JPS61249874A - Front vehicle body structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to effectively cope with a front bumping force and a lateral external force, by forming an inclined surface in the front wall of outer panel of a front pillar. CONSTITUTION:A wheel reinforcement 12 and a reinforcing member 13 are positioned on the outer surface of the upper section of a wheel apron 2. This wheel reinforcement 12 has its lower end having a height substantially equal to that of the top section of a wheel arch 4, and the reinforcing member 13 is positioned above the wheel reinforcement 12. Both members 12, 13 are jointed at their rear ends to a front pillar 25.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile.

(Prior Art) In an automobile having an engine room at the front of the passenger compartment, the side wall of the engine room is formed by a wheel apron, and the rear wall of the engine room is formed by a dash panel. Behind this wheel apron and on the side of the dash panel, there is a front pillar as an important strength member that has a closed cross-section formed by an inner panel and an outer panel and extends in the vertical direction.

As mentioned above, in the front body structure of an automobile, the problem is how to effectively utilize the strength of the front pillar and connect the wheel apron and dash panel to the front pillar. As an example of such a combination, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-28061, a cowl structure in which the upper part of the dash panel has a closed section extending in the vehicle width direction is used, and this cowl structure is connected to the front pillar and the wheel. It has been proposed to connect it to an apron.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, although conventional methods have been proposed that effectively connect the upper part of a dash panel with a cowl structure to a front pillar and a wheel apron, in general, There is no one in which the lower portion of the dash panel, that is, the dash lower panel, which is still in the form of a flat plate, is effectively connected to the front pillar or wheel apron. In particular, we have taken into account not only simple bond strength, but also measures to absorb collision energy in the event of a frontal collision, and responses to external forces in the lateral direction of the darts lower panel, wheel apron, and front pillar. An effective combination is desired.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to effectively utilize the front pillar, which has excellent strength, to absorb the above-mentioned collision energy and deal with external lateral forces, while also increasing the bonding strength of the side edge of the darts lower panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a front body structure of an automobile which can sufficiently secure the front body structure of an automobile.

(Means and operations for solving the problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a wheel apron that constitutes the side wall of the engine room, a darts lower panel that constitutes the lower part of the rear wall of the engine room, and an outer panel and an inner panel that are arranged behind the wheel apron and to the side of the darts lower panel, and that are closed by an outer panel and an inner panel. a front pillar extending in the vertical direction as a cross-sectional shape, a front extension extending forward is formed at a side end of the darts lower panel, and the wheel apron is connected to the front extension. The inner panel and the outer panel are joined to each other at the front end portion of the overlapped portion with their rear ends overlapped, and the inner panel and the outer panel are joined to each other at their front joining 7 flange portions, and the front joining flange portion of the inner panel is formed with an extended flange portion extending forward from the front joint flange portion of the outer panel, and the extended flange portion has a rear end portion of the overlapping portion.
The outer panel is joined to the overlapping portion, and the front wall of the outer panel has an inclined surface that slopes toward the rear as it goes outward in the vehicle width direction.

With this configuration, in the event of a frontal collision, the collision energy transmitted through the wheel apron is transmitted not only to the inner panel but also to the outer panel by utilizing the slope formed on the front wall of the outer panel of the front pillar. This means that the entire front pillar can deal with this collision energy. Similarly, a lateral external force on the darts lower panel is also effectively transmitted to the outer panel by the inclined surface of the front wall of the outer panel, so that the lateral external force can be sufficiently dealt with.

Furthermore, even if the darts lower panel, wheel apron, and front pillar (extended flange part) are joined by spot welding, which is the most common method, this welded part cannot withstand large external forces from the longitudinal direction. In other words, the bonding is not maintained against an external force in the peeling direction, which is weaker than shearing, so that the bonding strength can be sufficiently increased.

