JP2007131149A - Cowl box structure of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cowl box structure of a vehicle which can improve layout flexibility of disposition of instruments or equipment in the rear space of the cowl box by effectively utilizing the space in the cabin of the rear of the cowl box by eliminating the projection part of a cowl box joining part in the space in the cabin of the rear of the cowl box, and improve an occupant's seating comfort by expanding the space in the cabin of the rear of the cowl box. <P>SOLUTION: In the cowl box structure of the vehicle, the cowl box 100 is composed by joining the upper side cowl top panel 1 with the cowl upper panel 2 continuously provided at the lower part. The bending part 1a is formed by bending the lower part of the cowl top panel 1 downward, the bending part 1a is overlapped with the rear wall part 2a of the cowl upper panel 2, and an overlapped joining part 25 is formed by joining the cowl top panel 1 with the cowl upper panel 2 on the overlapped part by applying a spot welding from the front and back of the rear wall. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  According to the present invention, a cowl box provided at an upper portion of a dash panel that partitions a front portion of a vehicle and a passenger compartment is connected to a cowl top panel on which a front window glass is placed and a lower portion of the cowl top panel. The present invention relates to a cowl box structure for a vehicle constructed by joining a cowl lower member.

FIG. 8 shows a cowl provided on an upper portion of a dash panel that partitions a front portion of a vehicle and a vehicle interior as provided in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-165420. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a W portion in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a V portion in FIG.
8 to 10, 101 is a vehicle interior, 100 is a cowl box for taking outside air into the vehicle interior 101 side, 9 is a front window glass, 10 is a dash panel, and 8 is an instrument panel (instrument panel). Inside the instrument panel 8, an instrument panel harness 6, an air conditioner duct 7, and the like are arranged.

  The cowl box 100 is disposed on the lower side, the cowl top panel 1 on which the front window glass 9 is placed and disposed on the upper side, the cowl upper panel 2 disposed on the rear side and joined to the dash panel 10. The cowl upper panel 2 is joined to the front part of the cowl upper panel 2. A dash inner silencer 5 is installed on the instrument panel 8 side at the rear of the cowl box 100.

The joint portion 250 between the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 includes a flange 1z in which a lower end portion of the cowl top panel 1 is bent at a substantially right angle from the plate surface of the cowl top panel 1 toward the rear of the vehicle, and the cowl upper panel 2 11 is overlapped with a flange 2z that is bent at a substantially right angle from the plate surface of the cowl upper panel 2 to the rear of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 11, a pair of spot welding guns 41 are formed on both surfaces of the flanges 1z and 2z. Is applied by spot welding and joining. The joint 26 between the cowl upper panel 2 and the cowl upper front panel 24 is formed by superposing the lower end portion of the cowl upper panel 2, the rear end portion of the cowl upper front panel 24, and the dash panel 10 and performing spot welding. It is formed by joining.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, the sealer 11 is applied to the joint portion 250 and sealed. Although not shown, the sealer 11 is also applied to the joint portion 26.

FIG. 12 shows a cowl box structure in which a cowl top cross member 3 for reinforcement is provided inside the cowl top panel 1. In this case, a flange 1 z at the lower end of the cowl top panel 1, a cowl A flange 3z formed by bending the end portion of the cowl top cross member 3 is sandwiched between the upper end flange 2z of the upper panel 2 and, as shown in FIG. The joint part 310 is formed by applying the spot welding gun 41 and spot welding at the same time.
JP 2003-165420 A

