JP2015136947A - Shock absorption bracket - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shock absorbing bracket which has achieved both leg part protection performance and head part protection performance of a pedestrian at high level.SOLUTION: A bracket 20 is configured by an upper surface part 22, a lower surface part 24 and a connection part 26 for connecting the upper surface part 22 and the lower surface part 24. The connection part 26 has a lateral rib 33 and vertical ribs 28, 32 integrally continuing to the lateral rib 33, and by providing notches 38A, 38B in the middle portion of the vertical ribs 28, 32, a fragile part is formed. Head part protection performance is secured by the connection part 26 determines from the notch parts 38A, 38B at shock acting time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a shock absorbing bracket, and more particularly, to a shock absorbing bracket excellent in performance for protecting a pedestrian during a collision.

  The front end of the body of the automobile receives a compressive load from the bumper face when it collides with a pedestrian or the like inside the bumper face, which is a design part, and transmits it to the vehicle body side, and also has energy absorption (EA ) The members are arranged.

  As a conventional technique related to such a vehicle bumper structure, for example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of front and rear direction ribs and a vehicle width direction are provided on the inner side of a lower portion (air dam portion) of a bumper face and downward from a horizontally disposed upper surface portion. It is described that an energy absorbing bracket with a rib hanging is arranged.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle shock absorber having a configuration for improving the energy absorption effect at the time of impact. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 1 and the description thereof, the shock absorber 14A is a lattice-shaped structure including a bottom plate portion 21, and a plurality of vertical ribs 22a and horizontal ribs 22b integrally formed on the bottom plate portion 21. Part 22. Further, the bottom plate portion 21 is formed with an opening groove 23 along each horizontal rib 22b so that the end portion of each horizontal rib 22b on the bottom plate portion 21 side is a free end. A notch recess 24 that opens toward the opening groove 23 is formed at the end on the bottom plate portion 21 side at the intersection of each vertical rib 22 a and each horizontal rib 22 b of the lattice-like portion 22. Thereby, the effect that the impact is favorably absorbed by the buckling of the rib effectively at the time of a vehicle collision is achieved.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a structure for holding a bumper support bracket. Specifically, referring to FIG. 6 and the explanation thereof, the support bracket 3 is constituted by an attachment portion 31 attached to the lamp housing 12 and a support portion 34 that supports the upper end portion of the bumper face 2. . Further, the lens 11 is provided with a protruding portion 11c as a restricting portion that restricts the support portion 34 of the support bracket 3 from being displaced downward. Thereby, since the support part 34 of a bumper support bracket is not displaced up and down, the effect that the clearance gap between a headlamp and a bumper face is hold | maintained to the predetermined | prescribed magnitude | size is exhibited.

JP 2008-265399 A JP 2005-125962 A JP 2009-120153 A

  However, in recent years, the front structure of automobiles has been required to have a function to protect pedestrians in the event of a pedestrian collision. Both head protection performance is required. In order to improve the leg protection performance, it is necessary to provide the shock absorbing member with a drag force that supports a shock from the front. On the other hand, in order to improve the head protection performance, it is necessary to crush the impact absorbing member in the vertical direction relatively easily.

  However, since the inventions described in Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3 described above only consider impact energy acting from the front during a collision, both impact energy acting from the front and impact energy acting from above are considered. The effect that can be dealt with is not demonstrated.

  Although it is conceivable to use a metal shock absorbing bracket, in this case, the drag in the vertical direction is excessively increased, and the head protection performance is lowered. In addition, since it is made of metal, the effect of absorbing impact energy is small, and the vehicle body itself may be damaged at the time of a light collision, which may increase the repair cost.

  Furthermore, it is conceivable to construct a shock absorbing bracket by combining a resin member and a metal member. However, this may increase the number of parts, increase the manufacturing cost, increase the number of work steps, and increase the weight. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an impact-absorbing bracket compatible with a pedestrian's leg protection performance and head protection performance at a high level. .

