JPH058762A - Shock absorbing structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a shock absorbing structure for an automobile which can restrain a steering wheel from moving rearward upon the automobile bumping, with a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:In an automobile in which an engine room and a passenger compartment are partitioned from each other by means of a dash board panel 7, an opening 7a is formed in a part of the panel 7 in rear of an engine, in order to absorb a shock upon the automobile bumping. A dash cover 8 adapted to be removed when a load in the vehicle rearward direction, exceeding a predetermined value acts, is fitted in the opening 7a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shock absorbing structure for an automobile having an engine mounted on the front portion of a vehicle body, and particularly to an improved structure around a dash panel capable of suppressing a rearward movement amount of a steering wheel with a simple structure. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a so-called crushable structure is adopted in an engine room of an automobile in order to absorb an impact when the automobile collides head-on. However, especially when the engine room is short in the front-rear direction and the rearward movement amount of the engine becomes large, the dash panel that separates the engine room from the vehicle compartment may be pushed by the engine to move rearward. When the dash panel moves largely backward, there arises a problem that the rearward movement amount of the steering wheel arranged on the side portion of the dash panel also increases. Therefore, in order to suppress the amount of rearward movement of the steering wheel at the time of a head-on collision, an expansion / contraction mechanism has been conventionally used for the steering shaft (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-182568).

[0003]

However, the conventional expansion / contraction mechanism of the steering shaft has a complicated structure, is high in cost, and is difficult to be adopted in a low-priced vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorbing structure for an automobile capable of suppressing the rearward movement amount of the steering wheel at the time of a head-on collision with a simple structure.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a structure for absorbing a shock at the time of a vehicle frontal collision in an automobile in which an engine room and a vehicle compartment are separated by a dash panel, and an opening is formed in a rear portion of the engine of the dash panel. It is characterized in that a dash cover is attached to the opening, and the dash cover is detached from the opening when a rearward load of the vehicle of a predetermined value or more is applied.

[0005]

According to the shock absorbing structure for an automobile according to the present invention,
An opening is provided in the rear part of the engine of the dash panel, and a dash cover is attached which is detached when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the opening. Receives a load equal to or more than a predetermined value and separates from the dash panel. Therefore, even if the engine moves rearward, the rearward movement amount of the dash panel is significantly reduced, and as a result, the steering wheel is hardly pushed backward by the dash panel.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 are views for explaining a shock absorbing structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of a dash cover, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a moving state of an engine. 3 is a side view of the front portion of the automobile, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are views showing the mounting portion of the dash cover.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an automobile having the structure of this embodiment, and a front portion of the automobile 1 is divided by a dash panel 7 into an engine compartment 5 and a vehicle compartment 6.
The engine 2 is mounted vertically in the engine room 5. A steering device 3 for steering the front wheels is arranged on the right side of the vehicle compartment 6. The steering device 3 has a structure in which a steering wheel 3b is attached to the upper end of a steering shaft 3a, and the lower end is connected to a gear box in an engine room 5 via a steering yoke 3c. Although not shown, the steering column 3d that pivotally supports the steering shaft 3a is supported above the dash panel 7 via a bracket 4.

An opening 7a is formed behind the engine 2 on the dash panel 7. The opening 7a is formed from the side wall portion 7b of the dash panel 7 to the floor portion 7c, and has a size that allows the engine 2 to pass rearward. Then, in the opening 7a,
A dash cover 8 is attached by a clip 9 so as to close the opening 7a. The dash cover 8 has a substantially L shape in a side view, and a mounting flange 8a is formed on the peripheral edge thereof. The mounting flange 8a includes a side flange portion 8d joined to the side wall portion 7b of the dash panel 7 and a floor flange portion 8e joined to the floor portion 7c.
The side flange portion 8d and the floor flange portion 8e are provided with mounting holes 8b and 8c, respectively. The mounting hole 8b is composed of an insertion hole 8g having substantially the same diameter as the locking groove 9a of the clip 9 and a locking slit 8f having a diameter smaller than that of the locking groove 9a. Further, the mounting hole 8c has a structure in which a locking projection 8h is formed at the edge of the insertion hole 8g, and subsequently a relief 8i is formed. Above mounting hole 8
The locking groove 9a of the clip 9 is fitted in the insertion holes 8g of the b and 8c, thereby fixing the dash cover 8. Reference numeral 10 is a seal packing for eliminating a gap between the dash cover 8 and the dash panel 7.

Next, the function and effect of this embodiment will be described. In the structure of the present embodiment, when the automobile 1 collides head-on, the engine 2 is pushed backward and moves to the passenger compartment 6 side, the engine 2 collides with the dash cover 8 of the dash panel 7, and the dash cover 8 When the acting rearward force becomes larger than a predetermined value, the dash cover 8 separates from the dash panel 7. More specifically, when the rearward load becomes larger than the fitting force of the locking slit 8f of the mounting hole 8b of the side flange portion 8d, the side flange portion 8d is disengaged from the clip 9, and the engagement of the mounting hole 8c of the floor flange portion 8e is made. When the fitting force by the stop projection 8h becomes larger, the floor flange portion 8e moves rearward so that the clip 9 is located in the escape portion 8i, whereby the dash cover 8 is separated from the dash panel 7. Since the dash cover 8 is disengaged from the dash panel 7 as described above, the dash panel 7 is hardly pushed backward by the engine 2, and as a result, the backward movement amount of the steering wheel 3b can be significantly suppressed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the dash cover 8 is fixed to the dash panel 7 with the clip 9, so that the rearward movement amount of the steering wheel 3b at the time of a vehicle front collision is extremely simple. Can be greatly suppressed.

Although the clip 9 is used to attach the dash cover 8 to the dash panel 7 in the above embodiment, in the present invention, the point is that the dash cover 8 is separated from the dash panel 7 by a predetermined backward load. The dash cover 8 may be fixed to the dash panel 7 with a rivet or the like, for example.

[0012]

As described above, according to the shock absorbing structure for an automobile of the present invention, the dash panel is provided with the opening, and the dash cover which is detached when a load of a predetermined value or more acts on the dash panel is attached. When the vehicle has a head-on collision and the engine moves rearward, if the dash cover receives a load equal to or more than a predetermined value, the dash cover is detached from the dash panel, and the steering wheel is provided with a simple structure and at a low cost when the head-on collision occurs. This has the effect of suppressing the amount of rearward movement of the wheel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of a dash cover in an automobile shock absorbing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a moving state of the engine having the above-described embodiment structure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the structure of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a dash cover attachment portion of the above-described embodiment structure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the dash cover mounting portion of the above-described embodiment structure.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a dash cover attachment portion of the above-described embodiment structure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a dash cover attachment portion of the above-described embodiment structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Car 5 Engine Room 6 Car Room 7 Dash Panel 7a Opening 8 Dash Cover

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A structure for absorbing a shock at the time of a vehicle frontal collision in an automobile in which an engine room and a vehicle compartment are separated by a dash panel, and an opening is provided in a rear portion of the engine of the dash panel. A shock absorbing structure for an automobile, characterized in that a dash cover which is formed and is detached when a rearward load of a vehicle having a predetermined value or more is applied is attached to the opening.