JP2022038196A - Fender support structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a fender support structure for a vehicle, that can achieve both support and load absorption of a fender panel according to a simple constitution.SOLUTION: A support structure 100 includes: a base bracket 118 projecting from a dash side panel 116; and a fender upper bracket 112 joined to the base bracket 118. The fender upper bracket 112 has: a top surface part 130 to which a fender panel 104 is fixed; a pair of leg parts 132, 134 which are bent downward from both front and rear ends of the top surface part 130, and joined to an upper part of the base bracket 118. The leg parts 132, 134 include: standing wall parts 136, 138 extending downward from the top surface part 130; leg flanges 140, 142 that are bent from a lower end of the standing wall parts 136, 138 and that are in surface contact with the base bracket 118; and notches 152, 154 formed on the inside in a vehicle width direction from the standing wall parts 136, 138 to the leg flanges 140, 142.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle fender support structure.

Generally, the tires of a vehicle are surrounded by fender panels to prevent mud splashes from the running tires and other structures from touching the tires. The fender panel is often attached adjacent to the front hood by using a special bracket or the like for the vehicle body. For example, in the front vehicle body structure of Patent Document 1, the bracket 20 is installed on the apron frame 11 and the fender panel 3 is attached.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-24466

The bracket 20 of Patent Document 1 supports the fender panel and absorbs the load when it comes into contact with a pedestrian or the like by devising the arrangement of the legs 22, 23, 24 and the like. However, since the bracket 20 has a relatively complicated shape, there is room for simplification of the configuration.

In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle fender support structure capable of achieving both support for a fender panel and load absorption with a simple configuration.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the vehicle fender support structure according to the present invention is a dash beside the vehicle dash panel in the vehicle fender support structure that supports the fender panel adjacent to the front hood of the vehicle. It has a base bracket that protrudes from the side panel to the bottom of the front hood in front of the vehicle, and a fender upper bracket that is joined to the top of the base bracket to support the fender panel. It has a pair of legs that bend downward from both front and rear ends of the top surface and are joined to the upper part of the base bracket, and each of the pair of legs has a standing wall portion that extends downward from the top surface portion and a standing wall. It is characterized by having a leg flange that bends from the lower end of the portion and comes into surface contact with the base bracket, and a notch formed inward in the vehicle width direction from the standing wall portion to the leg flange.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle fender support structure capable of achieving both support for a fender panel and load absorption with a simple configuration.

It is a figure which showed the outline of the fender support structure for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the vicinity of the fender upper bracket of FIG. 1 (b). It is a perspective view which showed the fender upper bracket of FIG. 2 (b) from each direction. It is the figure which showed the fender upper bracket of FIG. 2 (b) from the side. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line BB of the support structure of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2A is a view of the fender upper bracket of FIG. 2A viewed from above.

The vehicle fender support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle fender support structure that supports a fender panel adjacent to a vehicle front hood, from a dash side panel on the side of the vehicle dash panel to a front hood on the front of the vehicle. It has a base bracket that protrudes to the bottom of the base bracket and a fender upper bracket that is joined to the upper part of the base bracket to support the fender panel. It has a pair of legs that bend downward and are joined to the top of the base bracket, and each of the pair of legs has a vertical wall that extends downward from the top surface and a base that bends from the lower end of the vertical wall. It is characterized by having a leg flange that comes into surface contact with the bracket and a notch formed inside in the vehicle width direction from the standing wall portion to the leg flange.

According to the above configuration, the load when the contact object touches the fender panel is applied to the top surface portion of the fender upper bracket. Then, the fender upper bracket buckles from the notch of the leg as a starting point, and the fender upper bracket is deformed in such a manner that the standing wall portion of the leg falls forward or backward. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to absorb the load applied to the fender panel due to the deformation of the fender upper bracket and suppress the load applied to the contact object while simplifying the configuration as much as possible.

Of the above pair of legs, the height of the standing wall of the rear leg is higher than that of the front leg, and the top surface is inclined upward toward the rear of the vehicle even if it extends. good.

