JP3589282B2 - Lock structure of front hood - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lock structure of a front hood, and more particularly, to a lock structure of a secondary hook that auxiliaryally holds a front hood in a half-open state.
[0002]
[Related background art]
As is well known, a vehicle with a front hood that opens forward includes a secondary latch that is operated from the front of the front hood as a latch unit for locking the front hood, in addition to a main latch that is operated from the vehicle interior. When the main latch is opened due to an erroneous operation or the like, the secondary latch prevents the front hood from being opened, so that the driver's view is ensured. In such a vehicle, first release the main latch by operating the release lever in the passenger compartment, and then directly operate the secondary lever by inserting your hand from the outside of the vehicle into the gap between the front grill and the front hood front edge. Then, release the secondary latch and open the front hood.
[0003]
By the way, the engine room is gradually reduced in order to increase the effective space in the vehicle interior, and various changes have been made to the layout in the engine room to achieve this. As one example, a method of changing the installation position of the radiator from the rear side of the normal upper member to the front side has been proposed.In such a layout, the engine and its auxiliary equipment can be directly under the upper member without being blocked by the radiator. Therefore, realization as a method for achieving space saving has been demanded since it can be used as a space for the space.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the radiator is installed on the front side of the upper member, the operation of the above-mentioned secondary lever will be hindered, and it is necessary to take measures against it. More specifically, the front hood is shaped so as to cover the upper part of the radiator in consideration of the mounting and dismounting work of the radiator at the time of vehicle manufacture and subsequent maintenance, and the radiator is opened or removed with the front hood opened. Is performed. When the radiator is provided on the front side of the upper member as described above, the front hood extends forward, but since the above-described latch unit is attached to the upper member, the front edge of the front hood and the secondary lever And will be separated. Therefore, even if a hand is inserted into the gap between the front grill and the front edge of the front hood, the secondary lever cannot be operated.
[0005]
As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to extend the secondary lever forward, but in this case, the secondary lever crosses directly above and below the radiator, so it is necessary to remove the latch unit before attaching or detaching the radiator. In addition, when the latch unit is mounted, close alignment with the front hood is required. Therefore, it was not feasible due to the large disadvantage.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to provide a lock structure of a front hood that can easily open and operate a secondary lever while preventing a complicated operation of attaching and detaching a heat exchanger such as a radiator installed on the front side of an upper member. It is in.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the invention of claim 1, the front hood is held in a fully closed state by a main latch member fixed to an upper member of the vehicle body, and when the main latch member is released, the front hood is held by an auxiliary latch member fixed to the upper member. A front hood lock structure that holds a hook of a hood in a half-open state and allows an auxiliary latch member to be released from the front of the vehicle body, wherein the frame is configured separately from the main latch member and the auxiliary latch member and fastened to the upper member. The member and the frame member are swingably provided so that one side extends forward and bypasses the heat exchanger, and when one side is operated from the front of the vehicle body, the other side swings with the auxiliary latch. And an extension member for releasing the member.
[0008]
Therefore, even if the front hood extends forward by disposing the heat exchanger on the front side of the upper member, the auxiliary latch member can be released without any trouble via the extension member to open the front hood, and When attaching / detaching the exchange, since the frame member is removed together with the extension member while the main latch member is left on the upper member side, it is not necessary to perform precise alignment when attaching the main latch member.
[0009]
Further, in the invention of claim 2, the frame member extends downward and is connected to a structural material of a vehicle body. Therefore, when the front hood is closed, the impact acts not only on the upper member but also on the structural member, and the two members cooperate to resist the impact.
Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the frame member has a shape surrounding the periphery of the main latch member. Therefore, the illegal operation of the main latch member for theft is prevented by the frame member.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a lock structure of a front hood embodying the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the lock mechanism, in which a lower left side in the figure indicates a vehicle front (front grill side) and an upper right side indicates a vehicle rear (engine room 3 side). In this figure, only the front edge of the front hood 1 of the vehicle is shown by a two-dot chain line, and the front side opens upward with the rear end as the center. The upper member 2 of the vehicle is located immediately below the front hood 1 and in the front of the engine room 3 and is formed by bending a steel plate into an open cross section, and has a bar shape extending in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction) as a whole. No. The upper member 2 forms a front end panel together with a lamp housing (not shown) welded to the left and right, and the front end panel is welded to a front end of a side member of the vehicle. A bumper line hose 4 as a structural member extending in the vehicle width direction is also arranged at a lower position on the front side of the upper member 2, and both left and right ends of the bumper line hose 4 are joined to the front ends of the side members. A member such as the upper member 2, the bumper hose 4, the side members, and the lamp housing forms a front portion of the vehicle so as to bear an external force.
[0011]
A radiator 5 and a condenser 6 for an air conditioner are overlapped and arranged at the front side of the upper member 2, and the upper portions thereof are fixed to the upper member 2 by stays (not shown). When the traveling wind or the cooling wind of a fan (not shown) passes through the radiator 5 and the condenser 6, the cooling water and the refrigerant circulating therein are cooled. The upper ends of the radiator 5 and the condenser 6 are located slightly below the upper member 2, and the front surface of the upper member 2 is open. In consideration of the work of attaching and detaching the radiator 5 and the condenser 6 in the vertical direction, the front hood 1 is shaped so as to cover above the radiator 5 and the condenser 6, and the front edge of the front hood 1 is considerably larger than the upper member 2. It is located forward.
[0012]
A latch unit 10 is fixed to the center of the front surface of the upper member 2 by a bolt (not shown). Although not described in detail, a main latch (not shown) incorporated in the latch unit 10 can hook the hook 1a fixed to the front lower surface of the front hood 1 and hold the front hood 1 in a fully closed state. It is configured as follows. The release of the main latch is performed by a release lever in the passenger compartment, and when the release lever is operated, the main latch is released via a wire.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2 which is an exploded perspective view of the lock mechanism, a secondary latch 11 made of a steel plate is rotatably mounted on the front surface of the latch unit 10 by a pin 12 and is always moved in the direction of the arrow by a tension spring (not shown). Being energized. A holding groove 13 into which the hook 1a of the front hood 1 is inserted is formed in the secondary latch 11 so as to open upward, and one side of the opening has a key-like shape for restricting detachment of the hook 1a from the holding groove 13. And a guide portion 15 for guiding the hook 1a into the holding groove 13 is formed on the other side. The secondary latch 11 is provided with a secondary lever 16 for rotating the secondary latch 11 against a tension spring.
[0014]
In this embodiment, the main latch functions as a main latch member, and the secondary latch 11 functions as an auxiliary latch member.
When the front hood 1 is closed and the hook 1a is latched by the main latch described above, the lowering hook 1a once rotates the secondary latch 11 in a direction opposite to the arrow while pressing the latch portion 14, and the guide portion 15 And is inserted into the holding groove 13. When the main latch is released, the hook 1a moves upward in the holding groove 13 and its release is regulated by the latch portion 14. As a result, the front hood 1 is held in a half-open state.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 1, an extension unit 19 is provided on the front surface of the upper member 2, that is, a position immediately above the radiator 5 and the condenser 6. The frame member 20 of the extension unit 19 is formed by bending a steel plate, and has a substantially gate-shaped configuration including left and right legs 21 and a mounting surface 22 therebetween. The frame member 20 has both legs 21 fixed to the upper member 2 with bolts 23 while surrounding the latch unit 10. The mounting surface 22 of the frame member 20 extends in the shape of a crank below the front side, and the upper end of a stay 24 is welded. The stay 24 extends downward at the front side of the radiator 5 and the condenser 6 and has the lower end thereof as described above. It is fixed to the hose 4 by bolts 25.
[0016]
That is, the upper member 2 of this embodiment is connected to the bumper line hose 4 via the extension unit 19 (the frame member 20 and the stay 24). In addition, a square front grill fixing hole 26 is formed in the upper part of the mounting surface 22 and the stay 24, and a front grill (not shown) is fixed using these fixing holes 26.
