JP2009208696A - Actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an actuator in which a piston rod during operation can stably secure a predetermined movement stroke and can stably support a receiving material.
An actuator 21 moves a piston rod 50 in a cylinder 22 forward during operation, and restricts the backward movement of the rod 50 by a lock mechanism R. The support rod portion 54 extending from the piston portion 51 of the rod 50 supports a receiving material that receives the object to be protected. The cylinder includes a main body portion 23 that slides the piston portion, a distal end wall portion 31 that has an insertion hole 32 through which the support rod portion is inserted, and a diameter expansion storage portion 27 that is disposed on the distal end side and can store the piston portion. And comprising. The lock mechanism R is composed of a bottom-side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion and an opening peripheral edge 25 on the diameter-enlarged storage portion side in the main body portion, and is located on the bottom-side outside of the piston portion 51 accommodated in the diameter-enlarged storage portion 27 The peripheral edge 52 is engaged with the opening peripheral edge 25 of the main body 23 to restrict the backward movement of the rod 50.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an actuator used in an automobile safety device, and more particularly, to an actuator used for an operation such as lifting a hood panel when receiving a pedestrian as an object to be protected.

  Conventionally, as an actuator of an automobile safety device mounted on a vehicle, the rear end side of the hood panel is used so that a pedestrian can be received by the hood panel itself by using energy absorption during plastic deformation of the hood panel. There was something to raise. Specifically, as a conventional actuator, a piston rod arranged in a cylindrical cylinder is moved as a piston cylinder type in which a working fluid is introduced into the cylinder, and the piston rod moves forward. There is a configuration including a lock mechanism that restricts the backward movement of the camera (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this conventional actuator, the piston rod is composed of a piston portion and a support rod portion, and as a locking mechanism, a constriction portion is provided in the vicinity of the piston portion in the support rod portion, and the support rod portion is moved after the ascending movement. The piston rod is bent at the constricted portion and the bent portion acts as a stopper to restrict the backward movement of the piston rod.
JP 2002-29366 A

  However, in the conventional actuator, the support rod portion is provided with a constricted portion with reduced strength, and the constricted portion is bent to serve as a stopper, thereby restricting the backward movement of the support rod portion. If the constricted part bends so as to form a stopper after the part is moved upward, it is inevitable that the constricted part bends further when the hood panel receives a pedestrian. In other words, the piston rod of the actuator cannot stably support the receiving material such as the hood panel, and the receiving material such as the hood panel cannot receive the pedestrian. It becomes difficult to ensure the behavior to absorb the kinetic energy of the person.

  Further, in the conventional actuator, there is a possibility that the constricted part is bent in the cylinder before the completion of the upward movement of the support rod part. In this case, the piston rod is not arranged at the predetermined forward movement position, and the piston The receiving material supported by the rod cannot be arranged at a predetermined position.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an actuator in which a piston rod during operation can stably secure a predetermined movement stroke and can stably support a receiving material. And

The actuator according to the present invention is used in an automobile safety device,
During operation, the piston rod having a piston portion in the cylinder and a support rod portion that is connected to the piston portion and protrudes outside the cylinder is configured to move forward,
It is configured with a lock mechanism that regulates the backward movement of the piston rod that has moved forward,
The support rod portion protruding from the cylinder is an actuator configured to support a receiving material for receiving an object to be protected,
Cylinder
A main body that slides the piston that moves forward;
A distal end wall portion that is disposed on the distal end side that is the receiving material side, has an insertion hole through which the support rod portion is inserted, and the piston portion cannot be inserted;
It is disposed between the tip wall and the main body, expands from the inner peripheral surface of the main body, and has a length that is equal to or greater than the length of the piston. The diameter storage part,
Configured with
The external shape of the outer peripheral edge of the bottom of the piston part so that the piston part moved from the main body part to the enlarged diameter storage part cannot be inserted into the main body part side, at least the opening shape of the main body part on the enlarged diameter storage part side, Formed almost identically,
The lock mechanism is composed of an outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston part and an opening peripheral edge on the enlarged storage part side in the main body part, and the outer peripheral edge on the bottom part side of the piston part stored in the enlarged diameter storage part in the main body part The structure is characterized in that the piston rod is engaged with the opening periphery on the diameter-enlarged storage portion side to restrict the backward movement of the piston rod.

  In the actuator according to the present invention, at the time of operation, the piston portion of the piston rod moves forward while sliding on the main body portion of the cylinder, and is accommodated in the diameter expansion accommodating portion. At that time, the outer shape of the outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston part is such that the opening shape of at least the enlarged diameter storage part side of the main body part cannot be inserted into the main body part side when the piston part moved from the main body part to the enlarged diameter storage part. The shape is substantially the same. For this reason, the piston portion is restricted from moving back without moving back to the main body portion side by the action of a lock mechanism that locks the outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston portion to the opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the enlarged diameter storage portion side. As a result, the support rod portion extending from the piston portion can stably secure the movement stroke of the movement of the piston portion from the state before the operation until it is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodation portion, and Therefore, the receiving material is stably supported.

  Therefore, in the actuator according to the present invention, the piston rod at the time of operation can stably secure a predetermined movement stroke and can stably support the receiving material. Furthermore, since the lock mechanism can be configured simply by the shape that causes the outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston part and the opening peripheral edge on the enlarged diameter storage part side of the main body part to correspond to each other, there is no need to use new parts separately. Thus, the actuator can be simply configured without increasing the number of components.

  The support rod portion is bent with a portion in the vicinity of the insertion hole protruding from the tip wall portion as a bending point so that the kinetic energy of the protection target can be absorbed when receiving the protection target of the receiving material after forward movement. It is desirable to arrange it so as to be plastically deformable.

  In such a configuration, when the receiving material plastically deforms and absorbs the kinetic energy and receives the object to be protected, the support rod part can also be bent plastically deformed, and if the support rod part is bent plastically deformed, The support rod part itself can also absorb the kinetic energy of the protection target, and the receiving material supported by the support rod part can receive the protection target more smoothly. In particular, at the time of this bending plastic deformation, the support rod portion undergoes bending plastic deformation with the portion in the vicinity of the insertion hole protruding from the tip wall portion as a bending point, so that it can be plastically deformed in a stable plastic deformation mode, and Absorption of kinetic energy can be stabilized. The bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion is different from the plastic deformation of bending the throttle portion of the support rod portion in the conventional actuator, and the receiving material is placed at a receiving position for receiving the object to be protected. After that, when the load is applied to the support rod part in a state where the receiving material is supported, the support rod part is bent and plastically deformed, and the kinetic energy of the object to be protected is reduced. This is completely different from the conventional bending plastic deformation that forms a stopper for constituting a conventional locking mechanism that does not consider absorption.

