JP7826862B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, vehicles equipped with a front hood at the front of the vehicle are known. The front hood is a member that opens and closes the top of a power compartment in which a power unit such as an engine or motor is located, and is rotatably attached to the vehicle body via a hood hinge.

A front hood typically has a hood outer panel and a hood inner panel, the outer peripheries of which are joined together. The front portion of the front hood has a hemming. The hemming is configured by folding the front portion of the hood outer panel inward, sandwiching the front portion of the hood inner panel between the folded portions, and joining the hood inner panel and hood outer panel with adhesive or the like. Providing a hemming in this way increases the rigidity of the front portion of the front hood.

A striker is attached to the front of the front hood via a bracket. A hood latch that engages and disengages with the striker is provided on the front of the vehicle opposite the striker. When the striker is engaged with the hood latch, the front hood is held in a closed position that blocks the power compartment. The bracket has a bracket joint that is joined to the hood inner panel by, for example, spot welding.

On the other hand, in the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, a portion (deformation guide portion) that is easily deformed when subjected to an impact load from above the vehicle is provided in the front portion of the front hood, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, between the hemming portion and the bracket joint, for the purpose of protecting pedestrians.

Patent No. 6623743

In the structure of the above example, a deformation guide portion is provided in the area between the hemming portion at the front of the front hood and the bracket joint that joins the bracket to which the hood lock striker is attached to the front hood, reducing the rigidity of that area. In such cases, for example, when closing the front hood, stress may concentrate at the bracket joint. This bracket joint is usually constructed using so-called spot welding points. If stress concentration at the spot welding points causes deformation around the bracket for attaching the hood lock striker, there is a risk that the front hood may not be able to open and close reliably. For this reason, there is room for improvement in the structure of the above example.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a vehicle front structure that can suppress stress concentration at bracket joints located at the front of the front hood.

To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the vehicle front structure of the present invention comprises a hood outer panel arranged at the front of the vehicle, a hood inner panel arranged on the inside of the hood outer panel, a hood lock striker provided at the front of the hood inner panel, and a striker bracket provided at the front of the hood inner panel to which the hood lock striker is joined, wherein the hood lock striker has an engagement portion that can engage with a hood latch provided at the front of the vehicle body, a front fixing portion provided in front of the engagement portion and fixed to the striker bracket, and a rear fixing portion provided at the rear of the engagement portion and fixed to the striker bracket. In this vehicle front structure, the hood inner panel and the striker bracket are joined by a bracket joint that is located further forward of the front fixing portion. The bracket joint includes a front joint row consisting of multiple front joints spaced apart along the vehicle width direction, and a rear joint row located rearward of the front joint row and consisting of multiple rear joints spaced apart along the vehicle width direction. Each front joint is offset in the vehicle width direction relative to each rear joint, and the distance between both side ends of the bracket joint in the vehicle width direction is set longer than the vehicle width length of the front fixing portion and the vehicle width length of the rear fixing portion.

This invention makes it possible to reduce stress concentration at the bracket joint located at the front of the front hood.

1 is a perspective view showing a part of a vehicle having a vehicle front structure according to the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the front hood of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of the front hood of FIG. 1 as viewed from above the vehicle. 3 is a perspective view of a hood inner panel of the front hood of FIG. 2 as viewed from the inside of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the hood outer panel of FIG. 2 is omitted. FIG. 4 is an enlarged bottom view of the striker bracket, the hood lock striker, and their surroundings as viewed from below in FIG. 3 . FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the striker bracket, the hood lock striker, and the like of FIG. 6 as viewed from below the vehicle. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A1 in FIG. 3. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A2 in FIG. 3. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which a seal member is attached to a front portion of the hood inner panel of FIG. 8. FIG.

One embodiment of a vehicle front structure according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings (Figs. 1 to 10). In the drawings, the direction of arrow Fr indicates the front in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In the description of the embodiment, the "front (front end) and rear (rear end)" refer to the front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Additionally, arrows R and L indicate the right and left sides when an occupant is looking forward of the vehicle.

The vehicle front structure of this embodiment includes a front hood 1, a hood latch 64 provided at the front of the vehicle body, and a hood hinge 50.

