JP2006062520A - Cowl box structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide cowl box structure of an automobile which securely prevents a front wall part from falling to the front in normal times, and allows a hood to move toward a lower position by the falling of the front wall part to the front when an excessive load from above is imposed on the hood. <P>SOLUTION: Since a connecting member 9 has rigidity necessary for maintaining a shape of the cowl box 3 in normal times, the rigidity of the cowl box 3 in normal times is secured. Even when there is an accumulation of a foreign substance within the cowl box 3, the front wall part 4 does not fall down, thus the sealing condition between the front wall part 4 and the hood 1 is maintained. Furthermore, when the excessive load is imposed on the front wall part 4 from above by the hood 1, the connecting member 9 is expanded and deformed. Thus, the hood 1 can move toward a lower position tilting the front wall part 4, and impact energy can be securely absorbed. Furthermore, since the connecting member 9 is bellow-shaped, stable reaction force can be generated in the expansion/deformation process of the connecting member 9, thus the impact energy can be sufficiently absorbed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowl box structure of an automobile.

  A cowl box having a cross-sectional shape with an open top is formed along the vehicle width direction in front of the front window panel. The cowl box has a function of ensuring the rigidity of the vehicle body and discharging rainwater to the outside of the passenger compartment to introduce only outside air into the passenger compartment. The cowl box is composed of at least a front wall part, a bottom wall part, and a rear wall part, and the upper end of the front wall part is provided with a seal part so that hot air and odor of the engine room do not enter the vehicle compartment through the cowl box. Via the bottom surface of the hood.

Further, the front wall portion and the rear wall portion of the cowl box are coupled by a plurality of rib-shaped coupling members. The rib-shaped connecting member is formed to prevent the front wall portion from falling forward. That is, if foreign matter (dead leaves, snow, etc.) accumulates in the cowl box and is pushed further forward by the wiper arm, the front wall may fall forward, creating a gap between the top seal and the hood. There is. When the gap is generated, there is a risk that hot air or odor in the engine room may enter the vehicle compartment from there (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3478099

  However, in such a conventional technique, since the front wall portion and the rear wall portion of the cowl box are connected by the rib-like connecting member, the rigidity of the front wall portion is improved, and the front wall portion is moved forward. Although falling is prevented, if the rigidity of the front wall is too high, the hood will move the front wall to the front due to an excessive downward load caused by a pedestrian who has jumped off falling on the hood. It is impossible to move downward while defeating, and it is impossible to sufficiently absorb impact energy.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional technique, and when the hood receives an excessive load from the upper side while reliably preventing the front wall portion from falling forward during normal times. Provides a cowl box structure for an automobile in which the front wall portion falls forward and allows the hood to move downward.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a cowl box including at least a front wall portion, a bottom wall portion, and a rear wall portion is formed along the vehicle width direction at a front position of the front window panel. A cowl box structure for an automobile in which a plurality of connecting members for connecting the wall portion and the rear wall portion in the front-rear direction are formed along the vehicle width direction, and the upper end of the front wall portion is in contact with the lower surface of the hood via the seal portion The connecting member is characterized in that it has a rigidity necessary for shape retention of the cowl box in a normal state and has a shape that can be extended and deformed by an excessive load due to an impact.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the connecting member has a bellows shape.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the connecting member is also coupled to the bottom wall portion of the cowl box.

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the connecting member and the cowl box are resin-integrated molded products.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member has the rigidity necessary for shape retention of the cowl box at the normal time, the rigidity of the cowl box at the normal time is secured, and the foreign matter (dead leaves) is contained in the cowl box. Even if snow accumulates, the front wall portion does not fall forward, and the seal state between the front wall portion and the hood is maintained. In addition, when an excessive load is applied to the front wall due to a downward impact applied to the hood from the upper side, the connecting member deforms in the extension direction, so the hood moves downward while tilting the front wall toward the front side. Thus, the impact energy can be absorbed reliably.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member has a bellows shape, a stable reaction force can be generated in the process of expansion and deformation of the connecting member, and impact energy can be sufficiently absorbed.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the connecting member is also coupled to the bottom wall portion of the cowl box, the overall rigidity of the cowl box can be improved.

  According to invention of Claim 4, since a connection member and a cowl box are resin integral molding products, formation of a connection member is easy and weight reduction can be achieved.

  An automobile cowl box that reliably prevents the front wall from collapsing to the front side during normal times, and allows the hood to move down when the hood receives an overload from the upper side. For the purpose of providing a structure, a cowl box including at least a front wall portion, a bottom wall portion, and a rear wall portion is formed along the vehicle width direction at a front position of the front window panel, and is disposed in the front of the cowl box. A cowl box structure for an automobile in which a plurality of connecting members for connecting the wall portion and the rear wall portion in the front-rear direction are formed along the vehicle width direction, and the upper end of the front wall portion is in contact with the lower surface of the hood via the seal portion The connecting member has a rigidity necessary for shape retention of the cowl box in a normal state, and is realized by a shape that can be extended and deformed by an excessive load due to an impact. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1-5 is a figure which shows one Example of this invention. A front-opening type hood 1 is disposed above the engine room E. A cowl box 3 having a cross-sectional shape with an open top is formed in front of the front window panel 2 along the vehicle width direction. The cowl box 3 is made of synthetic resin, and basically includes a front wall portion 4 slightly inclined forward, a bottom wall portion 5 coupled to the upper end of the dash lower D, a rear wall portion 6, and a wiper (not shown). And an upper surface portion 7 to be supported.