In addition to this, while the wheel apron and darts lower panel are being joined, the inner panel and outer panel of the front pillar can be joined separately, and after this, the wheel apron, darts lower panel, and front pillar can be joined together. This also makes it possible to carry out bonding work, which is convenient in terms of assembly.

Of course, since the darts lower panel is joined to the front pillar, which has excellent strength, and to the wheel apron, sufficient joint strength at the side ends is ensured.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below based on the attached drawings.

In Fig. 1, l is a dash panel, and the front of this dash panel 1 is the engine room A.
The rear part is considered to be cabin B.

A pair of left and right wheel aprons 2 extend forward from the left and right end portions of the dash panel 1, respectively, and a radiator shroud 3 is located at the front end portions of the wheel aprons 2. As a result, the engine/lz-room A is constituted by the dash panel l, the pair of left and right wheel aprons 2, and the radiator shroud 3.

The wheel apron 2 is formed with a wheel arch portion 4 that bulges toward the engine room A side, and a front frame 5 is joined to the wheel apron 2 directly below the wheel arch portion 4. A suspension tower portion 6 is joined to the wheel arch portion 4 and the wheel apron 2 above the wheel arch portion 4.

A wheel reinforcement 12 and a reinforcing member 13 are located on the upper outer surface of the wheel apron 2. The height position of the lower end of this wheel reinforcement 12 is approximately the same as the height position of the top of the wheel arch portion 4, and the reinforcing member work 3 is located on the wheel reinforcement 12. The rear ends of both 12 and 13 are respectively joined to a front pillar 25, which will be described later.

In the embodiment, the reinforcing member 13 reinforces the raised portion of the wheel apron 2 because the wheel apron 2 gradually extends upward as it goes rearward.

Here, the front pillar 25 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The front pillar 25 has a lower end portion of the front pillar upper 19 joined to an upper end portion of the front pillar lower 18, also called a hinge pillar. It consists of: The front pillar lower 18 has a closed cross-section by joining a flat lower inner 26 and a lower outer 27 with a hat-like cross section, and the front pillar upper 19 also has a flat upper inner 28 and an upper outer with a hat-like cross section. 29 to form a closed cross-sectional shape. Then, with the lower end of the front pillar upper 19 tightly fitted into the upper end of the front pillar lower 18, both 18 and 1
9 are joined. Of course, front pillar lower 18
The lower end portion of is joined to the side sill 20.

A reinforcing member 3 is provided in the lower end of the front pillar lower 18.
0 is placed. The reinforcing member 30 has a box shape that is opened only on the inward side in the vehicle width direction, and the upper wall 30A and the bottom wall 30B, particularly the upper wall 30A, constitute a joint member. That is, the reinforcing member 30 is joined to the lower outer 27 of the front pillar lower 18 in a tightly fitted state, and in such an assembled state, the upper wall 30A of the reinforcing member 30 extending in the substantially horizontal direction and the bottom wall 30B are the front wall 27A of the lower outer 27.
and the rear wall 27B are arranged in series. The height position of the upper wall 30A is located approximately at the vertical midpoint of the joining portion of the wheel reinforcement 12 to the front pillar 25.

Further, the upper outer 29 of the front pillar upper 19 has a bottom wall 29A, and the bottom wall 29A constitutes a four-section member. The bottom wall 29A as a joint member is located at the upper end of the joint portion of the wheel reinforcement 12 with the front pillar 25, in other words, it is located at the boundary between the wheel reinforcement 12 and the reinforcing member 13. .

Next, the joint portion between the dash panel 1, wheel apron 2, and front pillar 25 will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. This dash panel 1 includes an upper panel 31
It consists of a lower panel 32 joined to this lower end (
(See FIG. 1), each of the left and right ends of the lower panel 32 is formed with a front extension portion 32a that is bent at a right angle and extends forward. The rear end portion 2a of the wheel apron 2 is overlapped across this front extension portion 32a, and the rear end portion 2a is joined to the front end portion of this front extension portion 32a in two pieces ( This joint is shown as α)
. In addition, the lower inner 2 in the front pillar lower 18
The front joint flange portion 26a of No. 6 is joined to the front joint flange portion 27a of the lower outer 27 (this joint portion is shown as β). It also has an extended flange portion 26a' extending forward. At the rear end portion of the front extension portion 32a, the extension flange portion 26a', the front extension portion 32a, and the rear end portion 2a of the wheel apron 2 are joined in a three-piece arrangement (
This joint is designated as γ).

