JP3522419B2 - Front underrun protector 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 front underrun protector device provided in a large vehicle so as to prevent the passenger vehicle from diving below the large vehicle when the large vehicle collides with the passenger vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to prevent a passenger vehicle from slipping under a large vehicle when a large vehicle such as a truck collides with a passenger vehicle, a large vehicle equipped with a front underrun protector device under a front bumper has been developed. It has been demanded.

As shown in FIG. 5, this front underrun protector device generally has a stay b attached to a front portion a'of a chassis frame a and an attachment member b'on the front side of the stay. It is provided with an auxiliary bumper c that is connected to the stay via a stay, and is provided at a position where the vicinity of the engine room of the passenger car hits in the event of a collision. To prevent the passenger car from diving under a large vehicle, Although extremely effective, since the auxiliary bumper c always blocks the front side of the vehicle, the smooth flow of the cooling air e flowing into the radiator d is hindered, which may adversely affect the cooling performance.

However, in the conventional front underrun protector device, the stay and the auxiliary bumper are fixed, and no means for smoothing the flow of the cooling air to the radiator is taken.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention is a front underrun protector device which is an inexpensive means and which does not impede the flow of cooling air that normally flows into a radiator, but can function reliably as a bumper in a vehicle emergency. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a stay mounted on a front portion of a chassis frame at a position below a bumper of a vehicle, and a stay connected to the stay on the front side of the stay. In a front underrun protector device for a vehicle including an auxiliary bumper, the auxiliary bumper is normally directed obliquely rearward between the stay and the auxiliary bumper, and the auxiliary bumper is deformed in a vertical direction when deformed in a vehicle emergency. It is configured by providing a deformable member that is directed.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, a part of the easily deformable member is formed of a member having a plate structure with a polygonal cross section that can be easily deformed. In another embodiment, the deformable member is It is formed of a plurality of bent connecting rods or spring members.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
A description will be given with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a front underrun protector device 1 according to the present invention. 2 is a chassis frame of a large vehicle such as a truck, 3 is a front bumper attached to the front end (hereinafter referred to as front side) of the chassis frame 2 in the front-rear direction, and 4 is a front part 21 of the chassis frame 2. Stays provided on both sides. A beam 5 is attached to the front side of the stay 4 just below the chassis frame 2 by welding or the like, and a deformation member 6 is attached to the lower side of the beam 5. An auxiliary bumper 7 is attached to the front side of the deformable member 6.

In the conventional front underrun protector device, the auxiliary bumper is attached to the lower side of the beam 5 via a fixed attachment member (FIG. 5), but in the present invention, as shown in FIG. A deformable member 6 is provided between the auxiliary member 4 and the auxiliary bumper 7.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a cross section of the deformable member 6 of this embodiment. As can be understood from this figure, in the deformable member 6, two adjacent sides 61 and 62 have an acute angle α.
The plate structure has an open cross section in the shape of an isosceles pentagon that forms the. The acute angle α formed by these two sides 61 and 62 forms a portion 64 that is easily deformed when the vehicle collides with a passenger car or the like, as will be described later. A side 63 adjacent to one side 62 of the two sides has an inclination angle β with respect to the vertical direction, and the auxiliary bumper 7 is attached to this side 63. The sizes of the angles α and β are determined by design in consideration of the space of the mounting portion of the deformable member, ease of maintenance, and the like. When the deformable member 6 is attached to the stay,
It is important that the cross-sectional shape is such that the easily deformable portion 64 is located on the lower side and the upper side of the auxiliary bumper 7 is directed obliquely rearward.

In the above structure, since the upper side of the auxiliary bumper 7 is directed obliquely rearward during normal operation of the vehicle, the cooling air is obliquely moved along the auxiliary bumper 7 as indicated by an arrow K in FIG. The auxiliary bumper 7 does not prevent the ventilation from flowing smoothly to the radiator.
Therefore, since the auxiliary bumper acts as a wind guide plate, it is also effective as a measure for reducing air resistance.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle collides with the passenger car 8, the passenger car 8 tries to dive under the vehicle, but the bonnet of the passenger car hits the auxiliary bumper 7 and is deformed. The member 6 is also hit. At this time, since the deformable member 6 has the easily deformable portion 64 formed at the acute angle α as described above, the deformable portion 64 is pressed by the collision force to be crushed and the auxiliary bumper 7 is moved downward. By rotating to face the vertical direction and preventing the passenger car from diving, the original function of the front underrun protector device is exerted. In this case, the deformable member 6 absorbs energy at the time of collision by deforming and softens the impact. Therefore, the deformable member effectively acts as an energy absorbing device at the time of collision.

The deformable member 6 is not limited to the one having an unequal-sided pentagonal cross section, and may have another cross-sectional shape, for example, a triangle, an unequal-sided quadrangle, or the like. Need only be formed so that it can be easily deformed to orient the auxiliary bumper in the vertical direction.

Further, the deforming member 6 is not limited to the plate structure, and is in the form of a plurality of bent connecting rods 65 arranged at equal intervals over the entire width of the vehicle, and each end portion of these connecting rods is pin-connected. May be configured (FIG. 4). In this case, it is not necessary to bend a long steel plate by pressing or the like. Further, the deformable member 6 may be a spring member.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A deformable member is provided between the stay and the auxiliary bumper so that the auxiliary bumper is normally directed obliquely rearward, and is deformed in a vehicle emergency so that the auxiliary bumper is directed in the vertical direction. It has become possible to provide a front underrun protector device that does not impede the flow of cooling air flowing into the radiator but can function reliably as a bumper in a vehicle emergency.

During normal operation of the vehicle, since the auxiliary bumper 7 is directed obliquely rearward, the cooling air smoothly flows obliquely upward along the auxiliary bumper without obstructing ventilation to the radiator, and the auxiliary air is also assisted. The bumper acts as a wind guide plate and is also effective as a measure for reducing air resistance.

On the other hand, when the vehicle collides with a passenger car, the deforming member is easily deformed to peel the auxiliary bumper in the vertical direction, so that the passenger car is prevented from diving and the original function of the front underrun protector device is prevented. Can be demonstrated. Further, the deformable member effectively acts as an energy absorbing device at the time of collision.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a front underrun protector device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a deformable member in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state at the time of a collision in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the front underrun protector device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a conventional front underrun protector device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Front underrun protector device 2 Chassis frame 3 Vehicle bumper 4 Stay 5 Beam 6 Deformation member 7 Auxiliary bumper

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-251690 (JP, A) Actually open 7-4209 (JP, U) Actually open 4-114852 (JP, U) Actually open 55- 92543 (JP, U) Actual opening 51-153941 (JP, U) Actual opening 62-86437 (JP, U) Actual opening Flat 1-107654 (JP, U) Actual opening Sho 49-115836 (JP, U) Actually open 3-21093 (JP, U) Actually open 60-128845 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 19/56 B60R 19/12 B60R 19/48

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A front underrun protector device for a vehicle, comprising: a stay attached to a front portion of a chassis frame at a position below a bumper of the vehicle; and an auxiliary bumper connected to the stay at a front side of the stay. Between the stay and the auxiliary bumper, usually the auxiliary bumper is obliquely rearward and the cooling air to the radiator is in front.
Along the auxiliary bumper in a direction that smoothly flows diagonally upward
On the other hand, the front underrun protector device is characterized in that a deformation member is provided so as to be deformed when the vehicle collides and to direct the auxiliary bumper in a vertical direction. 2. The front underrun protector device according to claim 1, wherein the deformable member is a plate structure member having a polygonal cross section, a part of which can be easily deformed. 3. The front underrun protector device according to claim 1, wherein the deformable member is a plurality of bent connecting rods. 4. The front underrun protector device according to claim 1, wherein the deformable member is a spring member.