JP2007168476A - Occupant protection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protection device for a vehicle capable of certainly releasing a coolant at the outside of a cabin at inputting of load at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: A bent bead 47 is provided on a lower surface 49 of a side member 15 extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction and a circulation member 51 constituting a part of a circulation pipe 41 is mounted to an upper surface 50 of the side member 15. When the load is inputted to a front end 15b of the side member 15, the circulation member 51 is deformed (broken) by bending/deforming the side member 15 making the bent bead 47 as an origin to release the coolant for air-conditioning at the outside of the cabin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device, and more particularly, to a vehicle occupant protection device that uses a deformation of a vehicle body member to release air-conditioning refrigerant outside a vehicle compartment when a load is input to the front of the vehicle body. .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, components of an air conditioner such as a condenser and a circulation pipe for a refrigerant for air conditioning are arranged from an engine room at the front of a vehicle body to a vehicle interior. This air conditioner uses a refrigerant such as non-fluorocarbon gas such as carbon dioxide from the viewpoint of global environmental protection in recent years.

In the air conditioner, when a load is input to the vehicle body and a component member of the air conditioner provided in the vehicle interior breaks, the refrigerant may leak from the component member into the vehicle interior. For this reason, an electromagnetic on-off valve is connected to a refrigerant circulation pipe routed in the engine room, and the electromagnetic on-off valve opens when a load is input to the vehicle body and an airbag operation signal is received. A technique for discharging a refrigerant from an on-off valve into an engine room is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-351985 A

  However, since the airbag operation signal is used in the conventional example, if an abnormality occurs in the transmission of the operation signal, the electromagnetic on-off valve may not be normally opened. Therefore, measures such as adding a new function are required to operate the electromagnetic on-off valve normally, which may increase costs.

  Moreover, since complicated electric circuits, such as a sensor, a relay, and an electromagnetic on-off valve, are required, there is a problem that this electric circuit also costs a lot.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle occupant protection device that can reliably discharge a refrigerant outside a passenger compartment at the time of load input at a low cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an occupant protection device for a vehicle that prevents leakage of air-conditioning refrigerant into the vehicle interior when a load is input to the vehicle front portion. The component of the air conditioner to which the air conditioning refrigerant is fed is fixed to the vehicle body member, and the component of the air conditioner is moved outside the passenger compartment by utilizing the deformation of the vehicle body member at the front of the vehicle body due to the load. Thus, the air-conditioning refrigerant is discharged outside the passenger compartment.

  According to the present invention, in order to deform the components of the air conditioner outside the passenger compartment not only from the front of the vehicle or from the front of the vehicle but also when a load is input from the side of the vehicle to the front of the vehicle body, Leakage of the air conditioning refrigerant into the room can be reliably prevented.

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

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front part of a vehicle body before an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention is attached.

  An engine room 3 is disposed in the vehicle body front portion 1, and the engine room 3 and the vehicle interior 5 are provided in a cowl box 7 extending along the vehicle width direction and a lower part of the cowl box 7. The dash panel 9 is divided.

  A hood ridge 11 extends along the vehicle longitudinal direction on both the left and right sides of the vehicle body on the engine room 3 side, and a strut housing 13 is disposed inside the hood ridge 11 in the vehicle width direction. A side member 15 (vehicle body member) is provided below the strut housing 13 so as to extend from the lower end portion of the dash panel 9 to the vehicle body front end portion along the vehicle front.

  Furthermore, a suspension member 17 having a substantially U-shape in plan view is disposed below the side member 15. The suspension member 17 includes a rear portion 19 that extends in the vehicle width direction and is attached to the lower side of the rear end portion 15a of the side member 15, a side portion 21 that extends from the left and right ends of the rear portion 19 toward the front of the vehicle, It is comprised from the leg part 23 (refer FIG. 7) bent from the front end 21a of the part 21, and extended upwards. These side members 15 and suspension members 17 are extremely high-strength body frame members.

