JP7149167B2 - vehicle engine undercover - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an engine undercover that covers the lower part of the engine room of a vehicle.

Generally, in a vehicle such as an automobile, an engine undercover is attached to the lower side of the engine room. The engine undercover prevents dirt, pebbles, etc. from entering the engine room while the vehicle is running, rectifies the airflow during running, and prevents engine noise from leaking out of the vehicle. The engine undercover has an opening and a lid that opens and closes the opening to enable inspection of the engine room after assembly to the vehicle body and various operations such as normal maintenance. there is something

The engine undercover disclosed in Patent Document 1 below includes a cover body having an opening formed therein, and a lid part whose one side edge is integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge part at one side edge of the opening. , is equipped with The lid portion is locked to the cover body by the lock means at a position that closes the opening. The locking means is composed of a bolt and a nut that fasten the other side edge of the opening and the tip edge (other side edge) of the lid portion overlapping the opening.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 59-76483

The engine undercover of Patent Document 1 is made of a synthetic resin material and manufactured by injection molding or the like. A molding die used for manufacturing is constructed with the lid part opened so that the tip edge of the lid part and the other side edge of the opening do not overlap each other. Therefore, the molded engine undercover is in a state in which the lid portion is opened in a natural state.

When the engine undercover is assembled to the vehicle body at the shipping destination, it is placed on a rack and transported. A plurality of slits are formed in the rack, and the engine undercovers are vertically arranged in each slit. At this time, since the lid protrudes toward the adjacent opening of the engine undercover, the lid sometimes gets caught in the adjacent opening. Therefore, when the engine undercover is taken out from the rack, the engine undercover may be damaged.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems,
a cover body having an opening;
a lid portion whose one side edge is integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge portion at one side edge of the opening;
locking means for locking the lid portion to the cover body at a position where the lid portion closes the opening;
In a vehicle engine undercover with
An elastic claw is formed on the other side edge of the lid portion, and the elastic claw has an elastic piece projecting in a direction intersecting the lid portion and a claw portion formed at the tip of the elastic piece, By hooking the claw on the other side edge of the opening, the lid is temporarily fixed while the inclination angle of the lid with respect to the cover body is limited to an angle corresponding to the dimension of the elastic piece. characterized by being

According to the above configuration, after the engine undercover is molded, the lid is temporarily fixed with the elastic claws, so that the amount of projection of the lid with respect to the cover main body is limited to a small amount. As a result, when the engine undercover is transported, the lid portion does not get caught on other parts or the like. When inspecting the inside of the engine undercover through the opening after the engine undercover is assembled to the vehicle body, the lid can be easily opened because the lid protrudes from the engine undercover. After the work, the lid is closed and locked to the cover body by the lock means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an engine undercover that prevents breakage during transportation and improves workability such as subsequent inspection work.

1 is a plan view of a vehicle engine undercover according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above the vehicle, showing a state in which a lid is opened; FIG. (A) is an enlarged plan view of a main portion of FIG. 1; (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB of FIG. 2(A). (A) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the IIB-IIB arrow line of FIG. 2(A), showing a state in which the elastic claw is in contact with the cover main body; (B) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the IIB-IIB arrow line in FIG. 2, showing a state in which the lid portion is temporarily fixed. (C) A cross-sectional view corresponding to the line IIIC-IIIC of FIG. 2, showing a state in which the lid is locked. (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a molding die for molding the engine undercover, corresponding to a portion along line IIB-IIB in FIG. indicate. (B) is a cross-sectional view showing the same molding die, corresponding to a portion along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2, showing a state in which the mold is opened after molding. It is the figure which expanded the circular part V of FIG. 4(A).

Hereinafter, a vehicle engine undercover that constitutes an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For easy understanding, FIGS. 1 and 2A show the front and rear of the vehicle and left and right in the vehicle width direction, and FIG. 2B shows the front and rear of the vehicle.

