DE102004023344B4 - Front end for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Front end for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, with at least one front hood, and each having a fender, which adjoin the front hood on vehicle front side opposite the front hood, the two side fenders at least partially as fender areas (3) integral part of the front hood as Integral hood (2) are, wherein the integral hood (2) at least partially at least two layers of an integral hood upper part (9) and an integral hood base (10) is constructed such that in the mounted state of the integral hood (2) the integral hood upper part (9) forms an outer surface of the front carriage (1), wherein the integral hood bottom part (10) is at least partially constructed of an energy absorbing material, so that the integral hood bottom part (10) is force-limited deformable under a collision force due to energy absorption, characterized gekennzeich net, that two stiffening frames (5) are provided, and that in each case at a free edge region (4) of the fender regions (3) of the integral hood (2) a stiffening frame (5) is arranged, by means of which the integral hood (2) is stiffened, and in that the stiffening frame (5) extends approximately in the vehicle longitudinal direction over the entire length of the integral hood (2), wherein the integral hood upper part (9), the integral hood lower part (10) and the stiffening frame are individual parts.

Description

The invention relates to a front end for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, according to the preamble of claim 1.

One from the EP 1 000 821 A2 known front end for a motor vehicle has at least one front hood. In addition, in each case a fender, which adjoin the front hood on opposite sides of the vehicle in the vehicle transverse direction, provided.

Specifically, the front hood of the front end is designed here as a composite component, which has an energy-absorbing intermediate layer and a hood carrier connected to the intermediate layer. As a conclusion to the outside, a cover plate is provided, which is mounted floatingly with respect to the hood carrier. Seen in the vehicle longitudinal direction front is a soft nose part (soft nose) provided as a deformation element for pedestrian protection as the completion of the front hood. The fenders of the front end of the vehicle are arranged in a conventional manner on lateral areas of the front end of the vehicle in the vehicle transverse direction and adjoin the front hood.

Furthermore, from the EP 0 992 418 A2 , of the DE 203 16 000 U1 and the DE 199 29 048 A1 Front hoods for motor vehicles are known, which have an energy-absorbing function due to their structure.

One from the DE 101 261 95 C1 known generic front end for a motor vehicle has a front hood, wherein in each case an upper region of the fenders is designed as an integral part of the front hood and the front hood consists of two layers of an upper part and a lower part.

From the GB 670 274 A is a front end for a motor vehicle known with a front hood and each with a fender, which adjoin the front hood on opposite sides of the vehicle in the vehicle transverse direction to the bonnet.

The object of the invention is to provide a front end for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, which has an improved impact behavior, in particular in a pedestrian impact on the front end.

This object is achieved with the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims.

According to claim 1, the two side fenders are at least partially as fender areas integral part of the front cover as an integral hood.

It is advantageous in such a front end for a vehicle that is given by the integration of the two fenders as fender area to the front hood as integral hood with only a single component, a conclusion of the front end up and at least partially to the side. This area, which is covered by the integral hood, is to be regarded as a potential impact area, in particular in the case of a pedestrian impact, so that a desired energy absorption behavior can be achieved in a simple manner by a corresponding construction of the integral hood due to the integral hood which completely covers this potential impact area. In addition, the mounting of the front end is facilitated to the effect that both fenders and bonnet can be mounted in a single step by mounting the integral hood on the front end. According to current design specifications, the front hood itself is arranged approximately horizontally aligned with the front of the car, with the two fenders are aligned approximately vertically in each case in the side region of the front end. Both the fenders and the front hood form a conclusion to the outside of the front end, said structure is achieved according to the invention only by the integral hood.

At a free edge region of the fender regions of the integral hood, a stiffening frame is provided, by means of which the integral hood is stiffened. As a result, the hood stiffness is shifted out of the potential impact area of the integral hood out into the edge area of the fender area. The stiffening frame makes it possible to produce the integral hood with respect to static and dynamic stiffness, but a potential impact region of the integral hood is created by the arrangement of the stiffening frame at the free edge region of the fender regions between the two stiffening frames, which can be designed to be correspondingly impact-resistant.