  A radiator support 25 that extends in the vehicle width direction and supports a radiator (not shown) is disposed at the front end of the vehicle body.

  FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The air conditioner 27 is composed of a plurality of components routed from the engine room 3 to the vehicle interior 5. Specifically, this component includes a condenser 29 (condenser, gas cooler), internal heat exchanger 31, pressure reducing valve 33, evaporator 35 (evaporator), accumulator 37 (pressure accumulator), compressor 39 (compressor). , And a circulation pipe 41 that circulates the air-conditioning refrigerant r by connecting them.

  The condenser 29 is disposed at the front end of the engine room 3 because it cools and liquefies the air-conditioning refrigerant r using the driving wind of the vehicle or a blow fan (not shown).

  The internal heat exchanger 31 is disposed on the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path of the condenser 29, and the internal pipes 43 and 45 having a plurality of bent portions are disposed inside the internal heat exchanger 31 so as to face each other. Therefore, heat is transferred from one internal pipe 45 to the other internal pipe 43 to perform heat exchange.

  The evaporator 35 is disposed in the vehicle interior 5 so as to vaporize (evaporate) the liquefied air-conditioning refrigerant r and cool the vehicle interior 5 with this heat of vaporization.

  The accumulator 37 accommodates air-conditioning refrigerant r in a liquid state and a gas state, and the air-conditioning refrigerant r in a gas state is discharged from the accumulator 37.

  The compressor 39 is disposed on the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path of the accumulator 37, and pressurizes the air-conditioning refrigerant r so that the air-conditioning refrigerant r in a gaseous state can be easily liquefied by being cooled by the condenser 29. .

  Among the components of the air conditioner 27 described above, the evaporator 35 and the circulation pipe 41 in the vicinity of the evaporator 35 are arranged in the vehicle interior, and the other components are arranged in the engine room 3.

  The refrigeration cycle in the air conditioner 27 having the above configuration will be briefly described.

  The high-temperature and high-pressure gas-conditioning refrigerant r compressed by the compressor 39 is supplied to the condenser 29 via the circulation pipe 41 of the air-conditioning refrigerant r. It is cooled and sent to the internal heat exchanger 31 in a high pressure state. After that, the air-conditioning refrigerant r whose pressure has been reduced by the pressure reducing valve 33 evaporates in the evaporator 35, and the heat of vaporization is taken away from the air in the passenger compartment flowing through the evaporator 35 to cool the air. The cabin is cooled.

  The vaporized air-conditioning refrigerant r is sent from the accumulator 37 to the internal heat exchanger 31, where it is heat-exchanged between the internal circulation pipes 43 and 45 disposed in a pair and opposed to each other. 39.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the front portion of the vehicle body to which the circulation pipe of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached.

  The side member 15 is a vehicle body member formed in a rectangular closed cross-sectional structure, and a folded bead 47 (a fragile portion for bending) having a substantially triangular shape in side view is formed on the lower surface. The bent bead 47 is formed integrally with the lower surface 49 by denting the lower surface 49 of the side member 15 upward. In addition, a flow member 51 to which the air-conditioning refrigerant r is fed is fixed to a portion of the upper surface 50 of the side member 15 corresponding to the folded bead 47. The flow member 51 is inserted into a circulation pipe 41 between the condenser 29 that is a heat exchanger and the internal heat exchanger 31 to constitute a part of the circulation pipe 41, and has a strength higher than that of the side member 15. It is made of a small material such as a synthetic resin.

  That is, a condenser 29 is arranged on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the front end portions of the left and right side members 15, 15, and the circulation pipe 41 extends from the condenser 29 and is connected to the front end 53 of the flow member 51. . A circulation pipe 41 is routed from the rear end 55 of the circulation member 51 toward the internal heat exchanger 31.

  The flow member 51 is a cylindrical member in which an insertion hole penetrating along the axial direction is formed inside, and the front end portion and the rear end portion are attached to attachment pieces 57 and 59 fixed to the upper surface of the side member 15. It is pivotally supported so that it can rotate. The folded bead 47 is disposed on the lower surface 49 of the side member 15 corresponding to an intermediate portion between the front end portion and the rear end portion of the flow member 51.

