JP6928310B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front structure of a vehicle including a cowl member forming a part of a vehicle body member forming a front room.

A vehicle running on an engine (power unit) has an engine room (front) in which various accessories such as an engine (internal combustion engine), a fuel system (fuel piping) for supplying fuel to the engine, and a throttle body are housed. Some rooms have a room) at the front of the vehicle. In the case of a vehicle having such a configuration, generally, a cowl member (cowl box) forming a part of a vehicle body member (frame member) extends in the vehicle width direction to a boundary portion between the engine room and the passenger compartment. Exists (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4122895

In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in a vehicle collision (forward collision), this cowl member is provided with, for example, a reinforcing member such as a reinforcement to increase the rigidity, and is accompanied by the movement of the engine or the like in the event of a vehicle collision. It is desirable to suppress the deformation of the cowl member (deformation of the passenger compartment).

On the other hand, if the rigidity of the cowl member is increased, when the auxiliary machinery comes into contact with the cowl member at the time of a vehicle collision, the cowl member may not be deformed and the auxiliary machinery may be damaged. As a matter of course, it is preferable to suppress such damage to the accessories. For example, a vehicle equipped with an engine is provided with a fuel system for supplying fuel to the engine as auxiliary machinery, and it is particularly desirable to suppress damage to the fuel system. It should be noted that even in a vehicle equipped with a power unit other than the engine and auxiliary machinery, problems such as deformation of the passenger compartment and damage to the auxiliary machinery still exist.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a front structure of a vehicle capable of suppressing deformation of a vehicle interior and damage to auxiliary machinery in the event of a vehicle collision. With the goal.

One aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems is a front structure of a vehicle including a cowl member extending along the vehicle width direction on the vehicle interior side of a front room in which a power unit and accessories are housed. The cowl member has a recess extending in the vehicle width direction in which the boundary between the front side wall and the bottom wall on the front side of the vehicle is recessed, and the recess is closed on the bottom wall side of the cowl member. It is provided with a reinforcement that is fixed and reinforces the cowl member, and the reinforcement includes a main body portion that faces the power unit and a shock absorbing portion that is provided on the side of the main body portion in the vehicle width direction and faces the auxiliary machinery. The shock absorbing portion is in the front structure of the vehicle, characterized in that the inclination angle of the cowl member of the front side wall portion on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the bottom wall is smaller than that of the main body portion. ..

According to the present invention, when a vehicle collision (forward collision) occurs, the movement of the power unit is restricted by the contact of the power unit with the main body of the reinforcement. Further, when the auxiliary machinery comes into contact with the impact absorbing portion of the reinforcement, the cowl member moves upward together with the reinforcement, and the impact is absorbed. As a result, damage to auxiliary machinery is suppressed.

Here, it is preferable that the upper wall of the recess is located above the auxiliary machinery. As a result, when the vehicle collides, the accessories are surely brought into contact with the front side wall portion of the shock absorbing portion.

Further, the main body portion of the reinforcement is fixed to the bottom wall of the cowl member and the front side wall, and the shock absorbing portion of the reinforcement is formed by the bottom wall of the cowl member and the upper wall of the recess. It is preferable that it is fixed to. As a result, the inclination angle of the front side wall portion of the shock absorbing portion can be easily made smaller than the inclination angle of the main body portion. In addition, the distance between the auxiliary equipment and the reinforcement can be secured wider.

Further, the left and right suspension towers provided in the front room are provided with tower bars whose both ends are connected to each other, and the tower bars are connected to the suspension tower via the main body of the reinforcement. Is preferable. As a result, the rigidity of the main body of the reinforcement is further increased.

Further, it is preferable that the front side wall portion of the shock absorbing portion is formed with a bead portion extending in a direction intersecting the vertical direction of the vehicle. Deformation of the front side wall itself when the accessories come into contact is suppressed.

According to the front structure of the vehicle of the present invention, when a vehicle collision (forward collision) occurs, deformation of the vehicle interior can be suppressed to secure a space in the vehicle interior, and the safety of the occupant is enhanced. be able to. Further, damage to auxiliary machinery due to contact with the cowl member can be suppressed.

