JPH11115811A - Cowl structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the vibration of a vehicle body due to input from a suspension, by utilizing a cowl. SOLUTION: This cowl structure is composed of a first cowl 1A, joined to right and left front pillars 3 at both the ends by a closed cross section, and a second cowl 1B, joined along the front edge of the cowl 1A at the rear edge by an upwardly opened cross section, and to right and left apron upper members 6 at both the ends. In this case, the cowl 1B is positioned directly on suspension towers 4, and both the ends of the cowl 1B, extending rectilinearly are boltedly joined to the right and left apron upper members 6, and also both the end parts of the bottom surface 15 of the cowl 1B are boltedly secured to the top surfaces 40 of the right and left suspension towers 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cowl structure installed along a lower edge of an opening of a front window of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Between left and right front pillars of an automobile,
A cowl that forms the lower edge of the opening of the front window and strengthens the front part of the vehicle body is installed.

On the other hand, a suspension tower is provided on the inner side of the left and right side walls of the engine room, and the top surface thereof receives the upper end of the suspension from above. In this suspension tower, tire vibrations are input via the suspension, and transmitted from the cowl upper member provided on the side wall and the upper edge of the side wall to the front pillar, the cowl, and the like, thereby generating vehicle interior noise. A rod-shaped performance rod is erected between the left and right suspension towers to enhance the rigidity of the suspension tower and its surrounding members.
0270).

By the way, the front window of an automobile is
There is a tendency to make the angle of inclination gentle in order to increase the driver's field of view and reduce the air resistance of the windshield during traveling, so that the lower edge of the front window moves forward and approaches the suspension tower.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a typical example of the structure of a cowl installation portion of this kind of automobile. A cowl 1 has a first cowl 1A having a closed cross section and a substantially U-shaped cross section connected to a front edge thereof. It is composed of a second cowl 1B having a character shape. The first cowl 1 </ b> A has an arch shape in which both left and right ends are curved along the windshield surface and project forward, and both ends are connected to the left and right front pillars 3. The second cowl 1B is linear and is located above the suspension tower 4, and its rear edge flange is connected to the front edge flange of the first cowl 1A. The rear end is connected to the upper surface of the apron upper member 6 which is provided along the upper edge of the side wall 5 and which is connected to the front pillar 3. The base end of a wiper (not shown) is attached to the second cowl 1B. In the figure, 7 is a side member of the vehicle body, 8 is a suspension, 9 is a cover member that covers the second cowl 1B and holds the lower edge of the front window glass 2, and 10 is an engine hood.

[0006]

The cowl structure described above is
The second cowl 1B is intended to fulfill the role of the performance rod described above. However, in this cowl structure, the suspension tower 4 and its peripheral members do not always have a sufficient vibration damping effect, and the apron upper member 6 may be deformed in cross section. In order to prevent this, the thickness of the cowl 1, especially the thickness of the second cowl 1B must be increased.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cowl structure in which the second cowl constituting the first half of the cowl is located immediately above the suspension tower, without increasing the thickness of the cowl and controlling the suspension tower and its peripheral parts. An object of the present invention is to provide a structure capable of effectively achieving vibration.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a cowl is constituted by a first cowl having a closed cross section and a second cowl having an open cross section joined along a front edge of the first cowl. Upper panel in which both ends of a linearly extending second cowl are provided on upper edges of left and right side walls of the engine room in a car cowl structure in which the cowl is positioned above a suspension tower provided on the left and right sides of the engine room. And both ends of the bottom surface of the second cowl are bolted to the top surfaces of the left and right suspension towers (claim 1). The second cowl has its rear edge formed in an arch shape that matches the first cowl, which forms an arch shape projecting forward, and is bolted to the rear edge of the second cowl and the front edge of the second cowl ( Claim 2).

In the present invention, by the second cowl,
By connecting the top surfaces of the left and right suspension towers, which are the vibration input parts of the vehicle body, and connecting the left and right apron upper members with the second cowl, the rigidity of the left and right suspension towers and their peripheral parts is effectively improved. Can be improved. In this case, the rigidity is further enhanced by connecting the left and right suspension towers and the left and right apron upper members with the shortest distance by the second cowl as a linear member. The second cowl maintains a substantially straight shape by forming the trailing edge thereof in an arc shape, and can be easily coupled to the first cowl.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower edges of the left and right side walls (only one of them is shown) 5 of an engine room are connected to a side member 7, and the upper edge is closed. An apron upper member 6 having a cross section is provided, and its rear ends are respectively connected to the left and right front pillars 3.

A cylindrical suspension tower 4 whose lower side is open is installed on the inner side of the side wall 5, and its lower end is connected to the side member 7 and its upper end is connected to the apron upper member 6. In the suspension tower 4, a shock absorber 80 of the suspension 8 having a spring 81 is provided, and the upper end of the spring 81 is received from above by a bracket 41 provided on the top surface 40 of the suspension tower 4.

A cowl 1 is provided at the lower edge of the front window opening formed between the left and right front pillars 3 in the vehicle width direction. The cowl 1 includes a first cowl 1A and a second cowl 1B. The first cowl 1A has a closed cross-sectional structure in which an upper panel 11 and a lower panel 12 are connected, and both ends are connected to connection portions between the left and right front pillars 3 and the apron upper member 6, respectively. The first cowl 1 </ b> A has an arch-like shape that projects forward along the lower edge of the front window glass 2 provided in the front window opening.

