JP2007091117A - Front bumper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front bumper furnished with a reinforcing member to reinforce a lower part of a bumper face 2 capable of lightening the front bumper itself without harming an outer appearance design while securing lower part rigidity of the bumper face 2. <P>SOLUTION: This front bumper is constituted by providing a defective part 8 on a lower end part of the bumper face 2 so that a lower part surface 4d of the reinforcing member 4 integrally molded with a bumper grill 3 arranged on an opening part 6 of the bumper face 2 is positioned at the defective part 8 and its outside surface is continuously connected to an outside surface of a bumper face lower part surface 2c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention belongs to a technical field related to a front bumper including a bumper face having an opening for introducing outside air at a substantially central portion in a longitudinal direction and a reinforcing member for reinforcing a lower portion of the bumper face.

  Conventionally, a front bumper is known in which a lower part of a bumper face having an opening for introducing outside air is reinforced by a reinforcing member formed integrally with a bumper grill disposed in the opening for introducing outside air (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

In this structure, the reinforcing member is disposed on the rear inner side of the bumper face along the bumper face, and is fastened to the lower end portion of the bumper face at the lower end portion of the reinforcing member. Due to such a double structure of the bumper face and the reinforcing member, the rigidity of the lower part of the bumper face is increased, thereby preventing the pedestrian from being caught under the vehicle.
JP 2004-203157 A

  By the way, as functions required for the front bumper, it is required to secure the lower rigidity of the bumper face from the viewpoint of pedestrian protection, and it is indispensable to reduce the weight of the front bumper from the viewpoint of improving the fuel efficiency and power performance of the vehicle. Reduction in the number of parts and materials is required. Moreover, when considering merchantability, the appearance design must not be impaired.

  However, in the conventional structure as shown in Patent Document 1, since the double structure of the reinforcing member and the bumper face is formed over the entire longitudinal direction, the weight of the front bumper is increased. In order to solve this problem, a new front bumper structure is required. However, it should not cause an increase in weight due to an increase in the fastening portion or impair the appearance design.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and the object of the present invention is to secure the lower rigidity of the bumper face by devising the shape of the bumper face and the reinforcing member that reinforces the bumper face. On the other hand, it is to reduce the weight of the front bumper without impairing the appearance design.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a defect portion is provided in a portion corresponding to the opening for introducing the outside air at the lower end portion of the bumper face, and a part of the reinforcing member is located in the defect portion to reinforce the bumper face. The outer surfaces of the member and the bumper face are configured to be continuously connected to each other.

  Specifically, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a front bumper including a bumper face having an opening for introducing outside air at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction and a reinforcing member for reinforcing a lower portion of the bumper face. And

  A defect portion is provided in a portion of the lower end portion of the bumper face corresponding to the outside air introduction opening, and a part of the reinforcing member is located in the defect portion, and the bumper face and the reinforcement The outer surfaces of the member and the portion located at the defect portion are configured to be continuously connected to each other.

  With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the double structure portion with the reinforcing member at the lower end portion of the bumper face, thereby reducing the material and reducing the weight of the front bumper. Further, since the outer surfaces of the reinforcing member and the bumper face are continuously connected to each other, the appearance is not impaired.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a bumper grill is disposed in the outside air introduction opening, and the reinforcing member is formed integrally with the bumper grill. Yes.

  With this configuration, a dedicated part for the reinforcing member is not necessary, and the number of parts can be reduced. Further, it is not necessary to provide a boss portion for attaching the reinforcing member on the back side surface of the bumper face, and as a result, the occurrence of “sinking” on the outer front side of the bumper face can be suppressed, so that the appearance is not impaired. Further, the yield can be improved in productivity. In other words, the bumper face is required to have the same surface accuracy as that of the outer parts of automobiles, but the bumper face is molded by injection molding. There is a problem of losing. Therefore, the present invention provides these solutions.

  In the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the defect portion is formed such that the vertical position of the lower end edge of the bumper face is above the portion other than the defect portion. In the bumper face, a parting line for distinguishing the color area of the bumper face in the vertical direction is provided on the extension line of the lower end edge of the bumper face in the defect portion or on the lower side of the extension line. Also, the color of the lower region is configured to be equivalent to that of the reinforcing member.

  With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the masking area of the portion corresponding to the missing portion of the bumper face in the coating of the bumper face, and the color below the parting line is set to be equal to the reinforcing member. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the lower side of the parting line is unified in the same color, so that the appearance of the front bumper is not impaired. In other words, from the viewpoint of appearance design, the color and shape of the front bumper is an important product component, and the color of the front bumper is the bumper face parting line (the boundary line that separates the color area of the front bumper, and the bumper face Generally, the color above the lower end (provided in the vicinity of the upper side of the lower end) is set to be equal to the body color of the vehicle, and the color below the parting line is generally set to black. Therefore, in the painting of the front bumper, it is necessary to separate the upper and lower parts, and a method called masking has been used conventionally. In this method, a masking tape is applied along the parting line, and painting is performed on the masking line. Since these operations are usually performed manually, the longer the masking area, the more labor and time is required. . Therefore, the present invention aims to solve these problems.