It is a perspective view explaining the front structure of the vehicle which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view explaining the front structure of the vehicle which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the front structure of the vehicle which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the cowl top and reinforcement which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the cowl top and reinforcement which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the front structure of the vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the front structure of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining the front structure of the vehicle, and is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the power unit and accessories, the cowl top, and the reinforcement. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the front structure of the vehicle, and is a view showing the bottom wall side of the cowl top to which the reinforcement is fixed. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the main body of the cowl top and the reinforcement, and is a diagram schematically showing a cross section corresponding to the line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the shock absorbing portion of the cowl top and the reinforcement, and is a diagram schematically showing a cross section corresponding to the line BB of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the front part of the vehicle 1 is partitioned by a dash panel 3 with respect to the vehicle interior 2, and is an engine (for example, an internal combustion engine) 100 which is a power unit (drive device) and various types. A front room (engine room) 4 in which auxiliary machinery 101 is housed is formed. The auxiliary machinery 101 is various devices other than the engine 100, and includes, for example, a supply system for supplying fuel to the engine 100, a throttle body, and the like. It goes without saying that the power unit 100 includes a motor and the like in addition to the engine, and the auxiliary machinery 101 also includes various electric devices and the like.

The dash panel 3 is provided along the vehicle width direction on the vehicle interior 2 side of the engine room 4, that is, at the boundary between the engine room 4 and the vehicle interior 2. Front pillar lowers 5 are joined to both ends of the dash panel 3 in the width direction of the vehicle 1. A front pillar (not shown) is joined to the upper part of the front pillar lower 5. An upper frame 6 is joined to the front side of each front pillar lower 5 on the vehicle front side.

Below the front pillar lower 5 and the upper frame 6, a front side member 7 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is provided. A suspension tower 8 to which a suspension is attached is fixed to the front side member 7. Further, both ends of the rod-shaped tower bar 9 are connected to the left and right suspension towers 8. The tower bar 9 regulates fluctuations in the upper parts of the left and right suspension towers 8.

Further, a cowl top (cowl member) 10 is provided in the upper part of the dash panel 3, for example, in the gap between the dash panel 3 and the suspension tower 8.

The cowl top 10 forms a part of the vehicle body member forming the engine room 4, has a cross section that opens above the vehicle 1, and extends in the vehicle width direction. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cowl top 10 has an open upper portion, a bottom wall 11, a front side wall 12 provided on the vehicle front side of the bottom wall 11, and a vehicle rear side of the bottom wall 11. It has a rear side wall 13 provided on the. Both ends of the cowl top 10 are connected to each other near the joints between the front pillar lowers 5 and the upper frame 6 located on the left and right sides of the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 1). The cowl top 10 is also a member that constitutes a part of a drainage route for discharging rainwater or the like to the outside of the vehicle.

Further, the cowl top 10 includes a recess 14 cut out at a boundary between the bottom wall 11 and the front side wall 12. In other words, the recess 14 is formed by denting the vicinity of the boundary between the bottom wall 11 and the front side wall 12 upward. The recess 14 is composed of an upper wall 15 continuous from the front side wall 12 and a vertical wall 16 connecting the bottom wall 11 and the upper wall 15.

Further, the recess 14 extends in the vehicle width direction, and in the present embodiment, the recess 14 is continuously provided in the vehicle width direction of the cowl top 10. The recess 14 may be provided as needed, and may be provided, for example, in a part of the cowl top 10 in the vehicle width direction.

Reinforce 20 which is a reinforcing member for reinforcing the cowl top 10 is fixed to the surface of the cowl top 10 on the bottom wall 11 side (see FIG. 3 and the like). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reinforcement 20 is provided by closing the recess 14 of the cowl top 10, and a closed cross section is formed by the reinforcement 20 and the cowl top 10.

The reinforcement 20 is formed of, for example, a main body 21 facing the engine 100 housed in the engine room 4 and a shock absorbing unit 22 facing the auxiliary machinery 101 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. It is equipped (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, etc.). That is, in the engine room 4, the engine 100 and the auxiliary machinery 101 are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, and the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 is arranged according to the arrangement of the engine 100 and the auxiliary machinery 101. And the shock absorbing portion 22 are provided side by side in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 includes a bottom wall portion 21a fixed to the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10, a front side wall portion 21b fixed to the front side wall 12 of the cowl top 10. It has. The front side wall portion 21b of the reinforcement 20 substantially functions as a part of the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10.

