JP3254344B2 - Automotive grill guard device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grill guard device mounted on a front portion of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In so-called off-road vehicles and the like, a metal pipe guard bar (grill guard) mounted on the front side of a front bumper is known. A general grill guard includes a main portion extending in the width direction of the vehicle body and legs extending downward from both ends of the main portion, and is configured to protect a front grill portion on the front of the vehicle body. I have. The lower ends of the legs are fixed to the bumper body or the bottom surface of the vehicle body by bolts. In this case, since the grill guard is located at the forefront of the vehicle body, the overall length of the vehicle body is increased by the length of the grill guard. For this reason, it is difficult to apply to a small off-road vehicle.

Therefore, a structure in which a grill guard is arranged behind the front bumper has been considered so as not to affect the overall length of the vehicle body. In this type of grill guard, the legs extending vertically extend through the bumper,
The lower end of the leg is fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body, or the leg is fixed to the bumper by a bracket inside the bumper.

[0004]

The conventional grill guard device can absorb a part of energy by plastically deforming the guard bar when a load that deforms the guard bar is input from the front. . However, the conventional guard bar is not designed to absorb energy in cooperation with a member (for example, a side member) on the vehicle body side. It lacks flexibility when tuning is desired, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to improve the characteristics with respect to a load input from the front without affecting the overall length of the vehicle body and cooperating with the side members on the vehicle body side, and to improve the required characteristics. An object of the present invention is to provide a grill guard device for an automobile that can perform fine tuning according to the requirements.

[0006]

A grill guard device according to the present invention, which has been developed to achieve the above object, comprises a bumper body mounted on a vehicle body and extending in the width direction of the vehicle body, and a main body extending in the width direction of the vehicle body. And a guard bar having a pair of left and right legs extending downward from both ends of the main portion and having the legs attached to the left and right sides of the bumper main body, and one end fixed to the bumper main body and a front surface of the guard bar. And a bumper side member extending to the side of the vehicle body, and a left side of the bumper body.
It is provided on the right side of both sides and has a back wall and left and right side plates
Sheet metal bumper side bracket and the bumper
The bumper is installed facing the front side of the
A closed section between the
Reinforced steel member in front of door member
It is provided with a door.

The guard bar is mounted on the bumper main body via bumper side brackets provided on both right and left ends of the bumper main body. The bumper side bracket preferably has a rear wall extending in the vertical direction and a pair of side plates located on both left and right sides of the rear wall, and is preferably formed in a U-shape when viewed from above. Then, one side plate of the bumper side bracket may be welded to the bumper main body, and the guard bar may be fixed to the bumper side bracket with the lower end of the guard bar inserted between these side plates.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in response to a load input from the front, the energy is absorbed by the deformation of the guard bar, the bumper body, the bumper side member, and the like, and the load from the front is input to the side member. The crushable zone of the side member is deformed and energy is absorbed.

[0009] via the bus damper side bracket Gadoba
Install the chromatography, also be arranged a bumper side brackets in front of the side members of the bodywork as necessary for load input from the front as a guard bar is deformed, the guard bar and the bumper side bracket or the like deformation As a result, energy is absorbed, and when a load from the front is input to the side member, the crushable zone of the side member is deformed and energy is absorbed.

Accordingly, grill guard related parts such as a guard bar and a bumper side bracket function as an impact absorbing system cooperating with the side members, which is particularly effective for an automobile having a relatively short overall body length. Moreover, since the guard bar can be positioned behind the front surface of the front bumper, it can be easily accommodated in the entire length of the vehicle body. Since this guard bar is fixed to the bumper unit side via the bumper side bracket, the lower end of the guard bar can be made almost straight, which is preferable as an energy absorber against a load from the front.

[0011] When the server damper side bracket is adopted, high energy absorption performance due to deformation against the load input from the front, tends to exhibit a desired energy absorption performance. Also, when it is desired to make the initial deceleration rise at the time of collision relatively fast in accordance with the operating characteristics of the sensor for detecting the deceleration, such as a vehicle equipped with an airbag, a lean forward of the bumper side bracket is required. By providing the force member, tuning according to the required characteristics can be performed by taking measures such as increasing the rigidity around the bumper side bracket.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Automobile 10 shown in FIG.
Is a bumper unit 12 provided on the front of the vehicle body 11
The bumper unit 12 has a guard bar 1
5 is provided. The configuration of the grill guard device 16 is symmetrical. FIGS. 1 to 4 show one end of the grill guard device 16.

