JPH06344946A - Front part structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To sufficiently secure the crash space in front surface collision of a vehicle by efficiently arranging a battery and auxiliaries in the rear part in an engine room. CONSTITUTION:A battery 20 is arranged over the left and right wheel houses 15 in an engine room 1. The positions in the car body longitudinal direction of both the batteries are set nearly at the same, and a hydraulic unit 21 for ABS is arranged in front of the wheel house, and the hydraulic unit is arranged in offset downward from the battery, and when the front part of a vehicle is crashed in the front surface collision, the hydraulic unit can be retreated, free from the interference with the battery, deforming the wheel house below the battery.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a front structure of an automobile,
In particular, the present invention relates to a layout of batteries and high-rigidity auxiliary machinery having a certain volume or more in an engine room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a battery for supplying electric power to electric systems of various parts of an automobile is laid out in an engine room except for a so-called power train composed of an engine and a transmission. It has a fairly large volume and high rigidity. Therefore, when laying out the battery in the engine room of the automobile, it is desirable to arrange the battery as rearward as possible from the viewpoint of ensuring a crash space in the case of a frontal collision of the vehicle.

As other parts laid out in the engine room, those having a relatively large volume and high rigidity are equipped with an alternator and a so-called anti-skid brake device (hereinafter referred to as ABS device). In vehicles, auxiliary equipment such as a hydraulic unit for this ABS device can be mentioned. In order to secure a crash space, it is desirable to lay out these accessories as rearward as possible in the engine room. And, for example, A
In the case of the hydraulic unit for the BS device, it is general that it is arranged in the rear part of the engine room immediately after that while avoiding interference with the battery.

[0004] Further, it is conceivable to mount two batteries on an automobile whose use conditions are special, such as for cold regions, for the purpose of improving engine ignition performance. In such a case, it is even more important to efficiently lay out the two batteries and the auxiliary devices such as the hydraulic unit and the alternator in order to sufficiently secure the crashability of the front portion of the vehicle body.

When the battery is to be laid out in the rear of the engine room as much as possible, the power train is located in the center of the engine room in the vehicle width direction. (See, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-93125).
However, on the left and right sides of the rear of the engine room,
Generally, a wheel house for covering the front tires and a suspension tower for mounting a suspension device are projected inward. Therefore, in this case, arranging the battery immediately in front of these is the most efficient for securing the crash space.

[0006]

However, for example, AB
In the case of an S-equipped vehicle, since the hydraulic unit of the ABS device is conventionally laid out behind the battery, the battery has to be positioned on the front side correspondingly, which is disadvantageous in securing a sufficient crash space. There was a difficulty. Even if the vehicle is not equipped with ABS, if an auxiliary machine such as an alternator is laid out behind the battery,
Similar disadvantages occur.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the battery and the auxiliary equipment such as the hydraulic unit for the ABS device and the alternator are laid out as efficiently as possible at the rear part in the engine room,
An object of the present invention is to provide a front structure of an automobile capable of sufficiently securing a crash space in the case of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0008]

Therefore, the front structure of the automobile according to the first invention of the present application has a battery having a volume and rigidity equal to or greater than a certain level with the battery on the side portion in the vehicle width direction in the engine room. A front part structure of an automobile in which the battery is arranged above the wheel house in the engine room, and the auxiliary machine is arranged in front of the wheel house. It was done.

Further, in the front structure of a vehicle according to the second invention of the present application, a battery and an auxiliary machine having a volume and rigidity above a certain level are arranged on a side portion in the vehicle width direction in the engine room. In the front structure of the vehicle, two batteries are mounted on the vehicle. These batteries are arranged above the left and right wheel houses in the engine room, and their positions in the vehicle front-rear direction are substantially the same. It is characterized in that they are set to be the same and the above-mentioned auxiliary machine is arranged in front of at least one of the wheel houses.

