Front structure of the vehicle

Abstract

To secure impact absorption performance of a vehicle more properly with a configuration of a bumper reinforcement without adopting an excessively large scale vehicle configuration.SOLUTION: In a vehicle front part structure, a bumper reinforcement 10 extending in a vehicle width direction is disposed at the vehicle front side relative to front wheels 7 of a vehicle. In the bumper reinforcement 10, an end in its vehicle width direction is provided with bending portions 11 (12, 14) each of which is bent to the outer side in the vehicle width direction and the rear side. In the bending portions 11 (12, 14), at positions facing the front wheels 7, facing portions (13, 15) each of which is disposed facing a slide surface 70 which slides on a road surface of the front wheel 7 is provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a front structure of a vehicle in which a bumper reinforcement extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed on the front side of the vehicle of the front wheels of the vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] A front structure of this type of vehicle is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this vehicle, a bumper reinforcement is provided on the front side thereof so as to extend in the vehicle width direction. And the bumper reinforcement is disposed on the front side of the vehicle of the front wheels of the vehicle by being provided on the front side of the vehicle. Further, a plate-shaped bracket is attached to the front surface of the bumper reinforcement at the vehicle width direction end portion thereof. This bracket is formed in a rectangle that is long in the vehicle width direction in a front view, and a first horizontal portion along the upper end portion thereof and a second horizontal portion along the lower end portion thereof are connected by a flat portion. And the upper and lower horizontal portions are formed in a U-shaped cross section so as to project toward the front side of the vehicle with respect to the flat portion. Thereby, the load applied to the bracket from the front side of the vehicle can be received by the upper and lower horizontal portions projecting toward the front side of the vehicle.

[0003] Also, in a general vehicle, a side member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is disposed inside the vehicle width direction of the front wheels. The front end portion side of this side member is connected to the bumper reinforcement. And a spacer member extending obliquely in a crisscross shape is installed between the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement and the side member. Thereby, the impact load applied to the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement is transmitted to the side member via the spacer member. And in the above-described configuration, the impact load at the time of a vehicle frontal collision (such as an offset collision) is absorbed by deforming the front side of the vehicle. At this time, the side member is deformed inward in the vehicle width direction by the transmitted impact load and folded in the middle, so that the front side of the vehicle is crushed and deformed.

[0004] In the field of vehicles, various types of crash tests are conducted, and one example of this type is the offset frontal crash test. One such crash test, the micro-lap crash test, simulates a collision with an object while the vehicles overlap by 25%, and involves crashing a moving vehicle into a fixed crash barrier. The newly planned MPDB crash test simulates a collision between two moving vehicles with a 50% offset, and involves crashing a moving vehicle into a forward-moving crash barrier. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-62617 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] In the vehicle configuration described above, the vehicle's spacer members bear the reaction force against the impact object (impact barrier). However, when responding to MPDB crash tests, there was a risk that the structure of the spacer members would become excessively large in order to ensure a reaction force against the impact barrier (ensure impact absorption). Also, in the above test, it is desirable that the impact barrier be crushed uniformly over a wide area in order to ensure uniformity of vehicle body deformation. For example, in the vehicle of Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to provide another reinforcement on the underside of the bumper reinforcement, but this would make the vehicle configuration excessively large. The present invention was devised in view of the above points, and the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to more appropriately ensure the impact absorption of the vehicle by configuring the bumper reinforcement without making the vehicle configuration excessively large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a means to solve the above problems, in the front structure of the vehicle of the first invention, a bump reinforcement extending in the vehicle width direction is arranged on the front side of the vehicle's front wheels. In this type of structure, it is desirable that the shock absorption of the vehicle can be more appropriately ensured by the configuration of the bump reinforcement without making the vehicle configuration excessively large. Therefore, the bump reinforcement of the present invention is provided with a bent portion at its end in the vehicle width direction, which is bent outward and rearward in the vehicle width direction. The bent portion is provided with an opposing portion positioned facing the front wheel, which is positioned opposite to the sliding surface of the front wheel with respect to the road surface.

