JP2005153800A - Front body structure of the vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

An impact load at the time of a frontal collision is efficiently dispersed to the rear of a vehicle body so that it can be reliably damped.
A side upper frame (7) whose side surface is wedge-shaped and widens from the front to the rear is joined to the joint of the front pillar (1), the bulkhead (3), and the front wheel apron (4) to increase the rigidity of the joint. Increase.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front body structure in which a joint portion of a front pillar, a bulkhead, and a front wheel apron is reinforced with a reinforcing member.

  Conventionally, a front frame extending in the front-rear direction along the left and right front wheel apron of an engine room in a vehicle such as an automobile supports a power train that is an engine and various devices of a power transmission system, and at the time of a frontal collision. In general, the impact load from the front through the bumper beam is deformed by axial crushing to absorb the impact load, and the impact load is distributed to the side structures such as the rear frame and front pillar that are continuous with the front frame. Is.

  In addition, there is a structure that can cope with an excessive impact load by dispersing the impact load at the time of frontal collision to the side structure such as the front pillar via the front frame and the front wheel apron. . In this case, if the coupling between the front wheel apron and the side structure is insufficient, the joint portion is bent and deformed, and it is difficult to reliably transmit the impact load backward.

As a countermeasure against this, the applicant of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-316666 effectively applies an impact load from the front frame by joining the suspension bracket and the front pillar in a bracing manner via a reinforcing bracket. A front body structure that can be distributed to the front pillar side was proposed.
JP 2002-316666 A

  By the way, in the structure in which the suspension bracket and the front pillar are connected to each other via the reinforcement bracket, the reinforcement bracket is a process of assembling the suspension bracket and the front pillar separately. In the process of joining one side and joining the suspension bracket and the front pillar, the other end of the reinforcing bracket is joined to the other.

  However, in the step of joining the suspension bracket and the front pillar, a positional shift is likely to occur when the other of the reinforcing brackets is joined, and there is a problem in workability. Moreover, since it is necessary to perform welding work in an engine room, there exists a problem that work efficiency is bad.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a front vehicle body structure of a vehicle that can be easily manufactured with a simple structure and can reliably distribute an impact load at the time of a frontal collision to the rear of the vehicle body. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle front body structure in which a bulkhead and a front wheel apron are joined to a front pillar, and a joint between the front pillar, the bulkhead, and the front wheel apron. On the other hand, the reinforcing member is joined from the outside.

  According to the present invention, it is easy to manufacture with a simple structure, and the impact load at the time of a frontal collision can be reliably distributed to the rear of the vehicle body.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of the front part of the vehicle body as viewed from the left front side, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a side upper frame, FIG. 3 is a side view of the side upper frame, and FIGS. It is each sectional drawing in the EE line.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes a front pillar constituting a side structure. Although only the left side of the vehicle is shown in the figure, the right side of the vehicle has a shape that is substantially symmetrical to the left side of the vehicle. Therefore, only the configuration of the left side of the vehicle will be described below, and the configuration of the right side of the vehicle will be described. Will not be described.

  The left and right front pillars 1 extend in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, and have an upper end continuous with a roof (not shown) and a lower end continuous with the side sill 2. Further, both ends of the bulkhead 3 extending in the width direction are joined between substantially vertical central portions of the left and right front pillars 1. Further, the rear ends of the front wheel apron 4 are joined to the left and right front pillars 1 at the part where the bulkhead 3 is joined.

  Further, both ends of the radiator panel 5 (see FIG. 4) are joined to the front ends of the left and right front wheel aprons 4, respectively. An area surrounded by the bulkhead 3, the left and right front wheel apron 4, and the radiator panel 5 is an engine room 6. The left and right front wheel apron 4 is joined to left and right front frames (not shown) extending from the front to the rear of the vehicle body. The front ends of the left and right front frames are connected via bumper beams.

  A side upper frame 7 as a reinforcing member is joined to a joint portion between the front pillar 1, the bulkhead 3, and the front wheel apron 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the side upper frame 7 is made of sheet metal processed flat plate, is formed in a concave cross section from the front part to the rear part, the rear end is formed in a substantially flat shape, and the side surface 8 is from the front part. It is expanded in a wedge shape toward the rear. In addition, a plurality of rows of beads 8a are formed on the side surface 8 from the front to the rear, and beads 8b are also formed in the vertical direction.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper surface portion 9 that is joined to the upper surface of the front suspension plate 21 is bent at the upper edge of the side surface 8 on the distal end side. The front suspension plate 21 closes the upper surface of a cylindrical strut tower (not shown) provided in the middle of the front wheel apron 4 and supports the upper end of the suspension. The radiator panel 5 is joined to the front suspension plate 21. Reference numeral 22 denotes a front fender.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a bottom surface portion 10 is bent at an obtuse angle at the lower edge of the side surface 8 located slightly rearward from the front end portion of the side upper frame 7, and a lower flange is formed at the lower end of the bottom surface portion 10. 11 is bent. The lower flange 11 is joined to a front suspension upper bracket 23 joined to a lower end portion of the front suspension plate 21 and a front bulk frame 24 joined to a rear portion of the front suspension upper bracket 23.

