JP2003063333A - Bumper reinforcing structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change visual design of an automobile at a reasonable cost and to improve the visual design by attaching a front air dam 6 which is a vacuum molded product on the front side of a front bumper 4. SOLUTION: A bumper's upper wall unit 20 which pairs off with right and left units is formed on the upper side of the front bumper 4, and each plated bumper reinforcing materials 5 are located on the rear side of the car body on the bumper's upper wall unit 20. While an upper flange 36 of each bumper reinforcing materials 5 are fixed on the bumper's upper wall unit 20 as well as a car body panel 22, a lower flange 33 is fixed on a fixing unit 18 mounted on a front wall unit 4a of the front bumper 4. The front air dam 6 covering from the lower end to the fixing unit 18 of the front wall unit 4a is mounted on the surface of the front bumper 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bumper reinforcing structure in which a reinforcing member is provided on the back side of a bumper body of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a bumper reinforcing structure of this type, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-102851, a bumper reinforcing member extending vertically is provided on the back side of the bumper main body. It is known that the upper edges of the bumper reinforcing member and the bumper reinforcing member are overlapped and fixed to the vehicle body panel, and the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed to a substantially intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the bumper body.

[0003]

By the way, in recent years, there has been an attempt to cope with various tastes of users by changing the appearance design while sharing the same vehicle body. At this time, generally, the design of the front or rear bumper with a relatively strong impression is changed in the appearance design, but since the bumper body is injection molded, changing the design of the bumper body will reduce the mold cost etc. Manufacturing cost is high. Therefore, the bumper main body is standardized, and a panel-shaped bumper cover obtained by vacuum forming which is low in manufacturing cost is attached to the front side of the bumper main body to change the appearance design of the automobile at low cost.

However, when a new bumper cover is attached, the weight of the bumper body causes the bumper body to hang down, and a gap between the vehicle body-side member such as a lamp or the like and the bumper becomes large, resulting in a bad appearance. In order to prevent this, it is conceivable to provide a bumper reinforcing member that connects the vehicle body panel to which the upper end of the bumper body is attached and the intermediate portion of the bumper body, as in the conventional reinforcing structure. Since the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is directly fixed to the wall portion of the bumper main body, the appearance of the bumper may be impaired at the fixed portion.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to change the design by attaching a bumper cover to the front side of the bumper body and to cope with the increase in weight due to this. When a reinforcing member is provided on the back side of the bumper body, the structure of the bumper reinforcing member and the bumper cover is carefully designed so that the appearance of the automobile can be changed at low cost while maintaining its good appearance. Especially.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the solution means of the present invention, the bumper body is provided on the back side with the upper end fixed to the vehicle body and the lower end fixed to the bumper body. A reinforcing member was provided, and the fixed portion of the reinforcing member in the bumper body was covered with the bumper cover from the front side.

Specifically, according to the invention of claim 1, a bumper reinforcing member extending in the vertical direction is provided on the back side of the bumper body,
It is premised on a bumper reinforcing structure for an automobile in which both the upper end of the bumper body and the upper end of the bumper reinforcing member are fixed to the vehicle body. The bumper reinforcing member is formed so as to extend from the upper end of the bumper body to an intermediate portion in the up-down direction, and the lower end thereof is fixed to the bumper body, and the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed to the bumper body. Is attached to the front side of the bumper body.

According to this structure, on the back side of the bumper body,
A bumper reinforcing member that extends in the vertical direction is arranged, and the upper end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed to the vehicle body together with the upper end of the bumper body, while the lower end is fixed to the vertical middle portion of the bumper body. Even when the design is changed by attaching the bumper cover, it is possible to prevent the bumper body from sagging due to an increase in the weight thereof, and thus it is possible to prevent an increase in a gap between the vehicle body side lamps and the like.

Further, since the portion of the bumper body to which the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed is covered with the bumper cover from the front side, the appearance of the bumper is not impaired by providing the bumper reinforcing member. In other words, the appearance design of the car can be changed by mounting the bumper cover without changing the molding of the bumper body, and at the same time, the appearance of the car can be prevented from being impaired and the appearance design of the car can be improved. can do.

