Vehicle undercover

Abstract

To provide an undercover that has overcome problems of conventional undercovers that are liable to be damaged when subjected to an impact that interferes with undulations of a road surface, and that cannot provide sufficient sound insulation.SOLUTION: An undercover 1 for covering a protected area A on a vehicle bottom surface includes: a cover body 2 made of nonwoven fabric; and a resin protector 3 partially disposed on an outer surface of the cover body 2 on a vehicle front end side. The cover body 2 is fixed to the vehicle bottom surface with a space S formed between itself and the vehicle bottom surface. The protector 3 is configured to be fixed to the vehicle bottom surface together with the cover body 2 at the vehicle front end, as well as, fixed to the cover body 2 on a rear side of the vehicle front end, thereby, achieving enhancement of durability against impacts from a road surface and enhancement of sound insulation against running noise.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an under cover of a vehicle that is disposed on the bottom surface of the vehicle and used to protect necessary parts.

Background Art

[0002] As a conventional under cover of a vehicle, there is one described in Patent Document 1 under the name of an automotive exterior material. The automotive exterior material described in Patent Document 1 includes a non-woven fabric layer and a thermoplastic resin provided on one surface of the non-woven fabric layer. This automotive exterior material is formed by laminating a molten thermoplastic resin sheet extruded from an extrusion molding machine on the entire surface of one side of the non-woven fabric layer to form a laminate, and pressing the laminate in the thickness direction, impregnating the non-woven fabric layer with the molten resin to integrate the non-woven fabric layer and the thermoplastic resin.

[0003] The above automotive exterior material is used for a fender liner, an engine under cover, etc., with the non-woven fabric layer on the vehicle body side and the thermoplastic resin layer on the outside, and is attached to protect the vehicle body from the impact of sand, small stones, etc. splashed up by the tire, and to reduce the running noise from the ground side.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, conventional automotive exterior materials, as described above, have a structure in which a sheet-like thermoplastic resin layer covers the entire outer surface of a nonwoven fabric layer. Therefore, when used as an underbody cover, these automotive exterior materials can withstand impacts such as those caused by sand or pebbles, but they are susceptible to damage from larger impacts such as those caused by uneven road surfaces. Furthermore, the outer resin layer does not provide sufficient sound insulation against road noise, and solving these problems has been a challenge.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a vehicle under cover that can improve durability against impacts from the road surface and improve sound insulation against road noise. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The vehicle under cover according to the present invention is an under cover that covers a portion of the vehicle's bottom surface to be protected, and comprises a nonwoven fabric cover body placed on the vehicle's bottom surface, and a resin protector partially placed on the outer surface of the cover body on the front end side of the vehicle. The under cover is characterized in that the cover body is fixed to the vehicle's bottom surface with a space between it and the vehicle's bottom surface, and the protector is fixed to the vehicle's bottom surface together with the cover body at its front end, and also fixed to the cover body at a rearward side of the front end of the vehicle.

[0008] In the underbody of a vehicle equipped with the above configuration, when it comes into contact with unevenness in the road surface, the resin protector makes contact first to reduce friction, and the cover body deforms together with the protector, maintaining the integration of the protector and the cover body. Furthermore, since the non-woven fabric cover body of the above underbody is exposed on the underside of the vehicle in areas other than the protector, this cover body absorbs road noise. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] By adopting the above configuration, the underbody cover of the vehicle according to the present invention can achieve improved durability against impacts from the road surface and improved sound insulation against road noise. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a cross-sectional view (A) illustrating one embodiment of the underbody cover of a vehicle according to the present invention, and a cross-sectional view (B) showing the state during impact absorption. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a bottom view of a vehicle equipped with an underbody cover. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Figures 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of the underbody cover for a vehicle according to the present invention. The illustrated underbody cover 1 covers the area to be protected A on the bottom surface of the vehicle, i.e., the bottom surface of the floor member M. The area to be protected A is the part of the floor member M with the smallest gap to the ground, and is, for example, a recess where the battery is housed, with its bottom bulging downwards.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, the under cover 1 of this embodiment is positioned on the bottom surface of the floor member M, on the rear side of the vehicle body (right side in Figure 2) of the left and right front wheels W, W. Each under cover 1, as shown in Figure 1(A), comprises a nonwoven fabric cover body 2 positioned on the bottom surface of the floor member M (vehicle bottom surface) and a resin protector 3 partially positioned on the outer surface of the front end side of the cover body 2 (left end side in Figure 1).