First, we will explain the front hood 1. As shown in Figure 1, the front hood 1 is a member that opens and closes the upper opening of a power compartment (not shown), which houses a power unit such as an engine or motor, and is a plate-shaped member that extends in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle. The front hood 1 is also rotatably attached to a body structure located behind the power compartment via a hood hinge 50. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the front hood 1 has a hood outer panel 3, a hood inner panel 10, a hood lock striker 30, a striker bracket 20, a hood reinforcement 40, cushion rubber 17, and a sealing member 18. Each member will be explained below.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the hood outer panel 3 is a panel that forms the vehicle exterior of the front hood 1, and its outer surface is a decorative surface. Furthermore, the vehicle width direction outer portion of the hood outer panel 3 extends along the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle when the front hood 1 is closed, and this outer peripheral portion is positioned adjacent to the upper portion of the side body outer panel (not shown) that is located on the side of the front part of the vehicle body.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the hood inner panel 10 is positioned on the vehicle interior side of the hood outer panel 3 with a gap therebetween, and the outer periphery of the hood outer panel 3 and the hood inner panel 10 are joined together. As shown in Figures 4, 5, 8, and 9, the hood inner panel 10 has a front flat surface 11, a central vertical wall 12, an outer flat surface 13, and an inner vertical wall 14. The front flat surface 11 is a portion that includes a plane extending from the front of the hood inner panel 10 toward the rear. A slit-shaped through hole 11a extending in the fore-and-aft direction is formed in the middle of the front flat surface 11 in the vehicle width direction. The front portions 31 and rear portions 32 of the engagement portions 31, 32, and 33 (described later) of the hood lock striker 30 are disposed to pass through the through hole 11a. Additionally, a striker bracket 20 is attached to the outer side of the front flat surface 11 (the upper surface when the front hood 1 is closed) so as to cover the through-hole 11a.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the central vertical wall portion 12 is a vertical wall portion that extends from the rear of the front flat surface portion 11 toward the hood outer panel 3. The central vertical wall portion 12 extends at an angle rearward as it approaches the hood outer panel 3. The central vertical wall portion 12 and the front flat surface portion 11 form a corner with an obtuse angle α1. Furthermore, the central vertical wall portion 12 and the hood outer panel 3 form a corner with an acute angle α2.

As shown in Figure 4, the outer flat surface 13 is a plane that extends rearward from the outer portion of the front flat surface 11 in the vehicle width direction, and in this example, is inclined so that it approaches the hood outer panel 3 as it extends rearward. The front portion of the hinge arm 51 of the hood hinge 50 is joined to the outer flat surface 13. The inner vertical wall portion 14 is a wall that extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the inner end of the outer flat surface 13 in the vehicle width direction, inclining toward the hood outer panel 3.

Next, we will explain the joining of the front portions of the hood outer panel 3 and hood inner panel 10. As shown in Figure 8, a hemming portion 2 is provided at the front portion of the front hood 1. The hemming portion 2 is formed by folding the front portion of the hood outer panel 3 toward the inside of the vehicle. The hood inner panel 10 is clamped at this folded portion and joined with an adhesive, thereby joining the front portions of the hood outer panel 3 and hood inner panel 10. The hemming portion 2 ensures the rigidity of the front portion of the front hood 1.