[0008] In the bump reinforcement of the present invention, opposing portions provided at the bent portion are positioned opposite the sliding surface of the front wheel. The opposing portions are positioned close to the vehicle's front wheel because the bent portion is bent outward and rearward in the vehicle width direction. As a result, when an impact load during a vehicle front collision is applied to the bump reinforcement, the opposing portions come into contact with the sliding surface of the vehicle's front wheel. At this time, the opposing portions positioned opposite each other make surface contact with the sliding surface of the front wheel, which helps to avoid the front wheel bursting as much as possible, and a reaction force is applied from the front wheel to the object of impact (or collision barrier in a collision test). Therefore, with the above-described bump reinforcement configuration, the front of the vehicle can be deformed more appropriately during a vehicle collision without making the vehicle structure excessively complex. Furthermore, in the front structure of the vehicle of the first invention, the bump reinforcement has a pair of bent portions branched off from the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the main body portion that extends in the vehicle width direction, so as to be aligned in the vehicle vertical direction. In the bump reinforcement of the present invention, a pair of bent portions provided at the end of the main body portion are arranged vertically. This allows the load applied from the front of the vehicle to be received by the upper and lower bent portions. Also, even when a single bump reinforcement is used, the impact barrier in impact tests can be uniformly crushed over a wider area vertically by both bent portions. Furthermore, in the front structure of the vehicle of the first invention, the opposing portion of one of the pair of bent portions and the opposing portion of the other bent portion, which is different from the first, are positioned at different locations in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In the present invention, by shifting the positions of the opposing portions longitudinally, each opposing portion can be sequentially brought into contact with the sliding surface of the front wheel, thereby minimizing the load on the front wheel.

[0009] The front structure of the vehicle according to the second invention is such that, in the front structure of the vehicle according to the first invention, the opposing portion is provided to extend outward in the vehicle width direction relative to the bent portion. By extending outward in the vehicle width direction, the bent portion of the present invention can more reliably make surface contact with the sliding surface of the front wheel.

[0010] The front structure of the vehicle in the third invention is a front structure of the vehicle in the second invention in which the bumper reinforcement has a main body portion extending in the vehicle width direction connected to a side member extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the inside of the front wheel in the vehicle width direction. The first bending point provided between the main body portion and the bent portion is provided on the front end side of the side member, and the second bending point provided between the bent portion and the opposing portion is provided at a position closer to the sliding surface than the first bending point. In the present invention, by appropriately setting the position of each bending point, the opposing portion can be made to contact the sliding surface of the front wheel more reliably. At this time, by providing the first bending point on the front end side of the side member, it is possible to accommodate cases where the vehicle width dimension is smaller at the front. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the first invention of the present invention, the shock absorption of the vehicle can be more appropriately ensured by the configuration of the bump reinforcement without making the vehicle configuration excessively large. Furthermore, according to the first invention, the shock absorption of the vehicle can be ensured more reliably. And according to the first invention, the shock absorption of the vehicle can be ensured more appropriately. Furthermore, according to the second invention, the shock absorption of the vehicle can be more reliably ensured. Furthermore, according to the third invention, the degree of freedom in selecting the shape of the vehicle and the shock absorption of the vehicle can be more appropriately ensured. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective front view of the underside of the vehicle. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective top view of the front of the vehicle. [Figure 3] This is a schematic perspective view of the front of the Vanpalinforce vehicle, seen from the front. [Figure 4] This is a schematic perspective view of the front of the Vanpalinforce vehicle, seen from the rear. [Figure 5] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along the VV line. [Figure 6] This is a schematic perspective side view of the front of the vehicle. [Figure 7] This is a schematic perspective top view of the front of a vehicle during a frontal collision. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Each figure appropriately illustrates arrows indicating the longitudinal direction, lateral direction (vehicle width direction), and vertical direction (vehicle height direction) of the vehicle. In Figure 1, the bumper reinforcement and front wheels are shown in a transparent view, and corresponding reference numerals are given to the components on the right side of the vehicle, while corresponding reference numerals in parentheses are given to the components on the left side. In each figure, for convenience, the main components of the front structure of the vehicle are shown in a transparent view with solid lines, while other components are shown with dashed lines or omitted.