  The present invention is an impact-absorbing bracket disposed between a bumper face and a vehicle body structure member, an upper surface portion approaching the bumper face, a lower surface portion connected to the vehicle body structure member, the upper surface portion, A connecting portion that connects the lower surface portion, and the connecting portion is provided with a weak portion having locally weakened strength and a support portion that supports the upper surface portion from the rear.

  According to the shock absorbing bracket of the present invention, the weakened portion whose strength is locally weakened is provided in the connecting portion that connects the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion. Thereby, when the impact energy in the vertical direction acts, the fragile portion is easily broken and the upper surface portion is dropped downward, and a space for absorbing the impact energy is secured. Therefore, the head protection performance at the time of a pedestrian collision improves.

  Furthermore, by providing a support portion that supports the upper surface portion from the rear in the connecting portion, even if the weak portion is determined by impact energy, the support portion supports the upper surface portion, so that a drag in the front-rear direction can be stably obtained. Therefore, the leg protection function at the time of a pedestrian collision improves.

It is a figure which shows the shock absorption bracket of this invention, and is a perspective view which shows the front part of the vehicle in which the shock absorption bracket was incorporated. It is a figure which shows the impact-absorbing bracket of this invention, (A) is a perspective view which shows the whole bracket, (B) and (C) are enlarged perspective views. It is a figure which shows the impact-absorbing bracket of this invention, and is sectional drawing of the vehicle front part in which this bracket was integrated. It is a figure which shows the impact-absorbing bracket of this invention, and is sectional drawing of the vehicle front part in which this bracket was integrated. It is a figure which shows the impact-absorbing bracket of this invention, and is sectional drawing of the vehicle front part in which this bracket was integrated.

  The shock absorbing bracket of this embodiment will be described below. In the following description, the left side and the right side indicate a case where the vehicle 10 faces in the traveling direction.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle front portion of a vehicle 10 incorporating a bracket according to the present embodiment.

  A front hood 18, a bumper upper part 12, a front grille 14, and a bumper lower part 16 are provided at the front end of the vehicle 10 from above.

  The front hood 18 has an outer panel that forms the upper surface of the front hood 18 and an inner panel that is stretched on the lower surface of the outer panel, and has a function of closing the engine room from above. The front hood 18 is made of a pressed steel plate.

  The bumper upper portion 12 has a shape that is continuous with the front end portion of the front hood 18 and has a shape in which the front portion sinks below the rear portion. The bumper upper part 12 is made of injection-molded plate-like soft resin or the like, and is easily deformed by an impact.

  The front grille 14 is formed continuously from the tip of the bumper upper portion 12 downward, and has a plurality of rod-like members that are installed in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. The front grille 14 is made of an injection-molded resin material, and the design surface side is plated or painted.

  The bumper lower part 16 is continuously formed downward from the lower end of the front grille 14, and extends continuously from the left end to the right end. The bumper lower part 16 is made of injection-molded plate-like soft resin, like the bumper upper part 12.

  The shock absorbing bracket of this embodiment is disposed on the upper side of the bumper upper portion 12 and the front grille 14. The bracket is arranged from the vicinity of the left end portion of the vehicle 10 to the vicinity of the right end portion, and has a role of protecting the pedestrian from the collision when the vehicle 10 collides with the pedestrian. Specifically, as will be described later, the bracket of the present embodiment has a relatively large resistance against an impact acting in the front-rear direction, thereby supporting the upper limb of the pedestrian's leg during a collision and Can prevent ligament elongation. Furthermore, when the pedestrian's head collides from above, the impact energy acting on the head is reduced when the bracket is easily crushed by an impact acting in the vertical direction. Protect.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the bracket 20 with which the above-mentioned vehicle 10 is equipped is demonstrated. 2A is a perspective view of the entire bracket 20 as viewed from the front, FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the main part of the perspective view, and FIG. 2C is a view of the bracket 20 as viewed from the rear. FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 2A, the bracket 20 has a schematic shape extending in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) and has an upper surface portion 22, a lower surface portion 24, an upper surface portion 22 and a lower surface portion 24. It has the connection part 26 to connect mainly. The upper surface portion 22 is a portion that approaches the bumper upper portion 12 (FIG. 3), and the lower surface portion 24 is a portion that approaches the radiator panel 42 (vehicle body structural member) (FIG. 3) on the back side of the front grille 14. The bracket 20 is made of an injection molded resin material.