Further, a third invention of the present application is characterized in that, in the vehicle front structure according to the first or second invention, the auxiliary machine is a hydraulic unit of an antiskid brake device. Is.

Furthermore, a fourth invention of the present application is the vehicle front structure according to the above-mentioned first or second invention,
The accessory is characterized by being an alternator.

[0012]

According to the first invention of the present application, the battery is arranged above the wheel house, and the auxiliary machine having a volume and rigidity above a certain level is arranged in front of the wheel house. Compared to the case where the auxiliary machine is arranged behind the auxiliary machine, the auxiliary machine can be located rearward by the dimension of the auxiliary machine in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, the accessory is laid out in front of the wheel house, that is, its vertical position is offset downward from the position of the battery. Therefore, although this accessory is located in front of the battery, when the front part of the vehicle crashes during a vehicle frontal collision, it deforms the wheel house below the battery, that is, it interferes with the battery. You can retreat without. That is, the battery and auxiliary equipment are laid out as efficiently as possible in the rear of the engine room,
It is possible to secure a sufficient crash space at the time of a vehicle frontal collision.

Further, according to the second invention of the present application, when two batteries are mounted, the batteries are arranged above the left and right wheel houses respectively, and a volume and rigidity above a certain level are provided in front of the wheel house. Since the auxiliary machine has the auxiliary machine, the battery can be located rearward by the dimension of the auxiliary machine in the front-rear direction as compared with the case where the auxiliary machine is conventionally arranged behind the battery. On the other hand, the accessory is laid out in front of the wheel house, that is, its vertical position is offset downward from the position of the battery. Therefore, although this accessory is located in front of the battery, when the front part of the vehicle crashes during a vehicle frontal collision, it deforms the wheel house below the battery, that is, it interferes with the battery. You can retreat without. That is, it is possible to efficiently lay out the battery and the auxiliary equipment in the rear part of the engine room as much as possible, and to secure a sufficient crash space in the case of a vehicle frontal collision. In addition, since the positions of the batteries located above the left and right wheel houses in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body are set to be approximately the same, the crash spaces in the left and right parts of the engine room can be ensured substantially evenly, and the impact load during a collision can be ensured. Can be effectively absorbed.

Further, according to the third invention of the present application, basically, the same effect as that of the first or second invention can be obtained. Particularly, in a vehicle equipped with ABS, a hydraulic unit for an ABS device having a relatively large volume and a high rigidity is laid out as efficiently as possible in the rear part in the engine room to secure a sufficient crash space in the case of a frontal collision of the vehicle. You can

Further, according to the fourth invention of the present application,
Basically, the same effect as that of the first or second invention can be obtained. Especially, as an auxiliary machine laid out in the engine room, an alternator with a relatively large volume and high rigidity should be laid out as efficiently as possible in the rear part of the engine room to secure a sufficient crash space in the case of a frontal collision of the vehicle. You can

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a side view of an engine room of an automobile according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a right side portion of the engine room in detail. As shown in these drawings, in the engine room 1, a pair of left and right wheel aprons 2 formed of, for example, a press steel plate having a predetermined thickness is used to form a vertical wall portion and a bottom surface portion on a side portion in the vehicle width direction, The inner surface side of the bottom surface portion (that is, the lower inner surface side of the wheel apron 2) is supported by a pair of left and right front side frames 3 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

On the rear end side of the engine room 1, a dash lower panel 6 constitutes a rear wall, and a lower part of a dash upper 7 to which a cowl front 8 is joined is fixed to an upper end portion of the dash lower panel 6. The lower end side of the windshield 9 (see FIG. 2) is supported by the flange portion where the upper end of the dash upper 7 and the rear end of the cowl front 8 are joined. Furthermore, the shroud side panels 11 forming the front walls on the left and right sides of the engine room 1 are joined to the front end portions of the respective wheel aprons 2, and the left and right shroud side panels 11 are separated from each other along the vehicle width along their upper edges. They are connected by a shroud upper 12 extending in the direction.
Although not specifically illustrated, the front end portions of the left and right front side frames 3 are connected to each other by a cross member extending in the vehicle width direction on the front end side of the vehicle body.

