JP7609093B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure, and more specifically to a sealing structure between a front pillar and a cowl.

The vehicle front structure has a front pillar that extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle, and a cowl that extends in the width direction of the vehicle. The seal structure between the front pillar and the cowl is a double seal structure consisting of a foam sealer that is sealed in the welding process that welds the front pillar and the cowl, and a paint sealer that is sealed in the painting process. The vehicle front structure also has a gusset provided behind the cowl in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to hide the lower part of the cowl.

Here, when sealing the front pillar and cowl with a paint sealer, the areas hidden by the gusset cannot be sealed with the paint sealer because the paint sealer application nozzle cannot get close to them.

To solve the above problems, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle front structure in which a pillar inner panel that constitutes the inside of the front pillar is divided into a rear inner panel and a front inner panel, and a cowl is sandwiched between the front inner panel and the rear inner panel. In this vehicle front structure, the seal structure between the front pillar and the cowl is a double seal structure in which a foam sealer is used to seal between the rear inner panel and the cowl, and between the front inner panel and the cowl.

JP 2016-107905 A

However, in the vehicle front structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, the pillar inner panel is divided into front and rear parts, which reduces the rigidity and strength of the front pillar.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle front structure that can improve the sealing performance between the front pillar and the cowl without reducing the rigidity and strength of the front pillar.

The vehicle front structure according to the present invention comprises a front pillar extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle at the side of the vehicle, the front pillar having a closed cross section formed by a pillar outer panel arranged on the outside in the vehicle width direction and a pillar inner panel arranged on the inside in the vehicle width direction, the front pillar extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle at the side of the vehicle, a cowl extending in the vehicle width direction, the outer end of which is bent toward the rear in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction and has a cowl-side bent portion which is overlapped and welded to the inside in the vehicle width direction of the pillar inner panel, a gusset provided on the inside in the vehicle width direction of the pillar inner panel and behind the cowl in the fore-and-aft direction of the cowl so as to hide the lower part of the cowl, and a seal panel provided on the inside in the vehicle width direction at the cowl-side bent portion where the gusset is provided so as to cover the pillar inner panel and the cowl-side bent portion, The cowl side bend that is not covered by the seal panel is sealed between the pillar inner panel and the cowl side bend with a foam sealer, and the cowl side bend and the cowl side bend to the adjacent pillar inner panel are sealed from the inside in the vehicle width direction with a paint sealer, and the cowl side bend that is covered by the seal panel is sealed between the pillar inner panel and the cowl side bend, between the pillar inner panel and the seal panel, and between the cowl side bend and the seal panel with a foam sealer, and at the top and bottom ends of the seal panel, the foam sealer between the pillar inner panel and the seal panel and the foam sealer between the cowl side bend and the seal panel are continuously connected.

The vehicle front structure of the present invention can achieve a double seal structure between the front pillar and the cowl without dividing the pillar inner panel. This improves the seal between the front pillar and the cowl without reducing the rigidity and strength of the front pillar.

1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle front structure according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 with the gusset removed. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a seal structure of cross section AA in FIG. 2 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a seal structure at cross section BB in FIG. 2 . 4 is a schematic diagram showing a seal structure at an end of a seal panel in the vehicle vertical direction. FIG.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In the following description, the specific shapes, materials, directions, values, etc. are examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and can be changed as appropriate according to the application, purpose, specifications, etc.

"Vehicle front structure"
A vehicle front structure 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

The vehicle front structure 10 has a seal structure 30 that seals the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl 14, which will be described later. The seal structure 30 of the vehicle front structure 10 makes it possible to realize a double seal structure between the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 without dividing the pillar inner panel 13, which will be described in detail later. This makes it possible to improve the seal between the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 without reducing the rigidity and strength of the front pillar 11.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle front structure 10 has a front pillar 11 that extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle, a cowl 14 that extends in the width direction of the vehicle, a gusset 18 provided behind the cowl 14 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to hide the lower part of the cowl 14, and a seal panel 25 provided on the inside in the width direction of the vehicle to cover the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 in the area where the gusset 18 is provided.

The front pillar 11 is a support member that supports the roof (not shown) at the front of the vehicle. The front pillar 11 extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle. The front pillar 11 has a closed cross section formed by a pillar outer panel 12 arranged on the outside in the vehicle width direction and a pillar inner panel 13 arranged on the inside in the vehicle width direction.

The cowl 14 is an outer plate member extending in the vehicle width direction between the bonnet (not shown) and the front window (not shown). The cowl 14 has a cowl main body 15 extending in the vehicle width direction, and a cowl side bent portion 16 in which the outer end of the cowl main body 15 in the vehicle width direction is bent toward the rear in the vehicle front-rear direction. The cowl side bent portion 16 is overlapped and welded to the inside of the pillar inner panel 13 in the vehicle width direction.

The gusset 18 is a reinforcing member for the cowl 14 and the instrument panel (not shown). The gusset 18 is provided behind the cowl 14 in the vehicle longitudinal direction and on the inside of the pillar inner panel 13 in the vehicle width direction. The gusset 18 includes a cowl reinforcement 19, an instrument panel gusset 20, and a gusset extension 21, which will be described later.

The cowl reinforcement 19 is a reinforcing member for the cowl 14. The cowl reinforcement 19 is provided behind the cowl body 15 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and together with the cowl body 15 forms a closed cross section.

The instrument panel gusset 20 is a reinforcing member for the instrument panel. The instrument panel gusset 20 is provided on the inside of the pillar inner panel 13 in the vehicle width direction, and together with the pillar inner panel 13, forms a closed cross section.

