JP2002137701A - Structure for positioning bumper - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure automatic assembly of a rear bumper 2 by a robot or the like and to prevent deterioration of sealability when a member for positioning the rear bumper 2 or a seal member 8 is reused by a structure in which a locating pin 4 is placed between a body panel 3 and the rear bumper 2 for positioning the rear bumper 2 to a body 1. SOLUTION: The locating pin 4 is formed with a first slope 6a locked to a bumper engagement hole 2c, and a second slope 7a locked to a body engagement hole 5c. Locking forces are set for the respective first and second slopes 6a, 7a to allow detachment of the rear bumper 2 from the body 1 with the locating pin 4 locked in the body engagement hole 5c. The seal member 8 is interposed between the locating pin 4 and the body 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for positioning a bumper with respect to a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a bumper positioning structure of this kind, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-240207, a clip integrally formed of resin is used to temporarily fix the bumper to a vehicle body. Such is known. The clip is provided with a leg that fits into the insertion hole of the vehicle body panel, and a pair of holding pieces for holding the bracket of the bumper on the opposite side of the leg.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-52900 describes a holding clip similar to that of the conventional example (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-240207). A seal member for preventing water from entering the vehicle body from the insertion hole of the vehicle body panel is provided therebetween.

[0004]

As disclosed in the latter conventional example (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-52900), generally, an insertion hole of a vehicle body panel is provided between a clip and a vehicle body. A seal member for preventing water from entering the vehicle body is provided. If the bumper is damaged, the bumper must be temporarily removed from the vehicle body at a repair shop or the like, and the bumper must be repaired or replaced with a new one. If removed together, the sealing material may be damaged, or the clip or insertion hole may be deformed or worn.
Then, in this case, if the bumper is assembled to the vehicle body by reusing the damaged clip or sealing material as described above,
The sealing property of the sealing material deteriorates, and water easily penetrates into the vehicle body from the insertion hole. To avoid this, replacing the clip or the sealing material with a new one increases the cost. is there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to devise a configuration of a positioning pin for positioning a bumper with respect to a vehicle body without incurring an increase in cost. Even when the bumper is assembled to the vehicle body by reusing the positioning pins and sealing materials,
The purpose is to prevent the sealing performance from deteriorating.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a solution of the present invention, when a bumper is removed from a vehicle body, a positioning pin is held in a state of being locked to a vehicle body side, and the bumper is positioned in the position. It was removed from the pin.

More specifically, according to the first aspect of the present invention, one side in the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin is locked in a bumper engaging hole provided in the bumper, and the other side in the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin is attached to the vehicle body. It is assumed that a bumper positioning structure is to be inserted into the provided vehicle body engaging hole. A flange portion protrudes from an outer periphery of the positioning pin in the longitudinal direction intermediate portion, and the positioning pin is provided on the outer periphery of the positioning pin on one side in the longitudinal direction from the flange portion with the bumper engagement hole from the vehicle body side. A first locking portion that locks with the bumper engagement hole when inserted into the bumper to prevent the positioning pin from coming off toward the vehicle body, and that is positioned on the other side in the longitudinal direction than the flange portion. On the outer periphery of the pin, when the positioning pin is inserted into the vehicle body engaging hole from the bumper side, the pin is locked with the vehicle body engaging hole to prevent the positioning pin from coming off to the bumper side. A locking member is provided, and a seal member for preventing water from entering the vehicle body through the vehicle body engaging hole is interposed between the flange portion of the positioning pin and the vehicle body. Part and the second locking part, the bumper When the positioning pin is removed from the bumper engaging hole, the positioning pin is retained in the vehicle body engaging hole and detached from the bumper engaging hole. Configuration.