However, in the prior art shown in FIGS. 8 to 12 and the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the joint portion 250 by the flanges 1z and 2z of the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 as shown in FIGS. Alternatively, the joint portion 310 of the cowl top panel 1, the cowl upper panel 2 and the cowl top cross member 3 as shown in FIG. Therefore, there is a problem of interference with instruments and devices such as the instrument panel harness 6 and the air conditioner duct 7 in the space behind the cowl box 100 on the vehicle interior 101 side, and the freedom of layout on the back side of the instrument panel 8 is lost. 8 is large and protrudes into the vehicle interior 101, and the presence of the joint portion 250 or the joint portion 310 projecting toward the vehicle interior 101 side causes the It narrows the space in the passenger compartment 101 located at the rear of the mailbox 100, inhibits the passenger boarding comfort, has problems to be solved and the like.
Further, depending on whether or not the cowl top cross member 3 is added, it is necessary to change the shape of the cowl top panel 1 or the cowl upper panel 2 so as to correspond to the thickness of the cowl top cross member 3. The upper panel 2 has a problem that it is impossible to classify the presence / absence of the cowl top cross member 3. In addition, there are other problems such as difficulty in applying the sealer 11 to the tip of the joint 250 and the flange of the joint 250 obstructing the installation of the dash inner silencer 5.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate the protruding portion of the cowl box joint in the vehicle interior space behind the cowl box, thereby eliminating the vehicle interior space behind the cowl box. To improve the layout freedom of instruments and equipment in the space behind the cowl box, and to increase the passenger comfort by widening the cabin space behind the cowl box An object of the present invention is to provide a cowl box structure for a vehicle that can perform the above-described operation.

  In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a cowl box structure for a vehicle in which a cowl box is provided on an upper portion of a dash panel that partitions the front portion of the vehicle and the vehicle interior. A cowl top panel that is mounted and constitutes an upper part of the cowl box is provided, and a cowl lower member that is connected to the cowl top panel and constitutes a rear wall of the cowl box is provided, and a rear part of the cowl top panel is lowered To form a bent portion that becomes a part of the rear wall of the cowl box, the bent portion is overlapped with the rear wall portion of the cowl lower member, and spot welding is performed from the front and rear of the rear wall to the overlapped portion. The cowl top panel and the cowl lower member are joined to each other.

The present invention is preferably configured as follows.
(1) At the front part of the cowl top panel, a cowl top garnish is detachably provided so as to cover the inside of the cowl box, and the cowl front panel constituting the front wall of the cowl box is The cowl top garnish and the cowl lower member are connected in a detachable form at least before the spot welding.
(2) A dash inner silencer is provided at the rear portion of the cowl box so as to extend upward and downward from the overlapping joint portion.
(3) A flange portion formed by bending the joining end portion of the cowl lower member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate surface is formed on the upper portion of the overlapping joining portion, and the joining end portion of the flange portion and the cowl top panel The sealer is applied to the mating part.

  Further, in the present invention, the cowl box is provided with a cowl top cross member for reinforcement inside the cowl top panel, and the bent portion of the cowl top panel that is bent downward and the cowl lower member overlap each other. The end portion of the cowl top cross member is further overlapped with the portion, and the cowl top panel, the cowl lower member and the cowl top cross member are joined by spot welding the overlapped portion of the three sheets. Has been.

As described above, the cowl box structure of the vehicle according to the invention has a front window glass mounted thereon, a cowl top panel that constitutes an upper part of the cowl box, and a rear panel of the cowl box that is connected to the cowl top panel. A cowl lower member constituting a wall is provided, and a rear part of the cowl top panel is bent downward to form a bent part that becomes a part of the rear wall of the cowl box, and the bent part is used as a rear wall of the cowl lower member. Since the overlapped portion is spot welded from the front and rear of the rear wall to join the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member, the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member are joined. Like the flange of the cowl top panel and cowl lower member according to the conventional cowl box structure, This makes it possible to effectively use the space close to the cabin of the cowl box (the space behind the cowl box), improving the degree of layout freedom such as the arrangement of instruments and equipment in the space behind the cowl box. To do. In addition, it is possible to widen the vehicle interior space behind the cowl box and improve the comfort of the passengers.
Furthermore, since the flange part for joining the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member is not necessary, the weight and cost can be reduced accordingly.

  In the present invention, a cowl top garnish is detachably provided at the front portion of the cowl top panel so as to cover the inside of the cowl box, and the cowl front panel constituting the front wall of the cowl box. Is connected to the cowl top garnish and the cowl lower member in a detachable form at least before the spot welding, so that the cowl top garnish is connected to the cowl front panel and the cowl lower member before the spot welding. It is possible to insert a spot welding gun using the opening formed by removing the cowl front panel from the cowl lower member if necessary, and easily perform spot welding of the overlapped portion. be able to. In addition, such a structure facilitates the installation work of the wiper parts arranged in the cowl box.

