JPH06278651A - Vehicle body construction for side midship vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a light-weight and highly rigid vertical wall by forming it between an engine unit and a vehicle cabin, in a vehicle body construction in which the engine unit is located on an assistant seat side at the center of a vehicle body. CONSTITUTION:A protruded tunnel part 28 is formed at the center of a vehicle cabin part 21', and a vertical wall 29 is formed forward of a space of a passenger seat side which is located on the left side of the tunnel part 28. The vertical wall 29 is formed so that its center is protruded backward according to the formation of an engine unit. Also an engine compartment E for storing engine unit and a vehicle cabin C are divided by the vertical wall 29. Then a flange is formed on the upper edge of the vertical wall 29, and its end is bent to a trip part. Thus the highly rigid vertical wall 29 is made into a box.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure of a side midship vehicle in which an engine unit is arranged substantially in the center of the vehicle body and on the passenger side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cornering performance and the like are improved as the center of gravity of a vehicle is closer to the center of the vehicle body. Therefore, a so-called "midship" type engine unit arrangement is known in which an engine unit, which is the heaviest object in the structure of an automobile, is arranged between the front and rear axles of the automobile to improve the front-rear weight distribution of the entire automobile. ing.

However, when such a midship type engine unit arrangement is adopted, the front and rear positions of the engine unit are brought closer to the center of the automobile (between the front and rear axles). Regarding the position, other engine unit arrangement method (FR, FF, etc.)
Since it is placed in the center position on the left and right as well as,
The passenger compartment space has been reduced, or various restrictions have been placed on the layout of various equipment and devices.

Therefore, the applicant has previously proposed an engine unit layout structure which allows a new layout of equipment and devices different from those of the midship type vehicle while maintaining the weight distribution equivalent to that of the midship type vehicle (special feature). Wishhei 3-
247481). In other words, we proposed a so-called "side midship vehicle" that has a structure in which the front and rear positions of the engine unit are not only between the front and rear axles, but the left and right positions of the engine unit are displaced toward the passenger seat side.

[0005]

With such a novel engine unit arrangement structure, it is desired to develop a vehicle body structure suitable for this arrangement structure. That is, it is desired to develop a body structure that is lightweight and has high rigidity without hindering the arrangement of the engine unit as a side midship vehicle. This is because the weight of the vehicle body affects fuel efficiency, and the rigidity affects movement performance. Therefore, even though the engine unit is arranged as a side midship vehicle, the vehicle body characteristics as described above are sacrificed. Because it cannot go.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional technique, and provides a lightweight and highly rigid body structure of a side midship vehicle.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle body structure of a side midship vehicle according to the present invention is such that the left and right positions of the engine unit are opposite to the left and right centerlines of the driver seat. The vehicle body structure of the side midship vehicle having the front and rear positions between the front and rear axles has the following structure.

A) A vertical wall is formed between the engine unit and the passenger compartment. Above and below, the vertical wall does not necessarily need to be vertical and may be slightly inclined.

B) A fuel tank was arranged behind the driver's seat and a vertical wall was formed between the driver's seat and the fuel tank.

C) Both ends of a seat back member, which is arranged in the vehicle width direction behind the passenger seat, are connected to the seat back sides on both sides of the vehicle body.

D) Both ends of the parcel member arranged along the vehicle width direction between the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment were connected to a rear wheel house.

E) The vehicle body is a convertible type, and a side front window having two front pillars is provided at least at the end on the engine unit side of the left and right ends of the front window.

Here, the "engine unit" is a concept including a device and a mechanism which are integrally assembled to the engine body such as a transmission, an auxiliary machine, etc., and means one recognized as one heavy object in appearance. To do.

Further, "the left and right position of the engine unit is opposite to the position where the driver's seat is arranged with respect to the left and right center line" means that the center of gravity of the engine unit is displaced at least from near the left and right center line of the vehicle to the side opposite to the driver seat. The phrase "the front-rear position is between the front and rear axles" means that the center of gravity of the engine unit is located between the front and rear axles. It should be noted that "between the front and rear axles" may be anywhere within a range sandwiched between the front axle and the rear axle, and does not mean the central position between the front axle and the rear axle. .

[0015]

By adopting the above-mentioned structures A to E, the rigidity per unit weight of the vehicle body is increased, which is advantageous in terms of fuel consumption and exercise performance.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The directions in the figure are front (F direction), rear (B direction), left (L direction), and right (R direction).

First, the structure of an automobile according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 is an engine unit, and this engine unit 1 integrally includes an engine body 1a and a transmission 1b.