  In the actuator according to the present invention, the outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston portion accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion is on the enlarged diameter accommodating portion side of the main body portion so that the bending direction at the time of bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion can be guided. An inclination imparting means for inclining the axial direction of the piston rod with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder and bending the support rod portion along the inclination direction of the support rod portion when being locked to the periphery of the opening is provided with the piston. It is desirable to dispose on at least one side of the mutual contact site with the rod or cylinder.

  In such a configuration, when the piston portion is housed in the enlarged diameter storage portion and the bottom side outer periphery of the piston portion is locked to the opening periphery of the main body portion on the enlarged diameter storage portion by the action of the lock mechanism. By the inclination imparting means, the piston portion of the piston rod is locked with the support rod portion side inclined toward the bending direction side of the support rod portion with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder. And when the receiving material plastically deforms and absorbs the kinetic energy, the object to be protected is received, and the support rod part is bent plastically deformed with the portion near the insertion hole protruding from the tip wall part as a bending point. The part protruding from the tip wall part in the support rod part is already inclined to the bending direction side from the part in the vicinity of the insertion hole in the tip wall part to the tip side of the support rod part. If the load of the object to be protected is applied to the support rod portion, the support rod portion bends the bending point and smoothly bends and plastically deforms along the inclination direction. That is, the support rod portion is bent and plastically deformed along a certain inclined direction side, and can be further plastically deformed in a stable plastic deformation mode, and the amount of kinetic energy absorbed by the protection target can be stabilized. it can. Furthermore, in such a configuration, the piston portion is also inclined with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder and is locked to the opening peripheral edge of the cylinder main body portion on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion. The outer peripheral edge becomes harder to fit into the opening on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion in the detached main body portion, and the backward movement of the piston rod can be regulated stably and reliably.

  The following can be illustrated as such inclination provision means. For example, as the bottom surface of the piston portion, the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod portion is formed as an inclined surface inclined from the surface along the direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder so as to approach the support rod portion side. Such a bottom surface of the piston portion can be configured as an inclination imparting means. In such a configuration, at the time of operation, the piston part is housed in the enlarged diameter storage part, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge of the piston part is locked to the opening peripheral side of the main body part on the enlarged diameter storage part by the action of the lock mechanism. When making the bottom surface of the piston part, the edge on the opposite side away from the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part is first brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the opening before the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part. . Therefore, the piston portion is inclined to the direction side in which the support rod portion is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder, and in this state, the bottom side outer peripheral edge is connected to the enlarged diameter storage portion side of the main body portion. Will be locked to the periphery of the opening.

  Further, at the periphery of the opening on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion in the main body portion, the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod portion is formed so as to be lowered toward the backward movement side from the edge on the opposite side. The peripheral edge of the opening on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion can be configured as an inclination imparting means. Even in such a configuration, the piston portion is housed in the enlarged diameter storage portion during operation, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge of the piston portion is locked to the opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the enlarged diameter storage portion by the action of the lock mechanism. When making the bottom surface of the piston part, the edge on the opposite side away from the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part is first brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the opening before the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part. . Therefore, the piston portion is inclined toward the direction in which the support rod portion is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder, and in this state, the bottom outer peripheral edge is connected to the enlarged diameter storage portion in the main body portion. It will be locked to the opening periphery of the side.

  Further, the enlarged diameter storage portion is formed in the distal end wall portion so that the piston portion at the time of forward movement can be brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the enlarged diameter storage portion side in the distal end wall portion. As the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the side, the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part is formed so as to be lowered toward the backward movement side from the edge on the opposite side, and the insertion hole on the enlarged diameter storage part side in the tip wall part You may comprise a periphery as an inclination provision means. Even in such a configuration, when the piston portion is housed in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion during operation and abuts against the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the enlarged diameter accommodating portion side in the distal end wall portion, the support rod portion is bent at the peripheral edge of the insertion hole. The edge on the plastic deformation direction side is brought into contact with the edge on the opposite side. For this reason, the piston portion is inclined toward the direction in which the support rod portion is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder. If the piston rod is locked to the peripheral edge of the opening on the part side, the backward movement of the piston rod is restricted, and the support rod part can be inclined and arranged on the side where bending plastic deformation occurs.

  Furthermore, the insertion hole of the tip wall portion is arranged so that the support rod portion can be supported at the time of bending plastic deformation, the inner peripheral surface is widened in the direction of the bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion, and the insertion hole of the tip wall portion is You may comprise as an inclination provision means. In such a configuration, at the time of operation, the piston part is housed in the enlarged diameter storage part, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge of the piston part is locked to the opening peripheral side of the main body part on the enlarged diameter storage part by the action of the lock mechanism. In this case, the support rod portion is easily stored on the side where the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the tip wall portion is widened, and the storage state of the support rod portion is a state in which the support rod portion is inclined in the direction of bending plastic deformation. In addition to the support rod portion, the piston portion is also in the inclined state, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge is locked to the opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the diameter expansion storage portion side.

  When the automobile safety device is configured as a hood flip-up device that raises the rear end of the hood panel as a receiving material, the actuator changes the bending direction during bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion. It is desirable that the rear side of the hood panel is disposed below the rear end of the hood panel so that the piston rod is raised. In such a configuration, since the pedestrian as the protection object moves obliquely rearward and downward from above with respect to the rear end side of the hood panel, the support rod portion is not the front side but the rear side. If the structure is bent and plastically deformed, there is no fear that the axial direction of the support rod portion is directly opposed to the moving direction of the pedestrian, and buckling deformation that increases the deformation load value is caused. In addition, the deformation of the support rod portion can be stabilized as bending plastic deformation, and the support rod portion can stably and smoothly absorb the kinetic energy of the pedestrian.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The automobile safety device in which the actuator 21 of the first embodiment is used is a hood flip-up device (hereinafter abbreviated as “bounce-up device”) U. 1 and 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flip-up device U is disposed near the left edge 10d and the right edge 10e on the rear end 10c side of the hood panel 10 in the vehicle V. The actuator 21 and the receiving seat 16 disposed on the lower surface of the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 are provided. 3 and 4, during the operation, the flip-up device U causes the actuator 21 to raise the piston rod 50, and the receiving seat 16 is interposed so that the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 is flipped up. Will be raised.

  In the present specification, unless otherwise specified, the front and rear and up and down directions respectively correspond to the front and rear and up and down directions of the vehicle V (see FIG. 1), and the left and right directions are from the front side of the vehicle V to the rear side. It matches with the left and right direction when looking at the side.