The wheel apron 2 is provided at a central upper position in the front-rear direction of the wheel house 15 for attaching a wheel house 15 covering the front tires (not shown) and a suspension device (not shown). The suspension tower 16 is formed so as to project toward the inside of the engine room 1, and the wheel house 15 and the suspension tower 16 are located relatively rearward on the left and right sides of the engine room 1. In the engine room 1 configured as described above, a so-called power train PT configured by connecting the engine En and the transmission Tm is laid out in the center portion in the vehicle width direction. The power train PT occupies most of the space between the left and right front side frames 3, 3.
The front end position is determined in association with the vehicle body front-rear direction position of the batteries 20, 20 described below.

By the way, in the automobile according to this embodiment, two batteries 20 for supplying electric power to the electric system of each part of the vehicle are mounted. In this way the battery 20
By providing two of them, it is possible to sufficiently bring out the original performance of various electric devices, for example, to improve the engine ignition performance even when used in an area where weather conditions are particularly severe, such as a cold region. can do.
Further, the above-mentioned automobile is equipped with a so-called ABS device in order to prevent the wheel locking phenomenon from occurring during vehicle braking, and the hydraulic unit 21 of this device is arranged in the engine room 1.

Except for the power train PT, the battery 20 has a considerably large volume and high rigidity as a component laid out in the engine room. Further, the hydraulic unit 21 for the ABS device is also
Although not as large as the battery 20, it has a relatively large volume, and is formed by die casting of an aluminum alloy, for example, and has high rigidity. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when these are laid out in the engine room 1, they are arranged as rearward as possible in order to secure a crash space at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle.

The two batteries 20 and the ABS will be described below.
The layout of the device hydraulic unit 21 will be described. As described above, since the power train PT is located at the center of the engine room 1 in the vehicle width direction, the battery 20 and the hydraulic unit 21 are arranged on the side of the engine room 1. Further, as described above, the wheel house 15 and the suspension tower 16 project inwardly on the rear side of the left and right sides of the engine room 1. In the present embodiment, the battery 20 having a larger volume and higher rigidity is located in the rear of the engine room 1 as far as possible, and the battery 20 is located immediately in front of the suspension tower 16, that is, in the front portion of the wheel house 15. It is located above.

That is, above the front portion of the wheel house 15, a rectangular tray 23 (battery tray) is arranged in a plan view, and the battery 20 is fixed on the tray 23. The battery tray 23 is
As shown in FIG. 4, the outer end is fastened and fixed to the vertical wall of the wheel apron 2, while the inner end is laid between the inner surface of the suspension tower 16 and the upper part of the front side frame 3. It is fastened and fixed to the upper portion of a substantially inverted L-shaped stay 24 (battery stay) provided. The battery stay 24 and the battery tray 23 are symmetrically provided on each of the left and right sides of the engine room 1, respectively.
The two batteries 20 are arranged on the respective battery trays 23.

In this embodiment, the crash spaces in the left and right parts of the engine room 1 can be ensured substantially evenly.
The positions of the batteries 20 arranged above the front parts of the left and right wheel houses 15 are set to be substantially the same in the vehicle front-rear direction. With this setting, when the vehicle collides head-on, the left and right parts of the engine room 1 are substantially evenly crashed, and the impact load at the time of collision can be effectively absorbed. Further, more preferably, the front end of the power train PT has both the left and right batteries 20.
The power train PT is set so as to be located in front of the line Lb connecting the front ends of the vehicle with a predetermined distance, and when a collision load of a predetermined value corresponding to the predetermined distance is applied during a frontal collision. As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1, its front end can be set back to reach the line Lb. That is, the distance S from the front end of the vehicle body to the line Lb represents a so-called crash space in the engine room 1 of the automobile.

