EP2802721B1 - Bonnet hood safety catch with secure fastening - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a hood security hook of a motor vehicle. It also relates to a hood of a motor vehicle, provided with a safety hook, and to a vehicle provided with such a cover.

Motor vehicle hoods opening at the front of the vehicle are commonly provided with a safety hook in addition to the bonnet lock operable from inside the vehicle. This safety hook is usually provided with a spring holding it against a stop of the hood or its support on the hood. It also usually has at its free end an inclined surface adapted to cooperate by sliding with a surface of a fixed element of the vehicle and to tilt to engage with a latch when closing the hood. The hook is usually operable from the front edge of the hood via a control lever made accessible by a slight opening of the hood after unlocking the lock. This hook is intended to prevent, when the vehicle rolls, an inadvertent opening of the cover in case of failure of the lock. Unintentional opening of the hood can cause serious damage to the vehicle and also a loss of control of the vehicle. It is therefore important that this hook always ensures its function of securing the hood lock. However, the pivoting connection, often made in a simple and inexpensive way by a riveted steel shaft, may over time have a greater resisting torque to the return torque exerted by the spring. The spring can also break or lose its stiffness. The hook can then remain in the open position after manual manipulation of the hook when opening the cover, without the user of the vehicle is aware of it and thus no longer ensure its function.

The patent document US 3,966,244 A discloses a motor vehicle hood safety hook releasable by a traction force on a control rod. The hook and the rod are specially configured so that the rod comes out of the front face of the hood when the lock of the hood is unlocked and the hood is lifted a few centimeters under the effect of a spring of the hood or the lock. To this end, the hook has a particular shape at its contact surface with the fixed element of the vehicle serving keeper. The surface in question is in fact kept in contact with the striker and has a profile such that the lifting of the bonnet rotates the hook towards the front of the vehicle and thus leaves the control rod mounted pivotally on the hook. This solution has advantages of handling the hook combined with aesthetic advantages. In the event of an increase in the resisting torque at the pivot connection of the hook, to the point where the hook remains in the open position, the fact that the control rod does not enter the cover after closing is a visual indicator of non-closing of the hook. hook and it will then possibly be possible to force the movement of the hook in the locking position by pressing the rod.

The invention aims to provide a security hook for a vehicle hood, the safety of which is increased, especially when the pivot connection deteriorates to the point of no longer bringing the hook to the locking position, and this simple and little expensive.

The invention relates to a motor vehicle hood safety device, comprising a safety hook cooperating with a striker formed by a portion of a mounting plate of a cover lock, the hook comprising:
pivoting means along an axis; a hooking surface arranged to engage with the striker following a movement of engagement of the hook with pivoting, the engagement with the striker being in positive contact when a tensile force is applied to the hook via its pivoting means ; remarkable in that it comprises, in addition: a return surface disposed in front of the attachment surface, arranged to come into contact with the striker during the engagement movement and rotate the hook in a commitment position , said return surface being configured to contact the corresponding surface of the striker during the downward movement of the cover only after the attachment surface has passed beyond the corresponding surface of the striker, the pivoting caused by contact of the return surface with the corresponding surface portion of the striker for engaging the portion of the hook comprising the hooking surface in a hole or cutout of the mounting plate and thereby engagement of the hook with the keeper, and the return surface is configured to pivot the hook so that at least a portion of the hooking surface is beyond the engagement boundary of said surface with the striker in the event of an attempt to inadvertently open the cover.

The hook may be provided with return means, such as a spring, to a position corresponding to an engagement with the striker. These means are not necessary, however. Indeed, thanks to the measures of the invention, in particular the return surface, the hook will be automatically brought back or recalled to a position of engagement with the striker.

The hook may comprise at an end opposite the pivot axis an inclined surface for sliding on the striker and to rotate it so as to bypass the striker. The hook can then engage with the striker under the action of a return spring and / or under the effect of contact of the return surface with the striker.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the return surface is convex and forms with the attachment surface a C-section cavity. The two surfaces in question then form the ends of C.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the return surface has an inclination opposite to that of the attachment surface.

According to yet another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the hooking surface forms an angle α with a perpendicular to the pivot axis passing through said axis, and measured towards the outside of said surface, which is equal to or less than 90 °.

The invention also relates to a hood of a motor vehicle provided with a safety hook of a safety device pivotally mounted at the front of its lower face, remarkable in that the device is in accordance with the invention, the hook engagement movement corresponding to the movement of the hood and the pivoting of the hook along its pivot axis.

The hook may comprise a handle, preferably in the form of a generally flat surface that can be pressurized by the hand of the user. This handle is preferably oriented towards the front edge of the hood. It can also serve as a stop of the hook, in particular in a pivoting direction of the hook corresponding to a disengagement.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the axis of pivoting of the hook is located on an upper half, preferably an upper quarter of the hook, and / or the gripping surface is located on a lower half, preferably a quarter of the hook, when the hood is in the closed position.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the return surface is convex and forms with the attachment surface a C-section cavity, the opening of the C being directed towards the rear of the cover.

