JP4905045B2 - Fender panel mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fender panel mounting structure in which an upper portion of a fender panel is mounted on a hood ridge disposed inside a vehicle body of the fender panel via a bracket.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a structure is known in which an upper part of a front fender of an automobile is fixed to an upper part of a hood ridge located inside the vehicle body via a bracket serving as an impact absorbing member (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). The bracket in this case has a hat shape when viewed from the front, and its side wall is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, so that it can stably absorb an impact load when an obstacle collides with the upper part of the front fender, and normally At times, a firm feeling when a person touches the front fender, so-called hand rigidity, is ensured.
JP 2005-14763 A

  By the way, in the conventional structure described above, a shock-absorbing bracket is provided between the lower surface of the upper edge of the front fender and the upper surface of the hood ridge, and these are connected and fixed to each other. It is necessary to be crushed and deformed between the two.

  For this reason, in order to obtain sufficient shock absorption, a sufficient space for the bracket to be crushed must be secured between the lower surface of the upper edge of the front fender and the upper surface of the hood ridge. As a result, the height of the vehicle body (hood height) is increased, resulting in an increase in the size of the vehicle body.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, between the lower surface of the upper edge of the fender panel and the upper surface of the hood ridge, the bracket connecting the two is reduced while reducing the space to be crushed by receiving an impact load from the upper fender panel. The purpose is to suppress a decrease in absorption capacity.

The present invention provides a fender panel mounting structure in which an upper portion of a fender panel is mounted on a hood ridge disposed inside a vehicle body of the fender panel via a bracket. The fender panel receives an impact load, and the impact load is Mounting of a fender panel provided with bracket movement allowance means for allowing the bracket to move toward a space located below the upper surface of the hood ridge when input to the hood ridge via the bracket The upper surface of the hood ridge to which the bracket is attached is provided with an opening communicating with the space located below the upper surface, and the bracket movement allowing means provided corresponding to the opening includes the opening The support member is provided so as to bridge the bracket, and the bracket is placed on the support member. Mounting, and most main feature in that a weakened portion to the support member at a position corresponding to the outer and and in the opening from the bracket.

According to the present invention, when an impact load is applied to the hood ridge through the bracket from above, the bracket moves to the space side located below the upper surface of the hood ridge by the action of the bracket movement permitting means. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the shock absorbing force while reducing a space in which the bracket is crushed between the lower surface of the upper end edge of the fender panel and the upper surface of the hood ridge.
At this time, the support member receives the above-described impact load, so that the support member is surely broken starting from the fragile portion, and the bracket on the support member is surely dropped and moved through the opening to the lower space.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a front portion of a vehicle body as viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, showing a fender panel mounting structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A hood ridge 3 is disposed inside the vehicle body of the front fender 1 constituting the fender panel, and the upper portion of the hood ridge 3 and the upper portion of the front fender 1 are connected to each other via a shock absorbing bracket 5. ing. In addition, what is shown with the code | symbol 7 in FIG. 1 is the hood which covers the engine room 9 from upper direction.

  The front fender 1 includes a mounting flange 1a whose upper end is bent toward the hood ridge 3 inside the vehicle body, and the mounting flange 1a is fixed to the upper surface of the bracket 5 using bolts 11 and nuts 12.

  On the other hand, the hood ridge 3 includes a closed cross-sectional space 13 as a space at a position below the upper surface 3u serving as a bracket mounting surface. That is, the hood ridge 3 includes an upper wall portion 3a having an upper surface 3u, an outer vertical wall portion 3b extending downward from a vehicle width direction outer side (right side in FIG. 1) of the upper wall portion 3a, and a vehicle width direction inner side ( The above-described closed cross-sectional space 13 is formed by the inner inclined wall portion 3c extending further downward in the inner direction from the left side in FIG. 1 and the bottom wall portion 3d positioned below the upper wall portion 3a.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the bracket 5 fixed on the hood ridge 3. In FIG. 2, the front fender 1 is omitted.

  The upper wall 3a of the hood ridge 3 is provided with a rectangular opening 3e that communicates with the closed cross-sectional space 13 described above, and serves as a bracket movement permitting means so as to bridge the opening 3e in the vehicle width direction. A rod-shaped support member 15 is provided.

