JP4831013B2 - Vehicle hood flip-up device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle hood flip-up device, and more particularly, to a technique for securing a space in an engine room by raising a vehicle hood at the time of a collision with a pedestrian and reducing an impact on a pedestrian.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vehicles have been developed in consideration of pedestrian safety by providing a shock absorption mechanism in a hood at the front of the vehicle assuming a collision with a pedestrian (a collision object).

  For example, there is a technique for securing a space in an engine room by lifting the rear side of a hood at the time of a collision with a pedestrian so that the pedestrian does not hit a hard part such as an engine when the pedestrian collides with the hood.

Specifically, at both end portions of the hood on the rear side of the vehicle, a link member having one end supported on the vehicle body side and the other end supported on the hood side is provided, and a hook portion formed on the link member is locked to the vehicle body side. Therefore, the link member is fixed to the vehicle body side at normal times, and when the pedestrian collides, the actuator is operated and the hanger provided on the link member is pressed to deform and lock the hook part connected to the hanger. And a configuration in which the actuator jumps up the hood from the hanger via the link member is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-249795 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the hook portion is deformed and the lock on the vehicle body side is released at the time of a pedestrian collision, for example, when returning a hood that has jumped up due to malfunction or the like, There was a problem that parts such as a hook part could not be reused.

  Further, in order to release the lock by deforming the hook portion, an actuator capable of outputting a large force is required.

  Furthermore, since a hanger or linkage is required as a member for releasing the lock, the number of parts is increased, the configuration is complicated, and the cost is increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to prevent the lock lever from being deformed when the hood is flipped up and to reuse it, and to lock it with a small force. It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicular hood flip-up device that can reduce the number of components and reduce the size and cost.

    In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a hood provided at the front portion of a vehicle and a rear portion of the hood, with one end pivoting toward the hood and the other end pivoting toward the vehicle body. A connecting member that is freely supported, a lock lever that locks the connecting member on the hood side or the vehicle body side, a collision detection unit that detects a collision between the vehicle and a collision object, and the vehicle by the collision detection unit A hood flip-up device comprising an actuator that raises an operating portion based on detection of a collision between the hood and a collided object to release the lock lever and then flips up the rear portion of the hood. The lock lever has a receiving piece portion that comes into contact with the operating portion, and the operating portion of the actuator comes into contact with the receiving piece portion to unlock the lock lever. The hood or a hood-side mounting member attached to the hood has a hood flip-up action portion that abuts against the hood-side attachment member, and the hood flip-up action portion is attached to the hood or the hood-side attachment member. A gap is formed between the lock release portion and the hood or the hood side mounting member so that the receiving piece portion of the lock lever is disposed when abutting.

   According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the unlocking portion and the hood flip-up action portion are disposed at an upper end portion of the operating portion, and the lock lever is provided on a hood side, and the hood The flip-up action part is formed above the lock release part.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the hood flip-up action portion of the operating portion is a protrusion protruding upward from the upper end portion of the operating portion.

    According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the unlocking portion and the hood flip-up action portion are disposed at an upper end portion of the operating portion, and the lock lever is provided on the hood side, and the hood Alternatively, a lower portion and a higher portion higher than the lower portion are formed on the hood-side mounting member, and when the hood is flipped up, the hood flip-up action portion of the operating portion is placed at a lower position of the hood or the hood-side mounting member. A contact portion is formed, and at the time of this contact, a gap is formed between the lock release portion of the operating portion and the high portion of the hood or the hood side mounting member to place the receiving piece portion of the lock lever. And

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fourth aspect, the lower portion and the higher portion are formed by providing a protrusion protruding downward on the hood or the hood side mounting member.

 According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the lock lever is rotatably provided on the hood side, and the unlocking portion of the operating portion is the lock lever of the lock lever. The lock between the connecting member and the hood or the vehicle body is released by rotating the lock lever in contact with the receiving piece.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the hood flip-up action portion is in contact with the hood or the hood-side attachment member, the receiving piece of the lock lever is provided between the lock release portion and the hood or the hood-side attachment member. Since the lock lever receiving piece is not pressed against the hood or the hood side mounting member and deforms, the hood can be lifted even if the lock is released due to malfunction or the hood is lifted. It can be restored and the lock lever can be reused.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the unlocking portion at the upper end of the operating portion of the actuator is brought into direct contact with the receiving piece of the lock lever, the actuator can be unlocked with a very small force.

  Further, since a special member for releasing the lock is not required separately, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified. And a clearance gap can be formed reliably by providing a level | step difference between a hood flip-up action part and a lock release part.

  According to invention of Claim 4, a clearance gap can be reliably formed by providing a level | step difference in the food | hood side.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since the lock lever is pivotable, it can be reliably locked / released with a simple structure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a vehicle equipped with a hood flip-up device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An engine room 2 is formed at the front of the vehicle body of the vehicle 1, and front fenders 4 and 6 are disposed on both side surfaces of the front of the vehicle body, respectively. Headlamps 8 and 10 are disposed at both ends in the vehicle width direction at the front end of the vehicle body of the vehicle 1, and a front bumper 12 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided below the headlamps 8 and 10.

