JPH0681671A - Front structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a demand in design regarding the disposition of an auxiliary machine compatible with the guarantee of crushable space at the time of a head-on collision. CONSTITUTION:An auxiliary machine 8 is fitted to an engine body 3, disposed at the front part of a body, in such a way as to protrude frontward from the front edge part 3a of the engine body 3 in the longitudinal direction of the body. In such an automobile, retreat allowing means (21, 22, 25, 26) for allowing the auxiliary machine 8 to move onto the rear side of the body in relation to the engine body 3 in the case of load acting upon the auxiliary machine 8 from the front of the body are provided between the auxiliary machine 8 and the engine body 3. With such constitution, when the load toward the rear side of the body acts upon the auxiliary machine 8 at the time of the head-on collision of the automobile, the auxiliary machine 8 moves onto the body rear side in relation to the engine body 3 by the operation of the retreat allowing means (210 22, 25, 26) so as to secure crushable space on the front side of the engine body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front structure of an automobile in which various accessories are arranged above an engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In automobiles, as a part of higher engine output, intake air is supercharged by a supercharger, and this supercharged air is cooled by an intercooler and supplied to the engine to achieve higher filling efficiency. However, in this case, the auxiliary equipment such as the intercooler is usually arranged above the engine in consideration of the arrangement of the intake passage.

On the other hand, in recent automobile design,
Considering the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle body, the bonnet line tends to move forward and be kept as low as possible, but in this case, the important constraint factor in the design of this bonnet line is that it is placed above the engine and above it. Auxiliary machinery. Therefore, as a means for enabling the adoption of such a bonnet line with a low front descent, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-194028, the engine is tilted forward (the upper part of the engine is tilted to the front side of the vehicle body). It is mounted on the vehicle body in such a posture that the auxiliary cooler and other auxiliary equipment arranged above the engine are extended further forward than the front edge portion of the engine.

[0004]

By the way, since the engine is supported by the front frame of the vehicle body in the front portion of the vehicle body, it is possible to effectively absorb the impact force due to the crash of the vehicle body at the time of a head-on collision of the vehicle. It is possible to consider that the range in which it can be formed, a so-called crushable space, is a portion on the front side of the engine. For this reason, in general, in automobiles, the size of the front portion of the vehicle body or the position of the engine for ensuring the sufficient crushable space is set to secure the shock absorbing performance at the time of a head-on collision.

However, although the crushable space is sufficiently secured in the vehicle design as described above, for example, the auxiliary equipment arranged above the engine as described above is arranged to extend in front of the engine. In this case, especially when this auxiliary machine is strongly attached to the engine, it is considered that the crushable space on the engine front side is substantially reduced by the extension of the auxiliary machine, In this case, the design was sacrificed to ensure a crushable space.

In view of this, the invention of the present application has not been proposed as a front structure of an automobile capable of satisfying both the design requirement regarding the arrangement of the auxiliary machinery and the securing of the crushable space at the time of a head-on collision.

[0007]

As a concrete means for solving such a problem in the invention of the present application, in the invention according to claim 1, the engine main body arranged in the front part of the vehicle body is
In an automobile in which an auxiliary machine is mounted in a state in which the auxiliary machine is protruded forward of the front edge portion of the engine body in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a load is applied to the auxiliary machine from the front side of the vehicle body between the auxiliary machine and the engine body. It is characterized in that the auxiliary machine is provided with a retreat allowance means for allowing the auxiliary machine to move to the rear side of the vehicle body when actuated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle front structure according to the first aspect, the auxiliary machine is an intercooler arranged in the middle of the intake duct, and the intake duct is provided from the front of the vehicle body. It is characterized in that the intercooler is provided with a permitting part for permitting the intercooler to move rearward of the vehicle body when a load is applied.

[0009]

With each of the inventions of the present application, the following effects can be obtained by adopting such a configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a load directed toward the rear side of the vehicle body is input to the front portion of the vehicle body due to a frontal collision of the vehicle, and the load is applied to the auxiliary machine before the engine body due to the crash of the vehicle body. In the case of the action of, the reverse allowance means is actuated, and the accessory is moved to the rear side of the vehicle body.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the intake duct is connected to the intercooler that is the auxiliary machine, the intake duct may be a factor that impedes the backward movement of the intercooler. However, in such a case, it is provided in the intake duct. Since the intercooler is allowed to move to the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the intake duct by the allowance portion, the above-described action is reliably achieved regardless of the presence of the intake duct.

