JP3718949B2 - Vehicle front side member connection structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle front side member coupling structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The front side member that bears the rigidity of the front portion of the vehicle body is arranged in a state along the front-rear direction on both the left and right sides of the vehicle body. The rear end portion of the front side member is joined to a dash panel that forms the front wall of the passenger compartment, then bends downward, and extends rearward along the lower surface of the passenger compartment.
[0003]
Further, strut housings that support the suspension are provided on both the left and right sides of the engine room, and the lower ends of the strut housings are coupled to the front side members. The upper part of the strut housing is coupled to hood ridges arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle body. The front end portions of the hood ridge are connected to each other by a construction member extending in the vehicle width direction (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-85410 as a similar technique).
[0004]
When the vehicle body having such a structure causes a frontal collision, the rear end portion of the front side member is bent downward, so that the front side member bends from the bent portion and moves upward, and the left and right hood ridges. Since the erection member that connects the front ends of the hood bends backward, the upper portions of the hood ridge and the strut housing are displaced toward the engine room.
[0005]
When the front side member moves upward, the joint between the rear end portion of the front side member and the dash panel is deformed, the deformation of the dash panel peripheral portion is increased, and repair is troublesome.
[0006]
For this reason, conventionally, a large reinforcing frame is added to the engine room side of the strut housing, and the lower end of the reinforcing frame is coupled to the front side member to suppress the upward movement of the front side member at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle body. ing.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a conventional structure, since a large reinforcing frame is added to the engine room side of the strut housing in order to suppress the upward movement of the front side member, the degree of freedom in layout around the strut housing. Is restricted, and the space in the engine room is compressed.
[0008]
The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional technique, and is a vehicle front side member coupling structure capable of suppressing the upward movement of the front side member at the time of a frontal collision without adding a reinforcing frame. Is to provide.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the front ends of the hood ridges arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle are connected to each other by a construction member extending in the vehicle width direction, and the hood ridges are respectively coupled to the upper ends of the strut housings; In the vehicle front side member coupling structure in which the lower end portion of the strut housing is coupled to the front side member , a downward flange is provided at the lower end of the vertical wall on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the strut housing, and the vehicle width direction of the front side member. An upper flange is provided at each of the upper corners on the outer side, and the two flanges are overlapped with each other to form a superposed part. Above the superposed part, an upper unpolymerized part consisting of only the downward flange is provided. A lower unpolymerized portion consisting only of the upward flange is formed below, while the upward flange is formed. It is the thickness of the di those set smaller than the plate thickness of the front side member.
[0010]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the plate thickness of the upward flange is set smaller than the plate thickness of the front side member, the upward flange bends inward in the vehicle width direction at the time of vehicle front collision, and the strut housing The vertical wall on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the strut housing is translated inward in the vehicle width direction as a whole. Therefore, a vertical wall is formed between the hood ridge and the strut housing, and the vertical wall can sufficiently transmit and disperse the input accompanying the upward movement of the front side member to the skeleton member such as the hood ridge. The upward movement of the side member is suppressed. This eliminates the need for a conventional large reinforcing frame, improves the degree of freedom in layout around the strut housing, and makes it possible to widely use the space in the engine room.
Further, the upper unpolymerized portion and the lower unpolymerized portion can be formed above and below the overlapped portion with a simple plate assembly structure with the downward flange and the upward flange.
[0017]
According to a second aspect of the invention, the front side member consists of a front side member main body of the closed cross section by extrusion material, the reinforcement being bonded to at least a portion corresponding to said strut housing of the front side member main body The above- mentioned flange is formed by extending the outer portion of the reinforcement in the vehicle width direction upward.
[0018]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the upward flange is formed in the reinforcement, the front side member main body may be an extruded material having a simple closed cross section, and the front side member main body can be easily manufactured.
[0021]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the interval between the upper unpolymerized portions is 1 to 2 times the plate thickness of the downward flange, and the interval between the lower unpolymerized portions is 1 to 2 times the plate thickness of the upward flange.
[0022]
According to invention of Claim 3, since the space | interval of an upper and lower unpolymerized part is 1-2 times the plate | board thickness of a downward flange and an upward flange, an unpolymerized part bends with a small curvature, and the bending position becomes constant. .
[0023]
The invention of claim 4, wherein the upper and lower size of the overlapping portion is substantially half of the width size of said front side member.