According to a further embodiment, the integral hood seen in the vehicle longitudinal direction can extend approximately along the entire front end of a front end region to a windshield region. In addition, the stiffening frames each extend approximately in the vehicle longitudinal direction over the entire length of the integral hood. This is covered with the integral hood as the only component of the front end both upwards and to the side, with the at least two stiffening frame at the free edge region of the fender areas of Integral hood in the desired manner a dynamic and static hood stiffness is ensured. Due to the orientation in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the stiffening frame is created by this an additional load path in a frontal impact to the front end. In a possible pedestrian impact on the front of the car, which takes place substantially obliquely from above on the integral hood, the two stiffening frames are so far away from the potential impact area that an impairment of the impacting pedestrian is largely excluded by the stiffening frame.

In a further embodiment, the two transition regions may be rounded from the fender regions into a substantially horizontal hood region, at least on the outside of the integral hood. As a result, a correspondingly rounded or smooth surface is created in the entire potential impact area of any impacting pedestrian, so that a risk of injury during impact of the pedestrian on the integral hood is advantageously reduced.

The integral hood is partially constructed at least two layers of an integral hood upper part and an integral hood base. In the assembled state of the integral hood, the integral hood upper part forms an outer surface of the front carriage. The integral hood upper part can be provided with a high-quality surface for a correspondingly desired overall optical image of the vehicle, wherein the integral hood lower part can be designed, for example, for energy absorption in the event of an impact on the integral hood.

In a further development, the integral hood upper part can be produced from a sheet metal material and / or from a carbon fiber reinforced plastic material. In an alternative embodiment, the integral hood upper part can also be produced from a foil foamed with a foam material. When selecting the material used for the integral hood upper part, particular care must be taken that a surface quality of the integral hood upper part can be obtained in the desired manner. In this case preferably used materials are aluminum or steel.

When using a foamed with a foam material film for the integral hood upper part can be foamed into the foam material at least one reinforcing member, preferably glass fibers and / or a steel braid. By way of example, the steel mesh can increase the local mass inertia, which, taken as a whole, can have a positive influence on the total energy absorption behavior of the integral hood.

The integral hood lower part is partially constructed of an energy absorbing material, so that the integral hood lower part is force-limited deformable under a collision force due to energy absorption. As a result, for example, a local force-limited yielding of the integral hood base can be achieved. In addition, a targeted acceleration / time behavior of an impacting object, in particular of an impacting pedestrian can be adjusted so that the pedestrian protection potential of the integral hood can be improved as a whole.

Specifically, the integral hood bottom part may be formed by a sheet metal part or be made of a foam material and / or of a resin-impregnated paper material and / or of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic material. In addition, the integral hood bottom part at least partially have a honeycomb structure and / or a grid structure. Furthermore, the integral hood lower part can be designed as so-called "tailored blanks", in which different sheet thicknesses and steel grades can be combined.

Overall, should be taken into account in the choice of materials or the structure of both the Integral hood top and the integral hood base, that the outer surface facing the integral hood top part required optical requirements, but overall a desired energy absorption behavior of the integral hood is given , In addition, a material and concept mixing method could be selected from a lightweight construction point of view. Thus, for example, the integral hood upper part could consist of a foam-backed foil in which a lattice structure made of resin-impregnated paper is already partially foamed in as an integral hood lower part. As a result, a buckling stiffness can be ensured, but in the case of a local impact, such as, for example, a pedestrian impact, a correspondingly required resilience of the integral hood is given. To reduce the deformation path as much stiffness and / or mass should be coupled in an impact, so that a short acceleration peak is formed. The local yielding of the integral hood lower part reduces the coupled stiffness and / or mass, so that the residual energy of the impacting object is absorbed by the force-limited yielding integral hood lower part.

In a next embodiment, the overall rigidity and / or the total mass and / or the energy absorption behavior of the integral hood can be determined as a function of the material thickness and / or the mass and / or the inherent rigidity of the integral hood upper part and / or the integral hood. Adjustable lower parts. If the integral hood upper part is made from a sheet metal material, this usually has a constant material thickness. If, by contrast, a foil-back-foamed integral hood upper part is chosen, for example, then this can be designed as desired with regard to material thickness and / or mass and / or inherent rigidity, so that locally different properties can be present. The same applies to the integral hood lower part, ie that this, for example, by the choice of the material used corresponding energy absorption properties may have. Overall, the integral hood upper part should be matched to one another with the integral hood lower part in such a way that, in addition to the desired inherent rigidity and total mass of the integral hood, a correspondingly required energy absorption behavior of the same is given.