  The front suspension plate 21 and the front suspension upper bracket 23 constitute a front suspension mounting portion. Reference numerals 41a and 41b denote spot welding electrode tips. In the figure, the spot positions of the side upper frame 7 are indicated by the electrode chips 41a and 41b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, an upper flange 12 is bent upward from the edge of the upper surface portion 9 at the substantially central portion of the side upper frame 7. The substantially central portion of the side upper frame 7 is positioned approximately at the center of the junction between the front pillar 1, the bulkhead 3, and the front wheel apron 4. The bulkhead 3 is composed of a front bulk frame 24 and a front lower bulkhead 25. A closed cross section is formed.

  The upper flange 12 is joined to an inner upper pillar 1 a that constitutes the front pillar 1. The front pillar 1 has a closed cross section formed by an inner upper pillar 1a and an outer side panel 1b.

  Further, in the vicinity of the rear portion of the side upper frame 7, the side surface 8 is bent so as to contact the outer surface of the front pillar 1, and the end portion 8 c is joined to the outer surface of the front pillar 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the bottom surface 10 and the lower flange 11 are substantially flush with the side surface 8 on the slightly front side of the end portion 8c of the side upper frame 7, and the width of the top surface portion 9 is gradually narrowed. It is formed in such a way that it is expanded at an obtuse angle.

  Further, an upper flange 12 bent at the edge of the upper surface portion 9 is joined to the inner upper pillar 1a. The side surface 8 is provided with a long hole 8d through which an end protruding outward of the front suspension plate 21 is released. Reference numeral 3 a in FIG. 8 is a bulkhead phosphorus hose joined to the bulkhead 3.

  According to such a configuration, since the side upper frame 7 is joined from the outside to the joint of the front wheel apron 4, the bulkhead 25, and the front pillar 1, the joint is reinforced. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 1, the impact load at the time of the frontal collision can be efficiently dispersed from the front wheel apron 4 and the bulkhead 25 to the upper side and the lower side of the front pillar 1 through the side upper frame 7. . As a result, the impact load can be reliably transmitted to the rear of the vehicle body and attenuated.

  Further, since the side upper frame 7 is joined from the outside to the joint portion of the front wheel apron 4, the bulkhead 25, and the front pillar 1, it is attached after the members 1, 4, 25 are assembled. Therefore, joining work such as spot welding can be performed efficiently and workability is good. Further, since the side upper frame 7 has a simple structure in which the rigidity of the joints of the members 1, 4 and 25 is increased, the weight of the vehicle body is not significantly increased, and the fuel consumption is not deteriorated.

  Further, since the front suspension plate 21 and the front suspension upper bracket 23 are integrated via the side upper frame 7 and are connected to the members 1, 4 and 25, the rigidity around the suspension mounting portion is increased. Can be up.

  Further, since the side surface 8 of the side upper frame 7 is formed in a wedge shape that expands from the front end side to the rear end side, the impact load from the front can be efficiently distributed to the front pillar 1 side.

Perspective view of the main part when the front part of the vehicle body is seen from the diagonally left front Perspective view of side upper frame Side view of side upper frame AA sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. CC sectional view of FIG. DD sectional view of FIG. EE sectional view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front pillar 1a Inner upper pillar 1b Outer side panel 3 Bulk head 4 Front wheel apron 5 Radiator panel 7 Side upper frame 8 Side surface 8c End part 9 Top part 10 Bottom part 11 Lower flange 12 Upper flange 21 Front suspension plate 23 Front suspension upper Bracket 24 Front bulk frame 23 Front suspension upper bracket 24 Front bulk frame 25 Front lower bulkhead

Agent Patent Attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (3)

In the front body structure of a vehicle in which the bulkhead and the front wheel apron are joined to the front pillar,
A vehicle body structure for a front portion of a vehicle, wherein a reinforcing member is joined from the outside to a joint portion of the front pillar, the bulkhead, and the front wheel apron.   2. The front body structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is made of a sheet metal obtained by processing a flat plate, and is retrofitted to the front pillar, the bulkhead, and the front wheel apron.   3. The front body structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is also joined to a front suspension mounting portion that is provided in the middle of the front wheel apron and supports the suspension.

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