JP2004237878A - Front underrun protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front underrun protection device capable of improving load resistance performance having a reinforcing member mounted on an FUP body which does not become the starting point of the bending. <P>SOLUTION: In the front underrun protection device, a hollow FUP body 2 formed in the vehicle width direction is disposed at the front part of a vehicle, and a reinforcing member 8 formed in the vehicle width direction is housed inside of the FUP body 2. The reinforcing member 8 is closely in contact with an inner surface 2d at the rear of the vehicle advancing direction of the inside of the FUP body 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a front underrun protector provided at a front portion of a vehicle so as to prevent one vehicle from sneaking under the other vehicle during a collision between the vehicles.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The front underrun protector is provided at the front of heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks, and when a collision occurs with a medium- or light-duty vehicle such as a passenger car (back-end collision, head-on collision, etc.), these medium- or light-duty vehicles are mounted This is to prevent them from getting underneath and avoid a major accident. In other words, the front underrun protector can be said to be a device for preventing the vehicle from sneaking in at the time of a collision (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
As shown in FIG. 10, the front underrun protector 1 has a FUP main body 2 provided at a front portion of the vehicle so as to extend in a vehicle width direction. The FUP main body 2 is often formed into a closed cross-sectional shape and has a bent portion 3 which is bent rearward when viewed from above due to restrictions on the vehicle layout. As shown in FIG. 11, the FUP main body 2 is attached to a vehicle body frame (not shown) via a bracket 4 and a support 5, and supports a collision load to prevent a vehicle from sneaking.
[0004]
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the front underrun protector 1 being developed by the inventor has a bracket 4 welded to the back of the FUP main body 2 and the rear of the bracket 4 is viewed from above. An L-shaped support 5 is fixed with a bolt nut 6 or the like, and the support 5 is attached to a vehicle body frame.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-515432 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the front underrun protector 1 needs a certain rigidity in order to support the load at the time of collision. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, as one form of simulation at the time of a vehicle collision, a test in which a predetermined load (50% of the vehicle weight, etc.) F1 is applied inside a predetermined length (200 mm, etc.) from the outermost side of the vehicle. Done. The load conditions are in accordance with European regulations.
[0007]
Then, the FUP main body 2 in the straight state is bent rearward as shown by a solid line as shown by a virtual line in FIG. In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 10, a reinforcing plate 7 formed in the vehicle width direction is integrally provided on the bracket 4, and the reinforcing plate 7 is brought into close contact with the rear portion of the FUP main body 2. A possible measure is to weld and increase the substantial plate thickness to make it difficult to bend backward.
[0008]
However, when the reinforcing plate 7 is closely welded to the rear portion of the FUP main body 2, as shown in FIG. 11, the substantial plate thickness changes at the end 7 a of the reinforcing plate 7 into a stepped shape and is bent backward. Since the rear portion of the FUP main body 2 is pressed against the end 7a, stress concentrates there, and the end 7a is likely to be a starting point of breaking. Further, rust is easily generated at a welded portion between the reinforcing plate 7 and the rear portion of the FUP main body 2, and the appearance of the product is not good.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention, which has been made in view of the above circumstances, is to provide a front under-run protector in which a reinforcing member attached to a FUP main body does not serve as a starting point of breaking and can improve load-bearing performance. It is in.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hollow FUP body formed in a vehicle width direction at a front portion of a vehicle, and accommodates a reinforcing member formed in the vehicle width direction inside the FUP body. In addition, the reinforcing member is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the FUP main body at the rear in the vehicle traveling direction.
[0011]
Further, the reinforcing member has a front portion in contact with the inner surface of the FUP main body in the forward direction of the vehicle, a rear portion in contact with the inner surface of the rear portion in the vehicle traveling direction, and a connecting portion connecting the front portion and the rear portion. However, it is preferable to be press-fitted inside the FUP main body.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, a front underrun protector 1 according to the present embodiment has a hollow FUP main body 2 formed in a vehicle width direction. In the illustrated example, the FUP main body 2 is formed in a rectangular cross section from the upper surface 2a, the front portion 2b, the lower surface 2c, and the rear portion 2d, but may be formed in a circular cross section or an elliptical cross section.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, inside the FUP main body 2, a reinforcing member 8 formed in the vehicle width direction is provided so as to be in contact with the rear inner surface in the vehicle traveling direction. The reinforcing member 8 includes a front portion 8a that contacts the front inner surface (the inner surface of the front portion 2b) inside the FUP main body 2 in the vehicle traveling direction, and a rear portion 8b that contacts the rear inner surface (the inner surface of the rear portion 2d) in the vehicle traveling direction. And a connecting portion 8c for connecting the front portion 8a and the rear portion 8b, and is press-fitted into the FUP main body 2.
