JP3303702B2 - Automotive bumper - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile bumper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A bumper for an automobile is disclosed in, for example,
As shown in JP-A-51159, a cushioning member made of an elastic material such as a resin is disposed between a metal bumper armature and a resin bumper fascia to provide a cushioning at the time of a light collision of a vehicle. The effect is enhanced.

The front wall of the bumper fascia is formed in a plane arc shape in accordance with the shape of the front part of the vehicle body, and the bumper armature is also curved in a plane arc shape in accordance with the camber of the bumper fascia front wall.
Accordingly, the cushioning material is also formed to have a substantially constant plane arc-shaped cross section so as to fit in the arc-shaped space between the front wall of the bumper fascia and the front wall of the bumper armature. Can be set substantially constant at 3 to 5 mm across the vehicle width direction, thereby stabilizing the energy absorption characteristics due to the compressive deformation of the cushioning material during a light collision of the vehicle.

[0004]

In recent years, in order to respond to the need for weight reduction of a vehicle body, the above-mentioned bumper armature has been replaced with a press-formed product made of a steel plate.
Although there is a tendency to use lightweight aluminum ones, this aluminum bumper armature is extruded and therefore has a substantially straight shape in the vehicle width direction, and the front wall of the bumper armature and the arc-shaped bumper fascia. The distance between the front wall and the front wall is the largest at the center of the bumper fascia.

[0005] Therefore, in consideration of stabilizing the collision energy absorption characteristics of the cushioning material, the clearance between the front wall of the bumper fascia and the front surface of the cushioning material is set to be substantially constant in the vehicle width direction. The cushioning material must have a front surface formed in a plane arc shape in parallel with the front wall of the bumper armature, with respect to a substantially straight rear surface parallel to the front wall of the bumper armature. Is significantly larger than the vertical dimension of the bumper fascia.

As a result, when a collision load acts on the front surface of the central portion of the cushioning material during a light collision of the vehicle, the cushioning material is large in the front-rear direction and unstable on the front wall surface of the bumper armature. There is a possibility of falling (rolling) in the vertical direction.

In addition, as the cross-sectional area of the central portion of the cushioning material is increased, the weight of the cushioning material is increased, and the effect of reducing the weight of the bent bumper armature made of aluminum is reduced by half.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cushioning material which is provided between a bumper armature and a bumper facer which is substantially straight in the vehicle width direction without increasing the front-rear dimension of a substantially central portion of the cushioning material. It is intended to provide an automobile bumper that can stabilize the characteristics, improve the support stability of the cushioning material at the front of the bumper armature, realize weight reduction, and further enhance the quality and reliability. is there.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the front surface of the cushioning material mounted on the front wall surface of the bumper armature, which is formed in a substantially rectangular cross section which is substantially straight in the vehicle width direction, is in contact with the front wall surface of the bumper armature. The front wall of the bumper fascia including the cushioning material is formed in a plane arc shape while being formed substantially in parallel, and the front wall of the bumper fascia where the front wall of the bumper fascia and the front surface of the cushioning material are most separated is located in front of a substantially central portion of the bumper fascia. on the wall back, the van in the front wall of the bumper armature
It is located at a height roughly corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces of the per armature
A plurality of rib pieces projecting horizontally and abutting on the front surface of the cushioning material are provided , and an end of the rib piece is provided on the front surface of the cushioning material.
The groove is formed to receive the groove .

[0010]

[0011]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the rib piece according to the first aspect is provided on a license plate mounting surface formed at the center of the front wall of the bumper fascia.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cushioning material according to the first and second aspects, the support portion includes a shoulder portion seated on the upper wall surface of the bumper armature and is disposed close to the lower surface of the upper wall of the bumper facer. It is characterized by having.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bumper armature is formed in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape having a substantially straight section in the vehicle width direction, and the front surface of the cushioning material mounted on the front wall surface is formed with the front wall surface of the bumper armature. Since the front surface of the cushioning material and the front wall of the bumper facer formed in a plane arc shape are substantially separated from each other at the center portion of the bumper facer, since the front surface of the cushioning material is substantially parallel to the bumper facer, Since a plurality of rib pieces protruding from the back of the front wall of the part are in contact with the front face of the cushioning material, the rib pieces bite into the cushioning material and absorb the collision energy by the cushioning material during a light collision of the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to prevent only the front wall of the bumper fascia from flexing and deforming rearward in the early stage of the collision, thereby stabilizing the collision energy absorption characteristics.

Further, since the cushioning material can stabilize the collision energy absorption characteristics as described above without enlarging the front-rear dimension of the central portion thereof, the cushioning material on the front wall surface of the bumper armature at the time of collision can be stabilized. The support stability is excellent, and it is possible to prevent the cushioning material from falling down in the vertical direction, so that the cushioning action can be reliably performed.

Further, since the cushioning material is formed without extending the front-rear direction of the central portion, the front surface of the cushioning material is formed substantially parallel to the front wall surface of the bumper armature which is straight in the vehicle width direction. Weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.