  The bracket 5 includes a fender mounting wall portion 5a having an upper fender mounting surface 5u, and a pair of inclined wall portions 5b formed so as to be separated from each other downward from both ends of the fender mounting wall portion 5a in the vehicle body front-rear direction. And a flange portion 5c that extends horizontally from the lower end of the inclined wall portion 5b in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. The flange portion 5 c is fixed on the support member 15. The fender mounting wall 5a is provided with a bolt insertion hole 5d into which the bolt 11 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted.

  The bracket 5 is formed to be sufficiently smaller than the opening 3e provided on the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3 in a plan view, and the lower surface of the support member 15 is located at a position outside the bracket 5 in the vehicle width direction and corresponding to the opening 3e. Is provided with a notch 15a as a fragile portion.

In the fender panel mounting structure as described above, when an obstacle collides with the front-rear direction of the vehicle, for example, and collides with the front fender 1 again after the collision, an impact load is applied. The support member 15 is reached from the mounting flange 1 a of the fender 1 through the bracket 5.

  At this time, the support member 15 receives the above-described impact load, so that the support member 15 is surely broken starting from the notch 15a provided on the lower surface, and the bracket 5 on the support member 15 is lowered as shown in FIG. It surely drops and moves through the opening 3e into the closed cross-section space 13.

  As described above, the bracket 5 drops and moves into the closed cross-sectional space 13, so that the impact load of the obstacle from above the front fender 1 can be absorbed.

  In FIG. 3, a part 15 </ b> A at the center in the longitudinal direction of the support member 15 is attached to the bracket 5 dropped and moved to the closed cross-section space 13, and parts 15 </ b> B at both ends of the support member 15 are attached to the upper surface 3 u of the hood ridge 3. The attached state is shown.

  Here, in the present embodiment, when absorbing the impact load described above, the deformation of the bracket 5 is not mainly used, but the bracket 5 is placed in the closed cross-sectional space 13 positioned below the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3. I'm trying to drop it in. For this reason, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the shock absorbing force while reducing a space in which the bracket 5 is crushed between the lower surface of the mounting flange 1a at the upper end edge of the front fender 1 and the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3. In other words, even in a vehicle in which the height of the vehicle body (hood height) in the portion where the front fender 1 is provided is reduced, it is possible to obtain an impact absorbing power.

  Further, since the front fender 1 is connected and fixed to the hood ridge 3 via the bracket 5, a so-called fender portion in which, for example, an automobile user touches the upper portion of the front fender 1 during normal use, for example. It is possible to secure the rigidity with hand and the rigidity necessary for work in the assembly process at the factory.

  FIG. 4 shows a modified example of FIG. 2 as a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a plate-like support member 17 is used in place of the rod-like support member 15 in FIG. On the lower surface of the support member 17, a notch 17a as a fragile portion is provided along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

  And this notch 17a is provided in the position corresponding to the outside of the bracket 5 in the vehicle width direction and in the opening 3e, like the notch 15a shown in FIG. The shape of the bracket 5 itself here is the same as that of FIG. 2, and in FIG. 4, it is in a state of being rotated by 90 ° in a plan view with respect to FIG. 2, but it may be arranged similarly to FIG. .

  Further, as a third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a compression coil spring 19 as an elastic means is provided between the support member 15 or the support member 17 and the bottom wall portion 3 d of the hood ridge 3.

  By providing the compression coil spring 19, the reaction force characteristic against the impact load of the obstacle from above the front fender 1 can be adjusted as appropriate, and a more versatile fender panel mounting structure can be obtained. . That is, the compression coil spring 19 constitutes a reaction force adjusting means for adjusting a reaction force against an impact load acting on the hood ridge 3.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a bracket 5 having an arrangement configuration similar to that in FIG. 4 is connected and fixed to the upper surface 3 u of the hood ridge 3 via a support member 17, and a pressure is applied instead of the compression coil spring 19 in FIG. 5. An actuator 21 such as a hydraulic cylinder is provided as means.

  The actuator 21 places and fixes the actuator body 21a on the bottom wall portion 3d of the hood ridge 3, and presses and contacts the tip of the piston rod 21b extending upward from the actuator body 21a to the lower surface of the support member 17 with a predetermined pressure. State. In this case, the pressure may be zero and the tip of the piston rod 21b may be simply in contact with the lower surface of the support member 17.

  FIG. 7 shows the time ΔT from when the obstacle collides with the front part of the vehicle (step S1) until the obstacle collides with the upper part of the front fender 1 again (step S6) in the fourth embodiment described above. And the relationship between the time ΔTa from when the obstacle collides with the front of the vehicle (step S1) until the operation of the actuator 21 is completed (step S5), and the operation between the times ΔT and ΔTa. It is a flowchart to show.