  As described above, according to the front bumper of the present invention, the bumper face is provided with a defect portion at the lower end portion of the bumper face corresponding to the opening for introducing the outside air, and a part of the reinforcing member is the defect portion. The outer surface of the bumper face and the portion of the reinforcing member located at the defective portion are configured to be continuously connected to each other, thereby ensuring the lower rigidity of the front bumper. However, weight reduction can be achieved without impairing the appearance design.

  Therefore, in terms of performance, vehicle fuel efficiency and power performance are improved with weight reduction, and in terms of production, costs can be reduced by reducing material costs and masking costs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a front bumper 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front bumper 1 includes a bumper face 2, a bumper grill 3, a reinforcing member 4, a crush can and a bumper reinforcement (not shown). In the present embodiment, the reinforcing member 4 is formed integrally with the bumper grill 3. The bumper face 2 is fixedly attached to the front fender 5 and the bumper reinforcement. An opening 6 for introducing outside air into the engine room is formed at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the bumper face 2. The bumper grill 3 is disposed in the opening 6. FIG. 2 shows a front view of the bumper face 2 alone. A missing portion 8 is formed at the lower end of the bumper face corresponding to the opening 6. Further, a parting line 9 for distinguishing colors above and below the bumper face is provided (the missing part and parting line will be described below). A pair of fog lamp storage ports 7 are formed on both sides of the opening 6 in the longitudinal direction of the bumper.

  Hereinafter, the shape of each part of the front bumper 1 and its fastening structure will be described. The front bumper 1 is assumed to be mounted such that its longitudinal direction coincides with the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and the right side in FIG. The left side in the direction and the left side are defined as the right side in the vehicle width direction. Further, the left side in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 (the front side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1) is defined as the vehicle front side, and the right side (the back side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1) is defined as the vehicle rear side.

  The bumper face 2 is formed by injection-molding a resin material such as PP, and the opening 6 provided at the approximate center in the vehicle width direction is substantially as viewed from the front side of the vehicle as shown in FIG. The trapezoidal upper base 6a is set longer than the lower base 6b, and the four parts of the trapezoid are chamfered in an arc shape. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an upper surface 2a (see FIG. 4) extending from the lower end edge of the opening 6 toward the vehicle front lower side in the lower portion of the vehicle, and from the upper surface 2a to the vehicle lower rear side. A front surface 2b inclined toward the front, a lower surface 2c (see FIG. 3) extending from the front surface 2b toward the vehicle rear lower side with a gentler inclination with respect to the horizontal plane than the front surface 2b, and a lower portion The mounting surface 2e extends substantially horizontally from the surface 2c toward the rear of the vehicle. A bumper face lower end edge 2k corresponding to the deficient portion 8 is formed at the lower cross-section rounded shape at the boundary between the front surface 2b and the lower surface 2c. The lower edge 2k is provided at substantially the same portion as the lower base 6b of the substantially trapezoidal opening 6 projected onto the lower edge 2k, and is formed to extend horizontally in the vehicle width direction. Further, the lower end edge 2k is formed so as to be above the lower end edge 2m of the portion other than the defective portion 8. That is, when the bumper face 2 is viewed from the front of the vehicle, the missing portion 8 is formed by opening the lower end portion of the bumper face 2 downward and cutting away the bumper face 2. On the extension line of the lower end edge 2k of the bumper face, that is, at the lower cross-section rounded shape at the boundary between the front surface 2b and the lower surface 2c, there is a parting line 9 that distinguishes colors vertically across the entire vehicle width direction. Is provided. The area above the parting line 9 is set to the same color as the body color, and the lower area is set to black. Further, the bumper face 2 is fastened to the under cover 13 via a clip nut 14 and a bolt 15 on the mounting surface 2e. An air dam extending in the vehicle front side of the fastening portion and extending downward in the vehicle width direction from the portion located in the vicinity of the boundary between the lower surface 2c and the mounting surface 2e over the entire vehicle width direction excluding the missing portion 8. Part 2d is formed. The under cover 13 extends from the fastening portion toward the rear of the vehicle, and is attached and fixed to a vehicle rigid part (not shown) at the rear end.

