JP7544293B2 - Vehicle rear structure - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a rear structure of a vehicle.

Patent Document 1 discloses a rear lamp unit (hereinafter, lamp unit) for a vehicle.
The lamp unit disclosed in Patent Document 1 is attached to a rear corner of a vehicle body and is composed of a lamp housing that houses a light source, a reflector, etc., and a transparent lamp lens that covers an opening of the lamp housing.

The tailgate is adjacent to the inside of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction. The tailgate and the vehicle's body exterior panel are adjacent to the upper side of the lamp unit. A clearance extending in the vehicle width direction is provided between the upper surface of the lamp housing and the tailgate and body exterior panel.

JP 2012-22915 A

In such vehicles, water such as rainwater containing dust can flow into the gap along the surfaces of the back door or the body exterior panels. The water that has flowed into the gap then flows along the top surface of the lamp housing to the outside in the vehicle width direction and falls down the body exterior panels and bumper cover, causing the problem of mud stains on the bumper cover and other parts.

The vehicle rear structure for solving the above problem includes a tailgate that opens and closes an opening provided at the rear of the vehicle, a lamp unit provided adjacent to the outside of the tailgate in the vehicle width direction, and an exterior member provided adjacent to the upper side of the lamp unit, where the tailgate is in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the vehicle when the vehicle is positioned on a horizontal plane is the up-down direction. A clearance gap is provided between the rear surface of the lamp unit and the exterior member, and a drainage groove is provided on the upper surface of the lamp unit that extends in the vehicle width direction and is inclined so as to be positioned lower toward the inside, the drainage groove opens on the inner end surface of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction, and the tailgate covers the end surface when the tailgate is in a state where the tailgate closes the opening.

According to this configuration, water that has flowed into the clearance gap flows down the top surface of the lamp unit and into the drainage groove. Here, the drainage groove extends in the vehicle width direction and is inclined so that it is positioned lower toward the inside. The drainage groove also opens to the inner end face of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, water that has entered the drainage groove is more likely to flow inward in the vehicle width direction due to its own weight due to the inclination of the drainage groove, and falls down along the end face.

Here, when the back door is in a state where the opening is closed, the end surface is covered by the back door. Therefore, even if mud stains form on the end surface, they are difficult to see from the outside. This makes it possible to prevent the design surface of the vehicle exterior from being soiled by mud stains.

In the above vehicle rear structure, the lamp unit has a regulating surface located forward of the upper surface and extending upward beyond the upper surface, and it is preferable that the regulating surface is connected to the front side of the drainage groove.

According to this configuration, the regulating surface prevents water that has flowed into the drain from overflowing the drain, thereby allowing water to be effectively drained through the drain.
In the above vehicle rear structure, it is preferable that the upper surface has a surface portion between the drain groove and an outer edge of the upper surface in the vehicle width direction where the drain groove is not provided.

If the drain groove is configured to open on the outer end face of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction, depending on the slope of the ground, water that gets into the drain groove may flow outward in the vehicle width direction.
In this regard, according to the above configuration, the drain groove does not open to the outer end face of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction, so that the occurrence of the above-mentioned problem can be suppressed.

In the above vehicle rear structure, it is preferable that the upper surface is inclined so that the front side is positioned lower.
According to this configuration, water that has flowed into the gap is more likely to flow forward due to its own weight due to the inclination of the upper surface of the lamp unit, and is more likely to flow into the drainage groove. Therefore, water can be effectively guided to the drainage groove.

In the above vehicle rear structure, it is preferable that the parting gap extends in a horizontal direction.
According to this configuration, the appearance of the clearance gap can be improved, and the appearance of the vehicle can be improved. Even if the clearance gap extends horizontally, water that flows into the clearance gap can be made to flow down the end face through the drainage groove, so that the design surface of the vehicle exterior can be prevented from being soiled by mud. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both an improvement in the appearance of the vehicle and prevention of soiling of the design surface of the vehicle exterior.

