Cover member for the mounting part of the vehicle's front windshield

Abstract

To provide a cover member that can achieve both lateral visibility performance and aerodynamic performance for a vehicle. [Solution] In a vehicle M in which the front surface of the front windshield 10 is positioned lower than the front surface of the front pillar 11, and a step Ma is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar, a cover member 20 is provided to cover the step along the windshield fixing part 16 located at the boundary, and is formed in a stepped shape having a plurality of stepped portions 20a.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cover member provided along a windshield fixing portion located at the boundary between a front windshield and a front pillar in a vehicle such as an automobile.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, some vehicles such as automobiles have a configuration in which a step is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar by arranging the front surface of the front windshield at a position lower than the front surface of the front pillar.

[0003] By adopting the configuration having a step at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar in this way, for example, raindrops that fall on the front surface of the front windshield while the vehicle is traveling in rainy weather are suppressed from flowing to the side window, thereby ensuring the driver's lateral visibility.

[0004] On the other hand, in a configuration in which a step is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar in the vehicle, a large vertical vortex is generated on the front surface of the front pillar, and the separation region increases. This is known to cause deterioration of the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle.

[0005] Therefore, in view of aerodynamic performance, there is a demand in vehicles to avoid as much as possible a structure in which a step is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar. In particular, in recent years, the electrification of vehicles has progressed, and improving the aerodynamic performance of vehicles has been emphasized.

[0006] Accordingly, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that functions as a current plate for controlling the flow of air from the front windshield to the front pillar by providing a cover member along the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar.

Prior Art Documents

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-66261 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] However, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 provides the effect of suppressing abnormal noises caused by airflow, it does not take into consideration, for example, securing the vehicle's lateral visibility or improving aerodynamic performance.

[0009] The present invention aims to provide a cover member that covers the fixing portion of the front windshield of a vehicle, and that can achieve both lateral visibility performance and aerodynamic performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To achieve the above objective, a cover member for the front windshield fixing portion of a vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is a cover member provided to cover the step along the windshield fixing portion located at the boundary in a vehicle in which the front surface of the front windshield is positioned lower than the front surface of the front pillar and a step is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar, and is formed in a stepped shape having a plurality of steps. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cover member that covers the fixing portion of the front windshield of a vehicle, and that can achieve both lateral visibility performance and aerodynamic performance. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1]A schematic perspective view showing a partial configuration, including the front windshield, of a vehicle to which a cover member of one embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] This schematic diagram shows the operation of the cover member of the first embodiment of the present invention when it is attached to a vehicle, and the state of the cover member before it is attached to the vehicle. [Figure 3] This schematic diagram shows the operation of the cover member of the first embodiment of the present invention when it is attached to a vehicle, and illustrates the state of the cover member attached to the vehicle. [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view along line [4]-[4] in Figure 1 [Figure 5] Cross-sectional view of a cover member according to a second embodiment of the present invention [Figure 6] A schematic diagram showing a cover member according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a vehicle part to which the cover member is attached. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. The drawings used in the following description are schematic. Therefore, in these drawings, each component is shown at a size that is recognizable on the drawing. For this reason, the dimensional relationships and scales of each component may differ on the drawing. The present invention is not limited to the illustrated forms with respect to the quantity, shape, size ratio, relative positional relationships, etc., of each component shown in each drawing.

[0014] In the following explanation, "upper direction" refers to the direction of the vehicle's roof panel, along the direction of gravity. Similarly, "downward direction" refers to the direction of the vehicle's floor panel, along the direction of gravity. "Left-right direction" refers to the direction of the vehicle's width, specifically left and right when facing the direction of travel. "Front-back direction" refers to the front and rear when facing the direction of travel.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a partial configuration including a front windshield of a vehicle to which a cover member according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic diagrams showing the operation of the cover member according to the first embodiment of the present invention when attached to the vehicle. Among these, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state before the cover member is attached to the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where the cover member is attached to the vehicle. Note that FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the state of the front surface of the vehicle as viewed from the direction of arrow [A] in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line [4]-[4] in FIG. 1.

[0016] A vehicle M to which the cover member 20 of one embodiment of the present invention is applied is configured such that a step Ma is provided at the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11. This step Ma is formed by configuring the front surface of the front windshield 10 to be disposed at a position lower than the front surface of the front pillar 11.

[0017] By providing such a step Ma, for example, when the vehicle M is traveling in rainy conditions, it is possible to prevent raindrops and the like adhering to the front surface of the front windshield 10 from flowing out to the side window 14 along with airflow or the like. Note that the step Ma is set to, for example, about 20 mm at the middle portion of the front windshield 10.

[0018] On the other hand, in the vehicle M, a wiper device 15 is provided in front of the lower end of the front windshield 10. This wiper device 15 is provided rearward of the rear end of the front engine hood 13.

[0019] Here, for example, when the layout as described above is adopted, it is well known that if the wiper device 15 is disposed so as to be exposed above the upper surface of the rear end of the front engine hood 13, the wiper device 15 will adversely affect the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle M.