[0017]
A damper plate 27 is provided on one side of the frame member 20, and an elastomer damper 28 having a thread groove (not shown) is screwed into the damper plate 27 so that the height can be adjusted. The damper 28 supports the front hood 1 in a fully closed state from below, and positions the front hood 1 in the vertical direction.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an extension lever 30 as an extension member is disposed in the frame member 20, and the extension lever 30 is formed by bending a steel plate to form a central surface 31, a front surface 32 and a rear surface 33. And has a substantially U-shape. Bearing holes 32a, 33a are respectively formed through the front surface 32 and the rear surface 33 of the extension lever 30, and a pin 34 fixed through the mounting surface 22 of the frame member 20 from the front is rotatable into the bearing holes 32a, 33a. And is prevented from being detached by the E-ring 35. The pin 34 is set on the same axis as the pin 12 of the secondary latch 11 described above. A lever portion 36 extends from the front surface 32 of the extension lever 30. The lever portion 36 protrudes forward through the through hole 22 a of the mounting surface 22 of the frame member 20, passes through the radiator 5 and the condenser 6, and passes through the front hood. It extends to a position close to one leading edge.
[0018]
A torsion spring 37 is wound around the pin 34 between the front surface 32 and the rear surface 33 of the extension lever 30, one end of which is below the center surface 31 of the extension lever 30, and the other end is below the damper plate 27. It is locked. The extension lever 30 is always urged in the direction of the arrow by the torsion spring 37 to bring the lever portion 36 into contact with the lower edge of the through hole 22a. A pressing operation portion 38 is formed on the central surface 31 of the extension lever 30 so as to project rearward, and the pressing operation portion 38 is adjacent to the left side of the secondary lever 16. When the extension lever 16 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow around the pin 34 against the urging force of the torsion spring 37, the pressing operation portion 38 presses the secondary lever 16 to the right to release the secondary latch 11 from the position. Rotate in the direction of the arrow.
[0019]
Next, an operation state when opening and closing the front hood 1 having the lock structure configured as described above will be described.
When the front hood 1 is closed, the descending hook 1a once rotates the secondary latch 11 in the direction opposite to the arrow while pressing the latch portion 14 of the secondary latch 11, and is guided by the guide portion 15 and inserted into the holding groove 13. At the same time, the hook 1a is hooked on the main latch to hold the front hood 1 in the fully closed state. When the secondary latch 11 rotates, the secondary lever 16 is merely separated from the pressing operation portion 38 of the extension lever 30 (moves to the right), so that the extension lever 30 is kept stopped. .
[0020]
When the front hood 1 is opened, first, the main latch is released by operating the release lever in the passenger compartment. The hook 1a of the front hood 1 moves upward in the holding groove 13 of the secondary latch 11 and is prevented from being detached by the latch portion 14. As a result, the front hood 1 is held in a half-open state. Thereafter, when the hand is inserted into the gap between the front grille and the front edge of the front hood 1 from outside the vehicle and the lever portion 36 of the extension lever 30 is operated upward, the extension lever 30 is pinned against the urging force of the torsion spring 37. The rotation lever 34 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow, and the pressing operation part 38 presses the secondary lever 16 rightward. Therefore, since the secondary latch 11 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow to release the restriction of the hook 1a by the latch portion 14, the hook 1a can be released from the holding groove 13 and the front hood 1 can be opened. When the operation of the lever 36 is stopped, the extension lever 30 is rotated by the torsion spring 37 and the secondary latch 11 is rotated by the tension spring in the direction of the arrow, and returns to the original position.
[0021]
On the other hand, when attaching / detaching the radiator 5 or the condenser 6 at the time of vehicle manufacture or maintenance, the extension unit 19 located above the radiator 5 or the condenser 6 is detached. In other words, since the latch unit 10 is fixed to the upper member 2 side, there is no need to perform a precise alignment with the front hood 1 which occurs when the latch unit 10 is attached. The extension unit 19 can be attached and detached only by the bolts 23 and 25, and the positioning can be performed simply by operating the secondary lever 16 by the pressing operation unit 38.