In the above vehicle rear structure, it is preferable that the exterior member constitutes the back door.
When the exterior member constitutes a back door, the width of the clearance between the upper surface of the lamp unit and the exterior member is often set larger than when the exterior member is fixed to the vehicle body. The larger the clearance width, the more easily water flows into the clearance.

According to the above configuration, since the exterior member constitutes the back door, water is likely to get into the gap. However, the water that has flowed into the gap can be made to flow down the end face through the drainage groove, thereby preventing the design surface of the vehicle exterior from becoming dirty with mud.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the decorative surfaces of the vehicle exterior from becoming soiled with mud.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a rear structure of a vehicle according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear structure of the vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the rear structure of the vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a state in which the back door is omitted for the rear structure of the vehicle of the same embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a state in which the rear side spoiler is omitted for the rear structure of the vehicle of the same embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of a rear structure for a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the fore-aft direction of the vehicle will be simply referred to as the fore-aft direction L, and the front and rear sides of the fore-aft direction L will be simply referred to as the front side and the rear side, respectively. Furthermore, the sides away from the center of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction W and the sides approaching the center will be respectively referred to as the outside and the inside of the vehicle width direction W. Furthermore, the up-down direction when the vehicle is on a horizontal plane will be simply referred to as the up-down direction Z, and the upper side and the lower side of the up-down direction Z will be simply referred to as the upper side and the lower side, respectively.

The rear structure of the vehicle is symmetrical in the vehicle width direction W. For this reason, hereafter, we will explain the structure on the right side when viewed from the rear to the front, and may omit explaining the structure on the left side.

1, 3, 5 and 6, an imaginary straight line H extending in the horizontal direction is indicated by a two-dot chain line.
As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1, an opening 50 that communicates with a luggage room (not shown) is provided at the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle is provided with a back door 40 that opens and closes an opening 50 .
Lamp units 10 are provided adjacent to each other on the outer side of the back door 40 in the vehicle width direction W.

Next, each component will be described in detail.
<Backdoor 40>
As shown in FIG. 1 , the back door 40 includes a door body 41 , a door glass 42 , a door lamp unit 43 , and a rear side spoiler 44 .

The door body 41 is rotatably connected to the opening 50 via a hinge (not shown) provided at the upper edge of the opening 50 .
As indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1, the door body 41 is provided with a window opening 41a penetrating the door body 41 in the front-rear direction L.

The door glass 42 is fixed to the door body 41 so as to cover the window opening 41a from the rear side.
The door lamp unit 43 is fixed to the lower side of the door glass 42 on the rear surface of the door main body 41. The door lamp unit 43 is provided adjacent to the lamp unit 10 in the vehicle width direction W.

The rear side spoiler 44 is fixed to the rear surface of the door body 41 and constitutes the design surface 31 of the back door 40. The rear side spoiler 44 is provided adjacent to the outer side of the door glass 42 in the vehicle width direction W. The rear side spoiler 44 is provided adjacent to the upper side of the lamp unit 10. The rear side spoiler 44 extends in the up-down direction Z and protrudes outward beyond the door lamp unit 43 in the vehicle width direction W. The rear side spoiler 44 is made of hard resin.

<Lamp unit 10>
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lamp unit 10 is provided at a rear corner of the vehicle, that is, in a portion extending from the rear face to the side face of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the lamp unit 10 comprises a lamp housing 20 attached to the vehicle body frame 70 and a lamp lens 30 covering the lamp housing 20 from the rear side and the outside in the vehicle width direction W.

Although not shown in the figure, a light source is disposed between the lamp housing 20 and the lamp lens 30 .
(Lamp housing 20)
As shown in FIG. 4A , the lamp housing 20 has a fixing portion 21 and a housing main body portion 22 .

The fixing portion 21 extends in the up-down direction Z. The fixing portion 21 is fixed to the vehicle body frame 70 via a bolt 60.
The housing body portion 22 extends outward in the vehicle width direction W from the fixing portion 21 .

4A and 5, the housing body 22 has a front wall 23 and an inner wall 24. The inner wall 24 protrudes rearward from the inner edge of the front wall 23 in the vehicle width direction W and extends in the up-down direction Z.

