JPH0662097B2 - Front body structure of automobile - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front vehicle body structure of an automobile, and more particularly, to a wheel apron reinforcement structure in a vehicle body front portion of the automobile.

(Prior Art) In the front part of a vehicle body of an automobile, a wheel apron reinforcement that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is provided above the wheel apron to reinforce the wheel apron, which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-114772. It is publicly known as seen in. However, since the wheel apron reinforcement in this known example reinforces the wheel apron with substantially the same rigidity in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, the impact absorption at the time of a head-on collision of the automobile is not sufficiently performed, and the impact force is increased by the front pillar. May directly act on.

Further, a wheel apron reinforcement section having a two-story closed cross-section structure is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-2.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6369, the rigidity of the wheel apron reinforcement portion is equal in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body in the case of this known example as well. Impact force may act directly.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, in reinforcing the wheel apron of the front part of the vehicle body, the rigidity is increased stepwise from the front part to the rear part of the wheel apron, Therefore, the purpose is to effectively absorb the impact energy at the time of a head-on collision.

(Means for Achieving the Purpose) In the present invention, as means for achieving the above-mentioned object, a front end of a reinforcement panel joined to an upper part of a wheel apron forming a side wall of an engine room and extending in a vehicle body front-rear direction is provided. A first wheel apron reinforcement which is joined to the rear at a predetermined distance from the rear panel and forms a first closed cross section extending in the vehicle front-rear direction together with the reinforcement panel, and from the front end of the first wheel apron reinforcement. A second wheel apron reinforcement, which forms a second closed cross section with the wheel apron, is joined to the rear of the reinforcement panel at a predetermined distance and above the rear part of the reinforcement panel. The cross section is polymerized up and down through the reinforcement panel. It is tight.

(Operation) In the present invention, the following operations are obtained by the above means.

That is, a joint between the wheel apron and the reinforcement panel, a portion to which the first closed cross section formed by the first wheel apron reinforcement is added, and a second portion above the first closed cross section. The wheel apron is reinforced so that the rigidity of the wheel apron is gradually increased from the front part to the rear part by the part with the second closed cross section formed by the reinforcement, and the impact energy at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle is increased. The apron will be gradually absorbed from the front to the rear.

(Examples) Hereinafter, preferred examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The vehicle of this embodiment has a structure in which a wheel apron 3 forming a side wall of the engine room 2 in the front part of the vehicle body 1 becomes higher toward the rear of the vehicle body.

A plate-shaped reinforcement panel 4 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is joined to the outer surface of the upper portion of the wheel apron 3 in order to strengthen the rigidity of the wheel apron 3. The reinforcement panel 4 joins a part (that is, a front end portion) of the lateral flange portion 4a projecting on the upper edge thereof to the lateral flange portion 3a projecting on the upper edge of the wheel apron 3, and at the same time the entire surface thereof. Is attached by joining the entire area between the front end of the wheel apron 3 and the front pillar 5.

A first closed cross section 7 extending in the vehicle body front-rear direction is formed together with the reinforcement panel 4 at a rear part of the reinforcement panel 4 at a predetermined distance.
The wheel apron reinforcement 6 is joined. The first wheel apron reinforcement 6
Joins the lateral flange portion 6a protruding from the upper end edge thereof to the lateral flange portion 4a at the upper end of the reinforcement panel 4, and the vertical flange portions 6b and 6c extending to the front end edge and the lower end edge thereof. It is attached by being joined to the reinforcement panel 4, and its rear end edge 6d is joined to the front pillar 5. The first wheel apron reinforcement 6 has a reinforcing rib 8 and a working hole 9.

The joining of the first wheel apron reinforcement 6 further strengthens the rigidity of the wheel apron 3.

Further, at the rear of the front end of the first wheel apron reinforcement 6 at a predetermined distance and above the rear part of the reinforcement panel 4, a second closed part extending in the vehicle front-rear direction together with the wheel apron 3 is provided. The second wheel apron reinforcement 10 forming the cross section 11 is joined. The second wheel apron reinforcement 10 has lateral flanges 10a and 10b projecting from the upper edge and the lower edge of the second apron reinforcement 10, respectively.
Are attached to the wheel apron 3 by joining a vertical flange portion 10c extending to the front end edge thereof to the wheel apron 3, and a rear end edge 10d thereof is joined to the front pillar 5. Therefore, the second closed cross section 11 has a first closed cross section 7 formed between the first wheel apron reinforcement 6 and the reinforcement panel 4 and a lateral flange 4a at the upper end of the reinforcement panel 4. It is piled up and down. The second wheel apron reinforcement 10 also has reinforcing ribs 12 and working holes 13.

With the above configuration, the wheel apron 3 includes the front end portion where only the wheel apron 3 and the reinforcement panel 4 are joined together, and the first wheel apron reinforcement during the reinforcement panel 4 joined to the wheel apron 3. 6 is joined to form a first closed cross section 7, and a second wheel apron reinforcement 10 is joined to the wheel apron 3 above the rear part of the reinforcement panel 4 to form the first closed cross section. 7 and the rear end portion forming the second closed cross section 11 that vertically overlaps with each other are reinforced in a stepwise strengthened state.

When a vehicle having such a body structure collides head-on, the impact energy at that time is effectively absorbed in the wheel apron 3 at the front end portion, the intermediate portion and the rear end portion having different rigidity, and the impact force acting on the front pillar 5 is effectively reduced. It is greatly relaxed.

Further, since the tips of the first and second wheel apron reinforcements are tapered, energy can be absorbed efficiently.

In the drawings, reference numeral 14 is a side frame, 15 is a dash panel, 16 is a side sill, and 17 is a suspension tower.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the wheel apron that forms the side wall of the engine room includes the reinforcement panel, the first and second wheel aprons, and the front end portion, the middle portion, and the rear end portion. Since the rigidity is strengthened in the order of the parts, the impact energy can be absorbed very smoothly at the time of a head-on collision of an automobile, and the effect of the impact force on the front pillar can be remarkably reduced. effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a front body structure of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of an essential part of the front body structure shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. (B) and (c) are AA, BB, and CC sectional views of FIG. 1 ... Body 2 ... Engine room 3 ... Wheel apron 4 ... Reinforcement panel 6 ... First wheel apron Reinforcement 7 ... First closed cross section 10 ... Second wheel apron Reinforcement 11 ... … Second closed section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wheel apron that forms a side wall of an engine room, a reinforcement panel that is joined to an upper portion of the wheel apron and extends in the front-rear direction of a vehicle body, and a rear portion at a predetermined distance from a front end of the reinforcement panel. A first wheel apron reinforcement that is joined together to form a first closed cross section that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction together with the reinforcement panel, and is provided rearward at a predetermined distance from the front end of the first wheel apron reinforcement. A second wheel apron reinforcement that is joined to the upper rear portion of the reinforcement panel to form a second closed cross section that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction together with the wheel apron, and the first and second closed cross sections are the same. Stacked up and down through the reinforcement panel Front body structure for an automobile, characterized by being.