[0016] [Overview of the front of the vehicle] First, the general outline of the front of vehicle 2 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the front of vehicle 2 has a bumper reinforcement 10 that forms part of the front bumper 3, extending in the width direction (left and right). Fog lamps 2L are also provided on the left and right sides of the front of vehicle 2. At the rear of the vehicle, beyond the bumper reinforcement 10, there is an engine room ER which can be opened and closed by an engine hood (not shown). At both ends (left and right) in the width direction of this engine room ER, as shown in Figure 2, there is a pair of left and right side members 4 that extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (for convenience, only the right side member is shown in Figure 2). On the outer side (right side) in the width direction of the left and right side members 4, there is a wheelhouse 6 that houses the front wheel 7. The outer surface of the front wheel 7 housed in the wheelhouse 6 is a sliding surface 70 that slides against the road surface.

[0017] Furthermore, the main body portion 10B of the bump reinforcement 10 is connected to the front end of the side member 4 shown in Figure 2 via the crash box 5. Here, the main body portion 10B of the bump reinforcement 10 is formed to extend in the vehicle width direction (left and right) and has a curved shape that is gently bent towards the rear of the vehicle as it approaches both ends in the vehicle width direction. The main body portion 10B of the bump reinforcement 10 is positioned in front of the front wheel 7 housed in the wheelhouse 6 and inward in the vehicle width direction (left side).

[0018] [Front Structure of Vehicle] In the front structure of the vehicle 2 shown in FIG. 2, as described above, a bumper reinforcement 10 (details will be described later) extending in the vehicle width direction (left and right) is disposed on the front side of the front wheels 7 of the vehicle 2. Further, a spacer member 20 (details will be described later) for transmitting the load applied to the bumper reinforcement 10 to the side member 4 is installed between the outer end (right side) of the bumper reinforcement 10 in the vehicle width direction and the side member 4. In the above-described configuration, when an impact load at the time of a vehicle frontal collision is applied to the bumper reinforcement 10, this impact load is transmitted to the side member 4 via the spacer member 20. In the vehicle 2 during an offset collision or the like, the side member 4 to which the impact load is applied is bent inward (left side) in the vehicle width direction and buckles, so that the front side of the vehicle 2 collapses and deformes rearward (see FIG. 7).

[0019] Here, in the field of the vehicle 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as described above, it is required to cope with various offset frontal collision tests. And in each collision test, it is desirable to be able to appropriately crush the collision barrier while considering that vehicle components such as the spacer member 20 do not become overly elaborate. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the shock absorption performance of the vehicle 2 is more appropriately ensured by the configuration of the bumper reinforcement 10 described later without making the vehicle configuration overly elaborate. Here, the front structure of the vehicle 2 has substantially the same basic configuration on both sides in its vehicle width direction (left and right). Therefore, hereinafter, the front structure of the vehicle 2 will be described in detail centering on the bumper reinforcement 10, taking the right side portion as an example.

[0020] [Bumper Reinforcement] First, the bump reinforcement 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3 has a bent portion 11 on the outer side (right side) in the vehicle width direction of the main body portion 10B described above. This bent portion 11 can be formed integrally with the main body portion 10B, or it can be retrofitted to an existing bump reinforcement which is used as the main body portion. The bent portion 11 is gradually bent toward the rear of the vehicle, that is, toward the front wheels 7 of the vehicle 2, as it moves outward in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the rear part of the bent portion 11 is divided into an upper bent portion 12 and a lower bent portion 14.

[0021] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the upper bent portion 12 is positioned above the upper edge of the main body portion 10B and extends outward (to the right) and rearward in the vehicle width direction. The lower bent portion 14 is positioned below the lower edge of the main body portion 10B and extends outward and rearward in the vehicle width direction. The upper bent portion 12 and the lower bent portion 14 are spaced apart in the vehicle vertical direction and extend in the vehicle width direction (see the symbol D in Figure 1, which indicates the distance between the two bent portions 12 and 14). With the above configuration, as shown in Figure 1, the vertical dimension S between the upper bent portion 12 and the lower bent portion 14 can be made large, and the bump reinforce 10, which is provided with these two bent portions 12 and 14, can receive the collision barrier over a wide range vertically (in Figure 1, the area enclosed by the dashed line indicated by symbol 100 is the collision range of the collision barrier). Furthermore, by creating a gap between the two bent sections 12 and 14, it becomes possible to install the fog lamp 2L, which is part of the existing configuration of the vehicle 2, between these two bent sections 12 and 14.

