JPS6329673B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile.

In recent years, reducing the weight and fuel consumption of automobiles has become a major issue, and for this reason, miniaturization of automobiles has been promoted, and vehicles commonly called liter cars have been developed. In order to reduce weight, this type of car uses a method of thinning the body plates and reinforcing only the necessary parts.

On the other hand, in automobiles, the requirement to protect occupants in the event of a collision must be fully satisfied. This collision prevention measure is achieved by making the front and rear parts of large vehicles relatively longer than the passenger compartment.
In addition, the overall rigidity was high and it was easy to assemble.

However, in a small car, the overall length is limited, and the passenger compartment cannot be made small to avoid impairing comfort, and the structure cannot be similar to that of a large car. In addition, in large cars, strength can be increased by increasing the thickness of the plate, but in small cars, the output of the engine installed in it is limited, so it is not possible to increase the thickness of the plate, and it is also possible to reduce weight. There was a problem that they were contradictory.

Therefore, in order to prevent the deformation of the passenger compartment, especially in the event of a head-on collision (when the front end of the vehicle collides with an obstacle), conventionally, the upper side of the darts pad panel has been installed near both sides of the cowl at the front of the vehicle body. A closed cross-section structure in which the cowl side pads and wheel apron reinforcements are joined extends forward from the front pillar, thereby forming a reinforcing structure. The connection was weak, which caused problems in terms of collision prevention.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the wheel apron reinforcement and front pillar that constitute the closed cross-section structure were connected with a gusset plate to increase the structural strength (Japanese Patent Publication No. 54 -Refer to Publication No. 14005) has been proposed.

However, since the gusset plate simply connects the wheel apron reinforcement and the front pillar, it cannot be said to have sufficient strength.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to improve the structural strength by providing a closed cross-sectional structure with upper and lower two stages on the side of the dash upper panel.

For this purpose, the configuration of the present invention is such that the dart upper panel, the cowl side upper, and the wheel apron reinforcement are provided on the upper side of the horizontal portion of the dart upper panel extending in the vehicle width direction. An upper closed section is formed that extends in the front-rear direction and has a rear end connected to the front pillar. Further, the side part of the darts lower panel is connected to the front part of the cowl side extending forward from the hinge pillar outer, and a horizontal part is formed on the outside between the joint part of the cowl side with the darts lower panel and the hinge pillar. A gusset having a bottom wall portion and a side wall portion extending upward from the outer end of the bottom wall portion is disposed, the inner wall of the bottom wall portion of the gusset is located on the cowl side, and the upper end of the side wall portion is located on the dash pad. The gusset is joined to the joint between the panel and the wheel apron reinforcement, and the extension extending from the rear end of the gusset is joined to the outer surface of the hinge pillar outer. A lower closed cross section is formed below the upper closed cross section by the sides and is partitioned from the upper closed cross section by a horizontal portion of the dash upper panel. Furthermore, the cowl side concave portion constituting the lower closed cross section is characterized in that it is continuously joined to the inner wall surface of the hinge pillar inner in a substantially straight line in the front-rear direction. With the above configuration, the structural strength of the front portion of the vehicle body is increased by the two-stage closed cross section on the upper side and the lower side.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

In Figures 1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a lower darts panel that separates the passenger compartment from the engine room and forms the front wall of the passenger compartment. The front end of the dash upper panel 2 that is inclined and extends in the vehicle width direction is joined, and above the side end of the horizontal portion of the dash upper panel 2 is a cowl side upper panel 3 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. and a wheel apron reinforcement 4 are arranged to face each other with the cowl side upper 3 positioned inside. The upper end portions of the cowl side upper 3 and wheel apron reinforcement 4 are joined to each other, while the lower end portions are respectively joined to the dash rear upper panel 2, so that these three members can move the vehicle body in the longitudinal direction. An extending upper closed section 5 is formed. A rear end portion of the upper closed section 5 is connected to a front pillar 6, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a front pillar that is arranged to extend substantially vertically on both sides of the front part of the vehicle interior. The front pillar outer 8, which has a cross-sectional shape protruding in the opposite direction, is joined to each other to form a closed cross-sectional shape. A hinge pillar 9 for attaching a door hinge is connected to the lower part of the front pillar 6. The hinge pillar 9 consists of a hinge pillar inner 10 whose upper end is connected to the lower end of the front pillar inner 7, and a hinge pillar outer 11 whose upper end is connected to the lower end of the front pillar outer 8.
By joining both of them to each other, they are formed into a closed cross-sectional shape that communicates with the closed cross-section of the front pillar 6.