Next, the hood lock striker 30 will be described. As shown in Figures 6 to 9, the hood lock striker 30 has engagement portions 31, 32, and 33 that can engage with the hood latch 64 provided at the front of the vehicle body, a front fixing portion 34, and a rear fixing portion 35. The engagement portions 31, 32, and 33 are composed of a front portion 31, a rear portion 32, and a fixing portion 33, and form a U-shape as a whole. That is, the opening of the U-shape is located at the top when the front hood 1 is closed, on the side closer to the hood outer panel. The front portion 31 is a portion that extends linearly and inclined toward the front of the vehicle as it moves upward when the front hood 1 is closed. The rear portion 32 is a portion that is located rearward of the front portion 31 and extends approximately vertically when the front hood 1 is closed. The fixing portion 33 connects the lower end of the front portion 31 and the lower end of the rear portion 32, and extends linearly, sloping upward toward the rear of the vehicle when the front hood 1 is closed. In this example, the front portion 31 and fixing portion 33 are arranged so as to intersect at right angles.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7 , the front fixing portion 34 of the hood lock striker 30 is provided in front of the engaging portions 31, 32, and 33 (front portion 31) and is fixed to the striker bracket 20. When the front hood 1 is closed, the front fixing portion 34 extends linearly from the upper end of the front portion 31 in one direction in the vehicle width direction. In this example, the front fixing portion 34 extends to the right from the front portion 31. The rear fixing portion 35 is provided behind the engaging portions 31, 32, and 33 (rear portion 32) and is fixed to the striker bracket 20. When the front hood 1 is closed, the rear fixing portion 35 extends linearly from the upper end of the rear portion 32 in the other direction in the vehicle width direction. In this example, the rear fixing portion 35 extends to the left from the rear portion 32. In this embodiment, the front fixing portion 34 and the rear fixing portion 35 are joined to the striker bracket 20 by arc welding.

Next, the striker bracket 20 will be described. The striker bracket 20 is a plate-shaped member joined to the upper surface of the hood inner panel 10. In this example, the striker bracket 20 is provided in the middle of the front part of the hood inner panel 10 in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIG. 3, and is positioned so as to cover the above-mentioned through hole 11a from the upper surface, as shown in FIG. 8. The striker bracket 20 has a bracket joint 21 that is joined to the upper surface of the hood inner panel 10 by spot welding. The bracket joint 21 is composed of multiple spot-welded welding points (spot welding points). The bracket joint 21 will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the bracket joint 21 includes a front joint row 22 and a rear joint row 23. The front joint row 22 is made up of multiple front joints 22a spaced apart from one another in the vehicle width direction. The front joints 22a are spot joints. In this example, it includes three front joints 22a, which are spaced apart from one another in the vehicle width direction. The rear joint row 23 is located behind the front joint row 22 and includes multiple rear joints 23a spaced apart from one another in the vehicle width direction. The rear joints 23a are spot joints, like the front joints 22a, and include two rear joints 23a, which are spaced apart from one another in the vehicle width direction. The arrangement direction of the front joint row 22 and the arrangement direction of the rear joint row 23 are parallel to each other.

In addition, in this embodiment, the front joints 22a are positioned offset in the vehicle width direction relative to the rear joints 23a. For example, multiple front joints 22a and multiple rear joints 23a may be arranged in a staggered pattern. In this example, as shown in Figure 6, three front joints 22a and two rear joints 23a are arranged in a staggered or W-shape. By arranging multiple joints (spot joints) in this way, it is possible to suppress stress concentration.

In this embodiment, the distance between both side ends of the bracket joint 21 in the vehicle width direction is set longer than the vehicle width length of the front fixing portion 34 and the vehicle width length of the rear fixing portion 35. In this example, the vehicle width distance between the leftmost front joint 22a and the rightmost front joint 22a is set longer than the vehicle width distance of the front fixing portion 34. Here, the vehicle width distance of the front fixing portion 34, etc. is the length of the portion to be arc welded.

The above configuration allows the bracket joint 21 to be positioned in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction near the hemming portion 2, which is highly rigid due to the three layers being joined together. This improves the rigidity and strength of the bracket joint 21 and its surrounding structure. Furthermore, by arranging the spot welding points that make up the bracket joint 21 in a staggered or W-shaped configuration, offset in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle fore-and-aft direction as described above, it is possible to disperse the stress around the joint (spot welding point) that acts when the front hood 1 is closed. Furthermore, because the vehicle width length of the bracket joint 21 is set longer than the vehicle width length of the fixing portion 33 that secures the hood lock striker 30, stress around the spot welding point is more easily dispersed. Furthermore, by arranging the spot welding point near the front fixing portion 34 that is arc-welded, local surface deformation acting on the arc-welded portion of the striker bracket 20 can be suppressed, thereby reducing stress in the arc-welded portion.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, when the hood latch 64 is engaged, i.e., when the front hood 1 is closed, the fixing portion 33 that constitutes the engagement parts 31, 32, and 33 extends at an angle downward toward the front of the vehicle. Furthermore, as described above, the fixing portion 33 is perpendicular to the front portion 31. The rear portion 32 and the fixing portion 33 form a corner with an obtuse angle α3, and the front fixing portion 34 is positioned higher on the vehicle than the rear fixing portion 35.

