Vehicle structure

Abstract

[Problem] To prevent a harness connector from being damaged when a vehicle body and a road surface interfere with each other. [Solution] The present invention comprises: a connector T disposed below a floor panel 20 of a vehicle; and a bracket 40 that is fixed to the floor panel and supports the connector. The bracket has a tip contact part 43 that extends further downward as compared to the lower end of the connector.

Description

Vehicle structure

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle structure.

[0002] Automobiles require a large number of harnesses inside to perform various electrical operations such as turning on lights, locking doors, and raising and lowering windows. Conventional harness technology involves a connector that is placed under the floor panel of the vehicle and connects the harness to a controller.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-144671

[0004] With the above technology, the connector is placed under the floor, so if the bottom of the vehicle comes into contact with the road surface, the connector may become pinched between the floor panel and the road surface and be damaged.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to prevent damage to a harness connector when the vehicle body comes into contact with the road surface.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention includes a power harness connector disposed below a floor panel of a vehicle, and a bracket fixed to the floor panel to support the power harness connector, the bracket having a stop portion extending downward from the lower end of the power harness connector.

[0007] According to the above vehicle structure, it is possible to prevent the harness connector from being damaged when the vehicle body comes into contact with the road surface.

[0008] 4 is a schematic bottom view showing a vehicle structure according to an embodiment; FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the vehicle width direction near the bottom of the vehicle; FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view including a bracket and a harness constituting the vehicle structure; FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the harness is not shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 8 is a schematic bottom view of FIG. 3; FIG. 9 is a schematic bottom view showing the bracket of FIG. 4; FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the bracket and harness of FIG. 3; FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the bracket of FIG. 3;

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. In the drawings, the size and proportions of each component are exaggerated to facilitate understanding of the embodiments, and may differ from the actual size and proportions.

[0010] In each figure, arrows represented by X, Y, and Z are used to indicate the orientation of components constituting the vehicle structure according to the embodiment. X constitutes the front-rear direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the front-rear direction X. Y indicates the width direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the vehicle width direction Y. Z indicates the height direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the height direction Z.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a schematic bottom view showing a vehicle structure according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the vehicle width direction Y near the bottom of the vehicle. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view including a bracket 40 and a harness 30 that constitute the vehicle structure. Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the harness 30 is not shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic bottom view of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a schematic front view showing the bracket 40 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a schematic view showing the bracket 40, harness 30, etc. of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing the bracket 40, etc. of Fig. 3.

[0012] 1, 2, 7, etc., the vehicle structure according to this embodiment includes a side sill 10, a floor panel 20, a harness 30, a bracket 40, an extension side member 50, and a tunnel member 60. The following will explain these components.

[0013] (Side sill) The side sill 10 is configured to be placed under the door, which is a part of the vehicle. The side sill 10 is formed by joining two roughly U-shaped members at the top and bottom ends to form an internal space. The side sill 10 is placed at both the left and right ends in the vehicle width direction Y.

[0014] (Floor Panel) The floor panel 20 is configured to be disposed at the bottom of the vehicle body. The floor panel 20 is configured to extend from the side sill 10 to the tunnel panel 80 in the vehicle width direction Y. The floor panel 20 is joined to the side sill 10 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction Y, and joined to the tunnel panel 80 on the inner side. The tunnel panel 80 is disposed higher in the height direction Z than the floor panel 20. Note that although the floor panel 20 may have some irregularities in reality, it is shown flat for convenience of illustration.

[0015] (Harness) The harness 30 is configured to electrically realize specific vehicle functions. In this embodiment, the harness 30 is configured as an electric power steering harness. As shown in FIG. 3 , the harness 30 is configured to be attached to a bracket 40 with a clip L. The harness 30 is provided with a power harness connector T. The power harness connector T is configured to be disposed below the floor panel 20 of the vehicle.

[0016] (Bracket) The bracket 40 is configured to attach the harness 30 to the floor panel 20. The bracket 40 is fixed to the underside of the floor panel 20 with bolts, nuts, etc., and is configured to support the power harness connector T. Although the bracket 40 has been described as being fixed to the underside of the floor panel 20, it may also be fixed to the side of a vertical member or horizontal member provided on the underside of the floor panel 20. As shown in FIG. 3 , the bracket 40 includes a horizontal wall 41, a vertical wall 42, and a front abutment portion 43.

[0017] The front abutment portion 43 is configured to extend downward from the lower end of the power harness connector T. The front abutment portion 43 is configured to extend vertically (in the height direction Z) from the end of the horizontal wall 41 opposite the vertical wall 42. The front abutment portion 43 is configured to extend downward from the lower end of the power harness connector T. This configuration allows the front abutment portion 43 to come into contact with the road surface when the vehicle body comes into contact with the road surface, thereby preventing damage to the power harness connector T.

[0018] Furthermore, when placing components under the floor in a location where they interfere with the road surface, adding a high-strength component guard or placing the components only within the area where an undercover is provided limits the space available for placing the components and increases the cost of the guard components. Furthermore, attempting to protect the components by increasing the frame height or other measures is disadvantageous in terms of preventing road surface interference. In contrast, providing the front stop 43 increases the space available for component placement, eliminating the need for additional components. Furthermore, the cost per mass can be reduced while providing robustness against road surface interference (protecting the connector even if the ground surface specifications change).

