Patent ID: 8172021

Claim:
A vehicle air cleaner mounting structure for supporting an air cleaner on a shelf portion with support portions at least three points by disposing, in an engine room, a pair of left and right side members extending in a vehicle front-rear direction, providing fender aprons, each of which has a vertical wall extending upward from one of the side members and the shelf portion extending outward away from a center of the engine room in a vehicle width direction from an upper end of the vertical wall, outside the respective side members in the vehicle width direction away from the center of the engine room to form side walls of the engine room, and disposing the air cleaner in a space sandwiched between the shelf portion of one of the fender aprons and a hood covering an upper portion of the shelf portion, wherein a protruding portion protruding farther inwardly in the vehicle width direction towards the center of the engine room than the vertical wall of the fender apron is formed on the air cleaner, the support portions are disposed in the air cleaner outside the protruding portion away from the center of the engine room in the vehicle width direction, a first support portion and a second support portion of the support portions are disposed in a front portion and a rear portion of the air cleaner in the vehicle front-rear direction, respectively, such that an axis line connecting between the first support portion and the second support portion extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, the air cleaner is supported to be able to turn about the axis line by the first support portion and the second support portion, and a third support portion other than the first and second support portions of the support portions is disposed outside of the axis line away from the center of the engine room in the vehicle width direction, and the third support portion is formed to come off from a side of the shelf portion toward an upside of a vehicle when an upward force in an upward direction of the vehicle is exerted on the third support portion; and when an external force in a downward direction of the vehicle is exerted on the protruding portion of the air cleaner through the hood upon crash of the vehicle, the third support portion is allowed to come off from the shelf portion, and the protruding portion of the air cleaner is rotated around the axis line and moved downward relative to the vehicle by the first support portion and the second support portion.