Vehicle front structure

Abstract

This invention provides a vehicle front structure that improves the impact absorption structure of the front of a vehicle in response to collision loads from above. A front louver (30) is configured below the front louver (22), which is an outer panel component of the upper surface of the front body. The front louver (30) has a longitudinal wall (40) erected vertically from the front louver (34) in the direction of the envisioned load (F). The longitudinal wall (40) buckles at a point between its upper edge (40a) and lower edge (40b), and the length from the buckling edge (40c) to the upper edge (40a) (upper width (a)) is different from the length from the buckling edge (40c) to the lower edge (40b) (lower width (b)). During the deformation of the longitudinal wall (40) caused by a collision, energy is continuously dissipated by moving the buckled portion on the longitudinal wall (40), thereby absorbing the impact.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure for the front of a vehicle, and more particularly to an impact load absorbing structure for the portion adjacent to the front edge of the windshield. Background Technology

[0002] From the perspective of pedestrian protection, impact-absorbing structures are provided at the upper part of the front of the vehicle, such as on the hood, a component disposed between the hood and the windshield, or a component further below these components. Patent Document 1 below shows a louver (13) disposed between the front edge of the windshield (front window 1) and the rear edge of the hood (engine hood 2). The louver (13) has a longitudinal wall portion (13b) that is bent into a "く" shape. Furthermore, the component names and symbols in parentheses above are those used in Patent Document 1 below and are not related to the component names and symbols used in the description of the embodiments of this application.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-184582 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] There is room for improvement in the structure used to absorb overhead impacts to the front of a vehicle.

[0008] Methods for solving problems

[0009] The vehicle front structure according to the present invention includes: a front upper surface outer panel member, which is configured to cover the upper surface of the front of the vehicle; and an inner member, which is disposed in the adjacent area of ​​the front edge of the windshield and below the front upper surface outer panel member, and has a longitudinal wall erected vertically from the vehicle body in the direction of a contemplated collision load. The longitudinal wall bends at a portion between its upper and lower edges and has a ridge formed at the bend portion extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, the lower edge being fixed to the vehicle body, and the length from the ridge to the upper edge being different from the length from the ridge to the lower edge.

[0010] By making the length from the edge line to the upper edge different from the length from the edge line to the lower edge, the buckling position of the longitudinal wall will shift during the deformation of the longitudinal wall caused by the impact load.

[0011] Furthermore, in the aforementioned vehicle front structure, the outer panel of the upper front surface can be configured as a front bulkhead cover plate positioned between the hood and the windshield. Additionally, the inner panel can be configured as a front bulkhead louver plate positioned below the front bulkhead cover plate. In this case, the longitudinal wall of the inner panel is formed as part of the front bulkhead louver plate.

[0012] Invention Effects

[0013] By shifting the buckling position during the deformation of the longitudinal wall caused by the impact load, more energy generated by the impact is consumed compared to the case where the buckling position does not shift, thus enabling further absorption of the impact. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 A three-dimensional view showing the front of the vehicle.

[0015] Figure 2 A perspective view of the front of the vehicle after the hood and front cover have been removed.

[0016] Figure 3 A diagram showing a cross-section of the front of a vehicle adjacent to the windshield.

[0017] Figure 4 A diagram illustrating the deformation of the front louvers during a collision. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, statements indicating relative positions and orientations such as front, back, left, right, up, and down refer to relative positions and orientations related to the vehicle. Furthermore, the side closer to the centerline extending in the front-back direction of the vehicle in the left-right direction (width direction) is designated as the inner side in the vehicle width direction, and the side farther away is designated as the outer side in the vehicle width direction. In the various figures, the arrow FR points forward, the arrow UP points upward, and the arrow LH points to the left.

[0019] Figure 1 This diagram shows the front of vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 has a front body 14 separate from the passenger compartment 12, located in front of the passenger compartment 12. The front body 14 divides into an engine compartment 16 (see reference) for housing a prime mover, such as an engine (not shown). Figure 2The upper surface of the front body 14 is covered by a hood 18 and a front bulkhead cover 22 disposed between the hood 18 and the windshield 20. In this vehicle 10, the hood 18 and the front bulkhead cover 22 are outer panel components of the front upper surface that cover the upper surface of the front body 14. The hood 18 may be made of steel, and the front bulkhead cover 22 may be made of resin. The hood 18 is openable and closable, allowing access to the engine compartment 16 from above by opening it.

