JPH018460Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a front body structure of an automobile in which the outer shell of the front end of the automobile is constituted by a soft fascia made of a soft skin member. It is something.

(Prior Art) Recently, the outer shell of the front end of an automobile has been constructed of a soft skin member called a soft fascia in order to have a high degree of molding freedom or to reduce weight. Conventionally, in order to fix the upper end of such a soft fascia to the vehicle body, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-112045, a retainer integrated with the soft fascia was attached to a radiator shroud such as a shroud asspa. This was done by fixing it to the member.

By the way, recently, from a design standpoint,
The front nose is required to project significantly further forward than the radiator shroud members; It will be placed. Therefore, in such a vehicle, when supporting the soft fascia by the means described in the above-mentioned publication, the retainer integrated with the soft fascia must be extended far to the rear of the vehicle body and attached to the radiator. Alternatively, a retainer on the radiator shroud member side that extends further forward than the radiator shroud member may be separately provided, and a retainer on the soft facia side may be attached to the retainer on the radiator shroud member side. Become.

However, in any of the above cases, the retainer will extend significantly in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
Problems will arise in terms of the support strength of the soft fascia. In other words, the weight of the soft fascia and the external force applied to its upper end are borne by the radiator shroud member via the elongated retainer supported in a cantilevered manner by the radiator shroud member. This poses a problem in that the retainer is easily bent and the attachment position of the soft fascia is greatly distorted.

Therefore, the soft fascia is installed in such a way that the upper end of the soft fascia is supported by a retainer, and both sides of the soft fascia are supported by a pair of left and right fender brackets provided in front of the radiator shroud member. It is conceivable to make the fender bracket more stable, but in this case it is important to improve the mounting strength of the fender bracket itself.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention was developed in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and even in cases where the soft fascia is located further forward than the radiator shroud member, it is possible to significantly improve the vehicle body structure. To provide a front body structure of an automobile in which the soft fascia can be securely attached to and supported on the body without modification.

(Structure of the invention) In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention has the following structure. In other words, it is a soft fascia mounting structure consisting of a soft skin member that covers the front of the vehicle body, and the front end portion of the apron reinforcement, which has a closed cross section and extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, extends further forward than the radiator shroud member. A fascia set plate to which an upper end portion of the soft fascia is attached and a fender bracket to which both ends of the soft fascia are attached are disposed in front of the radiator shroud member, respectively, and An upper portion of the ender bracket is coupled to the forward extension of the apron reinforcement, and a rear portion of the ender bracket is coupled to the radiator shroud member.

(Example) In FIG. 1, the front end outer shell of an automobile A is constructed of a soft fascia 1 made of a soft skin member. In this embodiment, the soft fascia 1 includes a bumper portion 1a located at the frontmost position, and an air skirt portion 1b extending downward from the bumper portion 1a, and a central portion of the air skirt portion 1b in the vehicle width direction. A running wind inlet 1c for introducing running wind is opened, 1d indicates the upper end of the soft fascia 1, and 1e indicates both side ends of the soft fascia 1.

The mounting structure part of the soft fascia 1 is attached to the second
To explain this with reference to FIGS. 6 to 6, 2 is a shroud top that extends in the vehicle width direction and is a component of the radiator shroud member, 3 is a pair of left and right side frames that extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and 4 is a pair of left and right apron rainforests. Reference numeral 5 denotes a pair of left and right fender brackets, which extend forward arm portions 4a of the side frame 3 and apron reinforcement 4.
and the fender bracket 5 extend forward from the shroud upper 2, respectively.

Both ends of the shroud upper 2 are joined to the apron reinforcement 4, and a portion slightly inward in the vehicle width direction from both ends is connected via a pair of left and right struts 6 having a closed cross-section structure and extending in the vertical direction. It is coupled to and supported by the side frame 3. A space formed below the shroud upper 2 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction than the support column 6 is partitioned in the vehicle longitudinal direction by a radiator shroud panel 7 whose plate surface is orthogonal to the vehicle longitudinal direction. The shroud panel 7 is joined to the shroud upper 2, the apron reinforcement 4, and the support column 6 at its peripheral edge.
Further, the rear flange portion 5a of the fender bracket 5 is joined to the radiator shroud panel 7, and the front lower end portion of the fender bracket 5 is
It is connected to the front end of the side frame 3 via a reinforcing bracket 8.