A cowl side 12 formed by extending the hinge pillar outer 11 forward from the hinge pillar 9 is integrally formed in the front part of the hinge pillar outer 11, and the front end of the cowl side 12 is provided on the side of the dart lower panel 1. The ends are joined. Further, the upper part of the cowl side 12 is recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body than the lower part, and the bottom part 13a of the recessed part 13 and the inner wall surface 10a of the hinge pillar inner 10 are substantially continuous in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. The upper end of the concave portion 13 is connected to the cowl side upper 3 of the dash upper panel 2.
It is joined to the lower surface of the joint. Incidentally, a rear end portion of a front fender apron 14 constituting a side wall of the engine room is connected to the side portion of the dart lower panel 1, and a portion of the front fender apron 14 in front of the tire house portion 14a is connected to the vehicle body. It is arranged so as to be located at approximately the same position as the bottom 13a of the recessed portion 13 of the cowl side 12 (inner wall surface 10a of the hinge pillar inner 10) in the left-right direction.

Further, on the outer side between the joint portion of the cowl side 12 with the dart lower panel 1 and the hinge pillar 9, there is a bottom wall portion 15a extending in the horizontal direction and a substantially triangular triangle extending vertically upward from the outer end of the bottom wall portion 15a. A gusset 15 having a shaped side wall portion 15b is disposed corresponding to the recessed portion 13, and the inner end of the bottom wall portion 15a of the gusset 15 is attached to the bottom portion 13a of the recessed portion 13 of the cowl side 12, and the side wall portion The upper end portions (hypotenuse portions) of the dash upper panel 2 are respectively joined to the lower surface of the dash upper panel 2 where the wheel apron reinforcement 4 is joined. Further, the rear end of the side wall portion 15b of the gusset 15 is extended rearward so as to cover the upper hinge attachment portion 9a of the hinge pillar 9 (hinge pillar outer 11), and the rear end of the extended portion 15c is attached to the hinge pillar outer. 11, and is configured to reinforce the upper hinge attachment portion 9a. Therefore, the lower closed section 5 is partitioned from the upper closed section 5 by the horizontal portion of the dash upper panel 2 on the lower side of the upper closed section 5 by the gusset 15, the dash upper panel 2, and the cowl side 12. 16 are formed.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a hinge reinforcement formed by extending the lower end of the front pillar outer 8 downward.
is superimposed on the inner surface of the upper hinge attachment portion 9a of the hinge pillar 9, and is configured to strongly reinforce the upper hinge attachment portion 9a together with the extension portion 15c of the gusset 15. Also, 18 is a cowl, 19 is a front fender, 20 is a lid, and 21 is an upper hinge mounting portion 9a on the hinge pillar inner 10.
This is an opening for hinge installation work provided correspondingly.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the dash upper panel 2, the cowl side upper 3, and the wheel apron reinforcement are provided on the upper side of the horizontal portion of the dart upper panel 2 extending in the vehicle width direction. 4 to form an upper closed cross section 5, and below this upper closed cross section 5, a cowl side 1 is formed.
2, the dash upper panel 2, and the gusset 15 form an upper closed cross section 5 and a lower closed cross section 16 partitioned by the horizontal portion of the dash upper panel 2. While increasing the rigidity of the closed cross sections 5 and 16, the rigidity of the hinge pillar 9 and the front pillar 6 to which the closed cross sections 5 and 16 are connected, as well as the structural strength of the front portion of the vehicle body, can be greatly increased. In particular, the lower closed section 16 is formed by the hinge pillar 9
The rigidity of the hinge pillar 9 can be effectively increased because it is provided at the corner of the connection between the upper closed section 5 and the upper closed section 5, which is a part where stress concentration is likely to occur due to external forces when opening and closing the door. The gusset 15 is arranged between the joint part of the cowl side 12 with the dart lower panel 1 and the hinge pillar 9, and its front end is joined to the joint part and the rear end is joined to the hinge pillar 9. Therefore, the bonding strength of the gusset 15 itself is increased, and thereby the bonding strength between the dart lower panel 1 and the hinge pillar 9 can be further improved.

