JP4811327B2 - Automobile fender panel support structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile fender in which the upper edge of a fender panel of a vehicle body is supported by an apron upper member at the upper edge of a side surface of an engine room via a bracket that can be deformed by a large impact load from above and absorb the impact. It relates to a panel support structure.

Conventionally, from the viewpoint of pedestrian protection measures, a support structure for the upper edge of an automobile fender panel is a large structure that acts on the upper surface 10 of the apron upper member 1 at the upper edge of the side surface of the engine room from above as shown in FIG. A plurality of brackets 2A having a function of absorbing a shock by being crushed and deformed downward with respect to a collision load are provided, and the upper edge 30 of the fender panel 3 that is long in the front-rear direction is higher than the upper surface 10 of the apron upper member 1 by the plurality of brackets 2A. The position is fixed (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
The bracket 2A is a molded product made of a metal plate, and has an approximately hat-shaped cross section with an upper surface portion and front and rear leg portions bent downward from the front and rear edges thereof and extending downward, and aprons of leg ends of the front and rear legs are formed. The upper member 1 is welded and erected on the upper surface, and the upper edge 30 of the fender panel 3 is fastened and fixed to the upper surface portion by a bolt member b.

  By the way, the mounting surface of the bracket may change its width, and the bracket may be erected at a location where the width has changed. Taking the front end portion of the apron upper member as an example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the front end of the apron upper member 1 is a front end corner portion 11 made of a radiator support upper 4 on the front surface of the vehicle body and a metal plate having a curved shape in plan view. The front end bracket 2B is erected on the upper surface of the front end bracket 2B, and the front end portion of the fender panel is supported by the front end bracket 2B. In FIG. 5, 50 is a front corner panel and 51 is a front cross member.

As shown in FIG. 6, the front end corner portion 11 is formed to be wider in accordance with the upper surface of the apron upper member 1, and the radiator support upper 4 side curved toward the vehicle interior side is formed to be narrower than the apron upper member 1 side. Yes. Correspondingly, the front end bracket 2B has a leg end of the rear leg portion 22 which is widened from the upper end portion 20 toward the lower leg end in accordance with the wide apron upper member 1 side of the front end corner portion 11. Is fixed by welding, and the leg end of the front leg portion 21 which is narrower than the rear leg portion 22 is welded and fixed to the radiator support upper 4 side of the narrow front end corner portion 11 so as to straddle the corner portion. The upper edge front end of the fender panel is bolted to the screw hole 29 of the upper surface portion 20.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-178953 JP 2006-224800 A

Thus, in the conventional front end bracket 2B, since the leg width of the front leg portion 21 is narrower than that of the rear leg portion 22, the impact that repeatedly acts on the front end bracket 2B from the fender panel 3 when the vehicle travels on a rough road or the like. As a result, the front leg 21 is deformed, the front end bracket 2B is inclined, and the support of the fender panel 3 becomes unstable.
Therefore, in order to prevent the inclination of the front end bracket 2B, it is conceivable to increase the thickness of the front end bracket 2B. However, this causes a problem that the shock absorbing performance is lowered with respect to a large collision load from above.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention can stably support the upper edge of the fender panel without being deformed by an impact when traveling on a rough road, and is crushed and deformed by a large impact load from above. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automobile fender panel support structure that can sufficiently exhibit shock absorbing performance.

The present invention provides a leg portion extending downward from the front and rear edges of the upper surface portion at a predetermined interval in the front and rear direction on the upper surface of the apron upper member extending in the front and rear direction along the upper side edge of the engine room of the automobile. In the automobile fender panel support structure in which the provided bracket is erected and the upper edge of the bracket supports the upper edge of the fender panel, the bracket that is erected at the portion where the upper surface width of the apron upper member changes is Corresponding to the change in the upper surface width of the apron upper member, the width of one leg is made narrower than the width of the other leg, and it is approximately the same width as one leg and is below the middle position of the upper surface of the bracket Auxiliary legs extending to the side are provided (claim 1).
By providing the auxiliary legs, the fender panel support rigidity of the entire bracket is balanced, and the bracket can be prevented from being tilted by an impact during a rough road without increasing the thickness of the entire bracket. Moreover, since the bracket does not increase the plate thickness, it can exhibit high shock absorbing performance against the impact load from above.