The above-mentioned top surface portion is in a forward leaning posture and moves so as to fall backward when a load is applied from above. As described above, according to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the load absorption performance of the fender upper bracket by regulating the deformation behavior of the top surface portion.

The top surface portion has an extension region extending outward in the vehicle width direction from the base bracket when viewed from above, and a fixing portion for fixing the fender panel may be provided in the extension region.

According to the above configuration, when the fender upper bracket is deformed so as to fall down, it is possible to avoid contact of the fixed portion with the base bracket. This prevents the fasteners from interfering with the base bracket when, for example, a fastener such as a bolt is used for the fixing portion, and secures a longer moving distance until the top surface portion contacts the base bracket, thereby ensuring load absorption performance. Can be improved.

The fender upper bracket described above further has a side flange that bends downward along the side edge of the top surface and is continuously formed up to the side edge of each of the standing walls of the pair of legs. It is preferable that the dimension of the inner angle portion between the top surface portion and the standing wall portion is smaller than the other regions of the side flange.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to induce deformation in the corner between the top surface portion and the standing wall portion by reducing the side flange of the internal angle while ensuring the rigidity of the top surface portion and the standing wall portion by the side flange. can. That is, even with the above configuration, it is possible to regulate the deformation behavior when the fender upper bracket receives a load.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the examples are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and are not limited to the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a vehicle fender support structure (hereinafter, support structure 100) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a view of the front left side of the vehicle 102 in which the support structure 100 is installed. Hereinafter, in FIG. 1 and all other drawings of the present application, the front-rear direction of the vehicle is indicated by arrows F (Forward) and B (Backward), and the left and right directions of the vehicle width are indicated by arrows L (Leftward) and R (Rightward), respectively. Are illustrated by arrows U (upward) and D (downward), respectively.

The support structure 100 according to the present embodiment mainly serves to support the fender panel 104 of the vehicle 102. The fender panel 104 is installed so as to be adjacent to the outside of the front hood 106 of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction and to cover the upper side of the front tire 107.

The fender panel 104 forms a parting line (for example, parting line L1) with members such as the surrounding front hood 106 and headlight 108. It is important to accurately form the parting line, which is the boundary between the members, with a uniform width in order to improve the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle 102. Further, the fender panel 104 is also a portion where a contact object such as a pedestrian easily comes into contact with the fender panel 104 in an emergency. In consideration of these, the support structure 100 aims to improve the positioning accuracy of the fender panel 104 and the load absorbing performance at the same time.

FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of a portion A of the fender panel 104 of FIG. 1A. The fender upper bracket 112 included in the support structure 100 is a member that supports the upper part of the fender panel 104. The fender upper bracket 112 is installed along the recessed edge 110 at the top of the fender panel 104. The fender upper bracket 112 supports the vicinity of the edge 110 of the fender panel 104, so that the parting line L1 between the fender panel 104 and the front hood 106 can be formed accurately.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 1 (b). FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the fender upper bracket 112 with the front hood 106 removed. In the fender upper bracket 112, the flange 114 of the edge 110 of the fender panel 104 is fixed by using fasteners such as bolts, and the flange 114 is supported from below.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing members such as the fender upper bracket 112 with the fender panel 104 of FIG. 2A removed. Inside the fender panel 104, a dash side panel 116 is provided as a base member. The dash side panel 116 is a panel-shaped member provided on both sides of the dash panel near the base of the A pillar.

The fender upper bracket 112 is installed on the upper part of the base bracket 118 provided on the dash side panel 116. The base bracket 118 is joined to the outside in the vehicle width direction near the front end of the dash side panel 116 by welding or the like so as to protrude from the dash side panel 116 below the front hood 106 (see FIG. 1A) in front of the vehicle. is set up.

The vicinity of the front end of the base bracket 118 is supported from below by the fender upper bracket extension 122 and the apron side member 120. The apron side member 120 is installed below the base bracket 118 so as to project forward from the dash side panel 116 to the front of the vehicle.