The bumper unit 12 includes a metal bumper body (bumper center) 20 extending in the width direction of the vehicle body 11,
A metal bumper side bracket 21 welded to the left and right sides of the bumper body 20, and a bumper side bracket 2
1 is provided with a bumper side member 22 made of synthetic resin also serving as a cover material.

Guard bar 15 of grill guard device 16
Is formed in such a shape as to protect the front grill 23 of the vehicle body 11 by bending a round steel pipe having a circular cross section by a pipe bender. That is, the guard bar 15 is bent to have a substantially horizontal main portion 25 extending in the width direction of the vehicle body 11 and a pair of left and right legs 26 extending downward from both ends of the main portion 25.

The bumper body 20 is a press-formed product made of a steel plate. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, clip insertion holes 30 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the bumper body 20. By inserting the clip 31 into the clip insertion hole 30 from the front side of the bumper side member 22, the bumper side member 22
Is fixed to the bumper main body 20. A hole 32 for attaching a license plate is provided at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the bumper main body 20. An arc-shaped concave portion 33 for passing the guard bar 15 is provided in an upper portion of the bumper side member 22.

The bumper side bracket 21 is a press-formed product of a metal plate such as a cold-rolled steel plate, and is bent into a substantially U-shape when viewed from above. In other words, the bumper side bracket 21 is substantially perpendicular to the rear wall 3.
5 and side plate portions 36 and 37 connected to the left and right sides of the rear wall 35.
, So that the lower portion of the guard bar 15 can enter between the side plate portions 36 and 37.

Each of the side plates 36 and 37 is provided with flanges 40 and 41 facing outward, respectively. One of the flange portions 40 is connected to the bumper main body 2 at the welding portion 42.
No. 0 is fixed to the end by spot welding or the like. On the upper part of the other flange part 41, a convex part 4 for attaching a guard bar is provided.
3 are provided.

A stay 45 made of a metal plate such as a cold-rolled steel plate is welded to the lower end of the leg 26 of the guard bar 15. As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the stay 45 is press-formed so that a portion 46 in contact with the guard bar 15 has an arc-shaped cross section having a curvature corresponding to the outer shape of the guard bar 15.

The lower portion 47 of the stay 45 extends below the lower end surface of the guard bar 15, and the lower portion 4 of the stay 45
7 and a bolt 48 is inserted into a hole (not shown) formed in the bumper side bracket 2.
The lower part 47 of the stay 45 is fixed to the bumper side bracket 21 by screwing it into a weld nut 49 (see FIG. 1 and the like) welded to 1. The stay 45 is fixed to the bumper side bracket 21 in a slightly forwardly inclined posture, and a gap 51 is secured between the back wall 35 of the bumper side bracket 21 and the stay 45.

A mounting tongue 55 facing outward is provided on the upper portion of the stay 45. A bolt 56 is passed through a hole (not shown) provided in the mounting tongue 55, and the bolt 56 Of the bumper side bracket 21
The upper end of the stay 45 is screwed into a weld nut 57 welded to the bumper side bracket 21.
Fixed to

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lower portion 60 of the guard bar 15 and the bumper side bracket 21
And the lower half of the stay 45 are located on the extension of the front end 62 of the side member 61 of the vehicle body 11, respectively.
Fixed to 1. In addition, bumper side bracket 2
The entirety of the stay 1 and the stay 45 may be located on an extension of the front end of the side member 61.

In the illustrated example, bolts 63 and 64 are passed through two upper and lower bolt insertion holes (not shown) formed in the rear wall 35 of the bumper side bracket 21.
By screwing the bolts 63 and 64 into the weld nuts 65 and 66 on the side member 61 side, the side members 61
Is fixed to the bumper side bracket 21 with respect to.

If it is desired to make the initial deceleration at the time of collision (so-called initial G) quicker, as in a vehicle equipped with an airbag, the bumper side bracket 2
The reinforcement member 70 is attached to the front side of the first member 1. The reinforcement member 70 is also a press-formed product of a steel plate, and includes a front wall 71, a pair of left and right side plate portions 72, 73, and a flange portion 74 provided on one side plate portion 73 as shown in FIG. I have. This reinforcement member 70
Are also located on an extension of the front end of the side member 61.

In order to fix the reinforce member 70 to the bumper side bracket 21, the flange portion 74 is welded to the flange portion 41 of the bumper side bracket 21,
Further, the other side plate 72 is welded to the side plate 36 of the bumper side bracket 21. By doing so, the reinforcement member 70 and the bumper side bracket 21 are integrated to form a closed cross section. The bolts 48 and 6 are attached to the front wall 71 of the reinforcement member 70 at the time of assembly or disassembly.
Holes 75 and 76 are provided so that a tool such as a box wrench for rotating 4 can be inserted.