On the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the pair of left and right struts 6,
As shown in FIG. 4, each is provided with a radiator support bracket 9 whose plate surface is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction. This radiator support bracket 9 is
Its upper end is the shroud topper 2, its lower end is the side frame 3, and its middle part in the vertical direction is the support 6.
The shroud upper 2 is connected to the rear flange 9a formed at the rear end.
A radiator 10 is mounted and supported behind the radiator.

In front of the shroud upper 2, a fascia set plate 11 extending in the vehicle width direction and a pair of left and right air guide side panels 12 are disposed. The air guide side panel 12 has its lower end joined to the side frame 3, and its flange 12a is joined to the front flange 9b of the radiator support bracket 9. Then, both ends of the face set plate 11 are
Joined to the left and right pair of wind guide side panels 12,
Supported. In addition, a cross member 13 is installed between the lower ends of the left and right pair of air guide side panels 12 to reinforce the left and right pair of side frames 3 and the air guide side panels 12 so that the rigidity in the vehicle width direction is strengthened. has been done. This cross member 13 and the face set plate 11
Intermediate portions of the face set plate 11 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by a front stay 14, thereby reinforcing the intermediate portion of the face set plate 11 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the intermediate portions of the cross member 13 and the shroud upper 2 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by a rear stay 15, thereby reinforcing the intermediate portion of the shroud upper 2 in the vehicle width direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a locking device 17 (omitted in FIG. 3) for locking the bonnet 16 is installed at the connecting portion between the upper end of the stay 15 and the shroud upper 2. There is. Of course, this locking device 17 is attached to the bonnet 16 as in the conventional case.
By operating the main lock release knob (not shown) in the vehicle interior, the main lock is released and the bonnet 16 opens slightly, causing the bonnet 16 to open slightly. By inserting the sublock and operating the sub-lock release lever 17a of the lock device 17, the lock by the lock device 17 is completely released.

Between the cross member 13 and the shroud upper 2, a central wind guide panel 19 having a downwardly convex arc shape is installed. In the embodiment, the front end of the central wind guide panel 19 constitutes (also serves as) the bottom wall portion of the cross member 13, and as a result, the cross member 13 has a closed cross-section structure and its rigidity is increased. It's made stronger. Of course, the vertical position of the front end of the central wind guide panel 19 is set at approximately the same height as the upper opening edge of the running wind inlet 1c of the soft fascia 1, so that The introduced running wind passes between the pair of left and right wind guide side panels 12 and below the central wind guide panel 19, and is guided to the radiator 10. Further, in the embodiment, the side end portions of the central air guide panel 19 are joined to the air guide side panels 12 to further improve the strength.

Note that 20 in FIG. 1 is a retractable headlamp, and a second middle 21 is a cross member in the form of a circular tube installed between a pair of left and right side frames 3 below the shulid upper 2. Further, although not shown in the drawings, a buffer body that substantially constitutes a bumper is provided to be located immediately behind the bumper portion 1a of the soft fascia 1, and the buffer body is held by the side frame 3. .

As shown in FIG. 5, the apron reinforcement 4 is configured to have a closed cross-sectional shape.
The apron reinforcement 4 extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.Here, the apron reinforcement 4 is composed of an apron reinforcement component 4b and an apron reinforcement 4c, and the apron reinforcement components 4b and 4c are formed by a flange. 4d and 4d, and the apron reinforcement components 4b and 4c are respectively joined to the inner panel 4e, 4f represents a joint flange of the apron reinforcement component, and 4g represents a joint flange of the inner panel 4e. ing. Here, only the apron reinforcement component 4c has a forward extending arm portion 4a extending forward from the radiator shroud panel 7, and the fender bracket 5 shown in FIG. The upper end portion 5c of the fender bracket 5 is joined to the front extending arm portion 4a, and the upper portion of the fender bracket 5 is joined to the front extending arm portion 4a of the apron reinforcement 4, and the rear portion thereof is connected to the radiator shroud. It is connected to panel 7. As a result, the forward extending arm portion 4
The deflection of a, especially in the vertical direction, is restricted. moreover,
The lower front end of the fender bracket 5 is connected to the side frame 3 via a reinforcing bracket 8, so that deflection of the fender bracket 5, particularly in the vehicle width direction, is restricted.

