JPH0585419A - Front part body structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To solve the trouble of vibration, etc., due to the deformation of a front body in front of the left and right front pillars by suppressing the lateral deformation of the front body due to the suspension load, in a front part body structure of an automobile. CONSTITUTION:A dash floor panel 4, floor panel 2, and a front pillar 10 are joined together, and in a joint part, a wheel house panel 14 bulges inside a cabin 8, and a reinforcing member 20 is installed along the bulging-out part 14a inside the cabin of the wheel house panel, and as for the reinforcing member 20, the upper edge part 20a is connected with the front pillar 10, and the lower edge part 20b is arranged on the underside of a floor panel 2 and connected with a front frame 16 extending in the longitudinal direction of the car body. The reinforcing member 20 may be joined directly with the front frame 16, or may be connected with a torque box 18 for connecting a side sill 12 and the front frame 16, and connected with the front frame 16 indirectly through a torque box 18.

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, in which a dash lower panel, a floor panel and a front pillar are joined, and the rear portion of the wheel house panel bulges toward the passenger compartment at the joined portion. Related to the structure of the part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle body structure for a front part of a vehicle, a dash lower panel normally defines a vehicle exterior part such as an engine room and a vehicle interior, and a lower end portion of the dash lower panel is joined to a front end portion of a floor panel. Moreover, both ends (left and right ends) in the vehicle width direction of a joint portion between the dash lower panel and the floor panel are joined to the front pillar.

The joint between the dash lower panel, the floor panel and the front pillar is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-1057.
As described in Japanese Patent No. 80, the rear part of the wheel house panel, which constitutes the wheel house part of the front wheels, may be bulged toward the vehicle interior.

[0004]

In the front body structure of an automobile as described above, the suspension load is input to the suspension tower of the wheel house upward and inward in the vehicle width direction, and the input is large. In this case, the input causes the front body such as the engine room portion located in front of the front pillars to be laterally deformed from the left and right front pillar portions as base ends, causing various problems such as vibration. Such a problem remarkably occurs particularly in the case of one-wheel bump rebound or the like.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to prevent a front body in front of the left and right front pillars from being laterally deformed by a suspension load, and to prevent a problem such as vibration due to the deformation. To provide a partial body structure.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle body structure for a front part of an automobile according to the present invention has a dash lower panel, a floor panel and a front pillar joined to each other, and the wheel house panel of the dash lower panel, the floor panel and the front pillar joined to each other. A front body structure of an automobile in which a rear portion is bulged toward a vehicle interior side,
A reinforcing member is provided along the bulging portion on the vehicle interior side of the wheel house panel, and the reinforcing member has an upper end portion connected to the front pillar and a lower end portion disposed below the floor panel. It is characterized by being connected to a front frame extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body.

The lower end of the reinforcing member may be directly connected to the front frame, or may be connected to a torque box connecting the front frame and the side sill below the floor panel, and the torque box is connected to the torque box. It may be indirectly connected to the front frame via. The front frame and the torque box are connected from above the floor panel, for example, via the floor panel.

Further, in the case where the blower unit of the air conditioner is disposed outside the vehicle interior in front of the dash lower panel and the inside air intake for introducing the air in the vehicle interior to the blower unit is formed in the dash lower panel. , The whole or part of the internal air intake may be covered by the reinforcing member, in which case an opening is formed in the reinforcing member, and the opening is formed from the opening through the inside of the reinforcing member and the internal air intake. The air in the passenger compartment may be introduced into the blower unit.

Further, in the case of the above construction,
When the air conditioner includes a cooler unit and a heater unit in addition to the blower unit, the cooler unit is disposed outside the vehicle compartment and connected to the blower unit, and the heater unit is installed in the vehicle compartment. Placed in
The cooler unit and the heater unit may be connected via a connection port formed in the dash lower panel.

When the reinforcing member is provided along the bulging portion of the wheel house panel on the vehicle interior side, the reinforcing member is joined to the bulging portion of the wheel house panel on the vehicle interior side or the bulging portion and the bulging portion. It is desirable to join to a dash lower panel or a floor panel located in the vicinity of the bulging portion and to form a closed cross section with them.