The bracket provided with the auxiliary leg is erected on the corner of the front end of the front end of the apron upper member that extends in a curved shape with a narrower top surface width and is connected to the radiator support in front of the engine room. One leg part of the apron is formed to be narrower than the other leg part on the apron upper member side, and the auxiliary leg part is extended from the middle part of the outer side edge of the upper surface part of the bracket, Is fixed to the end portion on the vehicle outer side of the upper surface of the front end corner portion (claim 2).
The bracket of the present invention is suitable as a bracket to be attached to a front end corner portion connecting the front end of the apron upper member and the radiator support.

On both the front and rear legs and the auxiliary leg, an easily deformable portion that is easily crushed and deformed by a collision load acting from above is formed at an upper and lower intermediate position.
The front and rear legs and auxiliary legs are each formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a vertical cross section that is bent at an intermediate position between the upper and lower sides, and the bent portion is the easily deformable portion.
The front and rear both leg portions and auxiliary leg portions are provided with openings as the easily deformable portions at upper and lower intermediate positions, respectively.
By providing an easily deformable portion on each leg, each leg can be surely crushed and deformed by a collision load from above, and high shock absorbing performance can be exhibited.

Each of the leg portions is formed with a flange portion that is bent from the end of the leg and extends substantially horizontally. In the narrow leg portion, a portion extending from both side edges of the leg end to both side edges of the flange portion is erected from these. The reinforcing rib to be formed is formed.
One leg portion is liable to be inclined and deformed due to a change in the bending angle between the leg end and the flange portion due to an impact when traveling on a rough road, but the change in the bending angle is prevented by the reinforcing rib, and the strength against the impact can be improved.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the front end bracket 2 for fixing the front end of the upper edge of the fender panel above the front end corner portion 11 connecting the front end of the upper surface 10 of the apron upper member 1 and the radiator support upper 4 shown in FIG. To do.
The vehicle body structure around the front end corner portion 11 is the same as the conventional structure. The apron upper member 3 extending in the front-rear direction along the upper edge of the side wall of the engine room has a closed cross-sectional structure and has a horizontal upper surface 11 extending in the front-rear direction.
The radiator support upper 4 has a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens downward, extends along the vehicle width direction, and is provided so as to bridge between the upper ends of the left and right front panels 50 (only one side is shown in FIG. 5).

  The front end of the apron upper member 3 and the side end of the radiator support upper 4 are connected by a front end corner portion 11 made of a separate member. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the front end corner portion 11 is a band-shaped metal plate that extends in a curved shape from the rear terminal on the apron upper member 1 side in a plan view toward the inside of the vehicle. Ribs bent downward are formed on both side edges on the circumferential side.

  The front end corner portion 11 has a rear end portion 111 that matches the top surface width of the apron upper member 1, and the rear end is overlapped and welded to the front end of the top surface 10 of the apron upper member. The front end 112 toward the vehicle interior is formed to be narrower than the rear end 111, and the front end is overlapped and welded to the end of the radiator support upper 4. A front end bracket 2 is installed at the front end corner portion 11 on the upper surface of the curved portion between the front and rear.

The front end bracket 2 is a press-molded product made of a metal plate having a plate thickness of about 1.0 mm, and has a rectangular upper surface portion 20 and front and rear leg portions 21 and 22 that are bent from the front and rear edges and extend downward. The cross section is formed in a substantially hat shape in the front-rear direction provided.
The rear leg portion 22 has a leg width that gradually increases from the rear edge of the upper surface portion 20 toward the lower leg end, and a coupling flange 221 that is bent from the leg end and extends substantially horizontally rearward is formed at the leg end. It is. The coupling flange 221 is overlapped and welded to the rear end portion 111 of the apron upper member 1 along the front-rear direction of the front end corner portion 11.