An engine undercover 1 shown in FIG. 1 that covers an engine room (not shown) is attached to the lower side of the body of the vehicle. The engine undercover 1 is made of a hard synthetic resin plate and is molded by injection molding or other molding methods. A substantially rectangular inspection opening 11 (opening) is formed in the cover body 10 of the engine undercover 1 . The inspection port 11 is used to inspect for oil leaks in the engine room, broken wires, etc. in the final process after the engine undercover 1 is assembled to the vehicle body in the manufacturing process of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a lid portion 20 for closing the inspection opening 11 is provided on the front side edge 11 a of the inspection opening 11 . The cover portion 20 is formed in a flat plate shape, and its base end edge 20a (front side edge) is connected to the front side edge 11a of the inspection port 11 via a thin hinge portion 30, and is integrated with the cover main body 10. It's becoming The width of the lid portion 20 in the horizontal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2A) is slightly smaller than the width of the inspection opening 11 in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 2B, in the natural state, the lid portion 20 is inclined downward toward the rear from the hinge portion 30. With the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, the tip edge 20b (rear edge) of the lid portion 20 is inclined. side edge) is rotatable up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2(A), around the inspection opening 11, there are two standing walls 12 protruding upward from the cover body 10 on the right and left sides (upper and lower sides in FIG. 2(A)). and constitutes the side edge of the inspection opening 11 . These vertical wall portions 12, 12 extend from the left and right ends of the front side edge 11a of the inspection opening 11 to the center of the rear side edge 11b through the left and right sides of the inspection opening 11, respectively, and surround the inspection opening 11. there is Each standing wall portion 12 is inclined toward the inside of the inspection opening 11 as it goes upward. A canopy portion 13 that horizontally protrudes toward the inside of the inspection opening 11 is provided from the top portion of each standing wall portion 12 . The ends of the right standing wall portion 12 and the eaves portion 13 and the ends of the left standing wall portion 12 and the eaves portion 13 are hung from below at the center portion in the left-right direction of the side edge 11b on the rear side of the inspection opening 11. A suspension part 14 is provided so as to span. The suspension portion 14 has a U-shaped longitudinal section, and the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14 extends horizontally forward from the cover body 10 forming the rear side edge 11b of the inspection opening 11 .

Locking means for locking the lid portion 20 in the closed state will be described.
The engine undercover 1 is provided with locking means for locking the lid portion 20 to the cover main body 10 at a position where the lid portion 20 closes the inspection opening 11 as shown in FIG. 3(C). Locking means are formed on the cover main body 10 side and the lid portion 20 side, respectively.

As locking means on the cover body 10 side, as shown in FIG. ) is provided and penetrates each standing wall portion 12 . Each engagement hole 15 has a shape elongated in the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2A).

As locking means on the side of the lid portion 20, a front edge 20b of the lid portion 20 is provided with rectangles in plan view at positions spaced apart in the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2A) corresponding to the engagement holes 15, 15. Two shaped engaging claws 21, 21 (second engaging portions) are provided. As shown in FIG. 2B, the tip of each engaging claw 21 is formed as an inclined surface 22 that inclines downward as it advances rearward. As shown in FIG. 2A, a reinforcing rib 23 is provided on the upper surface of the lid portion 20 in front of each engaging claw 21 and extends to near the base end edge 20a of the lid portion 20. As shown in FIG.

The locking operation of the lid portion 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(B) and 3(C).
When the lid portion 20 in the open state shown in FIG. 3B is rotated upward with the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, the inclined surface 22 of the engaging claw 21 moves toward the vertical wall portion 12 shown in FIG. 3C. The lid part 20 closes the inspection opening 11 while sliding on the inner lower part. At this time, the lid portion 20 is locked to the cover main body 10 by engaging the engaging claws 21 constituting the locking means with the engaging holes 15 .