The invention also relates to a vehicle comprising a hood with a safety hook of a safety device pivotally mounted at the front of its lower face, remarkable in that the hood is in accordance with the invention.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the return surface is configured to come into contact with the striker when closing the cover and to pivot the hook into an engagement position when the cover is in the closed position, the position closed being preferably an engagement position with a hood lock.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the striker has an upper surface in contact with the return surface of the spring, the upper surface being convex or generally flat, and / or the striker has a lower surface of contact with the surface of the spring. hooking, the lower surface forming an edge.

The measures of the invention give the safety hook increased reliability and without additional cost and without additional manipulation on the part of the user of the vehicle.

• La figure 1 est une vue en coupe d'une partie avant de capot de véhicule automobile, le capot étant pourvu d'un crochet conforme à l'invention ;
• La figure 2 est une vue agrandie du crochet de la figure.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the description and the drawings, among which:

• The figure 1 is a sectional view of a front part of a motor vehicle hood, the hood being provided with a hook according to the invention;
• The figure 2 is an enlarged view of the hook of the figure.

To the figure 1 it is possible to observe a hood front portion 2, shown in section and with a safety hook 4 under its lower or internal face. The hook is pivotally mounted on the hood and cooperates by engagement with a striker formed by the edge of the hood. mounting plate 6 of the lock (not shown) of the cover. The hook is configured to be automatically returned to an engagement position with the strike during the closing movement of the hood. Indeed, during the closing movement of the hood in the direction indicated by the double arrow shown on the cover, the lower end of the hook 6 will slide on the keeper 6 and cause pivoting of the hook which will allow the hood to continue to go down. The boss 12 of the hook forming a return surface is configured to come into contact with the striker 6 and pivot the hook in the opposite direction to the preceding pivoting to bring it into the engaged position when the cover 2 reaches the final position. closure.

The figure 2 illustrates in more detail the hook 4, its shape and its interaction with the striker formed by a portion of the plate 6 mounting the hood lock (not shown). The hook 4 is pivotally mounted along a pivot axis 16 on a support 22 rigidly fixed to the cover 2. This support 22 may comprise a tab extending generally vertically and having a bore in which is inserted a screw or a rivet serving as pivot . The hook 4 extends at least roughly in a generally vertical plane and oriented in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It comprises at its upper part a generally flat portion intended to come into contact with the support leg 22, this portion comprising a bore. The screw or the rivet serving as a pivot then passes through the respective holes of the leg and the hook.

The hook 4 also comprises at its upper part an abutment surface 18 intended to come into contact with the support 22. This surface is disposed on the rear side of the hook with respect to its pivot axis 16 so as to form a stop for pivoting towards the back of the hook.

The hook 4 also comprises at its upper part and before a handle 10 directed towards the front edge of the hood 2. It has a dual function: it serves as a lever for the handling of the hook in the disengagement direction when opening the hood 2, as well as stop tilting forward of the hook by coming into contact with the corresponding surface of the cover 2.

The hook 4 comprises at its lower part, preferably at its lower end, a hooking surface 24 intended to cooperate by engagement to positive contact with the striker 6, more precisely with the corresponding surface 28 6. In the specific case of the illustration, the striker is formed by a portion of sheet 6 having an opening or cut in which the surface in question engages. The upper edge of this opening or cut is the surface 28 thus forming an edge. The hooking surface 24 can take various shapes and profiles. It forms with a straight line 26 perpendicular to the pivot axis and passing through this axis an angle α capable of ensuring a positive contact with the striker. This angle α is measured on the side of the line 26 which outwards from the hooking surface 24. This angle is less than or equal to 90 °, it being understood that it may vary along the profile of the surface in question. .

The hook 4 also comprises a return surface 12 disposed opposite or vis-à-vis the hooking surface 24. It is convex and thus forms a boss. It is configured to come into contact with the striker, more precisely with a convex portion 14 of the striker before the end of the closing movement of the cover so as to pivot the hook in a direction of engagement with the striker 6. The surface 12 is also configured to come into contact with the corresponding surface 14 of the striker 6 during the downward movement of the cover only after the attachment surface 24 has passed beyond the corresponding surface 28 of the latch. spoils. In this way, the pivoting caused by the contact of the return surface 12 with the corresponding surface portion 14 of the keeper 6 allows the engagement of the portion of the hook comprising the hooking surface 24 in the hole or the cutout of the sheet and, therefore, the engagement of the hook 4 with the keeper 6. More specifically, the return surface 12 is configured to pivot the hook so that at least a portion of the surface of hooking 24 is beyond the border of engagement of said surface with the striker in case of attempted accidental opening of the cover, this boundary being materialized by the line 20. This line corresponds to the theoretical trajectory of a point of the hook when opening or closing the hood in the absence of pivoting of the hook. This minimum pivoting of the hook must be achieved before reaching the final position of closing the hood, or at least when the hood reaches this position.

