JP3349868B2 - Body front structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body front structure, and more particularly to a structure for fixing a fender panel to a vehicle body frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a fender panel is fixed to a vehicle body frame, a fender panel covering an outer surface of a fender apron (or a hood ridge panel) is attached to the fender as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 63-109273. It is customary to fasten the upper end of the apron with bolts. The front end of the fender panel is fixed to a radiator side support by spot welding or the like, and the radiator side support is connected to an auxiliary device such as a radiator via a radiator center support located at the center of the vehicle body.

[0003]

When the vehicle is running on a rough road, an inertial force acts on the radiator center support in the front-rear direction due to the weight of the auxiliary equipment. This load is transmitted to the fender apron via the radiator side support, and a part of the load is also transmitted to the fender panel via a fastening portion with the fender apron. At this time, the force acting on the fastening portion is a force in the rotational direction about the fastening portion. However, in the conventional case, the width of the overlapping portion between the upper end portion of the fender panel and the upper end portion of the fender apron is narrow, and the overlapping portion is one.
They are just fastened with bolts. Therefore, the rotational force acting on the fastening portion concentrates on the fastening portion, and distortion occurs in the fastening portion. Therefore, in the worst case, there is a possibility that a crack may occur in the fastening portion or the mounting strength of the fender panel may be reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body front structure capable of increasing the strength of a fastening portion between a fender panel and a fender apron and improving the mounting strength of the fender panel.

[0005]

To achieve the above object of the Invention The present invention provides a radiator side support 3 is fixed to the front end portion of the fender apron 1, the fender panel 2 to the fender apron 1 covering the outside surface of the fender apron 1 in the vehicle body front structure which is bolted to the upper end portion of the La
At the outer end of the vehicle body at the upper end of the radiator side support 3,
An extension part 3a extending rear of the vehicle body is formed integrally with the upper end portion the front end of the fender panel 2, wide flange extending in the vicinity of the extended portion 3a of the radiator side support 3 2
a is formed on the upper end of the fender apron 1.
The lower surface of the flange 2a of the fender panel 2 and the
A flange 6a for supporting the lower surface of the extension 3a of the eta-side support 3 is formed, and the flange of the fender panel 2 is formed.
2a , a flange 6a of the fender apron 1 is fixed to two portions of the bolts 10 and 11 arranged in the vehicle width direction.
And the radiator side support 3
The extension 3a of the fender apron 1 with the flange 6a
It is fixed to .

[0006]

[Action] In like during running on a rough road, the radiator <br/> over Tasenta support for supporting the auxiliary acts inertial force in the longitudinal direction by the weight of the accessory, the load on the radiator side support
Reportedly. Radiator side support is Fender Ep
The above load is fixed to the front end of the
Acts as a rotational moment on the fixed part. In the present invention,
The car body is located
A rearwardly extending extension is integrally formed, and this extension is
Fixed to the flange at the upper end of the apron.
Weight can be effectively transmitted to the fender apron.
Further, the load transmitted to the fender apron acts on the fastening portion between the fender apron and the fender panel as a rotational force. However, since the front end portion of the flange of the fender panels in the present invention is fastened to the fender apron flange by two bolts placed in the vehicle width direction, and the fender apron rotational force of the fender
The panel can be supported integrally .

[0007]

1 to 4 show a front left portion of a vehicle body as an example of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a fender apron, 2 is a fender panel, 3 is a radiator side support, and 4 is a radiator center support on the upper side. The radiator side support 3 and the radiator center support 4 are fastened by bolts 5. The lower end of the radiator side support 3 is connected to a lower radiator center support (not shown).

The fender apron 1 has an engine room 20
The front flange 1a formed at the front end portion as shown in FIG. 3 is fixed to the rear surface of the radiator side support 3 by spot welding, MIG plug welding, or the like. A narrow upper flange 1b is formed at the upper end of the fender apron 1, and the extension member 6 is fixed on the upper flange 1b by spot welding or the like. This extension member 6
A wide flange 6a is formed on the upper surface of the bolt, and three bolt insertion holes are formed in the flange 6a, and nuts 7 to 9 are fixed to lower surfaces of the insertion holes, respectively.

The fender panel 2 is an outer plate that covers the outer surface of the fender apron 1, and a wide flange 2a is formed at the upper end of the fender apron 1 so as to be bent substantially horizontally toward the inside of the vehicle body. The flange 2a is in contact with the upper surface of the flange 6a of the extension member 6, and has two bolts 10 arranged at the front end of the flange 2a in the vehicle width direction.
11 is screwed onto the nuts 7 and 8 so that the flange 2
a is fastened to the flange 6a of the extension member 6.