The front hood 1 of this embodiment has a closed cross-sectional structure made up of a hood outer panel 3 and a hood inner panel 10. As shown in Figure 9, a hood reinforcement 40 is disposed within this closed cross-sectional structure. The structure of the hood reinforcement 40 will be described below.

As shown in Figures 5, 6, and 9, the hood reinforcement 40 has front walls 41a, 41b that protrude from the outer surface of the hood inner panel 10 toward the inner surface of the hood outer panel 3, rear walls 43a, 43b that are spaced rearward from the front walls 41a, 41b and protrude from the hood inner panel 10 toward the hood outer panel 3, and a protruding surface portion 45 that connects the front walls 41a, 41b and the rear walls 43a, 43b while maintaining a gap on the inner surface of the hood inner panel 10. The front walls 41a, 41b and the protruding surface portion 45 form a front corner with an obtuse angle α4, and the rear walls 43a, 43b and the protruding surface portion 45 form a rear corner with an obtuse angle α5. The front walls 41a, 41b and the rear walls 43a, 43b are spaced apart from the striker bracket 20 and are positioned at a distance from the striker bracket 20.

The front walls 41a, 41b of the hood reinforcement 40 in this embodiment are composed of a right front wall 41a and a left front wall 41b, which are spaced apart in the vehicle width direction. The right front wall 41a and the left front wall 41b are provided at the right and left ends, respectively, of the front portion of the hood reinforcement 40 in the vehicle width direction. The right front wall 41a is spaced apart forward of the striker bracket 20 and to the right of the right end of the striker bracket 20, and the lower part of the right front wall 41a is joined to the outer surface of the front flat surface 11 of the hood inner panel 10 by spot welding or the like. The left front wall 41b is spaced apart forward of the striker bracket 20 and to the left of the left end of the striker bracket 20, and the lower part of the left front wall 41b is joined to the outer surface of the front flat surface 11 of the hood inner panel 10 by spot welding or the like.

In addition, the rear walls 43a, 43b of the hood reinforcement 40 in this embodiment are composed of a right rear wall 43a and a left rear wall 43b, which are spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction. The right rear wall 43a and the left rear wall 43b are provided at the right and left ends, respectively, of the rear portion of the hood reinforcement 40 in the vehicle width direction. The right rear wall 43a is spaced apart rearward from the striker bracket 20 and to the right of the right end of the striker bracket 20, and the lower part of the right rear wall 43a is joined by spot welding or the like to the outer surface of the central vertical wall portion 12 of the hood inner panel 10. The left rear wall 43b is spaced apart rearward from the striker bracket 20 and to the left of the left end of the striker bracket 20, and the lower part of the left rear wall 43b is joined by spot welding or the like to the outer surface of the central vertical wall portion 12 of the hood inner panel 10.

The protruding surface portion 45 is a surface portion that is spaced apart from the outer surface of the front flat surface portion 11 of the hood inner panel 10 and is bonded to the inner surface of the hood outer panel 3 with adhesive or the like. Multiple through holes are formed in the protruding surface portion 45, which reduces weight while maintaining a certain level of strength. In a plan view, the hood reinforcement 40 is positioned overlapping the hood lock striker 30. In this example, the front end of the protruding surface portion 45 is positioned to correspond to the front end of the front fixing portion 34 of the hood lock striker 30, and the rear end of the protruding surface portion 45 is positioned to correspond to the rear fixing portion 35.

Next, the structure of the hood hinge 50 will be described. The hood hinge 50 is provided on both sides of the rear portion of the front hood 1 in the vehicle width direction. The hood hinge 50 has a hinge arm 51 and a pivot shaft 52 extending in the vehicle width direction. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the hood hinge 50 is pivotally attached to a bracket 55 attached to a body structure located behind the power compartment. The hinge arm 51 is attached to the bracket 55 via the pivot shaft 52. When the front hood 1 is closed, the hinge arm 51 extends downward from the pivot shaft 52 and extends upward at an angle from its lower end toward the front of the vehicle. The front of the obliquely extending portion is joined to the underside of the hood inner panel 10.

