JPH06321132A - Strut tower bar structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To improve the rigidity of the vehicle body and to cool the brake fluid and the hydraulic fluid of the hydraulic shock absorber. [Structure] Strut towers 2 and 3 are provided on the left and right sides of the engine 1 with the engine 1 interposed therebetween. The strut tower sections 2 and 3 support the hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 for the left and right wheel suspensions. The strut tower portions 2 and 3 are connected by the strut tower bar 8 to improve the rigidity of the vehicle body. A brake fluid passage, a hydraulic oil passage, and a cooling water passage are provided in the strut tower bar main body 9, the brake fluid is circulated through the respective passages, and the hydraulic buffers 4 and 5 are activated through the pipe passages 20 and 21, respectively. The oil is circulated, and the cooling water for the engine 1 is circulated through the pipe line 22. Cool the brake fluid and hydraulic oil with cooling water. Further, heat is radiated from the strut tower bar body 9 to cool it.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a strut tower bar structure for connecting left and right suspension support portions of an automobile body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reinforce a vehicle body and improve its rigidity in a vehicle for driving on rough roads, a vehicle for racing, etc.,
Some are equipped with strut tower bars that connect the suspension support parts on the left and right sides of the vehicle body. In this way, by connecting the left and right suspension support portions, the vehicle body is reinforced and the vehicle body rigidity is increased, so that the steering stability and the riding comfort can be improved, so that the vehicle may participate in running on rough roads or racing. Some passenger cars are also equipped with strut tower bars.

[0003]

By the way, generally, a strut tower bar is installed so as to connect strut tower portions which project from the left and right in the engine room of the vehicle body and which respectively support the hydraulic shock absorbers of the left and right wheel suspensions. Has been done. However, the engine room and the auxiliary equipment are stored in the engine room, and the extra space is small. Therefore, when the strut tower bar is attached, it may be difficult to secure a space for other auxiliary equipment. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a strut tower bar structure excellent in space efficiency.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a strut tower bar structure in which left and right suspension support portions of a vehicle body are connected by a strut tower bar body. It is characterized in that a fluid flow path is provided in the.

A partition member is provided inside the strut tower bar body to form a plurality of flow paths.

A brake fluid passage, a hydraulic oil passage for a hydraulic shock absorber, and a cooling water passage are provided inside the strut tower bar body.

Further, a heat radiation fin is provided around the strut tower bar body.

Further, an opening is provided at a portion of the vehicle body facing the strut tower bar body.

[0010]

With this structure, flow paths for hydraulic oil for the hydraulic shock absorber, brake fluid, cooling water, etc. can be formed inside the strut tower bar body, thus improving space efficiency. Further, the fluid flowing through the flow path of the strut tower bar body can be cooled by heat exchange and heat dissipation.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the inside of the engine room of an automobile to which the strut tower bar structure of this embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, strut tower sections 2 and 3 are provided on the left and right sides of the engine 1 with the engine 1 sandwiched therebetween. To the upper ends of the strut tower parts 2 and 3, one end parts of hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 of a suspension for supporting the left and right wheels are attached via strut supports 6 and 7.

The upper ends of the strut towers 2 and 3 are connected to each other by a strut tower bar 8.
The strut tower bar 8 comprises a tubular strut tower bar body 9 extending in the vehicle width direction and brackets 10 and 11 attached to both ends of the strut tower bar body 9. The brackets 10 and 11 together with strut supports 6 and 7. It is connected to the strut tower portions 2 and 3 by a plurality of bolts and nuts 12 (only one is shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the interior of the tubular strut tower bar main body 9 has four passages, a brake fluid passage 14, hydraulic oil passages 15 and 16 and a cooling water passage 17, which extend in the vehicle width direction by a partition member 13. It is divided into The strut tower bar main body 9 secures the airtightness of the brake fluid passage 14, the hydraulic oil passages 15 and 16, and the cooling water passage 17 by integrally forming the partition member 13 by extruding an aluminum material, for example. be able to. The brake fluid passage 14 is connected to the reservoir 19 of the hydraulic system of the brake of the vehicle by the pipe 18, and the hydraulic oil passages 15 and 16 are connected to the reservoirs of the left and right hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 by the pipes 20 and 21, respectively. Further, the cooling water passage 17 is connected to a cooling water circulation system passage (not shown) of the engine 1 by a pipe line 22.

A thermostat 23 is provided in the brake fluid line 18 to open the valve 18 when the temperature of the brake fluid exceeds a predetermined temperature (the temperature of the cooling water of the engine 1 flowing through the cooling water passage 17) so that the line 18 is communicated. Is provided. In Figure 2, 24, 25,
Reference numeral 26 is a connection port for connecting the pipelines 18, 20, 22.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an engine hood 27 of the vehicle is provided with an air scoop 28 which is an opening opening at a portion of the strut tower bar 8 facing the strut tower bar body 9. The strut tower bar body 9 is cooled by introducing outside air into the engine room from the air scoop 28.