  Further, in the present invention, a dash inner silencer is placed on the rear part of the cowl box by overlapping the bent part of the cowl top panel and the rear wall part of the cowl lower member in the plate surface direction. Since it is provided extending upward and downward from the mating joint, it is possible to increase the installation area of the dash inner silencer, and to prevent noise entering the vehicle compartment from the engine room through the dash panel. In addition to being able to reduce, unpleasant vibration of the dash panel can be reliably prevented. Since the noise level in the passenger compartment can be reduced, passenger comfort is improved.

  In the present invention, a flange portion formed by bending the joining end portion of the cowl lower member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate surface is formed on the upper portion of the overlapping joining portion, and the flange portion and the cowl top panel Since it is configured to apply the sealer to the mating part with the joint end, it is easy to apply the sealer to the overlap joint, and the sealer is reliably applied to the overlap joint. The sealing performance is improved.

  In the present invention, the cowl box is provided with a cowl top cross member for reinforcement inside the cowl top panel, and the bent portion of the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member are overlapped with each other. The end portion of the cowl top cross member is further overlapped with the portion, and the cowl top panel, the cowl lower member and the cowl top cross member are joined by spot welding the overlapped portion of the three sheets. Therefore, when installing a cowl top cross member for reinforcement inside the cowl top panel, the cowl top cross member can be additionally installed without changing the shape of the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member. It is easy to separate the specifications based on the presence or absence of cross members, and the cowl box It is possible to improve the rigidity of the scan.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram viewed from the front of a vehicle near a cowl box of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, 9 is a front windshield of a vehicle, 10 is a dash panel, 100 is a cowl box for taking outside air into the vehicle interior 101 (see FIG. 2). It extends in the direction. The cowl box 100 mainly includes a cowl top panel 1, a cowl upper panel (a cowl lower member) 2, a cowl upper front panel 24, a cowl front panel 4, and the like. The cowl top panel 1 constitutes the upper part of the cowl box 100, and the cowl upper panel 2 constitutes the lower part (rear wall) of the cowl box 100.

[First Embodiment]
2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the cowl box of the automobile according to the first embodiment of the present invention in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1), and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the joint with the upper panel, FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the Y portion of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the Z portion of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the vehicle fore-and-aft direction showing a work procedure for spot welding of the joint part in the first embodiment.
2 to 5, 101 is a vehicle interior, 9 is a front window glass, 10 is a dash panel, and 8 is an instrument panel (instrument panel). Inside the instrument panel 8 and in the rear space of the cowl box 100, an instrument panel harness 6, an air conditioner duct 7, and the like are installed. Reference numeral 22 denotes a front hood.

The cowl box 100 is provided on an upper part of a dash panel 10 that partitions a front portion of a vehicle and a vehicle interior 101, a cowl top panel 1 on which a front window glass 9 is placed and is disposed on the upper side, A cowl upper panel 2 which is disposed on the rear side and is connected to a lower portion of the cowl top panel 1 by a joint portion 25 to form a lower portion of the rear wall, and a lower portion of the cowl upper panel 2 below and a dash. A cowl upper front panel 24 joined to the panel 10 at a joint portion 26 and extending forward, and a lower portion disposed at the front portion of the cowl upper front panel 24 at the connecting portion 27 to the cowl upper front panel 24. It is comprised by the cowl front panel 4 connected so that attachment or detachment is possible.
A cowl top garnish 21 is provided at the front portion of the cowl top panel 1 so as to cover the opening of the cowl box 100 between the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl front panel 4 and is detachable. A seal portion 23 is provided between the cowl top garnish 21 and the front hood 22.
A dash inner silencer 5 is installed at the rear of the cowl box 100 at a position on the instrument panel 8 side.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a flange (bent part) 1 a that is bent downward and becomes a part of the rear wall of the cowl box 100 is formed at the rear part of the cowl top panel 1. The flange 1a is overlapped with the upper end of the rear wall portion 2a of the cowl upper panel 2 in the plate surface direction (the vehicle longitudinal direction). Specifically, the rear wall portion 2a of the cowl upper panel 2 is overlaid on the rear side of the vehicle. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of spot welding guns 41 are applied to both surfaces of the flanges 1a and 2a, which are the overlapping portions, from the front and rear of the rear wall of the cowl box 100, and spot welding is performed in this state. As a result, the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 are joined together to form an overlap joint 25.
At the time of spot welding, as shown in FIG. 6, a cowl top garnish 21 detachably provided at the front portion of the cowl top panel 1 so as to cover the opening of the cowl box 100 is used as a cowl constituting the front wall of the cowl box 100. Since it is possible to insert the spot welding gun 41 using the opening 40 formed by removing the front panel 4 and further removing the cowl front panel 4 from the cowl upper front panel 24 as necessary. In addition, spot welding of the overlap joint 25 can be easily performed. Further, in order to facilitate the insertion and welding of the welding gun 41, the overlap joint portion 25 is formed on an inclined surface whose upper portion is the front side of the vehicle.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, at the upper portion of the overlapping joint 25, the joint end of the flange 2a on the cowl upper front panel 2 side is bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate surface on the side opposite to the flange 1a. An end flange 2b serving as a guide when applying the sealer is formed, and the sealer 11 is applied to a joint portion between the end flange 2b and the joining end portion of the cowl top panel 1.
With this configuration, the application work of the sealer 11 to the overlap joint 25 is facilitated, the drooping of the sealer 11 can be prevented, and the sealer 11 can be reliably applied to the overlap joint 25. Thus, the sealing performance is improved.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the joint portion 26 between the cowl upper panel 2 and the cowl upper front panel 24 includes a lower end portion of the cowl upper panel 2, a rear end portion of the cowl upper front panel 24, and a dash. It is formed by overlapping the panel 10 and joining them by spot welding similar to the above.