[0011]

The front body structure of a vehicle according to the present invention is
As described above, the reinforcing member is provided along the bulging portion on the vehicle interior side of the rear portion of the wheel house panel, and the reinforcing member has an upper end portion connected to the front pillar and a lower end portion connected to the front frame. Therefore, a part of the suspension load transmitted to the wheel house panel and the front pillar is transmitted to the front frame via the reinforcing member and is supported by the front frame, and therefore,
Support rigidity against the suspension load of the left and right front pillars is improved, thereby preventing the front body in front of the front pillar from being laterally deformed due to the suspension load, and eliminating problems such as vibration due to the deformation. You can

Further, when the blower unit of the air conditioner is arranged outside the vehicle compartment in front of the dash lower panel, it is necessary to provide an inside air intake for introducing the air in the vehicle compartment into the blower unit. , The whole or part of the inside air intake may be covered by the reinforcing member, in which case an opening is also formed in this reinforcing member, and the dash lower panel of the dash lower panel is formed from this opening through the inside of the reinforcing member. Since the inside air can be introduced into the inside air intake port, the reinforcing member can be provided without impairing the layout of the air conditioner.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing in detail a connecting relationship between a front frame, a torque box and a side sill in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a III in FIG. -III is a sectional view taken along line III-III.

In the embodiment shown in these figures, the front end of the floor panel 2 is inclined obliquely upward.
A lower end portion of a dash lower panel 4 is joined to 2a, and the dash lower panel 4 defines a vehicle exterior portion 6 positioned in front of the dash lower panel and a vehicle compartment 8 positioned rearward. Both ends of the dash lower panel 4 in the vehicle width direction are joined to front pillars 10 extending substantially vertically in the vehicle body, and both ends of the floor panel 2 in the vehicle width direction are joined to side sills 12 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. A rear portion 14a of a wheel house panel 14 which constitutes a wheel house portion of a front wheel is bulged toward a vehicle interior side at a joint portion of the floor panel 2, the dash lower panel 4 and the front pillar 10.

A front frame 16 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is disposed below the floor panel 2, and the front frame 16 is located inside the side sill 12 in the vehicle width direction by a predetermined length and is located in the wheel house portion. It is located in the inner chamber in the vehicle width direction and is joined to the floor panel 2. In addition, a front frame 16 is provided below the floor panel 2.
And the side sill 12 are provided with a torque box 18 extending in the vehicle width direction. The torque box 18 is joined to the floor panel 2 and is joined to the front frame 16 and the side sill 12 to connect them. is doing.

A reinforcing member 20 is provided at a rear portion (a bulging portion on the passenger compartment side) 14a of the wheel house panel. The reinforcing member 20 is arranged along the rear portion 14a of the wheel house panel, and the upper end portion 20a is joined to the front pillar 10 and the lower end portion 20b is joined to the front frame 16. More specifically, in the reinforcing member 20, the upper end portion 20a is joined to the front pillar 10, and the intermediate portion 20c extends along the wheel house panel rear portion 14a along with the wheel house panel rear portion 14a, the dash lower panel 4 and the floor panel 2.
The lower end portion 20b extends downward along the boundary between the front frame 16 and the torque box 18, and is joined to the dash lower panel 4 and the floor panel 2 to form a closed cross section. Is joined to the floor panel 2 at the upper position of, and is thus joined to the front frame 16 and the torque box 18 via the floor panel 2.

As described above, the reinforcing member 20 is provided along the rear portion 14a of the wheel house panel, which is the bulging portion on the vehicle interior side of the wheel house panel, and the upper end portion 20a of the reinforcing member 20 is attached to the front pillar 10. Since the lower end portion 20b is connected to the front frame 16, part of the suspension load transmitted to the wheel house panel 14 and the front pillar 10 is transmitted to the front frame 16 via the reinforcing member 20. It is supported by the front frame 16, and therefore, the support rigidity of the front pillar 10 portion against the suspension load is improved, whereby the front body in front of the front pillar 10 is prevented from being restrained from being deformed to the left or right due to the suspension load. Problems such as vibration due to deformation are eliminated.

The arranging structure of the reinforcing member 20 is also applied to the left side portion in the vehicle width direction in the same manner as the right side portion in the vehicle width direction shown in the figure.