The second cowl 1B has a substantially U-shaped cross section with an upper opening, the front wall 13 is formed linearly in the longitudinal direction, and a flange 130 is formed at the upper end thereof. The rear wall 14 gradually increases in width toward the left and right ends, and has an inclination angle that gradually falls rearward. The flange 140 formed at the upper end extends in the vehicle width direction along the first cowl 1A. It has a shape extending in an arch shape. The second cowl 1B is joined to the first cowl 1A by overlapping and bolting the flange 140 of the rear wall 14 to the joining flange 110 at the front edge of the first cowl 1A.

The second cowl 1B is located immediately above the suspension tower 4. Extension portions 131 and 141 for extending the front and rear flanges 130 and 140 are formed on both left and right ends of the second cowl 1B. In the vicinity of the left and right ends of the bottom portion 15 of the second cowl 1B, a flat receiving hole provided with a bolt hole is provided at a position corresponding to a portion forward of the center of the top surface 40 of the suspension tower 4 for receiving the suspension 8. Surface 16 is formed. On the other hand, a bolt 45 is provided upright on the top surface 40 of the suspension tower 4 with the screw shaft directed upward at the front portion. Reference numeral 9 denotes a cover member that covers the second cowl 1B and holds a lower edge of the front window glass 2, and reference numeral 10 denotes an engine hood.

First, the bottom cowl 1B is assembled.
The bolts 9 protruding from the top surface 40 of the suspension tower 4 are inserted into the bolt holes of the receiving surface 16 formed at the left and right end portions of the suspension tower 5, and the receiving surface 16 is superimposed on the top surface 40 so that the second cowl 1B is mounted. Positioning and trailing edge flange 140
Flange 11 of the first cowl 1A installed first
The second cowl 1B is joined to the first cowl 1A by bolting the two flanges 140 and 110 on top of the first cowl 1A, and the extension 1 provided before and after both ends of the second cowl 1B.
31 and 141 are left and right apron upper members 6 respectively.
Of the second cowl 1B, and a nut 46 is fastened to a bolt 45 protruding from the left and right receiving surfaces 16 of the second cowl 1B.

In the cowl structure configured as described above, the left and right suspension towers 4 whose lower ends are connected to the side members 7 are connected by a linear second cowl 1B near the vibration input point on the top surface 40. The left and right apron upper members 6 connected to the upper end of the side surface of the suspension tower 4 are connected by the second cowl 1B. Accordingly, in the engine room, a coupling structure in which the top surfaces 40 of the left and right suspension towers 4 whose lower ends are connected to the side members 7 are connected by the bottom surface 15 of the second cowl 1B, and a left and right whose lower ends are connected to the suspension tower 4 A coupling structure is formed in which the coupling structure in which the apron upper members 6 are connected to each other at the upper edge of the second cowl 1B is integrated. In addition, the left and right suspension towers 4 are connected at the position of the vibration input point from the suspension 8 with the shortest distance.

Therefore, the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body including the suspension tower 4 have high rigidity against vibration input from the suspension 8. In particular, the rigidity is significantly enhanced with respect to input in the left-right direction. Thereby, the suspension 8
The vibration of the suspension tower 4 and its surrounding members is much smaller than that of the conventional structure shown in FIGS.

Accordingly, the noise inside the vehicle is reduced and the riding comfort is improved, and the steering stability is also improved. Further, the thickness of the second cowl can be reduced, which contributes to weight reduction and cost reduction of the vehicle. In the second cowl, the mounting portions are all bolted and can be removed,
By removing this, the space in the engine room for maintenance and assembly and removal of parts can be expanded, and the workability in the engine room is not hindered.

[0019]

According to the present invention, in a suspension tower using a cowl and a vibration damping structure in the peripheral portion thereof, the cowl thickness is not increased by improving the coupling structure of the cowl, and the cowl is provided in the engine room by the cowl. The vibration damping effect can be improved without causing inconvenience to the above operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a cowl structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cowl structure of the present invention, taken along a line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a conventional cowl structure.

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional cowl structure at a position along a line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cowl 1A first cowl 1B second cowl 15 bottom surface 2 windshield 3 front pillar 4 suspension tower 40 top surface 5 engine room side wall 6 apron upper member 7 side member 8 suspension

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cowl provided along a lower edge of an opening of a front window of an automobile includes a first cowl having a closed cross section,
A second cowl having an open cross section joined along the front edge of the cowl, the both ends of the first cowl are connected to left and right front pillars, and both ends of the second cowl are connected to left and right side walls of an engine room. In the cowl structure provided along the upper edge and connected at the rear end to the apron upper member connected to the front pillar, the second cowl extending linearly is bolted at both ends to the apron upper member. A cowl structure for an automobile, wherein both end portions of a bottom surface are bolted to a top surface of a suspension tower provided on inner surfaces of the left and right side walls. 2. A rear edge of the second cowl is formed in a shape along an arch-shaped first cowl extending forward, and a rear edge of the second cowl is bolted to a front edge of the first cowl. The cowl structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cowl structure is combined.