The front leg portion 21 has a leg width narrower than that of the rear leg portion 22 and is formed to have substantially the same width from the front edge of the upper surface portion 20 to the leg end. With respect to the width of the leg end of the rear leg 22, the width of the leg end of the front leg 21 is set to about two thirds to one half of the leg end of the rear leg 22.
A coupling flange 211 is formed at the leg end so as to protrude almost horizontally forward. Further, the front leg portion 21 is formed with reinforcing ribs 26 erected in an inclined manner from the leg end to the right and left side edges of the coupling flange 211 through the bent portion. The inclination angle of each reinforcing rib 26 is set to about 45 °.
The front leg portion 21 is welded so that the coupling flange 211 at the leg end overlaps the front end portion 112 on the side of the radiator support upper 4 along the vehicle width direction of the front end corner portion 11.

  The front leg portion 21 is set slightly lower in height than the rear leg portion 22 so that the upper surface portion 20 of the front end bracket 2 has a gentle front surface with respect to the upper surface of the substantially horizontal front end corner portion 11. It is set to have a downward inclination. A screw hole 29 having a weld nut on the back surface side is formed in the upper surface portion 20 at substantially the center.

  Furthermore, the front end bracket 2 is integrally formed with an auxiliary leg portion 23 that is bent from the side edge of the upper surface portion 20 on the vehicle outer side and extends downward. The auxiliary leg 23 is set to have the same leg width as that of the front leg 21. A coupling flange 231 is formed at the leg end so as to project outward from the bent vehicle. The auxiliary leg portion 23 has a coupling flange 231 welded to the upper surface of a curved portion intermediate between the rear end portion 111 and the front end portion 112 of the front end corner portion 11.

The front and rear legs 21 and 22 and the auxiliary leg 23 are set at an obtuse angle at the boundary with the upper surface 20 to make the upper half of the leg inclined, and at the lower end of the upper half of the leg, the bent part 24 , 24, 24, and the lower half of the leg is vertical and is formed in a gentle, substantially square shape.
As described above, the leg portions 21, 22, and 23 are easily deformed to be crushed downward with respect to the collision load from above, with the bent portions 24, 24, and 24 being the intermediate intermediate portions as easy-to-deform portions.

  Further, the leg portions 21, 22, and 23 have a long diameter in the vertical direction and in the middle in the width direction so as to straddle the leg upper half and the leg lower half so as to form an easily deformable portion with respect to the collision load. Openings 25, 25, 25 are formed.

The upper end of the fender panel 3 extends from the vertical wall-shaped general part forming the side surface of the vehicle body in a curved shape gently toward the upper side of the vehicle body and toward the engine room, and is folded downward from the upper end of the vertical wall. A flange-like upper edge 30 that is bent from the lower edge and extends almost horizontally to the inside of the vehicle is formed.
The upper end of the fender panel 3 is fixed by being bolted with the front end of the upper edge 30 superimposed on the upper surface of the front end bracket 2. The general portion of the upper edge 30 at the rear is fixed by a substantially hat-shaped bracket having front and rear legs as in the conventional structure.

  According to this embodiment, in the front end bracket 2 that supports the front end of the upper edge 30 of the fender panel 3 on the upper surface of the curved front end corner portion connecting the apron upper member 1 and the radiator support upper 4, On the other hand, although the leg width of the front leg portion 21 is narrow, the rigidity of the front leg portion 21 is low. However, an auxiliary leg portion 23 extending downward from the side edge of the upper surface portion 20 is provided, and the leg end of the front end corner portion 11 is provided. Therefore, the auxiliary leg portion 23 supplements the front leg portion 21 with low rigidity, and the support rigidity of the entire bracket can be made uniform without unevenness. Therefore, the front end bracket 2 does not incline while maintaining a balance without increasing the thickness of the front end bracket 2 against an impact acting from the upper edge of the fender panel 3 when the vehicle is traveling on a rough road, and the front end of the upper edge of the fender panel 3 is stabilized. I can support it.

  The leg portion 21 in front of the front end bracket 2 is easily changed in bending angle between the leg end and the coupling flange 211 due to the impact. However, since the reinforcing ribs 26 are provided on both side edges from the leg end to the coupling flange 211, the bending angle changes. Is prevented. In addition, since the auxiliary leg part 23 exists in the position close | similar to the rear leg part 22 with high rigidity, it is not necessary to provide a reinforcement rib at the leg end.

