DE102009040417A1 - Safety device for lifting e.g. front flap of outer shell of car during person impact, has hinge part pivotable around bearing during lifting component, where bearing is formed at intermediate lever, which is automatically movable in device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (10) has a tiltable hinge part e.g. short guide (30), hinged at a bearing (32) and pivotable around the bearing during lifting of a component (12) e.g. front flap and/or bonnet, of an outer shell of a vehicle i.e. car. The bearing is formed at an intermediate lever (24), which is automatically movable in a released device. An actuator (14) is provided in an area of a hinge (20) flexibly supporting the component of the outer shell of the vehicle. A hinge lower part (22) is attached fixedly to a vehicle chassis.

Description

The invention relates to a vehicle safety device for lifting a component of the outer skin of the associated vehicle by means of an actuator in a collision with a pivotable hinge part, which is hinged to a bearing and is pivotable about the bearing when lifting the component. Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle with such a vehicle safety device.

In the structural design and layout of modern vehicles, in particular automobiles, great importance is attached to the fact that in the event of an accident, a person hitting the outer skin of the vehicle remains as unhurt as possible. A particular danger is in such an accident, the impact of the person with his head on the outer skin of the vehicle involved in the accident. This danger, for example, when a pedestrian, a cyclist or motorcyclist is detected by a vehicle and the head of the accident participant against The hood of the accident vehicle is thrown.

In modern vehicles there is just under the hood to an underlying drive unit, such as an internal combustion engine, not enough space for a sufficiently large deformation of the hood. Rather, there is the risk that an impacting head "strikes" the drive unit and thereby experiences a high biomechanical load.

As a possibility of improved personal protection, it is known to raise the hood or front door of a vehicle with an actuator by several centimeters, as soon as an accident is detected with a possible collision.

By raising the hood of the distance is increased to an underlying drive unit and also generated by the additional movement of the hood and the associated spring forces and inertia energy reduction over a relatively large way. The achieved level of deceleration for an impacting person's head thus decreases to a biomechanically more tolerable value and a "penetration" on a arranged under the hood high-stiffness drive unit in the front of the vehicle is prevented.

In the case that the movable component of the outer skin is a hood, this is articulated in known vehicles with a hinge on the vehicle. The hinge is designed as a four-bar linkage, in which two differently long links are pivotally mounted on a hinge base, which carry a hinge upper part. On the hinge upper part, the front flap or hood is attached so that it can be opened to open. The hinge upper part is further designed in two parts, wherein a lower hinge upper part is hinged to the handlebars and an upper hinge upper part is connected to the front flap. The upper hinge upper part can in turn be pivoted on the lower hinge upper part, wherein this pivoting movement is carried out only when the front door is lifted by the actuator.

Vehicle safety devices of the abovementioned type have the disadvantage that the component of the outer skin vibrates when lifting or raising due to its mass and speed, and that in particular in its extended end position the component overshoots. Because of this vibration, in particular, an accident person can strike the component just at that moment, since it is moving in addition to the accident person or is just swinging away from it. Both situations are generally undesirable because they can lead to an additional biomechanical burden on the accident victim.

The invention has for its object to provide a vehicle safety device in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are overcome and in particular in a cost effective manner an overshoot of the component involved is avoided at its issued end position.

The object is achieved with a vehicle safety device according to claim 1 and a vehicle according to claim 6. Advantageous developments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a vehicle safety device is provided for lifting a component of the outer skin of the associated vehicle by means of an actuator in the event of a personal collision, with a pivotable hinge part, which is articulated on a bearing and is pivotable about the bearing when the component is lifted, and in which the bearing is formed on an intermediate element, which is held stationary when the vehicle safety device is not triggered, but is itself movable when the vehicle safety device is triggered, thereby permitting movement of the bearing.

