JP2007153258A - Front structure of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide front structure of a vehicle capable of stabilizing energy absorbing performance and stabilizing operation of a driving means in a case wherein an interference occurs in a front part of the vehicle when springing up a hood, and capable of reducing repairing costs. <P>SOLUTION: This front structure of a vehicle is provided with a spring-up mechanism for springing up a hood, which is provided in a front part of the vehicle, with a driving means at a rear end of the hood by using the front end 3a thereof as a support point. A cover member 12 to be interfered by the front end 3a of the hood when the spring-up mechanism springs up the hood is structured to be bent at a corner part 12c by an input from the front end 3a so as to reduce the reaction force to be applied to the front end 3a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure applied to a vehicle equipped with a hood flip-up device that flips up a hood rear end when an obstacle collides with the front of the vehicle, and relates to a structure near the hood front end.

  Conventionally, when a running vehicle collides with an obstacle, the rear end of the hood is flipped up to ensure a clearance between the structure in the engine room and the hood, and the obstacle collides with the upper surface of the hood. A hood flip-up device that absorbs and alleviates the impact is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this prior art, a hinge serving as a fulcrum when the hood is opened and closed is provided at the rear end of the hood, and this hinge is disconnected from the hood by an input from the front of the vehicle.

In addition, at the rear end portion of the hood, a flip-up mechanism for jumping up the hood by the driving means is provided. This flip-up mechanism is activated when it is detected that an obstacle has collided with the front of the vehicle. At the time of operation, the rear end of the hood is flipped up with the hood lock at the front end of the hood as a fulcrum. Can alleviate the impact when a secondary collision occurs.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-263191

  In the above-described conventional technology, a portion serving as a fulcrum when the hood is flipped up, such as a hood lock, is disposed behind the front end of the hood.

  For this reason, when the hood is flipped up, the hood front end located in front of the vehicle relative to the fulcrum portion is pushed down the vehicle and interferes with a member provided at the vehicle front end such as a grill.

  When the front end of the hood and other parts interfere with each other in this way, the energy absorption characteristics when an obstacle collides with the hood may change before and after the interference, and the energy absorption performance becomes unstable. There was a fear. In addition, when the interference occurs, there is a risk that the driving means that flips up the rear end of the hood may be burdened, and this burden may cause the operation of the actuator to become unstable.

  Furthermore, when the hood front end and the grill interfere with each other as described above, both the hood front end and the grill are damaged. For this reason, even if the hood flip-up means malfunctions, it is necessary to replace the hood with the grill, and there is a problem that the repair amount at the time of malfunction is worsened.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle front structure that can stabilize energy absorption performance, stabilize the operation of driving means, and improve the repair amount when interference occurs at the front of the vehicle when the hood is flipped up. It is intended to provide.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the vehicle front structure of the present invention acts on the front end of the hood at a site where interference occurs with the downward movement of the front end of the hood when the hood is flipped up by the flip-up mechanism. The vehicle front part structure is characterized in that a reaction force reducing means for reducing the reaction force is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the hood front is moved up by the flip-up mechanism and the hood front part moves downward to cause interference, the reaction force reducing means provided at the site where the interference occurs causes the hood front part to The reaction force acting on is reduced.

  Therefore, the energy absorption performance of the hood can be stabilized, and the load applied to the drive means of the flip-up mechanism can be reduced to stabilize the operation of the drive means. In addition, it is possible to suppress damage to the front portion of the hood and improve the repair amount in the case of malfunction.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the vehicle front structure of this embodiment, the hood (3) provided at the front of the vehicle (MB) is flipped up with the hood front (3a) as a fulcrum and the hood rear (3b) is flipped up by driving means. A vehicle front structure of a vehicle provided with a mechanism, wherein the front end of the hood is located at a portion (12) where interference occurs with the downward movement of the hood front portion (3a) when the hood is raised by the flip-up mechanism (7). A vehicle front portion structure characterized in that a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force acting on the portion (3a) is provided.

  A vehicle front structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration will be described.
The vehicle front structure of the first embodiment is applied to the vehicle MB shown in FIG. In the front part of the vehicle MB, a shock absorbing bumper 1 is provided at the lower part, and a hood 3 for opening and closing the engine room 2 (see FIG. 3) is provided. A radiator grill 4 is provided between the front end 3 a of the hood 3 and the bumper 1.

  The left and right sides of the rear end portion 3b of the hood 3 are supported at a predetermined position of the vehicle body 5 by a hinge mechanism (not shown), and are supported so as to be vertically rotatable with the predetermined position as a fulcrum.

