JPH06278655A - Air box construction - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent water from being sucked by connecting the upper end of a reinforcement to the rear part of a fresh air inlet port or to the top of a rear vertical wall, connecting the lower end of it to the intermediate or lower part of the rear vertical wall, dividing an air box into a water accumulating chamber and an air sucking chamber, and connecting these chambers to each other. CONSTITUTION:A dash upper panel 4 is connected to an upper part of a steel plate dash lower panel 3, and the dash upper panel 4 is connected to a cowl top panel 9 and a cowl top grille 10 to form an air box 1. Also a steel plate L-shaped cross-section reinforcement 7 is arranged in the air box l to divide it into a water reservoir chamber 1a and an air sucking chamber 1b, and also both chambers 1a and 1b are connected to each other through a center connecting port 14. Then the lower end of the reinforcement 7 is connected to a rear vertical wall (c), and the upper end of it is connected to the front end of the cowl top panel 9 and the intermediate part of a cowl side panel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an air box provided in a cowl portion under a front windshield of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air box structure provided under a front windshield of an automobile, for example, an actual open air shovel 57-
The one described in Japanese Patent No. 66967 is known. In this prior art, as shown in FIG. 4, a cowl top panel 100 is provided with a cowl top grill 102 having an outside air inlet 101, and is joined to a gutter-shaped lower dash upper panel 103. Air box 1
04 are formed. And this air box 10
4 is a reinforcement 1 in which the outside air passage port 105 is perforated
It is reinforced by 06. That is, the upper edge of the reinforcement 106 is sandwiched and joined between the cowl top panel 100 and the dash upper panel 103, while the lower edge of the reinforcement 106 is the front and rear of the vehicle on the bottom surface of the dash upper panel 103. It is joined to the central part in the direction. Air box 1 by this reinforcement 106
The inside of 04 is a water storage chamber 104a for storing rainwater that has entered from the outside air inlet 101, and the dash upper panel 10
Blower motor 107 attached to the rear end of the bottom surface of No. 3
Is divided into an intake chamber 104b communicating with the. In addition,
When the blower motor 107 is driven, the outside air is exposed to the outside air inlet 10 of the cowl top grill 102 as shown by the arrow in the figure.
1, the outside air passage 105 of the reinforcement 106, and the outside air outlet 108 formed in the blower motor 107 side of the dash upper panel 103 in order to sequentially pass through the blower motor 10
Sucked into 7.

[0003]

In the conventional air box structure, rain water may enter the air box 104 from the outside air inlet 101 of the cowl top grill 102 as described above.
The structure in 4 is such that rainwater can be stored only in the water storage chamber 106a on the front side of the reinforcement 106. For this reason, for design reasons, when the front-rear dimension or the vertical dimension of the air box 104, that is, the cross-sectional dimension cannot be sufficiently secured, the water level in the air box 104 becomes high when a large amount of rainwater or the like enters. Easy and overflowing rainwater 1
There is a possibility that the blower motor 107 may draw in rainwater through the outside air outlet 108 by passing through 05 and flowing into the intake chamber 104b.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Even when the cross-sectional area of the air box cannot be sufficiently secured, the reinforcement effect is secured and rainwater or the like to the blower motor side is secured. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air box structure that can reliably prevent suction.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a cowl top panel, a cowl top grill and a dash upper panel which are combined to form a front vertical wall in front of a vehicle body and a front vertical wall. An air box surrounded by the rear vertical wall, the upper upper wall, and the lower bottom wall, which face each other behind the vehicle body, is formed. Outside air is taken into the cowl top grill that forms a part of the upper wall of the air box. In the air box structure in which an outside air inlet is formed, an outside air outlet for supplying outside air to the blower motor side is formed in the rear vertical wall, and a reinforcement for reinforcement is provided inside the air box. The upper edge of
Inside the air box, while being joined to a position rearward of the outside air introduction port of the upper wall or an upper position of the rear vertical wall, a lower edge of the reinforcement is joined to an intermediate or lower position of the rear vertical wall. Is divided into a reservoir chamber on the front side of the reinforcement and an intake chamber on the rear side of the reinforcement, and a communication port is provided between the reservoir chamber and the intake chamber for communicating the two.