  Referring to FIGS. 2B and 2C, a plurality of connecting portions 26 are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the left-right direction of bracket 20. Each connecting portion 26 has a shape in which flat ribs are combined, and extends from the upper main surface of the lower surface portion 24 obliquely upward to the front. Specifically, referring to FIG. 2 (B), when the connecting portion 26 is viewed from the front, the connecting portion 26 includes a horizontal rib 33 having a flat surface along the left-right direction, and a left end portion of the horizontal rib 33. And a vertical rib 32 having a flat surface in the front-rear direction and a vertical rib 28 having a flat surface in the front-rear direction continuously to the right end portion of the lateral rib 33. In addition, referring to FIG. 2C, a vertical rib 30 is provided at an intermediate portion between the vertical rib 28 and the vertical rib 32. In other words, the structure of the connecting portion 26 is such that the lateral rib 33 is sandwiched between the longitudinal rib 32 and the longitudinal rib 28, and the longitudinal rib 30 protrudes from the rear main surface of the lateral rib 33. In this way, by configuring the connecting portion 26 from thin plate-like ribs, the operation of breaking the connecting portion 26 in the event of a collision can be obtained while maintaining a predetermined mechanical strength under use conditions, and weight reduction is also realized. Is done. Details of each rib will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 2C, each connection portion 26 is provided at a position that does not overlap with the upper surface portion 22 in a plan view when the bracket 20 is viewed from above. Specifically, a curved portion 34 that is partially curved forward is formed at a location where the connecting portion 26 is disposed on the rear side of the upper surface portion 22. The connecting portion 26 is disposed behind the bending portion 34. By doing in this way, even if an impact acts on the bracket 20 from above and the connecting portion 26 is broken halfway during a pedestrian collision, the connecting portion 26 does not contact the upper surface portion 22. Therefore, the downward drop of the upper surface portion 22 is not hindered by the connecting portion 26, and a sufficient amount of deformation (EA stroke) for absorbing the impact is ensured.

  Next, the cross-sectional configuration of the bracket 20 having the above-described schematic configuration will be described in detail with reference to the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3 corresponds to the AA cross section in FIG. 2B, FIG. 4 corresponds to the BB cross section in FIG. 2B, and FIG. 5 corresponds to the C cross section in FIG. Corresponds to the -C cross section.

  With reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the configuration of the bracket 20 in the AA cross section will be described. This figure shows hatching in the cross section of the bracket 20. The design portion in the vicinity of the front end portion of the vehicle 10 includes a front hood 18, a bumper upper portion 12, and a front grille 14 from above. The bracket 20 is disposed behind the bumper upper portion 12 and the front grille 14.

  A plate-shaped impact absorbing member 48 is disposed between the bumper upper portion 12 and the upper surface portion 22 of the bracket 20. Further, an impact absorbing member 44 is disposed in front of the lower surface portion 24 of the bracket 20, and the impact absorbing members 48 and 44 absorb the impact by deforming itself at the time of a light collision or a pedestrian collision. Have a role to play.

  On the rear side of the bracket 20, vehicle structural members such as an air intake 40, a radiator panel 42 (radiator panel), and a radiator 50 are arranged from above. When a pedestrian collision or the like occurs, the bracket 20, the impact absorbing members 44 and 48, etc. are deformed to exhibit an energy absorbing effect, thereby protecting these vehicle structural members from the impact.

As described above, the upper surface portion 22 and the lower surface portion 24 of the bracket 20 are connected by the connecting portion 26 including the horizontal rib 33 and the vertical rib 28. Further, the rear end of the vertical rib 32 is in contact with the front main surface of the radial panel 42. In this embodiment, the strength is locally weakened by providing a notch 38A or the like in the middle of the vertical rib 32. It forms a vulnerable part. Specifically, the front side of the vertical rib 32 is broken into a substantially triangular shape to provide a cutout 38A, and the rear side of the vertical rib 32 is cut into a substantially triangular shape to provide a cutout 38B. The predetermined vulnerability is realized by reducing the cross-sectional area of the vertical rib 32 by the amount of the cutout 38A and the like. For example, it is preferable that the width of the vertical rib 32 in the portion where the notch 38A or the like is provided is equal to or less than half the width of the other portion. Hereinafter, the notch 38A and the notch 38B may be collectively referred to as the notch 38. Here, the above-described notches 38A and the like are also provided in the vertical ribs 28 shown in FIG.

