JP4392595B2 - Vehicle fender structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle fender structure.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a structure for improving the energy absorption effect against a load acting on an automobile fender from above.

  First to fourth wall portions and through holes are formed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the fender of Patent Document 1. The first wall portion extends downward from the vehicle, the second wall portion inclines inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower portion of the first wall portion, and the third wall portion extends downward from the lower portion of the second wall portion. The fourth wall portion extends from the lower portion of the third wall portion toward the vehicle width inner side. The fourth wall portion is fixed to the apron upper member upper (vehicle body), and the through hole is formed across the second wall portion and the third wall portion.

  According to the above structure, since the through hole is formed across the second wall portion and the third wall portion, when a portion near the boundary between the engine hood and the fender receives a load below the vehicle, Since the connecting portion between the second wall portion and the third wall portion bends with a relatively low load, energy can be effectively absorbed.

JP-A-11-222154

  The structure of Patent Document 1 relies on through holes formed directly in the fender to improve the energy absorption effect by reducing the deformation strength. For this reason, the strength is naturally different between the vicinity of the through hole and the portion away from the through hole. However, in general, an automobile fender needs to have a sufficient thickness (strength) to satisfy basic performance such as tension rigidity, and the deformation strength is limited between the vicinity of the through hole and the part away from the through hole. The difference is big. Therefore, it is difficult to set a portion away from the through hole to a desired deformation strength, and there is a possibility that energy is not effectively absorbed.

  In the structure of Patent Document 1, the second wall portion extending in the vehicle width inward direction and the third wall portion extending in the vehicle downward direction are disposed between the first wall portion extending downward in the vehicle and the fourth wall portion extending in the vehicle width inward direction. A wall portion is formed, and a through hole is formed across the second wall portion and the third wall portion. That is, stepped portions (second wall portion and third wall portion) are formed above the fourth wall portion fixed to the vehicle body, and through holes are formed so as to include the corner portions. In this way, by forming through holes in the stepped corners, efficient absorption of energy is achieved by reducing the deformation strength of a fender that requires a predetermined plate thickness in function.

  However, the fourth wall portion is disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction so as to form the second wall portion extending in the vehicle width inner direction. For this reason, the engine room partitioned by the vehicle body on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the fourth wall portion is narrowed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle fender structure that can efficiently absorb energy without narrowing the engine room and regardless of the input position of the load. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle fender structure according to the present invention includes a fender and a flange. The fender has a protruding portion that protrudes downward from the vehicle outside the engine hood in the vehicle width direction. The flange includes a coupling wall that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction below the fender and is coupled to the vehicle body, and a projection that projects from the coupling wall to the vehicle and is coupled to the fender projection. . The fender is supported by the vehicle body via the flange by the connection between the fender and the flange protrusions.

  In the above configuration, since the fender and the vehicle body are connected by a flange which is a separate member, the material and shape of the flange can be freely set regardless of the fender. In other words, the fender is formed to have a sufficient thickness that satisfies basic performance such as tension rigidity, and when the fender receives a load below the vehicle, the fender is suitably deformed to absorb energy effectively. Further, the deformation strength (plate thickness, material, etc.) of the flange can be set. As a result, a structure capable of efficiently absorbing energy regardless of the load input position can be obtained.

  Further, since the projecting portion of the fender extends downward in the vehicle and the projecting portion of the flange extends from the coupling wall to the upper side of the vehicle and is coupled to the projecting portion of the fender, the coupling portion of the body body with the coupling wall of the flange is attached to the fender. It can arrange | position close to the perpendicular | vertical downward direction of a protrusion part. Therefore, the engine room partitioned by the vehicle body below the engine hood is not narrowed due to the coupling of the coupling walls, and the space can be effectively used.

  The flange may have a rising wall that is bent upward in the vehicle width direction from an outer edge in the vehicle width direction in almost the entire region of the connecting wall in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the protruding portion may extend from the rising wall.

  In the above configuration, since the bending rigidity and torsional rigidity of the flange in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are increased by the rising wall, it is possible to reduce the deformation strength by further thinning the flange and obtain a structure capable of absorbing energy more efficiently. Can do.

  A plurality of protrusions may be formed on the fender and the flange along the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the corresponding protrusions and protrusions may be coupled to each other.

  In the above configuration, an opening is defined between two projecting portions adjacent to each other in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the deformation strength by the opening can be reduced, so that a structure capable of absorbing energy more efficiently can be obtained. it can.

  According to the present invention, energy can be efficiently absorbed without narrowing the engine room and irrespective of the input position of the load.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle fender structure according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a flange is assembled to the fender of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. In the figure, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and IN indicates the inner side of the vehicle width. Moreover, the left-right direction in the following description means the left-right direction in the state which faced the vehicle front.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle fender structure according to this embodiment includes a fender 1 and a flange 2 that are both formed by pressing a metal plate. The fender 1 has a plate thickness (strength) sufficient to satisfy basic performance such as tension rigidity, and is disposed on both sides of the vehicle front portion (only the right side is shown in the figure) and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. Yes. On the other hand, the material and thickness of the flange 2 are set so that the deformation strength is lower than that of the fender 1. For example, if the fender 1 and the flange 2 are the same material, the basic deformation strength independent of the shape of the flange 2 is greater than that of the fender 1 by forming the flange 2 thinner than the fender 1. 2 is lower.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an engine room 3 is defined between the left and right fenders 1 by a vehicle body 5, and an upper portion of the engine room 3 is closed by an engine hood 4 so as to be opened and closed. The outer surface of the upper portion 6 of the fender 1 forms a substantially continuous surface with the outer surface of the engine hood 4. The edge portion 7 of the upper portion 6 of the fender 1 is bent downward in the vehicle body and faces the side edge portions 8 on both sides of the vehicle width of the engine hood 4. A projecting portion 9 that projects downward from the vehicle hood 4 in the vehicle width direction is integrally formed on the edge 7 of the fender 1. The protruding portion 9 has a substantially trapezoidal shape that tapers downward, and is located in the same plane as the end edge portion 7.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the end edge portion 7 of the fender 1 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the protrusions 9 are formed at three locations, approximately the center of the end edge portion 7, the front end portion, and the rear end portion. The flange 2 includes a coupling wall 10, a rising wall 11, and a protruding portion 12 that are integrally formed.