  Next, in this embodiment, the deformation behavior of the front part of the vehicle body when the load F is input will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a side view showing a deformed state of the vehicle body front portion when a load is input to the vehicle body front portion in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, when a load F is input to the front end 15 b of the side member 15 via a bumper (not shown), the load F is transmitted along the axial direction of the side member 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the side member 15 is bent and deformed in an inverted V shape in a side view, starting from a bent bead 47 formed on the lower surface 49 of the side member 15.

  The bent top portion 61 pushes up the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the flow member 51 from below, but the front end portion and the rear end portion of the flow member 51 are fixed to the side member 15 via the attachment pieces 57 and 59. The flow member 51 is deformed (broken) by breaking the central portion 57.

  By this deformation, the flow members 51 to 43 and 45 are released into the engine room 3, and leakage in the vehicle interior 5 can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the mode in which the folded bead 47 is formed on the lower surface 49 of the side member 15 and the flow member 51 is attached to the upper surface 50 has been described. However, the folded bead 47 may be formed on any of the upper surface 50 of the side member 15, the side surface on the outer side in the vehicle width direction, and the side surface 63 on the inner side in the vehicle width direction. In addition, the flow member 51 is attached to a surface facing the surface on which the folded bead 47 is formed. For example, when the bead 47 is formed on the inner side surface in the vehicle width direction, the flow member 51 is attached to the outer side surface in the vehicle width direction. Accordingly, when the side member 15 is bent and deformed with the bead 47 as a starting point, the flow member 51 can be deformed (broken) at the bent top portion 57.

  Below, the effect by this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The side member 15, which is the vehicle body member, extends along the vehicle front-rear direction. By fixing the flow member 51 to the side member 15, the side member 15 moves rearward when the load F is input. The flow member 51 is configured to be deformed (broken) by utilizing the deformation movement.

  For this reason, when the load F is input to the vehicle body front portion 1 from the front of the vehicle or obliquely from the front of the vehicle, the air-conditioning refrigerant r is discharged outside the passenger compartment. Leakage can be reliably prevented.

  Further, a folding bead 47 (bending weak part for bending) that promotes bending deformation of the side member 15 when the load F is input is formed on the side member 15 that is the vehicle body member, and a portion corresponding to the folding bead 47 is formed. A flow member 51 is fixed to the side member 15.

  For this reason, since the side member 15 is reliably and efficiently deformed when a load is input, the flow member 51 can be further reliably deformed (broken).

  Since the flow member 51 is attached to the side member 15 where the flow member 51 is bent starting from the folding bead 47 when a load is input, the flow member 51 is pushed and bent by the top portion 57 where the side member 15 is bent. Even a structural member of the air conditioner 27 having high strength can be reliably deformed (broken).

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same structure as that of the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference numeral, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the front portion of the vehicle body to which the circulation pipe of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention is attached.

  In the present embodiment, a crushing weakened portion that promotes the axial crushing of the side member 15 (vehicle body member) when a load is input is formed. The crushing weakened portions are crushing beads 65 provided on the upper surface 50 and the lower surface 49 of the side member 15 at a plurality of locations along the vehicle front-rear direction. The crushing beads 65 are arranged in a pair of upper and lower sides, and a flow member 51 is fixed to a portion of the upper surface 50 of the side member 15 corresponding to the crushing beads 65. The flow member 51 is also pivotally supported by attachment pieces 57 and 59 whose front end and rear end are fixed to the upper surface 50 of the side member 15. And the crushing bead 65 is arrange | positioned between the front-end part and rear-end part of the distribution | circulation member 51, and the site | part in which these crushing beads 65 were formed is the crushing area L. FIG.

  Next, in this embodiment, the deformation behavior of the front part of the vehicle body when the load F is input will be described.