[0006]

[Operation] When the outside air is taken in by the blower motor, the outside air introduced from the outside air introduction port of the upper wall of the air box into the sump chamber flows through the communication port to the intake chamber, and from this intake chamber to the outside air discharge port. It is sucked into the blower motor side.

On the other hand, rainwater or the like that has entered the air box through the outside air inlet is stored in the water storage chamber. In this water storage chamber, the lower edge of the reinforcement that divides the water storage chamber and the intake chamber is connected to the middle or lower part of the rear vertical wall of the air box. It is formed over the entire length in the front-rear direction, and since the bottom area of the water storage chamber is wide in this way, sufficient capacity can be secured even if the front-rear length of the air box is short, and the water that has entered the water storage chamber can be secured. The water level is hard to rise.

Further, since the reinforcement is joined to the upper wall of the air box and the rear vertical wall, it acts to resist the load that deforms the cross section of the air box, that is, it is sufficiently reinforced. To do.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an air box structure of an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is an air box. That is, the gutter-shaped dash upper panel 4 made of a steel plate is joined to the upper part of the dash lower panel 3 made of a steel plate, and the dash upper panel 4 and the cowl top panel 9 made of the steel plate and the cowl top grill 10 made of a synthetic resin are combined. Then, the air box 1 is formed. Therefore, the front vertical wall a, the bottom wall b, and the rear vertical wall c of the air box 1 are
While it is composed of the dash upper panel 4,
The upper wall d is composed of the cowl top panel 9 and the cowl top grill 10 (see FIG. 2). The left and right ends of the cowl top panel 9 are joined and connected to a cowl side panel 12 made of steel plate (only the one on the right side of the vehicle body is shown), and the cowl top grill 1 made of synthetic resin.
The strength of the air box 1 is maintained together with 0. By the way, the left and right sides of the air box 1 are closed by the hood ridge panel 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cowl top panel 9 is provided with a stepped portion 9 a that adheres and supports the lower end portion of the windshield 13. Further, the cowl top grill 10 has an outside air inlet 11 at a position slightly closer to the right side than the center of the vehicle body, and as shown in FIG. 3, the rear end of the cowl top grill 10 has a front windshield. It is joined to 13.

Returning to FIG. 1, the dash upper panel 4 is described.
At the left side of the vehicle body where the rear vertical wall c is formed, outside air introduced into the air box 1 is blower motor (not shown).
An outside air outlet port 5 is opened, and an outside air outlet duct 6 communicating with the blower motor is attached to the rear surface of the outside air outlet port 5.

A reinforcement 7 is provided inside the air box 1. That is, the reinforcement 7 is formed of a steel plate into a shape in which flanges are provided on the upper and lower sides of a body having a substantially L-shaped cross-section, and the upper end has a front end portion of the cowl top panel 9 and the cowl side panel 12.
While being joined to the middle portion of the above, the lower end is joined to the middle lower portion of the rear vertical wall c near the portion forming the bottom wall b of the dash upper panel 4. The reinforcement 7 divides the interior of the air box 1 into a water storage chamber 1a on the front side of the reinforcement 7 and an intake chamber 1b on the rear side thereof. The total length of the reinforcement 7 in the vehicle width direction is shorter than the total length of the air box 1 in the vehicle width direction, and the water storage chamber 1a and the intake chamber 1b are formed on the left and right sides of the reinforcement 7. The side communication ports 15 and 15 are communicated with each other, and as shown in FIG. 2, a center side communication port 14 recessed downward at the left side position of the reinforcement 7. The central communication port 14 is formed in front of the outside air outlet port 5 on the front side of the vehicle body. A wiper reinforcement 8 for attaching a wiper is installed between the center of the reinforcement 7 and the portion of the dash upper panel 4 forming the front vertical wall a.

In the embodiment constructed as described above, when the outside air is sucked in by the blower motor, as shown in FIG.
The outside air is introduced into the water storage chamber 1a of the air box 1 from the outside air introduction port 11 of the cowl top grill 10 as shown by an imaginary line arrow W, and from there, the central communication port 14 or the left and right side portions. It flows from the communication port 15 into the intake chamber 1b, and is sucked from the outside air outlet port 5 through the outside air lead-out duct 6 to the blower motor side (see FIG. 2).