Furthermore, since the bottom portion 13a of the concave portion 13 of the cowl side 12 constituting the lower closed section 16 and the inner wall surface 10a of the hinge pillar inner 10 are continuous in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, the front fender is The impact force acting through the apron 14 is effectively transmitted to and received by the lower closed section 16 and the hinge pillar 9 due to the continuity between the two, and together with the above-mentioned improvement in structural strength, Effective in preventing collisions. In other words, since the width of the lower closed section 16 in the vehicle width direction is the same as the width of the hinge pillar 9 in the vehicle width direction, deformation of the lower closed section 16 due to the impact force is prevented as much as possible, resulting in damage to the front windshield. etc. can be prevented.

Moreover, the closed cross sections 5 and 16 can be formed without performing difficult processing such as deep drawing on the cowl side 12, etc.
Molding can be easily performed.

Further, the lower closed cross section 16 has a double seal in which the upper end of the concave portion 13 of the cowl side 12 is joined to the dash upper panel 2 on the inside, and the upper end of the side wall 15b of the gusset 15 is joined on the outside. This structure prevents water such as rainwater from entering the inside of the vehicle, and in the unlikely event that the lower closed section 1
Even if water enters the inside of the gusset 6, it can be discharged to the outside from between the cowl side 12 and the bottom wall 15a of the gusset 15, which is effective in preventing water leakage.

As explained above, according to the present invention, two upper and lower closed cross sections are formed on the sides of the dash tsupa panel without requiring deep drawing or the like, which simplifies the forming process. While achieving this, the structural strength of the front part of the vehicle body can be greatly improved. In addition, the continuity between the cowl side and the hinge pillar inner can withstand the impact force at the time of a frontal collision, so it is sufficiently effective as a countermeasure against collision. Furthermore, the double seal structure of the lower closed section and the vehicle body discharge structure provide excellent effects such as being advantageous in preventing water leakage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front part of an automobile body, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, and FIG.
4 is an exploded perspective view. 1... Datsushi lower panel, 2... Datsushi atsupa panel, 3... Cowl side atsuppa, 4...
Wheel apron reinforcement, 5...
Upper closed section, 6... Front pillar, 9... Hinge pillar, 10... Hinge pillar inner, 12...
...Cowl side, 15... Gusset, 15a...
Bottom wall portion, 16...lower closed section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. On the upper side of the horizontal part of the dash upper panel extending in the vehicle width direction, the dart upper panel, the cowl side upper panel, and the wheel apron reinforcement extend in the front-rear direction and the rear end is connected to the front pillar. A connected upper closed cross section is formed, and the side part of the lower cowl panel is joined to the front part of the cowl side extending forward from the hinge pillar outer, and the joint part of the cowl side with the lower part of the cowl side is connected to the hinge pillar. A gusset having a horizontal bottom wall portion and a side wall portion extending upward from the outer end of the bottom wall portion is arranged on the outer side between the cowl side and the side wall portion. The upper ends of the parts are respectively joined to the joints of the dashi tsupa panel and the wheel apron reinforcement,
An extension extending from the rear end of the gusset is joined to the outer surface of the hinge pillar outer, and the gusset, the darts upper panel, and the cowl side cause the darts upper panel to be attached to the lower side of the upper closed section. A lower closed cross section is formed that is separated from the upper closed cross section by the horizontal part of the cowl side, and the recessed part of the cowl side that forms this lower closed cross section is continuous with the inner wall surface of the hinge pillar inner in an almost straight line in the front and rear direction. A front body structure of an automobile, characterized in that the front body structure is joined together.