  The bumper grill 3 and the reinforcing member 4 are integrally molded with a predetermined material coloring by injection molding of a resin material such as PP. As shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing member 4 is disposed on the inner side of the bumper face 2, that is, on the rear side of the vehicle, and extends forward from the lower end portion of the bumper grill 3 along the bumper face 2. An upper surface 4b extending substantially horizontally from the part surface 4a toward the rear of the vehicle, a vertical surface 4c extending substantially vertically from the upper surface 4b toward the vehicle lower direction, and extending from the vertical surface 4c toward the vehicle rear lower side, The lower surface 4d is formed so that the outside thereof is continuously connected to the outside of the bumper face lower surface 2c (see FIG. 3), and the mounting surface 4h extends substantially horizontally from the lower surface 4d toward the rear of the vehicle. ing. The color of the reinforcing member 4 is set to the same color as the region below the parting line 9 of the bumper face 2, that is, black in this embodiment. Similarly, the bumper grill 3 is also set to the same color as the reinforcing member 4, that is, black in this embodiment. Further, a plurality of upper vertical ribs 4e, intermediate vertical ribs 4f, and lower vertical ribs 4g are provided between the respective surfaces constituting the reinforcing member 4 at predetermined intervals in the vehicle width direction. Since the lower vertical rib 4g is provided to the lower end portion of the bumper face 2, the rigidity of the reinforcing member 4 is ensured and a pedestrian is prevented from being caught in the lower part of the vehicle. Furthermore, a plate-like horizontal rib may be provided substantially horizontally so as to intersect the vertical rib on each surface constituting the reinforcing member 4 so as to increase the rigidity. The attachment surface 4 h of the reinforcing member 4 is fastened to the front end portion of the under cover 13 via the clip nut 11 and the bolt 12. The bumper face 2 is provided with a front side surface of an air dam portion 4m extending in the vertical downward direction from a portion located in the vehicle front side of the fastening portion and in the vicinity of the boundary between the lower surface 4d and the mounting surface 4h. The air dam portion 2d is provided across the vehicle width direction so as to be continuously connected to the front side surface. Thus, the appearance of the front bumper 1 is not impaired while maintaining the aerodynamic effect. Further, the fastening portion is prevented from being exposed when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

  Next, the connection between the bumper face 2, the bumper grill 3, and the reinforcing member 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the reinforcing member 4 is integrally formed with a lower end portion of the bumper grill 3, and a plurality of engagement holes 4 k are formed along the periphery of the bumper grill 3 at the peripheral portion of the bumper grill 3. Thus, they are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Similarly, a plurality of locking pieces 2f (see FIG. 3) projecting toward the rear of the vehicle are provided at the peripheral edge of the opening 6 of the bumper face 2 at predetermined intervals along the peripheral edge. The plurality of locking pieces 2f are engaged with and coupled to the plurality of engaging holes 4k, respectively. Further, in the bumper face 2, between the center position in the vehicle width direction and one end edge in the vehicle width direction of the missing portion 8, and the other end edge of the one end edge in the vehicle width direction of the missing portion 8 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 5, plate-like attachment portions 2e extending substantially horizontally from the lower end of the bumper face toward the rear of the vehicle are provided between the two. A recess 4q is formed in the lower surface 4d of the reinforcing member 4, and the bottom 4p of the recess 4q and the bumper face mounting portion 2e are fastened via a fastener 16. Further, the surface of the mounting portion 2e that contacts the seat surface of the fastener 16 is formed inside the bumper face 2 by a depth substantially equal to the height of the head of the fastener 16. This prevents the head of the fastener 16 from being exposed when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the bumper face 2 is provided with a mounting boss portion 2f that protrudes toward the rear of the vehicle from the vicinity of the defect portion 8 in the air dam portion 2d, and a screw hole is formed at the center of the boss portion 2f. 2g is provided. In addition, a hollow portion 2h is formed in the front portion of the boss portion 2f so that the thickness of the boss portion 2f is substantially the same as the thickness of the other portions. The reinforcing member 4 has a mounting portion formed in a U-shaped cross section so that a portion corresponding to the boss portion 2f of the air dam portion 4m is once bent to the rear of the vehicle and further surrounds the boss portion 2f. The mounting portion comes into contact with the boss portion 2 f and is fastened via the tapping screw 17.

  In the embodiment, the outer surface of the lower surface 4d and the outer surface of the bumper face 2 in the reinforcing member 4 are formed so as to be continuously connected to each other. Further, the boundary between the lower surface 4d of the reinforcing member 4 and the lower end edge 2k of the missing portion 8 of the bumper face 2 is usually higher than the lower end edge 2k when the vehicle is viewed from the front. Because it is in a position, it is provided so that it cannot be seen by that person. These configurations do not impair the appearance in terms of shape.

  In the above-described embodiment, the bumper face 2 is provided with a parting line 9 for distinguishing colors up and down on an extension line of the bumper face lower end edge 2k corresponding to the defect 8. The region above the parting line 9 is colored in the same color as the body color, and the lower side is set to black. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the masking region of the portion corresponding to the missing portion 8.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the extension line of the bumper face lower end edge 2k in the missing part 8 of the bumper face 2 is a lower cross-sectional round shape at the boundary between the front surface 2b and the lower surface 2c of the bumper face 2. By being positioned, the masking operation along the parting line 9 in the bumper face 2 can be performed with the R-shaped stop as a guideline, which facilitates the masking operation.