[0022] Furthermore, the upper bent portion 12 and the lower bent portion 14 shown in Figure 2 are bent at the same bending angle relative to the main body portion 10B, so that they extend parallel to each other towards the front wheel 7 from the vertical direction (see the bending angle θ of the bent portion relative to the main body portion in Figure 2). As a result, if an object (not shown) hits the front of the vehicle, the object will be received by both the bent portions 12 and 14. The length dimension of the upper bent portion 12 in the direction of extension is larger than that of the lower bent portion 14. Therefore, the rear end of the upper bent portion 12 is positioned relatively close to the front wheel 7 of the vehicle 2.

[0023] [Spacer component] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, a spacer member 20 is installed between the two bent sections 12 and 14 and the side member 4. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the upper bent section 12 is positioned slightly higher than the side member 4 (see height position H0 on the upper surface of the side member in Figure 5). The lower bent section 14 is positioned lower than the side member 4. Therefore, the spacer member 20 is formed in a roughly Y-shape with its front end divided into upper and lower branches. The upper front end 21 of the spacer member 20 is fixed to the rear side of the upper bent section 12, and the lower front end 22 of the spacer member 20 is fixed to the rear side of the lower bent section 14. The rear end 23 of the spacer member 20 is fixed to the right side of the side member 4 in front of the front wheel 7, as shown in Figures 4 and 6. According to the above configuration, the impact load applied to the upper bending portion 12 and the lower bending portion 14 is transmitted to the side member 4 via the spacer member 20, thereby ensuring the folding capability of the side member 4 (see Figure 7). The upper bending portion 12 is relatively close to the side member 4 in the vehicle height direction, as shown in Figure 5. Furthermore, the upper bending portion 12 has a relatively large vertical dimension (resulting in high rigidity), which provides excellent load transmission to the side member 4.

[0024] [Opposite part] Next, referring to Figures 2 and 3, the upper bent portion 12 and the lower bent portion 14 are each provided with opposing portions positioned opposite the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. Specifically, the upper bent portion 12 has an upper opposing portion 13 at its rear end facing the front wheel 7. The upper opposing portion 13 is bent outward (to the right) in the vehicle width direction relative to the upper bent portion 12 so as to follow the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7, and is positioned opposite the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 (see bending angle θ1 in Figure 2). Also, referring to Figures 2 and 6, the upper opposing portion 13 is provided at the rear end of the upper bent portion 12, and is positioned at a relatively high height close to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 (see distance D1 between the upper opposing portion and the front wheel in Figure 2).

[0025] Furthermore, the lower bent portion 14 shown in Figure 2 also has a lower opposing portion 15 at its rear end facing the front wheel 7. This lower opposing portion 15 is also bent outward (to the right) in the vehicle width direction relative to the lower bent portion 14, so that it is positioned opposite to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 (see bending angle θ2 (θ2=θ1) in Figure 2). Also, referring to Figures 2 and 6, the lower opposing portion 15 is provided at the rear end of the lower bent portion 14, so that it is positioned at a lower height than the upper opposing portion 13 and relatively farther away from the front wheel 7 (see distance D2 between the lower opposing portion and the front wheel in Figure 2). With the above configuration, a space 50 extending in the front-rear and up-down directions can be provided between the upper opposing portion 13 and the lower opposing portion 15 shown in Figure 2. This space 50 can then be used to install various vehicle components (for example, the fog lamp shown in Figure 1) on the vehicle 2.