According to this configuration, when the bumper is positioned with respect to the vehicle body by the positioning pin, the first and second locking portions of the positioning pin are locked in the bumper engaging hole and the vehicle body engaging hole, respectively. At the same time, a seal member for preventing water from entering from the vehicle body engaging hole is interposed between the flange portion and the vehicle body. Even if the bumper is removed from the vehicle body, the positioning pin is held on the vehicle body with the first locking portion locked in the vehicle body engagement hole. It is possible to prevent the sealing material from being damaged and the positioning pin and the vehicle body engaging hole from being deformed or worn. Therefore, even if the bumper is mounted on the vehicle body by reusing the positioning pins and the sealing material, the sealing performance of the sealing material does not deteriorate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the positioning pin has a substantially cylindrical shape, and
The locking portion and the second locking portion are formed so as to protrude radially from the outer periphery of the positioning pin, and are locked with the bumper side end of the bumper engagement hole in the first locking portion. The inclination angle of the first inclined surface with respect to the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin is the inclination angle of the second inclined surface with respect to the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin in the second locking portion which is engaged with the vehicle body side end portion of the vehicle body side engaging hole. It is assumed that it is set to be smaller than.

With this configuration, the configuration of the first and second locking portions according to the first aspect of the present invention is embodied. That is, the first inclined surface of the first locking portion locked in the bumper engagement hole is
It has a relatively small inclination angle with respect to the axial direction of the positioning pin, while the second inclined surface of the second locking portion that is locked in the vehicle body engaging hole is relatively inclined with respect to the axial direction of the positioning pin. And the locking force between the second locking portion and the vehicle body is greater than the locking force between the first locking portion and the bumper. The function and effect of the first aspect of the present invention can be sufficiently obtained with a simple structure of the stopping portion and the second locking portion. In addition, since the positioning pin is cylindrical, it is easy to insert the bumper into the vehicle body engaging hole when assembling the bumper to the vehicle body, thereby facilitating the positioning of the bumper with respect to the vehicle body. Automatic assembly can be performed reliably.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which a bumper positioning structure according to the present invention is applied to a rear bumper of a vehicle.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body, and reference numeral 2 denotes a resin rear bumper assembled to the rear end of the vehicle body 1. That is, as shown in an enlarged cross section in FIG. 2, a positioning pin (locator pin) for positioning the rear bumper 2 with respect to the vehicle body 1 by a robot or the like on a vehicle assembly line is provided on the vehicle body panel 3 at the rear end of the vehicle body 1. The pedestal part 5 of 4) is provided.
The pedestal portion 5 is provided so as to protrude rearward from the main body of the vehicle body panel 3 in a pedestal shape, and has a rear end surface serving as a pedestal surface 5a extending substantially vertically. A peripheral surface 5b extending continuously to the main body of the panel 3 is formed. The pedestal surface 5a is formed with a vehicle body engaging hole 5c that penetrates in the vehicle front-rear direction and through which the locator pin 4 is inserted.

On the other hand, the rear bumper 2 has an upper surface 2a at a position corresponding to the pedestal 5 of the vehicle body panel 3.
A joint wall 2b joined to the vehicle body panel 3 is provided so as to extend substantially vertically downward from the front end of the vehicle. A locator pin 4 penetrates through the joint wall 2b in the vehicle longitudinal direction.
Is formed, and the center of the bumper engagement hole 2c and the center of the vehicle body engagement hole 5c are substantially aligned by the locator pin 4, that is, the rear bumper 2 is The rear bumper 2 is attached to the vehicle body 1 by fastening means such as bolts (not shown) in a state where the rear bumper 2 is positioned relative to the vehicle body 1. The rear bumper 2 is formed with a bumper edge 2d extending upward from the front end of the upper surface 2a on the vehicle body side.

The main feature of the present invention lies in the structure of a locking portion for locking the locator pin 4 to the rear bumper 2 and the vehicle body panel 3 respectively. Hereinafter, the locator pin 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The locator pin 4 is generally formed of a resin into a substantially columnar shape, and a flange-shaped flange portion 4a protrudes from an outer periphery of a substantially middle portion in the longitudinal direction. Has been established. The locator pin 4 has a body portion slightly smaller in diameter than the vehicle body engaging hole 5c on the vehicle body front side (left side in FIG. 3) with respect to the flange portion 4a with the axis X directed in the vehicle longitudinal direction. 4b, a small diameter portion 4c having a smaller diameter than the main body portion 4b is formed on the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the flange portion 4a. Further, a conical tapered portion 4d having a smaller diameter toward the front side of the vehicle body is formed at a front end portion on the front side of the vehicle body.