  The color of the reinforcing member 4 is set to the same color as that of the region below the parting line 9 of the bumper face 2, that is, black in this embodiment. With this configuration, when viewed from the front of the vehicle, the color below the parting line 9 is unified, so the appearance on the color surface is not impaired.

  In the above embodiment, the bumper grill 3 and the reinforcing member 4 are integrally formed. With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a reinforcing member mounting boss on the inner surface of the bumper face 2, and as a result, occurrence of “sinking” on the outer surface of the bumper face 2 can be suppressed, so that the appearance is not impaired.

  Further, since the bumper grill 3 and the reinforcing member 4 are set to the same color, that is, black in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to separate the paint in one part, so that it is possible to cope with the coloring of the black material. It becomes unnecessary.

In the above-described embodiment, the boss portion 2f for fastening the bolt is provided to fasten the bumper face 2 and the reinforcing member 4. The thickness of the boss portion 2f is the same as that of the other portion of the bumper face 2. A hollow portion 2h is formed so as to be substantially the same as the thickness. With this configuration, occurrence of “sink marks” on the outer surface of the bumper face 2 is suppressed.
(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the reinforcing member 4 is not necessarily formed integrally with the bumper grill 3, and may be configured separately from the bumper grill 3. However, in this case, it is necessary to provide a thick part for fastening, and since this compact part causes “sinking”, it is desirable to integrally form as in the above embodiment.

  Further, the parting line 9 in the bumper face 2 may be set at a portion below the extended line of the bumper face lower end edge 2k in the missing part 8 of the bumper face 2, for example, as shown in FIG. As a guideline, the parting line 9 ′ may be set along the root of the air dam portion 2d which is the easiest position. In this case, the parting line that distinguishes the color of the front bumper 2 up and down is shifted upward in the portion corresponding to the lower end edge 2k of the missing part 8 of the bumper face 2, but when the vehicle is viewed from the front, Since the position of the eye is higher than the lower edge 2k, the shift is not visible. Therefore, the appearance design is not impaired.

  In the above embodiment, the upper and lower parts of the parting line 9 of the bumper face 2 are separately painted in the body color and black, but the selection of the color is not limited to this and may be changed.

  In the above embodiment, the color of the bumper grill 3 and the color on the outside of the lower surface 4d of the reinforcing member 4 may not be equal. However, in this case, it is necessary to paint differently in one part, which requires man-hours. However, since the coating portion can be hidden by the bumper face 2, it is easy in that the accuracy is not required as compared with the painting in the parting line 9 of the bumper face 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, the bumper face lower end edge 2k in the defect 8 is provided in substantially the same portion as the lower base 6b of the substantially trapezoidal opening 6 projected onto the lower end edge 2k. Further, this portion may be further enlarged or reduced in the vehicle width direction. However, it is not preferable because the masking area of the bumper face 2 increases as the size decreases.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a front bumper including a bumper face in which an opening for introducing outside air is formed at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction, and a reinforcing member for reinforcing the lower portion of the bumper face.

It is a front view which shows the front bumper which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of a bumper face. It is sectional drawing in the III-III line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the IV-IV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the VV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the VI-VI line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front bumper 2 Bumper face 2k Bumper face lower end edge in a defect | deletion part 3 Bumper grille 4 Reinforcement member 4d Reinforcement member lower surface (part located in the defect | deletion part of a reinforcement member)
4k Reinforcing member engagement hole 6 Bumper face opening (opening for introduction of outside air)
8 missing part 9 parting line 9 ′ parting line in another embodiment (FIG. 7)

Claims (3)

A front bumper comprising a bumper face having an outside air introduction opening formed at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction, and a reinforcing member for reinforcing the lower portion of the bumper face,
A portion corresponding to the outside air introduction opening at the lower end of the bumper face is provided with a deficient portion,
A part of the reinforcing member is located in the defect part,
A front bumper characterized in that outer surfaces of the bumper face and a portion of the reinforcing member located at the defect portion are continuously connected to each other. In the front bumper according to claim 1,
A bumper grill is disposed in the outside air introduction opening,
The front bumper, wherein the reinforcing member is integrally formed with the bumper grill. In the front bumper according to claim 1 or 2,
The defect portion is formed so that the vertical position of the lower edge of the bumper face is above the portion other than the defect portion,
In the bumper face, a parting line that distinguishes the color area of the bumper face up and down is provided on the extension line of the lower end edge of the bumper face in the defect portion or on the lower side of the extension line,
A front bumper characterized in that the color of the region below the parting line is equivalent to that of the reinforcing member.

Images