Next, the cushion rubbers 17 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9 , the cushion rubbers 17 are provided on both vehicle width directional sides of the inner surface of the hood inner panel 10. The fixing portions 33 of the hood lock striker 30 and the cushion rubbers 17 are arranged so as to overlap when viewed in the vehicle width direction. In this example, the cushion rubbers 17 are attached to both vehicle width directional sides of the front flat surface portion 11 of the hood inner panel 10. The cushion rubbers 17 are cylindrical. In this embodiment, two cushion rubbers 17 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction. The striker bracket 20 is arranged between the two cushion rubbers 17 in the vehicle width direction. The two cushion rubbers 17 are also arranged between the front portion 31 and the rear portion 32 of the engagement portions 31, 32, and 33 in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction. That is, when viewed in the vehicle width direction, the cushion rubbers 17 are arranged between the front portion 31 and the rear portion 32, and in this example, are arranged inside the U-shaped engagement portions 31, 32, and 33. More specifically, when viewed in the vehicle width direction, the fixing portion 33 and the cushion rubber 17 are arranged to overlap.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the pivot axis 52 of the hood hinge 50 is positioned on an imaginary extension line of the fixed portion 33. That is, the fixed portion 33 is set so that an imaginary extension line L extending toward the rear of the vehicle along the longitudinal direction of the fixed portion 33 overlaps with the pivot axis 52 when viewed in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the fixed portion 33 and the front portion 31 are perpendicular to each other, and the longitudinal direction of the cushion rubber 17 is arranged parallel to the inclination direction of the front portion 31. Furthermore, the inclination direction of the fixed portion 33 (the direction in which the imaginary extension line L extends) also extends approximately parallel to the direction of the outer flat portion 13 of the hood inner panel 10.

With the above configuration, the load acting on the hood lock striker 30 when the front hood 1 is closed can be distributed to the left and right of the striker bracket 20. As a result, the stress acting on the striker bracket 20 can be distributed. In addition, because the longitudinal axes of the front portion 31 of the hood lock striker 30 and the cushion rubber 17 are oriented in the vector direction when the front hood 1 is closed, the structure is strong against the vector (load) in the closing direction.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the cushion rubber 17 is disposed in a region extending in the vehicle width direction between the front and rear ends of the engagement portions 31, 32, 33 of the hood lock striker 30. In other words, the hood lock striker 30 and the cushion rubber 17 are disposed in a region in the vehicle width direction whose length in the vehicle longitudinal direction corresponds to the length of the engagement portions 31, 32, 33 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. This results in a structure that makes it difficult to suppress deformation in the vehicle vertical direction of the front hood 1, which is located between the above-mentioned region in the vehicle width direction and the hood hinge 50 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. As a result, when an impact load acts on the front hood 1 from above the vehicle, the front hood 1 can deform, ensuring pedestrian protection performance.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the front fixing portion 34 extends in one direction in the vehicle width direction from the front of the engaging portions 31, 32, and 33, and the rear fixing portion 35 extends in the other direction in the vehicle width direction from the rear of the engaging portions 31, 32, and 33. The striker bracket 20 is configured to be recessed upward at the position 38 where the front fixing portion 34 and the rear fixing portion 35 are fixed. That is, the striker bracket 20 has a front groove 24 that is recessed upward and extends in the vehicle width direction at the position where the front fixing portion 34 is arc-welded. Similarly, a rear groove 25 that is recessed upward and extends in the vehicle width direction is formed at the position where the rear fixing portion 35 is welded (FIGS. 6 and 7).

