JP2005239045A - Under run protector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance impact absorption property of an under run protector. <P>SOLUTION: In the under run protector provided on any one or both of front and rear sides of the vehicle and preventing sinking at collision with another vehicle, a protector body 5 is movably mounted to any one or both of front and rear sides of a side member 3 and is always retained at a non-operation position. It is provided with a movable means 8 for moving it to an operation position at the collision. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an underrun protector that prevents another vehicle from entering a lower portion of the large vehicle when the large vehicle collides with another vehicle.

  In recent years, when a small vehicle such as a passenger car collides with a large vehicle such as a truck, it is considered to equip the large vehicle with an underrun protector in order to prevent the small vehicle from entering the lower part of the large vehicle. Has been. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the front underrun protector a attached to the front portion of a large vehicle is attached to the front end portion of the side member b of the large vehicle via a support member c. The mounting height of the front under-run protector a is preferably located at the center height of the chassis frame of a typical small vehicle (within the range if legal regulations are set).

  However, if the front under-run protector a is attached at the lower position, the ground clearance of the large vehicle is lowered. As a result, the approach angle (climbing start possible angle) θ decreases, and the traveling performance of the large vehicle decreases.

  Therefore, Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a movable front underrun protector that is movably provided in the vertical direction (or oblique direction) of a large vehicle in order to improve the traveling performance of the large vehicle. .

JP 2003-34204 A JP-A-8-295192

  However, the conventional front underrun protector a has a low impact absorption on the large vehicle side, absorbs most of the impact at the time of the collision on the small vehicle side, and has a large impact on the small vehicle. In other words, the conventional front underrun protector a is mainly intended to prevent a dive in the event of a collision, and sufficient consideration has not been given to shock absorption on the large vehicle side.

  In addition, because of the layout relationship with other devices installed at the rear of the front bumper e and the complexity of the shape of the front bumper e, the installation position of the front underrun protector a is restricted, It is often not installed near the front of the vehicle. Conversely, if the front under-run protector a is installed at a position below the front bumper e to solve these restrictions, the approach angle θ cannot be ensured although it can be installed at a position closer to the forefront of the vehicle. Running performance will be reduced.

  That is, the front underrun protector a is installed at a position deeper than the frontmost part of the vehicle, and it is necessary to reduce the amount of deformation of the front underrun protector a that is allowed in order to prevent the small vehicle from entering. is there. That is, when a large vehicle and a small vehicle collide, the shock absorption amount of the front underrun protector a becomes small, and a large impact is applied to the small vehicle.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an underrun protector that can improve shock absorption.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an under-run protector provided in either or both of the front and rear sides of the vehicle to prevent dive in the event of a collision with another vehicle. It is an underrun protector characterized in that a protector main body is movably attached to both, and the protector main body is always held in a non-operating position, and has movable means for moving it to an operating position in the event of a collision.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the underrun protector according to the first aspect, wherein the protector body is provided on the side member so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle via a parallel link member.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the movable means comprises an air cylinder having one end connected to the side member and the other end connected to the protector body, and the air cylinder is normally retracted so that the protector body is not 3. The underrun protector according to claim 1, wherein the underrun protector is held in an operating position, and the air cylinder is extended to move the protector body to the operating position in a collision.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the underrun protector according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the vehicle is provided with a collision sensor, and the movable means is operated when the collision is judged by the collision sensor.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the collision sensor is a vehicle distance sensor that measures a vehicle distance from the other vehicle, and the collision is determined when the vehicle distance falls below a predetermined value. This is an underrun protector.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the underrun protector according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein an air bag is accommodated in the protector body.

  According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the impact absorbability of the underrun protector can be improved.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The underrun protector of the present embodiment is provided either before or after a large vehicle such as a truck or the like, and when the vehicle collides with another vehicle (especially a small vehicle such as a passenger car), the other vehicle is positioned below the large vehicle. It is intended to prevent dive into.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an underrun protector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) shows a state in which the protector body is held in a non-operating position, and (b) shows an operating position of the protector body. The state moved to is shown. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the underrun protector. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lock member. 4A and 4B are schematic views of the lock member, in which FIG. 4A shows a bent state of the lock member, and FIG. 4B shows an unbent state of the lock member.

