JP2022190406A - Vehicular bumper - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable collision sensors to operate even when a collision object collides with an end part as seen in a vehicle width direction of a bumper cover from the front side of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicular bumper includes: a bumper reinforcement 40 connected to a vehicle body; a bumper absorber 30 which covers the bumper reinforcement 40; a bumper cover 21 which covers the bumper absorber 30 and the bumper reinforcement 40; and collision sensors 50, 52 which detect deformation of the bumper absorber 30 by a buffer load. An end part of the bumper cover 21, which is located at the outer side as seen in a vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement 40 and the bumper absorber 30, is provided with a movement inhibition part 60 which inhibits a collision object F, which collides with the end part from the front side of a vehicle, from moving along a surface of the bumper cover 21 to the outer side as seen in the vehicle width direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle bumper with a collision sensor.

Patent Document 1 describes a technique related to a conventional vehicle bumper (front bumper). As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the vehicle bumper 100 of Patent Document 1 includes a bumper cover 102 that covers the front surface of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 9, a pressure detection tube 104 of the collision sensor is provided in the back hollow portion of the bumper cover 102 so as to extend to both ends of the bumper cover 102 in the vehicle width direction. The pressure detection tube 104 runs along the rear surface of the bumper cover 102 while being supported by a holding portion 105 having a substantially L-shaped cross section. As a result, when a collision load is applied to the bumper cover 102, the pressure detection tube 104 is crushed to increase the internal pressure, and the collision sensor detects the collision due to the pressure increase.

JP 2020-199927 A

As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle bumper 100 extends in the width direction of the vehicle in a gently curved state so that the front is convex. The left end and right end of the vehicle bumper 100 are set to have a larger bending angle than the central portion. Therefore, when a collision object collides with the left end or right end of the vehicle bumper 100 from the front, the collision object slides outward along the surface of the bumper cover 102 in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the collision sensor detects a collision for a very short time, and the collision may not be detected.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the problem even when a collision object collides with the end of the bumper cover in the vehicle width direction from the front of the vehicle. It is to enable the collision sensor to operate.

The above problems are solved by each invention. A first invention includes a bumper reinforcement connected to a vehicle body, a bumper absorber as a cushioning material covering the bumper reinforcement, a bumper cover covering the bumper absorber and the bumper reinforcement, and deformation of the bumper absorber due to a collision load. and a collision sensor for detecting the bumper cover, wherein an end portion of the bumper cover located outside the bumper reinforcement and the bumper absorber in the vehicle width direction is provided with a collision object that has collided from the front of the vehicle with the bumper cover. A movement suppressing portion that suppresses movement outward in the vehicle width direction along the surface of the is provided.

According to the present invention, the end portion of the bumper cover is provided with a movement suppressing portion that suppresses movement of an object colliding from the front of the vehicle along the surface of the bumper cover toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, an object that collides with the end of the bumper cover from the front does not easily slide outward in the vehicle width direction, and can be received by the end of the bumper cover. As a result, even when a collision object collides with the end of the bumper cover, the collision sensor operates for a relatively long time, making it easier to detect the collision of the collision object.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the movement suppressing portion is a mechanism that utilizes the force generated when the collision site of the bumper cover deforms concavely to convexly deform a position outside the collision site of the bumper cover in the vehicle width direction. be. That is, when the colliding portion of the bumper cover is deformed concavely, the vehicle width direction outside position of the bumper cover is convexly deformed from the colliding portion of the bumper cover.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the mechanism of the movement suppressing portion includes a moving link whose one end moves in the vehicle front-rear direction by receiving the concave deformation when the collision target portion of the bumper cover is concavely deformed, and the moving link. One end is rotatably connected to a fixed position at a position outside the vehicle width direction, and the other end of the moving link is rotatably connected to the other end side. By moving one end of the moving link in the vehicle front-rear direction, the other end of the moving link rotates the other end of the pushing link outward in the vehicle width direction, thereby moving the pushing link The other end portion is convexly deformed at a vehicle width direction outside position of the collision site of the bumper cover.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the mechanism of the movement suppressing portion includes a guide mechanism that guides the one end portion of the moving link in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, when the collision site of the bumper cover is concavely deformed, the one end of the moving link reliably moves in the vehicle front-rear direction.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the movement suppressing portion is a fragile portion provided in the collision-receiving portion of the bumper cover. The vehicle width direction outside position is convexly deformed from the collision site. Since the movement suppressing portion does not require a complicated mechanism, it is advantageous in terms of cost.

