JP4802690B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure applied to a vehicle equipped with a hood flip-up device that flips up a hood rear end when an obstacle collides with the front of the vehicle, and relates to a structure near the hood front end.

  Conventionally, when a running vehicle collides with an obstacle, the rear end of the hood is flipped up to ensure a clearance between the structure in the engine room and the hood, and the obstacle collides with the upper surface of the hood. A hood flip-up device that absorbs and alleviates the impact is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this prior art, a hinge serving as a fulcrum when the hood is opened and closed is provided at the rear end of the hood, and this hinge is disconnected from the hood by an input from the front of the vehicle.

In addition, at the rear end portion of the hood, a flip-up mechanism for jumping up the hood by the driving means is provided. This flip-up mechanism is activated when it is detected that an obstacle has collided with the front of the vehicle. At the time of operation, the rear end of the hood is flipped up with the hood lock at the front end of the hood as a fulcrum. Can alleviate the impact when a secondary collision occurs.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-263191

  In the above-described conventional technology, a portion serving as a fulcrum when the hood is flipped up, such as a hood lock, is disposed behind the front end of the hood.

  For this reason, when the hood is flipped up, the hood front end located in front of the vehicle relative to the fulcrum portion is pushed down the vehicle and interferes with a member provided at the vehicle front end such as a grill.

  When the front end of the hood and other parts interfere with each other in this way, the energy absorption characteristics when an obstacle collides with the hood may change before and after the interference, and the energy absorption performance becomes unstable. There was a fear. In addition, when the interference occurs, there is a risk that the driving means that flips up the rear end of the hood may be burdened, and this burden may cause the operation of the actuator to become unstable.

  Furthermore, when the hood front end and the grill interfere with each other as described above, both the hood front end and the grill are damaged. For this reason, even if the hood flip-up means malfunctions, it is necessary to replace the hood with the grill, and there is a problem that the repair amount at the time of malfunction is worsened.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle front structure that can stabilize energy absorption performance, stabilize the operation of driving means, and improve the repair amount when interference occurs at the front of the vehicle when the hood is flipped up. It is intended to provide.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the vehicle front structure of the present invention acts on the front end of the hood at a site where interference occurs with the downward movement of the front end of the hood when the hood is flipped up by the flip-up mechanism. The vehicle front part structure is characterized in that a reaction force reducing means for reducing the reaction force is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the hood front is moved up by the flip-up mechanism and the hood front part moves downward to cause interference, the reaction force reducing means provided at the site where the interference occurs causes the hood front part to The reaction force acting on is reduced.

  Therefore, the energy absorption performance of the hood can be stabilized, and the load applied to the drive means of the flip-up mechanism can be reduced to stabilize the operation of the drive means. In addition, it is possible to suppress damage to the front portion of the hood and improve the repair amount in the case of malfunction.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the vehicle front structure of this embodiment, the hood (3) provided at the front of the vehicle (MB) is flipped up with the hood front (3a) as a fulcrum and the hood rear (3b) is flipped up by driving means. A vehicle front structure of a vehicle provided with a mechanism, wherein the front end of the hood is located at a portion (12) where interference occurs with the downward movement of the hood front portion (3a) when the hood is raised by the flip-up mechanism (7). A vehicle front portion structure characterized in that a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force acting on the portion (3a) is provided.

  A vehicle front structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration will be described.
The vehicle front structure of the first embodiment is applied to the vehicle MB shown in FIG. In the front part of the vehicle MB, a shock absorbing bumper 1 is provided at the lower part, and a hood 3 for opening and closing the engine room 2 (see FIG. 3) is provided. A radiator grill 4 is provided between the front end 3 a of the hood 3 and the bumper 1.

  The left and right sides of the rear end portion 3b of the hood 3 are supported at a predetermined position of the vehicle body 5 by a hinge mechanism (not shown), and are supported so as to be vertically rotatable with the predetermined position as a fulcrum.