  Here, after the obstacle collides with the front part of the vehicle, the actuator 21 completes the operation before the front fender 1 receives the impact load from above. Therefore, the time ΔT and the time ΔTa described above are obtained. There is a relationship of ΔT> ΔTa.

  In FIG. 7, when an obstacle collides with the vehicle (step S1), the occurrence of this collision is detected by a sensor (not shown) or the like (step S2), and then the optimum reaction force characteristic of the bracket 5 is calculated from the vehicle speed or the like. The operation instruction is calculated by the means (step S3), and an operation instruction for achieving the calculated optimum reaction force characteristic is output from the control means (not shown) to the actuator 21 (step S4). Thereafter, before the obstacle collides with the upper part of the front fender 1, the operation of the actuator 21 is completed (step S6).

  For example, when increasing the reaction force characteristic, the actuator 21 operates and pressurizes in the direction of moving the piston rod 21b forward, and conversely when lowering the reaction force characteristic, the actuator 21 moves the piston rod 21b backward. Operate in the direction to reduce the pressure. When weakening the applied pressure, the piston rod 21b may be completely separated from the support member 15.

  Then, in a state where the operation of the actuator 21 is completed, that is, in a state where the bracket 5 has the optimum reaction force characteristic corresponding to the impact at the time of the vehicle collision, the obstacle applies an impact load to the front fender 1 from above. When applied, the support member 17 breaks with the notch 17a as a base point in the same manner as in the above embodiments, and the bracket 5 enters the closed cross-sectional space 13 to absorb the impact.

  Thus, in the fourth embodiment, since the reaction force characteristic of the bracket 5 can be adjusted according to the impact force at the time of the vehicle collision, more accurate impact absorption can be performed.

  In the fourth embodiment described above, the support member 15 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used in place of the support member 17, and in this case, the two support members 15 are used. It is desirable to install the actuator 21 corresponding to the above.

  Further, in the fourth embodiment, the pressure applied to the support member 17 of the actuator 21 is adjusted according to the impact force at the time of the vehicle collision, but the tip of the piston rod 21b is simply placed on the lower surface of the support member 17. The contacted state may be set, and the piston rod 21b may be moved backward from the support member 17 before the obstacle collides with the front fender 1 in step S6 in FIG.

  Thereby, compared with the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 4, since the bracket 5 is supported by the actuator 21 during normal use, the reaction force characteristic can be improved.

  FIG. 8 shows a modified example of FIG. 6 as the fifth embodiment. Instead of the actuator 21 arranged in the vertical direction in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. The actuator 23 is used. The actuator 23 fixes the actuator body 23a to the left side of the opening 3e in FIG. 8 on the lower surface of the upper wall 3a of the hood ridge 3, and the side surface on the upper side of the piston rod 23b extending rightward from the actuator body 23a. Is in a state of being movably contacted with the lower surface of the connecting member 25 fixed to the lower surface of the support member 17.

  The actuator 23 described above can move between the forward limit state of the piston rod 23b shown in FIG. 8 and the backward limit state in which the piston rod 23b moves backward and separates from the connecting member 25.

  The connecting member 25 described above is provided so as to be positioned between the two left and right cutouts 17 a provided in the support member 17. Further, since the actuator 23 is disposed horizontally, the rear end portion of the actuator main body 23 a is projected outside from the closed cross-sectional space 13 of the hood ridge 3.

  The operation of the actuator 23 in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is as follows: the tip of the piston rod 21b of the actuator 21 in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. It is the same as that.

  That is, the piston rod 23b of the actuator 23 is brought into contact with the connecting member 25 in the forward limit state shown in FIG. 8, and before the obstacle collides with the front fender 1 in step S6 of FIG. Is moved backward and separated from the support member 17.

  Thereby, in normal use, since the bracket 5 is supported by the actuator 23, the reaction force characteristic can be improved as compared with the embodiment of FIGS. On the other hand, when an obstacle collides with the front fender 1 and receives an impact load, the reaction force characteristic can be lowered and the shock absorption can be performed by moving the bracket 5 downward along with the breakage of the support member 17.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the sixth embodiment, a through hole 3f as a recess is provided on the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3, and a bracket 50 is disposed in the through hole 3f.

  Unlike the bracket 5 in the first to fifth embodiments described above, the bracket 50 here is crushed and deformed by input from above from the front fender 1 not shown in FIG. 9 to absorb the impact. Is.