The lamp housing 20 is made of a hard resin.
An inner end surface 24a of the inner wall 24 in the vehicle width direction W corresponds to the end surface according to the present disclosure.
(Lamp lens 30)
As shown in FIG. 4A , the lamp lens 30 has a design surface 31 , an upper surface 32 , a drain groove 33 , and a restriction surface 34 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4B, the design surface 31 has a rear surface portion 31a that constitutes the rear surface of the vehicle and a side surface portion 31b that constitutes the outer side surface in the vehicle width direction W.
1 and 2, a clearance gap S1 is provided between the rear side spoiler 44 and the rear surface portion 31a of the design surface 31. The clearance gap S1 extends in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a clearance gap S2 is provided between the rear side spoiler 44 and the side surface portion 31b of the design surface 31.
As shown in Fig. 3, the parting gap S2 extends at an incline so as to be positioned lower toward the front side. Note that in Fig. 3, the parting gap S2 extends along a dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 4A , the upper surface 32 is continuous with the upper edge of the design surface 31 and extends in the front-rear direction L and the vehicle width direction W.
4A, 4B and 6, a drain groove 33 extending in the vehicle width direction W is provided on the upper surface 32. The drain groove 33 opens at the end surface 24a.

As shown in FIG. 6, the drain groove 33 is inclined so that the inner side in the vehicle width direction W is positioned lower.
4A, 4B, and 6, the upper surface 32 has a surface portion 32a where the drain groove 33 is not provided between the drain groove 33 and the outer edge of the upper surface 32 in the vehicle width direction W. In other words, the drain groove 33 does not open to the design surface 31.

5, the surface portion 32a of the upper surface 32 is inclined so that the front side is positioned lower. In addition, in FIG. 5, a straight line parallel to the surface portion 32a is indicated by a dashed line.
4A, 4B, and 5, the restriction surface 34 is located in front of the upper surface 32 and extends upward beyond the upper surface 32. The restriction surface 34 is continuous with the front side of the drainage groove 33. The restriction surface 34 extends over the entire drainage groove 33 in the vehicle width direction W.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lamp lens 30 is joined to the lamp housing 20 by welding or the like.
In this embodiment, the rear side spoiler 44 corresponds to the exterior member in this disclosure.

The effects of this embodiment will be described.
(1) The upper surface 32 of the lamp unit 10 is provided with a drain groove 33 that extends in the vehicle width direction W and is inclined so as to be positioned lower toward the inside. The drain groove 33 opens at an end surface 24a. In the closed state, the end surface 24a is covered by the back door 40.

With this configuration, water that flows into the clearance gap S1 flows down the upper surface 32 into the drainage groove 33. The inclination of the drainage groove 33 makes it easier for water that has entered the drainage groove 33 to flow inward under its own weight, and it also falls down the end surface 24a. For this reason, even if mud stains form on the end surface 24a, they are difficult to see from the outside.

Therefore, the decorative surface 31 of the vehicle exterior can be prevented from being soiled with mud.
(2) The restriction surface 34 that extends upward beyond the upper surface 32 is provided on the front side of the upper surface 32 .

With this configuration, water that flows into the drain 33 is prevented from overflowing the drain 33 by the regulating surface 34. Therefore, water can be effectively drained through the drain 33.

(3) The upper surface 32 has a surface portion 32 a between the drain groove 33 and the outer edge of the upper surface 32 , where the drain groove 33 is not provided.
If the drain groove 33 is configured to open onto the design surface 31 on the outside of the lamp unit 10, there is a risk that water that gets into the drain groove 33 will flow onto the design surface 31 depending on the slope of the ground, etc.

In this regard, according to the above-mentioned configuration, the drain groove 33 does not open onto the outer design surface 31 of the lamp unit 10, so that the occurrence of the above-mentioned problem can be suppressed.
(4) The upper surface 32 is inclined so that the front side is positioned lower.