  The coupling wall 10 has a substantially long plate shape, and the rising wall 11 is bent from substantially the entire area of one long edge portion of the coupling wall 10 and extends upward of the vehicle. The protrusions 12 are formed at approximately three positions of the center of the rising wall 11, the front end, and the rear end corresponding to the protrusion 9 of the fender 1, and each protrudes upward from the rising wall 11 toward the vehicle. The projecting portion 12 has a substantially trapezoidal shape that tapers upward, and is located in substantially the same plane as the rising wall 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the surface on the vehicle width direction outer side of the protruding portion 9 is joined to the corresponding surface on the vehicle width direction inner side of the protruding portion 12 by welding or the like, whereby the flange 2 is coupled to the fender 1. . An opening 18 is defined between the projecting portions 9 and 12 adjacent to each other in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle body 5 has a fixed wall 13 positioned substantially vertically below the side edge 8 of the engine hood 4. The coupling wall 10 of the flange 2 is overlapped on the fixed wall 13 below the protrusion 9 and the bolt 14 that passes through the coupling wall 10 and the fixed wall 13 (the bolt insertion hole 16 of the coupling wall 10 is shown in FIGS. 3) and a nut 15 that is screwed with the nut 15 and is fastened and fixed to the fixed wall 13. The fender 1 is fixed to the vehicle body 5 via the flange 2 by such a connection between the protrusion 9 and the protrusion 12 and a connection between the connection wall 10 and the fixed wall 13.

  In the above configuration, since the fender 1 and the vehicle body 5 are connected by the flange 2 which is a separate member, the material and shape of the flange 2 can be freely set regardless of the fender 1. In other words, the fender 1 is formed to have a sufficient thickness that satisfies basic performance such as tension rigidity, and the collision object 17 (from above to the vicinity of the upper edge 6 of the fender 1 and the side edge 8 of the engine hood 4 ( The deformation strength (plate thickness, material, etc.) of the flange 2 is set so that when the fender 1 receives a downward load on the vehicle, the fender 1 undergoes a suitable deformation and effectively absorbs energy. This increases the degree of freedom in setting the deformation mode of the flange 2. That is, the deformation mode of the flange 2 can be brought close to an ideal mode in which energy can be effectively absorbed regardless of the load input position in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

  As a result, energy can be efficiently absorbed by the deformation of the flange 2 regardless of the load input position in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the impact received by the collision object 17 can be reduced.

  Further, the protruding portion 9 of the fender 1 extends downward in the vehicle, and the protruding portion 12 of the flange 2 extends from the coupling wall 10 via the rising wall 11 to the upper side of the vehicle and is coupled to the protruding portion 9. For this reason, the fixed wall 13 of the vehicle body 5 can be disposed close to the vertically lower portion of the protruding portion 9. Therefore, the engine room 3 is not narrowed by the fixed wall 13 provided for the coupling with the coupling wall 10, and the space can be effectively used.

  Further, since the bending wall and the torsional rigidity of the flange 2 in the vehicle longitudinal direction are increased by the rising wall 11, the deformation strength can be reduced by further thinning the flange 2, and the degree of freedom in setting the deformation mode of the flange 2 is further increased. Expanding. Therefore, the deformation mode of the flange 2 can be made closer to the ideal mode.

  Furthermore, an opening 18 is defined between the protrusions 9 and 12 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the deformation strength by the opening 18 can be reduced. Therefore, the degree of freedom in setting the deformation mode of the flange 2 is further expanded. Thus, the deformation mode of the flange 2 can be made closer to the ideal mode.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the vehicle fender structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which assembled | attached the flange to the fender of FIG. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow IV-IV in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fender 2 Flange 3 Engine room 4 Engine hood 5 Vehicle body 9 Protruding part 10 Connecting wall 11 Standing wall 12 Protruding part 13 Fixed wall

Claims (1)

A fender having a plurality of projecting portions partially projecting downward from the plurality of locations spaced in the vehicle front-rear direction outside the engine hood in the vehicle width direction;
The connecting wall extending in the vehicle front-rear direction below the fender projecting portion and coupled to the vehicle body is separated from the connecting wall in the vehicle front-rear direction so as to be paired with the plurality of projecting portions of the fender, respectively. A flange having a plurality of protrusions partially protruding above the vehicle from a plurality of locations and coupled to the protrusions of the fender ,
The vehicle fender structure characterized in that the fender and the flange define an opening portion between two pairs of protrusions adjacent to each other in the vehicle front-rear direction among the plurality of pairs of protrusions combined .

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