In the invention of claim 2, the bumper cover in the invention of claim 1 is an air dam. By doing this, by the air dam attached to the front side of the bumper body,
The aerodynamic performance of a car can be improved.

Further, in general, when a vehicle runs at high speed,
Since a considerably large downforce acts on the air dam, it is particularly effective that the reinforcing member can prevent the sagging of the bumper.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which a vehicle bumper reinforcing structure of the present invention is applied to a front bumper 1. The front bumper 1 is arranged on a front bumper body 4 having a shape that is substantially continuous with the hood 2 and the left and right front fenders 3, a rear side of the front bumper body 4, that is, a rear side of the vehicle body, and extends long in the up-down direction. A pair of left and right plate-shaped bumper reinforcing members 5 (only the right one is shown)
And a front air dam 6 as a bumper cover that constitutes the design on the lower front side of the front bumper 1.

The front bumper body 4 is formed by injection-molding a resin material, and a central notch portion 8 in which a front grill (not shown) is arranged is formed above the central portion in the vehicle width direction. A pair of left and right headlamp mounting portions 10 on which the headlamps 9 are respectively disposed are formed on the left and right sides thereof. A front wall portion 4a is formed below the central cutout portion 8 and the headlamp arrangement portion 10.

On the other hand, the front air dam 6 is in the form of a panel formed by vacuum-molding a resin material, and is formed so as to cover about 2/3 of the front bumper body 4 from the vicinity of the lower end thereof to the upper side from the front side. . Since the front surface of the front air dam 6 is the design surface of the front bumper 1, by newly attaching the front air dam 6 to the front bumper body 4, without changing the molding of the vehicle body and the front bumper body 4, The design of the front of the car can be changed. Further, if a relatively small air dam covering the lower end side of the front bumper body 4 is mounted instead of the large air dam 6 as described above, the design of the front part of the vehicle can be similarly changed. it can.

A pair of fog lamp storage openings 11 are formed at both ends of the front air dam 6 in the vehicle width direction so as to correspond to the fog lamp storage openings of the front bumper body 4. Further, an air introduction port 12 is formed between the fog lamp storage ports 11 so as to correspond to the air introduction port of the front bumper body 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a protector 17 is disposed along the upper edge of the front air dam 6 on the front surface of the front wall portion 4a of the front bumper body 4.
The protector 17 prevents the front wall portion 4a of the front bumper body 4 from being damaged. Below the protector 17 in the front wall portion 4a, details will be described later,
A fixing portion 18 to which the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member 5 is fixed is provided, and it is proximate to the lower side of the fixing portion 18 and protrudes from the rear surface of the front wall portion 4a toward the vehicle body panel 22 side. Ribs 19 are provided to reinforce the front bumper body 4.

The central notch 8 of the front bumper body 4
Bumper upper wall portions 20 that are gently curved and project upward and rearward from the upper edge of the front wall portion 4a are formed in intermediate portions between the headlamp arrangement portion 10 and the headlamp arrangement portion 10, respectively. A mounting flange 21 extending substantially horizontally is provided at the upper end thereof, and the pair of left and right mounting flanges 21 are respectively mounted on a vehicle body panel 22 such as a shroud upper panel. The body panel 22 is
The front side of the vehicle body is formed into a substantially U-shape with an open front wall 2
A bolt through hole for fixing the mounting flange 21 is formed in 2a, and a bolt through hole is also formed in the mounting flange 21 so as to correspond to the bolt through hole of the vehicle body panel 22. Further, a nut 23 arranged so as to match the through hole is welded to the lower side of the upper wall portion 22a of the vehicle body panel 22, and the upper portion of the bumper reinforcing member 5 and the mounting flange 21 which will be described later are welded. And the upper wall portion 22a of the vehicle body panel 22 are overlapped with each other, and then the bolt 25 with the washer 24 is inserted from above the bolt through hole to be screwed into the nut 23. The side is fastened and fixed together with the bumper reinforcing member 5 and the vehicle body.