The operation of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described below.

By connecting the strut tower portions 2 and 3 with the strut tower bar 8, it is possible to reinforce the vehicle body and improve the vehicle body rigidity.

When the temperature of the brake fluid rises and the conduit 18 is communicated with the thermostat 23, the brake fluid circulates through the conduit 18 and the brake fluid passage 14 of the strut tower bar body 9 along with the operation of the brake. . Also, when the hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 stroke due to the operation of the suspension, the oil liquid in the reservoirs of the hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 is transferred to the pipelines 20 and 21.
Through the hydraulic oil passage 15 of the strut tower bar main body 9,
Circulate 16. On the other hand, the cooling water of the engine 1 cooled by a radiator (not shown) or the like circulates through the cooling water passage 17 of the strut tower bar main body 9 by the pipe line 22.

Then, the brake fluid and the hydraulic shock absorber 4,
The hydraulic oil 5 is cooled by heat exchange with the cooling water of the engine 1, and is also directly cooled by heat radiation from the strut tower bar main body 9. At this time, the boiling points of the brake fluid and the hydraulic oils of the hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 are about 120 to 190 ° C, which is sufficiently higher than the temperature of the cooling water of the engine 1 (about 80 to 90 ° C). Can be cooled by. Also, the engine hood 27 air scoop 28
Strut tower bar body 9 due to outside air introduced from
Cooling is accelerated.

As another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the inside of the strut tower bar main body 9 is divided into more passages than those shown in FIG. 2 by the partition member 29 (eight passages in the one shown in FIG. 3). The cooling efficiency can be improved by increasing the contact area between the brake fluid passage 14 and the hydraulic oil passages 15 and 16 and the cooling water passage 17 by partitioning into the above. further,
As shown in FIG. 4, by providing the heat radiation fins 30 around the strut tower bar body 9, the amount of heat radiation can be increased and the cooling capacity can be improved.

In this way, the brake fluid and the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic shock absorber can be cooled, so that the running performance of the vehicle can be improved for running under heavy load such as running on a bad road or running at a high speed. Further, since the partition member 13 is provided inside the strut tower bar main body 9, the bending rigidity of the strut tower bar 8 is increased and the rigidity of the vehicle body can be improved. Further, by circulating the brake fluid and the hydraulic fluid of the hydraulic shock absorber inside the strut tower bar 8 to utilize the strut tower bar 8 as a reservoir, the capacity of the brake fluid and the reservoir of the hydraulic shock absorber can be increased to increase the capacity of the vehicle. It is possible to improve running performance and space efficiency.

In the above embodiment, the brake fluid conduit is
Although the thermostat 23 is provided only on 18,
A thermostat may be provided in the hydraulic oil pipes 20 and 21 of the hydraulic shock absorbers 4 and 5 to circulate the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic oil passage 16 when the hydraulic oil reaches a predetermined temperature or higher.

[0024]

The strut tower bar structure of the present invention is
As described above in detail, since the fluid passages are provided inside the strut tower bar body, the passages for hydraulic oil, brake fluid, cooling water, etc. of the hydraulic shock absorber should be formed inside the strut tower bar body. You can Further, the fluid flowing through the flow path of the strut tower bar body can be cooled by heat exchange and heat dissipation. As a result, the brake fluid, the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic shock absorber, and the like can be cooled, so that the traveling performance for high load traveling such as traveling on a rough road or high speed traveling can be improved.

Further, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-82804, unlike the case where a hose is separately used for fluid circulation, the brake fluid and the hydraulic oil for the hydraulic shock absorber are provided inside the strut tower bar body. By circulating the strut tower bar as a reservoir, the capacity of the reservoir of the brake fluid and the hydraulic shock absorber can be increased to improve the running performance of the vehicle and improve the space efficiency in the engine room. It has an excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a strut tower bar main body of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a cutaway manner.

3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the strut tower bar main body of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a strut tower bar main body of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part of an automobile to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Strut tower part 3 Strut tower part 8 Strut tower bar 9 Strut tower bar body 13 Partition member 14 Brake fluid passage 15 Hydraulic oil passage 16 Hydraulic oil passage 17 Cooling water passage 28 Air scoop 29 Partition member 30 Radiating fin

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A strut tower bar structure in which left and right suspension support parts of a vehicle body are connected by a strut tower bar body, wherein a fluid passage is provided inside the strut tower bar body. . 2. The strut tower bar structure according to claim 1, wherein a partition member is provided inside the strut tower bar body to form a plurality of flow paths. 3. The strut tower bar structure according to claim 2, wherein a brake fluid passage, a hydraulic oil passage of a hydraulic shock absorber, and a cooling water passage are provided inside the strut tower bar main body. 4. The strut tower bar structure according to claim 1, wherein heat radiation fins are provided around the strut tower bar body. 5. The strut tower bar structure according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided at a portion of the vehicle body facing the strut tower bar body.