In the present embodiment, with the reinforcement 20 fixed to the cowl top 10, the bottom wall portion 21a extends along the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10, and the front side wall portion 21b is in front of the cowl top 10. It extends along the side wall 12.

That is, the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 is formed so that the inclination angle θ of the front side wall portion 21b with respect to the bottom wall portion 21a matches the inclination angle θ of the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10 with respect to the bottom wall 11. .. Of course, the inclination angle θ of the front side wall portion 21b of the reinforcement 20 does not have to match the inclination angle θ of the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10.

The bottom wall portion 21a constituting the main body portion 21 of the reinforcement 20 is provided with a plurality of through holes 23 (see FIG. 3). The bottom wall portion 21a is set to a desired rigidity by these through holes 23. These through holes 23 may be provided as needed, and of course, they may not be provided.

Further, the tower bar 9 described above is connected to the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20. That is, the tower bar 9 is connected to the left and right suspension towers 8 via a portion where the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 of the cowl top 10 is fixed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the shock absorbing portion 22 of the reinforcement 20 is fixed to the bottom wall portion 22a fixed to the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10 and the upper wall 15 forming the recess 14 of the cowl top 10. The upper wall portion 22b is provided with a front side wall portion 22c that connects the bottom wall portion 22a and the upper wall portion 22b and substantially functions as a part of the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10.

Since the shock absorbing portion 22 is fixed to the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10 in this way, the distance between the auxiliary machinery 101 and the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 is relatively wide. can do.

The front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 has an inclination angle θ1 with respect to the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10 smaller than the inclination angle θ2 with respect to the bottom wall 11 of the front side wall portion 21b constituting the main body portion 21. That is, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 of the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 is smaller than the inclination angle θ3 (= θ2) with respect to the bottom wall 11 of the front side wall portion 12 of the cowl top 10.

The inclination angle θ1 of the front side wall portion 22c constituting the shock absorbing portion 22 may be at least smaller than the inclination angle θ2 of the front side wall portion 21b constituting the main body portion 21, but it is desirable to make it as small as possible.

Further, the upper end portion of the front side wall portion 22c is located above the auxiliary machinery 101 such as the throttle body, for example. That is, the upper wall 15 forming the recess 14 of the cowl top 10 is located above the auxiliary machinery 101. Further, the lower end of the front side wall 22c is located below the upper end of the accessories 101. That is, the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10 is located below the upper end of the accessories 101.

Since the reinforcement 20 having such a configuration is fixed to the surface of the cowl top 10 on the bottom wall 11 side, the auxiliary machinery 101 suppresses the deformation of the vehicle interior 2 when the vehicle 1 collides. Damage can be suppressed.

As described above, the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 is provided facing the engine 100, and the shock absorbing portion 22 is provided facing the auxiliary machinery 101. Therefore, when a collision (forward collision) of the vehicle 1 occurs and the engine 100 and the accessories 101 move to the rear side of the vehicle 1, the engine 100 comes into contact with the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the auxiliary machinery 101 comes into contact with the shock absorbing unit 22.

As described above, the rigidity of the cowl top 10 is increased by the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20. In particular, in the present embodiment, the tower bar 9 is connected to the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20, and the rigidity of the cowl top 10 is further increased. Therefore, the deformation of the cowl top 10 and the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 when the engine 100 comes into contact with the engine 100 can be suppressed to be relatively small. For example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the cowl top 10 and the main body 21 of the reinforcement 20 suppress the movement of the engine 100 toward the vehicle interior 2. Therefore, when a collision of the vehicle 1 occurs, the space of the vehicle interior 2 can be secured, and the safety of the occupant is enhanced.

On the other hand, since the auxiliary machinery 101 comes into contact with the shock absorbing portion 22 of the reinforcement 20, damage caused at that time can be suppressed. Specifically, when the auxiliary equipment 101 moves to the rear side of the vehicle 1 due to the collision of the vehicle 1 (forward collision), the auxiliary equipment 101 (for example, the throttle body) moves to the rear side of the vehicle 1, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. It comes into contact with the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the upper end of the front side wall portion 22c is located above the auxiliary equipment 101, the auxiliary equipment 101 more reliably contacts the front side wall portion 22c.