In the fender upper bracket extension 122, the lower end flange 124 is joined to the upper part of the apron side member 120, and the upper end is joined to the inside of the flange 126 outside the vehicle width direction of the base bracket 118. The position of the fender upper bracket extension 122 can be easily adjusted in the front-rear and up-down positions with respect to the apron side member 120 and the base bracket 118 by using the flanges 124 and 126. The fender upper bracket extension 122 facilitates positioning of the fender upper bracket 112 via the base bracket 118, and is useful for improving the accuracy of the parting line L1 (see FIG. 1B).

An arm-shaped hood hinge bracket 128 that supports the front hood 106 (see FIG. 1A) is also provided in the vicinity of the base bracket 118. The hood hinge bracket 128 is provided inside the fender upper bracket 112 in the vehicle width direction, and interference with the fender upper bracket 112 is avoided.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2B from each direction. FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of the fender upper bracket 112 from the same direction as in FIG. 2B. The fender upper bracket 112 is a pedestal-shaped member, and has a top surface portion 130 to which the fender panel 104 is fixed, and a pair of front and rear legs 132 and 134 fixed to the base bracket 118.

The top surface portion 130 is formed so that a plurality of through holes (fixed portions 166a to 166c, fixed portions 168, etc.) are arranged in two rows in the vehicle width direction. The flange 114 of the fender panel 104 (see FIG. 2A) is fixed to the fixing portions 166a to 166c on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the top surface portion 130 by using bolts or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the fender upper bracket 112 is arranged so that the top surface portion 130 is located within the range of the parting line L1 between the fender panel 104 and the front hood 106 when viewed from the vehicle side. To. At this time, the top surface portion 130 is arranged so as to be parallel to the edge portion 110 of the fender panel 104. With these configurations, it is possible to accurately form the parting line L1.

Of the pair of legs 132 and 134 in FIG. 3A, the front leg 132 is bent downward from the front end of the top surface 130, and the rear leg 134 is bent downward from the rear end of the top surface 130. It is joined to the upper part of the base bracket 118 by welding or the like. The legs 132 and 134 are joined to the standing wall portions 136 and 138 that are bent downward from the top surface portion 130 and bent from the lower ends of the standing wall portions 136 and 138 so as to be in surface contact with the base bracket 118. It has 140 and 142.

The fender upper bracket 112 is formed with a side flange 144 formed on the outer side portion in the vehicle width direction and a side flange 146 (see FIG. 4B) formed on the inner side portion in the vehicle width direction. The side flanges 144 and 146 are formed continuously up to the side edges of the standing wall portions 136 and 138 of the pair of leg portions 132 and 134 while bending downward along the side edges of the top surface portion 130.

The fender upper bracket 112 is provided with notches 148 and 150. The cutout portions 148 and 150 are formed by cutting out a predetermined range outside the vehicle width direction from the vertical wall portions 136 and 138 to the leg flanges 140 and 142. By providing the notches 148 and 150, the vertical wall portions 136 and 138 have a smaller dimension in the vehicle width direction than the top surface portion 130. The formation of the notches 148 and 150 helps to reduce the weight of the fender upper bracket 112.

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2B from the inside in the vehicle width direction. Notches 152 and 154 are formed inside the fender upper bracket 112 in the vehicle width direction from the vertical wall portions 136 and 138 to the leg flanges 140 and 142. The cutouts 152 and 154 make it easy to buckle the bent portion between the vertical wall portion 136 and 138 and the leg flanges 140 and 142, and improve the load absorbing performance of the fender upper bracket 112.

By providing the notch portions 152 and 154, when the load from the fender panel 104 is applied to the top surface portion 130, the bent portion between the vertical wall portion 136 and 138 and the leg flanges 140 and 142 is likely to buckle. Due to this buckling, the fender upper bracket 112 moves so that the top surface portion 130 approaches the base bracket 118 to absorb the load from the fender panel 104 (see FIG. 2A), and the fender panel 104 applies the load to the contact object. It becomes possible to reduce the burden.