On the other hand, the front wall 27A of the lower outer 27 has an inclined surface that gradually moves rearward as it goes outward in the vehicle width direction from the base end of the front joining flange portion 27a. In addition, the position of the lower panel 31 in the front-rear direction is such that it is substantially flush with the base end (rear end) of the front stand 7 flange portion 27a of the lower outer 27.

In addition, in Fig. 3, 33 is a floor panel, and 36 is an inner 34.
This is a reinforcement for the side sill 20 consisting of an outer member 35 and an outer member 35.

In the above configuration, the front collision force at the time of a front collision is transmitted to the front pillar 25 via the wheel apron 2. At this time, the front collision force is not only input to the lower inner 26 of the front pillar 25 as shown by the arrow X1 in FIG. The force is effectively transmitted to the lower outer 27 by the wall 27A, and as a result, the entire cross-sectional area of the front pillar 25 effectively receives the front collision force, thereby increasing safety.

Further, since the lower panel 32 is directly joined to the front pillar 25 and also to the wheel apron 2, sufficient joint strength is ensured.

In particular, when a lateral external force acts on the lower panel 32, this lateral external force is effectively transmitted to the lower outer 27, as shown by the arrow x2, as described above, and the front pillar 25 will be received more effectively. For this reason, as in the embodiment, it is preferable that the lower panel 32 be positioned in substantially the same position as the base end of the front joining flange portion 27a of the lower outer 27.

In addition, when joining α, β, and γ, the α and β parts can be performed in parallel and separately, while the γ part can be joined after both α and β are joined. , there is no problem in terms of assembly.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the present invention is capable of effectively dealing with frontal collision force and lateral external force while ensuring sufficient joint strength at the side end portions of the darts lower panel. is obtained. In particular, for frontal collision force which is a large external force,
Even if the joint is made using the most common welding method (especially spot welding), this welded part resists the frontal collision force by superior welding strength and shear, thus preventing the above-mentioned joint from breaking. The above is also preferable.

Further, there is no problem in assembling (joining) the end portion on the side of the darts lower panel.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the front door. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view along the longitudinal direction of the front biller. FIG. 4 is a plan cross-sectional view showing the joint between the dash panel, wheel apron, and front pillar. A: Engine room α, β, γ: Joint part 1: Dash panel 2: Wheel apron 2a: Rear end 18: Front wing lower 19: Front wing upper 25: Front wing 26: Lower inner 26a: Front joint flange Part 26a': Extension flange part 27: Lower outer 27a: Front joint flange part 27A: Front wall 32: Dashboard lower panel 32a: Front extension part

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A wheel apron that constitutes the side wall of the engine room; a dash lower panel that constitutes the lower part of the rear wall of the engine room; a front pillar extending in the vertical direction as a shape, and a front extension extending forward is formed at a side end of the dash lower panel, and a rear end of the wheel apron is connected to the front extension. The inner panel and the outer panel are joined to each other at their front joining flange parts, and the front joining flange part of the inner panel has a An extended flange portion is formed that extends forward from the front joining flange portion of the outer panel, and the extended flange portion includes:
A front body structure for an automobile, characterized in that the front wall of the outer panel is joined to the overlapping portion and has an inclined surface that slopes toward the rear as it goes outward in the vehicle width direction. (2) In claim 1, the base end portion of each front joining flange portion between the inner panel and the outer panel is
Something that roughly matches the side surface of the dash lower panel.