Vehicle Structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle structure by which a driver can obtain a sense of security in a high-speed area, and which can make handling performance in a low-speed area favorable.SOLUTION: In at least a front-side region of a front hood 2 of a vehicle structure A, a both-end side region Sa in a vehicle width direction is constituted so as to be higher than a center-side region Sb in a height of an upper face part, the upper face part of the both-end side region Sa in the vehicle width direction of the front hood 2 is included in a field of view as a front field of view over a front windowpane 4 with a prescribed eye point EP of a driver 8 in a cabin 3 as a standard, and a front field of view of a form not including the upper face part of the center-side region Sb can be obtained.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicle structures such as automobiles. [Background technology]

[0002] A specific example of a vehicle structure is described in Patent Document 1. In the vehicle structure described in the document, the boundary shape between the forward view in the driver's forward field of vision and the vehicle component that blocks the lower end of this forward view is formed in a predetermined curved shape. This prevents the view from appearing to tilt significantly when the vehicle turns and rolls, making it difficult to visually recognize the roll of the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to reduce the sensation of the vehicle rolling significantly when the vehicle turns, and to improve the roll sensation. In order to suppress the roll of the vehicle, it is sufficient to increase the roll rigidity of the vehicle, but if this roll rigidity is increased excessively, the ride comfort of the vehicle will decrease, but the vehicle structure described above makes it possible to eliminate such a problem.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques have room for improvement as described below.

[0004] Vehicles are required to have various performance characteristics, and conditions for obtaining a safe and comfortable vehicle include, for example, a sense of security at high speeds and easy maneuverability at low speeds. However, while the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 can improve the roll feeling, it does not provide effects such as increasing the sense of security at high speeds or improving maneuverability.

[0005] Here, when a vehicle travels at high speeds, for example at 60km / h or more, the driver's sense of speed is in a state where "close things feel fast, and far things feel slow." For this reason, if the front hood of the vehicle is raised and the depression angle of the driver's forward field of vision is set small (the driver cannot see close to the vehicle), the driver will not feel the vehicle's speed as high and will not be afraid of the speed. However, simply raising the height of the front hood in this way makes it difficult for the driver to grasp the road conditions near the vehicle in front of the vehicle, as the front hood hides the area in front of the vehicle and makes it impossible to see, and this deteriorates the maneuverability of the vehicle when traveling at low speeds. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-173153 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention was devised under the circumstances described above, and its object is to provide a vehicle structure that provides a sense of security at high speeds and allows for good maneuverability at low speeds. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions.

[0009] The vehicle structure provided by the present invention is a vehicle structure including a front hood located on the vehicle front side of a windshield that separates the front part of a vehicle compartment and having a width in the vehicle longitudinal direction and in the vehicle width direction, wherein at least a front region of the front hood is configured such that the height of the upper surface of the region near both ends in the vehicle width direction is higher than that of a region near the center in the vehicle width direction, and a predetermined eye point of a driver in the vehicle compartment is set. ToThe forward visibility through the windshield as a reference is configured to include an upper surface portion of the front hood in the region near both ends in the vehicle width direction, and not include an upper surface portion of the region near the center in the vehicle width direction, the ridge line of the upper surface portion of the region near the center in the vehicle width direction of the front hood is configured to be in a position that substantially coincides with a lower boundary line of the forward visibility, and the regions near both ends in the vehicle width direction of the front hood are arranged so that a region more than 7 m ahead of the vehicle becomes a road surface blind spot at the eye point. The eye point is the position of the eyes of a driver of average build for a Japanese adult male when he or she is seated in a driver's seat whose longitudinal position and vertical height are set to the standard position assumed for this vehicle and who is in a driving position. It is characterized by the following.

[0010] According to this configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, when the vehicle is traveling at high speed, the driver's forward field of view through the windshield includes the front area of ​​the front hood at both ends in the vehicle width direction, and the scenery near the vehicle is hidden by part of the front hood. This makes it difficult for the driver to sense the vehicle's speed as high, which gives the driver a sense of security. On the other hand, the area of ​​the front hood near the center in the vehicle width direction in the forward area is not included in the driver's forward field of vision through the windshield, and the driver can clearly see areas near the front of the vehicle (such as the road surface) from between the areas of the front hood near both ends in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, visibility is good at low speeds. In addition, because the areas of the front hood near both ends in the vehicle width direction are visible, it is easy to get a sense of the vehicle's width. As a result, it is possible to improve the maneuverability of the vehicle at low speeds. In this way, according to the present invention, by simply modifying the shape of the front hood, it is possible to improve the sense of security at high speeds and the maneuverability at low speeds. There is also the advantage that no expensive dedicated parts are required, and the increase in manufacturing costs can be suppressed.