  The hinge mechanism (not shown) is configured so that the restraint of the rear end portion 3b of the hood 3 with respect to the vehicle body 5 can be released when a load toward the rear of the vehicle is input to the hood 3 in the same manner as in the prior art. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the front end portion 3 a of the hood 3 is locked with a hood lock 6 in a state where the illustrated engine room 2 is closed, and the vertical rotation is restricted. The hood lock 6 includes a striker 6a and a lock body 6b that can be engaged with and disengaged from the striker 6a. The striker 6a is fixed to a bone portion 3c formed in a closed cross-sectional shape on the lower surface of the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and extending in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, the lock body 6b is fixed to a radiator core support (not shown) formed in a closed cross-sectional shape and integrally coupled to the vehicle body 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end 3 b of the hood 3 is provided with a flip-up mechanism 7 including an actuator 7 a that jumps the rear end 3 b upward of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5B, the flip-up mechanism 7 has a rear end portion with the hood 3 as a fulcrum when the actuator 7a is actuated in the extending direction. Bounce 3b.

  The actuator 7 a is controlled by the controller 8. The controller 8 receives a vehicle speed signal Vs from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) and collision signals S1, S2 from collision sensors 9, 10 (see FIG. 2) for detecting a frontal collision of the vehicle MB. The controller 8 operates the actuator 7a when detecting a frontal collision at a predetermined vehicle speed or higher.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a space 11 is provided between the front end 3 a of the closed hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, the space 11 has a vertical dimension in which the actuator 7 a of the flip-up mechanism 7 extends to the maximum and the hood 3 is flipped up, so that the front end 3 a of the hood 3 is Are dimensioned so as not to interfere with the radiator grille 4.

  Further, a resin cover member 12 is provided on the lower surface of the front end 3 a of the hood 3. The cover member 12 covers the space portion 11 to prevent the gap between the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 when viewed from the front of the vehicle, thereby improving the appearance quality. The wall piece 12a and the front wall piece 12b are formed in a substantially inverted L shape in longitudinal section.

  The upper wall piece 12a extends in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the front end portion 3a of the hood 3, and is formed in a thin plate shape having a predetermined width in the vehicle front-rear direction. The front wall piece 12b is formed in a thin plate shape integrated with the upper wall piece 12a continuous downward from the front end of the upper wall piece 12a, and the lower end thereof is close to the radiator grill 4.

  Further, the corner portion 12c formed between the upper wall piece 12a and the front wall piece 12b is formed so that the angle α of the corner portion 12c is larger than 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. When the hood 3 moves downward, the cover member 12 is bent at the corner 12c as a break point. The material of the cover member 12 and the plate thicknesses of both the pieces 12a and 12b are such that the reaction force generated when the front end 3a of the hood 3 moves downward is lower than the reaction force generated in the radiator grill 4. It is set to be. That is, the radiator grille 4 and the cover member 12 are members that interfere when the hood 3 is flipped up, and the cover member 12 serves as a reaction force reducing means and is bent at the corner 12c by an input from the hood 3. Yes.

  Further, the front surface of the front wall piece 12b facing the front of the vehicle is painted in the same color as the hood 3 so that it can be seen integrally with the hood 3.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
When the vehicle MB travels at a predetermined speed or more and makes a frontal collision with an obstacle, the controller 8 detects a frontal collision based on the vehicle speed signal Vs and the collision signals S1 and S2 and activates the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7. Let

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the hood 3 is flipped up with the hood lock 6 as a fulcrum. When the hood 3 is flipped up, the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 is positioned in front of the vehicle with respect to the hood lock 6 serving as a flip-up fulcrum, and therefore moves in a direction of descending toward the radiator grille 4.

  The downward movement of the front end portion of the hood 3 causes interference between the cover member 12 provided on the lower surface of the front end portion 3a and the radiator grille 4 as shown in FIG. Due to this interference, a downward load is applied to the front wall piece 12 b of the cover member 12. The cover member 12 is formed with a lower reaction force than the radiator grille 4, and is folded as shown in the figure at the corner 12c before the radiator grille 4 is deformed or damaged.