Next, temporary holding means for holding the lid portion 20 in the open state will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the engine undercover 1 has temporary holding means for temporarily fixing the lid portion 20 to the cover body 10 in a state where the lid portion 20 is opened by a certain amount of protrusion from the cover body 10. is provided. Temporary holding means are provided on the cover main body 10 side and the lid portion 20 side, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, an elastic claw 40 that protrudes upward is provided on the tip edge 20b of the lid portion 20 as a temporary holding means on the lid portion 20 side. The elastic claw 40 is arranged at a position corresponding to the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14, at an intermediate position in the horizontal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2A) between the two engaging claws 21 on the lid portion 20. It is The elastic claw 40 has an elastic piece 41 extending in a direction intersecting the lid portion 20 and a claw portion 42 formed at the tip of the elastic piece 41 .

As shown in FIG. 2B, the claw portion 42 bulges away from the hinge portion 30 . The claw portion 42 has, at its top, a first chamfered portion 42a gently sloping downward as it proceeds rearward, a second chamfered portion 42b connected to the first chamfered portion 42a and having a steeper slope than the first chamfered portion 42a, A hooking portion 42c is formed below the second chamfered portion 42b and slopes upward as it goes rearward.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the width of the elastic claw 40 in the horizontal direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2A) is about the same as the width of the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14 or narrower. As will be described later, when the lid portion 20 is temporarily held in the open state, the elastic claws 40 are hooked on the bottom portion 14a, and the bottom portion 14a is provided as temporary holding means for the cover main body 10 side.
A reinforcing rib 43 is provided at the base end portion of the elastic piece 41 , and is integrally connected to the front surface of the elastic piece 41 and the upper surface of the lid portion 20 .

Temporary holding of the lid portion 20 will be described.
When the lid portion 20 in the open state shown in FIG. 2 is rotated upward with the hinge portion 30 as a fulcrum, a first chamfer is formed on the edge of the bottom portion 14a of the suspension portion 14 as shown in FIG. The portion 42a abuts. When the lid portion 20 is further rotated, the elastic claw 40 is elastically deformed to fall forward as the second chamfered portion 42b slides against the edge of the bottom portion 14a. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the edge of the bottom portion 14a passes over the second chamfered portion 42b and reaches the hooking portion 42c, the elastic claw 40 is elastically restored, and the hooking portion 41c is hooked on the edge of the bottom portion 14a. The lid portion 20 is temporarily fixed to the bottom portion 14a in a slightly opened state. In this state in which the lid portion 20 is temporarily held by the cover body 10 , the inclination angle of the lid portion 20 with respect to the cover body 10 is limited to an angle corresponding to the dimensions of the elastic pieces 41 . In this embodiment, the lid portion 20 is inclined with respect to the cover main body 10 with a gap that is large enough for a person's finger to hang on the tip of the lid portion 20 . The lid portion 20 in the temporarily held state is subjected to an elastic force by the hinge portion 30 in the opening direction.

A manufacturing apparatus for the engine undercover 1 having the above configuration will be described.
When manufacturing the engine undercover 1 integrally including the cover body 10 and the lid portion 20 by injection molding, a molding die 50 composed of an upper mold 51 and a lower mold 52 shown in FIG. 4 is used. The molding space 50a of the molding die 50 filled with the resin material is formed in the lid portion 20 so that the engine undercover 1 can be integrally manufactured only by vertically moving the upper die 51 and the lower die 52 without using a slide die. The front edge 20b and the cover main body 10 on the rear side edge 11b side of the inspection opening 11 are configured so as not to overlap each other. Specifically, in the molding die 50, the molding space 50a is formed in a state where the lid portion 20 is opened downward at an angle of about 45 degrees, and the tip edge 20b of the lid portion 20 and the inspection opening 11 are formed. A separation distance L is set between the side edge 11b on the rear side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4(B), in order to allow the molded engine undercover 1 to escape from the lower mold 52 when opening the molding die 50, the lower mold 52 as shown in FIG. The inclination angle θ ₁ of the second chamfered portion 42b in , and the angle θ ₂ formed by the sliding surfaces 50b of the upper mold 51 and the lower mold 52 during mold movement of the molding die 50 are set equal. That is, the second chamfered portion 42b and the sliding surface 50b are parallel. As a result, when the molds are opened by moving the upper mold 51 and the lower mold 52 up and down, the second chamfered portion 42b slides along the corresponding shape of the lower mold 52 and can be removed from the lower mold 52 .
As described above, the engine undercover 1 configured as described above can be manufactured easily and inexpensively using the simplified molding die 50 that does not use a slide die.