  An impact sensor 14 (collision detection means) capable of detecting a collision with a pedestrian (a collision object) is provided in the front bumper 12, and this impact sensor 14 is electrically connected to an ECU 16 provided in the vehicle 1. Has been. The ECU 16 is electrically connected to various sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor (not shown), various devices, and the like, and has a function of controlling various devices based on information from the various sensors.

  A front hood (hood) 18 that can be opened and closed is provided on the upper surface of the engine room 2. When the front hood 18 is fully closed, a striker 18a provided at the front end of the front hood 18 is fixed by a latch 12a provided at an upper portion of the front bumper 12, and when opened, the front hood 18 is provided on both sides of the rear end in the vehicle width direction. The hood flip-up mechanisms 20 and 22 are used as fulcrums to open upward.

  2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the hood flip-up mechanism 20 provided on the left side of the vehicle is viewed from the inside of the vehicle. FIG. 2a is a piston type actuator, and FIG. 2b is a view using a cylindrical airbag type actuator. is there. FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. The hood flip-up mechanism 22 provided on the right side of the vehicle has the same configuration.

  The hood flip-up mechanism 20 includes an actuator 30 and a base bracket 40 that are fixed to the vehicle body, a hood bracket 50 that is a hood-side mounting member that is fixed to the front hood 18, and an intermediate that connects the hood bracket 50 and the base bracket 40. An arm (connecting member) 60, a restricting arm 61 for restricting the jumping amount of the hood bracket 50, and a lock lever 70 provided on the hood bracket 50 are configured.

  The actuator 30 described above has a cylindrical shape, and is fixed to the inner surface of the front fender 4 with the vehicle vertical direction as the axial direction. The actuator 30 includes a cylindrical piston (actuator) 74 extending in the coaxial direction inside a cylindrical outer portion 32, and a so-called explosive inflator 36 provided below the piston 74. I am doing.

  The piston 74 is provided in a state where the upper end portion protrudes upward from the outer shape portion 32. The actuator 30 is electrically connected to the ECU 16 and operates the inflator 36 in accordance with a signal from the ECU 16 to push the piston 74 upward.

  The base bracket 40 is a plate member that comes into contact with the flat portion of the vehicle body, and is fixed to the vehicle body by bolts (not shown). A hinge portion 44 extending upward is formed at the rear end of the base bracket 40.

  The hood bracket 50 is a plate member that is in contact with the lower surface of the front hood 18 and is fixed to the front hood 18 by bolts (not shown). A hinge portion 54 extending downward is formed at the front end of the hood bracket 50 and a hook portion 56 is formed at the rear end.

  The intermediate arm 60 is rotatably supported at its rear end by a hinge portion 44 of the base bracket 40 and at its front end by a hinge portion 54 of the hood bracket 50 via pins 62 and 64, respectively. That is, the intermediate arm 60 is supported at one end on the vehicle body side and at the other end on the front hood 18 side, and is rotatable in the vertical direction with the pins 62 and 64 at the one end and the other end as fulcrums.

  Further, a locking projection 57 is provided on the rear side of the intermediate arm 60, and the hook 56 of the hood bracket 50 is detachably locked to the locking projection 57. ing.

  The regulating arm 61 is rotatably supported at one end by the hinge portion 44 of the base bracket 40 and the other end by the pins 62 and 65 at the rear side of the hood bracket 50. A long hole 61a (shown in FIG. 9) is formed along the longitudinal direction on the other end side of the regulating arm 61, and a pin 65 is inserted into the long hole. The restriction arm 61 also has one end supported on the vehicle body side and the other end supported on the front hood 18 side, and is rotatable up and down about the pins 63 and 65 at the one end and the other end.

  The lock lever 70 is rotatably supported by the hood bracket 50 via a support pin 71 at the base end side. The lock lever 70 is formed with an engagement recess 70a as an engaged portion, and the engagement recess 70a is normally engaged with and disengaged from a lock pin 72 as an engagement portion projecting from the intermediate arm 60 described above. Freely engaged. By this engagement, the intermediate arm 60 is locked to the hood bracket 50 side.

  Further, a receiving piece portion 70b is integrally formed on the rotation end side of the lock lever 70 so as to be positioned on the extension of the actuator 30 in the axial direction. A torsion spring 73 is provided around the support pin 71 of the lock lever 70, and the lock lever 70 is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2 a by the urging force of the torsion spring 73, that is, the engagement recess 70 a is formed on the lock pin 72. It is biased in the direction of engagement.

By the way, as shown schematically in FIG. 4, a projecting portion 75 is integrally projected at the substantially central portion of the upper end of the piston 74 of the actuator 30, and the upper surface portion of the piston 74 is projected by the projecting portion 75. The lower portion 74a1 as the unlocking portion and the higher portion 74a2 as the hood flipping-up action portion higher than the lower portion 74a1 are formed. Receiving piece 70b of the lock lever 70 is spaced opposite the lower portion 74a1 of the piston 74.

  FIG. 5A shows a positional relationship among the piston 74 of the actuator 30, the receiving piece 70 b of the lock lever 70, and the front hood 18.