[0013] The nonwoven fabric cover body 2 contains resin to maintain its shape and is molded into a felt-like form. The cover body 2 in the illustrated example is dish-shaped overall, with a bottom wall 2A surrounded by a series of inclined walls 2B having an upward slope, and an outward-facing flange 2C at the upper end of the inclined walls 2B. This cover body 2 forms a space S between itself and the bottom surface of the floor member M and is fixed to the bottom surface of the floor member M by a series of screws 4 provided on the flange 2C.

[0014] The resin protector 3 is not limited to any particular material, as long as it has durability against impacts expected to occur during vehicle travel and a low coefficient of friction; a typical example is polypropylene (PP). The protector 3 in the illustrated example has a bottom wall 3A, an inclined wall 3B, and a flange 3C that are similar in cross-sectional shape to the front end of the cover body 2. Furthermore, the protector 3 is sized to correspond to the part A to be protected. Therefore, in plan view, the cover body 2 has a larger surface area than the protector 3.

[0015] Furthermore, the under cover 1 described above has a protector 3 fixed to the bottom surface of the floor member M together with the cover body 2 at the front end of the vehicle, and also fixed to the cover body 2 at a rearward side of the front end of the vehicle.

[0016] More specifically, the under cover 1 is constructed by overlapping the protector 3 onto the outer surface (bottom surface) of the cover body 2 on the front end side of the vehicle, and fixing the flange 3C of the protector 3 and the flange 2C of the cover body 2 to the floor member M with bolts 5. The under cover 1 is then constructed by fixing the bottom wall 3A of the protector 3 and the bottom wall 2A of the cover body 2 with multiple rivets 6.

[0017] In this case, the protector 3 and the cover body 2 are fixed together with rivets 6 at at least multiple locations in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 2. Note that Figure 1 schematically shows the basic configuration of the under cover 1, so the number and arrangement of rivets 6 will differ from those in Figure 2.

[0018] The under cover 1, with the above configuration, can protect the target area A from impacts such as sand and pebbles kicked up by the front wheels W while driving. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1(B), when it comes into contact with an obstacle P such as unevenness in the road surface, the resin protector 3, which has a low coefficient of friction, makes contact first to reduce the frictional force, and the cover body 2 deforms integrally with the protector 3.

[0019] As a result, the under cover 1 absorbs impact while maintaining the fixed state of the protector 3 and the cover body 2, passes through while sliding the obstacle P backward, and protects the protected part A of the floor member M. Further, in the above under cover 1, since the cover body 2 made of non-woven fabric is exposed on the lower side of the vehicle body in the area other than the protector 3, the cover body 2 absorbs running noise. In this way, the under cover 1 of the vehicle can improve the durability against impact from the road surface and the sound insulation against running noise.

[0020] Also, the above under cover 1 fixes the protector 3 and the cover body 2 with rivets 6 at a plurality of locations in the vehicle longitudinal direction. As a result, when the above under cover 1 interferes with the road surface, a force in the shearing direction is applied to the fixing points by the rivets 6, but the force is dispersed by the plurality of rivets 6, and the fixed state of the protector 3 and the cover body 2 can be maintained more reliably.

[0021] Furthermore, the above under cover 1 makes the protector 3 have a size corresponding to the protected part A, so as to reliably protect the protected part A, and at the same time, a large area of the cover body 2 functioning as a sound absorbing material is ensured, and the sound insulation against running noise can be enhanced.

[0022] Furthermore, since the protected part A is the part where the distance from the ground is the smallest on the bottom surface of the vehicle (the bottom surface of the floor member M), the under cover 1 can protect the part that is most likely to interfere with the undulations of the road surface and the like.

[0023] The under cover of the vehicle according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0024] 1 Under cover 2 Cover body 3 Protector 6 Rivet A Protected part M Floor Member (Underside of Vehicle) S space

Claims

1. An under cover that covers the parts of the vehicle's underside that need protection, A non-woven fabric cover body to be placed on the bottom surface of the vehicle, The cover body is further equipped with a resin protector that is partially positioned on the outer surface of the front end of the vehicle, The cover body is fixed to the vehicle bottom surface, forming a space between it and the vehicle bottom surface. An underbody cover for a vehicle, characterized in that the protector is fixed to the underside of the vehicle together with the cover body at the front end of the vehicle, and is also fixed to the cover body at a rearward side of the front end of the vehicle.

2. The under cover for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the protector and the cover body are fixed together by rivets at multiple locations in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

3. The under cover according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the protector has a size corresponding to the part to be protected.

4. The under cover according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the protected portion is the portion of the vehicle's underside that has the smallest gap to the ground.

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