  The hinge mechanism (not shown) is configured so that the restraint of the rear end portion 3b of the hood 3 with respect to the vehicle body 5 can be released when a load toward the rear of the vehicle is input to the hood 3 in the same manner as in the prior art. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the front end portion 3 a of the hood 3 is locked with a hood lock 6 in a state where the illustrated engine room 2 is closed, and the vertical rotation is restricted. The hood lock 6 includes a striker 6a and a lock body 6b that can be engaged with and disengaged from the striker 6a. The striker 6a is fixed to a bone portion 3c formed in a closed cross-sectional shape on the lower surface of the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and extending in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, the lock body 6b is fixed to a radiator core support (not shown) formed in a closed cross-sectional shape and integrally coupled to the vehicle body 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end 3 b of the hood 3 is provided with a flip-up mechanism 7 including an actuator 7 a that jumps the rear end 3 b upward of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5B, the flip-up mechanism 7 has a rear end portion with the hood 3 as a fulcrum when the actuator 7a is actuated in the extending direction. Bounce 3b.

  The actuator 7 a is controlled by the controller 8. The controller 8 receives a vehicle speed signal Vs from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) and collision signals S1, S2 from collision sensors 9, 10 (see FIG. 2) for detecting a frontal collision of the vehicle MB. The controller 8 operates the actuator 7a when detecting a frontal collision at a predetermined vehicle speed or higher.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a space 11 is provided between the front end 3 a of the closed hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, the space 11 has a vertical dimension in which the actuator 7 a of the flip-up mechanism 7 extends to the maximum and the hood 3 is flipped up, so that the front end 3 a of the hood 3 is Are dimensioned so as not to interfere with the radiator grille 4.

  Further, a resin cover member 12 is provided on the lower surface of the front end 3 a of the hood 3. The cover member 12 covers the space portion 11 to prevent the gap between the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 when viewed from the front of the vehicle, thereby improving the appearance quality. The wall piece 12a and the front wall piece 12b are formed in a substantially inverted L shape in longitudinal section.

  The upper wall piece 12a extends in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the front end portion 3a of the hood 3, and is formed in a thin plate shape having a predetermined width in the vehicle front-rear direction. The front wall piece 12b is formed in a thin plate shape integrated with the upper wall piece 12a continuous downward from the front end of the upper wall piece 12a, and the lower end thereof is close to the radiator grill 4.

  Further, the corner portion 12c formed between the upper wall piece 12a and the front wall piece 12b is formed so that the angle α of the corner portion 12c is larger than 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. When the hood 3 moves downward, the cover member 12 is bent at the corner 12c as a break point. The material of the cover member 12 and the plate thicknesses of both the pieces 12a and 12b are such that the reaction force generated when the front end 3a of the hood 3 moves downward is lower than the reaction force generated in the radiator grill 4. It is set to be. That is, the radiator grille 4 and the cover member 12 are members that interfere when the hood 3 is flipped up, and the cover member 12 serves as a reaction force reducing means and is bent at the corner 12c by an input from the hood 3. Yes.

  Furthermore, the front surface of the front wall piece 12b facing the front of the vehicle is painted in the same color as the hood 3 so that it can be seen integrally with the hood 3.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
When the vehicle MB travels at a predetermined speed or more and makes a frontal collision with an obstacle, the controller 8 detects a frontal collision based on the vehicle speed signal Vs and the collision signals S1 and S2 and activates the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7. Let

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the hood 3 is flipped up with the hood lock 6 as a fulcrum. When the hood 3 is flipped up, the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 is positioned in front of the vehicle with respect to the hood lock 6 serving as a flip-up fulcrum, and therefore moves in a direction of descending toward the radiator grille 4.

  The downward movement of the front end portion of the hood 3 causes interference between the cover member 12 provided on the lower surface of the front end portion 3a and the radiator grille 4 as shown in FIG. Due to this interference, a downward load is applied to the front wall piece 12 b of the cover member 12. The cover member 12 is formed with a lower reaction force than the radiator grille 4, and is folded as shown in the figure at the corner 12c before the radiator grille 4 is deformed or damaged.

  In addition, a space 11 is set between the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 so that the hood front end 3a and the radiator grille 4 do not directly interfere when the hood 3 is flipped up. Therefore, after the cover member 12 is broken, the front end portion 3a and the radiator grill 4 do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the reaction force of the radiator grille 4 does not act on the hood 3.