  The underrun protector of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a front underrun protector (hereinafter abbreviated as FUP) attached to the front portion of a large vehicle. In FIG. 1, 1 is a cab for a large vehicle, 2 is a front bumper (decorative bumper) attached to the chassis frame, and 3 is a left and right side member that forms a ladder-like chassis frame with a cross member (not shown). Each is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at the front end of the side member 3, a parallel vehicle is provided via a parallel link member 4 so as to be movable substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the large vehicle. A protector main body 5 is provided to prevent the sinking. The parallel link member 4 is rotatably connected to the side member 3 and the protector body 5 via stays 6 and 7.

  The parallel link member 4 of the present embodiment includes a plate-shaped front link 4a and a rear link 4b. The rear link 4b always holds the protector main body 5 in the non-operating position, moves the moving means 8 to the operating position in the event of a collision, guides the movable means 8, and holds the protector main body 5 in the operating position. A locking member 9 is provided. In addition, the shape of the front side link 4a and the rear side link 4b of the parallel link member 4 is not limited to a plate shape, and may be another shape such as a rod shape.

  The movable means 8 of the present embodiment includes an air cylinder having one end rotatably connected to the side member 3 and the other end rotatably connected to the parallel link member 4 (rear side link 4b). As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the air cylinder 8 is normally retracted to hold the protector body 5 in a non-actuated position on the rear side of the large vehicle, and as shown in FIG. Then, the protector body 5 is moved to the operating position on the front side of the large vehicle. The air cylinder 8 is operated by supplying air from an air tank (not shown) used for an air brake or the like.

  The lock member 9 has one end rotatably connected to the side member 3 and the other end rotatably connected to the parallel link member 4. The lock member 9 of the present embodiment includes a rod 9a connected to the side member 3 and a rod 9b connected to the parallel link member 4 (rear side link 4b). These rods 9a and 9b are The pins 9c are pivotally connected to each other (see FIG. 3). Further, a pin stopper 9d is attached to the pin 9c so as not to drop off from the rods 9a and 9b (see FIG. 3). The bending of the lock member 9 is restricted by the pressing plates 9e and 9f provided on the rods 9a and 9b. The lock member 9 is bent from the bent state shown in FIG. 4 (a) upward in the drawing, and when reaching the non-bent state shown in FIG. 4 (b), the lock member 9 is pressed so as not to bend to the opposite side. It is regulated by the plates 9e and 9f. That is, the end of the rod 9a contacts the holding plate 9f of the rod 9b, or the end of the rod 9b contacts the holding plate 9e of the rod 9a. It is not bent further upward in the figure than the non-bent state shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the protector body 5 is formed in a block shape having a length substantially the same as the vehicle width of a large vehicle. The mounting height of the protector body 5 is set to be approximately the same as the height of the bumper of the small vehicle (see FIG. 1).

  On the front surface of the protector body 5 of the present embodiment, a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) windows 5a are provided at predetermined intervals in the vehicle width direction of the large vehicle, and in each window 5a, An airbag 10 is accommodated. The airbag 10 swells in a very short time when a predetermined impact or more is applied to the protector body 5. In the present embodiment, the airbag 10 is actuated by sensing an acceleration change at the time of collision by an impact sensor (not shown) built in the protector body 5. The number, position, size, and the like of the airbag 10 are arbitrary, and may be determined in consideration of the rigidity of the protector body 5 and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the front bumper 2 of a large vehicle has a built-in collision sensor 11 for detecting the presence or absence of a collision. The collision sensor 11 of the present embodiment is a vehicle interval sensor (for example, a radio wave radar) that measures a vehicle interval (or interval) with other vehicles or obstacles. The vehicle distance sensor 11 is connected to a control unit (ECU) (not shown) of the large vehicle. The vehicle interval sensor 11 is used to measure the vehicle interval with other vehicles, and if the vehicle interval falls below a predetermined value, it is determined that there is a collision.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the protector body 5 is disposed at the non-operating position on the rear side of the large vehicle at the time of non-operation where the collision with the other vehicle is not determined. It does not adversely affect (climbing start angle). That is, the ground clearance of the large vehicle is determined by the lower side of the front bumper 2. Further, the protector body 5 can be installed below the front bumper 2, and layout restrictions with other devices installed at the rear part of the front bumper 2 can be reduced.