  The overall shape of the bracket 50 described above is substantially the same as that of the bracket 5, and a fender mounting wall portion 50a having a fender mounting surface 50u on the upper surface and a fender mounting wall portion 50a extending downwardly away from each other. A pair of inclined wall portions 50b and a flange portion 50c extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction from the lower end of the inclined wall portion 50b are provided. Further, the fender mounting wall 50a is provided with a bolt insertion hole 50d into which the bolt 11 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted.

The bracket 50 here has the inclined wall portion 50b and the flange portion 50c arranged in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and a part on the upper side protrudes upward from the through hole 3f of the hood ridge 3 in the lower portion. The flange portion 50c serving as the attachment portion is fixed on the bottom wall portion 3d of the hood ridge 3 by welding or the like.

  That is, the bracket 50 has the upper fender mounting surface 50u positioned above the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3, while the lower mounting portion flange portion 50c is positioned below the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3. Will be.

  In the fender panel mounting structure as described above, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an obstacle collides with the front / rear direction of the vehicle, for example, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and collides with the front fender 1 again from above. When an impact load is applied, the impact load reaches the bracket 50 from the mounting flange 1a of the front fender 1.

  At this time, the bracket 50 is crushed and deformed so as to enter the closed cross-sectional space 13 in the hood ridge 3 by receiving the impact load, and absorbs the impact load of the obstacle from above the front fender 1.

  As described above, in the sixth embodiment, when the impact load described above is absorbed, the bracket 50 is crushed and deformed so as to enter the closed cross-sectional space 13 in the hood ridge 3. Similar to the first embodiment, the space between the bracket 50 is crushed between the mounting flange 1a at the upper end edge of the front fender 1 and the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3, and the decrease in the shock absorbing force is suppressed. be able to. In other words, even if the vehicle body has a low body height at the front fender 1 portion, the reaction force characteristic can be lowered to increase the shock absorbing power.

  Further, since the front fender 1 is connected and fixed to the hood ridge 3 via the bracket 50, a so-called fender portion in which, for example, a user of an automobile touches the top of the front fender 1 during normal use, for example. It is possible to secure the rigidity with hand and the rigidity necessary for work in the assembly process at the factory.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 9, showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention. In the seventh embodiment, a recess 3g is provided on the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3 instead of the through hole 3f in the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 9, and the bottom surface 3h of the recess 3g A bracket 50 having an inclined wall portion 50b having a shorter length is attached.

  That is, also in this bracket 50, the upper fender mounting surface 50u is positioned higher than the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3, while the lower mounting portion flange portion 50c is lower than the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3. The flange portion 50c is fixed to the bottom surface 3h of the recess 3g by welding or the like.

  Also in the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 10, when absorbing the impact load of the obstacle from above the front fender 1, the bracket 50 is crushed and deformed so as to enter the recess 3 g of the hood ridge 3. Therefore, the same effect as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained.

Incidentally, in the embodiments described above (Seventh Embodiment of FIG. 10 is excluded), the upper surface (bracket mounting surface) 3 u of the hood ridge 3, is provided with the opening 3e and the through-hole 3f, the openings 3e As a reinforcing structure for the vicinity of the portion where the through hole 3f is set, ones schematically shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 can be considered.

  In FIG. 11A, partition walls 27 are provided on both sides of the opening 3e and the through hole 3f in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. FIG. 11B shows the closed cross-sectional space 13 below the opening 3e and the through hole 3f. A box-like reinforcement 29 is provided surrounding the surrounding six sides, that is, the vertical direction of the portion excluding the opening 3e and the through hole 3f, both sides in the vehicle width direction, and the six surroundings in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

In FIG. 12, as shown in FIG. 12A, diagonal cuts 31 are made in the opening region for forming the opening 3 e and the through-hole 3 f with respect to the upper surface 3 u of the hood ridge 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the triangular cut pieces 33 in the four surroundings divided by the cuts 31 are folded toward the closed cross-sectional space 13, and the folded tip 33a is welded to the bottom wall 3d of the hood ridge 3. Join and fix by, for example.

  In addition, when the opening 3e and the through-hole 3f are rectangular as shown in FIG. 12, among the four cut pieces 33, those in the vehicle longitudinal direction and those in the vehicle width direction are shown in FIG. For example, when the cut piece 33 is longer than the vertical height in the closed cross-sectional space 13 of the hood ridge 3, the tip is bent, and vice versa. This is dealt with by providing another member between the tip of the cut piece 33 and the bottom wall 3d.