Next, the operation of the grill guard device 16 having the above configuration will be described. When a load that deforms the bumper body 20 is input from the front, the bumper side member 22
Due to the deformation, the support structures such as the bumper side bracket 21 and the stay 45 and the guard bar 15 and the like are plastically deformed in a crushing direction, so that a part of energy is absorbed in front of the side member 61. When the reinforcement member 70 is provided, the reinforcement member 70 is provided together with the bumper side bracket 21.
Also deform.

Since the side member 61 exists behind the bumper side bracket 21, the bumper unit 12
Is deformed beyond the limit, the steel side member 61
When the crushable zone is deformed, energy is further absorbed. In the crushable zone of the side member 61, a part of the side member 61 is shaped to be more easily plastically deformed than other parts, thereby enhancing energy absorption efficiency.

According to this embodiment, the parts related to the grill guard device 16 such as the bumper side bracket 21, the bumper side member 22, and the lower part 60 and the stay 45 of the guard bar 15 are connected to the side member 6 as a body frame.
Since it exists on the extension of the front end portion of the front end portion, a substantially crushable zone can be lengthened. For this reason, even in a vehicle body having a relatively short overall length, the shock absorbing performance is high, and the guard bar 15 does not protrude forward from the bumper main body 20, so that even if the grill guard device 16 is provided, it can be accommodated in the frame of the overall vehicle body length. Also suitable for relatively small cars.

For vehicles equipped with an air bag, etc.,
The reinforcement member 70 is attached to the bumper side bracket 21.
With the addition of the airbag, fine tuning according to the required characteristics becomes possible, and the common guard bar 15 and bumper side bracket 2
1. It is possible to cope with a plurality of vehicle types having different specifications, such as obtaining desired characteristics by using the stay 45 and the like.

The guard bar 15 may be made of resin.
In that case, the guard bar 15 is fixed to the bracket 21 or the stay 45 by fixing means such as bonding or caulking.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by mounting the legs of the guard bar on the left and right sides of the pump body, it is possible to suppress the amount of protrusion of the guard bar to the front of the vehicle body. And with a sheet metal bumper side bracket
Closed to the front of the side member by the reinforcement member
By configuring the cross section, the bumper body is deformed
If a heavy load is input from the front, the bumper side bracket
And reinforcement members are also deformed.
The ashable zone can be long, and
Even a short car body has high shock absorption performance,
Can be tuned according to the required characteristics.
is there. According to the invention described in claim 2, the energy is absorbed by the deformation of the guard bar, the bumper main body, the bumper side member and the like in response to the load input from the front, and the load from the front is input to the side member. By doing so, a part of the side member is deformed and energy is absorbed. According to the invention described in claim 3,
Since the guard bar is fixed to the bumper unit side via the bumper side bracket, it is preferable as an energy absorber against a load from the front. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an appropriate shock absorbing characteristic by a combination of the side member of the vehicle body and the grill guard device, while having a compact configuration in which the guard bar of the grill guard device does not protrude forward of the bumper .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a grill guard device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a part of the grill guard device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a part of the grill guard device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line V1-VI in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of an automobile provided with the grill guard device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Body 15 ... Guard bar 16 ... Grill guard device 20 ... Bumper main body 21 ... Bumper side bracket 22 ... Bumper side member 25 ... Main part 26 ... Leg part 35 ... Back wall 36, 37 ... Side plate part 45 ... Stay 61 ... Side member 70 ... Reinforce member

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bumper body mounted on a vehicle body and extending in the width direction of the vehicle body, a main part extending in the width direction of the vehicle body, and a pair of left and right legs extending downward from both ends of the main part. a guard bar attached to the right and left side portions of the bumper body and parts, and the bumper side member having one end extending to the side of the vehicle body to cover the front of the fixed and the guard bar to the bumper body, the side of the left and right ends of the bumper body On the back wall and
Bumper side bracket made of sheet metal with left and right side plates
And is provided facing the front side of the bumper side bracket.
To form a closed section with the bumper side bracket.
And a steel plate lead in front of the vehicle body side members.
An automotive grill guard device, comprising: a reinforcement member ; 2. The bumper body and the guard bar,
2. The grill guard device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the grill guard device is fixed to a side member of the vehicle body. 3. The bumper body according to claim 1, wherein the guard bar is mounted on the bumper body via bumper side brackets provided on both right and left ends of the bumper body so as to be located behind the front surface of the bumper body. The grill guard device for an automobile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: