JP2022110708A - vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle which can inhibit rotation of an impact energy absorption material without extending a part of a panel material to the lower side.SOLUTION: A vehicle includes: a panel material fixed to an end of a side member; and a bumper attached to the panel material. The vehicle further includes an impact energy absorption material disposed between the panel material and the bumper. The bumper includes: an extension part extending to the vehicle lower side farther than the panel material; and a protruding part protruding from an inner surface of the extension part to the panel material. The impact energy absorption material includes: a first surface which contacts with or is located close to an outer surface of the panel material; and a second surface which contacts with or is located close to an upper surface of the protruding part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to vehicles with bumpers.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicle rear portion structure including a lower back panel, a rear bumper cover, and a rear bumper reinforcement (hereinafter referred to as RF). The lower back panel is a panel member arranged at the vehicle rear portion of the rear side member. The rear bumper cover is a member that covers the lower back panel and is sometimes simply called a rear bumper. The RF is arranged between the lower back panel and the rear bumper. The RF is attached to the back panel through the crash box. The RF and crash box absorb the impact from the rear when the rear bumper is impacted.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-125000

Depending on the type of vehicle, the lower part of the bumper may be provided with a structure in which the lower part of the bumper extends downward from the panel material. FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of such a vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. "FR" indicated by arrows in FIG. 4 indicates the front of the vehicle, "RR" indicates the rear of the vehicle, "UP" indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and "LWR" indicates the lower side of the vehicle. This vehicle 100 includes a panel member 3 fixed to the end of a side member 4 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, a bumper 2 covering the panel member 3, and an impact energy sensor arranged between the panel member 3 and the bumper 2. and an absorbent material 5 . A panel member 3 shown in FIG. 4 is a lower back panel, and a bumper 2 is a rear bumper. The bumper 2 has an extension 20 that extends below the vehicle from the panel material 3 . In this vehicle 100, the lower portion of the impact energy absorbing member 5 is provided so as to protrude from the lower end of the panel member 3 in order to suppress deformation of the extension portion 20, and the lower portion extends in the height direction of the vehicle from the extension portion 20. Duplicate. In this case, if the bumper 2 is subjected to an impact from behind and deformed, the impact energy absorbing member 5 pushed by the deformed bumper 2 may rotate downward as indicated by the two-dot chain line. In that case, the impact energy absorbing material 5 may not be able to sufficiently absorb the impact. If, in order to solve such a problem, an extension member extending downward from the panel member 3 is provided to suppress the rotation of the impact energy absorbing member 5, the weight and cost of the vehicle will increase.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a vehicle capable of suppressing the rotation of the impact energy absorbing material without extending a part of the panel material downward.

A vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
a panel member fixed to the end of the side member;
A vehicle comprising a bumper attached to the panel material,
an impact energy absorbing material disposed between the panel material and the bumper;
The bumper is
an extension portion extending downward in the vehicle from the panel member;
a projecting portion projecting from the inner surface of the extension portion toward the panel material,
The impact energy absorbing material is
a first surface in contact with or close to the outer surface of the panel material;
and a second surface that abuts or approaches the upper surface of the protrusion.

In the above vehicle, the second surface of the impact energy absorber is in contact with or close to the upper surface of the protrusion, so the impact energy absorber is supported from below by the upper surface of the protrusion. Therefore, even if the bumper is deformed by an external impact and the impact energy absorbing member is pushed by the deformed bumper, the downward rotation of the impact energy absorbing member is suppressed. Here, the first surface of the impact energy absorbing material is in contact with or close to the outer surface of the panel material. Therefore, when the bumper is deformed by an external impact, the impact energy absorbing member, whose downward rotation is suppressed, is compressed between the deformed bumper and the outer surface of the panel member. As a result, the impact is sufficiently absorbed by the impact energy absorbing material.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the vehicle shown in Embodiment 1 as viewed from the rear. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing deformation states of the bumper and the impact energy absorbing material when an impactor hits the bumper shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a conventional vehicle.