Since it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the front end bracket 2, when a pedestrian collides with the upper edge of the fender panel 3 or the side edge of the engine hood from above in a traffic accident, each leg portion is caused by a large collision load acting from above. 21, 22, 23 can be crushed and deformed to absorb the impact, thereby providing protection performance for pedestrians.
In particular, the leg portions 21, 22, and 23 are provided with a bent portion 24 and an opening 25, which are easily deformable portions, so that they are crushed and deformed by the above-mentioned collision load around them, and thus exhibit high shock absorbing performance.
Further, since the reinforcing rib 26 provided on the front leg 21 from the leg end to the coupling flange 211 is inclined, the bending angle between the leg end and the coupling flange 211 changes when the collision load from above is large. In addition, it does not impair the downward deformability of the leg 21.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a structure in which the front edge of the upper edge of the fender panel 3 is supported by the front edge bracket 2 provided in the curved front edge corner portion 11 that connects the apron upper member 1 and the radiator support upper 4. In addition to the front end, in the apron upper member whose upper surface width changes, a bracket similar to the front end bracket 2 can be used as a bracket provided in a portion where the width changes.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bent portions 24 and the openings 25 are used as the easily deformable portions in the leg portions 21, 22 and 23, but only the bent portion 24 may be provided by adjusting the bending angle.

It is a principal part perspective view which shows the support structure of this invention which supports the upper edge front end of a fender panel above the front-end corner part of a vehicle body. It is a top view of the said support structure. It is a side view of the said support structure. It is the front view made into the partial cross section of the said support structure. It is a perspective view which shows the front-end corner part and sliding surface of the vehicle body to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional support structure which supports a fender panel above the said front-end corner part. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the support structure of the conventional typical fender panel.

Explanation of symbols

1 Apron upper member 11 Front end corner 2 Front end bracket (bracket)
20 Upper surface part 21 One leg part 22 The other leg part 23 Auxiliary leg part 211, 221, 231 Joint flange (flange part)
24 Bent part (easy deformation part)
25 Opening [easy deformation part]
26 Reinforcing rib 3 Fender panel 30 Upper edge

Claims (6)

A bracket provided with legs extending downward from the front and rear edges of the upper surface portion at a predetermined interval on the upper surface of the apron upper member extending in the front and rear direction along the upper side edge of the side of the engine room of the automobile In an automobile fender panel support structure that is erected and supports the upper edge of the fender panel by the upper surface of the bracket,
The bracket erected on the portion where the upper surface width of the apron upper member changes is formed such that the width of one leg portion is narrower than the width of the other leg portion in response to the change in the upper surface width of the apron upper member. 1. A fender panel support structure for an automobile, comprising an auxiliary leg portion having a width substantially the same as that of one leg portion and extending downward from an intermediate position of the upper surface portion of the bracket.   The bracket provided with the auxiliary leg is erected on the corner of the front end of the front end of the apron upper member that extends in a curved shape with a narrower top surface width and is connected to the radiator support in front of the engine room. One leg part of the apron is formed to be narrower than the other leg part on the apron upper member side, and the auxiliary leg part is extended from the middle part of the outer side edge of the upper surface part of the bracket, 2. The fender panel support structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein is fixed to a vehicle outer end portion on an upper surface of the front end corner portion.   The automobile fender panel support structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front and rear leg parts and the auxiliary leg parts are formed with easily deformable parts that are easily crushed and deformed by a collision load acting from above at the upper and lower intermediate positions.   4. The fender panel support structure for an automobile according to claim 3, wherein both the front and rear legs and the auxiliary leg are formed in a substantially square shape in a longitudinal section that is bent at an intermediate position between the upper and lower sides, and the bent portion is the easily deformable portion.   5. The fender panel support structure for an automobile according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the front and rear legs and auxiliary legs are provided with openings as the easily deformable parts at upper and lower intermediate positions, respectively.   Each of the leg portions is formed with a flange portion that is bent from the end of the leg and extends substantially horizontally. In the narrow leg portion, a portion extending from both side edges of the leg end to both side edges of the flange portion is erected from these. The automobile fender panel support structure according to claim 1, wherein a reinforcing rib is formed.

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