According to the present invention, the collision sensor is activated even when an object collides with the end of the bumper cover in the vehicle width direction.

1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a vehicle bumper according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan cross-sectional view of the vehicle bumper (a view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1). FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan cross-sectional view of the right end portion of the vehicle bumper (enlarged view taken along line III in FIG. 2); FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state when a collision object collides with the right end portion of the vehicle bumper; 4 is a graph showing pressure changes in the collision detection device when a collision object collides with the right end portion of the vehicle bumper. FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan cross-sectional view of the right end portion of the vehicle bumper according to Modification 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state when a collision object collides with the right end portion of the vehicle bumper; 1 is an overall perspective view of a conventional vehicle bumper; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional vehicle bumper; FIG.

[Embodiment 1]
A vehicle bumper according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. A vehicle bumper according to this embodiment is a front bumper 20 of a passenger car 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Here, front, rear, left, right, and up and down shown in the drawing correspond to front, rear, left, right, and up and down of the passenger car 10 provided with the front bumper 20 according to the present embodiment.

<Overview of Front Structure of Passenger Car 10>
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of front side members 14 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided on both left and right sides of an engine room 12 at the front part of the vehicle body of the passenger car 10 . Crash boxes 16 are attached substantially coaxially to the front end positions of the left and right front side members 14, respectively. Further, left and right ends of bumper reinforcements 40 of the front bumper 20 are connected to the left and right crash boxes 16 .

<Regarding the configuration of the front bumper 20>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front bumper 20 includes a bumper reinforcement 40, a bumper absorber 30, a bumper cover 21, a pressure detection tube 50 of a collision detection device (not shown), and the like. The bumper reinforcement 40 is a beam-shaped frame member extending in the vehicle width direction, and both left and right ends of the bumper reinforcement 40 are connected to the left and right crash boxes 16 as described above. The bumper reinforcement 40 is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, and is shaped like a square tube as shown in FIG.

The bumper absorber 30 is attached to the front surface 41 of the bumper reinforcement 40 as shown in FIG. The bumper absorber 30 is, for example, a foamed polystyrene cushioning material. The bumper absorber 30 includes a rectangular beam-shaped absorber main body 31 extending in the vehicle width direction, and ridges 33a, 33b, and 33c formed at the upper, central, and lower portions of the back surface (rear surface) of the absorber main body 31. It has The upper, central, and lower protrusions 33a, 33b, and 33c are formed to extend in the vehicle width direction, and the protrusions 33a, 33b, and 33c come into contact with the front surface 41 of the bumper reinforcement 40. ing. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear surface of the absorber main body 31 is formed with grooves (not shown) extending in the vehicle width direction between the upper and central protrusions 33a and 33b. A pressure detection tube 50 of the collision detection device is fitted in the groove.

The pressure sensing tube 50 is an elastically deformable tube. As shown in FIG. 2, the left end and right end of the pressure detection tube 50 protrude from grooves at the left end and right end of the absorber main body 31, respectively. The left end and right end of the pressure detection tube 50 are connected to pressure sensors 52, respectively. The pressure detection tube 50 is held in an airtight state while being connected to the left and right pressure sensors 52 . Therefore, when a collision load is applied to the pressure detection tube 50 , the pressure detection tube 50 is crushed to increase the internal pressure, and the left and right pressure sensors 52 detect the change in the internal pressure. The left and right pressure sensors 52 are arranged behind the left and right end positions of the bumper reinforcement 40 and outside the left and right crash boxes 16 . Output signals of the left and right pressure sensors 52 are input to a collision detection device (not shown). The collision detection device detects a collision based on the integrated value of the output signal of the pressure sensor 52 . The installation positions of the left and right pressure sensors 52 can be changed as appropriate.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bumper cover 21 is a member that forms the exterior design of the front bumper 20 and is configured to cover the bumper absorber 30 and the bumper reinforcement 40 . Further, the inside of the lower end portion of the bumper cover 21 is supported by a lower absorber 35 as shown in FIG. Further, a bumper grille (not shown), which functions as an air intake and is a decorative member, is attached to the central position of the bumper cover 21 . In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner wall surface of the bumper cover 21 is provided with a filling material 22 that fills the gap between the bumper cover 21 and the bumper absorber 30 at a height position equal to that of the bumper absorber 30 . Note that the gap filling material 22 is omitted in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 , a movement suppression mechanism 60 is provided inside the left end and right end of the bumper cover 21 at positions outside the bumper absorber 30 and the bumper reinforcement 40 in the vehicle width direction.