[0024]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the vertical size of the overlapping portion is approximately half of the width size of the front side member, the upper bent portion is located just in the center of the width of the front side member, The upward movement of the front side member can be effectively suppressed by the wall.
[0025]
Invention of claim 5, wherein the front side member, the front side member main body by plate material shape each have a flange on the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped cross section portion, is polymerized in the flange of the front side member main body closed cross section The closing plate is formed into a flat plate shape and joined to the closing plate with the upper flange of the front side member main body facing downward, at the upper end of the closing plate. The upward flange is formed.
[0026]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when the front side member is formed by two parts of the front side member main body and the closing plate made of a plate material, the upward flange can be formed by the upper end portion of the closing plate.
[0027]
Invention according to claim 6, wherein the front side member, the front side member main body by plate material shape each have a flange on the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped cross section portion, is polymerized in the flange of the front side member main body closed cross section be comprised of a closing plate to form a joined to an upper surface portion of the front side member main body by bending the upper end portion of the closing plate in the vehicle width direction inner side, and the by the upper flange of the front side member main body An upward flange is formed.
[0028]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, even when the front side member is formed by two parts of the front side member main body and the closing plate made of a plate material, the upward flange can be formed by the upper flange of the front side member. .
[0029]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawing, the center portion side of the engine room E is the vehicle width direction inner side, and the opposite side is the vehicle width direction outer side.
[0030]
1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. A hood ridge 1 has a closed cross-sectional structure made of an extruded material, and is provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle body along the front-rear direction. The front end portions of the hood ridge 1 are connected to each other by a radio core upper 2 as a “building member” along the vehicle width direction.
[0031]
An upper end portion of a wheel house panel 3 having a wheel house portion 3a is coupled to the inside of the hood ridge 1 in the vehicle width direction. An opening 4 is formed in the center of the wheel house portion 3 a, and a strut housing 5 is attached to the opening 4. A curved flange 6 is provided on both sides of the strut housing 5, and the curved flange 6 is joined to the edge of the opening 4. The lower end portion of the curved flange 6 and the lower end portion of the vertical wall 7 of the strut housing 5 are formed as a vertical downward flange 8.
[0032]
Reference numeral 9 denotes a front side member, which includes a front side member main body 10 having a closed cross-sectional structure made of an extruded material, and a reinforcement 11 attached to a portion corresponding to the strut housing 5 of the front side member main body 10 from below. . A horizontal flange 12 is integrally formed at the corner of the front side member main body 10, and the horizontal flange 12 is cut away leaving only the front side portion, and the remaining horizontal flange 12 is joined to the wheel house panel 3. Yes. The rear end portion 13 of the front side member main body 10 is bent downward by pressing after extrusion.
[0033]
The reinforcement 11 is press-molded and basically has a U-shaped cross section, and a suspension mounting portion 14 is also formed in the lower part. Further, the rear end portion of the reinforcement 11 is bent downward similarly to the rear end portion 13 of the front side member main body 10. An outer portion of the reinforcement 11 in the vehicle width direction is extended upward as an upward flange 15. The upward flange 15 is spot welded to a downward flange 8 formed at the lower end of the strut housing 5.
[0034]
Next, a method for connecting the strut housing 5 and the front side member 9 will be described. The downward flange 8 of the curved flange 6 and the upward flange 15 of the front side member 9 are not joined together but leave unpolymerized portions 16 and 17 as “thin plate portions (displacement mechanisms)” at the top and bottom. Polymerized in a state.
[0035]
The distance between the unpolymerized portions 16 and 17 is about 1.5 times the plate thickness of the downward flange 8 and the upward flange 15 (it may be 1 to 2 times). Further, the vertical size of the overlapping portion 18 is half of the width size W of the front side member main body 10. Since the overlapped portion 18 is spot welded, an “unpolymerized portion” is formed above the spot welding point within the overlapped portion 18, but a spot is not formed in the “unpolymerized portion” formed in the overlapped portion 18. In this embodiment, since the force in the peeling direction may act on the spot welding point when the “unpolymerized portion” is bent due to an error in the position of the welding point, in this embodiment, there is no need to bother the upper side of the overlapping portion 18. The superposition | polymerization part 16 was provided.