A vehicle 1 according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same names. The arrows in the figure indicate "FR" for the front of the vehicle, "RR" for the rear of the vehicle, "UP" for the top of the vehicle, "LWR" for the bottom of the vehicle, "LH" for the left of the vehicle, and "RH". indicates the right side of the vehicle. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the exemplification of the embodiments, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

<Embodiment 1>
≪Overall composition≫
The vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a high vehicle height. Vehicle 1 is not limited to an SUV. A vehicle 1 of this example includes a bumper 2, a panel member 3, a side member 4, and an impact energy absorbing member 5, as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, each configuration of the vehicle 1 of this example will be described in detail.

≪Side member≫
The side member 4 is a member forming part of the frame of the vehicle 1 . The side members 4 are arranged on the left and right sides of the vehicle 1 and extend in the vehicle length direction. The side member 4 of this example is a rear side member arranged on the rear side of the vehicle 1 .

≪Panel material≫
The panel member 3 of this example is a lower back panel. The lower back panel is a member provided in a panel-like member forming the body of the vehicle 1 below the rear combination lamp 7 shown in FIG. The panel material 3 is fixed to the rear end of the side member 4 .

The panel material 3 has an inner panel 30 and an outer panel 31 . An inner flange 30F is provided below the inner panel 30, and an outer flange 31F is provided below the outer panel 31. As shown in FIG. The inner panel 30 and the outer panel 31 are integrated under the vehicle by overlapping and joining the inner flange 30F and the outer flange 31F.

≪Bumper≫
The bumper 2 of this example is a rear bumper. The bumper 2 of this example covers the portion below the rear combination lamp 7 and excluding the trunk lid 8 . That is, the bumper 2 covers the outer periphery of the panel material 3 . The bumper 2 is fixed to the panel member 3 at a position not shown. Unlike this example, the bumper 2 may be a front bumper.

The bumper 2 of this example provided in the vehicle 1 of this example having a high vehicle height includes an extension portion 20 extending downward from the panel material 3 . Unlike this example, even a vehicle having a low vehicle height may be provided with a bumper having an extension portion for the purpose of improving the design and aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle.

The bumper 2 of this example is provided with a reflex reflector 6 as shown in FIG. The reflex reflector 6 is a reflecting plate that reflects the light of the headlights of the following vehicle to indicate the presence of the preceding vehicle to the following vehicle. The reflex reflector 6 is fitted in a recess 21 provided in the extension 20 . The recessed portion 21 is formed by partially recessing the extension portion 20 toward the vehicle interior side. A portion of the extension 20 where the recess 21 is provided is a projection 22 that projects from the inner surface of the extension 20 toward the panel member 3 when viewed from the inside of the bumper 2, as shown in FIG.

≪Impact energy absorber≫
The impact energy absorbing material 5 is arranged between the panel material 3 and the bumper 2, as shown in FIG. The impact energy absorbing material 5 is a member that absorbs impact energy acting on the bumper 2 from the outside of the bumper 2 . The impact energy absorbing material 5 is provided over substantially the entire length of the bumper 2 in the vehicle width direction. The impact energy absorbing material 5 may be, for example, a resin molded body, or may be a combination of a bumper reinforcement and a crash box as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Since the resin molding is lightweight, it is preferable in terms of weight reduction of the vehicle 1 . The resin molded body is preferable in terms of productivity because the impact energy absorbing material 5 can be composed of one resin molded body. The impact energy absorbing material 5 of this example is formed by a polypropylene foam bead molded body, which is a type of resin molded body.

