Vehicle Structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle structure which can adequately improve a mounting rigidity of a hood hinge by rational means while suppressing defects such that weight and manufacturing costs are increased.SOLUTION: A vehicle structure A comprises a hood hinge 4, a fender bracket 5, and a vehicle constitution member 3 which is positioned on a side of an engine room 10. The vehicle constitution member 3 comprises an upper wall part 34 which is connected to an upper part of a first erecting wall part 31 in a bent shape, the hood hinge 4 is attached to this upper wall part 34, the fender bracket 5 is joined to one end part 34a of the upper wall part 34, and a part thereof is so made as to be a second erecting wall part 52 extending downward from the one end part 34a. A third erecting wall part 23, which is formed by the vehicle constitution member 3 and / or an additional vehicle constitution member 2 separate from the same and which extends downward from the other end part 34b of the upper wall part 34 and faces the second erecting wall part 52, is connected to the other end part 34b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] As a specific example of a vehicle structure, the applicant has previously provided the structure described in Patent Document 1, for example. In the vehicle structure described in the document, a fender bracket for mounting a front fender panel is attached to an upper member (one example of a vehicle structural member) on the side of an engine room. A hood hinge for rotatably supporting a hood for the engine room is also attached to the upper member. A portion of the hood hinge is disposed above the fender bracket. According to the above vehicle structure, when a pedestrian collides with the vehicle and is thrown up, striking the hood and front fender panel from above, part of the collision load is input to the fender bracket, causing the fender bracket to deform. The load acting on the hood hinge is also input to the fender bracket, causing the fender bracket to deform. As a result, the fender bracket can effectively function as an energy absorbing member against the collision load.

[0003] However, there are still problems to be solved in the prior art, as described below. That is, the hood hinge needs to allow the hood to rotate smoothly while bearing the weight of the hood, and therefore needs to have high installation rigidity. However, simply adopting measures to achieve this, such as increasing the thickness of the component where the hood hinge is attached or adding reinforcing members, would increase the weight and manufacturing costs, and would therefore be inappropriate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-203138 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention was devised in light of the circumstances described above, and its object is to provide a vehicle structure that can appropriately increase the installation rigidity of a hood hinge by rational means while suppressing the drawbacks of increased weight and manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions.

[0007] The present invention provides a vehicle structure comprising: a hood hinge for rotatably supporting a hood for an engine room; a fender bracket for mounting a front fender panel; and a vehicle component provided on a side of the engine room and having a first upright wall portion extending in a vertical direction and a width in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, the vehicle component having an upper wall portion connected in a curved manner to an upper portion of the first upright wall portion and extending in a width direction of the first upright wall portion, the hood hinge being attached to this upper wall portion, the fender bracket being joined to one end portion in the width direction of the upper wall portion, and a portion of the fender bracket extending downward from the one end portion, and joined to the first upright wall portion. a second upright wall portion, and the other end portion in the width direction of the upper wall portion is provided with the vehicle component member is formed by And / or the vehicle component is a separate member. and is joined to the first upright wall portion. A third upright wall portion is formed by an additional vehicle component, extends downward from the other end portion, and is connected to the second upright wall portion. and a fixed base portion as a mounting portion of the hood hinge to the upper wall portion is disposed between the second upright wall portion and the third upright wall portion in the width direction of the upper wall portion. It is characterized by the following.

[0008] According to this configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the hood hinge is attached to a predetermined upper wall of a vehicle component fixed to the side of the engine room, but this upper wall is not merely a portion connected in a curved manner to the upper portion of the first standing wall of the vehicle component, but is connected to both ends of the upper wall by the second and third standing walls, and is backed up and reinforced by these portions. The first to third standing walls are arranged in a frame shape surrounding three sides of the lower region of the upper wall, so that the effect of reinforcing the upper wall is greater. Therefore, it is possible to increase the installation rigidity of the hood hinge. On the other hand, of the second and third upright walls reinforcing the upper wall provided on the top of the first upright wall, the third upright wall is constructed using the vehicle component that includes the first upright wall and the upper wall, or an additional vehicle component other than these, while the second upright wall is constructed using a fender bracket, so the construction is rational. It is possible to appropriately suppress an increase in the overall number of parts, reduce weight, and reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, since the first upright wall portion of the vehicle component is a part that has a width in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle and stands upright in the up-down height direction, it is possible to suitably use, for example, a cowl side bracket attached inside the cowl as the vehicle component.

[0009] 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]

[0010] [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 perspective view of a main portion of the vehicle structure shown in FIG. 1, with a front fender panel and a hood being seen through. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the arrow IV in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5]3 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a main portion showing an example of the function of the structure shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] The vehicle structure A shown in FIG. 1 includes a hood 11 for covering an engine compartment 10 provided at the front of the vehicle, a front fender panel 13 provided in the front and lower areas of the lower parts of front pillars 12, and a groove-shaped cowl 2 located at the rear side of the vehicle within the engine compartment 10 and extending in the vehicle width direction. The engine room 10 is originally a portion for accommodating a power unit, for example, an internal combustion engine combined with a transmission, but is not limited to this. If the vehicle is an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, the type of power unit disposed in the engine room will differ accordingly.