[0015]
In the illustrated example, the reinforcing member 8 is formed by bending a single plate to integrally form the rear portion 8b, the connecting portion 8c, the front portion 8a, the connecting portion 8c, and the rear portion 8b. You may. The outer surface interval between the front portion 8a and the rear portion 8b of the reinforcing member 8 is set to a size to be pressed into the inside of the FUP main body 2, that is, slightly larger than the inner surface interval between the front portion 2b and the rear portion 2d of the FUP main body 2. Is set.
[0016]
The reinforcing member 8 is made of high-strength steel, aluminum, FRP, or the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear portion 8 b is tightly attached to the back portion 2 d of the FUP main body 2, and It is fixedly fastened to the support 10 with a nut 9 or the like. The support 10 has its opposite side fixed to a vehicle body frame (not shown) with bolts and nuts, and finally transmits a collision load applied to the FUP main body 2 to the vehicle body frame.
[0017]
However, the support of the FUP main body 2 is not limited to this configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, the FUP main body 2 is sandwiched from above and below by a bracket 11 having a U-shaped cross section and welded, and a web portion of the bracket 11 is welded. The support 10 may be fixed to the support 11a with a bolt nut 12 or the like. In this case, the FUP main body 2 and the reinforcing member 8 press-fitted into the FUP main body 2 may be fixed with a bolt nut 13, welding, a rivet or the like to prevent displacement, but if the bolt nut 13 can be fixed with a certain strength by press fitting. Are not required.
[0018]
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing member 8 does not cause the front end 8a of the outer end 8x in the vehicle width direction of the front part 8a to be a starting point of the front part 2b of the FUP main body 2 when receiving the load F1. The rear portion 8b is formed so as to be located more inward in the vehicle width direction than the outer end 8y in the vehicle width direction of the rear portion 8b. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the reinforcing member 8 may be formed by aligning the vehicle width direction outer end 8x of the front portion 8a and the vehicle width direction outer end 8y of the rear portion 8b.
[0019]
The operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the front underrun protector 1 is simulated at the time of a vehicle collision at a predetermined position (a position 200 mm from the outermost side of the vehicle) of the FUP main body 2 at a predetermined position from the front. A test for applying a load F1 (a load of 50% of the vehicle weight) is performed. The load conditions are in accordance with European regulations. The pressure receiving portion is located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction from the portion where the reinforcing member 8 is accommodated. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the FUP main body 2 bends backward.
[0021]
Here, in the present embodiment, since the reinforcing member 8 is pressed into the inside of the FUP body 2 in close contact with the front-rear direction, the back portion 2 d is attached to the support 10 with the rearward bending of the FUP body 2. When the rear portion 2d bends rearward with reference to the vicinity of the portion (bolt nut 9) as a reference, the rear portion 2d bends in a direction away from the vehicle width direction outer end portion 8y. A gap w occurs between them. Therefore, the outer end portion 8y in the vehicle width direction does not become a starting point of the folding of the FUP main body 2 (see FIG. 11).
[0022]
Further, as a form of simulation at the time of a vehicle collision, the front underrun protector 1 is provided with a predetermined load (a mounting position of the body frame or the support 10) of the FUP main body 2 from the front as a form of simulation. A test is performed in which a load of 100% of the vehicle weight) F2 is applied. This load condition also complies with the regulations of Europe and the like. At this time, since the reinforcing member 8 absorbs and supports the load F2, the collapse of the FUP main body 2 is suppressed and prevented by the reinforcing member 8, and the withstand load peak energy absorption increases.