  As described above, in the vehicle front structure of the first embodiment, when the hood 3 is flipped up by the flip-up mechanism 7, the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 4 are not directly interfered with each other. A space 11 was provided. Further, when the hood 3 is flipped up, the cover member 12 on the hood 3 side and the radiator grille 4 interfere with each other, and the cover member 12 is formed with lower repulsion than the radiator grille 4 as a reaction force reducing means.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the reaction force acting on the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 can be reduced as compared with the case where the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 directly interferes with the radiator grill 4. Therefore, the energy absorption performance of the hood 3 with respect to the obstacle can be stabilized, and the load applied to the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7 can be reduced to stabilize the operation of the actuator 7a.

  In addition, when the hood 3 is not damaged by an obstacle, such as during a light collision or malfunction, only the cover member 12 is deformed by the operation of the flip-up mechanism 7, compared to the conventional hood. 3 and the radiator grille 4 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to improve the repair amount in the event of a light collision or malfunction.

  Further, as described above, since the space portion 11 is set between the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4, when viewed from the front of the vehicle, a gap is generated between the both 3a and 4; Since it is covered with the cover member 12, the appearance quality can be kept high.

  In addition, since the front surface of the front wall piece 12b of the cover member 12 is painted in the same manner as the hood 3, the cover member 12 appears to be integrated with the hood 3, and the appearance quality can be improved.

  Next, a vehicle front part structure according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Parts that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and parts different from those in the first embodiment are mainly described.

  In the vehicle front portion structure of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and a radiator grill 204 below the vehicle are provided close to each other. That is, when the flip-up mechanism 7 (not shown) performs the flip-up operation, the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 204 interfere with each other.

  The lower end portion of the radiator grill 204 is attached to the base 1 a provided inside the bumper 1 with a clip 13. The clip 13 is a means that enables the radiator grill 204 to be moved downward by an input from the front end portion 3a of the hood 3. The clip 13 is ruptured with a predetermined load to separate the radiator grill 204 from the base 1a. The downward movement of the grill 204 is allowed.

  In the vehicle front structure of the second embodiment, when the flip-up mechanism 7 is operated and the front end 3a of the hood 3 is moved downward as shown in FIG. 4B, the front end 3a is moved to the radiator grille. It interferes with the upper end of 204. When a load is applied downward to the radiator grill 204 due to this interference, the clip 13 is torn and the radiator grill 204 moves downward with respect to the vehicle body 5.

  Accordingly, the reaction force from the radiator grill 204 acting on the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 can be kept low.

  For this reason, in the vehicle front structure of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the energy absorption performance of the hood 3 with respect to the obstacle can be stabilized, and the load applied to the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7 It is possible to stabilize the operation of the actuator 7a.

  In addition, when the hood 3 is not damaged by an obstacle, such as during a light collision or malfunction, only the clip 13 is deformed by the operation of the flip-up mechanism 7, and the hood 3 is compared with the conventional one. And damage to the radiator grill 204 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to improve the repair amount in the event of a light collision or malfunction.

  Furthermore, since the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 204 are arranged close to each other, the gap between the both 3a and 204 is small, and the appearance quality can be kept high.

  Moreover, since the radiator grill 204 can be moved downward by the clip 13 for attaching the radiator grill 204, there are few changes to the existing structure, and the above effect can be achieved at low cost.

  Next, a vehicle front structure according to Example 3 of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that portions that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and portions different from the first and second embodiments are mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the intermediate portion of the radiator grille 504 is formed by making a thin notch so as to bend at this position when there is input from above the vehicle. A fragile portion 505 is provided as a force reducing means.

  Therefore, when the hood 3 shown in FIG. 3B is flipped up, the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 504 interfere with each other, and the radiator grill 504 is bent at the fragile portion 505 by the input from the front end portion 3a.

  Therefore, by reducing the reaction force to the hood 3, the energy absorption performance of the hood 3 can be stabilized, and the load applied to the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7 can be reduced to operate the actuator 7a. Stabilization can be achieved. Further, it is possible to suppress damage to the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 at the time of malfunction and to improve the repair amount at the time of malfunction.

  Moreover, since the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 are disposed close to each other as in the second embodiment, the gap between the two 3a and 4 is small, and the appearance quality can be kept high.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention and Examples 1 to 3 have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment and Examples 1 to 3. Design changes that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the cover member 12 is made of resin, and the cover member 12 is folded when the flip-up mechanism 7 is operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the cover member 12 may be formed of a material with low repulsion, such as rubber, and the cover member 12 may be elastically deformed with a low repulsion force when the hood 3 is flipped up. In this case, since the cover member 12 is restored, the repair cost can be further reduced.