A rearwardly extending extension 3a is integrally formed at the rear end of the upper end of the radiator side support 3, and this extension 3a is located on the flange 6a of the extension member 6 and the fender panel. The second flange 2a is close to the front end. Extension piece 3 above
a is fastened to the flange 6a of the extension member 6 by screwing the bolt 12 to the nut 9 as shown in FIG. The method of fixing the extension piece 3a and the extension member 6 is not limited to bolting, but may be spot welding. As described above, the three bolts 10, 11, 1
Fender apron 1 by 3 point support structure by 2
The (extension member 6), the fender panel 2 and the radiator side support 3 are firmly fixed.

The side of the hood 21 for closing the upper side of the engine room 20 is connected to the fender panel 2 as shown in FIG.
And extends to the outside of the fender panel 2. Therefore, the above flange 2
a is covered with the hood 21 to prevent rainwater or the like from directly splashing on the fastening portion.

In the vehicle having the above structure, when the vehicle is running on a rough road, an inertial force (indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 1) acts on the radiator center support 4 due to the weight of the radiator or the like. This power is radiator side support 3
And a part of it is also transmitted to the fender panel 2 via the fastening portion. At this time, the force acting on the fastening portion becomes a force in the rotational direction around the fastening portion (indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 1), and stress concentrates on the fastening portion of the fender panel 2. However, in the present invention, since the fastening portion is fastened by the two bolts 10 and 11, the stress per one fastening portion is halved, and the bolt 1
Since 0 and 11 are arranged near the radiator side support 3 and in the vehicle width direction, the distortion of the fastening portion can be suppressed with respect to the force C in the rotation direction. Therefore, cracking of the fastening portion can be prevented, and the mounting strength of the fender panel 2 is improved.

In addition, a bolt 12 is disposed in front of the bolts 10 and 11, and these bolts 10 to 12 are provided.
Are arranged in a triangular shape in a plan view, so that the rotational force applied to the fastening portion can be strongly restricted. As a result, the fender apron 1, the fender panel 2, and the radiator side support 3 are more strongly connected.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the side of the hood 21 is extended so as to extend to the outside of the fender panel 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the hood 21 is similar to an existing vehicle. May be terminated at the upper surface of the fender panel, and the upper surface of the hood and the upper surface of the fender panel may be substantially flush.

Further, an example in which the extension member 6 is fixed to the upper end of the fender apron 1 is shown, but this is because the fender apron 1 of the existing vehicle is shared. When the fender apron 1 dedicated to the present invention is manufactured, the extension member 6 may be formed integrally with the fender apron 1. In the case of an existing vehicle, the upper surface flange 1b formed on the upper end of the fender apron 1
The upper end flange of the fender panel 2 is fastened to (see FIG. 2).

[0016]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the upper end of the radiator side support is located outside the vehicle body.
An extension that extends rearward of the vehicle body is integrally formed at the end, and this extension is
Place the flange that supports the lower surface of the long part on the upper end of the fender apron.
Part, and the extension and the flange are fixed.
The longitudinal load applied to the eta side support is
Ron can be effectively communicated. In addition, at the upper front end of the fender panel, a wide flange extending near the rear end of the radiator side support is formed, and the flange of the fender apron supports the flange ,
Since the front end of the flange of the fender panel is fastened to the flange of the fender apron with two bolts arranged in the vehicle width direction, the distortion of the fastening portion can be restricted with respect to the rotational force applied to the fastening portion. Therefore, the Fender apron and
The end panel is integrated to support the above-mentioned rotational force.
The rigidity of the front part of the vehicle body can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a left front part of a vehicle body as an example of a vehicle body front structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fender apron and the extension member shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a fastening portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 fender apron 2 fender panel 2a flange 3 radiator side support 4 radiator center support 6 extension member 6a flange 10,11 bolt

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 25/16 B62D 25/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A radiator side support 3 is fixed to the front end portion of the fender apron 1, in the vehicle body front structure which is bolted to the fender panel 2 covering the outer surface of the fender apron 1 to the upper end portion of the fender apron 1, the radiator Outer end of vehicle body at upper end of side support 3
The fender apron 1 is formed integrally with an extension 3a extending rearward of the vehicle body, and a wide flange 2a extending near the extension 3a of the radiator side support 3 at the front end of the upper end of the fender panel 2. At the top of the fender panel
The lower surface of the flange 2a of the screw 2 and the radiator side
A flange 6a for supporting the lower surface of the extension 3a of the support 3 is formed. A portion of the fender panel 2 near the front end of the flange 2a is fixed to the flange of the fender apron 1 with two bolts 10 and 11 arranged in the vehicle width direction. 6a
The extension 3a of the radiator side support 3
A vehicle body front structure fixed to a flange 6a of the fender apron 1 .