[0026] Here, the upper opposing portion 13 shown in Figure 2 can be positioned opposite the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 so that it makes surface contact with the front wheel 7. When the upper opposing portion 13 is positioned opposite the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7, it means that it makes surface contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 during a vehicle collision, and it is not necessarily limited to the case where it is positioned opposite the sliding surface 70 (bending angle θ1). For example, the upper opposing portion 13 may be tilted towards the front of the vehicle (bending angle less than θ1) in the range where it makes surface contact with the front wheel 7. Similarly, the upper opposing portion 13 may be positioned tilted towards the rear of the vehicle (bending angle greater than θ1) in the range where it makes surface contact with the front wheel 7. The lower opposing portion 15 can also be positioned opposite the front wheel 7 in the same way as the upper opposing portion 13, and the bending angle of the lower opposing portion 15 in this case may be the same as or different from that of the upper opposing portion 13.

[0027] [Bending base point] As shown in Figure 2, the bump reinforcement 10 is bent at an appropriate position to form a pair of front and rear bending points 31 and 32. Specifically, in the bump reinforcement 10, a first bending point 31 is formed between the main body portion 10B and the bent portion 11. The first bending point 31 is formed close to or adjacent to the front end of the side member 4. As a result, the width dimension of the bent portion 11 gradually decreases as it approaches the first bending point 31 formed at its front end. Therefore, the above configuration can be applied to vehicles 2 with a smaller front width and narrower sides, taking into consideration the minimum turning radius, and the degree of freedom in selecting the shape of the vehicle 2 can be maximized.

[0028] Furthermore, the bumper reinforcement 10 shown in Figure 2 has a second bending point 32 formed between its upper bending portion 12 and upper opposing portion 13. This second bending point 32 is formed further outward (to the right) and rearward in the vehicle width direction than the first bending point 31 described above, so that it is closer to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. The upper opposing portion 13 is formed to extend outward in the vehicle width direction from the second bending point 32 so that it is more reliably positioned in opposition to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. Another second bending point (not shown) is also formed at the boundary between the lower bending portion 14 and the lower opposing portion 15. Therefore, the lower opposing portion 15 is also formed to extend outward in the vehicle width direction from another second bending point so that it is more reliably positioned opposite to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7.

[0029] [The role of bumper reinforcement during a vehicle collision] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, in the front structure of vehicle 2, the impact load during a vehicle frontal collision (offset collision) is first applied to the bump reinforce 10. Then, the impact load is transmitted from the bump reinforce 10 to the side member 4, causing the side member 4 to bend in the middle and the front side of vehicle 2 to deform so that it collapses towards the rear of the vehicle (see arrow A1 in Figure 7, which shows the direction of deformation of the side member). In this type of vehicle 2, as described above, it is required to be able to handle various offset frontal collision tests. In particular, in MPDB collision tests, it is desirable to be able to collapse the collision barrier over a wider area and more uniformly, while taking care not to make the vehicle configuration, such as the spacer member 20, excessively large.

[0030] Therefore, the bump reinforcement 10 shown in Figure 2 has a bent portion 11 at its end in the vehicle width direction, which is bent outward (right side) and rearward in the vehicle width direction. The bent portion 11 has an opposing portion 13(15) positioned opposite to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 with respect to the road surface, facing the front wheel 7. In the bump reinforcement 10 described above, the opposing portion 13(15) provided on the bent portion 11 is positioned in close proximity to the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 and is positioned opposite to it. As a result, when an impact load during a vehicle front collision is applied to the bump reinforcement 10, the opposing portion 13(15) comes into contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. By having the opposing portion 13(15) come into contact with the front wheel 7 over a surface area, it becomes possible to deform the front part of the vehicle 2 more appropriately during a vehicle front collision. The function of the bump reinforcement 10 will be explained in more detail below, using the MPDB crash test as an example.

[0031] First, in the front structure of vehicle 2 shown in Figure 1, the impact load applied to the bump reinforce 10 is received by the upper bending portion 12 and the lower bending portion 14 of its bending portion 11. Furthermore, as described above, the upper bending portion 12 and the lower bending portion 14 are spaced apart in the vertical direction of the vehicle. This allows the collision barrier to be crushed more uniformly over a wider area by both bending portions 12 and 14 (reducing the amount of remaining crushed), resulting in a configuration that contributes to ensuring uniformity of vehicle body deformation (see the area enclosed by the dashed line indicated by reference numeral 100 in Figure 1).