According to a further embodiment, at least one cavity can be provided at least in the integral hood lower part, which is preferably usable as an air duct or as a liquid container. As a result, the integral hood advantageously has a dual function, namely on the one hand as a lateral and top cover of the front end with appropriate energy absorption function and on the other hand, by existing cavities in the integral hood, which can be arranged in principle in the integral hood upper part with appropriate design, this as a liquid container, for example the windscreen wash water can be used.

In a further embodiment variant, the integral hood can be assigned at least one hinge device, preferably a four-hinged hinge, by means of which the integral hood is pivotably arranged on the front carriage and / or on an A-pillar region of the vehicle adjacent to the front carriage. In this case, the hinge device may for example be arranged in the A-pillar region of the vehicle such that the integral hood has no contact with the windshield when opening. In addition, in the area of the wheel arch of the front wheels a Restkotflügelbereich be arranged, wherein the hinge device is designed so that when you open the integral hood and this Restkotflügelbereich is no longer contacted.

In addition, the integral hood can be assigned at least one locking and / or latching device, by means of which the integral hood can be releasably locked and / or latched on the front carriage. Such a locking and / or latching device may be formed, for example, as a simple latch lock, which is coupled to the integral hood so that there is no interference by this locking and / or latching device in a possible impact with the front end. If both a hinge device and a locking and / or latching device are provided on the front hood for the integral hood, then the hinge device can be arranged at the rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction and at the front against the latching and / or latching device, wherein the reverse positioning case is also conceivable.

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one hinge device and / or the at least one locking and / or latching device can be arranged on the stiffening frame. Due to the stiffening frame, a stable component is selected on which a stable support is possible in each case for the hinge device and / or for the locking and / or latching device.

Reference to a drawing, an embodiment of the invention is explained in detail.

Show it:

1 a schematic sectional view in the vehicle longitudinal direction through a front end,

2 a schematic perspective view of an integral hood,

3 a schematic sectional view in the vehicle transverse direction through the integral hood in an exploded view,

4 a schematic sectional view through a portion of the integral hood, and

5 a schematic sectional view through the integral hood of 4 with a bouncing object.

In 1 is a schematic sectional view through a front end 1 shown. The sectional plane is clamped by the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vehicle vertical direction. At the front 1 is an integral hood 2 arranged at the two side fenders as fender areas 3 integral part of the integral hood 2 as a front hood are. At a free edge area 4 the fender areas 3 (due to the sectional view is only a fender area 3 visible) is a stiffening frame 5 , with which the static and dynamic stiffness of the integral hood 2 is ensured arranged. Both the integral hood 2 with the fender areas integrated with it 3 as well as the stiffening frames 5 extend along the entire front end seen in the vehicle longitudinal direction 1 from a frontend area 6 up to a windshield area 7 , In addition, in the frontend area 6 usually a bumper 8th arranged.

The integral hood 2 is in two layers from an integral hood top 9 and an integral hood base 10 built up. The integral hood top 9 forms in the mounted state of the integral hood 2 an outer surface of the front end 1 , The integral hood top 9 can be made of a sheet metal material, wherein the integral hood bottom part 10 can be constructed of an energy absorbing material, for example by a sheet metal profile part. When designing both the integral hood top 9 as well as the integral hood base 10 care should be taken that overall the integral hood 2 having required energy absorption properties. By the on the integral hood 2 integrated fender area 3 is the full upper and largely the lateral area of the front end 1 with corresponding energy absorption property due to the integral hood 2 designed so that a large potential impact area, especially in a pedestrian impact on the front end 1 , is available. In addition, on the integral hood 2 a hinge device 11 and a locking and / or latching device 12 arranged so that the integral hood 2 when closed, reliable on the front of the car 1 is held, but also simply by means of the hinge device 11 for opening the integral hood 2 can be pivoted.

In 2 is a schematic perspective view of the integral hood according to the invention 2 shown. It can be seen that the integral hood 2 two-layered from the integral hood top 9 and the integral hood base 10 is constructed, being at the free edge areas 4 the fender areas 3 each a stiffening frame 5 is provided. The transitional areas of the fender areas 3 in the substantially horizontal hood area 13 are rounded, so that there is a relatively low risk of injury, for example, for an impacting pedestrian even with a possible impact on these transition areas.