  A seal portion 8 is attached to the upper end of the front wall portion 4, and the seal portion 8 is in contact with the lower surface of the hood 1. Therefore, the cowl box 3 and the engine room E are shielded by the front wall part 4 and the seal part 8, and the hot air and odor in the engine room E are prevented from entering the cowl box 3.

  A plurality of connecting members 9 are formed in the cowl box 3 in the vehicle width direction. The connecting member 9 has a bellows shape of a curved waveform that can be extended in the front-rear direction, the front and rear are formed integrally with the front wall portion 4 and the rear wall portion 6, and the lower end is formed integrally with the bottom wall portion 5. That is, the connecting member 9 is integrally formed when the cowl box 3 is injection molded. Since the resin is integrally formed, the connection member 9 can be easily formed, and the weight of the cowl box 3 as a whole can be reduced.

  Although the connecting member 9 has a bellows shape, the connecting member 9 has rigidity necessary for shape retention of the cowl box 3 in a normal state. Therefore, foreign matters such as snow accumulate in the cowl box 3, and a wiper arm (not shown) Even if a forward normal load F1 (see FIG. 2) is applied to the front wall portion 4 even if the front wall panel 4 is pushed to the front side indirectly (the snow in the front window panel 2 is sent forward in order), the front wall Part 4 does not fall forward. Therefore, the position of the seal portion 8 at the upper end of the front wall portion 4 does not change, the sealing state between the seal portion 8 and the hood 1 is maintained, and no gap is generated between the seal portion 8 and the hood 1. Further, since the connecting member 9 is also coupled to the bottom wall portion 5, the overall rigidity of the cowl box 3 can be improved, and the torsional rigidity and the like of the cowl box 3 can be increased.

  When a downward excessive load F2 (see FIG. 3) is applied to the hood 1 by a pedestrian who has fallen on the hood 1 by jumping off the pedestrian or the like, the front wall 4 is inclined forward. The downward excessive load F2 acts as a forward excessive load F3 on the front wall portion 4. At this time, the bellows-like connecting member 9 can be extended and deformed in the front-rear direction by a forward excessive load F3, and therefore allows the front wall portion 4 to fall forward and the hood 1 to move downward. Therefore, it is possible to reliably absorb the impact energy caused by the downward excessive load F2 and reduce the damage to the pedestrian as much as possible.

  Moreover, since the bellows-shaped connecting member 9 is tenaciously stretched and deformed without breaking in the middle when the front wall portion 4 falls forward, a stable reaction force is generated in the extending process of the connecting member 9. And can sufficiently absorb impact energy.

  In the above embodiment, the connecting member 9 having a bellows shape having a curved wave shape is taken as an example, but a connecting member 10 having a bellows shape having a linear zigzag shape as shown in FIG. 6 may be adopted.

  The shape of the connecting member may not be a bellows shape as long as it is a shape that extends in the front-rear direction while generating a predetermined reaction force. Further, the upper portion of the cowl box 3 may be covered with a cover having an air inlet. Further, the cowl box 3 and the connecting members 9 and 10 may be made of metal or may be a structure assembled from a plurality of parts.

The perspective view which shows the cowl box structure which concerns on one Example of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cowl box structure of the normal time of FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the cowl box structure at the time of the impact of FIG. The cross-sectional view which shows the connection member of the normal time in FIG. The cross-sectional view which shows the state which the connection member of FIG. 4 extended | stretched. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the connecting member in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hood 2 Front window panel 3 Cowl box 4 Front wall part 5 Bottom wall part 6 Rear wall part 7 Upper surface part 8 Seal part 9, 10 Connecting member D Dash lower E Engine room F1 Forward normal load F2 Downward excessive load F3 Forward Overload

Claims (4)

A cowl box including at least a front wall portion, a bottom wall portion, and a rear wall portion is formed along the vehicle width direction at a front position of the front window panel, and the front wall portion and the rear wall portion are disposed in the front and rear sides of the cowl box. A vehicle cowl box structure in which a plurality of connecting members connected in the direction are formed along the vehicle width direction, and the upper end of the front wall portion is in contact with the lower surface of the hood via the seal portion,
The automobile cowl box structure is characterized in that the connecting member has a rigidity necessary for shape retention of the cowl box in a normal state and has a shape that can be extended and deformed by an excessive load caused by an impact. A cowl box structure for an automobile according to claim 1,
The connecting member has a bellows shape. A cowl box structure for an automobile according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The cowl box structure for an automobile, wherein the connecting member is also coupled to a bottom wall portion of the cowl box. It is a cowl box structure of a car given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-3,
A cowl box structure for an automobile, wherein the connecting member and the cowl box are a resin integrated molded product.

Images