The impact energy absorbing member 5 is formed in a shape facing the outer surface 31R of the panel member 3 and the upper surface 22U of the projecting portion 22 . The outer surface 31R of the panel member 3 of this example is the rear surface of the lower portion of the outer panel 31 including the outer flange 31F, which faces toward the rear of the vehicle. The impact energy absorbing member 5 having such a shape has a first surface 51 that abuts or approaches the outer surface 31R and a second surface 52 that abuts or approaches the upper surface 22U. Here, the expression that the surface A is in contact with the surface B indicates that the surface A is in contact with the surface B. The expression that the surface A is close to the surface B indicates that the surface A is spaced from the surface B so that the surface A comes into contact with the surface B as the bumper 2 deforms. The first surface 51 in this example is the front surface facing forward of the vehicle. An upper portion of the first surface 51 faces the panel material 3 . The lower portion of the first surface 51 is below the panel material 3 and does not face the outer surface 31R of the panel material 3 . The second surface 52 is a lower surface facing downward of the vehicle.

Unlike this example, when the bumper 2 is a front bumper, the outer surface 31R of the panel material 3 is the front surface of the panel material 3 facing the front of the vehicle, and the first surface 51 of the impact energy absorbing material 5 faces the rear of the vehicle. It is the rear surface of the impact energy absorber 5 facing.

≪Effect≫
According to the vehicle 1 of this example, when an impact acts on the bumper 2 from the outside of the bumper 2, the impact energy absorbing member 5 arranged inside the bumper 2 is less likely to rotate downward. The mechanism will be explained based on FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the bumper 2 is deformed by causing the impactor 9 to collide with the bumper 2 . In the vehicle 1 of this example, the second surface 52 of the impact energy absorbing material 5 is in contact with or close to the upper surface 22U of the projecting portion 22, so the impact energy absorbing material 5 is supported from below by the upper surface 22U of the projecting portion 22. be done. Therefore, even if the bumper 2 is deformed by an external impact and the impact energy absorbing member 5 is pushed forward of the vehicle by the deformed bumper 2, the downward rotation of the impact energy absorbing member 5 is suppressed. Therefore, the impact energy absorbing material 5 stays at a position sandwiched between the bumper 2 and the panel material 3 .

The first surface 51 of the impact energy absorbing material 5 is in contact with or close to the outer surface 31R of the panel member 3 . Therefore, when the bumper 2 is deformed by an external impact, the impact energy absorbing member 5, whose downward rotation is suppressed, is compressed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle between the deformed bumper 2 and the outer surface 31R of the panel member 3. be. As a result, the impact energy absorbing material 5 sufficiently absorbs the impact.

In the vehicle 1 of this example, the impact energy absorbing material 5 is extended to a position facing the upper surface 22U of the projecting portion 22, thereby supporting the impact energy absorbing material 5 from below. As already mentioned, the projection 22 in this example is constituted by the recess 21 for arranging the reflex reflector 6 . That is, in this example, the existing structure provided in the existing bumper 2 is used as the projecting portion 22 . By using the existing bumper 2, a decrease in productivity due to a design change of the bumper 2 is suppressed.

<<Modification>>
In Embodiment 1, the protrusion 22 is configured by an existing configuration of the bumper 2 . On the other hand, the projecting portion 22 may be newly installed on the inner surface of the existing bumper 2 . The projecting portion 22 is not particularly limited as long as it can restrict the downward movement of the impact energy absorbing material 5 . Examples of such projecting portions 22 include shelves and ribs configured by plate-like bodies and rod-like bodies.

Reference Signs List 1 Vehicle 2 Bumper 20 Extension 21 Recess 22 Protrusion 22U Upper surface 3 Panel material 30 Inner panel 30F Inner flange
31 outer panel, 31F outer flange, 31R outer surface 4 side member 5 impact energy absorbing material 51 first surface, 52 second surface 6 reflex reflector 7 rear combination lamp 8 trunk lid 9 impactor 100 vehicle

Claims (1)

a panel member fixed to the end of the side member;
A vehicle comprising a bumper attached to the panel material,
an impact energy absorbing material disposed between the panel material and the bumper;
The bumper is
an extension portion extending downward in the vehicle from the panel member;
a projecting portion projecting from the inner surface of the extension portion toward the panel material,
The impact energy absorbing material is
a first surface in contact with or close to the outer surface of the panel material;
and a second surface that abuts or approaches the upper surface of the projecting portion.

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