  In the case of the first embodiment, the front bumper 5 of the vehicle V is provided with a sensor 6 capable of detecting or predicting a collision with a pedestrian as shown in FIG. Gas generation as a drive source in the actuator 21 of the flip-up device U when an operation circuit (not shown) that inputs a signal detects or predicts a collision between the vehicle V and a pedestrian based on a signal from the sensor 6 The device 43 is configured to operate (see FIG. 6).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hood panel 10 is disposed so as to cover the upper part of the engine room ER in the vehicle V, and is a hinge disposed in the vicinity of the rear end 10 c on both sides in the left-right direction. By the part 11, it is connected with respect to the body 1 side of the vehicle V so that opening and closing is possible by front opening. The hood panel 10 is made of sheet metal made of aluminum (aluminum alloy) or the like, and as shown in FIG. 3, an outer panel 10a on the upper surface side, an inner panel 10b that is positioned on the lower surface side and has higher strength than the outer panel 10a, It is composed of The food panel 10 is configured to be plastically deformable so that it can absorb the kinetic energy of the pedestrian when receiving the pedestrian. And in embodiment, when the vehicle V and the pedestrian collide, the actuator 21 is operated, and as shown in FIG. 4, between the rear end 10c of the raised hood panel 10 and the engine room ER, Since the deformation space S can be formed, the amount of plastic deformation during plastic deformation can be increased.

  The hinge portion 11 is disposed on the left edge 10d and the right edge 10e on the rear end 10c side of the hood panel 10 (see FIG. 1), and is attached to the hood ridge rein hose 2 on the body 1 side, respectively. The hinge base 12 is fixed to the hood panel 10 and the hinge arm 14 is fixed to the hood panel 10 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, each hinge arm 14 is configured as a shape in which a sheet metal angle member is bent in a substantially semicircular arc shape so as to protrude downward, and a base end 14 a on the hinge base 12 side is supported. The shaft 13 is pivotally connected to the hinge base 12. Each hinge arm 14 includes a connecting plate portion 15 extending from the tip 14b so as to extend substantially in the front-rear direction on the side of the tip 14b that is separated from the base end 14a. It is connected to the lower surface side of 10c using welding or the like.

  In the case of the embodiment, the connecting plate portion 15 uses the lower surface on the front side as the contact portion 15a of the tip (upper end) 50a (the head 55 of the support rod portion 54) of the piston rod 50 when ascending. That is, the front side of the connecting plate portion 15 serves as a receiving seat 16 for the upper end 50a of the piston rod 50, and the lower surface of the receiving seat 16 serves as a receiving surface 16a for the upper end 50a (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  The support shafts 13 are arranged so that their axial directions are along the left-right direction of the vehicle V. When the hood panel 10 is opened, as shown by the two-dot chain line from the solid line in FIG. 3, the front end 10 f of the hood panel 10 along with the distal end 14 b side of each hinge arm 14 with the left and right support shafts 13 as the rotation center. If the side (refer FIG. 1) is raised by front opening, the food panel 10 can be opened by front opening.

  Further, a notch recess 14c is formed in the vicinity of the tip 14b of the hinge arm 14 so that the lower edge is notched in a substantially circular shape. The area around the notch recess 14c is the operation of the actuator 21. At this time, when the piston rod 50 pushes up the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10, the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 can be raised as a plastic deformation portion 14d that plastically deforms (see FIG. 4). The front end 10f of the hood panel 10 is provided with a latch mechanism that locks a hood lock striker (not shown) disposed at the front end 10f when the hood panel 10 is normally closed. Even at this time, the front end 10f of the hood panel 10 cannot be detached from the body 1 side by a latch mechanism for locking a hood lock striker (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cowl 7 comprising a highly rigid cowl panel 7a on the body 1 side and a synthetic resin cowl louver 7b above the cowl panel 7a is provided behind the hood panel 10. Arranged. The cowl louver 7b is disposed so that the rear end side is connected to the lower portion 3a side of the front windshield 3. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, front pillars 4 and 4 are disposed on the left and right sides of the front windshield 3.

  In the case of the embodiment, the cowl louver 7b includes an actuator cover 8 that covers the upper side of the actuator 21, and the actuator cover 8 is integrally formed with other general portions of the cowl louver 7b. The actuator cover 8 is disposed above the left and right actuators 21 and is opened in the area surrounded by the cylindrical sleeve portion 8a by being pushed by the head 55 of the support rod portion 54 of the actuator 21 during operation. 8b is arranged. The cowl louver 7b is formed by providing portions with different flexibility, and includes a hard portion 7c and a soft portion 7d having more flexibility than the hard portion 7c. The vicinity of the sleeve portion 8a including the door portion 8b of the actuator cover 8 is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the actuator 21 of the first embodiment is held by a mounting bracket 18 having a U-shaped cross section that is bolted to a mounting flange 2 b connected to the hood ridge reinhose 2. The panel 10 is disposed below the hinges 11 below the left edge 10d and the right edge 10e on the rear end 10c side. As shown in FIG. 6, each actuator 21 includes a cylinder 22 that is mounted and fixed so that its axial direction is along the vertical direction, and a gas generator 43 that flows a gas as a working fluid into the cylinder 22. And a piston rod 50 disposed so as to protrude upward from the cylinder 22, and a lock mechanism R for preventing the piston rod 50 from moving backward (downward movement) after forward movement (after upward movement). It is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the cylinder 22 includes a main body portion 23 that slides the piston portion 51 of the piston rod 50 between the tip wall portion 31 on the upper end side and the base end wall portion 40 on the lower end side, and a lift. It has a substantially cylindrical shape in which an enlarged diameter storage portion 27 for storing the moved piston portion 51 is disposed. The enlarged diameter storage portion 27 is formed between the main body portion 23 and the tip wall portion 31 and is configured from the inner peripheral surface side of a cylindrical sleeve 28 fixed to the upper end of the main body portion 23 by welding or the like. The tip wall portion 31 is provided on a cap 30 fixed to the upper end of the sleeve 28. The base end wall portion 40 is formed on a cap 39 fixed to the lower end of the main body portion 23.

  The main body portion 23 has a sliding hole 24 provided with a circular opening 24b corresponding to the outer shape of the piston portion 51 extending in the vertical direction. When the actuator 21 is operated, the piston portion 51 is connected to the sliding hole 24. The inner peripheral surface 24a is slid to rise (forward movement). In the case of the first embodiment, the inner diameter dimension d0 of the sliding hole 24 is within a range in which the piston 51 can slide by the pressure of the working gas G generated suddenly by the gas generator 43, and outside the piston 51. It is set to be slightly larger than the outer diameter dimension DP as substantially the same as the diameter dimension DP (see A in FIG. 7).