The side flange 146 is not formed in the range of the cutouts 152 and 154. That is, the rigidity of the top surface portion 130 is increased by the side flanges 146, and the load from the fender panel 104 (see FIG. 2A) is applied to the bending points between the vertical wall portions 136 and 138 and the leg flanges 140 and 142. It's easier to concentrate. Further, by increasing the rigidity of the top surface portion 130, the fender panel 104 can be suitably supported, and the accuracy of the parting line L1 (FIG. 1B) can be fully improved.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2B from the side. FIG. 4A is a view of the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2A viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. The front and rear legs 132 and 134 have different heights. Specifically, the height H2 of the standing wall portion 138 of the rear leg portion 134 is set higher than the height H1 of the standing wall portion 136 of the front leg portion 132 (H2> H1). As a result, the top surface portion 130 is inclined upward and extends toward the rear of the vehicle.

With the above configuration, since the front side of the top surface portion 130 is in a low forward leaning posture, a force toward the rear is generated when a load is applied to the top surface portion 130 from above. As a result, the standing wall portions 136 and 138 buckle so as to fall backward, and the top surface portion 130 also moves backward. In this way, by making the rear wall portion 138 higher than the front side, the deformation behavior of the top surface portion 130 can be regulated in any direction, thereby improving the load absorption performance of the fender upper bracket 112. Will be possible.

As another example, the height of the front wall portion 136 can be set higher than that of the rear wall portion 138. As a result, the top surface portion 130 has a shape that is inclined downward toward the rear of the vehicle. According to this configuration, when a load is applied to the top surface portion 130 from above, a forward force is generated, the standing wall portions 136 and 138 buckle so as to fall forward, and the top surface portion 130 also moves forward. This configuration also makes it possible to improve the load absorption performance of the fender upper bracket 112.

The side flange 144 bends downward from the top surface portion 130 and stands in a wall shape from the top surface portion 130. Here, among the side flanges 144, the dimensions of the inner corner portions 156a and 156b located at the inner corners of the top surface portion 130 and the vertical wall portion 136, that is, the height dimensions of the inner corner portions 156a and 156b as flanges are the side flanges 144. It is smaller than the other areas. According to this configuration, the top surface portion 130 and the standing wall portion 136 are obtained by locally reducing the dimensions of the internal angle portions 156a and 156b while ensuring the rigidity of the top surface portion 130 and the standing wall portion 136 and 138 by the side flange 144. Deformation is induced in the angle between 138 and 138, which makes it possible to regulate the deformation behavior of the fender upper bracket 112 when a load is applied in any direction.

FIG. 4B is a view of the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2A as viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction. Even in the side flange 146 on the inner side in the vehicle width direction, the dimensions of the inner angle portions 158a and 158b located at the inner angle between the top surface portion 130 and the vertical wall portion 136 and 138 are smaller than the other regions of the side flange 146. .. Even with this configuration, it is possible to induce deformation at the corner between the top surface portion 130 and the vertical wall portion 136, 138, thereby regulating the deformation behavior of the fender upper bracket 112 when a load is applied in any direction. become.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of the support structure 100 of FIG. 2A. The fender upper bracket 112 is located below the front hood 106. Therefore, while the vehicle is running, the fender upper bracket 112 absorbs not only the load when the contact object touches the fender panel 104 (FIG. 1 (a)) but also the load when the contact object touches the front hood 106. can do.

When a contact object comes into contact with the front hood 106, the front hood 106 is pushed downward and comes into contact with the top surface portion 130 of the fender upper bracket 112. In this case as well, the fender upper bracket 112 buckles from the notches 152 and 154 of the legs 132 and 134 (see FIG. 3B), and the standing wall portions 136 and 138 of the legs 132 and 134 are rearward. It deforms with the behavior of falling down. Therefore, it is possible to absorb the load applied to the front hood 106 due to the deformation of the fender upper bracket 112 and suppress the load applied to the contact object from the front hood 106.