  Thus, by providing the notch 38, the head protection performance of a pedestrian is improved. Specifically, when the pedestrian's head collides with the bumper upper portion 12 and the like from above at the time of pedestrian collision, impact energy acts on the upper surface portion 22 of the bracket 20 from above to below. The impact energy acts on the connecting portion 26 via the upper surface portion 22. At this time, in this embodiment, since the weakened portion is provided by providing the notch 38A or the like in the connecting portion 26, the connecting portion 26 is broken at the portion where the notch 38A is formed. After the initial drag is generated, the upper surface portion 22 falls off downward. As a result, the impact energy is alleviated and the stroke is also secured, so that the head protection performance is secured to a certain level or more.

  Further, the above-described notches 38A and the like are provided in the vertical ribs 32 in the rear portion with respect to the rear end portion of the upper surface portion 22. By doing in this way, when the connection part 26 fractures | ruptures in the location in which the notch 38A etc. were provided, the connection part 26 continuous with the lower surface part 24 does not overlap with the upper surface part 22. Therefore, the downward movement of the upper surface portion 22 after breaking is not hindered by the connecting portion 26.

  Furthermore, the notches 38A and 38B have a shape like a right triangle having sides parallel to the direction in which impact energy acts (the vertical direction in the drawing). This also has the effect of promoting breakage at the locations where the notches 38A and 38B are formed.

  A groove 46 is provided on the lower main surface of the lower surface portion 24. The groove 46 is formed in an elongated shape continuously or discontinuously along the vehicle width direction. As a result, the lower surface portion 24 is bent so as to have a convex shape from the groove 46 as a starting point due to an impact that acts during a light collision. Alternatively, the lower surface portion 24 is broken starting from the groove 46. Thereby, the impact energy which acts from the front is absorbed, and the input to the vehicle body structural member such as the radiator panel 42 is reduced.

  The direction in which the connecting portion 26 extends is substantially parallel to the direction perpendicular to the bumper upper portion 12. In this figure, the perpendicular direction of the bumper upper portion 12 is indicated by a white arrow. By doing in this way, the drag force in the direction perpendicular to the surface is obtained at the connecting portion 26, and even if the user presses the bumper upper portion 12 in the direction perpendicular to the surface during car washing, the bumper upper portion 12 is easily bent. There is nothing.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the structure of the bracket 20 in the above-mentioned BB cross section (refer FIG. 2 (B)) is demonstrated. Also in this figure, the bracket 20 is hatched.

  In this cross section, the vertical ribs 30 are continuous from the horizontal ribs 33 to the rear, and the vertical ribs 30 are not provided in the front. Further, the front end portion of the vertical rib 30 forms a support portion 31, and the front surface thereof faces the side surface of the rear end portion of the upper surface portion 22. That is, the front side surface of the support portion 31 and the rear side surface of the upper surface portion 22 have a substantially parallel positional relationship.

  By providing the support part 31 in the connection part 26, a leg part's leg protection performance improves. Specifically, when impact energy from the front acts on the bracket 20 at the time of a pedestrian collision, as described above, the connecting portion 26 is broken in the middle thereof. When the upper surface portion 22 moves rearward after breaking, the rear side surface of the upper surface portion 22 is supported by being in contact with the front side surface of the support portion 31, and the rearward movement of the upper surface portion 22 is suppressed. Thereby, a resistance against impact energy is obtained, and the upper limbs of the legs of the pedestrian are supported to prevent the ligaments of the knees from extending.

