JPS6152011B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure, and particularly relates to an improvement in a vehicle body structure around a fuel strainer.

Conventional vehicle body structures of this type include, for example, a front-wheel drive vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an F/F vehicle). As shown in FIGS. A fuel strainer 3 for fuel cleaning is installed approximately at the center of the lower panel 2, while a tunnel section of a floor panel (not shown), which was originally provided for arranging a propeller shaft, etc., is used to connect the engine 4. Exhaust tube 5 that discharges exhaust gas
There are some that are arranged along the front and rear direction of the vehicle body.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, 8 is a dash upper panel, 9 is a cowl top, 10 is a front windshield, and 11 is a hood.

In this type, when looking at the positional relationship between the fuel strainer 3 and the exhaust tube 5, the exhaust tube 5 is disposed so as to pass approximately directly below the fuel strainer 3. Therefore, considering that the exhaust tube 5 itself becomes quite hot when the engine 4 is operating, for example, if fuel leaks from the joint end of the hose 7 that leads the fuel 6 to the fuel strainer 3, The fuel 6 falls directly into the exhaust tube 5,
There was a fear that this could cause a vehicle fire.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned viewpoints, and the object thereof is to attach an upper part of the exhaust tube to a vehicle body panel such as a dart lower panel in the vicinity of the exhaust tube, which is located approximately directly below the fuel strainer. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body structure that can prevent a vehicle fire due to fuel leakage from a hose connection end of a fuel strainer by providing a protector that protrudes into the engine compartment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the positional relationship between the fuel strainer 3 and the exhaust tube 5 is the same as the conventional one, but unlike the conventional one, a protector 20 is provided in the tunnel portion 2a formed in the dart lower panel 2. installed.

This protector 20 is formed into a flat plate shape, is fixed to the upper wall surface of the tunnel portion 2a using bolts 21 and weld nuts 22, and is arranged to protrude into the engine room 1 by a predetermined dimension.
At this time, the protector 20 is disposed close to and above the exhaust tube 5, and is designed to cover a portion of the exhaust tube 5 that corresponds to approximately directly below the fuel strainer 3. In addition, 23 is fuel strainer 3
This is a mounting bracket.

Therefore, according to the vehicle body structure according to this embodiment,
Since the protector 20 is disposed almost directly below the fuel strainer 3, when the fuel 6 leaks from the joint end of the hose 7 of the fuel strainer 3, the leaked fuel 6 falls onto the protector 20. Then, it flows down towards the ground from both sides. At this time, due to the presence of the protector 20,
The leaked fuel 6 is directly transferred to the exhaust tube 5.
It will no longer fall on the screen, and protector 2
0 and the exhaust tube 5 are close to each other, the fuel 6 flowing down from the protector 20 toward the ground does not fall onto the exhaust tube 5, but passes through both sides of the exhaust tube 5.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

In this example, unlike the first example,
The protector 20 is not shaped like a flat plate but has a substantially hat-shaped cross section, and a bent flange 24 that rises upward is formed at its protruding end.

Therefore, according to the vehicle body structure according to this embodiment,
The fuel 6 leaking from the joint end of the hose 7 of the fuel strainer 3 falls onto the protector 20 and is then guided to both sides of the protector 20 along the cross-sectional shape of the hat of the protector 20. It will flow downwards. Also, it is possible that the fuel 6 that has fallen onto the protector 20 flows toward the protruding end of the protector 20 due to vibrations of the vehicle body, but the fuel 6 flowing toward the protruding end of the protector 20 is blocked by the bent flange 24. It is swept away toward both sides of the protector 20, and falls downward from both sides of the protector 20. Therefore, there is no possibility that the fuel 6 will fall onto the exhaust tube 5 from the protruding end of the protector 20.

Further, in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the protector 20 is a further improvement of the second embodiment, and the protector 20 is designed to sandwich a portion 20a located directly below the fuel strainer 3. Beads 25a and 25b extending in the vehicle width direction are provided at the front and rear thereof.

Therefore, according to the vehicle body structure according to this embodiment,
Most of the fuel 6 leaking from the joint end of the hose 7 of the fuel strainer 3 is absorbed by the protector 20.
It will fall to the part 20a directly below. At this time, the fuel 6 moving in the vehicle width direction is directly below the portion 20
The fuel 6 flows toward both sides of the protector 20 and immediately flows downward from both side edges thereof, whereas the fuel 6 moving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is blocked by the beads 25a and 25b and is swept away toward both sides of the protector 20. After that, it flows downward from both sides of the protector 20. In this case,
Even if the fuel 6 heading towards the protruding end side of the protector 20 gets over the bead 25a on the front side, the amount will be very small, so the fuel 6 will be completely dammed up by the bent flange 24. There is no risk of the fuel 6 falling onto the exhaust tube 5 from the protruding end of the protector 20. Therefore, the function of the protector 20 is further improved than in the second embodiment, and the rigidity of the protector 20 is also further improved.

The specific shape of the protector 20 is not limited to that shown in each of the above embodiments. For example, the protector 20 may have a semicircular cross section, or may have a bead
The design may be changed as appropriate, such as by increasing the number of 5a and 25b. Further, the mounting position of the protector 20 does not necessarily need to be in the tunnel portion 2a of the dart lower panel 2, and may be mounted at any location above the exhaust tube 5. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to a vehicle in which the fuel strainer 3 is attached to the dart lower panel 2 and the exhaust tube 5 is disposed using the tunnel portion of the floor panel. It is not limited to this, but in short, in a vehicle body structure of a type in which the exhaust tube 5 is disposed so as to pass almost directly under the fuel strainer 3, for example, in a vehicle body structure in which the fuel strainer 3 is attached to a hood ledge, this Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a type in which the exhaust tube 5 is disposed almost directly below.
Furthermore, the protector 20 may be divided into a portion protruding into the engine room 1 and a portion attached to the vehicle body panel, and these portions may be configured to be detachable. In this case, the protruding portion of the protector 20 can be removed during maintenance work in the engine room 1, and there is no possibility that the presence of the protector 20 will impair the maintenance workability.

As described above, according to the vehicle body structure according to the present invention, the vehicle body panel is provided with a protector that protrudes into the engine compartment at an upper position close to the exhaust tube, and this protector allows the Since it covers the exhaust tube located at
Even if fuel leaks from the hose connection end of the fuel strainer, there is no risk that the leaked fuel will fall directly onto the exhaust tube, which can prevent vehicle fires, etc., and the above protector also prevents the leaked fuel from falling from the ground. It also becomes possible to block splashes and the like to some extent.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a plan view of an automobile showing an example of a conventional vehicle body structure around a fuel strainer;
The figures are a sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the vehicle body structure according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the vehicle body structure according to the present invention. , FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the vehicle body structure according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 1... Engine room, 2... Dash lower panel (vehicle body panel), 3... Fuel strainer, 5... Exhaust tube, 20... Protector, 24... Bent flange, 25a, 25b
……bead.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a vehicle body structure in which a fuel strainer is attached to a vehicle body panel that partitions the engine room, and an exhaust tube for exhaust is arranged so as to pass approximately directly under the fuel strainer, the vehicle body panel has a fuel strainer installed therein. A vehicle body structure characterized by providing a protector protruding into an engine room at an upper position close to an exhaust tube located substantially directly below a strainer.