<Regarding the movement suppression mechanism 60>
The movement suppressing mechanism 60 is configured so that when an colliding object F (see FIG. 3 etc.) collides with the end portion of the bumper cover 21 of the front bumper 20 from the front, the colliding object F moves along the surface of the bumper cover 21 along the vehicle width. It is a mechanism that suppresses movement (slipping) in the direction outside. The movement restraint mechanism 60 includes a movement link 62, a pushing link 64, and a guide mechanism 66, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like. The moving link 62 is pushed by the bumper cover 21 when the colliding object F collides with the bumper cover 21 and the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). It is a moving link. A guide roller 62 r guided by a guide mechanism 66 is provided on one end side of the moving link 62 .

The guide mechanism 66 is provided on the side of the vehicle body (not shown) so as to guide the guide roller 62r of the moving link 62 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The guide mechanism 66 is provided at a height position where the colliding object F does not collide. The other end of the moving link 62 is connected to the distal end of the pushing link 64 by a connecting pin 63 so as to be horizontally rotatable. A base end (rear end) of the pushing link 64 is horizontally rotatably connected to a vehicle body (not shown) by a rotation center shaft 64c. When the movement restraint mechanism 60 is housed at the end of the bumper cover 21 (initial state), as indicated by the solid line in FIG. The guide roller 62 r of 62 is held at the front end position of the guide mechanism 66 and the moving link 62 is arranged along the inner wall surface of the bumper cover 21 .

<About the operation of the collision detection device of the front bumper 20>
For example, when the collision object F collides with the area where the bumper absorber 30 exists in the front bumper 20 (area excluding the left and right ends), the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed due to the collision, and the bumper absorber 30 is deformed in a crushing direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the pressure detection tube 50 fitted in the groove of the bumper absorber 30 is also crushed. As a result, the internal pressure of the pressure detection tube 50 is increased, and changes in the internal pressure are detected by the left and right pressure sensors 52 . The collision detection device determines the presence or absence of a collision based on the integrated value of the output signal of the pressure sensor 52, and operates a hood hop-up device (not shown) that lifts the engine hood 18 upon detection of the collision.

<Regarding the operation of the movement suppression mechanism 60>
Next, for example, when the colliding object F collides with the left and right end portions of the front bumper 20 where the bumper absorber 30 is not present, the colliding portion H of the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . As a result, the guide roller 62r of the movement link 62 of the movement restraining mechanism 60 is pushed by the collision site H of the bumper cover 21, and guided by the guide mechanism 66 to move rearward. As a result, the other end of the moving link 62 presses the tip of the pushing link 64 rightward (outward in the vehicle width direction). As a result, the pushing link 64 rotates to the right about the rotation center shaft 64c, and the tip of the pushing link 64 presses the position T on the right side of the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 in the forward right direction to deform it into a convex shape.

As shown in FIG. 4, the force generated when the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed is used to move the bumper cover 21 to the right side position T (outer position in the vehicle width direction) than the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 as shown in FIG. T) is convexly deformed, making it difficult for the colliding object F to slide rightward along the surface of the bumper cover 21 . That is, the colliding object F is supported by the convexly deformed portion T of the bumper cover 21, so that the colliding object F can easily stay at the colliding portion H. As shown in FIG. As a result, even when the colliding object F collides with the end of the front bumper 20, the collision load is applied to the pressure detection tube 50 via the bumper cover 21 and the bumper absorber 30 for a relatively long time.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the pressure detection value (KPa) of the pressure sensor 52 and the time (ms) when the colliding object F collides with the collision site H at the end of the front bumper 20. FIG. Here, characteristic I is a graph of the pressure detection value in the front bumper 20 provided with the movement suppressing mechanism 60, and characteristic II is a graph of the pressure detection value in the front bumper 20 not provided with the movement suppressing mechanism 60. The movement restraining mechanism 60 causes the colliding object F to stay at the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 for a relatively long time, so that the pressure can be detected longer by t0 than when the movement restraining mechanism 60 is not provided. Here, as described above, the collision detection device uses the integrated value of the pressure detection value of the pressure sensor 52 to detect a collision. can improve the accuracy of

<Correspondence between terms described in this embodiment and terms according to the present invention>
The front side member 14, the crash box 16, etc. in this embodiment correspond to the vehicle body of the present invention. Also, the pressure detection tube 50 and the pressure sensor 52 correspond to the collision sensor of the present invention. Furthermore, the movement suppressing mechanism 60 of this embodiment corresponds to the mechanism of the movement suppressing section of the present invention.