[0020] Figure 2 This diagram shows the front of the vehicle 10 with the hood 18 and front bulkhead cover 22 removed. The left and right side structures of the front body 14 include fenders 24 located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction and fender fenders 26 located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction. A fender upper member 28, serving as a frame member extending in the longitudinal direction, is provided at the upper edge of the fender fender 26. Below the front bulkhead cover 22, a front bulkhead louver 30 with the same left and right dimensions as the front bulkhead cover 22 is provided. The front bulkhead louver 30 is an inner member located on the inner side of the body compared to the front bulkhead cover 22 located on the surface of the body. An external gas inlet opening 32 for introducing external gas into the passenger compartment 12 is provided on the front bulkhead louver 30. The front bulkhead louver 30 is made of resin. Further below the front bulkhead louver 30, a front bulkhead panel 34 (see reference) is provided as one of the frame members of the body. Figure 3 The front bulkhead 34 extends in the left-right direction, and its two ends are joined to the left and right front pillars 36 or the portion of the upper fender member 28 near the front pillar 36.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the left-right direction of the vehicle, showing the structure of the front bulkhead 22 and its surroundings. The front bulkhead 34 is made of steel sheet and is stamped into a roughly U-shaped cross-section. Reinforcing members are joined to a portion of the front bulkhead 34 by welding or other means, thus forming a closed cross-section structure. The rear edge of the front bulkhead 34 supports the lower edge of the windshield 20. The front bulkhead 34, through its U-shaped cross-section, functions like a water pipe to collect rainwater and other debris flowing from the windshield 20 and direct it to the left and right. The front edge of the front bulkhead 34 supports the front bulkhead louvers 30.

[0022] The front louver 30 is supported from below by the front bulkhead panel 34, and its rear edge rests on the windshield 20, thus being supported by the windshield 20. The front edge of the front louver 30 supports the front upper cover 22, and the front upper cover 22 is supported by the front louver 30 at its central portion in the longitudinal direction and by the windshield 20 at its rear edge. A sealing member 38 is disposed on the upper surface of the front edge of the front upper cover 22 to seal the gap between it and the hood 18. The sealing member 38 is a rubber hose that is squeezed by being clamped between the hood 18 and the front upper cover 22 to seal the gap.

[0023] like Figure 3 As shown, at least a portion of the front louver 30 in the lateral direction of the vehicle, particularly at locations where loads are envisioned to be input during a collision, has a generally crank-shaped cross-section. The front louver 30 has a longitudinal wall 40 at approximately its central portion in the longitudinal direction, a rear panel 42 extending rearward from the upper edge 40a of the longitudinal wall 40, and a front panel 44 extending forward from the lower edge 40b of the longitudinal wall 40. The front panel 44, the longitudinal wall 40, and the rear panel 42 correspond to the three sides forming the crank shape. The rear panel 42 is positioned generally horizontally and supports the front hood 22 from below, its rear edge resting on the lower edge of the windshield 20 and thus supported by the windshield 20. The front panel 44, after extending horizontally forward, extends obliquely upward and supports the front hood 22 by its front edge. The front panel 44 is fixed to the front bulkhead 34 at its rear edge, and the longitudinal wall 40 is erected vertically upward from the portion fixed to the front bulkhead 34.

[0024] The longitudinal wall 40 is erected upright, oriented towards the direction of a load F contemplated, particularly in the event of a pedestrian's head impact. The load direction F is slightly inclined forward from the vertical direction, for example, by 30 to 40 degrees. Corresponding to the forward inclination of the load direction F, the longitudinal wall 40 is also inclined forward. The longitudinal wall 40 buckles at a point between its upper edge 40a and lower edge 40b, thus having a "U"-shaped cross-sectional shape. This buckling forms a ridge 40c, which extends approximately parallel to the upper edge 40a and lower edge 40b in the left-right direction. The buckling angle θ of the longitudinal wall 40 can be 150 to 170 degrees, and is 160 degrees at the front louver 30.

