroud panel 2, the rotational moment is suppressed to be small even in the lateral direction G and the like, and the reinforcing portion is effectively reinforced. Also,
Since the connecting portion 5, the outer portion of the shroud panel 2 and the front end portion of the wheel apron 11 are integrally joined together, the rigidity of this portion is increased.

In particular, in this embodiment, the connecting portion 5 and the outer portion of the shroud panel 2 form a closed cross section, and furthermore, the connecting portion 5 is traversed and the flanges 5a and 5b on both sides thereof are formed.
By reinforcing the front end of the wheel apron 11 joined to the back surface of the closed cross-section in the range extending over, the rigidity of this part is significantly increased.

In this way, the strength of the front portion of the vehicle body is effectively increased against the load applied to the vehicle body via the suspension or the like and the load acting on the bonnet stopper 9 when the bonnet is closed. In particular, as in this embodiment, the cab mount bracket 6 is connected to the joint between the end of the cross member 1 and the lower end of the inner part of the shroud panel 2, and the bonnet stopper 9 is provided on the upper surface of the end of the shroud upper member 3. If so, the load from the cab mount bracket 6 and the bonnet stopper 9 is supported by the highly rigid portion reinforced by the connecting portion 5 and the like.
Therefore, even if the shroud panel 2 is made thin, the rigidity between the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3 is sufficiently ensured.

Further, by connecting the connecting portion 5, the outer portion of the shroud panel 2 and the front end portion of the wheel apron 11 in this manner, the rigidity of the portion between the cross member 1 and the shroud upper member 3 is increased. The high part of the wheel is supported from behind by the wheel apron 11,
The supporting force for the force applied to the cross member 1 and the like at the time of collision is increased.

The connecting portion between the end portion of the cross member 1 and the end portion of the shroud upper member 3 is not limited to the structure shown in the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), an extended portion 51 which is curved and extends upward is continuously provided at the end portion of the cross member 1 and a protruding portion which extends downward at the end portion of the shroud upper member 3. 52 may be provided, and the connecting portion 50 may be configured by welding the upper end of the extension portion 51 and the lower end of the protruding portion 52. Alternatively, although not shown, the connecting portion may be formed separately from the cross member and the shroud upper member in advance, and may be connected to each. Alternatively, the connecting portion may be formed in a flat plate shape, the shroud panel and the front end flange portion of the wheel apron may be overlapped on the rear surface of the connecting portion, and these three members may be welded together. Although the rigidity is increased between the cross member and the shroud upper member when they are collectively connected, the rigidity of the illustrated embodiment can be further increased.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the connecting portion 5 is welded to the front surface of the shroud panel 2 and the front end portion of the wheel apron 11 is joined to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2, but it is connected to the rear surface of the shroud panel 2. The portion 5 may be welded and the front end of the wheel apron 11 may be joined to the connecting portion 5.

In addition to this, the structure of each part may be changed in design without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0026]

According to the structure of the first aspect, in addition to the cross member, the shroud panel, the shroud upper member, etc., which are arranged in front of the vehicle body and are coupled to each other, the bending is performed along the outer side portion of the shroud panel. This portion is reinforced by the provision of a connecting portion for connecting the end portion of the cross member and the end portion of the shroud upper member, and further, this connecting portion, the outer portion of the shroud panel, and the front end portion of the wheel apron. Are joined together and the wheel apron is effectively used to increase the rigidity of this part. Therefore, it is possible to reasonably increase the rigidity (load bearing capacity) against the load input to the vehicle body and transmitted between the cross member and the shroud upper member while avoiding the complexity of the structure and the increase in weight. The supporting force against the applied force can also be increased to prevent the cross member or the like from retracting.

In this structure, when a closed cross section is formed by the connecting portion and the shroud panel at the joint portion as described in claim 2, the load bearing capacity at this portion is further increased, and thereby the shroud panel. It is possible to reduce the wall thickness and thereby reduce the weight. Further, by providing the closed cross section on the vehicle body front side of the shroud panel as described in claim 3, the load bearing capacity can be effectively increased.

Further, in particular, as described in claim 4, the connecting portion has a substantially U-shaped cross section and a closed cross section is formed by this and the outer side portion of the shroud panel, and the front end portion of the wheel apron is According to the structure in which the connecting portion is joined to the portion corresponding to the range extending on both sides of the connecting portion, the rigidity of the portion connecting the end portion of the cross member and the end portion of the shroud upper member is significantly increased.

When the cab mount bracket connected to the frame on which the suspension is assembled via the cab mount is connected to the end portion of the cross member, the suspension member and the like are passed. The load input to the cab mount bracket is effectively received by the end portion of the cross member whose rigidity is increased by the connecting portion or the like. When a bonnet stopper is provided at an end of the shroud upper member as described in claim 6, the bonnet stopper load is effective at the end of the shroud upper member whose rigidity is increased by the connecting portion or the like. Be accepted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an overall structure of a front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the structure.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing each constituent member of the same structure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a main part of a structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. (B) is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the same structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cross Member 2 Shroud Panel 3 Shroud Upper Member 5 Connecting Section 6 Cab Mount Bracket 9 Bonnet Stopper 11 Wheel Apron 11a, 11b, 11c Flange at Front End of Wheel Apron

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cross member that is located at a lower front portion of the vehicle body and extends in the vehicle width direction, a shroud panel that is located at a front side portion of the vehicle body and has a lower end coupled to the cross member, and extends in the vehicle width direction. In a front vehicle body structure of an automobile having a shroud upper member coupled to an upper end of the shroud panel and a wheel apron located on a side portion of the vehicle body and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction, the vehicle body is curved along an outer side portion of the shroud panel. A connecting portion for connecting the end of the cross member and the end of the shroud upper member,
An outer side portion of the shroud panel is joined to the connecting portion, and a front end portion of the wheel apron is joined to a joint portion between the connecting portion and the shroud panel. .. 2. The front vehicle body structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the joint section and the shroud panel form a closed cross section at the joint portion. 3. The front vehicle body structure for an automobile according to claim 2, wherein a closed cross section formed by the connecting portion and the shroud panel is disposed on a front side of the vehicle body of the shroud panel. .. 4. The connecting portion is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section having joint portions with the shroud panel on both sides, and the connecting portion and the outer side portion of the shroud panel form a closed cross section and the wheel apron. The front body structure of the automobile according to claim 2, wherein a front end portion of the vehicle body is joined to a portion corresponding to a range across the joint portion on both sides of the joint portion. 5. The front part of the automobile according to claim 1, wherein a cab mount bracket connected to a frame to which a suspension is assembled is connected via a cab mount to an end of the cross member. Body structure. 6. The front vehicle body structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a bonnet stopper is provided at an end of the shroud upper member.