In the small diameter portion 4c of the locator pin 4,
The locator pin 4 is locked with the bumper engagement hole 2c.
An annular protrusion 6 (first locking portion) is formed to prevent the front part of the vehicle body from slipping forward. Specifically, a first inclined surface 6a whose diameter is gradually increased toward the rear of the vehicle body is provided on the outer periphery of the small-diameter portion 4c from a place away from the flange portion 4a by a predetermined distance behind the vehicle body, This first
A bumper-side inclined surface 6b whose diameter is gradually reduced toward the rear of the vehicle body is provided continuously from the inclined surface 6a behind the vehicle body. The inclination angle α of the first inclined surface 6a with respect to the axis X
Is, for example, about 30 ° to 45 °, and the bumper-side inclined surface 6b has a gentler inclination angle than the first inclined surface 6a in order to facilitate the insertion of the locator pin 4 into the bumper engagement hole 2c. It has been.

On the other hand, the main body 4b of the locator pin 4
A projection 7 (a second locking portion) that locks with the vehicle body engaging hole 5c to prevent the locator pin 4 from slipping rearward of the vehicle body at a position further away from the flange portion 4a toward the front of the vehicle body. ) Is formed. The protrusion 7 is provided on the main body 4.
b are formed so as to protrude outward in the radial direction at a plurality of positions symmetrical with respect to the axis X, and the end of the protrusion 7 on the rear side of the vehicle body is provided with an axis X as shown in the drawing.
Inclined surface 7a having an inclination angle β of about 90 ° with respect to
Is provided. Further, the second protruding portion 7 has the second
A vehicle-body-side inclined surface 7b that is inclined toward the front of the vehicle body toward the front of the vehicle body continuously with the inclined surface 7a so as to gradually approach the axis X.
Are formed to facilitate insertion of the locator pin 4 into the vehicle body engaging hole 5c.

Between the flange portion 4a of the locator pin 4 and the vehicle body panel 3, it is possible to prevent water from entering the vehicle body from outside the vehicle body through the vehicle body engaging hole 5c during running in rain or during car washing. Sealing material 8 is interposed. The sealing material 8 is made of a material having a sealing property such as rubber, and is formed in a substantially disk shape, and is fitted to the main body 4 b of the locator pin 4. That is, the outer diameter of the sealing material 8 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the flange portion 4a, and the center portion of the main portion 4 of the locator pin 4
A through hole having substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of b is formed.

Next, a procedure for positioning the rear bumper 2 with respect to the vehicle body 1 using the locator pin 4 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the sealing material 8 is attached to the locator pin 4. Specifically, the through hole of the sealing material 8 is inserted into the main body 4b via the tapered portion 4d of the locator pin 4, and is brought into contact with the front surface of the flange 4a on the vehicle body. At this time, since the through hole of the sealing material 8 has substantially the same diameter as the main body 4b, the sealing material 8 is tapered by the second inclined surface 7a protruding radially outward from the main body 4b. The locator pin 4 can be prevented from moving to the part 4d side and falling off the locator pin 4.

Subsequently, the locator pin 4 is attached to the rear bumper 2 as shown in FIG. That is, the vehicle rear side of the locator pin 4 is inserted into the bumper engaging hole 2c from the vehicle front side of the rear bumper 2 in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure, and the bumper engaging hole 2c and the first
The inclined surface 6a is locked. More specifically, first, the bumper-side inclined surface 6 b of the protrusion 6 is connected to the bumper engagement hole 2.
c, and a load is applied to the locator pin 4 in a direction in which the locator pin 4 is inserted from that state, whereby the protrusion 6 is elastically deformed, and the first inclined surface 6a is moved to the bumper side of the bumper engagement hole 2c, and the first inclined surface 6a is locked to the bumper side end of the bumper engagement hole 2c. In this state, when a load within a predetermined value is applied to the locator pin 4 in a direction in which the locator pin 4 is separated from the rear bumper 2, the first inclined surface 6a is moved toward the bumper engagement hole 2c. Since the locator pin 4 comes into contact with the bumper-side end, the locator pin 4 is prevented from slipping forward of the vehicle body. The predetermined value is, for example, a value slightly larger than a load corresponding to the weight of the rear bumper 2.