[0036]
Next, the operation when the vehicle has a frontal collision will be described. The radio core upper 2 connecting the front ends of the left and right hood ridges 1 bends backward, so that the upper portions of the hood ridge 1 and the strut housing 5 tend to fall to the engine room E side. 17 is bent. This bending occurs at a substantially right angle at the corner of the front side member main body 10 because the distance between the unpolymerized portions 17 is as small as about 1.5 times the plate thickness.
[0037]
When the lower unpolymerized portion 17 is bent, the overlapped portion 18 is tilted around the unpolymerized portion 17 to be in a state along the upper surface of the front side member main body 10. When the overlapping portion 18 is in a state along the upper surface of the front side member main body 10, the upper unpolymerized portion 16 is also bent, and the strut housing 5 is totally translated inward in the vehicle width direction. Since the vertical size of the overlapping portion 18 is exactly half the width size W of the front side member 9, the vertical wall 7 is positioned at the width center of the front side member 9.
[0038]
Therefore, even if the front side member 9 moves upward, the vertical wall 7 is formed at the center of the width of the front side member 9 between the hood ridge 1 and the strut housing 5. Becomes “swap” so that the input accompanying the upward movement of the front side member 9 can be sufficiently transmitted and distributed to the skeleton member such as the hood ridge 1 and the upward movement d of the front side member 9 (see FIG. 2). Is reliably suppressed.
[0039]
According to this embodiment, the unpolymerized portions 16 and 17 which are “thin plate portions” can be formed with a simple plate assembly structure by the downward flange 8 of the strut housing 5 and the upward flange 15 of the front side member 9.
[0040]
Further, since the upward flange 15 is formed in the reinforcement 11, the front side member main body 10 may be an extruded material having a simple closed cross-sectional shape, and the front side member main body 10 can be easily manufactured.
[0041]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The front side member 19 of the second embodiment is obtained by joining the front side member main body 10 and the reinforcement 11 at the corners of the front side member main body 10 by arc welding. Therefore, the fillet 20 is formed by arc welding at the corner of the front side member main body 10, but the lower unpolymerized portion 21 is formed without including the fillet 20. That is, since the portion where the fillet 20 is formed is difficult to bend, the interval between the unpolymerized portions 21 is ensured between the fillet 20 and the lower end of the downward flange 8. For this reason, the unpolymerized portion 21 is reliably bent without being disturbed by the fillet 20.
[0042]
FIG. 4 is a view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the front side member 22 of the third embodiment, the lower unpolymerized portion 23 is formed into a bead shape. By doing in this way, the subtle input in the vertical direction applied to the front side member 22 from the strut housing 5 during normal traveling can be absorbed by the unpolymerized portion 23 having the bead shape. It is possible to prevent the coating 24 from cracking and to ensure water tightness at the joint between the front side member 22 and other members.
[0043]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the entire front side member 25 is formed of an extruded material. That is, the front side member 25 has a structure in which the closed cross section 26 and the upward flange 27 are integrally provided. The plate thickness of the upward flange 27 is half the plate thickness of the closed cross-section portion 26 in order to form the unpolymerized portion 28 that is easily bent. The upward flange 27 is integrally formed by extrusion, and the plate thickness can be controlled independently, so that the optimum plate thickness can be arbitrarily selected.
[0044]
FIG. 6 is a view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the fifth embodiment, the front side member 29 is formed of two plate materials instead of the extruded material. That is, a front side member main body 32 having a shape with flanges 30 and 31 at the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped section, and a closing plate 33 that is superimposed on the flanges 30 and 31 of the front side member main body 32 to form a closed cross section. Consists of. A U-shaped reinforcing panel 34 is also joined inside. The closing plate 33 has a flat plate shape and is joined to the closing plate 33 with the upper flange 30 of the front side member main body 32 facing downward, so that the upper end of the closing plate 33 is connected to the downward flange 8 of the strut housing 5. An upward flange 35 to be joined is formed. Other configurations and operational effects are the same as in the previous embodiment. The upper flange 30 and the closing plate 33 are joined by unidirectional welding from the outside.