The gusset extension 21 is a reinforcing member that connects the cowl reinforcement 19 and the instrument panel gusset 20. A seal panel 25 is provided on the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16, which are hidden by the gusset extension 21.

The seal panel 25 is a component of the seal structure 30 that seals the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl 14. The seal panel 25 is provided on the inside in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16. The seal panel 25 is also provided in a portion hidden by the gusset extension 21. Furthermore, the seal panel 25 extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

Here, the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 need to be sealed to prevent water from entering from the engine compartment into the passenger compartment. Therefore, the following describes the sealing structure 30 between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl-side bend 16.

The seal structure 30 between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 will be explained using Figures 2 to 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seal structure 30 includes a first seal structure 31 between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 that is not covered by the seal panel 25 and the gusset extension 21, a second seal structure 32 between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 that is covered by the seal panel 25 and the gusset extension 21, and a third seal structure 33 at the end of the seal panel 25 in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first seal structure 31 is formed by sealing between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 with foam sealant W1, and also sealing the cowl side bend 16 and the area from the cowl side bend 16 to the adjacent pillar inner panel 13 from the inside in the vehicle width direction with paint sealant T.

The foam sealer W1 is applied during the welding process in which the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 are welded together. The foam sealer W1 applied during the welding process foams due to heat from the painting process, etc., and seals the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 together. The foam sealers W2 and W3, which will be described later, are also sealed in a similar process.

The paint sealer T is applied in a painting process and then cured in a baking process. For example, a thermosetting epoxy resin adhesive is used for the paint sealer T, and any known sealing material may be used as long as it provides waterproofing, dustproofing, rustproofing, etc.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second seal structure 32 is formed such that the space between the pillar inner panel 13 and the cowl side bend 16 is sealed with foam sealer W1, the space between the pillar inner panel 13 and the seal panel 25 is sealed with foam sealer W2, and the space between the cowl side bend 16 and the seal panel 25 is sealed with foam sealer W3.

The second seal structure 32 is hidden by the gusset extension 21, so the application nozzle of the paint sealer cannot get close and it is therefore not possible to seal with the paint sealer T, but a double seal structure can be achieved by the seal panel 25 and the foam sealers W1 to W3.

As shown in FIG. 5, the third seal structure 33 has a continuous connection between the foam sealer W2 between the pillar inner panel 13 and the seal panel 25 and the foam sealer W3 between the cowl side bend 16 and the seal panel 25 at the vehicle vertical end of the seal panel 25.

According to the third seal structure 33, the sealing performance of the boundary between the first seal structure 31 and the second seal structure 32 can be improved by connecting the foam sealer W2 and the foam sealer W3 at the vehicle vertical end of the seal panel 25.

Conventionally, when sealing the front pillar 11 and cowl 14 with a paint sealer, the area hidden by the gusset 18 could not be sealed with the paint sealer because the application nozzle of the paint sealer could not get close to it.

To solve the above problem, in the conventional vehicle front structure, the pillar inner panel 13 that constitutes the inside of the front pillar 11 is divided into a front inner panel and a rear inner panel, and a cowl 14 is sandwiched between the front inner panel and the rear inner panel. However, in this vehicle front structure, the pillar inner panel 13 is divided into a front and a rear inner panel, which reduces the rigidity and strength of the front pillar 11.

However, in the vehicle front structure 10 of this embodiment, a double seal structure between the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 can be achieved without dividing the pillar inner panel 13. This makes it possible to improve the seal between the front pillar 11 and the cowl 14 without reducing the rigidity and strength of the front pillar 11.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its variations, and various modifications and improvements are possible within the scope of the claims of this application.

10 Vehicle front structure, 11 Front pillar, 12 Pillar outer panel, 13 Pillar inner panel, 14 Cowl, 15 Cowl main body, 16 Cowl side bent portion, 18 Gusset, 19 Cowl reinforcement, 20 Instrument panel gusset, 21 Gusset extension, 25 Seal panel, 30 Seal structure, 31 First seal structure, 32 Second seal structure, 33 Third seal structure, T Paint sealer, W1 Foam sealer, W2 Foam sealer, W3 Foam sealer

Claims (1)

a front pillar extending in a vehicle up-down direction at a side portion of the vehicle, the front pillar having a closed cross section formed by a pillar outer panel disposed on an outer side in a vehicle width direction and a pillar inner panel disposed on an inner side in the vehicle width direction;
a cowl extending in a vehicle width direction, the end portion on an outer side in the vehicle width direction being bent toward the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction and having a cowl-side bent portion overlapping and welded to an inner side in the vehicle width direction of the pillar inner panel;
A gusset is provided on the inside of the pillar inner panel in the vehicle width direction and at the rear of the cowl in the vehicle front-rear direction so as to hide a lower portion of the cowl;
a seal panel provided on an inner side in a vehicle width direction so as to cover the pillar inner panel and the cowl side bent portion at a portion where the gusset is provided;
Equipped with
The cowl-side bent portion that is not covered by the seal panel is sealed between the pillar inner panel and the cowl-side bent portion with a foam sealer, and the cowl-side bent portion and the area from the cowl-side bent portion to the adjacent pillar inner panel are sealed from the inside in the vehicle width direction with a paint sealer,
the cowl-side bent portion covered with the seal panel is sealed with a foam sealer between the pillar inner panel and the cowl-side bent portion, between the pillar inner panel and the seal panel, and between the cowl-side bent portion and the seal panel;
At the vehicle vertical direction end of the seal panel, a foam sealer between the pillar inner panel and the seal panel and a foam sealer between the cowl side bent portion and the seal panel are continuously connected.
Vehicle front structure.

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