A front propulsion shaft 3 and a rear propulsion shaft (propeller shaft) 4 extend forward and backward from the differential portion 2 of the transmission 1b to form a 4WD. The front propulsion shaft 3 is connected to the front differential 6 to rotate the front axle 5, and the rear propulsion shaft 4 is connected to the rear differential 8 to rotate the rear axle 7. In order to shorten the length in the front-rear direction, the engine unit 1 uses a vertical FF for a horizontal FF in which the engine crankshaft CL is arranged in parallel with the rear propulsion shaft 4. Front wheels 9 and rear wheels 10 are provided on the axles 5, 7.

There are two seats, a driver's seat 11 and a passenger seat 12.
The driver's seat 11 is on the right side of the left-right center line S and is in the normal position corresponding to the steering wheel 13. The passenger seat 12 is located behind the engine unit 1,
It is arranged slightly behind the driver's seat 11. Further, 14 is a battery.

The frame 15 includes a main frame 16 forming a passenger compartment, a front frame 17 forming a front portion thereof, and a rear frame 18 forming a rear portion thereof.
And consists of. In the front frame 17,
Reference numeral 17a indicates a front side member.

Next, the vehicle body structure will be described with reference to FIGS. A vehicle body 19 of an automobile according to this embodiment is of a convertible (open car) type without a roof and can be roughly classified into a front portion 20, a vehicle compartment portion 21, and a rear portion 22.

The front portion 20 is a portion corresponding to an engine room of an ordinary automobile. In this automobile, the engine unit 1 is located on the left side of the vehicle interior portion 21, so that the engine unit 1 is not provided inside. Not stored. In the front part 20, 23 is a front wheel house, 2
4 indicates a radiator core upper, and 25 indicates a dash lower panel. An air box 26 is provided only in the right half. Further, on the left side of the dash lower panel 25, an opening 27 is formed for the attachment and maintenance of the engine unit 1.

A tunnel portion 28 is formed at the center of the vehicle compartment 21 so as to project upward. The vertical wall 2 that is vertical to the front of the space on the passenger seat 12 side on the left side of the tunnel portion 28
9 is formed, and the vertical wall 29 divides an engine room E for accommodating the engine unit 1 and a vehicle room C (see FIG. 6). This vertical wall 29 corresponds to the shape of the engine unit 1 (in particular, the transmission 1b),
The central portion 30 has a shape protruding rearward. Also,
A flange 31 having a predetermined width is also formed on the upper edge, and a drip portion 31a is bent at the end of the flange 31 (see FIG. 7). Further, an inclined portion 33 is provided between the lower portion of the vertical wall 29 and the floor 32 so as to serve as a "packing". The lower portion of the vertical wall 29 on the tunnel portion 28 side in the front-rear direction has a corresponding tunnel portion 28.
It is connected to the vertical wall in the front-back direction. With such a structure, the vertical wall 29 itself becomes a highly rigid box,
Although the opening 27 as described above is formed in the dash lower panel 25, the rigidity of the vehicle body does not decrease and the engine unit 1 can be reliably protected.

A vertical wall 34 in the vehicle width direction is also formed behind the driver's seat 11. The upper side of the vertical wall 34 is slightly inclined rearward, and the lower portion thereof is connected to the longitudinal wall of the tunnel portion 28 in the front-rear direction. It has the side wall 35 integrally. A seat back member 36 extending in the vehicle width direction passes through the side wall 35, and both side portions of the seat back member 36 are seat back sides 37 on both sides of the vehicle body.
Connected to. The fuel tank 38 is provided in the vertical wall 34 while avoiding interference with the seat back member 36.

Next, a front window 39 is provided in front of the passenger compartment 21. Both sides of the front window 39 are supported by the front pillars 40a and 40b, but another front pillar 41 is added only to the passenger seat 12 side so that the side front window 42 is provided.
Is formed. In this way, the engine unit 1
The rigidity of the vehicle body on which the is mounted is increased. Also, passenger seat 1
On the second side, the rigidity of this portion is further increased by joining the vehicle body panel P across the front and rear two front pillars 40b and 41.

A parcel member 43 for partitioning the passenger compartment C and the luggage compartment N is formed between the passenger compartment 21 and the rear portion 22 along the vehicle width direction. This parcel member 4
The upper portion of the reference numeral 3 is a closed cross section 43a, and the closed cross section 43a is connected to the front upper surface of a rear wheel house 44 formed on both sides of the luggage compartment N. Therefore, the rear part 2
The rigidity in 2 will be greatly increased.

FIG. 9 shows a comparison of the rigidity (torsional rigidity) per unit weight between the vehicle body of this embodiment having the above-described structure and the vehicle body of another general structure. It was C
Is a vehicle body of the present invention, A and B are convertible vehicles without a roof, and D and E are T-bar roof vehicles that can be said to have a semi-roof. As is clear from FIG. 9, the torsional rigidity per unit weight is higher in the order of E → D → C → B → A, and the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body C of the present invention is a general convertible vehicle. It was found to be higher than A and B.