[0012]

Therefore, according to the front structure of the automobile of each invention of the present application, the following effects can be obtained.

(A) According to the front structure of the automobile of the first aspect, even if the auxiliary machine arranged on the upper part of the engine body is arranged to extend forward of the vehicle body with respect to the front edge part of the engine body. When the load is applied to the auxiliary machine from the front side of the vehicle body, the auxiliary machine can move to the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the engine body. This makes it possible to meet the functional requirements of automobiles, such as securing a crushable space.

(B) According to the front structure of the automobile of claim 2, even if the auxiliary machine is an intercooler having an intake duct, the intercooler is mounted on the vehicle body by the allowance part of the intake duct. Since the rearward movement is allowed, regardless of the presence of the intake duct, the intercooler is surely moved rearward with respect to the engine body, and the same effect as described in (a) above is achieved. is there.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The front structure of an automobile according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 and 2 show a front portion of an automobile having a front portion structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. Bonnet, 3 is the bonnet 2
It is the engine body mounted below. The engine body 3 is a V-type engine mounted horizontally, and its two banks 3A and 3B are located in the vehicle front-rear direction. A supercharger 4 (supercharger) is arranged at the interbank position 3C of the engine body 3, and is attached in the middle of the front intake duct 6 on the side of the first bank 3A located on the front side of the vehicle body. A front intercooler 8 is arranged, and a rear intercooler 9 mounted in the middle of the rear intake duct 7 is arranged in the second bank 3B located on the rear side of the vehicle body. 1 and 2, reference numeral 5 indicates each bank 3
Surge tanks 10 and 10 are arranged on the A and 3B sides, respectively, a resonator, an air cleaner 11 and a battery 12.

By the way, the first bank 3A of the intercoolers 8 and 9 arranged on the banks 3A and 3B side of the engine main body 3 which is horizontally arranged in this way, respectively.
The front intercooler 8 located on the side of the first intercooler 8 inclines in the front-down direction because it is necessary to achieve the design requirement of setting the bonnet line in the front-down direction and lower by lowering the engine height. The bank 3A is mounted on the upper surface side of the head cover 31 and in a state of being extended by a predetermined dimension S toward the vehicle body front side from the front edge portion 3a of the engine body 3 (that is, the front end of the head cover 31). Therefore, as described above, when the arrangement of the front intercooler 8 is set in this way, the crushable space at the time of a head-on collision of the vehicle may be reduced by the extension amount S in some cases. Therefore, in this embodiment, by devising the mounting structure of the front intercooler 8 with respect to the engine body 3 and the like, a reduction in the crushable space by the front intercooler 8 is avoided, and the bonnet line is lowered. We are striving to satisfy both the above requirements and the functional requirements to secure a sufficient crushable space. Hereinafter, this will be described with reference to FIGS.

The front intercooler 8 is constructed by attaching reducer-shaped connecting portions 8B and 8B to the left and right ends of a rectangular tubular intercooler body 8A, and connecting the end portions of the connecting portions 8B and 8B, respectively. By being connected to an intermediate position of the front intake duct 6 via resinous bellows tubes 13, 13, the front intake duct 6 is interposed in the middle thereof.

And, this front intercooler 8
Is a pair of front brackets 21 and 21 and a pair of rear brackets 22 provided on the intercooler body 8A.
22 and 22 are fixed to the engine body 3 side by bolting to the front mounting bosses 32, 32 and the rear mounting bosses 33, 33 formed on the upper surface of the head cover 31 of the first bank 3A. In this case, in this embodiment, the pair of front brackets 21, 21 are
And the pair of rear brackets 22, 22 have notch grooves 23, 23 and 24, 24, respectively, which are open at the front side edge of the vehicle body.
The mounting bolts 41, 41 and the mounting bolts 42, 42 are mounted through the respective cutout grooves 23, 23, 24, 24.

With such a front intercooler mounting structure, when a load acts on the front intercooler 8 from the front side of the vehicle body as shown by an arrow F due to, for example, a head-on collision of the automobile, this load is equal to or more than a predetermined allowable load. , The front intercooler 8
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front intercooler 8 slides between the brackets 21, 21, 22, and 22 of the head cover 31 and the mounting bosses 32, 32, 33, and 33 of the head cover 31. The vehicle will move to the rear side of the vehicle. As a result, even if the front intercooler 8 extends from the front edge portion 3a of the engine body 3 toward the front of the vehicle body in the normal state, the front intercooler 8 will not move when the load due to the front collision of the vehicle acts. By moving backward from the portion 3a, the crushable space on the front side of the engine body 3 is secured as it is as originally designed. That is, by making the front intercooler 8 retractable to the rear of the vehicle body, it becomes possible to satisfy both the requirements for vehicle design and the functional requirements for securing a crushable space.