  When the ECU determines a collision based on the detection value of the vehicle distance sensor 11, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the air cylinder 8 is extended and the protector body 5 is moved to the operating position on the front side of the large vehicle. It is moved almost in parallel. The protector main body 5 in the operating position is set to be as close to the vehicle front as possible. When the small vehicle collides with the large vehicle and a large impact is applied to the protector main body 5, the airbag 10 accommodated in the protector main body 5 is activated. Since the small vehicle collides with the protector body 5 via the airbag 10, the impact on the small vehicle is reduced.

  Moreover, when an impact is applied to the protector main body 5, the protector main body 5 is pushed rearward of the vehicle and deformed. In the present embodiment, since a sufficient deformation area is secured, the FUP (protector body 5) is deformed in a large area, so that an impact can be absorbed. Further, since the air cylinder 8 and the lock member 9 function as a shock absorber or a presser when the protector main body 5 is pushed rearward of the vehicle, the shock is also absorbed by this.

  In short, the underrun protector according to the present embodiment has the protector main body 5 movably attached to either or both of the front and rear of the side member 3, and the protector main body 5 is always held in a non-operating position and is activated in the event of a collision. It is moved to a position. Therefore, in the non-operating position, the protector body 5 does not adversely affect the running performance of the large vehicle, and in the operating position, the protector body 5 is moved to the front side of the large vehicle. Can be secured larger than in the past. Therefore, the underrun protector according to the present embodiment can prevent the other vehicle from getting in, and can significantly absorb the impact on the other vehicle as compared with the conventional case.

  By the way, the basic structure and effect of a rear underrun protector (hereinafter abbreviated as RUP) attached to the rear part of a large vehicle are the same as those of FUP, and therefore the description thereof is omitted. However, a bumper that is attached to the front part is generally not provided at the rear part of the large vehicle. Therefore, in the RUP, a collision sensor (see FIG. 1) may be built in the rear surface of the cargo bed or the protector body.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shock sensor (not shown) is provided when the airbag 10 is operated. However, the collision sensor (vehicle distance sensor) 11 provided on the front bumper 2 may be shared. . In this case, the airbag 10 may be activated when the distance between the vehicle and the other vehicle is less than a predetermined value.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protector main body is provided to be movable. However, the protector main body may be fixed and the protector main body may accommodate the airbag. If it does in this way, an air bag will assist the shock absorptivity of a protector main body.

(A) is the schematic of the underrun protector which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, and shows the state which hold | maintained the protector main body in the non-operation position. (B) is the schematic of the underrun protector which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, and shows the state which moved the protector main body to the operation position. It is a perspective view of an underrun protector. It is a perspective view of a locking member. (A) is the schematic of a locking member, and shows the bending state of a locking member. (B) is the schematic of a locking member, and shows the non-bending state of a locking member. It is the schematic of the conventional underrun protector.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cab 2 Front bumper (makeup bumper)
3 Side member 4 Parallel link member 5 Protector body 8 Movable means (air cylinder)
9 Lock member 10 Air bag 11 Collision sensor (vehicle distance sensor)

Claims (6)

  An under-run protector that is provided on either or both sides of a vehicle and prevents a dive in the event of a collision with another vehicle. A protector body is movably mounted on either or both sides of the side member, and the protector body is always attached. An underrun protector comprising movable means for holding the non-operating position and moving it to the operating position in the event of a collision.   2. The underrun protector according to claim 1, wherein the protector body is provided on the side member so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle via a parallel link member.   The movable means comprises an air cylinder having one end connected to the side member and the other end connected to the protector body. The air cylinder is normally retracted to hold the protector body in a non-operating position, and 3. The underrun protector according to claim 1, wherein the air cylinder is extended to move the protector body to an operating position.   The underrun protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle is provided with a collision sensor, and the movable means is operated when a collision is determined by the collision sensor.   The underrun protector according to claim 4, wherein the collision sensor is a vehicle interval sensor that measures a vehicle interval with the other vehicle, and the collision is determined when the vehicle interval falls below a predetermined value. The underrun protector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an air bag is accommodated in the protector body.

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