The installation of the soft fascia 1 described above is performed in the second
As shown in the figure, its upper end connects the retainer 22 buried here to the face set plate 11.
It is fixed with screws 23 while being seated on top. In addition, the left and right ends 1e of the soft fascia 1
are fixed to the front flange portions 5b of the pair of left and right fender brackets 5 using screws (screw holes for this are shown as 24 in FIG. 2). The front end of the forward extending arm 4a of the apron reinforcement 4 is joined to the front flange 5b, thereby reinforcing the front flange 5b.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and includes, for example, the following cases.

Although the locking device 17 has been described as being provided at the connecting portion between the sillide upper 2 and the rear stay 15, the locking device 17 is installed at the middle portion of the face set plate 11 in the vehicle width direction (between the face set plate 11 and the front stay). 14), and in this case, the rear stay 15 can be omitted.

The upper front end of the fender bracket 5 is connected to the upper front end of the assembly of the wind guide side panel 12 and the fascia set plate 11 via the reinforcing bracket 25, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. In this case, the reinforcing bracket 25 may be integrally molded with the face set plate 11. By doing this, not only the rigidity of the fender bracket 5 is improved, but also the retractable headlamp 20 is prevented from being damaged by the soft fascia 1 that tends to protrude and deform rearward in the event of a collision or the like. This can be prevented as much as possible.

The front stay 14 and the rear stay 15 may be integrally molded as shown by reference numeral 26 in FIG.

Facia set plate 11, wind guide side panel 12, cross member 13, and front and rear stays 1
4, 15 and the central air guide panel 19 are made into one set in advance, and this assembled set is later integrated into the shulide upper 2 side, the precision of these assemblies can be improved. can.

(Effects of the invention) The present invention extends the front end of the apron reinforcement, which has a closed cross-section shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, toward the front of the radiator shroud member, and connects the front end of the apron reinforcement to a pair of left and right fender brackets. The two sides of the soft fascia are supported by the pair of left and right fender brackets, and the upper end of the soft fascia is supported by a fascia set plate disposed in front of the radiator shroud member. As a result, the soft fascia can be securely fixed to the vehicle body without significantly changing the structure of the vehicle.

Furthermore, since the front arm of the apron reinforcement extends further forward than the radiator shroud member, it tends to bend in the vertical direction under the weight of the soft fascia.
By effectively utilizing the fender bracket for attaching the soft fascia, that is, by also using the fender bracket as a reinforcing material for the front extending arm, vertical deflection of the front extending arm can be reduced. Thus, both ends of the soft fascia can be firmly supported in place.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an automobile to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line shown in FIG. 1. Third
The figure is a front perspective view showing the framework of the automobile with the soft fascia removed. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the -V line in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of the fender bracket according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a modification of the stay. A...Automobile, 1...Soft fascia, 1d
...Top end, 1e...Side end, 2...Shroud top, 3...Side frame, 4...Apron reinforcement, 4a...Front extending arm,
4b...Apron reinforcement component, 4c...Apron reinforcement component, 5...Fender bracket, 7...Radiator sill panel, 10...Radiator, 11
...Facial set plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A soft fascia mounting structure consisting of a soft skin member covering the front of a vehicle body, in which the front end portion of an apron reinforcement with a closed cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is attached to a radiator shroud. A fascia set plate, to which an upper end portion of the soft fascia is attached, and a fender bracket, to which both end portions of the soft fascia are attached, extend forward of the radiator shroud member, respectively. an upper portion of the fender bracket is coupled to a forward extension of the apron reinforcement, and a rear portion of the fender bracket is coupled to the radiator shroud member. Front body structure of a car.