  According to the first embodiment described above, the rear portion of the cowl top panel 1 is bent downward to form a flange (bent portion) 1a, and the rear wall portion 2a of the cowl upper panel 2 is overlapped with the flange 1a. Since the overlapped joint 25 of the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 is formed by spot welding from the front and rear of the rear wall to join the overlapped portion, the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 The joint 25 between the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 is like a flange projecting perpendicularly from the plate surface of the cowl top panel and the cowl upper panel according to the prior art to the rear of the vehicle. It does not protrude to the room 101 side. That is, there is no protrusion of the cowl box 100 toward the vehicle interior 101 from the rear wall on the indoor side.

As a result, the space near the vehicle interior 101 of the cowl box 100 (the space behind the cowl box 100) can be used effectively, and the instrument panel harness 6 and the air conditioner duct in the space behind the cowl box 100 in the vehicle can be used. The degree of freedom in layout such as the arrangement of instruments such as 7 and the equipment is improved.
In addition, it is possible to widen the space in the passenger compartment 101 behind the cowl box 100, thereby improving the comfort of passengers.

  Further, the flange 1a, which is a part of the rear wall of the cowl box 100 of the cowl top panel 1, and the rear wall portion 2a on the cowl upper front panel 2 side are overlapped in the plate surface direction of the flange 1a to form an overlap joint 25. By forming, the dash inner silencer 5 provided at the rear portion of the cowl box 100 can be provided to extend upward and downward from the overlapping joint portion 25 as shown in FIG. As a result, the installation area of the upper part 5a of the dash inner silencer 5 can be increased particularly compared to the conventional case, and noise entering the vehicle interior 101 from the engine room through the dash panel 10 can be reduced. Unpleasant vibration of the dash panel 10 can be reliably prevented. Since the noise level in the passenger compartment 101 can be reduced, passenger comfort is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a vehicle cowl box structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The second embodiment has a cowl box structure in which a cowl top cross member 3 for reinforcement is provided inside the cowl top panel 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the cowl top cross member 3 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, and has a flange (bent bent) formed by bending the lower portion of the cowl top panel 1 downward at the rear end portion. Portion) 1a and a rear end flange 3a bent downward at an inclination angle corresponding to the overlapping portion of the cowl upper panel 2 and the rear wall portion 2a of the cowl upper panel 2, and the front end includes a front portion of the cowl top panel 1 and A front end flange 3b bent at a corresponding inclination angle is formed. Therefore, the overlapping joining portion 31 further overlaps the rear end flange 3a of the cowl top cross member 3 on the overlapping portion of the flange 1a of the cowl top panel 1 and the rear wall portion 2a of the cowl upper panel 2. The three-layer overlapping portion is formed by performing spot welding similar to that in the first embodiment to join the cowl top panel 1, the cowl upper panel 2, and the cowl top cross member 3. In addition, the overlap joint portion 32 overlaps the front end flange 3b of the cowl top cross member 3 on the front portion of the cowl top panel 1, and performs spot welding similar to the above to the overlap portion, thereby the cowl top panel 1 and It is formed by joining cowl top cross members 3. Thus, the cowl box 100 of the second embodiment is configured.
Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  According to the second embodiment, when the cowl top cross member 3 for reinforcement is provided inside the cowl top panel 1 (inside the cowl box 100), the flange 1a of the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 The rear end flange 3a of the cowl top cross member 3 is further overlapped with the overlapping portion with the rear wall portion 2a to form a three-layer overlapping joining portion 31, whereby the cowl top panel 1 and the cowl upper panel 2 are overlapped. The cowl top cross member 3 can be additionally installed without the need to change the shape. In addition, it is possible to easily perform the specification classification based on the presence or absence of the cowl top cross member 3, and to improve the rigidity of the cowl box 100.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