  In addition, a space 11 is set between the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 so that the hood front end 3a and the radiator grille 4 do not directly interfere when the hood 3 is flipped up. Therefore, after the cover member 12 is broken, the front end portion 3a and the radiator grill 4 do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the reaction force of the radiator grille 4 does not act on the hood 3.

  As described above, in the vehicle front structure of the first embodiment, when the hood 3 is flipped up by the flip-up mechanism 7, the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 4 are not directly interfered with each other. A space 11 was provided. Further, when the hood 3 is flipped up, the cover member 12 on the hood 3 side and the radiator grille 4 interfere with each other, and the cover member 12 is formed with lower repulsion than the radiator grille 4 as a reaction force reducing means.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the reaction force acting on the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 can be reduced as compared with the case where the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 directly interferes with the radiator grill 4. Therefore, the energy absorption performance of the hood 3 with respect to the obstacle can be stabilized, and the load applied to the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7 can be reduced to stabilize the operation of the actuator 7a.

  In addition, when the hood 3 is not damaged by an obstacle, such as during a light collision or malfunction, only the cover member 12 is deformed by the operation of the flip-up mechanism 7, compared to the conventional hood. 3 and the radiator grille 4 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to improve the repair amount in the event of a light collision or malfunction.

  Further, as described above, since the space portion 11 is set between the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4, when viewed from the front of the vehicle, a gap is generated between the both 3a and 4; Since it is covered with the cover member 12, the appearance quality can be kept high.

In addition, since the front surface of the front wall piece 12b of the cover member 12 is painted in the same manner as the hood 3, the cover member 12 appears to be integrated with the hood 3, and the appearance quality can be improved .

[Reference example]
Next, a vehicle front structure as a reference example that can achieve the same object as the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Parts that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and parts different from those in the first embodiment are mainly described.

Car both front structure of this, as shown in FIG. 4, the front end 3a of the hood 3, a radiator grille 204 of the vehicle downward is provided close. That is, when the flip-up mechanism 7 (not shown) performs the flip-up operation, the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 204 interfere with each other.

  The lower end portion of the radiator grill 204 is attached to the base 1 a provided inside the bumper 1 with a clip 13. The clip 13 is a means that enables the radiator grill 204 to be moved downward by an input from the front end portion 3a of the hood 3. The clip 13 is ruptured with a predetermined load to separate the radiator grill 204 from the base 1a. The downward movement of the grill 204 is allowed.

In such a car both front structure, when the front end 3a of the hood 3 as shown in FIG. 4 (b) is moved downward flip-up mechanism 7 is actuated, the upper end of the front end portion 3a radiator grille 204 Interfere with the part. When a load is applied downward to the radiator grill 204 due to this interference, the clip 13 is torn and the radiator grill 204 moves downward with respect to the vehicle body 5.

  Accordingly, the reaction force from the radiator grill 204 acting on the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 can be kept low.

The drive both front structure shown in FIG. 4 of this, in the same manner as in Example 1, it is possible to stabilize the energy absorption performance with respect to the obstacle of the hood 3, and, providing the actuator 7a of flip-up mechanism 7 bear It is possible to stabilize the operation of the actuator 7a.

  In addition, when the hood 3 is not damaged by an obstacle, such as during a light collision or malfunction, only the clip 13 is deformed by the operation of the flip-up mechanism 7, and the hood 3 is compared with the conventional one. And damage to the radiator grill 204 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to improve the repair amount in the event of a light collision or malfunction.

  Furthermore, since the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 204 are arranged close to each other, the gap between the both 3a and 204 is small, and the appearance quality can be kept high.

Moreover, the to allow downward movement of the radiator grille 204, since is performed by clips 13 for mounting the radiator grille 204, there is little change to existing structures, Ru inexpensive to achieve to obtain the above effect.