[0020] Accordingly, it is desirable that the wiper device 15 be configured to be disposed below the upper surface of the rear end of the front engine hood 13. That is, when the wiper device 15 is disposed in front of the lower end of the front windshield 10, it is desirable that the wiper device 15 be configured not to be exposed upward from the upper surface of the rear end of the front engine hood 13.

[0021] For this purpose, for example, the step Ma provided at the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11 is formed such that the lower end thereof is deeper than the upper end of the front windshield 10. The step Ma is, for example, approximately 50 mm in the vicinity of the lower end of the front windshield 10.

[0022] Thus, by providing a deeper step in the vicinity of the lower end of the front windshield 10, a configuration in which the wiper device 15 is disposed below the upper surface of the rear end of the front engine hood 13 can be realized.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the configuration of the front pillar 11 itself, the attachment mechanism of the front windshield 10 to the front pillar 11, and the like adopt forms conventionally employed in general vehicles, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0024] Briefly described, as shown in FIG. 4, the front pillar 11 is constituted by an outer panel 11a, a reinforce 11b, an inner panel 11c, and the like. The outer panel 11a, the reinforce 11b, and the inner panel 11c are joined to each other at respective flange portions 11d by welding or the like to form a box-shaped cross section.

[0025] A fixing rubber 16 is provided in a partial region of the flange portion 11d. The fixing rubber 16 is a rubber member that fixedly holds the peripheral edge portion of the front windshield 10. The front windshield 10 and the fixing rubber 16 are adhesively fixed to each other using, for example, an adhesive or the like.

[0026] The cover member 20 is positioned to cover the step Ma provided at the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11. Specifically, the cover member 20 is provided, for example, between the peripheral edge portion 10A of the front surface of the front windshield 10 and the inner wall surface portion 11A of the front surface of the front pillar 11. The cover member 20 is bonded and fixed to the front surface of the front windshield 10 and the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11 using, for example, an adhesive.

[0027] The cover member 20 is formed in a staircase shape (multi-step shape) with multiple steps 20a. With this configuration, the cover member 20 divides a large step Ma into multiple small steps 20a.

[0028] In this multi-tiered cover member 20, the height H of each step 20a is sufficiently smaller than the height H1 of the step Ma (see Figure 4). Here, the height H1 of the step Ma refers to the dimension between the front surface of the front windshield 10 and the front surface of the front pillar 11.

[0029] Here, for example, if a vehicle M is driven without a cover member 20 at the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11, leaving a large step Ma, it is known that a large vortex will be generated in front of the front pillar 11.

[0030] In contrast, when a vehicle M equipped with the cover member 20 of this embodiment attached to the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11 is in motion, the vortices generated at each stepped portion 20a of the cover member 20 are reduced in size.

[0031] In other words, at this time, the cover member 20 functions as a rectifier plate. More specifically, the cover member 20 functions as a so-called vortex generator that generates small vortices.

[0032] As mentioned above, the step Ma formed between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11 is designed to become smaller (shallower) as it approaches the roof panel 12 from the lower end to the upper end of the front windshield 10.

[0033] In other words, the step Ma is formed such that it becomes larger (deeper) as it approaches the front engine hood 13 from the upper end to the lower end of the front windshield 10.

[0034] Here, the cover member 20, which is arranged to cover the step Ma, is formed having a plurality of stepped portions 20a, as described above. In this case, the number of steps in the plurality of stepped portions 20a can be appropriately set according to the height H1 and width W1 of the step Ma (see Figure 4).

[0035] Furthermore, the height H and width W dimensions of each step portion 20a of the cover member 20 can be appropriately set according to the height H1 of the step Ma and the number of steps set for the step portion 20a.

[0036] Specifically, for example, it is preferable to set the maximum height dimension H of the stepped portion 20a to approximately 4 mm. In this case, the height dimension H of each stepped portion 20a is gradually decreased from the front engine hood 13 side to the roof panel 12 side without changing the number of steps. Near the roof panel 12, the height dimension H of the stepped portion 20a is set to be close to zero.

[0037] With this configuration, the surface of the stepped portion 20a of the cover member 20 is formed to be smoother overall as it approaches the upper end of the front windshield 10. Therefore, by adopting a cover member 20 with this configuration, the airflow in front of the front pillar 11 flows smoothly.

[0038] The cover member 20 is formed so that the height H of each stepped portion 20a gradually decreases from the lower end to the upper end of the front windshield 10, and finally the upper end of the front windshield 10 makes contact with the front end of the roof panel 12.

[0039] Furthermore, it is preferable that the cover member 20 be formed using a flexible material (for example, rubber or resin).

[0040] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the cover member 20 provided along the fixing rubber 16, which is a windshield fixing part located near the boundary between the front windshield 10 and the front pillar 11 in the vehicle, is formed in a stepped shape (multi-stage shape) with multiple steps 20a. By making the cover member 20 multi-stage in this way, the vortices generated in each of the multiple steps 20a can be reduced in size and made to function as a vortic generator.