[0023]
Further, since the reinforcing member 8 is press-fitted inside the FUP main body 2, it can be reinforced without impairing the product appearance (see FIG. 11). In addition, the rust prevention performance can be improved by attaching the reinforcing member 8 to the FUP main body 2 by using a bolt, a nut, a rivet, or the like instead of welding.
[0024]
Also, by using high-tensile steel, aluminum, FRP, or the like for the reinforcing member 8, weight reduction can be promoted. Even if the FUP body 2 and the reinforcing member 8 are made of different materials, there is no problem in assembling. Further, in FIG. 2, if the nut 9a is fixed to the reinforcing member 8 (rear part 8b) by welding, the assemblability is improved and the cost is reduced.
[0025]
Modifications of the reinforcing member 8 are shown in FIGS.
[0026]
The reinforcing member 8 in FIG. 4 includes a plate-shaped rear portion 8d that is in close contact with the rear portion 2d of the FUP main body 5, a front portion that extends from the rear portion 8d, and whose tip is folded back to form a front portion 2b and upper and lower surface portions 2a. 2c and a plate-like extension 8e that is in close contact with the corner. The reinforcing member 8 of FIG. 5 is substantially the same as the type of FIG. 3 described above, and further includes a concave portion 8f for increasing rigidity. The reinforcing member 8 in FIG. 6 is formed by bending a material plate into a substantially C-shaped cross section. The reinforcing member 8 of FIG. 7 is substantially the same as the type of FIG. 4 described above. The reinforcing member 8 shown in FIG. 8 is formed by connecting a mountain-shaped component 8f at the top by welding 8g or the like.
[0027]
4 to 8 are press-fitted into the FUP main body 2 and fixed with bolts and nuts 9 or the like so as not to shift. However, since a certain degree of positioning can be achieved by press-fitting, fixing by the bolts and nuts 9 or the like may be omitted. Further, any one of the reinforcing members 8 in FIGS. 4 to 8 may be directed to the front of the vehicle. This is because any one of the members is brought into close contact with the rear surface 2d of the FUP main body 2 at the time of press-fitting, and can be regarded as the same as the type in FIG. Also in these modified examples, the same operation and effect as those of the previous embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be obtained.
[0028]
FIG. 9 shows another modification of the reinforcing member 8.
[0029]
The reinforcing member 8 of FIG. 9 is configured by omitting the front portion 8a and the connecting portion 8c from the reinforcing member 8 of FIG. 1 and only including the plate-shaped rear portion 8b. The reinforcing member 8 is fixed to the back surface 2d of the FUP main body 2 in close contact with a bolt nut 9, welding, a rivet, or the like, and contributes to the improvement of the bending resistance of the back surface 2d of the FUP main body 2. Also in this modified example, since the gap w is formed between the back surface portion 2d that bends backward when receiving the load F1 and the reinforcing member 8b, the same operation and effect as the embodiment shown in FIGS. To play.
[0030]
Note that the front underrun protector 1 according to each of the above embodiments may also be used as a bumper, or may be used as a bumper.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the front underrun protector according to the present invention, the reinforcing member attached to the FUP main body does not serve as a starting point of breakage, and the load bearing performance can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view of a front underrun protector according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a partial plan sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the support structure of the FUP main body.
FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the reinforcing member.
FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the front underrun protector under development by the present inventors.
FIG. 11 is a partial plan sectional view of FIG. 10;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front underrun protector 2 FUP main body 2a Upper surface part 2b Front part (front of vehicle traveling direction)
2c Lower surface part 2d Rear part (rear of vehicle traveling direction)
8 Reinforcement member 8a Front part 8b Rear part 8c Connecting part

Claims (2)

A hollow FUP main body formed in the vehicle width direction is disposed at a front portion of the vehicle, and a reinforcing member formed in the vehicle width direction is accommodated inside the FUP main body, and the reinforcing member is connected to the FUP main body. A front underrun protector characterized in that it is in close contact with the inner surface behind the inside of the vehicle in the direction of travel. The reinforcing member has a front portion that contacts an inner surface in a vehicle traveling direction front inside the FUP main body, a rear portion that contacts an inner surface in a vehicle traveling direction rear, and a connecting portion that connects the front portion and the rear portion, The front underrun protector according to claim 1, wherein the front underrun protector is press-fitted inside the FUP main body.

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