  The enlarged diameter storage portion 27 is configured by providing a columnar space having an inner diameter dimension d1 larger than the outer diameter dimension DP of the piston portion 51. Further, the length dimension L1 of the piston portion 51 can be stored. The dimension is set to be slightly larger than the length dimension LP of the portion 51.

  The cap 30 disposed on the upper end side of the main body portion 23 of the cylinder 22 includes a distal end wall portion 31 that closes the upper end of the cylinder 22, and a female screw 28 a provided on the sleeve 28 is provided on the outer peripheral surface on the lower end side. A male screw 30a to be screwed is provided. The distal end wall portion 31 is provided with an insertion hole 32 for inserting the support rod portion 54 of the piston rod 50 in the center. The cap 30 is attached to the sleeve 28 fixed to the main body 23 by screwing the male screw 30 a with the female screw 28 a in a state where the shaft portion 56 of the support rod portion 54 is inserted into the insertion hole 32. .

  The insertion hole 32 is disposed so as to penetrate in the vertical direction at the center of the distal end wall portion 31, and is formed so that the shaft portion 56 of the piston rod 50 can be inserted and the piston portion 51 cannot be inserted. In the case of the first embodiment, the insertion hole 32 extends from the insertion main body portion 33 through which the shaft portion 56 can be inserted and the inner peripheral surface 32a only to the rear side of the vehicle V without extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle V. And a projecting recess 34. The projecting recess 34 has an inner peripheral surface (a rear side surface of the inner peripheral surface 32a of the insertion hole 32) 34a disposed so that the shaft portion 56 can be inserted and supported (see FIGS. 7 and 8). In the case of the first embodiment, when the piston portion 51 of the piston rod 50 is housed in the enlarged diameter housing portion 27 and locked by the lock mechanism R, the shaft center PC of the piston rod 50 is With respect to the axis CC, the protruding recess 34 is inclined at an angle θP of about 3 to 5 ° (5 ° in the illustrated example) and the upper end 50a is inclined toward the rear side. The angle θH of the inner peripheral surface 34a from the axis CC of the cylinder 22 is set so as to match. That is, in the case of the first embodiment, this overhanging concave portion 34 constitutes an inclination imparting means C1, and the piston rod 50 is capable of guiding the bending direction at the time of bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion 54 to the rear side. When locked by the locking mechanism R, the axial direction PD (axial center PC) of the piston rod 50 can be inclined by an angle θP with respect to the axial direction CD (axial center CC) of the cylinder 22.

  In addition, the distal end wall portion 31 is formed with an accommodation recess 36 on the upper end surface 31a in which the cylindrical head portion 55 of the upper end 50a of the piston rod 50 can be accommodated. The insertion hole 32 is opened in the bottom surface 36 a of the storage recess 36. Further, a concave groove 36 c is formed in the inner peripheral surface 36 b of the storage concave portion 36, and an O-ring that prevents rattling of the head 55 and prevents rainwater from entering the cylinder 22 in the concave groove 36 c. 37 is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the cap 39 coupled to the lower end side of the main body portion 23 includes a substantially disc-shaped base end wall portion 40 disposed so as to close the lower end side of the main body portion 23, and a base portion. And a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall portion 41 extending upward from the outer peripheral edge of the end wall portion 40. An insertion hole 40 a into which the connector 44 of the gas generator 43 can be inserted is formed in the former end wall portion 40. The peripheral wall portion 41 is provided with a female screw 34 a that is engaged with a male screw 23 a provided on the outer peripheral side of the lower end of the main body portion 23 of the cylinder 22 on the inner peripheral surface of the upper end side. The cap 39 is in a state in which the gas generator 43 is attached to the base end wall 40 using the peripheral portion of the insertion hole 40a in the base end wall 40 and the lower portion of the peripheral wall 41. The female screw 34a is screwed into the male screw 23a and attached to the main body 23.

  A micro gas generator is used as the gas generator 43, and a connector 44 to which a lead wire 44a for inputting an electric signal from a control circuit (not shown) is connected is arranged on the lower end surface of the gas generator 43. (See FIG. 6). When an electric signal from a control circuit (not shown) is input via the lead wire 44a, the gas generator 43 burns the built-in explosive to generate combustion gas, and generates the working gas (combustion gas) G. The working fluid is supplied to the bottom surface (lower surface) 51b side of the piston portion 51 in the cylinder 22.

  The piston rod 50 includes a piston part 51 disposed in the cylinder 22 and a support rod part 54 extending upward from the piston part 51. The piston portion 51 has a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter dimension DP that is slidable with respect to the inner peripheral surface 24 a of the sliding hole 24 in the main body portion 23 of the cylinder 22. The support rod portion 54 has a round rod-like shaft portion 56 disposed along the axial direction (vertical direction) PD of the cylinder 22, and is disposed on the upper end side of the shaft portion 56 and has an outer diameter dimension larger than that of the shaft portion 56. A cylindrical head 55 having a large diameter. When the piston rod 50 moves upward, the head portion 55 comes into contact with the receiving surface 16a of the receiving seat 16 provided on the hood panel 10 side and pushes up the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 upward. In the piston portion 51, a bottom surface 51 b and a ceiling surface 51 e extending the support rod portion 54 are formed in parallel to each other along the axis orthogonal direction CV of the cylinder 22.

  The support rod portion 54 pushes up the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 and moves up (moves forward) to the completion position (the pedestrian receiving position RP of the hood panel 10, see FIG. 4), and locks to the lock mechanism R. When this is done, the portion of the shaft portion 56 in the vicinity of the insertion hole 32 that protrudes from the tip wall portion 31 is formed as a bending point 57 from a metal material such as steel so that it can be bent plastically deformed. In this case, it is configured integrally with the piston portion 51 (see FIG. 7).

  And in the actuator 21 of 1st Embodiment, the locking mechanism R is comprised from the bottom part side outer periphery 52 of the piston part 51, and the opening periphery 25 by the side of the diameter expansion accommodating part 27 in the main-body part 23 of the cylinder 22. Yes. The piston portion 51 is configured such that the piston portion 51 moved from the main body portion 23 to the large diameter storage portion 27 cannot be inserted into the main body portion 23 side. 51 is formed substantially the same as the outer shape of the outer peripheral edge 52 on the bottom side. That is, in the case of the first embodiment, within the range in which the piston portion 51 can slide on the inner peripheral surface 24a of the sliding hole 24 of the main body portion 23 due to the pressure of the working gas G generated suddenly by the gas generator 43. Therefore, the inner diameter d0 of the opening 24b is set to be approximately equal to the outer diameter DP of the piston portion 51. Therefore, in this lock mechanism R, the piston portion 51 slides on the inner peripheral surface 24a of the sliding hole 24 of the main body portion 23 by the pressure of the working gas G generated suddenly by the gas generator 43, and slides. When it is detached from the moving hole 24 and stored in the enlarged diameter storage portion 27, the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side in the main body 23, and the piston rod 50. Will be controlled.