Further, as described above, the inclination angle θ1 of the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 is relatively small, and specifically, it is smaller than the inclination angle θ2 of the front side wall portion 21b of the main body portion 21. There is. Therefore, the impact of the cowl top 10 when the auxiliary machinery 101 comes into contact with the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 tends to be stronger in the upward direction than in the rear side of the vehicle 1.

Therefore, when the accessories 101 come into contact with each other, the shock absorbing portion 22 of the cowl top 10 and the reinforcement 20 is formed on, for example, the bottom wall 11 of the cowl top 10 and the rear side wall 13 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. It moves (rotates) upward with the vicinity of the boundary as a fulcrum. In other words, the inclination angle θ1 of the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22 is set to an inclination angle such that the cowl top 10 and the reinforcement 20 move upward when the accessories 101 come into contact with each other.

As a result, a space is secured under the cowl top 10 so that the accessories 101 can move. Therefore, when the auxiliary machinery 101 collides with the front side wall portion 22c, the impact of the collision can be absorbed while suppressing damage to the auxiliary machinery 101 (for example, the throttle body and the fuel system arranged around the throttle body). can.

When the auxiliary machinery 101 comes into contact with the front side wall portion 22c of the shock absorbing portion 22, if the front side wall portion 22c itself is deformed, the auxiliary machinery 101 does not move above the cowl top 10 and the auxiliary machinery 101 is damaged. There is a risk that it will end up. Therefore, it is preferable that the rigidity of the front side wall portion 22c itself is relatively high.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the bead portion 24 is provided on the shock absorbing portion 22 (front side wall portion 22c) (see FIG. 3). The direction of the bead portion 24 is not particularly limited, but it is desirable that the bead portion 24 extends in a direction intersecting the vertical direction of the vehicle 1. By providing the bead portion 24 in this way, the deformation of the front side wall portion 22c itself is suppressed when the accessories 101 come into contact with each other, and the cowl top 10 and the reinforcement 20 are more reliably moved (rotated) upward. Can be done.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The present invention can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 Vehicle 2 Vehicle room 3 Dash panel 4 Engine room (front room)
5 Front pillar lower 6 Upper frame 7 Front side member 8 Suspension tower 9 Tower bar 10 Cowl top 11 Bottom wall 12 Front side wall 13 Rear side wall 14 Recess 15 Upper wall 16 Vertical wall 20 Reinforce 21 Main body 21a Bottom wall 21b Front side wall Part 22 Shock absorbing part 22a Bottom wall part 22b Upper wall part 22c Front side wall part 23 Through hole 24 Bead part 100 Engine (power unit)
101 Auxiliary equipment

Claims (5)

It is a front structure of a vehicle including a cowl member extending along the vehicle width direction on the passenger compartment side of the front room in which a power unit and accessories are housed.
The cowl member has a recess extending in the vehicle width direction in which the boundary between the front side wall and the bottom wall on the front side of the vehicle is recessed.
The bottom wall side of the cowl member is provided with a reinforcement that is fixed by closing the recess to reinforce the cowl member.
The reinforcement is composed of a main body portion facing the power unit and a shock absorbing portion provided on the side of the main body portion in the vehicle width direction and facing the auxiliary machinery, and the shock absorbing portion is on the front side of the vehicle. The front structure of the vehicle, wherein the inclination angle of the front side wall portion of the cowl member with respect to the bottom wall is smaller than that of the main body portion. The front structure of the vehicle according to claim 1.
The front structure of the vehicle, wherein the upper wall of the recess is located above the auxiliary machinery. The front structure of the vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.
The main body of the reinforcement is fixed to the bottom wall and the front side wall of the cowl member.
The front structure of a vehicle, wherein the shock absorbing portion of the reinforcement is fixed to the bottom wall of the cowl member and the upper wall of the recess. The front structure of the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The left and right suspension towers provided in the front room are equipped with tower bars whose ends are connected to each other.
A front structure of a vehicle, wherein the tower bar is connected to the suspension tower via the main body portion of the reinforcement. The front structure of the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A front structure of a vehicle, characterized in that a bead portion extending in a direction intersecting the vertical direction of the vehicle is formed on the front side wall portion of the shock absorbing portion.

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