[0022]
As described above, in the lock mechanism of the front hood 1 of the present embodiment, since the secondary latch 11 is operated via the extension lever 30, the front hood 1 is moved forward due to the arrangement of the radiator 5 and the condenser 6. Even if it extends, the secondary latch 11 can be released and the front hood 1 can be opened without any trouble. When the radiator 5 and the condenser 6 are attached and detached, only the extension unit 19 is removed while the latch unit 10 is left on the upper member 2 side, so that there is no need to position the latch unit 10 and it is extremely easy. Can perform these tasks.
[0023]
If the shape of the extension lever 30 is set according to the specifications of the vehicle body (for example, the inclination angle of the front hood 1 and the distance from the front edge to the upper member 2), the latch unit 10 can be shared between different vehicle types. it can. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, since the upper member 2 is connected to the bumper line hose 4 using the extension unit 19 of the lock mechanism, when the front hood 1 is closed, the impact acts not only on the upper member 2 but also on the bumper line hose 4. Thus, the two members 2 and 4 cooperate to resist the impact. As a result, downward bending of the upper member 2 due to an impact is prevented, and collision of the lower surface of the front hood 1 with the engine or accessories caused by the bending can be prevented. Further, since the stay 24 is positioned so as to cover the front side of the radiator 5, the stay 24 also serves to prevent a hand from touching the hot radiator 5 when the extension lever 30 is operated.
[0024]
On the other hand, since the latch unit 10 is surrounded by the frame member 20 of the extension unit 19 having a substantially gate shape as described above, it also has an effect of preventing crime. In other words, in order for a third party for theft to open the front hood 1, a method of inserting a wire or the like into a very small gap between the front grill and the front hood 1 to release the main latch is used. In the embodiment, the illegal operation of the main latch is prevented by the frame member 20, so that a crime can be avoided beforehand.
[0025]
Further, the front edge of the front hood 1 is supported not only at the normal left and right positions but also at the center by a damper 28 provided in the extension unit 19, while the front grill uses the front grill fixing hole 26 of the extension unit 19. It is fixed. Therefore, the front edge of the front hood 1 and the front grill are positioned via the common extension unit 19, so that the gap between the two members can be reliably maintained at the regular size, and the appearance of the vehicle can be improved. .
[0026]
This concludes the description of the embodiment, but aspects of the present invention are not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the extension lever 30 is rotatably mounted on the shaft. However, the operation direction is not limited as long as the secondary lever 16 can be operated with reciprocation by operating the lever portion 36. . Therefore, for example, the operation force may be transmitted by sliding in the front-rear direction.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the lock structure of the front hood of the first aspect, it is possible to prevent the attachment and detachment work of the heat exchanger such as the radiator installed on the front side of the upper member from being complicated, and to easily open the secondary lever. can do.
According to the lock structure of the front hood of the second aspect, in addition to the first aspect, the bending of the upper member due to the impact when the front hood is closed is prevented, and the lower surface of the front hood collides with the engine or the auxiliary equipment. Can be prevented beforehand.
[0028]
Further, according to the front hood lock structure of the third aspect, in addition to the first aspect, an illegal operation on the main latch member for the purpose of theft can be prevented, and a crime can be avoided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a lock mechanism of a front hood according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lock mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Front hood 2 Upper member 4 Bumperin hose (structural material)
5 Radiator 11 Secondary latch (auxiliary latch member)
20 Frame member 30 Extension lever (extension member)

Claims (3)

The front hood is held in a fully closed state by a main latch member fixed to an upper member of the vehicle body, and when the main latch member is released, the front hood is held in a half-open state by an auxiliary latch member fixed to the upper member. In the lock structure of the front hood that enables the auxiliary latch member to be released,
A frame member configured separately from the main latch member and the auxiliary latch member and fastened to the upper member;
The frame member is provided so as to be swingable , and one side is extended forward to bypass the heat exchanger located on the front side of the upper member, and when one side is operated from the front of the vehicle body, the swing is accompanied. An extension member for releasing the auxiliary latch member from the other side. The lock structure for a front hood according to claim 1, wherein the frame member extends downward at a front side of the heat exchanger and is connected to a structural member extending in a vehicle width direction of the vehicle body. The lock structure for a front hood according to claim 1, wherein the frame member has a shape surrounding the periphery of the main latch member.

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