[0011] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a main portion showing an example of a vehicle structure according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a main portion of the vehicle structure shown in FIG. 1, showing cross-sectional portions of both a region near the center and a region near an end in the vehicle width direction of a front hood. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing a forward field of view from a driver's seat of the vehicle structure shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a schematic plan view of a main part of the vehicle structure shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] The vehicle structure A shown in Figure 1 comprises an engine room 1 provided at the front of a vehicle V, a front hood 2 covering the upper surface of the engine room 1, a passenger compartment 3 provided on the vehicle rear side of the engine room 1, and a windshield 4 (windshield) separating the front of the passenger compartment 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 90 denotes a wiper, and reference numeral 91 denotes a headlamp.

[0015] 2, the engine room 1 is a portion that houses therein a power unit 5 that combines an engine as an internal combustion engine with a transmission, and various devices related thereto (such as a radiator 50). The power unit 5 may be equipped with an electric motor in addition to or instead of the engine.

[0016] As described above, the front hood 2 is a member that covers the upper surface of the engine compartment 1, and its rear portion is connected to the vehicle body via a hinge portion (not shown). This allows the front hood 2 to rotate its front portion so as to move up and down via the hinge portion, thereby opening and closing the upper surface of the engine compartment 1. Front fender panels 92 are disposed on both sides of the front hood 2 in the vehicle width direction, and a cowl top panel 9 3 is assigned. The front hood 2 is made of sheet metal, for example, and is a panel member having an appropriate width in both the front-rear direction and the width direction of the vehicle. However, the height of the upper surface of the front hood 2 in the regions Sa (SaR, SaL) near both ends in the width direction of the vehicle is made higher by an appropriate height H than the region Sb near the center in the width direction of the vehicle.

[0017] 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the forward field of view from a predetermined eye point EP of a driver 8 inside a vehicle compartment 3. In the forward field of view through the windshield 4 shown in the figure, a portion of each of the regions Sa (SaR, SaL) near the two ends of the front hood 2 near the front ends is located above the lower boundary line UL, and can be seen by the driver 8. The region Sb near the center of the front hood 2 is not included in the forward field of view through the windshield 4. The eye point EP is the position of the eyes of a driver 8 of a standard build for a Japanese adult male when he or she sits in the driver's seat 7 and takes an appropriate driving posture (see Figure 2). The position of the driver's seat 7 in the fore-aft direction and the vertical height are the standard positions assumed for this vehicle V. 。

[0018] The lower boundary line UL is the lower limit of the forward visibility through the windshield 4, and is formed, for example, by an opaque black ceramic printed layer 40 (the dotted part in Figure 1, the black part in Figure 3) provided on the outer peripheral edge part on the inner side of the windshield 4. The windshield 4 is made of a transparent glass plate that is generally rectangular when viewed from the front, as in the conventional windshields, and its outer periphery abuts against the front end of a roof portion 60 of the vehicle V, the front portions of a pair of left and right front pillars 61, and the upper portion of a cowl 62, and is bonded with an adhesive. The ceramic print layer 40 is provided at the location where the adhesive is applied, and serves to cover and conceal the adhesive to improve appearance and to prevent the adhesive from being irradiated with sunlight, which may cause deterioration of the adhesive. The ceramic print layer 40 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and the area of ​​the windshield 4 surrounded by the ceramic print layer 40 corresponds to the forward visibility through the windshield 4. However, unlike this embodiment, when the front upper surface of the instrument panel 63 (dashboard portion) is located higher than the upper edge of the ceramic printing layer 40 provided along the lower edge of the windshield 4, the front upper surface of the instrument panel 63 becomes the lower boundary line UL of the forward field of view through the windshield 4.

[0019] Since the driver 8 is positioned in the vehicle interior 3 to the right of the center line CL in the vehicle width direction (see Fig. 4), the shapes and sizes of the visible portions R', L' of the regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2 are different from each other in the forward field of view through the windshield 4 in Fig. 3. To give a specific example, as shown in Fig. 4, the cross-hatched areas of the upper surface of the regions SaR, SaL near both right and left ends of the front hood 2 correspond to the visible portions R', L' in the forward field of view through the windshield 4 described above.

[0020] Preferably, the above-mentioned visible portions R', L' are set to be located as close to the front of the vehicle V as possible and toward both ends in the vehicle width direction, so that the driver 8 can easily grasp the front end position and vehicle width of the vehicle V. To explain this point more specifically, the central region Sb of the front hood 2 is not visible forward through the windshield 4 in Fig. 3, and is not used for the purpose of grasping the position of the front end of the vehicle V. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 2, the front side of the central region Sb of the front hood 2 is, for example, made to slope downward at a relatively large angle α, improving the design of the front hood 2 and reducing air resistance. In contrast, the regions Sa near both ends of the front hood 2 are made to slope downward at a gentler angle than the central region Sb, or to be approximately horizontal, so that the portions near the front end and the portions near the outside in the vehicle width direction are made visible to the driver 8 as much as possible.