  In the first embodiment, the cover member 12 as the reaction force reducing means is shown attached to the front end portion 3a of the hood 3. However, such a cover member may be provided on a grill such as the radiator grille 4. Alternatively, it may be attached to both the hood 3 and the radiator grill 4. In particular, when the cover member is formed of a low-repulsion elastic member as described above, it is easy to configure in this way.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the cover member 12 that is more fragile than the radiator grille 4 is shown as the reaction force reducing means. In the second embodiment, an example in which the reaction force reducing means is provided in the radiator grill 204 is shown. It can also be combined. That is, when the radiator grill 204 is disposed at a position where it interferes with the hood 3 when the hood 3 is flipped up as in the second embodiment, the radiator grill 204 is moved downward, and the reaction force reducing means It can be set as the structure which combined the cover member of the structure which has the elasticity of weak or low resilience.

  Further, the clip 13 that can move the radiator grille 4 downward is shown as means for moving the interfering member at the front of the vehicle downward. However, the member that moves downward is not limited to the radiator grille 4. Absent. For example, a cover member may be provided at the upper end portion of the radiator grip 4 and moved downward when the cover member interferes with the front end portion 3 a of the hood 3.

  In addition to using the clip 13 shown in the second embodiment as a reaction force reducing means for moving the grill downward, the radiator grill 204 is supported so as to be slidable up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5 and disconnected by a predetermined input. It is good also as a structure fixed to the vehicle body 5 by the clip 13 to perform or other means.

  In the first to third embodiments, the structure in which the hood 3 jumps up with the hood lock 6 as the fulcrum when the hood 3 is flipped up is shown. You can also

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) shows before the hood 3 bounces up, (b) shows at the time of the hood 3 bounce-up. ing. It is a perspective view which shows vehicle MB to which the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing of the action | operation of the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention, (a) has shown before the hood 3 jumped up, (b) has shown the time at the time of the hood 3 flipping up. . It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the vehicle front part structure of Example 2 of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) shows before raising of the hood 3, (b) shows at the time of raising of the hood 3. ing. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the vehicle front part structure of Example 3 of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) shows before the hood 3 bounces up, (b) shows at the time of the hood 3 bounce-up. ing.

Explanation of symbols

3 Hood 3a Front end 3b Rear end 4 Radiator grill 5 Car body 6 Hood lock 7 Bounce mechanism 7a Actuator (drive means)
11 Space 12 Cover member (reaction force reducing means)
12a Upper wall piece 12b Front wall piece 12c Corner portion 13 Clip (reaction force reducing means)
204 Radiator grill 504 Radiator grill 505 Fragile part (reaction force reducing means)
MB vehicle

Claims (7)

A vehicle front structure in which a hood provided at the front portion of the vehicle is provided with a flip-up mechanism that raises the hood rear portion by a driving means with the hood front portion as a fulcrum,
A vehicle front structure, characterized in that a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force acting on the front end of the hood is provided at a site where interference occurs with the downward movement of the front end of the hood when the hood is flipped up. In the front portion of the vehicle, a grill is provided with a space portion between the front portion of the hood and the front portion of the hood, with the space between the front portion of the hood.
As a part where the interference occurs, a cover member that covers at least a part of the space and is attached to at least one of the front portion of the hood and the grill is included.
The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is formed with a lower reaction force than the grill as the reaction force reducing means.   The vehicle front structure according to claim 2, wherein the space portion has a size such that the hood front portion and the grill do not directly interfere when the hood is flipped up.   4. The vehicle front structure according to claim 2, wherein a front surface of the cover member facing the front of the vehicle is painted in the same color as one of the hood and the grill. The part where the interference occurs includes a grill provided at a vehicle lower position of the hood front,
The fragile part which can at least one of a deformation | transformation and a fracture | rupture by the load input from the said food | hood front part as the reaction force reduction means is provided in the said grill. Vehicle front structure.   The vehicle front portion according to claim 1, wherein the reaction force reducing means is a means that allows a member provided at a site where the interference occurs to move downward by an input from the hood front portion. Construction. As a member provided at the site where the interference occurs, a grill provided at the vehicle lower position of the hood front end is included,
7. The reaction force reducing means is a means for supporting the grille on a vehicle body and for deforming or breaking the grille so that the grille can move downward when input from the front portion of the hood. Vehicle front structure as described in 4.

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