[0025] The longitudinal wall 40 has two flat plate portions bounded by the edge 40c. The length 'a' from the edge 40c to the upper edge 40a is different from the length 'b' from the edge 40c to the lower edge 40b (a≠b). Lengths 'a' and 'b' are respectively the width of the flat plate portion above the edge 40c of the longitudinal wall 40 and the width of the flat plate portion below the edge 40c of the longitudinal wall 40. Hereinafter, length 'a' will be referred to as the upper width 'a', and length 'b' will be referred to as the lower width 'b'. The ratio of the upper width 'a' to the lower width 'b' can be set to 0.9 or less (a / b≤0.9), and can be further set to 0.7 or more and 0.9 or less (0.7≤a / b≤0.9). In this front louver 30, a / b is approximately 0.9. Alternatively, the upper width 'a' can be longer, and the lower width 'b' can be shorter.

[0026] Figure 4 To and Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of the front louver 30 at the same location shows the deformation of the front louver 30 under load F. Solid lines represent the state before deformation, and dashed lines represent the deformation process and the shape after deformation. During deformation, the upper edge 40a of the longitudinal wall moves towards the lower edge 40b, which is fixed to the front louver 34. At this time, since the upper width a and lower width b are unequal in length, the buckling curve D moves along the longitudinal wall 40. At the beginning of deformation, the deformation of the longitudinal wall 40 begins at the ridge line 40c, at which point the buckling curve D coincides with the ridge line 40c. As deformation progresses, the buckling curve D moves from the initial position of the ridge line 40c, so that the upper width a and lower width b become approximately equal in length. Therefore, the buckled portion of the longitudinal wall 40 is elongated, while the flat portion is bent. In other words, during deformation, the portion subjected to deformation gradually moves, while the elongated and bent portions persist. Therefore, collision energy is continuously consumed during the deformation process, thus further absorbing the impact. In contrast, when the upper width a and the lower width b are equal from the beginning, the buckling curve D does not shift, resulting in less energy consumption caused by the deformation process after deformation begins, and the overall amount of impact absorbed is also reduced.

[0027] In this embodiment, the front louver 30 is designed with unequal lengths for the upper width a and the lower width b of the longitudinal wall 40, thereby enabling further absorption of impact during a collision.

[0028] In the above embodiment, a longitudinal wall 40 with impact absorption function is provided on the front louver 30 located inside the front cover 22. However, depending on the assumed input position of the load when a collision occurs, the same impact absorption structure as the longitudinal wall 40 may be provided on the inner part below the hood 18.

[0029] Symbol Explanation

[0030] 10…vehicle; 14…front body; 18…hood (front upper surface outer panel component); 20…windshield; 22…front bulkhead cover (front upper surface outer panel component); 30…front bulkhead louvers (inner component); 34…front bulkhead panel; 40…longitudinal wall; 40a…(longitudinal wall)upper edge; 40b…(longitudinal wall)lower edge; 40c…(longitudinal wall)ridge line.

Claims

1. A vehicle front structure, comprising: a front upper surface outer panel member arranged to cover an upper surface of a front portion of a vehicle; an inner side member arranged at an abutment region of a front edge of a windshield and below the front upper surface outer panel member, and having a longitudinal wall erected upward from a lower edge fixed to a vehicle body toward an upper edge in a direction of an assumed collision load, the longitudinal wall being inclined toward a front of the vehicle in a vehicle front-rear direction from the lower edge toward the upper edge, the longitudinal wall is bent at a portion between the upper edge and the lower edge, and has a ridge line extending in a vehicle left-right direction formed at the bent portion, and a length from the ridge line to the upper edge is different from a length from the ridge line to the lower edge, at a time point when deformation of the longitudinal wall starts upon application of the collision load to the longitudinal wall, a bending line coincides with the ridge line, and as deformation proceeds, the bending line moves from a position of the ridge line.

2. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the front upper surface outer panel member is a front cross member arranged between a hood and the windshield, the inner side member is a front fender apron arranged below the front cross member, and the longitudinal wall is a portion of the front fender apron. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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