On the other hand, from the outside air inlet 11 to the air box 2
Rainwater and the like that have entered the inside are stored in the water storage chamber 1a. Since the water storage chamber 1a is formed by using the entire front-rear length of the bottom wall b, the bottom area is wide and a sufficient capacity is ensured. Therefore, water enters the water storage chamber 1a. However, it is difficult for the water level to rise. Therefore, it is difficult for the water that has entered the water storage chamber 1a to enter the intake chamber 1b. In addition, the communication ports 14 and 15 that communicate the reservoir chamber 1a and the intake chamber 1b with each other.
However, even if the cowl top grill 10 is arranged at a position where it does not overlap the outside air introduction port 11 in the vehicle left-right direction, it is difficult for water to enter the intake chamber 1b, and it is possible to reliably achieve air-water separation. can get.

The reinforcement 7 includes a cowl top panel 9 forming an upper wall d of the air box 1 and a dash upper panel 4 forming a rear vertical wall c of the air box 1.
Since it is connected to the intermediate lower part of the so as to form a closed cross section, the same reinforcing effect as in the conventional case can be obtained.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to this embodiment, and the present invention can be made even if there is a design change or the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. This is included in the invention. For example, in the embodiment, the upper end of the reinforcement 7 is located on the upper wall d of the air box 1.
Although an example in which they are connected to each other is shown, even if they are connected to the upper portion of the rear vertical wall c, a sufficient reinforcing effect can be obtained.

Further, in the embodiment, the example in which the rear vertical wall c of the air box 1 is constituted by the dash upper panel 4 is shown, but the cowl top panel 9 is bent downward so that the cowl top panel 9 allows the rear vertical wall. You may make it comprise a part or all of the wall c, and in this case, the outside air outlet 5 is
It will be formed on the cowl top panel 9.

[0018]

As described above, in the air box structure of the present invention, the upper edge of the reinforcement is joined to the upper part of the upper wall or the rear vertical wall while the lower edge of the reinforcement is By joining to the middle or bottom of the rear vertical wall,
Since the inside of the air box is divided into a reservoir chamber on the front side of the reinforcement and an intake chamber on the rear side of the reinforcement,
While the reinforcement effect of the air box by the reinforcement is secured as usual, the water storage chamber is formed over the entire length in the front-back direction of the air box, so that a large bottom area of the water storage chamber can be secured, and thus the air storage chamber can be secured. Even if the front and rear length of the box is short, it is easy to secure a sufficient capacity, the water level that has entered the water storage chamber does not easily rise, and it is possible to prevent water from entering the intake chamber side and blower motor side. The effect that the separation performance is improved is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an air box structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line S1-S1 of FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line S2-S2 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional air box structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Air Box 1a Sump Chamber 1b Intake Chamber 4 Dash Upper Panel 5 Outside Air Outlet 7 Reinforce 9 Cowl Top Panel 10 Cowl Top Grill 11 Outside Air Inlet 14 Center Side Communication Port 15 Side Communication Port a Front Vertical Wall b Bottom Wall c Rear vertical wall d Upper wall

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cowl top panel, a cowl top grill, and a dash upper panel are combined to form a front vertical wall in front of the vehicle body, a rear vertical wall behind the vehicle facing the front vertical wall, an upper upper wall, and a lower vertical wall. An air box surrounded by a bottom wall is formed, and a cowl top grill forming a part of the upper wall of the air box is formed with an outside air inlet for taking in outside air from the outside of the vehicle, and a blower motor is provided on the rear vertical wall. In the air box structure in which an outside air outlet for supplying outside air is formed, and a reinforcement for reinforcement is provided inside the air box, the upper edge of the reinforcement is located rearward of the outside air inlet of the upper wall. Alternatively, the air box is joined to the upper position of the rear vertical wall while the lower edge of the reinforcement is joined to the middle or lower position of the rear vertical wall. Is divided into a reservoir chamber on the front side of the reinforcement and an intake chamber on the rear side of the reinforcement, and a communication port is provided between the reservoir chamber and the intake chamber for communicating the two. Air box structure.