  The bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston part 51 refers to the vicinity of the boundary between the outer peripheral surface 51a and the bottom surface 51b of the piston part 51, and is not limited to only the outer peripheral surface 51a side or the bottom surface 51b side. Absent. Similarly, the opening peripheral edge 25 of the main body portion 23 on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 is also near the boundary between the inner peripheral surface 24a of the sliding hole 24 and the bottom surface 27a of the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 (the upper end surface of the main body portion 23). It is not limited to the inner peripheral surface 24a side or the bottom surface 27a side.

  In the flip-up device U of the first embodiment, the gas generator 43 in the actuator 21 is operated when an operation circuit (not shown) detects or predicts a collision with the pedestrian of the vehicle V by a signal from the sensor 6. If the working gas generated from the gas generator 43 flows into the cylinder 22, the internal pressure in the cylinder 22 increases as shown in FIGS. The piston portion 51 receives the pressure and rises together with the support rod portion 54 of the piston rod 50. 3 and 4, the support rod portion 54 pushes and opens the door portion 8b of the actuator cover 8, and further presses the head portion 55 against the receiving surface 16a of the receiving seat 16 so that the rear portion of the hood panel 10 is pressed. When the end 10c is raised, and the piston portion 51 is housed in the enlarged diameter housing portion 27 and the piston rod 50 is disposed at the lift completion position (advance completion position) UP (see B in FIG. 6), the piston The outer peripheral edge 52 on the bottom side of the part 51 is engaged with the opening peripheral edge 25 on the diameter expansion storage part 27 side in the main body part 23 of the cylinder 22, and the lowering (retreating movement) of the piston rod 50 is restricted and locked. The hood panel 10 receives a pedestrian that moves obliquely rearward and downward from above and plastically deforms, and the lower surface (reception surface) 16a of the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 is lowered when the pedestrian receives. As shown in FIG. 5, the support rod portion 54 having the head 55 of the upper end 50a in contact with the receiving surface 16a of the hood panel 10 bends the head 55 above the bending point 57 to the rear side. As described above, since bending plastic deformation occurs, the pedestrian absorbs a lot of kinetic energy and is preferably received by the hood panel 10 by the plastic deformation of the hood panel 10 and the plastic deformation of the support rod portion 54. .

  And in the case of 1st Embodiment, when the piston part 51 is accommodated in the diameter expansion accommodating part 27, as shown to A and B of FIG. 7, opening by the side of the diameter expansion accommodating part 27 in the main-body part 23 of the cylinder 22 is carried out. The shape of 24b is substantially the same as the outer shape of the bottom outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion 51 so that the piston portion 51 moved from the main body portion 23 to the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 cannot be inserted into the main body portion 23 side. The piston part 51 is formed on the side of the main body part 23 by the action of a lock mechanism R that locks the outer peripheral edge 52 on the bottom side of the piston part 51 to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage part 27 side of the main body part 23. Without returning, that is, lowering (retreating movement) is regulated, and the support rod portion 54 extending from the piston portion 51 is moved from the state before the operation until the piston portion 51 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27. Move the amount of movement Stroke TS (see B in FIG. 4 and 6), can be stably secured, and, and thus to stably support the hood panel 10 as the receiving material.

  Therefore, in the actuator 21 of the first embodiment, the piston rod 50 at the time of operation can stably secure the predetermined movement stroke TS and can stably support the hood panel 10 as a receiving material. . Furthermore, since the lock mechanism R can be configured simply by the shape in which the bottom outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston part 51 and the opening peripheral edge 25 on the diameter expansion storage part 27 side of the main body part 23 correspond to each other, a new new A simple configuration can be achieved without using parts and without increasing the number of components of the actuator 21.

  In the first embodiment, when the hood panel 10 as the receiving material is plastically deformed to absorb the kinetic energy and receive the pedestrian as the protection target, the support rod portion 54 is also bent plastically deformed and supported. If the rod portion 54 undergoes bending plastic deformation, the support rod portion 54 itself can absorb the kinetic energy of the pedestrian, and the hood panel 10 supported by the support rod portion 54 can receive the pedestrian more smoothly. Can do. In particular, at the time of this bending plastic deformation, the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed with a portion in the vicinity of the insertion hole 32 protruding from the tip wall portion 31 as a bending point 57, so that it can be plastically deformed in a stable plastic deformation mode. The amount of kinetic energy absorbed by pedestrians can be stabilized. The bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion 54 is different from the plastic deformation of bending the throttle portion of the support rod portion in the conventional actuator, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the hood panel 10 is received by the pedestrian. After the hood panel 10 is disposed at the stop position RP, the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed when a load F of a predetermined level or more is applied to the support rod portion 54 while the hood panel 10 is supported. This is completely different from the conventional bending plastic deformation that forms a stopper for constituting a conventional lock mechanism that does not consider the absorption of the kinetic energy of the object to be protected.

  Furthermore, in the actuator 21 according to the first embodiment, the inclination imparting means C1 for inclining the support rod portion 54 is disposed so that the bending direction of the support rod portion 54 during bending plastic deformation can be guided rearward. I am letting. The inclination imparting means C1 is configured such that when the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston part 51 accommodated in the diameter expansion accommodating part 27 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the diameter expansion accommodating part 27 side of the main body part 23, the piston rod The 50 axial directions PD are inclined with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22, and the support rod portion 54 is easily bent along the inclination direction of the support rod portion 54. And in the inclination provision means C1 of 1st Embodiment, it arrange | positions in the penetration hole 32 of the cylinder 22 with which the axial part 56 of the piston rod 50 slides.

  In the first embodiment, the insertion hole 32 of the distal end wall portion 31 can support the support rod portion 54 that is bent and plastically deformed by the inner peripheral surface 32a thereof, and the support rod portion 54 of the insertion hole 32 of the distal end wall portion 31 is supported. Only the rear side which is the direction of bending plastic deformation is provided with an overhanging recess 34, and the insertion hole 32 of the distal end wall portion 31 in which the inner peripheral surface 32a is widened is configured as an inclination imparting means C1 (see FIG. 8). ). In such a configuration, first, when the actuator 21 is actuated, the piston portion 51 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion 51 is moved in the main body portion 23 by the action of the lock mechanism R. It is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side. In that case, the support rod part 54 is easily accommodated in the overhanging recessed part 34 side on the side where the inner peripheral surface 32a of the insertion hole 32 of the tip wall part 31 is widened. The storage state of the support rod portion 54 is a state in which the support rod portion 54 is inclined rearward in the direction of bending plastic deformation. 23 is engaged with the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side.