Next, the relationship between the arrangement structure of the reinforcing member 20 and the air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG. 4, which is a schematic plan view showing the relationship. As shown in the figure, in the front body structure of this automobile, a vehicle exterior portion 6 in front of the dash lower panel 4 is defined as an engine room, and a crankshaft (not shown) is provided at a substantially central portion in the engine room 6 in the front and rear of the vehicle body. An engine 30 extending in the direction is installed. The rear portion of the engine 30 projects into the vehicle interior 8, and the substantially central portion of the dash lower panel 4 is formed to project into the vehicle interior 8 in order to avoid interference with the protruding engine rear portion. Generally, an air conditioner including a blower unit, a cooler unit, and a heater unit is arranged inside the vehicle interior 8 of the dash lower panel 4, but in the front body structure, as described above, a substantially central portion of the dash lower panel 4 is provided. Since it is made to project to the inside of the vehicle compartment 8, it is difficult to dispose all the air conditioners consisting of these units inside the vehicle compartment. Therefore, the heater unit 32 is disposed inside the vehicle compartment 8 and the blower is installed. The unit 34 and the cooler unit 36 are arranged in the engine room 6 and connected to each other, while the inside air intake 38 and the cooler unit are connected to the dash lower panel 4.
A connection port 40 for connecting and connecting the heater unit 32 with the heater unit 32 is formed, and the inside air is introduced into the blower unit 34 from the inside air intake port 38 through the introduction duct 42, and the cooler unit 36 and the heater are connected. A structure is adopted in which the unit 32 and the unit 32 are communicated with each other via the connection port 40.

However, when the inside air inlet 38 is formed in the dash lower panel 4 in this way, due to the layout of the reinforcing member 20, the reinforcing member 20 covers all or part of the inside air inlet 38. There are times when you are told. Also in the front body structure, as shown in FIG.
There is a problem that a part of the air is covered by the reinforcing member 20, and thereby the inside air is not sufficiently introduced into the blower unit 34.

Therefore, in the front body structure, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 44 is formed in the reinforcing member 20, and the air in the vehicle compartment is introduced into the blower unit 34 from the opening 44 through the inside of the reinforcing member 20 and the inside air intake port 38. It is configured.

With this structure, the blower unit 34 of the air conditioner is arranged in the vehicle exterior portion 6 in front of the dash lower panel 4 as described above, and the air in the vehicle interior is introduced into the blower unit 34. Even when the inside air intake 38 is provided in the dash lower panel 4, the reinforcing member 20 can be provided without impairing the layout of such an air conditioner.

Next, another embodiment of how the lower end of the reinforcing member 20 is joined to the front frame 16 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the lower end portion 20b of the reinforcing member 20 is connected to the torque box 18 via the floor panel 2 because of the layout of the wheel house panel 14, the front frame 16, the reinforcing member 20, and the like. And is indirectly joined to the front frame 16 via the torque box 18.

As described above, when the lower end portion 20b of the reinforcing member is joined to the front frame 16, it is not limited to the case of directly joining the front frame 16 as in the embodiment of FIG. It is also possible to indirectly bond them. By adopting such an indirect joining mode via the torque box 18, the degree of freedom in design and layout regarding the arrangement of the reinforcing member 20 is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the front frame, side sills, and torque box are joined together in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement of an air conditioner in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Floor panel 4 Dash lower panel 6 Exterior part 8 Vehicle compartment 10 Front pillar 12 Side sill 14 Wheel house panel 14a Wheel house panel rear 16 Front frame 18 Torque box 20 Reinforcing member 20a Upper end 20b Lower end 32 Heater unit 34 Blower unit 36 Cooler Unit 38 Inside air intake 40 Connection port 44 Opening

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A front body structure of an automobile, in which a dash lower panel, a floor panel, and a front pillar are joined, and a rear portion of a wheel house panel bulges inward in a vehicle interior at the joint portion. A reinforcing member is provided along the bulging portion on the vehicle interior side of the vehicle, the upper end of the reinforcing member is connected to the front pillar, and the lower end of the reinforcing member is disposed below the floor panel in the vehicle longitudinal direction. A front body structure of an automobile characterized by being connected to a front frame that extends. 2. The lower end of the reinforcing member is connected to a torque box that connects the front frame and the side sill below the floor panel, and is connected to the front frame via the torque box. The front vehicle body structure of the automobile according to claim 1. 3. A blower unit of an air conditioner is disposed outside the vehicle compartment in front of the dash lower panel, and an inside air intake port for introducing air in the vehicle compartment to the blower unit is formed in the dash lower panel. At least a part of the intake port is covered by the reinforcing member, and an opening is formed in the reinforcing member, and the air in the vehicle compartment from the opening to the blower unit through the inside of the reinforcing member and the inside air intake port. The front vehicle body structure of the automobile according to claim 1, which is introduced. 4. The air conditioner comprises a cooler unit and a heater unit in addition to the blower unit, the cooler unit is disposed outside the vehicle compartment and connected to the blower unit, and the heater unit is 4. The front vehicle body structure for an automobile according to claim 3, wherein the cooler unit and the heater unit are disposed in a vehicle compartment and are connected to each other through a connection port formed in the dash lower panel.