  In this embodiment, a hole portion 36 is provided between the connecting portion 26 and the upper surface portion 22 so that both are discontinuous. This hole portion 36 also constitutes the above-described fragile portion. As a result, when impact energy from above acts, the connecting portion 26 is relatively easily broken, and the head protection performance is improved.

  The rear end side end portion of the lower surface portion 24 is fastened to the radiator panel 42 via fastening means such as a clip. In this embodiment, a claw portion 58 is provided in which the lower surface near the rear end portion of the lower surface portion 24 is partially protruded inward, and the claw portion 58 is engaged with the rear end of the radiator panel 42. When the impact energy from above acts on the upper surface portion 22 of the bracket 20, a moment is generated to rotate the entire bracket 20 counterclockwise. The engagement of the claw portion 58 provides a resistance against this moment. It is done. This also provides the holding force of the bracket 20 required when the connecting portion 26 breaks.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the structure of the bracket 20 in the CC cross section (see FIG. 2B) will be described. In this cross section, a claw portion 54 is formed by projecting the lower end portion of the upper surface portion 22 backward, and a contact portion 56 is provided on the lower surface portion 24 facing the claw portion 54. A plurality of claw portions 54 are provided in the vicinity of the center portion of the bracket 20 in the left-right direction (see FIG. 2B).

  With such a configuration, even if the connecting portion 26 (FIG. 4) described above is broken during the impact energy action, the claw portion 54 is engaged with the contact portion 56, so that the upper surface portion 22 is prevented from retreating and drag. Is obtained. Further, since the claw portion 54 is engaged with the contact portion 56, an effect of suppressing the upward movement of the upper surface portion 22 is also obtained.

  The above-described embodiment can be modified as follows, for example.

  Referring to FIG. 2C, in the above embodiment, the upper surface portion 22 is provided with a curved portion so that the upper surface portion 22 and the connecting portion 26 do not overlap, but the curved portion is formed on the rear side of the upper surface portion 22. A configuration in which the upper surface portion 22 and the coupling portion 26 do not overlap may be realized in a state in which the upper surface portion 22 and the coupling portion 26 are not provided.

  Referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the weakened portion is configured by providing notches 38A and the like on both the front side and the rear side of the vertical rib 32, but the notches 38 are provided only on the front side or the rear side. The weak part may be configured. Furthermore, the fragile portion may be formed with other configurations. For example, the fragile portion may be formed by locally reducing the thickness of the vertical rib 32.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 12 Bumper upper part 14 Front grill 16 Bumper lower part 18 Front hood 20 Bracket 22 Upper surface part 24 Lower surface part 26 Connection part 28 Vertical rib 30 Vertical rib 31 Support part 32 Vertical rib 33 Horizontal rib 34 Curved part 36 Hole 38, 38A, 38B Notch 40 Air intake 42 Radial panel 44 Shock absorbing member 46 Groove 48 Shock absorbing member 50 Radiator 54 Claw part 56 Contact part 58 Claw part

Claims (10)

It is a shock absorbing bracket that is placed between the bumper face and the vehicle body structural member,
An upper surface portion approaching the bumper face;
A lower surface portion connected to the vehicle body structural member;
A connecting portion for connecting the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion,
A shock absorbing bracket, wherein the connecting portion is provided with a fragile portion having locally weakened strength and a support portion that supports the upper surface portion from the rear.   The impact absorbing bracket according to claim 1, wherein the fragile portion is a notch provided in a longitudinal rib constituting the connecting portion.   The impact absorbing bracket according to claim 1, wherein the fragile portion is a hole provided in the connecting portion.   The impact absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the support portion includes an end portion of the vertical rib that is spaced apart from and opposed to the upper surface portion.   The shock absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a groove extending in a left-right direction is provided on a lower surface of the lower surface portion.   The shock absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a first claw portion that engages with the vehicle body structural member is provided on the lower surface portion.   The shock absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a second claw portion that engages with the lower surface portion is provided on the upper surface portion.   The impact absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the connecting portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the bumper face.   The shock absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the connecting portion does not overlap the upper surface in a plan view. The shock absorbing bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the shock absorbing bracket is made of an integrally injection-molded resin material.

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