The bumper reinforcing members 5 are arranged in a pair in the vehicle width direction on the vehicle rear side (back side) of the bumper upper wall portion 20 of the front bumper body 4 and are formed by press forming a steel plate. Is. The upper end of each bumper reinforcing member 5 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 22, and, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, after extending from the upper end to a position corresponding to the vicinity of the upper edge of the front air dam 6 as a whole, The front end of the front bumper body 4 is fixed to the fixing portion 18 at the end thereof.
A flange 33 fixed to is molded.

Each fixing portion 18 of the front bumper body 4
Each of which is provided with a pair of mounting holes 14 penetrating in the vehicle front-rear direction with a predetermined distance in the vehicle width direction.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower flange 33 of each bumper reinforcing member 5 is fitted to the fixing hole 18 of the front bumper body 4 from the rear side of the vehicle body so as to coincide with the mounting hole 14. A pair of holes 33a, 33a are formed. Then, on the rear side of the vehicle body of the lower flange 33, a nut 34 arranged so as to match each hole portion 33a thereof.
When the lower flange 33 and the fixing portion 18 of the front bumper body 4 are fixed, the mounting holes 14 and the hole portions 33 are formed from the front of the front bumper body 4 from the front of the vehicle body.
It is performed by inserting the bolt 35 into a and then screwing the bolt into the nut 34.

As described above, since the lower flange 33 of the bumper reinforcing member 5 is fixed by using the fastening members 34 and 35, it can be fixed more firmly as compared with a method such as adhesion.
At this time, the head of the bolt 35 is exposed on the front surface of the front wall portion 4a of the front bumper body 4, but in the present embodiment, the fixing portion 18 of the front bumper body 4 is fixed by the upper portion of the front air dam 6 as described above. Since it is covered, the appearance of the front bumper 1 is not impaired.

An upper flange 36 extending substantially horizontally is formed on the upper end side of each bumper reinforcing member 5, and an elliptic hole 36a elongated in the vehicle width direction is formed at the substantially center thereof.
Are formed. The upper flange 36 is arranged between the mounting flange 21 of the bumper upper wall portion 20 and the upper wall portion 22a of the vehicle body panel 22, and as described above, the bolt 2
5 is inserted into the bolt through holes of the mounting flange 21 and the vehicle body panel 22 and the hole portion 36a of the upper flange 36 and screwed into the nut 23, so that the mounting flange 21, the upper wall portion 22a of the vehicle body panel 22 and The three members of the upper flange 36 are integrally fastened together and fixed. As a result, the vehicle body panel 22 and the front wall portion 4 of the front bumper body 4 are
Since a and a are connected by the bumper reinforcing member 5, even if the relatively large front air dam 6 is mounted and the weight is increased as described above, the front bumper body 4 is deformed and the front edge of the bonnet hood 2 or the head. The gap with the lamp 9 does not increase.

Next, the main body portion 37 between the upper flange 36 and the lower flange 33 of the bumper reinforcing member 5 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. It is slightly inclined so as to be located closer to the front of the vehicle toward the side, and extends downward. And
A portion below the inclined portion is formed so as to extend substantially vertically, and a lower end side thereof is relatively loosely bent so as to be directed toward the front of the vehicle body, and then extends substantially horizontally to extend toward the lower flange 33. It is continuous with. As shown in FIG. 3, the bent portion of the main body 37 and the horizontal portion on the front side of the vehicle body are formed wider than the upper portion of the main body 37 in the vehicle width direction.

Further, in the central portion of the main body portion 37 in the vehicle width direction,
A groove 38 having a U-shaped cross section that projects to the back side (vehicle body side)
Is formed so as to extend linearly from the upper end to the lower end of the main body 37. Further, both vehicle width direction edge portions of the main body portion 37 are respectively bent toward the rear of the vehicle body at a substantially right angle, and together with the groove portion 38, the rigidity of the bumper reinforcing member 5 is improved.