[0013] As can be clearly seen in Fig. 2, a cowl side bracket 3 is provided on the inside of the end of the cowl 2 in the vehicle width direction (see also Figs. 3 and 4). This cowl side bracket 3 corresponds to a specific example of a "vehicle structural member" as defined in the present invention, and a hood hinge 4 (a member with a dotted pattern in Figs. 2 and 4) and a fender bracket 5 are attached to this cowl side bracket 3. In each drawing, the structure of one side in the vehicle width direction is shown in detail as vehicle structure A, and the structure of the opposite side is omitted, but this structure of the opposite side is similar to the structure of the one side.

[0014] The hood hinge 4 includes arm portions 40, 41 which are attached to the hood 11 shown in Fig. 1, and a fixed base portion 43 which rotatably supports the arm portions 40, 41 via a rotation fulcrum 42. The fixed base portion 43 is attached to an upper wall portion 34 of the cowl side bracket 3, which will be described later. As the attachment means, a bolt fastening means using a bolt 9 is adopted, and a corresponding bolt insertion hole 39 is formed in the upper wall portion 34. However, a means other than bolt fastening, such as welding, can be used.

[0015] The cowl side bracket 3 is formed, for example, by pressing a metal plate, and includes a first standing wall portion 31, an upper wall portion 34, and standing pieces 35a, 35b. The first standing wall portion 31 is a wall portion that constitutes the main portion of the cowl side bracket 3, and is a generally plate-shaped standing wall portion that stands up in the vertical direction with an appropriate width in the vehicle front-rear direction. The first standing wall portion 31 has an overall outer shape and size that correspond to the inner surface of the cowl 2, and is joined (welded) to the cowl 2 in a state of being fitted inside the cowl 2. As a means for making this joint strong, the cowl side bracket 3 is further provided with flange pieces 36, 37 that are joined in contact with the inner surface of the cowl 2. These flange pieces 36, 37 are integrally connected to the first standing wall portion 31 in a bent manner.

[0016] The upper wall portion 34 of the cowl side bracket 3 is a plate-like wall portion that is generally rectangular in plan view and is provided so as to be connected in a curved manner to the upper portion of the first upright wall portion 31 and extends in the width direction (vehicle front-rear direction) of the first upright wall portion 31. As described above, the hood hinge 4 is attached to this upper wall portion 34, and in addition to this, the fender bracket 5 is also attached thereto.

[0017] The fender bracket 5, like the cowl side bracket 3, is made of so-called sheet metal and includes an upper plate portion 50 to be attached to the front fender panel 13, upper and lower standing plate portions 51 extending downward from the upper plate portion 50, and ribs 53, 53a connected to the upper and lower standing plate portions 51. Meanwhile, an upward standing piece portion 35a is provided on one end portion 34a of the upper wall portion 34 of the cowl side bracket 3. The upper and lower standing plate portions 51 are overlapped and welded to the standing piece portion 35a, thereby attaching the fender bracket 5 to the cowl side bracket 3. In this attachment mode, the upper and lower standing plate portions 51 of the fender bracket 5 are joined to one end portion 34a of the upper wall portion 34, and a part of the upper and lower standing plate portions 51 forms a standing wall portion 52 (second standing wall portion 52) extending downward from the one end portion 34a. The second upright wall portion 52 (as well as the rib 53 ) is also joined (welded) to the first upright wall portion 31 .

[0018] As shown clearly in Fig. 3, the upper and lower upright plate portions 51 of the fender bracket 5 have rigidity breaking points RP at their midpoints, which are more likely to bend than other portions when a load of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied from above. These rigidity breaking points RP are provided by providing bent portions in the upper and lower upright plate portions 51, or by partially reducing the width of the rib 53a. In contrast, the upper end height of the upright piece portion 35a of the cowl side bracket 3 is set to a height equal to or lower than the rigidity breaking point RP, and backs up the height region of the upper and lower upright plate portions 51 below the rigidity breaking point RP. This produces an effect that will be described later with reference to Fig. 5.

[0019] In this embodiment, the other end 34b of the upper wall portion 34 of the cowl side bracket 3 is joined to a wall portion standing in the vertical height direction of the cowl 2, and a part of the cowl 2 (the lower area of ​​the other end portion 34b of the wall portion) is a standing wall portion 23 (third standing wall portion 23) extending downward from the other end portion 34b. This third standing wall portion 23 faces the second standing wall portion 52 in the vehicle front-rear direction. Since the third standing wall portion 23 is a part of the cowl 2, The cowl 2 corresponds to a specific example of the "additional vehicle component" of the present invention. The other end 34b of the upper wall portion 34 is provided with an upward standing piece 35b joined to the cowl 2, but this standing piece 35b is not included in the third standing wall portion of the present invention because it does not extend downward from the other end 34b of the upper wall portion 34. Also, although the flange piece 36 of the cowl side bracket 3 is located below the other end 34b of the upper wall portion 34, it is separated from the other end 34b, so this flange piece 36 is also not included in the third standing wall portion of the present invention.