[0045]
FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This sixth embodiment shows a front side member 35 of another plate assembly structure using two plate members. The difference from the fifth embodiment is that the upper end portion 36a of the closing plate 36 is inward in the vehicle width direction. The upper flange 38 is used as an “upward flange” among the upper and lower flanges 38 and 39 of the front side member main body 37 by bending and joining to the upper surface portion of the front side member main body 37. The upper end portion 36a of the closing plate 36 and the upper surface portion of the front side member main body 37 are welded in one direction from the outside.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the plate thickness of the upward flange is set smaller than the plate thickness of the front side member, the upward flange bends inward in the vehicle width direction at the time of vehicle front collision, and the strut housing The vertical wall on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the strut housing is translated inward in the vehicle width direction as a whole. Therefore, a vertical wall is formed between the hood ridge and the strut housing, and the vertical wall can sufficiently transmit and disperse the input accompanying the upward movement of the front side member to the skeleton member such as the hood ridge. The upward movement of the side member is suppressed. This eliminates the need for a conventional large reinforcing frame, improves the degree of freedom in layout around the strut housing, and makes it possible to widely use the space in the engine room.
Further, the upper unpolymerized portion and the lower unpolymerized portion can be formed above and below the overlapped portion with a simple plate assembly structure with the downward flange and the upward flange.
[0050]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the upward flange is formed in the reinforcement, the front side member main body may be an extruded material having a simple closed cross section, and the front side member main body can be easily manufactured.
[0052]
According to invention of Claim 3, since the space | interval of an upper and lower unpolymerized part is 1-2 times the board thickness of a downward flange and an upward flange, an unpolymerized part bends with a small curvature, and the position where it bends becomes constant. .
[0053]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the vertical size of the overlapping portion is approximately half of the width size of the front side member, the upper bent portion is located just in the center of the width of the front side member, The upward movement of the front side member can be effectively suppressed by the wall.
[0054]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when the front side member is formed by two parts of the front side member main body and the closing plate made of a plate material, the upward flange can be formed by the upper end portion of the closing plate.
[0055]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, even when the front side member is formed by two parts of the front side member main body and the closing plate made of a plate material, the upward flange can be formed by the upper flange of the front side member. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front side member coupling structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line SA-SA in FIG. 1, and shows a state in which upward movement of a front side member is suppressed.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a front side member showing a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a front side member showing a third embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a front side member showing a fourth embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a front side member showing a fifth embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a front side member showing a sixth embodiment of the invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Food Ridge 2 Radio core upper (erection member)
5 Strut housing 8 Downward flange 9, 19, 22 Front side member 11 Reinforce 15, 27, 33a, 38 Upward flange 16 Upper unpolymerized portion (displacement mechanism)
17, 21, 23, 28 Lower unpolymerized portion (displacement mechanism)
18 Superposition part (displacement mechanism)
25, 29, 35 Front side member 32, 37 Front side member body 33, 36 Closing plate W Width size

Claims (6)

The front ends of the hood ridges arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle are connected by a erection member extending in the vehicle width direction, the hood ridges are respectively coupled to the upper ends of the strut housings, and the lower ends of the strut housings are In the vehicle front side member coupling structure coupled to the side member,
A downward flange is provided at the lower end of the vertical wall on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the strut housing, and an upper flange is provided at the upper end corner portion on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the front side member. While forming the upper unpolymerized portion consisting only of the downward flange above the overlapping portion, and forming the lower unpolymerized portion consisting only of the upward flange below the overlapping portion,
A front side member coupling structure for a vehicle, wherein a plate thickness of the upward flange is set smaller than a plate thickness of the front side member. The front side member, the front side member main body of the closed cross section by extrusion material, consists of a reinforcement which is coupled to at least the portion corresponding to the strut housing of the front side member main body, the vehicle width direction of the reinforcement front side member coupling structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein by extending the outer portion upwards to form the upward flange. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the upper unpolymerized portions is 1 to 2 times a plate thickness of the downward flange, and a space between the lower unpolymerized portions is 1 to 2 times a plate thickness of the upward flange. Front side member connection structure. The vertical size of the overlapping portion is, the front side member coupling structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the substantially half of the width size of the front side member. The front side member includes a front side member main body made of a plate material having flanges at the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped section, and a closing plate that is superposed on the flange of the front side member main body to form a closed cross section. And
The closing plate is a flat plate shape, and by joining to the closing plate an upper flange of the front side member main body facing downward, the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the formation of the upward flange at the upper end portion of the closing plate Front side member connection structure. The front side member includes a front side member main body made of a plate material having flanges at the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped section, and a closing plate that is superposed on the flange of the front side member main body to form a closed cross section. And
Bonded to the upper surface portion of the front side member main body by bending the upper end portion of the closing plate to the inward, and the front side member main body of the upper vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the formation of the upward flange by a flange front Side member connection structure.

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