The engine undercover 1 manufactured in this manner is transported by a rack (not shown) having a plurality of slits in order to be assembled to the vehicle body in the manufacturing process of the vehicle. The engine undercovers 1 are arranged vertically on the rack with their front ends facing down. At this time, by temporarily holding the lid portion 20 on the cover main body 10, the amount of protrusion of the lid portion 20 with respect to the cover main body 10 can be limited to a small amount. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lid portion 20 from being caught on the adjacent engine undercover. As a result, the engine undercover 1 can be prevented from being damaged when it is removed from the rack.

In the final step of the vehicle manufacturing process after the engine undercover 1 is assembled to the vehicle body, the lid 20 is opened and the inspection opening 11 is inspected for oil leaks in the engine room, broken wiring, and the like. At this time, the lid portion 20 temporarily held by the cover main body 10 protrudes slightly from the cover main body 10, so that the tip of the lid portion 20 can be easily opened by putting a finger on it. After the inspection, the lid portion 20 is locked to the cover main body 10 by the lock means by closing the lid portion 20 . Therefore, according to the engine undercover 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to improve the workability of the inspection work.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.
The present invention can be applied to vehicles with any arrangement such as the front of the vehicle, the rear of the vehicle, the rear of the front axle of the vehicle, the front of the rear axle of the vehicle, or the like.
In the above embodiment, an inspection opening for inspection at the time of manufacturing a vehicle is taken as an example of an opening.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to an engine undercover that covers the lower part of the engine room of a vehicle.

1 engine under cover 10 cover body 11 inspection port (opening)
11a Front side edge of inspection opening 11b Rear side edge of inspection opening 12 Standing wall portion 13 Eaves portion 14 Suspension portion 14a Bottom portion (temporary holding means)
15 engagement hole (first engagement portion; lock means)
20 Lid 20a Base edge of lid (front side edge)
20b Tip edge of lid (rear side edge)
21 engaging claw (second engaging portion; locking means)
22 Inclined surface 23 Reinforcement rib 30 Hinge portion 40 Elastic claw (temporary holding means)
41 elastic piece 42 claw portion 42a first chamfered portion 42b second chamfered portion 42c hooking portion 50 molding die 50a molding space 50b sliding surface 51 upper mold 52 lower mold

Claims (1)

a cover body having an opening;
a lid portion whose one side edge is integrally connected to the cover body via a thin hinge portion at one side edge of the opening;
locking means for locking the lid portion to the cover body at a position where the lid portion closes the opening;
temporary holding means for temporarily fixing the lid portion to the cover body in a state in which the lid portion is opened by a certain amount of protrusion from the cover body;
In a vehicle engine undercover that is a resin integrally molded product with
In a natural state, the lid portion is inclined outwardly with respect to the cover body and is in a position where the opening portion is opened,
The temporary holding means includes the other side edge of the opening of the cover body and an elastic claw formed on the other side edge of the lid, and the elastic claw protrudes in a direction crossing the lid. and a claw portion formed at the tip of the elastic piece,
By hooking the claw on the other side edge of the opening, the lid is temporarily fixed in a state in which the inclination angle of the lid with respect to the cover body is limited to an angle corresponding to the dimension of the elastic piece. The cover body is tilted smaller than the natural state and receives the elastic force in the opening direction of the thin hinge part, and the other side edge of the lid part is formed with a gap between the cover body and the cover body. An engine under cover for a vehicle, characterized in that it protrudes to the outside of a cover body .

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