Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-11
2004-01-20
Patel, Kiran (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
C296S203020, C296S203040, C296S204000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679546
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front body structure of a vehicle which is provided with a dash panel extending in a vertical direction and forming a front end wall of a crew's cabin, a floor panel continuously extending rearward from the dash panel, and a tunnel portion protruding upward, in a substantially center portion of the floor panel, and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,836 corresponding to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 2-20423, there has been disclosed a body structure of a vehicle in which a door-opening is provided in a side body, and the door-opening is opened and closed by a front door and a rear door which constitute a free-style type door.
In the prior art, a door opening with a center pillar less structure is formed in a side body of the vehicle. And, a front door is supported to open and close via front door hinges on a front line portion of the door-opening, while a rear door is supported to open and close via rear door hinges on a rear line portion of the door-opening.
When applying the above-mentioned free-style type of door with the center pillar less structure to an automobile and setting a door-opening size thereof to be larger in order to secure the convenience in getting on and off the vehicle, it is desired to develop a vehicle body with sufficient high body rigidity. Because, in this case, the door-opening is considerably large, and in addition to this fact, a hinge pillar should bear a load when an enlarged door is opened and closed.
Further, in conventional, as a vehicle body structure of a vehicle, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-238667, there has been disclosed a body structure of a vehicle which is provided with a floor tunnel portion protruding upward and having a bottom-open reverse U-shaped cross sectional structure, and a supplementary frame (tunnel member) provided in an upper part of the floor tunnel portion and having a closed cross sectional structure.
When applying such a vehicle body structure to a vehicle body having free-style type doors with a center pillar less structure, it is possible to improve a floor rigidity and a body rigidity of the vehicle. However, in this case, it is difficult to restrain a backward movement of a dash panel at a time of a head-on collision of the vehicle, also it is difficult to restrain a intrusion amount of a side-sill or doors into a crew's cabin at a time of a side collision of the vehicle.
Furthermore, in this case, so as to transmit a collision load to the floor tunnel portion at a time of a head-on collision of the vehicle, a front extension portion for connecting the supplementary frame (tunnel member) to the front side-frame is required, so that there are problems that a number of parts and a number of assembling steps are increased, and the structure thereof becomes more complex.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a front body structure of a vehicle which is capable of enhancing the body durability and restraining a backward movement of a dash panel at a time of a head-on collision of the vehicle, further capable of restraining a intrusion amount of a side-sill or doors into a crew's cabin at a time of a side collision of the vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a front body structure of a vehicle which is capable transmitting a collision load at a time of a head-on collision to the tunnel portion in spite of a simple structure, thereby improving durability at a time of collision.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a front body structure of a vehicle including: a dash panel extending in a vertical direction and constituting a front end wall of a crew's cabin; a floor panel continuously extending rearward from said dash panel; and a tunnel portion protruding upward and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, said tunnel portion being provided in a substantially center portion of the floor panel, wherein said dash panel is provided with a dash cross member structured such that one end portion is jointed to a side surface of said tunnel portion, a middle portion extends in the vehicle widthwise direction along the clash lower panel, and another end portion is connected to a hinge pillar inner.
The above-mentioned dash panel may consist of a dash lower panel.
According to the structure mentioned above, since the dash cross member is arranged among the dash panel, the tunnel portion and the hinge pillar, it is possible to enhance the body durability by dispersing an input load of the dash panel into the tunnel portion and the hinge pillar via the dash cross member, at a time of a head-on collision of the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to restrain a backward movement of the dash panel.
Also, at a time of a side collision of the vehicle, it is possible to restrain a intrusion amount of a side-sill or doors into the crew's cabin by dispersing a side collision load into the tunnel portion via the dash cross member.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned dash cross member is provided so as to extend substantially in a horizontal vehicle widthwise direction at a predetermined height position upward apart from a height of a horizontal part of the floor panel.
In this case, since the height position of the dash cross member is set to the above-mentioned predetermined height position, it is possible to enhance the rigidity (or strength) of the hinge pillar by means of the dash cross member. Especially, it is possible to enhance the durability against a side collision.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a tunnel member extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle along the tunnel portion to form a closed cross section is provided on a surface of the tunnel portion.
In this case, it is possible to enhance the rigidity of the floor and the vehicle body by arranging the tunnel member.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the dash cross members are arranged so as to constitute a pair of right and left pieces, and each of the right and left dash cross members is jointed to the tunnel member provided on the surface of the tunnel portion.
In this case, at a time of a side collision in either right side or left side, it is possible to disperse a collision load to the tunnel member via the hinge pillar and the dash cross member, and to receive the collision load by the high rigid tunnel member. As a result, it is possible to restrain more effectively the intrusion amount of the side-sill or the doors into the crew's cabin.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the tunnel member is arranged all along the length of the tunnel portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a front end portion of said tunnel member is connected to the dash panel.
In this case, it goes without saying that it is possible to further enhance the floor rigidity and the vehicle body rigidity by the tunnel member extending all along the length of the tunnel portion. Since the front end portion of the tunnel member is connected to the dash panel, it is possible to remarkably enhance the body durability by dispersing an input load of the dash panel into the tunnel portion and the hinge pillar via the dash cross member, at a time of a head-on collision of the vehicle.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a rear end of a front side-frame is connected to such a portion that corresponds to a connected portion by the dash cross member in the outer side surface of said dash panel.
In this case, at a time of a head-on collision, it is possible to disperse a transmitted load from the front side-frame to the tunnel portion and the hinge pillar via the dash panel and the dash cross member. Thereby, it is possible to enhance the durability and the rigidity of the vehicle body.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a
Kimura Takayuki
Mishima Takashi
Mazda Motor Corporation
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Patel Kiran
Studebaker Donald R.
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