As described above, the front bumper body 4
After fixing the bumper reinforcing member 5 to the front air dam 6, the front air dam 6 is mounted. The structure for fixing the front air dam 6 to the front bumper body 4 will be described. An attachment member 27 for attaching the front air dam 6 to the front bumper body 4 is provided on the outer peripheral edge side of the front air dam 6.
Are provided separately from each other. This mounting member 2
Reference numeral 7 includes a bracket 28 fixed to the back surface of the front air dam 6 with an adhesive or the like, and a fastener 29 attached to the bracket 28. On the other hand, the front wall portion 4a of the front bumper body 4 is provided with an insertion hole 30 corresponding to the fastener 29. By inserting the fastener 29 into the insertion hole 30 and locking it, the front air dam 6 is moved. It is designed to be attached from the front side. In this mounted state, the protector 17 of the front bumper body 4 and the upper edge of the front air dam 6 described above.
And the fog lamp storage opening 11 of the front air dam 6 coincides with the fog lamp storage opening of the front bumper body 4, and the air introduction opening 12 of the front air dam 6 coincides with the air introduction opening of the front bumper body 4. To do.

Therefore, according to the automobile bumper reinforcing structure of this embodiment, the pair of bumper reinforcing members 5 are arranged on the vehicle rear side of the upper wall portion 20 of the front bumper body 4 so as to be separated in the vehicle width direction. The upper flange 36 of the bumper reinforcing member 5 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 22 together with the upper wall portion 20 of the front bumper body 4, while the lower flange 33 is fixed to the fixing portion 18 of the front bumper body 4, and further, the front air dam Since the front side of the fixed portion 18 is covered by the 6, the mounting of the front air dam 6 can change the design of the front bumper 1 at low cost.

Moreover, the bumper reinforcing member 5 ensures the rigidity of the front bumper main body 4 and prevents the front bumper main body 4 from being deformed due to an increase in weight or the like, while the fixing bolt 35 of the bumper reinforcing member 5 prevents the front bumper main body 4 from being deformed. 1
It can be surely prevented that the appearance of
The appearance design of the automobile can be improved.

(Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various other embodiments. That is, in the above embodiment,
The case where the present invention is applied to the front bumper 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to a rear bumper.

Further, in the above embodiment, the relatively large front air dam 6 is provided as the bumper cover, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, in the vehicle width direction provided in the vertical middle portion of the front bumper body 4. It may be a long mall.

[0030]

As described above, according to the bumper reinforcing structure for an automobile of the first aspect of the invention, the bumper reinforcing member extending vertically is arranged on the back side of the bumper body, and the upper end of the bumper reinforcing member is attached to the vehicle body together with the bumper body. When fixing, since the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed to the vertical middle part of the bumper body, and the bumper cover is provided on the front side of the bumper body so as to cover the fixed portion, the bumper cover can reduce the cost. Not only can the design of the bumper be changed, but the addition of the reinforcing member can surely prevent the deformation of the bumper body without impairing the appearance of the bumper body, and can maintain the good design of the automobile.

According to the invention of claim 2, when the air dam is attached to the front side of the bumper body to change the design of the bumper, the effect of the invention of claim 1 becomes particularly effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a front bumper of an automobile according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bumper reinforcing member as viewed from the front side.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 front bumper 4 Front bumper body 5 Bumper reinforcement member 6 front air dam 18 Fixed part 22 Body panel

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ryuji Matsushima             2-25-31 West, Kabe Minami, Asakita-ku, Hiroshima-shi             Kawa Kasei Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3D003 AA00 BB02 CA02 DA14

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A bumper reinforcing structure for an automobile, comprising a bumper reinforcing member extending in a vertical direction on a back side of a bumper body, wherein both an upper end of the bumper main body and an upper end of the bumper reinforcing member are fixed to a vehicle body. The member is formed to extend from an upper end of the bumper body to an intermediate portion in the up-down direction, and a lower end of the member is fixed to the bumper body. The bumper body has a portion to which the lower end of the bumper reinforcing member is fixed. A bumper reinforcement structure for automobiles, characterized in that a bumper cover that covers from the front side of is attached. 2. The bumper reinforcing structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the bumper cover is an air dam.