On the other hand, the hydraulic unit 2 for the ABS device
1 is laid out on the front side of, for example, the right wheel house 15 of the left and right wheel houses 15, that is, its vertical position is offset downward from the position of the battery 20. That is, as can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, inner and outer brackets 26 and 27 are fastened and fixed to both left and right sides of the hydraulic unit 21, and the upper end portion of the inner bracket 26 is connected to the battery tray 23. The front end side and the rear end of the outer bracket 27 are fastened and fixed to the upper front face of the battery stay 24, respectively. An alternator may be laid out on the front side of the left wheel house 15 as another auxiliary machine having a relatively large volume and high rigidity. By laying out as above, ABS
The hydraulic unit 21 for the apparatus is located in front of the battery 20, but when the front part of the vehicle body crashes during a vehicle frontal collision, the wheel house 15 is deformed below the battery 20, that is, Battery 20
It can retreat without interfering with (see the chain line in FIG. 1).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the case of mounting two batteries, the batteries 20 are arranged above the left and right wheel houses 15, respectively, and the ABS is provided in front of the wheel house 15. Since the hydraulic unit 21 for the apparatus is provided, the battery 20 can be positioned rearward by the dimension of the hydraulic unit 21 in the front-rear direction as compared with the case where the hydraulic unit 21 is disposed behind the battery 20 in the related art. it can. On the other hand, the hydraulic unit 21 is laid out in front of the wheel house 15, that is, its vertical position is offset downward from the position of the battery 20, so that the front part of the vehicle body crashes during a vehicle frontal collision. In addition, the wheel house 15 can be retracted below the battery 20 while being deformed, that is, without interfering with the battery 20. That is, the battery 20 and the hydraulic unit 21 can be laid out as efficiently as possible in the rear part of the engine room 1 to ensure a sufficient crash space in the case of a vehicle frontal collision. Further, since the left and right batteries 20 are set to have substantially the same longitudinal positions in the vehicle body, the crash spaces in the left and right portions of the engine room 1 can be substantially evenly secured, and the impact load at the time of a collision can be effectively absorbed. You can

In the above embodiment, the two batteries 20 are mounted in the engine room 1. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned case, and the battery 1 can be installed as usual.
Needless to say, the present invention can be effectively applied to the case where the individual batteries 20 are laid out in the engine room 1. Further, the auxiliary machine having a volume and rigidity not less than a certain level is not limited to the hydraulic unit 21 for the ABS device, and other auxiliary machines such as an alternator which may impair the crashability of the front part of the vehicle body at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle. It can also be applied to aircraft.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of an engine room of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of an engine room of the automobile.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a right side portion of the engine room.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional explanatory view showing a mounting structure of a battery tray.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view showing a mounting structure of a hydraulic unit for an ABS device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a support structure by a bracket of a hydraulic unit for an ABS device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Engine room 15 ... Wheel house 20 ... Battery 21 ... Hydraulic unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Joji Okubo 3-1, Shinchi Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Mazda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Katsuji Takashita 3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Mazda Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A front structure of an automobile, comprising a battery and an auxiliary machine having a volume and rigidity equal to or more than a certain level, which are arranged on a side portion in the vehicle width direction in the engine room, wherein the battery is provided in the engine room. A front structure for an automobile, characterized in that the auxiliary machine is arranged in front of the wheel house while being arranged above the wheel house. 2. A front structure for a vehicle, comprising a battery and an auxiliary machine having a volume and rigidity above a certain level, which are arranged on a side portion of the engine room in the vehicle width direction. These batteries are installed.These batteries are placed above the left and right wheel houses in the engine room, and their positions in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body are set to be substantially the same, and at the front of at least one of the wheel houses. A front structure of an automobile, characterized in that the above-mentioned auxiliary equipment is provided. 3. The front structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary device is a hydraulic unit of an anti-skid brake device. 4. The front structure of the automobile according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary machine is an alternator.