Patent Publication Number: US-2006017310-A1

Title: Apparatus for supporting cowl cross member

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application 10-2004-0056557 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 20, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      (a) Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting a cowl cross member. More particularly, the present invention relates to the apparatus for supporting the cowl cross member that can increase occupant and, in particular, driver comfort by reducing vehicle vibration when the vehicle is in an idle state.  
      (b) Description of the Related Art  
      In a typical cowl support, a bracket is connected to a reinforcing member with a lower portion of a cowl cross member connected to that bracket. However, there can be disadvantages in driver comfort because vibration occurs at the steering column due to movement of the cowl cross member when the vehicle is in an idle state.  
      Furthermore, a problem can also occur in that the supporting strength of prior art arrangements can be less than required. A further problem occurs in that the cost of manufacture becomes high since a center support must be relatively thick to ensure that the bracket is strongly connected to the floor panel.  
      The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus for supporting a cowl cross member having advantages of enhanced strength.  
      An exemplary apparatus for supporting the cowl cross member according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a floor panel defining an upper surface of a tunnel, a mounting unit defining a lower surface of the tunnel and mounted to the floor panel such that the mounting unit can support the floor panel, a reinforcing member mounted to the floor panel such that the reinforcing member can support an upper surface of the floor panel, and a supporting unit mounted to the reinforcing member and the floor panel such that the supporting unit supports the cowl cross member.  
      The mounting unit includes an upper stay supporting an interior surface of the tunnel and a lower surface of the floor panel and a lower stay supporting a lower surface of the upper stay.  
      The supporting unit includes an upper member mounted to an upper surface of the reinforcing member such that the upper member supports the reinforcing member, and side members mounted to the upper member and the floor panel such that the side members support the cowl cross member. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows a state where a cowl cross member is mounted according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view showing a portion B of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view of  FIG. 2  along a line V-V. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
      An embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for supporting the cowl cross member  6  supports the cowl cross member  6  from under the cowl cross member  6 . As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention an apparatus for supporting the cowl cross member  6  includes a floor panel  12 , mounting unit  35 , reinforcing member  14 , and supporting unit  43 .  
      The floor panel  12  defines an upper surface of a tunnel  40 , and a mounting unit  35  defines a lower surface of the tunnel  40  and is mounted to the floor panel  12  such that the mounting unit  35  can support the floor panel  12 . The reinforcing member  14  is mounted to the floor panel  12  such that the reinforcing member  14  can support an upper surface of the floor panel  12  and a supporting unit  43  is mounted to the reinforcing member  14  and the floor panel  12  such that the supporting unit  43  supports the cowl cross member  6 . That is, the floor panel  12  defines an upper surface of the tunnel  40  and the mounting unit  35  defines the lower surface of the tunnel  40 .  
      In addition, the mounting unit  35  supports the floor panel  12 . Further, the reinforcing member  14  supports the floor panel  12  by being mounted to the upper surface of the floor panel  12  defining an upper surface of the tunnel  40 . Thus, the reinforcing member  14  can enhance the strength of the floor panel  12 .  
      The mounting unit  35  includes an upper stay  13  and a lower stay  11 . The upper stay  13  supports an interior surface of the tunnel  40  and a lower surface of the floor panel  12 , and the lower stay  11  supports a lower surface of the upper stay  13 . Therefore, the tunnel  40  is formed by the floor panel  12  and the mounting unit  35 . Strength of the floor panel  12  is enhanced by connecting the mounting unit  35  with the floor panel  12 . A supporting unit  43  includes an upper member  20  and side members  30 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , an upper member  20  is mounted to the upper surface of the reinforcing member  14  such that the upper member  20  supports the reinforcing member  14 , and the side members  30  are mounted to the upper member  20  and the floor panel  12  such that the side members  30  support the cowl cross member  6 . The side members  30  include upper portions  46 , middle portions  47 , and lower portions  48 . That is, the reinforcing member  14 , the upper member  20 , and the side members  30  are successively mounted to the upper surface of the floor panel  12  defining the upper surface of the tunnel  40 .  
      According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, because the reinforcing member  14 , the upper member  20 , and the side members  30  are mounted as described, when the vehicle is in an idle state, vibration occurring in the vehicle body is prevented from being transmitted to a steering column  7  through the cowl cross member  6 .  
      In a preferred embodiment, a width of the upper member  20  is formed such that it is similar to the width of the reinforcing member  14 . Lower portions  31  of the cowl cross member  6  are connected to upper portions  46  of the side members  30 . In addition, middle portions  47  of the side members  30  are connected to the upper member  20  and lower portions  48  are connected to the floor panel  12 . The side members  30  are connected to the upper member  20  and the floor panel  12  such that the side members  30  support the cowl cross member  6 . Furthermore, because the side members  30  are simultaneously connected to the upper member  20  and the floor panel  12 , a supporting force of the floor panel  12  and the upper member  20  can be enhanced.  
      According to the cowl cross member  6  of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, because the mounting unit  35  and the supporting unit  20 ,  30  are connected to the floor panel in a plurality of places, vibration that occurs when the vehicle is in an idle state is prevented from being transmitted to the steering column. Furthermore, because the reinforcing member  14 , the upper member  20 , and the side members  30  are connected to the floor panel  12 , the cowl cross member  6  can be supported more strongly. In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, although the reinforcing member  14  is not thick, the reinforcing member  14  can strongly support the cowl cross member  6 , and therefore cost of manufacture can be reduced.  
      While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be a practical exemplary embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiment, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.