With the above configuration, the front fixing portion 34 and the rear fixing portion 35 extend away from the engagement portions 31, 32, and 33 in opposite directions, more effectively dispersing stress acting on the spot impact points of the striker bracket 20. Furthermore, the rigidity around the front fixing portion 34 and the rear fixing portion 35 of the striker bracket 20 can be improved.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 , one of the multiple front joints 22a and two of the rear joints 23a are arranged to form an equilateral triangle T, and the front fixing portion 34 is arranged to overlap the equilateral triangle T in the vehicle longitudinal direction. In this example, as shown in FIG. 6 , the second-rightmost front joint 22a of the four front joints 22a and the two-rightmost rear joints 23a of the three rear joints 23a are arranged to form the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Furthermore, the equilateral triangle T is arranged on the vehicle front side of the front fixing portion 34 and is aligned with the front fixing portion 34 in the vehicle width direction. Specifically, the length of the side of the equilateral triangle T formed by the two rear joints 23a is set to be approximately equal to the length of the portion 38 where the front fixing portion 34 is arc-welded. This facilitates dispersing stress generated at the spot welding points around the hood lock striker 30 in the striker bracket 20.

In this embodiment, a seal member 18 is attached to the front of the hood inner panel 10, and a portion of the striker bracket 20 is positioned so as to overlap the seal member 18. The seal member 18 is attached to the front end of the inner surface of the hood inner panel 10 (the inner surface of the front flat surface 11) with adhesive or the like, and extends along the outer periphery of the hood inner panel 10. The seal member 18 is formed, for example, from a resin material. In this example, as shown in FIG. 10 , it is attached to the front of the front flat surface 11 of the hood inner panel 10 with clips 19 or the like. Positioning the seal member 18 in this manner allows the seal member 18 to absorb part of the impact load acting when the front hood 1 is closed, reducing stress acting on the spot impact points that form the bracket joints 21 of the striker bracket 20.

In addition, in the front hood 1 of this embodiment, the hemming portion 2 and the bracket joint portion 21 are positioned close to each other in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. Therefore, an impact buffering portion intended to protect pedestrians, which is prone to deformation when subjected to an impact load from above the vehicle, is not provided on the front hood 1 located between the hemming portion 2 and the bracket joint portion 21. Therefore, in this embodiment, a deformation-inducing portion 66b, which is prone to deformation, is provided on the body structure located on the vehicle lower side of the front hood 1.

The following describes the vehicle body structure located below the front portion of the front hood 1. This vehicle body structure includes a hood lock member (not shown), a front side brace 62, a hood latch bracket 63, a radiator member 65 (Figure 4), and a hood latch balancer 66.

The hood lock member is a highly rigid component made of metal, located on the lower side of the front of the hood inner panel 10 and extending in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the front side braces 62 are arranged as a pair on both sides of the hood lock member in the vehicle width direction, and extend in the vehicle vertical direction. The front side braces 62 are highly rigid components made of metal. The hood lock member and front side braces 62 form the framework of the front part of the vehicle body. The upper part of the front side member is joined to the side of the hood lock member. Furthermore, a front side member (not shown), which forms the vehicle body framework, is joined to the middle part of the front side brace 62 in the vehicle vertical direction.

As shown in Figure 1, the hood latch bracket 63 is located on the vehicle lower side of the front part of the hood inner panel 10 and is a component that extends downward from the vehicle width middle part of the hood lock member, to which the hood latch 64 is attached. The upper part of the hood latch bracket 63 is joined to the vehicle width middle part of the hood lock member.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hood latch balancer 66 is a component joined to the lower part of the hood latch bracket 63. The hood latch balancer 66 has a main body 66a that is offset forward relative to the hood latch bracket 63 and extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and a deformation-inducing portion 66b that is provided between the main body 66a and the hood latch bracket 63. The deformation-inducing portion 66b is a portion that slopes forward as it extends from the bottom of the hood latch bracket 63 downward. In this example, the hood latch bracket 63 and the main body 66a are components that extend in the vertical direction of the vehicle and have high rigidity in the vertical direction. In contrast, because the deformation-inducing portion 66b is sloped as described above, its rigidity in the vertical direction of the vehicle is set lower than that of the hood latch bracket 63 and the main body 66a.

The description of this embodiment is merely an example for explaining the present invention and does not limit the invention described in the claims. Furthermore, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope described in the claims.