<Advantages of the front bumper 20 according to the present embodiment>
According to the front bumper 20 according to the present embodiment, the end portion of the bumper cover 21 suppresses movement (slipping) of the collision object F that collides from the front of the vehicle along the surface of the bumper cover 21 toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. A movement restraint mechanism 60 is provided. Therefore, the colliding object F that collides with the end portion of the bumper cover 21 from the front is less likely to slide outward in the vehicle width direction, and can be received by the end portion of the bumper cover 21 . As a result, even when the colliding object F collides with the end of the bumper cover 21, the pressure detection tube 50 and the pressure sensor 52 (collision sensor) operate for a relatively long time, and the colliding object F collides. is easier to detect. Further, the movement suppression mechanism 60 utilizes the force generated when the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 deforms concavely to convexly deform a position outside the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 in the vehicle width direction. That is, when the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed, the position T outside the vehicle width direction is convexly deformed from the collision site H of the bumper cover 21, so that the colliding object F is less likely to slip outward in the vehicle width direction. Become. Furthermore, the guide mechanism 66 ensures that one end of the moving link 62 moves rearward when the collision site H of the bumper cover 21 is concavely deformed.

<Change example>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the portion H may be provided with a V-groove-shaped fragile portion 21z extending in the vertical direction. Here, the V-groove-shaped fragile portion 21z is configured to break when the collision object F collides with it. Therefore, when the colliding object F collides with the colliding part H at the end of the bumper cover 21 as shown in FIG. , and the outer side of the bumper cover 21 in the vehicle width direction from the collision site H is convexly deformed. This makes it difficult for the colliding object F to slide outward in the vehicle width direction along the surface of the bumper cover 21 . Thus, the V-groove-shaped fragile portion 21z corresponds to the movement suppressing portion of the present invention. Here, in this embodiment, the front bumper 20 of the vehicle is illustrated, but the present invention can also be applied to the rear bumper.

20... front bumper (vehicle bumper)
21 Bumper cover H Collision site T Vehicle width direction outer position (convex deformation site)
21z: fragile portion (movement suppressing portion)
30 Bumper absorber 40 Bumper reinforcement 50 Pressure detection tube 52 Pressure sensor 60 Movement control mechanism (mechanism of movement control unit)
62r... Guide roller (one end of moving link)
62...moving link 63...connecting pin (the other end of the moving link, the other end of the pushing link)
64... Extruded link 64c... Rotation center shaft (one end of extruded link)
66 Guide mechanism F Collision object

Claims (5)

A bumper reinforcement connected to a vehicle body, a bumper absorber that is a cushioning material covering the bumper reinforcement, a bumper cover that covers the bumper absorber and the bumper reinforcement, and a collision sensor that detects deformation of the bumper absorber due to a collision load. A vehicle bumper comprising
An end portion of the bumper cover located outside of the bumper reinforcement and the bumper absorber in the vehicle width direction suppresses movement of an object colliding from the front of the vehicle along the surface of the bumper cover toward the outside of the vehicle width direction. A bumper for a vehicle provided with a movement suppressing portion for controlling movement. A vehicle bumper according to claim 1,
The movement suppressing portion is a mechanism for convexly deforming a position of the bumper cover outside the collision-receiving portion of the bumper cover in the vehicle width direction by utilizing a force generated when the collision-receiving portion of the bumper cover is deformed concavely. A vehicle bumper according to claim 2,
The mechanism of the movement suppressing portion includes a moving link whose one end moves in the vehicle front-rear direction by receiving the concave deformation when the collision target portion of the bumper cover is concavely deformed, and a moving link that moves in the vehicle width direction. a pushing link having one end rotatably connected to a fixed position at an outer position, and a pushing link having the other end rotatably connected to the other end of the moving link,
One end of the moving link moves in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, so that the other end of the moving link rotates the other end of the pushing link outward in the vehicle width direction, and the other end of the pushing link moves toward the vehicle width direction. A bumper for a vehicle that is convexly deformed at a vehicle width direction outside position of a collision-affected part of a bumper cover. A vehicle bumper according to claim 3,
The mechanism of the movement suppressing portion is a vehicle bumper provided with a guide mechanism that guides one end of the movement link in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A vehicle bumper according to claim 1,
The movement suppressing portion is a fragile portion provided at a collision site of the bumper cover,
A vehicular bumper in which a vehicle width direction outside position of a collision-receiving portion of the bumper cover is convexly deformed by the fragile portion of the collision-receiving portion being broken by the collision object.

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