It is the schematic block diagram seen from the vehicle front of the cowl box vicinity of the vehicle to which this invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle front-rear direction principal part (a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1) of the cowl box of the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a joint portion between a cowl top panel and a cowl upper panel in the first embodiment. It is the Y section expanded sectional view of Drawing 3 in the 1st embodiment of the above. It is the Z section expanded sectional view of Drawing 4 in the above-mentioned 1st embodiment. It is a vehicle front-back direction principal part sectional drawing which shows the spot welding point of the junction part in the said 1st Embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view corresponding to Drawing 3 showing the cowl box structure of the vehicles concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a vehicle front-back direction principal part sectional drawing of the cowl box in a prior art. It is the W section expanded sectional view in FIG. It is the V section expanded sectional view in FIG. It is a vehicle front-back direction principal part sectional drawing which shows the spot welding point of the junction part in the said prior art. It is an expanded sectional view corresponding to Drawing 7 showing other conventional technology.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cowl top panel 1a Flange (bent part)
2 Cowl upper panel (Cowl lower part)
2a Rear wall portion 2b End flange 3 Cowl top cross member 4 Cowl front panel 5 Dash inner silencer 6 Instrument panel harness 7 Air conditioning duct 8 Instrument panel (instrument panel)
9 front wind glass 10 dash panel 11 sealer 21 cowl top garnish 24 cowl upper front panel 25 overlap joint 26 joint 31 overlap joint 32 joint 41 spot welding gun 100 cowl box 101 vehicle interior

Claims (5)

  In a cowl box structure of a vehicle in which a cowl box is provided on an upper part of a dash panel that divides the front part of the vehicle and the vehicle interior, a front window glass is placed, and a cowl top panel constituting the upper part of the cowl box is provided. A cowl lower member that is connected to the cowl top panel and forms a rear wall of the cowl box, and is bent to form a part of the rear wall of the cowl box by bending the rear part of the cowl top panel downward. Forming a portion, overlapping the bent portion with the rear wall portion of the cowl lower member, and spot welding the front and back of the rear wall to the overlapping portion to join the cowl top panel and the cowl lower member. A cowl box structure for a vehicle characterized by the above.   A cowl top garnish is detachably provided at a front portion of the cowl top panel so as to cover the inside of the cowl box, and a cowl front panel constituting a front wall of the cowl box is provided with the cowl top garnish. 2. The vehicle cowl box structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle cowl box structure is connected to the cowl lower member in a detachable form at least in a state before the spot welding.   The vehicle cowl box structure according to claim 1, wherein a dash inner silencer is provided at a rear portion of the cowl box so as to extend upward and downward from the overlap joint.   A flange portion formed by bending the joining end portion of the cowl lower member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate surface is formed on the upper portion of the overlapping joining portion, and the flange portion and the joining end portion of the cowl top panel are aligned. The vehicle cowl box structure according to claim 1, wherein a sealer is applied to the portion.   The cowl box is provided with a cowl top cross member for reinforcement inside the cowl top panel, and the cowl top cross is formed at an overlap portion between the cowl top panel bent portion and the cowl lower member. The members are further overlapped with each other, and the three overlapped portions are spot-welded to join the cowl top panel, the cowl lower member and the cowl top cross member. The vehicle cowl box structure according to claim 1.

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