In this embodiment, the bracket joints 21 are configured in two rows, a front joint row 22 and a rear joint row 23, but this is not limited to this. For example, three or more joint rows may be provided. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the multiple front joints 22a that make up the front joint row 22 are overlapping when viewed in the vehicle width direction, i.e., the multiple front joints 22a are aligned in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction, but this is not limited to this. The multiple front joints 22a may be slightly misaligned in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction. Preferably, the multiple front joints 22a are arranged so that they partially overlap when viewed in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the rear joints 23a are similar to the front joints 22a.

1 Front hood 2 Hemming portion 3 Hood outer panel 10 Hood inner panel 11 Front flat portion 11a Through hole 12 Central vertical wall portion 13 Outer flat portion 14 Inner vertical wall portion 17 Cushion rubber 18 Sealing member 19 Clip 20 Striker bracket 21 Bracket joint portion 22 Front joint portion row 22a Front joint portion 23 Rear joint portion row 23a Rear joint portion 24 Front groove 25 Rear groove 30 Hood lock striker 31 Front portion 32 Rear portion 33 Fixing portion 34 Front fixing portion 35 Rear fixing portion 40 Hood reinforcement 41a Right front wall 41b Left front wall 43a Right rear wall 43b Left rear wall 45 Protruding surface portion 50 Hood hinge 51 Hinge arm 52 Pivoting shaft 55 Bracket 62 Front side brace 63 Hood latch bracket 64 Hood latch 65 Radiator member 66 Hood latch balancer 66a Main body 66b Deformation inducer

Claims (6)

The hood lock striker includes a hood outer panel disposed at a front portion of a vehicle, a hood inner panel disposed on the vehicle inner side of the hood outer panel, a hood lock striker provided at a front portion of the hood inner panel, and a striker bracket provided at the front portion of the hood inner panel and to which the hood lock striker is joined,
The hood lock striker includes an engagement portion engageable with a hood latch provided at the front of the vehicle body, a front fixing portion provided in front of the engagement portion and fixed to the striker bracket, and a rear fixing portion provided at the rear of the engagement portion and fixed to the striker bracket.
A vehicle front structure having:
the hood inner panel and the striker bracket are joined by a bracket joint portion that is disposed further forward of the vehicle than the front fixing portion,
the bracket joint portion includes a front joint portion row consisting of a plurality of front joint portions arranged at intervals from one another along the vehicle width direction, and a rear joint portion row arranged rearward of the front joint portion row and consisting of a plurality of rear joint portions arranged at intervals from one another along the vehicle width direction,
The front joint portions are disposed so as to be shifted in the vehicle width direction relative to the rear joint portions,
A vehicle front structure, characterized in that the distance between both vehicle width direction ends of the bracket joint is set longer than the vehicle width direction length of the front fixing portion and the vehicle width direction length of the rear fixing portion. a rear portion of the hood inner panel is rotatably attached to the vehicle body via a hood hinge having a rotation shaft extending in the vehicle width direction;
the engaging portion has a front portion extending in the up-down direction, a rear portion disposed behind the front portion with a gap therebetween, and a fixing portion extending to connect a lower end of the front portion with a lower end of the rear portion,
Two cushion rubbers are attached to the hood inner panel and spaced apart from each other in the vehicle width direction,
the striker bracket is disposed between the two cushion rubbers in the vehicle width direction,
the cushion rubber is disposed between the front portion and the rear portion of the engagement portion in the vehicle front-rear direction,
the rotation axis is disposed on a virtual extension line of the fixed portion,
The fixing portion and the front portion are perpendicular to each other,
2. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal direction of the cushion rubber is arranged parallel to the direction in which the front portion extends. the front fixing portion extends from a front portion of the engagement portion in one direction in the vehicle width direction, and the rear fixing portion extends from a rear portion of the engagement portion in the other direction in the vehicle width direction,
3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the striker bracket is configured to be recessed upward at positions where the front fixing portion and the rear fixing portion are fixed. one of the plurality of front joint portions and two of the rear joint portions are arranged to form an equilateral triangle,
3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the front fixing portion is disposed so as to overlap the equilateral triangle in the vehicle longitudinal direction. A seal member is attached to the front portion of the hood inner panel,
3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the striker bracket is disposed so as to overlap the seal member. 3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of front joints and the plurality of rear joints are arranged in a staggered pattern.