Through holes 160 and 162 are provided in the upper portion of the base bracket 118 on which the fender upper bracket 112 is installed. These through holes 160 and 162 are formed at positions where the fixing portion 168 of the top surface portion 130 of the fender upper bracket 112 collapses. Thereby, for example, when the fender upper bracket 112 is deformed, the bolt 170 used for the fixing portion 168 can be avoided by passing it through the through hole 160. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the bolt 170 from interfering with the base bracket 118, to secure a longer moving distance when the fender upper bracket 112 is deformed, and to maintain the load absorbing performance of the fender upper bracket 112. It will be possible.

FIG. 6 is a view of the fender upper bracket 112 of FIG. 2A as viewed from above. The fixing portions 166a to 166c of the top surface portion 130 are provided in the extension region 164 of the top surface portion 130. The extension region 164 is a portion extending outward in the vehicle width direction from the base bracket 118 when viewed from above.

According to the above configuration, when the fender upper bracket 112 is deformed so as to fall down, it is possible to avoid contact of the fixing portion 166b with the base bracket 118. This prevents the fasteners from interfering with the base bracket 118, for example, when a fastener such as a bolt is used for the fixing portion 166b, and secures a larger moving distance until the top surface portion 130 contacts the base bracket 118. It is possible to improve the load absorption performance.

As described above, according to the support structure 100, it is urgent to improve the accuracy of the parting line L1 of the fender panel 104 (see FIG. 1B) by using the fender upper bracket 112 having a simple structure. Occasionally, the fender upper bracket 112 is intentionally deformed to absorb the load applied to the fender panel 104 and the front hood 106, so that the load applied to contact objects such as pedestrians can be suppressed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

The present invention can be used for a vehicle fender support structure.

100 ... Support structure, 102 ... Vehicle, 104 ... Fender panel, 106 ... Front hood, 108 ... Headlight, 110 ... Edge, 112 ... Fender upper bracket, 114 ... Flange, 116 ... Dash side panel, 118 ... Base bracket, 120 ... Apron side member, 122 ... Fender upper bracket extension, 124 ... Flange, 126 ... Flange, 128 ... Hood hinge bracket, 130 ... Top surface, 132, 134 ... Legs, 136, 138 ... Standing wall, 140, 142 ... Leg flange, 144, 146 ... Side flange, 148, 150 ... Notch, 152, 154 ... Notch, 156a, 156b ... Internal angle, 158a, 158b ... Internal angle, 160, 162 ... Through hole, 164 ... Extension Area, 166a, 166b, 166c ... Fixed part, 168 ... Fixed part, 170 ... Bolt, L1 ... Parting line

Claims (4)

In the vehicle fender support structure that supports the fender panel adjacent to the front hood of the vehicle
A base bracket protruding from the dash side panel beside the vehicle dash panel to the bottom of the front hood in front of the vehicle,
It is provided with a fender upper bracket that is joined to the top of the base bracket to support the fender panel.
The fender upper bracket is
The top surface to which the fender panel is fixed and
It has a pair of legs that bend downward from both front and rear ends of the top surface and are joined to the upper part of the base bracket.
Each of the pair of legs
The vertical wall extending downward from the top surface and
A leg flange that bends from the lower end of the vertical wall portion and comes into surface contact with the base bracket,
A vehicle fender support structure characterized by having a notch formed inward in the vehicle width direction from the vertical wall portion to the leg flange. The height of the standing wall portion of the rear leg portion of the pair of legs is higher than that of the standing wall portion of the front leg portion.
The vehicle fender support structure according to claim 1, wherein the top surface portion is inclined upward and extends toward the rear of the vehicle. The top surface portion has an extension region extending outward in the vehicle width direction from the base bracket when viewed from above.
The vehicle fender support structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a fixing portion for fixing the fender panel is provided in the extension region. The fender upper bracket further has a side flange that bends downward along the side edge of the top surface portion and is continuously formed up to the side edge of each of the standing wall portions of the pair of legs.
Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dimension of the internal angle portion between the top surface portion and the vertical wall portion of the side flange is smaller than that of the other region of the side flange. Vehicle fender support structure as described in the section.

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