In 3 is a schematic sectional view seen in the vehicle transverse direction through the integral hood 2 shown, with the individual parts of the integral hood 2 are shown in an exploded view. As a result, the structure integral hood upper part 9 / Integral hood lower part 10 / Stiffening frame 5 clearly visible, with arrows showing the appropriate assembly for the integral hood 2 is shown schematically.

In 4 is schematically a partial area of the hood area 13 the integral hood 2 shown. Bounces an object 14 like this in 5 is shown schematically, to the integral hood 2 on, so gives the integral hood base 10 force limited to, with no breakthrough by the integral hood top 9 he follows. With such a construction of the integral hood 2 , in which corresponding energy absorption functions are integrated, is for the impacting object 14 , which could be a pedestrian, for example, given an improved protection potential.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

front end

2

integral hood

3

fender area

4

free edge area

5

stiffening frame

6

frontend area

7

Windshield area

8th

bumper

9

Integral hood shell

10

Integral Hood base

11

hinge device

12

Locking and / or latching device

13

hood area

14

impacting object

Claims (14)

A front end for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, with at least one front hood, and each having a fender, which adjoin the front hood on opposite sides of the vehicle in the vehicle transverse direction, wherein the two lateral fenders at least partially as fender areas ( 3 ) integral part of the front hood as Integral hood ( 2 ), wherein the integral hood ( 2 ) at least in regions at least two layers of an integral hood upper part ( 9 ) and an integral hood lower part ( 10 ) is constructed such that in the assembled state of the integral hood ( 2 ) the integral hood top ( 9 ) an outer surface of the front end ( 1 ), wherein the integral hood lower part ( 10 ) is constructed at least partially made of an energy-absorbing material, so that the integral hood lower part ( 10 ) is force-limited deformable under a collision-induced force effect with energy absorption, characterized in that two stiffening frames ( 5 ) and that in each case at a free edge area ( 4 ) of the fender areas ( 3 ) of the integral hood ( 2 ) a stiffening frame ( 5 ) is arranged, by means of which the integral hood ( 2 ) and that the stiffening frame ( 5 ) each approximately in the vehicle longitudinal direction over the entire length of the integral hood ( 2 ), wherein the integral hood top ( 9 ), the Integral hood base ( 10 ) and the stiffening frame are items. Front end according to claim 1, characterized in that the integral hood ( 2 ) seen in the vehicle longitudinal direction approximately along the entire front end ( 1 ) from a frontend area ( 6 ) to a windshield area ( 7 ). Front end according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two transition areas of the fender areas ( 3 ) in a substantially horizontal hood area ( 13 ) at least on the outside of the integral hood ( 2 ) are rounded. Front end according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the integral hood upper part ( 9 ) is made of a sheet material and / or of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic material. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood upper part is made of a foamed with a foam material film. Front end according to claim 5, characterized in that in the foam material at least one reinforcing member, preferably glass fibers and / or a steel mesh, are foamed with. Front body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood lower part ( 10 ) is formed by a sheet metal profile part. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood base is made of a foam material and / or of a resin-impregnated paper material and / or of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic material. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood bottom part at least partially has a honeycomb structure and / or a lattice structure. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the total rigidity and / or the total mass and / or the energy absorption behavior of the integral hood ( 2 ) as a function of the material thickness and / or the mass and / or the inherent rigidity of the integral hood upper part ( 9 ) and / or the integral hood lower part ( 10 ) is adjustable. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cavity is provided at least in the integral hood bottom part, which is preferably usable as an air duct or as a liquid container. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood ( 2 ) at least one hinge device ( 11 ), preferably a 4-hinge hinge, is assigned, by means of the integral hood ( 2 ) on the front end ( 1 ) and / or is pivotally mounted on an adjacent to the front end of the A-pillar region of the vehicle. Front end according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the integral hood ( 2 ) at least one locking and / or latching device ( 12 ), by means of which the integral hood ( 2 ) detachable at the front ( 1 ) is lockable and / or latched. Front end according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the at least one hinge device ( 11 ) and / or the at least one locking and / or latching device ( 12 ) on the stiffening frame ( 5 ) are arranged.

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