After the locator pin 4 is attached to the rear bumper 2 in this manner, the rear bumper 2 is positioned with respect to the vehicle body 1 by the locator pin 4, as shown in FIG. That is, although not shown, the rear bumper 2 is supported by a robot for assembling the rear bumper 2 to the vehicle body panel 3 on the vehicle assembly line, and the rear bumper 2 is assembled to the vehicle body panel 3 arranged at a predetermined position from behind. Then, the front side of the locator pin 4 on the vehicle body is inserted into the vehicle body engaging hole 5c in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure, and the vehicle body engaging hole 5c and the second inclined surface 7a are locked. At this time, the tapered portion 4d is formed at the front end of the locator pin 4 on the front side of the vehicle body, so that the locator pin 4 can be easily inserted into the vehicle body engaging hole 5c, and the robot can automatically perform the operation. Assembly can be performed reliably.

More specifically, first, when the robot moves the rear bumper 2 forward of the vehicle body, the vehicle body side inclined surface 7b of the projection 7 comes into contact with the vehicle body engaging hole 5c on the bumper side. From this state, a load is further applied to the rear bumper 2 toward the front side of the vehicle body, thereby elastically deforming the protrusion 7 and moving the second inclined surface 7a toward the vehicle body through the vehicle body engagement hole 5c. The second inclined surface 7
a is locked to the vehicle body side end of the vehicle body engagement hole 5c. Thereby, the positioning of the rear bumper 2 with respect to the vehicle body panel 3 is performed.

In this state, the rear bumper 2
When a load is applied in a direction in which the rear bumper 2 is removed from the vehicle body panel 3, the second inclined surface 7a comes into contact with the vehicle body side end of the vehicle body engaging hole 5c, so that the locator pin 4 moves toward the vehicle rear side. Is prevented. The seal member 8 is interposed between the flange portion 4a and the vehicle body panel 3 in a state where the second inclined surface 7a is locked in the vehicle body engagement hole 5c. The thickness of the vehicle body panel 3 and the thickness of the sealing material 8 are added so that the separation distance between the inclined surface 7a and the flange portion 4a exerts a predetermined compressive force on the sealing material 8 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Since the thickness is set to be slightly smaller than the thickness, the sealing performance is improved.

If the rear bumper 2 is positioned with respect to the vehicle body panel 3 according to the above-described procedure, the rear bumper 2 can be firmly attached to the vehicle body 1 by using fastening means such as bolts (not shown).

Next, when the rear bumper 2 is damaged, the rear bumper 2 is temporarily removed at a repair shop or the like.
The procedure of removing the vehicle from the vehicle body panel 3 and replacing it with a new one will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, first, the fastening state by the fastening means such as bolts fixing the rear bumper 2 is released, and then the rear bumper 2 is pulled rearward of the vehicle body (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5) to pull the vehicle body panel. Remove from 3. At this time, when a load greater than the predetermined value is applied to the locator pin 4, the protrusion 7
Of the projection 6 having a lower locking force than the second inclined surface 7a
Since the locked state between the inclined surface 6a and the bumper engagement hole 2c is released, the locator pin 4 is moved to the vehicle body engagement hole 5c.
The locator pin 4 is held in the locked state.
Is left on the vehicle body panel 3, and only the rear bumper 2 is removed.

Thereafter, when assembling the repaired rear bumper 2 or a new rear bumper 2 to the vehicle body 1, the operator holds the rear bumper 2 and approaches the vehicle body panel 3 from behind, and the rear bumper 2 Of the locator pin 4 held in a state where the bumper engagement hole 2c is locked to the vehicle body panel 3,
The rear bumper 2 is positioned with respect to the vehicle body panel 3. Then, the rear bumper 2 positioned in this manner with respect to the vehicle body panel 3 is assembled to the vehicle body 1 by using fastening means.