[0032] Referring to Figures 2 and 7, the impact load F applied to the upper bending portion 12 and lower bending portion 14 of the bending portion 11 is transmitted to the side member 4 through the spacer member 20. As a result, the side member 4 is folded in half, as shown in Figure 7, and the front of the vehicle 2 is crushed and deformed. As the front of the vehicle 2 is crushed and the bending portion 11 moves to the rear of the vehicle, its opposing portions 13 and 15 sequentially come into contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. At this time, the opposing portions 13 and 15, which are arranged opposite each other, come into contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 in a surface manner, thereby minimizing the risk of the front wheel 7 bursting (breaking), and a reaction force is applied from the front wheel 7 to the collision barrier. Furthermore, by sequentially bringing the upper opposing portion 13 and the lower opposing portion 15 into contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7, an excessive load is not placed on the front wheel 7 all at once, and its burst can be avoided more reliably. Furthermore, since the upper opposing portion 13 and the lower opposing portion 15 are at different heights (and positions in the vehicle width direction), they can be positioned at different locations on the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7. In this configuration, the upper and lower bending portions 12 and 14 provide a collision barrier, and the spacer member 20 and the front wheel 7 bear the reaction force, allowing this collision barrier to be crushed over a wide area and uniformly. Therefore, with the above-described bump reinforcement 10 configuration, the front of the vehicle 2 can be deformed more appropriately during a frontal collision without making the vehicle configuration excessively complex.

[0033] Furthermore, in the above configuration, during a light collision of vehicle 2 as shown in Figure 2, the distance D1 between the upper opposing portion 13 of the bumper reinforcement 10 and the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 is ensured as much as possible. By avoiding contact between the upper opposing portion 13 and the front wheel 7, and thereby minimizing the risk of the front wheel 7 bursting, vehicle 2 can continue to move under its own power during a light collision. In addition, in the front structure of vehicle 2, the upper bent portion 12 and the lower bent portion 14 are bent outward and rearward in the width direction in the vehicle direction at the same bending angle relative to the main body portion 10B, as described above. This allows the impacting object that hits the front of the vehicle to be received by both bent portions 12 and 14, and the impacting object can be smoothly loaded onto the engine hood.

[0034] As explained above, in the bump reinforce 10 of this embodiment, the opposing portion 13 (15) is made to contact the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 in a planar manner. This minimizes the risk of the front wheel 7 bursting, and a reaction force is applied from the front wheel 7 to the object of impact (impact barrier in the impact test). Therefore, according to this embodiment, the impact absorption of the vehicle 2 can be more appropriately ensured by the configuration of the bump reinforce 10 without making the vehicle configuration excessively large. In other words, in the above configuration, there is no need to make the spacer member 20 excessively large, and there is no need to arrange bump reinforces above and below. This results in a configuration that helps to suppress the increase in weight of the vehicle 2 and suppress the increase in cost. Furthermore, in the above configuration of the bump reinforce 10, the main body portion 10B can be replaced with an existing bump reinforce, and the fog lamp 2L can also be installed in the existing position. Therefore, in the above configuration, a degree of freedom in selecting the shape of the vehicle 2 is ensured, and the existing design of the vehicle 2 can be adopted as is.

[0035] Furthermore, the bent portion 12(14) in this embodiment extends outward in the vehicle width direction, ensuring that it makes contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 more reliably. Also, in this embodiment, by appropriately setting the positions of each bending base point 31, 32, the opposing portion 13(15) can be made to make contact with the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7 more reliably. At this time, by setting the first bending base point 31 on the front end side of the side member 4, it becomes possible to accommodate cases where the vehicle width dimension of the vehicle 2 is smaller at the front. In addition, in this embodiment, the bump reinforcer 10 has a pair of bent portions 12, 14 provided at the end of the main body portion 10B so that they are arranged vertically. This allows the load applied from the front of the vehicle to be received by the upper and lower bending portions 12, 14. Furthermore, even when using a single bump reinforcer 10, both bending portions 12, 14 allow the impact barrier in the impact test to be crushed more uniformly over a wider area vertically. In this embodiment, by shifting the positions of the opposing parts 13 and 15 forward and backward, each opposing part 13 and 15 can sequentially contact the sliding surface 70 of the front wheel 7, thereby minimizing the load on the front wheel 7.