Further, in this case, since both ends of the front intercooler 8 are connected to the front intake duct 6 which is usually made of cast iron, when the load acts, the front intercooler 8 is moved rearward by the front intake duct 6. However, in this embodiment, the front intercooler 8 is not directly connected to the front intake duct 6, but the expandable and contractable bellows pipes 13 and 13 are interposed in this connection portion. Therefore, the front intercooler 8 is allowed to move rearward of the vehicle body with respect to the front intake duct 6 by the expansion and contraction action of the bellows tubes 13, 13. Therefore, regardless of the presence of the front intake duct 6, the front intercooler 8 can be reliably moved to the rear of the vehicle body with respect to the engine body 3, and the above effects can be achieved.

In this embodiment, each of the brackets 21, 21, 22, 22 provided with the notch groove corresponds to the retracting allowance means in the claims, and the bellows tube 13,
13 corresponds to the allowable part in the claims.

Second Embodiment FIGS. 5 and 6 show a main part of a front structure of an automobile according to a second embodiment of the present invention, that is, a mounting portion of the front intercooler 8 of the embodiment to the first bank 3A. It is shown. In the second embodiment, the pair of front brackets 25, 25 provided on the front end side of the front intercooler 8 are formed with cutout grooves 27, 27 opening toward the front edge side thereof, and the cutout grooves 27 are passed through the cutout grooves 27. Although allowing the backward movement of the front intercooler 8 by mounting the mounting bolt 43 is the same as in the case of the first embodiment, a pair of rear brackets 26, 2 provided on the rear end side of the front intercooler 8 are provided.
The structure of 6 is different from that of the first embodiment.

That is, the rear bracket 26 is constructed by bending a strip plate in a U-shape in the thickness direction thereof, and one end side of the rear bracket 26 is attached to the rear end of the front intercooler 8 via a mounting bolt 45. The other end side is fixed to the rear mounting boss 33 on the head cover 31 side by a mounting bolt 44.

With such a fixing structure, when a load of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to the front intercooler 8 from the front side of the vehicle body, the front intercooler 8 is
On the front end side, slippage occurs in the front brackets 25, 25 to allow the front intercooler 8 to move backward, while on the rear end side, the rear brackets 26, 26 flexibly deform while absorbing the load. By doing so, the backward movement of the front intercooler 8 is allowed. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the crushable space can be secured by retracting the front intercooler 8 as in the first embodiment, and in addition to the rear brackets 26, 26, The load itself can be absorbed by the bending deformation.

In this embodiment, the front brackets 25, 25 and the rear brackets 26, 26 correspond to the retreat allowance means in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of an automobile having a front structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion III in FIG.

4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an essential part of an automobile having a front structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view on arrow VI-VI in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a vehicle body, 2 is a bonnet, 3 is an engine body, 3A is a first bank, 3B is a second bank, 4 is a supercharger, 5 is a surge tank, 6 is a front intake duct, 7 is a rear intake duct, and 8 is Front intercooler, 8A is an intercooler body, 8B is a connecting portion, 9 is a rear intercooler, 10 is a resonator, 11 is an air cleaner, 12 is a battery, 13 is a bellows tube, 21 is a front bracket,
22 is a rear bracket, 23 is a notch groove, 24 is a notch groove,
25 is a front bracket, 26 is a rear bracket 27
Is a notch groove, 31 is a head cover, 32 is a front mounting boss, 33 is a rear mounting boss, and 41 to 45 are mounting bolts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automobile in which an accessory is attached to an engine body arranged in a front portion of a vehicle body in a state of being projected forward of a front edge portion of the engine body in a vehicle body front-rear direction. Between the machine and the engine body, there is provided a retraction allowance means for allowing the auxiliary machine to move rearward of the vehicle body with respect to the engine body when a load acts on the auxiliary machine from the front of the vehicle body. The front structure of the automobile, which is characterized in that 2. The intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary machine is an intercooler disposed in the middle of the intake duct, and the intercooler is installed in the intake duct when a load from the front of the vehicle body acts on the intake duct. On the other hand, a front part structure of an automobile is characterized in that an allowance part is provided which allows the vehicle to move rearward.