[0020] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned vehicle structure A will be described.

[0021] First, the hood hinge 4 is attached to the upper wall portion 34 of the cowl side bracket 3, but this upper wall portion 34 is not only provided by being connected in a bent shape to the upper portion of the first standing wall portion 31 of the cowl side bracket 3. One end portion 34a of the upper wall portion 34 is connected to the second standing wall portion 52, and the other end portion 34b is connected to the third standing wall portion 23, and these second and third standing wall portions 52, 23 are configured to face each other. Here, the first to third standing wall portions 31, 52, 23 form a frame shape surrounding three sides of the lower region of the upper wall portion 34, and effectively reinforce the upper wall portion 34. As a result, the installation rigidity of the hood hinge 4 can be sufficiently increased.

[0022] The upper wall portion 34, which is the mounting portion of the hood hinge 4, can be easily formed by bending the upper portion of the first upright wall portion 31 of the cowl side bracket 3. The second and third upright walls 52, 23 that reinforce the upper wall portion 34 are formed by utilizing the fender bracket 5 and the cowl 2, respectively, but these are members that are originally provided on the vehicle, and it is not necessary to use separate members dedicated to them for assembly. For this reason, the overall configuration of the vehicle structure A can be made rational, and an increase in the overall number of parts can be suppressed. Therefore, it is also possible to appropriately achieve weight reduction and reduction in manufacturing costs.

[0023] When a pedestrian collides with a vehicle and is thrown up, the pedestrian may collide with the hood 11 or the front fender panel 13, and as shown in FIG. 5, a load F may be input to the upper plate portion 50 of the fender bracket 5. In response to this, the fender bracket 5 is provided with a rigidity breaking point RP in advance, and the fender bracket 5 can be bent at this position to absorb the collision energy. In this embodiment, the standing piece portion 35a of the cowl side bracket 3 is joined to the fender bracket 5, and the height of the standing piece portion 35a is set to a height equal to or lower than the height of the rigidity breaking point RP (preferably the same height as the rigidity breaking point RP or a height slightly lower). This makes the bending deformation at the position of the rigidity breaking point RP more reliable. On the other hand, it is no longer necessary to reduce the strength of the rigidity breaking point RP so much as a means for generating a bending deformation in the fender bracket 5. As a result, the strength of the fender bracket 5 as a whole can be increased, and it is also possible to appropriately prevent or suppress wobbling of the fender bracket 5 during normal driving.

[0024] 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.

[0025] In the above embodiment, a part of the cowl 2 is the third upright wall portion 23, but the present invention is not limited to this. The third upright wall portion in the present invention may be formed, for example, by a part of a cowl side bracket instead of the cowl, or may be formed by combining a part of the cowl side bracket and a part of the cowl.

[0026] The "vehicle structural member" in the present invention is not limited to the cowl side bracket, but may be, for example, The "additional vehicle component" in the present invention is not limited to the cowl, and may be other components. There are no limitations on the specific shape, size, material, etc. of the hood hinge and the fender bracket. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] A. Vehicle Structure 10 Engine Room 11. Food 13 Front fender panel 2 Cowl (additional vehicle components) 23 Third standing wall 3 Cowl side bracket (vehicle component) 31 First standing wall 34 Upper wall (of cowl side bracket) 34a One end (of the upper wall) 34b Other end (of upper wall) 4 Hood hinge 5 Fender bracket 52 Second upright wall

Claims

[Claim 1] a hood hinge for rotatably supporting a hood for an engine room; a fender bracket for mounting a front fender panel; a vehicle component member having a first upright wall portion provided on a side portion of the engine room and extending in a vertical height direction while having a width in a front-rear direction of the vehicle; A vehicle structure comprising: the vehicle structural member includes an upper wall portion that is bent and connected to an upper portion of the first upright wall portion and extends in a width direction of the first upright wall portion, and the hood hinge is attached to the upper wall portion; the fender bracket is joined to one end of the upper wall portion in the width direction, and a part of the fender bracket is a second upright wall portion extending downward from the one end and joined to the first upright wall portion, a third upright wall portion is provided connected to the other end portion in the width direction of the upper wall portion, the third upright wall portion being formed by the vehicle constituent member and / or a separate member from the vehicle constituent member and formed by an additional vehicle constituent member joined to the first upright wall portion, the third upright wall portion extending downward from the other end portion and facing the second upright wall portion, A vehicle structure, characterized in that a fixed base portion serving as an attachment portion of the hood hinge to the upper wall portion is positioned between the second upright wall portion and the third upright wall portion in the width direction of the upper wall portion.

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