Therefore, according to the bumper positioning structure of this embodiment, the once mounted rear bumper 2 can be removed while the locator pin 4 is held in the vehicle body engaging hole 5c. Therefore, during this removal, the seal material 8 is not damaged, and the locator pin 4 and the vehicle body engaging hole 5c are not deformed or worn. Even if the seal material 8 is reused and the rear bumper 2 is assembled to the vehicle body panel 3, it is possible to prevent the sealing performance from being deteriorated. The locator pin 4 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and has a tapered portion 4
Since d is formed, the rear bumper 2 can be easily inserted into the vehicle body engaging hole 5c, and the positioning of the rear bumper 2 with respect to the vehicle body 1 can be facilitated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes other various embodiments. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the protrusions 7 are formed at a plurality of positions symmetrically about the axis X on the outer periphery of the main body 4b of the locator pin 4; however, the present invention is not limited to this. Any number may be formed at the location, and the protrusions 7 may be formed over the entire circumference like the protrusions 6.

Although the protrusion 6 is formed on the entire circumference, a plurality of protrusions may be formed intermittently.

In the above-described embodiment, the locator pin 4 has a substantially columnar shape as a whole, but is not limited thereto, and may have a prismatic shape such as a square pole.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the rear bumper 2 but also to a front bumper.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sealing material is interposed between the positioning pin for positioning the bumper with respect to the vehicle body and the vehicle body, and the positioning pin is held by the vehicle body. In this state, only the bumper is detached from the vehicle body, so that even when the positioning pin and the sealing material are reused and the bumper is assembled again to the vehicle body, it is possible to prevent the sealing performance from being deteriorated.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the structure of the first and second locking portions is embodied with a simple structure, and the effect of the first aspect of the invention can be sufficiently obtained. Further, since the positioning pin is cylindrical, it is easy to insert the bumper into the vehicle body engaging hole when assembling the bumper to the vehicle body, so that automatic mounting by a robot or the like can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing a mounting state of a bumper by a positioning pin.

FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 for explaining mounting of a positioning pin to a bumper;

FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 for explaining mounting of a bumper and a positioning pin on a vehicle body.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating removal of a bumper from a vehicle body.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 2 Rear bumper 2c Bumper engagement hole 4 Locator pin 4a Flange part 5c Vehicle body engagement hole 6 Projection (1st locking part) 6a 1st slope 7 Projection (2nd locking part) 7a 2nd slope Surface 8 Sealing material

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a state where one side in the longitudinal direction of a positioning pin is locked in a bumper engaging hole provided in a bumper, the other longitudinal side of the positioning pin is inserted into a vehicle body engaging hole provided in a vehicle body. In the bumper positioning structure, a flange portion is provided on an outer periphery of a longitudinal middle portion of the positioning pin, and the positioning pin is provided on an outer periphery of the positioning pin on one side in the longitudinal direction from the flange portion. When inserted into the bumper engagement hole from the vehicle body side, it is locked with the bumper engagement hole,
A first locking portion is provided for preventing the positioning pin from coming off to the vehicle body side. The positioning pin is provided on the outer periphery of the positioning pin on the other side in the longitudinal direction from the flange portion with the vehicle body engaging hole from the bumper side. A second locking portion that locks with the vehicle body engagement hole when inserted into the vehicle body to prevent the positioning pin from coming off to the bumper side, between the flange portion of the positioning pin and the vehicle body. A seal member for preventing water from entering the vehicle body through the vehicle body engagement hole is interposed. The first locking portion and the second locking portion are used when removing the bumper from the vehicle body. The positioning pin is locked in the bumper engagement hole and the vehicle body engagement hole so that the positioning pin is held in a state of being locked in the vehicle body engagement hole and is separated from the bumper engagement hole. Characteristic bumper positioning structure. 2. The positioning pin according to claim 1, wherein the positioning pin has a substantially columnar shape, and the first locking portion and the second locking portion project radially from an outer periphery of the positioning pin. The inclination angle of the first inclined surface with respect to the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin in the first engagement portion that is formed and engages with the end of the bumper engagement hole on the bumper side is the vehicle body side end of the vehicle body side engagement hole. A second inclined surface of the second engaging portion that engages with the positioning pin is set to have a smaller inclination angle with respect to a longitudinal direction of the positioning pin.