[0041] In this case, the size of the vortices generated by the front pillar 11 can be controlled by arbitrarily setting the height H, width W, etc., of the multiple stepped portions 20a of the cover member 20. Therefore, by controlling the size of the generated vortices and reducing the separation region, it is possible to contribute to improving aerodynamic performance.

[0042] Thus, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress vortices and separation generated by the front pillar 11, and to suppress raindrops and the like flowing from the front windshield 10 to the side windows 14.

[0043] Therefore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to achieve both good lateral visibility performance and effective aerodynamic performance.

[0044] In the first embodiment described above, the cover member 20 is shown to be fixed to the front surface of the front windshield 10 and the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11 by adhesive, for example, using an adhesive. However, the method of attaching the cover member 20 is not limited to adhesive fixing, and other fixing means may also be used.

[0045] For example, the second embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 5 and 6 is a different configuration example of how the cover member is attached. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cover member of the second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5, like Figure 4, corresponds to a cross-section along the line [4]-[4] in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the cover member of this embodiment and the vehicle part to which the cover member is attached.

[0046] As shown in the figure, at the step Ma of the vehicle M, multiple fixing hooks 21 are provided on the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11. These fixing hooks 21 are cover fixing members whose tips are formed in a hook shape. The fixing hooks 21 are provided so as to protrude inward from the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11 (towards the side where the step Ma is formed). Multiple fixing hooks 21 are provided at predetermined intervals in a direction along the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11. Specifically in this case, for example, multiple fixing hooks 21 are arranged along the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11 at intervals of approximately 200 mm.

[0047] Corresponding to the fixing hook 21, the cover member 20 has hook fitting holes 20x formed on the opposing surface of the inner wall of the front pillar 11 (see Figure 5). Multiple hook fitting holes 20x are formed along the longitudinal direction of the cover member 20 at predetermined intervals to match the arrangement of the fixing hook 21. Furthermore, the hook fitting holes 20x have an internal shape that matches the external shape of the fixing hook 21. That is, the hook fitting holes 20x are formed with a hook shape at their tip internally.

[0048] The cover member 20 of the second embodiment, having the configuration described above, is positioned to follow the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11. In this case, the cover member 20 is installed in a position facing the front pillar 11 such that each hook fitting hole 20x and each fixing hook 21 are positioned opposite each other.

[0049] Next, the cover member 20 is pressed against the inner wall surface of the front pillar 11 in the direction of arrow X shown in Figure 6. This causes each fixing hook 21 to enter into each hook fitting hole 20x and eventually engage. In this way, the attachment of the cover member 20 to the front pillar 11 is completed.

[0050] On the other hand, when removing the cover member 20 attached to the vehicle M, it is sufficient to simply peel the cover member 20 off from the end. In this case, since the cover member 20 is made of a flexible material as described above, it can be easily removed.

[0051] As described above, the cover member 20 of this embodiment can be easily attached and detached with a single touch.

[0052] In this case as well, adhesive or the like may be used in combination as a means of fixing the cover member 20. In that case, the cover member 20 can be attached more securely.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and applications can be implemented without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the multiple components disclosed. For example, if the problem that the invention aims to solve can be solved and the effects of the invention can be obtained even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in one embodiment, then the configuration with these components deleted can be extracted as an invention. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be combined as appropriate. This invention is not limited by any particular embodiment other than being limited by the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 10…Front windshield 10A... Peripheral area 11…Front pillar 11A... Area near the inner wall surface 11a...Outer panel 11b…Reinforce 11c... Inner panel 11d...Flange section 12…Roof panel 13…Front engine hood 14... Side windows 15… Wiper device 16…Fixing rubber (windshield fixing part) 20... Cover component 20a...Stepped section 20x…Hook fitting hole 21…Fixed hook M... Vehicle Ma... step

Claims

1. In a vehicle in which the front surface of the front windshield is positioned lower than the front surface of the front pillar, and a step is provided at the boundary between the front windshield and the front pillar, a cover member is provided to cover the step along the windshield fixing portion located at the boundary, A cover member for the fixing part of a vehicle's front windshield, characterized by being formed in a staircase shape having multiple steps.

2. The cover member for the fixing portion of the front windshield of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the height of each of the plurality of stepped portions is formed to gradually decrease from the lower end to the upper end of the front windshield.

3. The cover member for the front windshield fixing portion of the vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed so as to contact the front end of the roof panel at the upper end of the front windshield.

4. The cover member for the fixing portion of the front windshield of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of steps of the plurality of steps is not changed between the lower end and the upper end of the front windshield, and the height of each step gradually decreases.

5. The front pillar further has a plurality of fitting holes arranged at predetermined intervals on opposing surfaces facing the inner wall surface of the front pillar, The cover member for the front windshield fixing portion of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of fitting holes are formed to protrude inward from the inner wall surface of the front pillar and to fit into a plurality of fixing hooks arranged at predetermined intervals along the inner wall surface of the front pillar.

Images