The hook 4 shown in full line at the figure 2 is in a position corresponding to the conditions described above, namely a position where the front part of the attachment surface 24 is beyond the engagement limit 20 in case of opening movement of the cover and before the hood does not reach its final closing position. The hook represented in dashed line at the figure 2 corresponds to the position of the hook when it is in the maximum engagement position, that is to say when its abutment surface 18 is in contact with the corresponding surface of the support 22. The hook is preferably provided with a spring return (not shown) to the position shown in dashed line. In the case of normal operation of the return spring, the hook will take the position shown in dashed line once the hood in the final closed position. It can be observed that the return surface 12 is at a distance from the corresponding surface 14 of the striker 6, thanks to the force of the spring. In the event of non-functioning or malfunctioning of the spring, the hook will then take the position shown in solid lines or at least a position close to that one as a function of possible dynamic effects and elastic deformation of certain elements, these effects being then depending on the closing speed of the hood.

The hooking surfaces 24 and return 12 of the hook 4 form a C-shaped cavity, this cavity being intended to receive at least a portion of the striker 6, at least the portion 28 of the striker intended to engage by positive contact. with the hooking surface 24.

The hook is preferably made of steel. It may however also be made of plastic material, in particular by injection molding. It can also be reinforced by fibers such as for example glass fibers. It may have reinforcing ribs. Its thickness can also vary.

The hook preferably has an outer surface inclined at its lower end, intended to come into contact with the striker and to slide on in a direction forming an angle with the direction of the path of the hook generated by the closing movement of the cover, so to allow an automatic pivoting of the hook in a first direction (corresponding to the direction of unlocking or disengagement) and then to pivot in the opposite direction (corresponding to the locking or engagement direction) either under the effect of a spring or under the effect of contact of the return surface with the corresponding surface of the striker.

Although the orientation of the hook to Figures 1 and 2 is preferred, the hook can however be oriented differently, for example the opposite, that is to say with the opening of the C forward, or 90 °.

Claims (10)

1. Motor vehicle bonnet safety device (2), comprising a safety hook (4) and a latch (6) formed by a portion of a metal sheet for mounting a bonnet lock, the hook (4) comprising: means for pivoting along an axis (16); a fastening surface (24) arranged to be engaged with a latch (6) following an engagement movement of the hook (4) with pivoting, the engagement with the latch (6) being in positive contact when a traction force is applied to the hook via the pivoting means thereof, characterised in that it further comprises: a return surface (12) disposed opposite the fastening surface (24), arranged to make contact with the latch (6) during the engagement movement and to make the hook (4) pivot in an engagement position, said return surface (12) being configured to only make contact with the corresponding surface (14) of the latch (6) during the descending movement of the bonnet after the fastening surface (24) is passed beyond the corresponding surface (28) of the latch, the pivoting caused by the contact of the return surface (12) with the portion of corresponding surface (14) of the latch (6) enabling the engagement of the part of the hook comprising the fastening surface (24) in an orifice or a cut of the mounting metal sheet and, departing, the engagement of the hook (4) with the latch (6), and the return surface (12) is configured so as to make the hook pivot such that at least one part of the fastening surface (24) is beyond the engagement edge of said surface with the latch (6) in case of any untimely attempt to open the bonnet (2).
2. Safety device according to claim 1, characterised in that the return surface (12) is convex and forms with the fastening surface (24), a C-shaped section cavity.
3. Safety device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the return surface (12) has an inclination opposite that of the fastening surface.
4. Safety device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the fastening surface (24) forms an angle α with a perpendicular (26) to the pivoting axis (16) passing through said axis, and measured towards the outside of said surface (24), which is equal to or less than 90°.
5. Motor vehicle bonnet (2) provided with a safety hook (4) for a safety device mounted pivoting at the front of the lower face thereof, characterised in that the device conforms with one of claims 1 to 3, the engagement movement of the hook (4) corresponding to the movement of the bonnet (2) and to the pivoting of the hook (4) along the pivoting axis (16) thereof.
6. Bonnet (2) according to claim 5, characterised in that the pivoting axis (16) of the hook (4) is situated on an upper half, preferably an upper quarter of the hook and the fastening surface (24) is situated on a lower half, preferably a lower quarter of the hook, when the bonnet (2) is in the closed position.
7. Bonnet (2) according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterised in that the hook (4) conforms with claim 2, the opening of the C being directed towards the rear of the bonnet (2).
8. Vehicle comprising a bonnet (2) with a safety hook (4) for a safety device mounted pivoting at the front of the lower face thereof, characterised in that the bonnet conforms with one of claims 5 to 7.
9. Vehicle according to claim 8, characterised in that the return surface (12) is configured to make contact with the latch (6) during the closing of the bonnet (2) and to make the hook (4) pivot in an engagement position when the bonnet is in the closed position, the closed position being preferably an engagement position with a bonnet lock.
10. Vehicle according to one of claims 8 and 9, characterised in that the latch has an upper surface (14) for contact with the return surface of the spring, the upper surface (14) being convex or generally flat, and/or the latch (6) has a lower surface (28) for contact with the fastening surface (24) of the hook (4), the lower surface (28) forming an edge.

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