According to the invention, an intermediate element or an intermediate lever is provided on the vehicle safety device. At this there is a bearing by means of a hinge part is pivotally mounted on the intermediate lever. The hinge part can be pivoted about the bearing when lifting the component. For the intermediate lever According to the invention, two states are defined. In a first state, not triggered vehicle safety device, the intermediate lever and thus the bearing formed on it are held stationary. In a second state, when triggered vehicle safety device, the intermediate lever is movable and allows the bearing formed on it an additional movement. The additional movement is imposed on the intermediate lever by the rotational movement of the hinge part. The hinge part usually pulls on the intermediate lever. As a result, then moves this and thus also trained there camp. By this movement, kinetic energy is dissipated and thereby an otherwise occurring, above-described overshoot of the component can be avoided.

In a first advantageous embodiment of the vehicle safety device according to the invention, the intermediate element is pivotable when triggered vehicle safety device and allows a pivoting movement of the bearing.

By triggering the vehicle safety device as described above, the intermediate lever is moved. Preferably, this rotates in a pivoting movement about a reference point. The bearing formed on the intermediate lever rotates with this around the same reference point. With the movement thus defined, a defined energy reduction can be achieved at the same time. Thus, specifically, that kinetic energy can be reduced, which would otherwise lead to overshoot of the component.

In a second advantageous embodiment of the vehicle safety device according to the invention, the intermediate element is held stationary in a non-triggered vehicle safety device with a Abscherglied, in particular a Abscherniet.

When the vehicle safety device is not triggered, the intermediate element or the intermediate lever is fixed in place as explained. This attachment is preferably designed with a shear-off member. The abschbarer member is a plastically deformable connecting element, which is separated with a corresponding force and thus loses its connecting property. In this way, on the one hand, a cost-effective stationary attachment of the intermediate lever and, on the other hand, in the case of triggering the vehicle safety device, a targeted energy-dissipating separation of the connection is possible.

In a third advantageous embodiment of the vehicle safety device according to the invention, the intermediate element is adapted to be moved by the triggering of the actuator.

By triggering the actuator, a motion pulse is transmitted in particular to the above-described four-bar linkage. Its handlebars are pivoted. The intermediate element is preferably designed to hold one of the links of the four-bar link on the rest of the vehicle, with this link particularly preferably being the short link. In this case, the intermediate element is designed so that the lifting of the front flap pivoting link generates a tensile force on the intermediate element. This force loads the intermediate element and the shear element is thereby sheared off. The intermediate element now pivots, in particular opposite to the direction of movement of the short link. With this coupling of the movement caused by the actuator with a counter-movement of the intermediate element, the energy is broken down kinematically clearly definable.

As further details of further developments of the solution according to the invention, as already mentioned, advantageously said swivel hinge part of the short link of the designed as a four-bar hinge. This development is advantageous because at the short handlebar when lifting the associated front flap by means of the actuator higher tensile forces than the long handlebar.

Furthermore, a guide slot for guiding the pivoting movement on the lower hinge upper part is advantageously formed on the upper hinge upper part. In the guide slot a guide pin is preferably mounted displaceably, which is fixedly mounted on the lower hinge upper part and at the same time forms a travel limit for the pivotal movement of the two hinge parts relative to each other. When not raised component of the outer skin, the upper hinge upper part is advantageously fixedly connected to the lower hinge upper part via a shear element, which is sheared when lifting the component of the outer skin. As Abscherelement a Abscherniet is particularly preferably also provided.

The vehicle according to the invention is advantageously equipped with such a vehicle safety device.

An exemplary embodiment of the solution according to the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the attached schematic drawings. It shows:

1 a side view of a first embodiment of a vehicle safety device according to the invention in the non-raised state and

2 the view according to 1 in the raised state.

In the 1 and 2 is a vehicle safety device 10 for lifting a component 12 the outer skin of an associated and not further illustrated vehicle illustrated. The component to be lifted 12 is a front door or bonnet of the vehicle.

The vehicle safety device 10 is with an actor 14 provided on detection of a personal accident on the hood and an associated, possible impact of a person on the hood this from the in 1 position shown in the in 2 can lift shown position. The actor 14 accelerates the hood with high kinetic energy, with an actuator temple 16 from an actuator housing 18 is driven out.

The actor 14 is located in the area of a component 12 or the hood on the vehicle hinged hinge 20 , This hinge 20 is as a four-bar linkage with a on (not further illustrated) vehicle chassis fixedly mounted hinge base 22 designed.

At the hinge base 22 is a lever-shaped intermediate element or an intermediate lever 24 at one end at a warehouse 26 pivotally mounted. At the other end is the intermediate lever 24 with a shearing rivet 28 on the hinge base 22 in the in 1 shown fixed position. At the intermediate lever 24 is also near the camp 26 and yet some of this spaced a short handlebar 30 at a warehouse 32 hinged pivotally.

At the hinge base 22 is also a long handlebar 34 at a warehouse 36 hinged pivotally. The handlebars 30 and 34 wear at associated warehouses 38 and 40 a hinge top 42 , which consists of a lower hinge shell 42a and an upper hinge shell 42b is formed. The upper hinge shell 42b is at a warehouse 41 on the lower hinge upper part 42a pivoted.

At the upper hinge upper part 42b is a guide 44 provided, which down from the upper hinge shell 42b protrudes and is designed from a plate with a slot-like guide track formed therein. The guideway is curved in a circle. In the guideway slides a guide pin 46 along, at the lower hinge top 42a is fixed in place and protrudes through the guideway.

When lifting the component 12 becomes the upper hinge upper part 42b by means of the actuator 14 from the lower hinge shell 42a pushed away and pivots it around the camp 41 , During this pivoting movement of the guide pin slides 46 in the guideway of the guide slot 44 along until it hits the end of the guideway. At the same time causes the lifting by means of the actuator 14 a pivoting movement of the two handlebars 30 and 34 refer to the Fig. Clockwise.

By lifting the bottom hinge shell 42a and the associated pivoting movement of the short arm 30 arises in the warehouse 32 a pulling force in the direction of an arrow 48 , This force acts on the intermediate lever 24 and try this around the camp 26 to pan. This results in the Abscherniet 28 a gravity that finally shears it off. The intermediate lever 24 it gets around the camp 26 movable or pivotable. The Shorniet 28 The energy supplied is converted into deformation work and thereby reduced.

The vacant intermediate lever 24 now pivots counterclockwise around the bearing 26 on the hinge base 22 , By the movement of the intermediate lever 24 , which is also subject to friction at the interfaces involved, energy is also degraded.

Such degradation of energy just at the end of the movement of the component 12 causes an overshoot of this in the aforementioned type with the associated negative effects of increased biomechanical load of an accident person can be avoided.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

Vehicle safety device

12

component

14

actuator

16

Aktorstempel

18

actuator housing

20

hinge

22

Hinge lower

24

intermediate lever

26

camp

28

Abscherniet

30

short handlebar

32

camp

34

long handlebar

36

camp

38

camp

40

camp

42

Hinge cover

42a

lower hinge top

42b

Upper hinge top

44

guide link

46

guide pins

48

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Claims (6)

Vehicle safety device ( 10 ) for lifting a component ( 12 ) of the outer skin of the associated vehicle by means of an actuator ( 14 ) in the event of a collision with a hinged hinge part ( 30 ) at a warehouse ( 32 ) is articulated and when lifting the component ( 12 ) around the camp ( 32 ) is pivotable, characterized in that the bearing ( 32 ) on an intermediate element ( 24 ), which is not activated when vehicle safety device ( 10 ) is stationary, when triggered vehicle safety device ( 10 ) but is itself movable and thereby a movement of the camp ( 32 ). Vehicle safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate element ( 24 ) is pivotable when triggered vehicle safety device and pivotal movement of the bearing ( 32 ). Vehicle safety device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the intermediate element ( 24 ) in the case of an untriggered vehicle safety device with a shearing member ( 28 ) is held stationary. Vehicle safety device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the intermediate element ( 24 ) is adapted to be triggered by the triggering of the actuator ( 14 ) is moved. Vehicle safety device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the pivotable hinge part of the short arm ( 30 ) of a hinge designed as a four-bar hinge ( 20 ). Vehicle with a vehicle safety device ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 5.

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