[0019] The side wall 41 has a surface that extends approximately parallel to the ground. The bracket 40 is configured so that a portion of the side wall 41 is attached to the floor panel 20 with bolts, nuts, or the like. The side wall 41 is positioned with a gap between it and the floor panel 20 and is fixed to the floor panel 20 at one end in the longitudinal direction. When fixing the bracket 40 to the floor panel 20, it is necessary to take into account component variations and assembly variations. Therefore, if a gap is provided between the side wall of the bracket and the floor panel 20, the power harness connector T will be closer to the road surface by the gap. However, by fixing one end in the longitudinal direction to the floor panel 20 and leaving the other end free, when the tip contact portion 43 interferes with the road surface, the side wall 41 deforms upward, allowing it to move upward by the gap, thereby preventing the power harness connector T from interfering with the road surface and being damaged.

[0020] 3, the side wall 41 is configured to have a bead portion 44 (corresponding to a weak portion). As a result, when the side wall 41 comes into contact with the road surface, it deforms upward from the bolt fastening point, and the other end side and the power supply side move together, preventing the power harness connector T from being pinched between the bracket 40 and the road surface and preventing damage.

[0021] The vertical wall 42 and the tip abutment 43 extend substantially perpendicularly from the horizontal wall 41, and the power harness connector T is configured to be attached to the vertical wall 42 using a clip or the like. When the power harness connector T is fixed to the horizontal wall, the arrowhead of the fixing clip protrudes from the upper surface of the horizontal wall toward the floor panel 20. Therefore, when the tip abutment 43 interferes with the road surface and the horizontal wall 41 bends upward, the arrowhead may interfere with the floor panel 20 and be crushed, reducing the bending stroke by the amount that remains. This could cause the road surface to interfere with the power harness connector T, or the arrowhead may be damaged, causing the power harness connector T to fall off. In contrast, the above-described configuration prevents the arrowhead from affecting the horizontal wall 41 when it bends upward, preventing a reduction in the stroke or damage to the arrowhead that could cause the power harness connector T to fall off.

[0022] Additionally, the front abutment 43 and the vertical wall 42 are configured to be positioned closer to the other end than the bead 44. This allows the horizontal wall to stably deform upward from the bead 44 when the bracket 40 comes into contact with the road surface, and the other end and the power harness connector T move together, preventing damage to the power harness connector T by preventing it from being pinched between the bracket 40 and the road surface.

[0023] 5, the harness 30 is configured to be parallel to the extension line of the front abutment portion 43 or angled in a direction away from the front abutment portion 43. This configuration prevents the edge of the front abutment portion 43 of the bracket 40 from interfering with and damaging the harness 30 when the harness position moves due to contact with the road surface or during a collision.

[0024] (Extension Side Member) The extension side member 50 is provided below the floor panel 20 to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body. The extension side member 50 is formed so as to extend at approximately the same distance from the center line in the longitudinal direction X of the vehicle. The extension side member 50 is formed approximately symmetrically on the left and right sides with respect to the center line. The extension side member 50 is joined to the dash panel or the like at the front of the vehicle, and is connected from there to the front side members and the side members of the suspension member 70, and is connected to the rear side member at the rear.

[0025] (Tunnel Member) The tunnel member 60 is provided on the outside of the tunnel member 60 in the vehicle width direction Y and below the floor panel 20 to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body, and is configured to extend in the front-to-rear direction X of the vehicle. The tunnel members 60 are arranged in pairs on the left and right so that they are spaced approximately equally apart from the center line of the vehicle. However, since a propeller shaft or an exhaust pipe may be arranged in the center of the vehicle, in such cases one tunnel member 60 may be arranged at a different distance from the center line than the other tunnel member 60. The tunnel member 60 is arranged at approximately the end of the tunnel panel 80 in the vehicle width direction Y.

[0026] The power harness connector T and the bracket 40 are configured to be provided between the left extension side member 50 and the tunnel member 60 and between the right extension side member 50 and the tunnel member 60, whichever is the narrower gap in the vehicle width direction Y. In this embodiment, the gap between the left extension side member 50 and the tunnel member 60 is narrower than the gap between the right extension side member 50 and the tunnel member 60, so the power harness connector T and the bracket 40 are provided between the left extension side member 50 and the tunnel member 60. This configuration improves the protection performance of the power harness connector T when it comes into contact with the road surface.

[0027] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0028] The following embodiments are also included within the scope of the present invention: a vehicle structure according to claim 1 having the features of claim 2; a vehicle structure according to claim 2 having the features of claim 3; a vehicle structure according to claim 3 having the features of claim 4; a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 having the features of claim 5; and a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 having the features of claim 6.

[0029] 20 Floor panel, 40 Bracket, 41 Horizontal wall, 42 Vertical wall, 43 Lead contact portion, 44 Bead portion (weak portion), 50 Extension side member, 60 Tunnel member, T Power supply harness connector, X Forward / backward direction, Y Vehicle width direction, Z Height direction.

Claims

1. A vehicle structure comprising: a power harness connector disposed below a floor panel of a vehicle; and a bracket fixed to the floor panel and supporting the power harness connector, the bracket having a stop portion extending downward from the lower end of the power harness connector.

2. A vehicle structure as described in claim 1, wherein the bracket has a side wall, the front abutment portion extends downward from the side wall, the side wall is positioned with a gap between it and the floor panel, and one longitudinal end of the side wall is fixed to the floor panel.

3. A vehicle structure according to claim 2, wherein the bracket has a vertical wall extending downward from the horizontal wall, and the power harness connector is fixed to the vertical wall.

4. A vehicle structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein the bracket has a weak portion between one end and the other end of the horizontal wall in the longitudinal direction, and the front abutment portion and the vertical wall are positioned on the other end side of the weak portion.

5. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the power harness is parallel to an extension of the front contact portion or angled in a direction away from the front contact portion.

6. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of left and right extension side members and a pair of left and right tunnel members below the floor panel, wherein the power harness connector and the bracket are provided between the extension side member and tunnel member on the left side and the extension side member and tunnel member on the right side, whichever is narrower the gap.

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