[0017] Also, of the substantially rectangular cylindrical bumper armature, rib pieces are provided horizontally along the upper and lower surfaces at a height position substantially corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces formed with particularly high rigidity when viewed from the front of the vehicle. tare order, the shock transmitted through the cushioning material from the rib piece can be mainly received by the high rigidity of the bumper armature. If the ribs are provided only on one of the upper and lower surfaces of the bumper armature, the support of the cushioning material on the front wall of the bumper armature may become unstable. , The support of the cushioning material is also stable.

Furthermore, the ends of the rib segment because it is received in the groove of the buffer material front, rib one end portion during a vehicle collision by the engagement between the ribs one end portion and the groove to move sliding in the surface direction of the buffer material Can be avoided, and the rib pieces can be reliably cut into the cushioning material.

Further, by engaging one end of the rib with the groove, the cushioning material and the bumper facer can be positioned relative to each other, so that the assembling workability can be improved.

According to the second aspect , in addition to the effect of the first aspect, due to the difference in the cooling cycle of the front wall of the bumper fascia at the time of forming by projecting the rib piece, the outer surface of the projecting portion of the rib piece is shrunk. Even if (distortion) occurs, the rib pieces are provided in the molding surface of the license plate mounting surface, and the sink is concealed by the license plate mounted on the license plate mounting surface, so that the appearance is not impaired. .

Further, since the rib piece functions as a reinforcing material on the back surface of the license plate mounting surface, the mounting strength of the license plate can be increased.

According to the third aspect , in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, since the shoulder portion of the support portion engages with the upper wall surface of the bumper armature and is seated, the upper portion of the cushioning member at the time of a light collision of the vehicle can be provided. The fall in the direction can be reliably prevented, and the support portion can eliminate the stickiness of the upper wall of the bumper fascia, so that the quality can be further improved.

[0023]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a bumper armature which is formed by extruding an aluminum material into a rectangular cylindrical shape, and has a reinforcing horizontal rib 2 integrally formed at the center of the closed section.

The bumper armature 1 is arranged straight in the vehicle width direction and fastened and fixed to a vehicle body side member by a stay (not shown), and both ends of the bumper armature 1 are bent slightly backward by a bender (not shown). .

[0026] 3 is a cushioning material made of an elastic material such as resin which is disposed along the front wall 1a surface of the bumper armature 1, a flat parallel to the central partial front wall 1a surface of the bumper armature 1 of the front surface 3a And both sides of the front surface 3a are provided with a front wall 5 of a bumper facer 5 described later.
It is curved and formed into a plane arc shape in accordance with the camber a.

The cushioning member 3 has a shoulder portion 4a which is seated on the upper wall 1b of the bumper armature 1 and is integrally formed with a support portion 4 which is arranged close to the lower surface of the upper wall 5b of the bumper facer 5. It is.

The bumper facer 5 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section so as to enclose the cushioning material 3 with an elastic material such as resin.

A front wall 5a of the bumper facer 5 is formed in a plane arc shape according to the shape of the front portion of the vehicle body, and a frame member having a rear end portion of the upper wall 5b disposed in the front portion of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction. 6, and a rear end of the lower wall 5c is fixed to a vehicle body side member (not shown).

The front wall 5a of the bumper armature 1 is provided on the rear surface of the front wall 5a substantially at the center of the bumper facer 5 where the front wall 5a of the bumper facer 5 is farthest from the front surface 3a of the cushioning material 3. And the front surface 3a of the cushioning material 3
A plurality of rib pieces 8 are provided so as to be in contact with.

In this embodiment, rib pieces 8 are provided horizontally along the upper and lower surfaces of the bumper armature 1 at positions substantially corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces formed with high rigidity when viewed from the front.

At the center of the front wall 5a of the bumper facer 5, a license plate mounting surface 9 for fixing the license plate 10 by fastening means 11 is formed. It is provided in the forming surface.

A groove 12 is formed in the front surface 3a of the cushioning member 3 to receive the end of the rib piece 8. The rib piece 8 projects into this groove 12 to a length that abuts against the bottom. It is set up.

In this embodiment, the rib pieces 8 and the groove portions 12 corresponding to the rib pieces 8 are provided in a pair of upper and lower portions in the vehicle width direction. It may be provided individually.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, the bumper armature 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape having a substantially straight cross section in the vehicle width direction, and the front surface 3 of the cushioning material 3 mounted on the front wall 1a thereof.
a is formed in parallel with the front wall 1a surface of the bumper armature 1, so that the front surface 3a of the cushioning material 3 and the front wall 5a formed in a plane arc shape of the bumper facer 5 are in the central portion of the bumper facer 5. However, since the plurality of rib pieces 8 protruding from the rear surface of the front wall 5a at the substantially central portion of the bumper facer 5 are in contact with the front surface of the cushioning material 3, the vehicle is lighter. At the time of collision, the rib pieces 8 bite into the cushioning material 3 so that the collision energy can be absorbed by the cushioning material 3.

Therefore, in the early stage of the collision, the bumper fascia 5
Because the front wall 5a is largely separated from the front surface 3a of the cushioning material 3, the front wall 5a alone can be prevented from bending backward and deforming, and the collision energy absorption characteristics can be stabilized.

Also, the cushioning material 3 can stabilize the collision energy absorption characteristics as described above without increasing the front-rear dimension of the central portion along the front wall 5a of the bumper fascia 5. Also, the support stability of the cushioning material 3 on the front wall 1a surface of the bumper armature 1 at the time of collision is excellent, and the cushioning material 3 can be prevented from falling down in the vertical direction, so that the cushioning action can be reliably performed.

In addition, the front surface 3a of the cushioning member 3 is parallel to the front wall 1a of the bumper armature 1 which is straight in the vehicle width direction without increasing the front-rear dimension of the center portion of the cushioning member 3. Since the bumper armature 1 is made of aluminum, the weight of the bumper armature 1 is made of aluminum, and it is possible to contribute to cost reduction without any loss.

Further, the rib pieces 8 are horizontally arranged along the upper and lower surfaces of the substantially rectangular cylinder-shaped bumper armature 1 at a height position substantially corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces formed to be particularly rigid when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Due to the provision, the shock transmitted from the rib piece 8 via the cushioning material can be mainly received by the high rigidity portion of the bumper armature 1.

Further, the rib piece 8 is connected to the bumper armature 1
If it is provided on only one of the upper and lower surface heights, the support of the cushioning material 3 on the front wall of the bumper armature 1 may be unstable, but the rib pieces 8 are located on both the upper and lower surfaces. Therefore, the supportability of the cushioning material 3 becomes stable.

Particularly in the present embodiment, a groove 12 is provided on the front surface 3a of the cushioning material 3, and the rib pieces 8 of the groove 12 are formed.
Of the ribs 8 can be prevented from sliding in the surface direction of the cushioning member 3 during a light collision of the vehicle, and the ribs 8 can be securely connected to the cushioning member 3. And a buffering action can be performed.

Further, as described above, the end of the rib piece 8 and the groove 1
By engaging the second member 2 with each other, the cushioning member 3 and the bumper facer 5 can be positioned relative to each other, so that assembling workability can be improved.

Further, since the rib piece 8 projects from the back surface of the front wall 5a of the bumper facer 5 having a substantially constant thickness, the rib piece 8 varies depending on the cooling cycle at the time of molding the front wall 5a. Even if sink 8a occurs on the outer surface of the protruding portion of 8,
The rib piece 8 is provided in the surface where the license plate mounting surface 9 is formed, and the sink plate 8a is concealed by the license plate 10 mounted on the license plate mounting surface 9, so that the appearance is not impaired.

On the other hand, since the shoulder portion 4a of the support portion 4 integrally formed on the upper portion of the cushioning material 3 engages with the upper wall 1b of the bumper armature 1, the cushioning material 3 is seated. It is possible to reliably prevent the falling in the upward direction, and it is possible to further improve the sense of quality by eliminating the stickiness of the upper wall 5b of the bumper facer 5 with the support portion 4.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bumper armature 1a Front wall 1b Upper wall 3 Buffer material 3a Front surface 4 Support part 4a Shoulder part 5 Bumper facer 5a Front wall 5b Upper wall 8 Rib piece 9 License plate mounting surface 12 Groove

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-112190 (JP, A) JP-A-8-2351 (JP, A) JP-A 61-122434 (JP, U) JP-A 55-112 131851 (JP, U) 60-51159 (JP, U) 6-37006 (JP, U) 63-2656 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 19/18 B60R 19/04

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bumper front (3a) of the buffer material mounted to the front wall (1a) surface of the bumper is formed in the vehicle width direction in cross section a square tube shape of Ryakujikajo armature (1) (3) armature ( while substantially parallel with the front wall (1a) surface of 1), the bumper Faye Shah enclosing cushioning material (3) (5)
A structure of the front wall (5a) is formed in a plane arc, the bumper Faye finisher front wall (5a) and the buffer material (3) the front wall of the substantially central portion of the bumper Faye Sha that the front is farthest (5) ( 5a) On the back, bumper armature (1)
Of the bumper armature (1) in the front wall (1a) plane of the
Horizontally protruding from the upper and lower surfaces at approximately the corresponding height
And a rib piece (8) abutting against the front surface of the cushioning material (3) is protruded , and the rib piece (3a) is
A bumper for an automobile, wherein a groove (12) for receiving the end of (8) is formed . 2. A bumper fascia for a rib piece (8).
(5) automobile bumper according to claim 1, the front wall (5a), characterized in that provided in the forming surface of the license plate mounting surface formed in the central portion (9) of the. 3. The buffer material (3) is a bumper armature.
(1) Shoulder part (4 ) seated on the upper wall (1b) surface
a) with the upper wall of the bumper fascia (5) ( 5b)
The bumper for an automobile according to claim 1, further comprising a support portion (4) disposed close to the lower surface.