  First, when a load F is input to the front end 15 b of the side member 15 via a bumper (not shown), the load F is transmitted along the axial direction of the side member 15. As shown in FIG. 6, the crushing section L in which the crushing beads 65 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the side member 15 are collapsed, and the length of the side member 15 in the front-rear direction is shortened by this crushed portion. Then, the front end portion of the flow member 51 moves toward the rear of the vehicle. However, since the rear end portion is fixed to the upper surface 50 of the side member 15, an axial compressive load is input to the flow member 51. As a result, the flow member 51 is deformed (broken) by breaking the central portion.

  By this deformation (breaking), the air-conditioning refrigerant r is released from the flow member 51 into the engine room 3, and leakage in the vehicle interior 5 can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the crushing beads 65 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces 49 and 50 of the side member 15, but may be formed on the side surface 63 of the side member 15. Further, the flow member 51 may be provided on the lower surface 49 or the side surface 63 instead of the upper surface 50 of the side member 15.

  Below, the effect by this embodiment is demonstrated.

  A crushing bead 65 (fragile portion for crushing) that promotes axial crushing of the side member 15 when the load F is input is formed on the side member 15 that is the vehicle body member, and a side member at a portion corresponding to the crushing bead 65 is formed. Since the flow member 51 is attached to the flow member 15, the flow member 51 can be reliably deformed (broken).

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same reference numerals are given to the same structures as those of the first and second embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle body to which the circulation pipe of the air conditioner according to the third embodiment of the present invention is attached.

  As described above, the rear portion 19 of the suspension member 17 is attached to the rear end portion 15 a of the side member 15, and the upper end of the leg portion 23 is attached to the side member 15. The side portion 21 of the suspension member 17 extends below the side member 15 along the vehicle front-rear direction. On the upper surface 67 of the side portion 21, a bent bead 69 having a V-shape in side view is formed at an intermediate portion of the front and rear length, and the flow member 51 is disposed on the upper surface 67 of the side portion 21 corresponding to the folded bead 69. It is fixed. The front end portion of the flow member 51 is rotatably supported by the front end portion 21 a of the side portion 21 of the suspension member 17 via the attachment piece 57, and the rear end portion is supported by the rear portion 19 of the side portion 21 of the suspension member 17. It is rotatably supported through the attachment piece 59.

  Next, in this embodiment, the deformation behavior of the front part of the vehicle body when the load F is input will be described.

  First, when a load F is input to the front end 15 b of the side member 15 via a bumper (not shown), the load F is transmitted to the suspension member 17 via the leg portion 23.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the side portion 21 of the suspension member 17 bends and bends and deforms downward in a substantially V shape in side view starting from the bead 69, and the front end 21a of the side portion 21 of the suspension member 17 is rearward of the vehicle. Move towards. The axial compression load is also input to the flow member 51.

  Here, since the strength of the flow member 51 is smaller than the strength of the suspension member 17, the flow member 51 is deformed (broken) while being deformed so that the center portion in the front-rear direction is lifted upward.

  Due to this deformation (breaking), the air-conditioning refrigerant r is released into the engine room 3 from the broken part of the flow member 51, and leakage in the vehicle compartment can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the crushing bead 65 is formed on the upper surface 67 of the side portion 21 of the suspension member 17, but may be formed on the lower surface 71 of the side portion 21. Further, the flow member 51 may be provided on the lower surface 71 instead of the upper surface 67 of the suspension member 17.

  Below, the effect by this embodiment is demonstrated.

  As the vehicle body member, not only the side member 15 described in the first and second embodiments but also a suspension member 17 can be used as in the present embodiment. For this reason, even when the flow member 51 cannot be attached to the side member 15 due to the component layout, the flow member 51 can be attached to the suspension member 17, and the air-conditioning refrigerant can be reliably installed outside the vehicle compartment when a load is input. r can be released.

  As a constituent member of the air conditioner, at least one of the accumulator 37, the internal heat exchanger 31, and the circulation member 51 of the air conditioning refrigerant r (a part of the circulation pipe 41) can be used.

  As described above, in addition to the flow member 51, the accumulator 37 or the internal heat exchanger 31 is attached to the side member 15 or the suspension member 17 so as to be deformed (broken) when a load is input to the vehicle body. good.

  Since these accumulators 37 and internal heat exchangers 31 have a larger amount of air conditioning refrigerant r accommodated therein than other components, the amount of refrigerant discharged when deformed (ruptured) becomes very large. Leakage of the refrigerant into the passenger compartment can be prevented more efficiently. Here, the accumulator 37 and the internal heat exchanger 31 are structural members having relatively high strength. However, if deformation of higher strength vehicle body skeleton members such as the side member 15 and the suspension member 17 is utilized, It can be reliably deformed (broken) when a load is input.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible based on the technical idea of this invention.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments, the side member 15 or the suspension member 17 is deformed when the load F is input to the vehicle body front portion 1 from the front of the vehicle. However, the air-conditioning refrigerant r may be released outside the passenger compartment even when a load is input from the side of the vehicle by attaching the constituent members of the air conditioner 27 to the vehicle body member extending in the vehicle width direction.

In addition to CO ₂ refrigerant, propane, ammonia or the like can be used for the air conditioning refrigerant r.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle body front part before attaching the air conditioner by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the refrigerating cycle of the air conditioner by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the vehicle body front part which attached the distribution | circulation member by 1st Embodiment of this invention. In 1st Embodiment of this invention, it is a side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of a vehicle body front part when a load is input into the vehicle body front part. It is a side view of the vehicle body front part which attached the distribution member by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. In 2nd Embodiment of this invention, it is a side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of a vehicle body front part when a load is input into the vehicle body front part. It is a side view of the vehicle body front part which attached the distribution member by 3rd Embodiment of this invention. In 3rd Embodiment of this invention, it is a side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of a vehicle body front part when a load is input into the vehicle body front part.

Explanation of symbols

F: Load r: Refrigerant for air conditioning 1 ... Front part of vehicle body 5 ... Vehicle interior 15 ... Side member (vehicle body member)
17 ... Suspension member (body member)
27 ... Air conditioner 31 ... Internal heat exchanger (component)
37 ... Accumulator (component)
47, 69 ... Folding beads (fragile parts for bending)
51. Distribution member (circulation pipe, component)
65 ... Crushing beads (fragile parts for crushing)

Claims (7)

In the vehicle occupant protection device for preventing leakage of air-conditioning refrigerant into the passenger compartment when a load is input to the front of the vehicle body,
The component of the air conditioner to which the air conditioning refrigerant is fed is fixed to the vehicle body member disposed at the front of the vehicle body,
Using the deformation of the vehicle body member at the front part of the vehicle body due to the load, the air conditioning refrigerant is discharged outside the vehicle interior by deforming the structural member of the air conditioner outside the vehicle interior. Vehicle occupant protection device. The vehicle body member extends along the vehicle front-rear direction, and by fixing the component member to the vehicle body member,
2. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the structural member is deformed by utilizing a deformation movement of the vehicle body member toward the rear of the vehicle when the load is input from the front of the vehicle.   The vehicle body member is formed with a weakened portion for bending that promotes bending deformation of the vehicle body member when a load is input, and the component member is fixed to the vehicle body member at a portion corresponding to the weakened portion for bending. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1 or 2.   4. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the component member is attached to a side of the body member that is bent starting from a bending weak portion when a load is input.   The vehicle body member is formed with a crushing fragile portion that promotes axial crushing of the vehicle body member when a load is input, and the component member is fixed to the vehicle body member at a portion corresponding to the crushing fragile portion. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1 or 2.   6. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body member is a side member or a suspension member.   The vehicle occupant protection according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the component of the air conditioner is at least one of an accumulator, an internal heat exchanger, and a circulation pipe of an air conditioning refrigerant. apparatus.

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