[0021] As described above, the height of the upper surface of the central region Sb of the front hood 2 in the vehicle width direction is lower than that of the end regions Sa, and the region does not enter the forward field of view through the windshield 4 in FIG. 3, but the height of the central region Sb is as high as possible within the range where the region does not enter the forward field of view. In other words, although the ridge line of the upper surface of the central region Sb cannot be seen from the driver 8's line of sight, it is located at a position that approximately coincides with the lower boundary line UL of the forward field of view through the windshield 4. With this configuration, it is possible to make the gap distance La between the central region Sb of the front hood 2 and the power unit 5 located below it, or the gap distance between other devices relatively large. This is advantageous in that, for example, when a collision occurs with a pedestrian and the pedestrian falls onto the front hood 2, the front hood 2 can be significantly deformed downward, which is advantageous in reducing the injury value of the pedestrian.

[0022] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned vehicle structure A will be described.

[0023] First, when the vehicle V travels at a high speed of, for example, 60 km / h or more, the driver 8 generally feels a sense of speed in a state where "closer things feel faster and further away things feel slower," as described above. In contrast, in this embodiment, in the forward field of view through the windshield 4, a part of the regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2 is visible in the upper vicinity of the lower boundary line UL, and the part (road surface) close to the vehicle V where the speed feels fast is not widely visible across the entire width of the forward field of view. The regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2 are provided so that the road blind spot length is, for example, an area about 7 m ahead of the vehicle V. For this reason, the driver 8 does not perceive the speed of the vehicle V as being high, which gives the driver 8 a sense of security. In particular, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the right-side end region SaR of the regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2 is visible in a relatively large area at a position substantially in front of the driver 8, which makes it possible to more effectively make the speed not perceive it as being high and give the driver 8 a sense of security.

[0024] On the other hand, when the vehicle V is traveling at a low speed, the driver 8 can clearly see the part of the road surface in front of the vehicle V that is close to the vehicle V, at a position between the regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2. In addition, because the regions SaR, SaL near both ends of the front hood 2 are visible, it is easy to grasp the position of the front end of the vehicle V and the positions of both sides in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the vehicle V is easy to handle at low speeds, such as when traveling on narrow alleys or when entering and exiting a parking lot.

[0025] In the vehicle structure A of this embodiment, the shape of the front hood 2 is designed to enhance the sense of security at high speeds and improve the maneuverability at low speeds, without using expensive and special parts, etc. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the vehicle V can be kept low.

[0026] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the specific configuration of each part of the vehicle structure according to the present invention can be freely designed and modified in various ways within the intended scope of the present invention.

[0028] The front hood is configured such that the height of the upper surface is higher in the regions near both ends in the vehicle width direction than in the region near the center in the vehicle width direction, but in the present invention, such a configuration is sufficient as long as it is at least in the front region of the front hood. At a position near the rear of the front hood 2, the height of the upper surface in the regions near both ends in the vehicle width direction and the region near the center may be approximately the same. Furthermore, the front hood is not limited to being made of metal, but may be made of resin or a combination of metal and resin members. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] A. Vehicle Structure EP Eyepoint Sa (SaR, SaL) Areas near both ends (front hood width direction) Sb Center area (front hood width direction) V Vehicle 2 Front hood 3 Cabin 4. Windshield 8. Driver

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle structure including a front hood that is located on a vehicle front side of a windshield that separates a front portion of a vehicle compartment and has a width in a vehicle front-rear direction and a vehicle width direction, At least a front region of the front hood is configured such that the height of an upper surface portion is higher in regions near both ends in a vehicle width direction than in a region near a center in the vehicle width direction, a forward field of view through the windshield based on a predetermined eye point of a driver in the vehicle cabin includes an upper surface portion of an area of ​​the front hood near both ends in the vehicle width direction in the field of view, and does not include an upper surface portion of an area near a center in the vehicle width direction in the field of view, a ridgeline of an upper surface portion of the front hood in a region near the center in the vehicle width direction is configured to be in a position that substantially coincides with a lower boundary line of the forward field of view, the vehicle width direction end regions of the front hood are provided such that a region on the front side of the vehicle that is more than 7 m ahead of the vehicle is a road surface blind spot at the eye point, A vehicle structure characterized in that the eye point is the position of the eyes of a driver of standard build for a Japanese adult male when seated in a driver's seat whose fore-and-aft position and up-and-down height are set to the standard position assumed for the vehicle and who is in a driving position.

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