Finally, the advantages of the side midship vehicle will be described. Weight distribution / arrangement Since the driver's seat 11 is arranged on the right side and the engine unit 1 is arranged on the left side on the opposite side, the weight distribution in the left-right direction is kept substantially uniform. Moreover, the battery 14
Etc. (a radiator etc. (not shown) can also be placed)
Since they are arranged on the upper side, they do not affect the weight distribution in the left-right direction.

Even in the weight distribution in the front-rear direction, the engine unit 1 is arranged between the front and rear axles 5 and 7, so that the front-rear weight distribution is excellent as in the conventional midship vehicle.

As described above, the weight distribution is excellent in the front-rear and left-right directions, and since the heavy objects are gathered above the left-right center line S approximately in the center between the axles, the yaw moment of inertia is reduced, and the maneuverability such as cornering is reduced. improves. The fuel tank 38
The arrangement also contributes to the improvement of weight distribution in the left-right and front-rear directions.

Safety Since the engine unit 1 is not in front of the driver's seat 11 and collision energy can be sufficiently absorbed by the front frame 17, safety is also excellent.

Design (Layout) Property It was possible to realize a novel layout in which the passenger seat 12 is slightly rearwardly displaced from the driver seat 11. Therefore,
It will attract users' interests and add value as an automobile product. Further, the engine unit 1 is attached to the front portion 20.
Since there is no such thing, it is possible to set the hood sufficiently low.

In the above description, the seat is the driver's seat 1
An example of a vehicle having only two seats, one and a passenger seat 12, has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may have one seat or three or more seats.

Further, an example in which the engine unit 1 for FF driving and having a structure for horizontal arrangement is used in a vertical arrangement is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the engine unit may have any structure. However, the arrangement direction is not limited to vertical placement.

[0035]

Since the body structure of the side midship vehicle according to the present invention has the contents described above, the left and right positions of the engine unit are opposite to the driver's seat and the front and rear positions are between the front and rear axles. It is possible to increase the rigidity per unit weight of the vehicle body while realizing the special layout that there is, which is advantageous in terms of fuel consumption and exercise performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a side midship vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle body seen from the upper left front.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vehicle body seen from the lower left front.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vehicle body seen from the upper right rear.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vehicle body seen from the lower right rear.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a vertical wall behind the engine unit.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SA-SA shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view as seen from the direction of arrow DA in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing rigidity per unit weight.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Engine Unit 5, 7 Axle 11 Driver's Seat 12 Passenger's Seat 29 Vertical Wall of Engine Unit 34 Vertical Wall of Fuel Tank 36 Seat Back Member 37 Seat Back Side 38 Fuel Tank 39 Front Window 40a, 40b Front Pillar 41 Front Pillar 42 Side Front Window C Vehicle compartment N Luggage compartment S Center line

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A body structure of a side midship vehicle in which a left and right position of an engine unit is opposite to a position where a driver's seat is arranged with respect to a left and right center line and a front and rear position is between front and rear axles. A body structure of a side midship vehicle, which is characterized in that a vertical wall is formed between them. 2. In a vehicle body structure of a side midship vehicle, in which the left and right positions of the engine unit are opposite to the driver's seat arrangement position with respect to the center line of the left and right and the front and rear positions are between the front and rear axles, fuel is provided behind the driver seat. A body structure of a side midship vehicle, in which a tank is arranged and a vertical wall is formed between a driver's seat and a fuel tank. 3. A vehicle body structure of a side midship vehicle in which the left and right positions of the engine unit are opposite to the driver's seat arrangement position with respect to the left and right center line and the front and rear positions are between the front and rear axles. A body structure of a side midship vehicle, characterized in that both ends of a seat back member arranged along the width direction are connected to seat back sides on both sides of the vehicle body. 4. A body structure of a side midship vehicle in which a left and right position of an engine unit is opposite to a position where a driver seat is arranged with respect to a left and right center line and a front and rear position is between front and rear axles. A body structure of a side midship vehicle, characterized in that both ends of parcel members arranged along the vehicle width direction are connected to a rear wheel house. 5. A body structure of a side midship vehicle in which a left and right position of an engine unit is opposite to a position where a driver's seat is arranged with respect to a left and right center line and a front and rear position is between front and rear axles, and a body is a convertible type. A vehicle body structure for a side midship vehicle, characterized in that, of the left and right ends of the front window, a side front window having two front pillars is provided at least at an end on the engine unit side. 6. The engine unit is arranged closer to the front axle, and the passenger seat is arranged rearward of the engine unit and rearward of the driver's seat.
The engine unit layout structure of the described vehicle.