  The hood panel 10 as a receiving material is plastically deformed and absorbs kinetic energy to receive the pedestrian, and the support rod portion 54 is located at a bending point 57 near the insertion hole 32 protruding from the tip wall portion 31. As described above, when bending plastic deformation, a portion (protruding portion) 54a protruding from the tip wall portion 31 of the support rod portion 54 is already at the tip of the support rod portion 54 from a portion near the insertion hole 32 of the tip wall portion 31. It is inclined to the rear side, which is the bending direction side, toward the head 55 side. Therefore, if the load F of the pedestrian who goes diagonally backward from the upper side is applied to the support rod part 54 with the hood panel 10 interposed, the support rod part 54 bends the bending point 57 and in the inclined direction. It will be bent and plastically deformed smoothly. That is, the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed along a certain inclined rear side, and can be further plastically deformed in a stable plastic deformation mode, thereby stabilizing the amount of kinetic energy absorbed by the pedestrian. it can. Note that the receiving surface 16a of the raised hood panel 10 also has an angle θF from the horizontal rear (see FIG. 5) of 10 to 15 °, and the load F is inclined rearward and downward through the vicinity of the receiving surface 16a. If it acts on the head portion 55 of the piston rod 50, the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed further smoothly.

  Furthermore, in such a configuration, the piston portion 51 is also inclined with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22 and is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the diameter expansion storage portion 27 side in the main body portion 23 of the cylinder 22. Therefore, the outer peripheral edge 52 on the bottom side of the piston part 51 becomes more difficult to fit into the opening 24b on the enlarged diameter storage part 27 side of the detached main body part 23, and the backward movement of the piston rod 50 can be regulated stably and reliably. Become.

  The actuator 21 of the first embodiment is used in a flip-up device U that raises the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 as a receiving material, and the bending direction during bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion 54 is It is arranged below the rear end 10c of the hood panel 10 so as to be rearward and to raise the piston rod 50. Therefore, in such a configuration, since the pedestrian as the protection target object moves obliquely rearward and downward from above with respect to the rear end 10c side of the hood panel 10, the support rod portion 54 is moved forward. If the structure is bent and plastically deformed not to the side but to the rear side, there is no fear that the axial direction PD of the support rod portion 54 faces the pedestrian's moving direction, and the deformation load value is increased. The deformation of the support rod portion 54 can be stabilized as bending plastic deformation without causing any buckling deformation, and the support rod portion 54 can stably and smoothly absorb the pedestrian's kinetic energy.

  In addition, in 1st Embodiment, although it comprised from the inner peripheral surface 32a of the insertion hole 32 provided in the front-end | tip wall part 31 of the cylinder 22 as inclination provision means C1, in this insertion hole 32, the inner periphery of the overhanging recessed part 34 is provided. The surface 34a side may be formed in parallel with the insertion main body portion 33 from the upper edge 34b without being inclined (see the inner peripheral surface 34a indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11B). Further, the piston portion 51 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion 51 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27 side in the main body portion 23 by the action of the lock mechanism R. In this case, the piston portion 51 of the piston rod 50 is inclined with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22 if the support rod portion 54 side is inclined toward the bending direction side of the support rod portion 54 and locked. The applying means can be arranged not only in the insertion hole 32 but also on at least one side of the mutual contact portion with the piston rod 50 or the cylinder 22.

  For example, like the actuator 21A of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, as the bottom surface 51b of the piston part 51A, a rear side edge (rear edge) 51c that is the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part 54 is provided. It can be formed as an inclined surface inclined from the surface along the axis orthogonal direction CV of the cylinder 22 so as to approach the support rod portion 54 side, and the bottom surface 51b of the piston portion 51A can be configured as the inclination imparting means C2. . In the second embodiment, the point that the bottom surface 51b of the piston portion 51A is inclined is only different from the first embodiment, and the other parts and parts of the second embodiment are the same as the first embodiment. The same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are assigned to the same parts and components as those in the first embodiment in the second embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the actuator 21A of the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the piston portion 51A is housed in the enlarged diameter housing portion 27 during operation, and the bottom side of the piston portion 51A is acted upon by the action of the lock mechanism R. When the outer peripheral edge 52 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage part 27 side in the main body part 23, the bottom surface 51 b of the piston part 51 A comes before the rear edge 51 c of the support rod part 54 in the bending plastic deformation direction side. The opposite edge (front edge) 51d of the support rod portion 54 away from the bending plastic deformation direction side is first brought into contact with the opening peripheral edge 25. Therefore, the piston portion 51A is inclined to the rear side in the direction in which the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22, and in this state, the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 is moved to the main body. The portion 23 is engaged with the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side. Therefore, even in the actuator 21A of the second embodiment, if a load of a pedestrian heading obliquely rearward and downward from above is applied to the support rod portion 54 via a hood panel (not shown), the support rod portion 54 is bent. The point 57 is bent and smoothly bent and plastically deformed rearward along the inclination direction.

  Moreover, like the actuator 21B of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the edge (rear edge) of the support rod portion 54 on the side of the bending plastic deformation direction at the opening peripheral edge 25B on the diameter expansion storage portion 27 side of the main body portion 23. ) 25b is formed to be lower on the lower side so as to be lowered toward the backward movement side from the opposite edge (front edge) 25a, and the opening peripheral edge 25B on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side in the main body portion 23 is inclined. You may comprise as the provision means C3. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in that the opening peripheral edge 25B of the main body portion 23 on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 is inclined. These parts / parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and parts / parts similar to those in the first embodiment in the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted. In other words, the piston portion 51 of the third embodiment is cylindrical, and the bottom surface 51b of both end surfaces and the ceiling surface 51e on which the shaft portion 56 of the support rod portion 54 protrudes are parallel to each other, and The cylinder 22 is disposed in parallel with the axis orthogonal direction CV.

  In the actuator 21 </ b> B of the third embodiment, the piston portion 51 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27 during operation, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion 51 is moved to the main body portion 23 by the action of the lock mechanism R. The bottom surface 51b of the piston portion 51 is bent before the rear edge 51c of the support rod portion 54 in the bending plastic deformation direction when the support rod portion 54 is engaged with the opening peripheral edge 25B on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side. The front edge 51d on the opposite side away from the plastic deformation direction side is first brought into contact with the front edge 25a of the opening periphery 25. Therefore, the piston portion 51 is inclined rearward in the direction in which the support rod portion 54 is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22, and in that state, the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 is The main body 23 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25B on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side. Therefore, even in the actuator 21B of the third embodiment, if the load of the pedestrian heading from the upper side to the diagonally rear lower direction is applied to the support rod portion 54 with a hood panel (not shown) interposed therebetween, the support rod portion 54 is bent. The point 57 is bent and smoothly bent and plastically deformed rearward along the inclination direction.