With this configuration, water that has flowed into the gap S1 tends to flow forward due to its own weight due to the inclination of the upper surface 32, and therefore tends to flow into the drain groove 33. Therefore, water can be effectively guided to the drain groove 33.

(5) The parting gap S1 extends in the horizontal direction.
This configuration improves the appearance of the clearance gap S1, and therefore the appearance of the vehicle. Even if the clearance gap S1 extends horizontally, water that has flowed into the clearance gap S1 can be made to fall down the end surface 24a through the drain groove 33, thereby preventing the decorative surface 31 of the vehicle exterior from becoming dirty with mud. This makes it possible to achieve both an improvement in the appearance of the vehicle and prevention of dirt on the decorative surface 31 of the vehicle exterior.

(6) The rear side spoiler 44 constitutes the back door 40 .
When the exterior member constitutes the back door 40, the width of the clearance gap S1 between the upper surface 32 of the lamp unit 10 and the rear side spoiler 44 is often set larger than when the exterior member is fixed to the vehicle body. The larger the width of the clearance gap S1, the more easily water flows into the clearance gap S1.

In this regard, with the above configuration, since the exterior member is the rear side spoiler 44 that constitutes the back door 40, water is likely to enter the clearance gap S1. However, the water that has flowed into the clearance gap S1 can be made to fall down the end surface 24a through the drain groove 33, so that the decorative surface 31 of the vehicle exterior can be prevented from becoming soiled with mud.

<Example of change>
This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.

The exterior member according to the present disclosure is not limited to the rear side spoiler 44. The exterior member may be any member that is provided adjacent to the upper side of the lamp unit 10 and may be fixed to the vehicle body frame 70.

The gap S1 is not limited to extending horizontally. For example, the gap S1 may be inclined so that it is located lower toward the inside. The gap S1 may also be inclined so that it is located higher toward the inside.

The upper surface 32 of the lamp lens 30 may be horizontal in the front-rear direction L. Furthermore, the upper surface 32 may be inclined so that the front is positioned higher.
The drain groove 33 may be open on the design surface 31 of the lamp lens 30 .

A dam may be provided at the outer end of the drainage groove 33 in the vehicle width direction W. A dam may also be provided on the upper surface 32 outside the drainage groove 33 in the vehicle width direction W.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Lamp unit 20...Lamp housing 21...Fixing portion 22...Housing body portion 23...Front wall 24...Inner wall 24a...End surface 30...Lamp lens 31...Design surface 31a...Rear surface portion 31b...Side portion 32...Upper surface 32a...Surface portion 33...Drain groove 34...Regulating surface 40...Back door 41...Door body 41a...Window opening 42...Door glass 43...Door lamp unit 44...Rear side spoiler S1...Partition gap S2...Partition gap 50...Opening 60...Bolt 70...Vehicle frame

Claims (6)

When the front-rear direction of a vehicle is defined as the front-rear direction, and the up-down direction of the vehicle when the vehicle is positioned on a horizontal plane is defined as the up-down direction,
A back door for opening and closing an opening provided at a rear part of the vehicle;
A lamp unit provided adjacent to the outer side of the back door in the vehicle width direction;
an exterior member provided adjacent to an upper side of the lamp unit,
A clearance is provided between the rear surface of the lamp unit and the exterior member,
a drain groove is provided on an upper surface of the lamp unit, the drain groove extending in the vehicle width direction and inclined so as to be positioned lower toward the inside,
the drainage groove opens to an inner end surface of the lamp unit in the vehicle width direction,
When the back door is in a state where the opening is closed by the back door, the back door covers the end surface.
Rear structure of the vehicle. the lamp unit has a restricting surface located in front of the upper surface and extending above the upper surface,
The regulating surface is continuous with the front side of the drainage groove.
The rear structure of a vehicle according to claim 1. The upper surface has a surface portion where the drain groove is not provided between the drain groove and an outer edge of the upper surface in the vehicle width direction.
3. A rear structure for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2. The upper surface is inclined so that the front side is positioned lower.
The rear structure of a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The parting gap extends horizontally.
The rear structure of a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The exterior member constitutes the back door.
The rear structure of a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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