  In FIG. 13, a cut 35 is made in the opening region for forming the opening 3e and the through hole 3f on the upper surface 3u of the hood ridge 3 as shown in FIG. 13 (a). It consists of a central central cut 35a extending in the front-rear direction, and peripheral cuts 35b extending from both ends of the central cut 35a to the four corners of the opening region that becomes the opening 3e and the through hole 3f.

  And as shown in FIG.13 (b), two triangular-shaped cutting pieces 37 in the vehicle body front-back direction divided by this cutting 35, and two trapezoidal cutting pieces 39 in the vehicle width direction, Folded into the closed cross-sectional space 13, the folded tips 37 a and 39 a are joined and fixed to the bottom wall portion 3 d of the hood ridge 3 by welding or the like.

It is sectional drawing of the vehicle body front part seen from the vehicle body front-back direction which shows the attachment structure of the fender panel concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the bracket of the state fixed to the hood ridge in the attachment structure of the fender panel of FIG. It is effect | action explanatory drawing which shows the state which the bracket in 1st Embodiment received the impact load and fell in the space in a hood ridge. It is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the 4th Embodiment of this invention. In the fourth embodiment, the operation of the actuator is completed after the obstacle collides with the front part of the vehicle after the obstacle collides with the front part of the vehicle until the obstacle collides with the upper part of the front fender. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement until it does. It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. 6 which shows the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the 6th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the reinforcement structure with respect to having provided opening etc. in the upper surface of a food ridge. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacture example of the reinforcement structure with respect to providing the opening etc. of the upper surface of a food ridge. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacture example of the reinforcement structure with respect to providing the opening etc. of the upper surface of a food ridge.

Explanation of symbols

1 Front fender (fender panel)
3 Hood Ridge 3e Opening 3f Through-hole (concave)
3g recess 3h bottom of recess 3u top surface of hood ridge 5 bracket 13 closed section space (space located below the top surface of hood ridge)
15, 17 Support member (Bracket movement permitting means)
15a, 17a Notch (fragile part)
19 Compression coil spring (elastic means, reaction force adjustment means)
21 Actuator (Pressurizing means, reaction force adjusting means)
50 Bracket that is crushed and deformed by input from fender panel 50c Bracket mounting part 50u Fender mounting surface (upper surface of bracket)

Claims (5)

The upper portion of the fender panel, on the hood ridge disposed inboard of the fender panel, Attach via a bracket, wherein the fender panel is subjected to impact load, the hood ridge the impact load through the bracket A mounting structure of a fender panel provided with bracket movement allowing means for allowing the bracket to move toward a space located below the upper surface of the hood ridge when the bracket is input to the hood ridge. An opening communicating with the space located below the upper surface is provided on the upper surface of the hood ridge to be attached, and the bracket movement permitting means provided corresponding to the opening is provided so as to bridge the opening. The bracket is mounted on the support member, and is outside the bracket and in front. Attachment structure of the fender panels, characterized in that a weakened portion to the support member at a position corresponding to the opening. A reaction force adjusting means for adjusting a reaction force against an impact load acting on the hood ridge from the fender panel via the bracket is provided between the support member and the vehicle body side below the support member. The fender panel mounting structure according to claim 1 , wherein the structure is a fender panel mounting structure. The fender panel mounting structure according to claim 2 , wherein the reaction force adjusting means is constituted by an elastic means. 3. The fender panel mounting structure according to claim 2 , wherein the reaction force adjusting unit is configured by a pressurizing unit capable of adjusting a pressure applied to the support member from below. In the fender panel mounting structure, the upper portion of the fender panel is mounted on a hood ridge disposed inside the vehicle body of the fender panel via a bracket that is crushed and deformed by an impact load from the upper fender panel. A concave portion is provided on the upper surface, and the bracket is disposed in the concave portion. The bracket includes a fender mounting wall portion having a fender mounting surface on which the fender panel is mounted on the upper surface, and the fender mounting wall portion facing downward from each other. A pair of inclined wall portions formed so as to be separated from each other, and a flange portion extending from the lower end of the inclined wall portion, the flange portion is attached to the bottom surface of the concave portion, and the fender attachment surface is attached to the hood ridge. while is positioned above the upper surface, the flange portion of the lower top of the hood ridge Attachment structure of the fender panels, characterized in that is positioned lower than.

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