  Further, like the actuator 21C of the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the insertion surface 32 on the lower surface 31b side where the ceiling surface 51e of the piston portion 51 at the time of ascent is the diameter expansion storage portion 27 side in the tip wall portion 31C. The diameter-enlarged storage portion 27 is formed as a length dimension L1 that can be in contact with the peripheral edge (insertion hole peripheral edge) 35, and the support rod portion is configured as the insertion hole peripheral edge 35 on the lower surface 31b side of the tip wall portion 31C. An edge (rear edge) 35b on the bending plastic deformation direction side of 54 is formed so as to protrude downward from the opposite edge (front edge) 35a so as to be lowered toward the backward movement side. You may comprise the through-hole periphery 35 by the side of the enlarged diameter accommodating part 27 as the inclination provision means C4. In addition, in this 4th Embodiment, the point by which the penetration hole peripheral edge 35 by the side of the diameter expansion accommodating part 27 of 31 C of front-end | tip walls is only different from 1st Embodiment, 4th Embodiment Other parts / parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and parts / parts similar to those in the first embodiment in the fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted. To do. In other words, the piston portion 51 of the fourth embodiment is also cylindrical, and the bottom surface 51b of both end surfaces and the ceiling surface 51e projecting the shaft portion 56 of the support rod portion 54 are parallel to each other, and The cylinder 22 is disposed in parallel with the axis orthogonal direction CV.

  In the actuator 21 </ b> C of the fourth embodiment, when the piston 51 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27 and is in contact with the insertion hole peripheral edge 35 on the enlarged diameter accommodating portion 27 side in the distal end wall portion 31 </ b> C during operation. The rear edge 35b of the support rod portion 54 in the insertion hole peripheral edge 35 on the bending plastic deformation direction side makes the rear edge of the ceiling surface 51e before the opposite front edge 35a side contacts the front edge 51f of the ceiling surface 51e. It will be in contact with 51 g. Therefore, the piston part 51 is inclined to the rear side in the direction in which the support rod part 54 is bent and plastically deformed with respect to the axial direction CD of the cylinder 22, and the bottom side outer peripheral edge of the piston part 51 in the inclined state. 52 is locked to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side of the main body portion 23, the downward movement of the piston rod 50 is restricted, and the support rod portion 54 is inclined to the side where the bending plastic deformation occurs. Can be arranged. Therefore, even in the actuator 21C of the fourth embodiment, if the load of a pedestrian heading from the upper side to the oblique rear lower side is applied to the support rod portion 54 with a hood panel (not shown) interposed therebetween, the support rod portion 54 is bent. The point 57 is bent and smoothly bent and plastically deformed rearward along the inclination direction.

  In addition, in the actuators 21A, 21B, and 21C of the second to fourth embodiments, the inclination imparting means C1 that is used in combination with the inclination imparting means C2 to C4 and extends the inner peripheral surface 32a of the insertion hole 32 only to the rear side. In each of these embodiments, the insertion hole 32 can be simply supported by the shaft portion 56 of the support rod portion 54 at the time of inclination without using the inclination imparting means C1. It is good also as a structure which expands so that it may expand not only to the side but to both right and left sides.

  Moreover, in each embodiment, the case where the internal diameter dimension d0 of the opening 24b of the sliding hole 24 of the main-body part 23 which slides the piston parts 51 and 51A of the cylinder 22 is made into the same dimension over the full length of the main-body part 23 is shown. It was. However, like the locking mechanism R of the actuator 21D of the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the shape of the opening 24b at least on the diameter expansion storage portion 27 side of the main body portion 23D is changed from the main body portion 23D to the diameter expansion storage portion 27. The outer shape of the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston portion 51D may be substantially the same so that the piston portion 51D that has moved to the main body portion 23D cannot be inserted. In the actuator 21D of the fifth embodiment, the diameter of the gas generator 43 away from the opening peripheral edge 25 of the main body part 23D on the diameter expanding storage part 27 side is enlarged, and the main body part 23D is connected to the part 23b of the opening peripheral edge 25 and its part 23b. The lower part 23c is configured separately and the part 23b of the opening peripheral edge 25 is formed of a material having rigidity higher than that of the lower part 23c. The fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment only. Other parts / parts of the form are the same as those of the first embodiment, and parts / parts similar to those of the first embodiment in the fifth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description is made. Omitted.

  Even in the actuator 21D of the fifth embodiment, when the gas generator 43 discharges the working gas G during operation, the internal pressure in the cylinder 22 increases, and the piston portion 51D of the piston rod 50 is replaced by the main body portion 23D of the cylinder 22. And is stored in the enlarged diameter storage portion 27. At that time, the shape of the opening 24b on the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 side of the main body portion 23D is set so that the piston portion 51D moved from the main body portion 23D to the enlarged diameter storage portion 27 cannot be inserted into the main body portion 23D side. It is formed substantially the same as the outer shape of the bottom side outer peripheral edge 52 of the part 51D. Therefore, the piston part 51D does not return to the main body part 23D side by the action of the lock mechanism R that locks the bottom outer peripheral edge 52 of the piston part 51D to the opening peripheral edge 25 on the enlarged diameter storage part 27 side of the main body part 23D. That is, the descent is regulated. As a result, the support rod portion 54 extending from the piston portion 51D can stably secure the movement stroke TS for the movement of the piston portion 51D from the state before the operation until it is accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodation portion 27, and A hood panel (not shown) can be stably supported, and the same actions and effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment, the lower part 23d of the main body 23D is expanded in diameter from the opening 24b on the enlarged storage part 27 side, and the sliding resistance with the piston part 51D is reduced. The moving speed of the part 51D can be increased, and the hood panel can be quickly raised.

  In the actuators 21, 21 </ b> A, 21 </ b> B, 21 </ b> C, and 21 </ b> D of each embodiment, the case where the forward movement is moved upward and the backward movement is moved downward is shown, but the operation direction is not limited to this. For example, the actuator of the present invention may be used in the horizontal operation direction, and the automobile safety device in which the actuator of the present invention is used may be other than the flip-up device U that raises the hood panel 10. For example, the present invention may be applied to an actuator of a knee protection device as an automobile safety device that receives a knee of a driver or a passenger in a passenger seat with a knee panel.

  Furthermore, in the actuators 21, 21 </ b> A, 21 </ b> B, 21 </ b> C, and 21 </ b> D of each embodiment, the case where the gas generator 43 that generates gas by being ignited when the operation signal is input is disposed inside the cylinder 22 is shown. As a driving source for moving the piston rod 50, the piston rod 50 may be raised using water, oil, air, or the like as an operating fluid and utilizing the water pressure, hydraulic pressure, air pressure, or the like.