Next, a vehicle front structure as a reference example that can achieve the same object as the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that above for the first embodiment the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit the description, it is mainly to parts different from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the intermediate portion of the radiator grille 504 is formed by making a thin notch so as to bend at this position when there is input from above the vehicle. A fragile portion 505 is provided as a force reducing means.

  Therefore, when the hood 3 shown in FIG. 3B is flipped up, the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grill 504 interfere with each other, and the radiator grill 504 is bent at the fragile portion 505 by the input from the front end portion 3a.

  Therefore, by reducing the reaction force to the hood 3, the energy absorption performance of the hood 3 can be stabilized, and the load applied to the actuator 7a of the flip-up mechanism 7 can be reduced to operate the actuator 7a. Stabilization can be achieved. Further, it is possible to suppress damage to the front end portion 3a of the hood 3 at the time of malfunction and to improve the repair amount at the time of malfunction.

Further, as in the example shown in FIG. 4, since the front end 3a of the hood 3 and the radiator grille 4 are arranged close to each other, the gap between the both 3a and 4 is small, and the appearance quality is kept high. Can do.

As mentioned above, although embodiment and Example 1 of this invention were explained in full detail with reference to drawings, specific structure is not restricted to this Embodiment and Example 1, and does not deviate from the summary of this invention. A degree of design change is included in the present invention.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the cover member 12 is made of resin, and the cover member 12 is folded when the flip-up mechanism 7 is operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the cover member 12 may be formed of a material with low repulsion, such as rubber, and the cover member 12 may be elastically deformed with a low repulsion force when the hood 3 is flipped up. In this case, since the cover member 12 is restored, the repair cost can be further reduced.

  In the first embodiment, the cover member 12 as the reaction force reducing means is shown attached to the front end portion 3a of the hood 3. However, such a cover member may be provided on a grill such as the radiator grille 4. Alternatively, it may be attached to both the hood 3 and the radiator grill 4. In particular, when the cover member is formed of a low-repulsion elastic member as described above, it is easy to configure in this way.

Further, in the embodiment 1, when the flip-up of the hood 3, there is shown a structure jumping the hood lock 6 as a fulcrum, to apply to the structure in which the pivot point of the opening and closing of the hood is provided at a front end portion of the hood You can also.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (a) shows before the hood 3 bounces up, (b) shows at the time of the hood 3 bounce-up. ing. It is a perspective view which shows vehicle MB to which the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing of the action | operation of the vehicle front part structure of Example 1 of embodiment of this invention, (a) has shown before the hood 3 jumped up, (b) has shown the time at the time of the hood 3 flipping up. . FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a vehicle front structure as a reference example that can achieve the same object as that of the present invention, where (a) shows before the hood 3 is flipped up, and (b) shows the hood 3 jumped up. Shows the time. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a vehicle front structure as a reference example that can achieve the same object as that of the present invention, where (a) shows before the hood 3 is flipped up, and (b) shows the hood 3 jumped up. Shows the time.

Explanation of symbols

3 Hood 3a Front end 3b Rear end 4 Radiator grill 5 Car body 6 Hood lock 7 Bounce mechanism 7a Actuator (drive means)
11 Space 12 Cover member (reaction force reducing means)
12a Uekabehen 12b front wall piece 12c corners
MB vehicle

Claims (2)

A vehicle front structure in which a hood provided at the front portion of the vehicle is provided with a flip-up mechanism that raises the hood rear portion by a driving means with the hood front portion as a fulcrum,
In the front part of the vehicle, a grille is provided with a space interposed between the front part of the hood and the front part of the hood.
The space portion has a size such that the front portion of the hood and the grill do not directly interfere when the hood is flipped up,
A cover member that closes at least a portion of the space and is attached to at least one of the front portion of the hood and the grill;
The vehicle front part structure characterized in that the cover member is formed with a reaction force lower than that of the grill as a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force acting on the front part of the hood . 2. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein a front surface of the cover member facing the vehicle front is painted in the same color as one of the hood and the grill.

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