[0036] The front structure of the vehicle in this embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various other embodiments are possible. In this embodiment, the configuration of the bumper reinforcement is illustrated, but this is not intended to limit the configuration. For example, if the bent portion is branched vertically, either the upper or lower opposing portion can be positioned close to the front wheel, for example, the lower opposing portion can be positioned relatively close to the front wheel. Also, by making the length dimensions of the upper and lower bent portions the same, the front-to-rear positions of each opposing portion can be made the same so that both are close to the front wheel. Furthermore, the rear end of the bent portion can be bent back toward the front of the vehicle, in which case the bent-back end provided at the rear end of the bent portion is positioned facing the front wheel of the vehicle. Therefore, by making the rear surface shape of the bent-back end a curved surface shape with a horizontal U-shape in cross-section, or a planar shape with a U-shape in cross-section, the end can be made into an opposing portion. The opposing portion only needs to be positioned opposite the front wheel of the vehicle, and can be bent either outward or inward in the vehicle width direction relative to the bent portion.

[0037] Furthermore, in the front structure of the vehicle, the bent sections can be configured without branching, or they can be branched into three or more sections. When the bent sections are branched vertically, the distance between the bent sections can be set as appropriate, and the bent sections can also be separated by slits and placed adjacent to each other. The upper and lower dimensions of each bent section can be the same or different, and the height positions of both bent sections can also be changed as appropriate. That is, considering the relationship with other vehicle components, the upper and lower dimensions of either the upper or lower bent section can be made relatively larger, or the height position relative to the side members can be adjusted. The configuration of the spacer members can also be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the bumper reinforcement and side members. Other vehicle components, such as the external shape of the front of the vehicle, the side members and the configuration of the front wheels, can also be changed as appropriate according to the vehicle type. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 2 vehicles 2L fog lamps 3 Front bumper 4 Side Members 5 Crash Box 6 Wheelhouse 7 Front wheels 70 (Front wheel) sliding surface 10 Bampari Inforce 10B Main body part 11 Bending points 12 Upper bending section 13. Upper opposing portion (the "opposing portion of one of the bending portions" in the present invention) 14 Lower bending section 15. Lower opposing portion (the "opposing portion of the other bending portion that is different from one" in the present invention) 20 Spacer member 21 Upper front end (of the spacer member) 22 Lower front end (of the spacer member) 23 Rear end (of the spacer member) 31 First bending base point 32 Second bending base point 50 spaces ER Engine Room F Impact load

Claims

1. In a front vehicle structure in which a bumper reinforcement extending in the width direction is positioned on the front side of the vehicle's front wheels, The aforementioned bumper reinforcement is provided with a bent portion at its end in the vehicle width direction, which is bent outward and rearward in the vehicle width direction. The aforementioned bent portion is provided with an opposing portion positioned facing the front wheel, which is positioned opposite to the sliding surface of the front wheel relative to the road surface. The bumper reinforcement is provided with a pair of bent portions branching out from the main body portion extending in the vehicle width direction on the outside in the vehicle width direction so as to be aligned in the vehicle vertical direction, and the opposing portion of one of the pair of bent portions and the opposing portion of the other bent portion which is different from the one the first one are positioned at different locations in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

2. The front structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the opposing portion is provided so as to extend outward in the vehicle width direction with respect to the bending portion.

3. The bumper reinforcement has a main body portion extending in the vehicle width direction, which is connected to a side member extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the inside of the front wheel in the vehicle width direction, The front structure of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the first bending point provided between the main body portion and the bending portion is provided on the front end side of the side member, and the second bending point provided between the bending portion and the opposing portion is provided at a position closer to the sliding surface than the first bending point.

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