  Furthermore, as a drive source for moving the piston rod forward, it is possible to use a suction force of a solenoid or a biasing force (restoring force) of a compressed spring. For example, when using the suction force of a solenoid, the movable iron core is disposed in the cylinder as a piston rod, and the piston rod is moved forward by energizing the excitation coil disposed around the movable iron core in the cylinder. be able to. Also, when using a spring, the piston rod is connected to the free end of the compressed coil spring, and the tip of the piston rod or compression coil spring is locked with a stopper composed of a solenoid or the like so as to be retractable. If the stopper is retracted so as to release the lock, the piston rod moves forward by the urging force restored by the compression coil spring.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle on which a flip-up device (hood jump-up device) in which the actuator according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used is mounted. It is a partial enlarged plan view of the vehicle carrying the flip-up device of the first embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view along the front-back direction which shows the flip-up apparatus of 1st Embodiment, and the hinge part of a vehicle, and respond | corresponds to the III-III site | part of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the time of the action | operation of the flip-up apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the plastic deformation state of the support rod part of the actuator after the hood panel of 1st Embodiment is flipped up. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator of 1st Embodiment, and shows the time before an operation | movement and the time of completion | finish of an operation | movement. The actuator of 1st Embodiment WHEREIN: Before the operation | movement explaining the action | operation of a locking mechanism and the time of an operation completion are shown. FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the actuator of the first embodiment, corresponding to the VIII-VIII portion of FIG. 7. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator of 2nd Embodiment, and shows the time before an operation | movement and the time of completion | finish of an operation | movement. The actuator of 2nd Embodiment WHEREIN: Before the operation | movement explaining the action | operation of a locking mechanism and the time of completion | finish of operation | movement are shown. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator of 3rd Embodiment, and shows the time before an operation | movement and the time of completion | finish of an operation | movement. In the actuator of 3rd Embodiment, before the operation | movement explaining the action | operation of a locking mechanism and the time of completion | finish of operation | movement are shown. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator of 4th Embodiment, and shows the time before an operation | movement and the time of completion | finish of an operation | movement. In the actuator of 4th Embodiment, before the operation | movement explaining the action | operation of a locking mechanism and the time of completion | finish of operation | movement are shown. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the actuator of 5th Embodiment, and shows the time before an operation | movement and the time of completion | finish of an operation | movement. In the actuator of 5th Embodiment, before the operation | movement explaining the action | operation of a locking mechanism and the time of completion | finish of operation | movement are shown.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Food panel,
10c ... rear end,
21, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D ... actuators,
22 ... Cylinder,
23, 23D ... main body,
24 ... sliding hole,
24b ... opening,
25, 25B ... peripheral edge of the opening,
27: Expanded diameter storage section,
31, 31C ... tip wall,
32 ... insertion hole,
32a ... inner peripheral surface,
50 ... Piston rod,
51, 51A, 51D ... piston part,
52 ... bottom side outer periphery,
54. Support rod part,
R: Lock mechanism,
G: Working gas,
V ... Vehicle,
U ... Hood jumping device.

Claims (8)

Used in automotive safety equipment,
In operation, a piston rod having a piston portion in the cylinder and a support rod portion that is connected to the piston portion and protrudes outside the cylinder is configured to move forward,
It is configured with a lock mechanism that regulates the backward movement of the piston rod that has moved forward,
The support rod portion protruding from the cylinder is an actuator configured to support a receiving material for receiving an object to be protected,
The cylinder is
A main body part for sliding the piston part moving forward;
A distal end wall portion that is disposed on the distal end side that is the receiving material side, has an insertion hole through which the support rod portion is inserted, and the piston portion cannot be inserted;
The piston portion is disposed between the tip wall portion and the main body portion, has a diameter larger than the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion, and has a length dimension equal to or greater than the length dimension of the piston section. An enlarged storage section that can store
Configured with
An opening shape of at least the enlarged diameter storage part side of the main body part is such that the piston part moved from the main body part to the enlarged diameter storage part cannot be inserted into the main body part side. Formed substantially the same as the outer peripheral shape,
The lock mechanism is composed of an outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston part and an opening peripheral edge on the enlarged diameter storage part side in the main body part, and is on the bottom side of the piston part stored in the enlarged diameter storage part An actuator characterized in that an outer peripheral edge is engaged with an opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion to restrict the backward movement of the piston rod.   The support rod portion bends a portion in the vicinity of the insertion hole that protrudes from the tip wall portion so as to be able to absorb the kinetic energy of the protection object when receiving the protection object of the receiving material after forward movement. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is arranged so as to be capable of bending plastic deformation.   In order to be able to guide the bending direction of the support rod portion during bending plastic deformation, the outer peripheral edge on the bottom side of the piston portion accommodated in the enlarged diameter accommodating portion is related to the opening peripheral edge on the enlarged diameter accommodating portion side in the main body portion. An inclination imparting means for inclining the axial direction of the piston rod with respect to the axial direction of the cylinder and bending the support rod portion along the inclination direction of the support rod portion when stopped. The actuator according to claim 2, wherein the actuator is disposed on at least one side of a mutual contact portion with a piston rod or the cylinder. The bottom surface of the piston portion is formed as an inclined surface inclined from a surface along the direction perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder so that the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod portion approaches the support rod portion side. ,
The actuator according to claim 3, wherein a bottom surface of the piston portion is configured as the inclination imparting unit. The opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion is formed so as to lower the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod portion to the backward movement side from the edge on the opposite side,
4. The actuator according to claim 3, wherein an opening peripheral edge of the main body portion on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion is configured as the inclination imparting unit. The diameter-enlarged storage portion is formed as a length dimension that allows the piston portion at the time of forward movement to abut on the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the diameter-enlarged storage portion side in the tip wall portion,
The peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the side of the enlarged diameter storage part in the tip wall part is formed so as to lower the edge on the bending plastic deformation direction side of the support rod part to the backward movement side from the edge on the opposite side,
4. The actuator according to claim 3, wherein a peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the side of the enlarged diameter storage portion in the tip wall portion is configured as the inclination imparting unit. The insertion hole of the tip wall portion is disposed with an inner peripheral surface widened in the direction of bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion so that the support rod portion can be supported during bending plastic deformation,
The actuator according to claim 3, wherein the insertion hole of the tip wall portion is configured as the inclination imparting unit. The automobile safety device is configured as a hood flip-up device that raises the rear end of the hood panel as the receiving member,
The bending direction at the time of bending plastic deformation of the support rod portion is a rear side, and is disposed below the rear end of the hood panel so as to raise the piston rod. The actuator according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

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