That is, the distance between the high portion 74a2 of the piston 74 of the actuator 30 and the front hood 18 or the lower surface portion side of the hood bracket 50 (hereinafter simply referred to as the lower surface portion side of the front hood 18) is X. When the distance between 74a1 and the lower surface portion side of the front hood 18 is Y, and the distance between the lower portion 74a1 of the piston 74 and the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70 is Z, the relationship of Z <X <Y It has become.

With this configuration, when the piston 74 of the actuator 30 rises upward, first, the lower portion 74a1 of the piston 74 contacts the receiving piece 70b of the lock lever 70 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 (c), the high position portion 74 a 2 of the piston 74 comes into contact with the lower surface side of the front hood 18. That is, the low-order part 74a1 of the piston 74 functions as a part for releasing the lock of the lock lever 70, and the high-order part 74a2 of the piston 74 functions as a part for jumping up the front hood 18.

When the high position portion 74a2 of the piston 74 comes into contact with the lower surface side of the front hood 18, as shown in FIG. 6, the receiving piece of the lock lever 70 is provided between the lower surface side of the front hood 18 and the lower position portion 74a1. A gap 76 for disposing the portion 70b is formed so that the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70 is not impacted against the lower surface side of the front hood 18 to be deformed.

  The hood flip-up mechanism 20 configured as described above collides with, for example, a pedestrian when the vehicle is traveling at a predetermined vehicle speed or higher, and when the collision with the pedestrian is detected by the impact sensor 14, the ECU 16 A predetermined signal is sent from the actuator 30 to the actuator 30, and the actuator 30 is activated to flip up the front hood 18.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle hood flip-up device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, when the front hood 18 is normally closed, the hood flip-up mechanism 20 is locked with the engagement recess 70a of the lock lever 70 engaged with the lock pin 72 of the hood bracket 50 as shown in FIG. .

  When the front hood 18 is opened by releasing the latch 12 a at the front end of the vehicle 1, the hood flip-up mechanism 20 is engaged with the engagement recess 70 a of the lock lever 70 and the lock pin 72 of the intermediate arm 60. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the intermediate arm 60 and the regulating arm 61 are integrated with the hood bracket 50, that is, the front hood 18 in the vehicle upward direction with the pin 62 as a fulcrum at the hinge portion 44 at the rear end of the base bracket 40. And turn.

  On the other hand, when the collision with the pedestrian is detected by the impact sensor 14 while the vehicle 1 is traveling at a predetermined vehicle speed or higher, a predetermined signal is sent from the ECU 16 to the actuator 30.

In response to the signal, the actuator 30 operates the inflator 36, thereby pushing the piston 74 upward. At this time, the front hood 18 is in a fully closed state by the latch 12a at the front end of the vehicle 1, and when the piston 74 is pushed upward, first, the lower portion 74a1 of the piston 74 is locked as shown in FIG. It contacts 70 receiving piece portions 70b. Further, when the piston 74 is further pushed up, the lock lever 70 rotates against the urging force of the torsion spring 73, and the engagement recess 70a of the lock lever 70 and the intermediate arm 60 as shown in FIG. The engagement with the lock pin 72 is released. When the piston 74 is further pushed up, the high-order portion 74a2 of the piston 74 comes into contact with the lower surface side of the hood bracket 50. At this time, since the engagement between the engagement recess 70a of the lock lever 70 and the lock pin 72 of the intermediate arm 60 has already been released, the rear side of the front hood 18 is flipped up by the piston 74 via the hood bracket 50. It is done.

  Specifically, when the hood bracket 50 receives an upward force by the piston 74, the intermediate arm 60 and the regulating arm 61 rotate counterclockwise as shown in FIG. At the same time, the hood bracket 50 rotates clockwise about the pin 64 with respect to the intermediate arm 60, and the rear portion of the front hood 18 is flipped upward as shown in FIG.

  Instead of the piston actuator 30 shown in FIG. 2a, a cylindrical airbag actuator 31 shown in FIG. 2b may be used.

  As the rear portion of the front hood 18 is flipped up in this way, the space between the front hood 18 and various devices such as the engine provided in the engine room 2 is expanded, and when a pedestrian collides with the front hood 18. Impact can be reduced.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the higher portion 74a2 of the piston 74 of the actuator 30 is, when the lower surface of the front hood 18 is in contact with the lower surface of the lower portion 74a1 and the front hood 18 of the piston 74 Since the gap 76 for arranging the receiving piece 70b of the lock lever 70 is formed between the receiving piece 70b and the side, the receiving piece 70b of the lock lever 70 is not pressed against the lower surface side of the front hood 18 and deformed. Even when the front hood 18 is lifted after the lock is released by the above or the like, the front hood 18 can be returned and the lock lever 70 can be reused.

Further, since the lower portion 74a1 of the upper end portion of the piston 74 of the actuator 30 is brought into direct contact with the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70, the actuator 30 can be unlocked with a very small force, and the lock is released. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the structure by reducing the number of parts. Then, by providing a step between the high-order part 74a2 and the low-order part 74a1 of the piston 74, the gap 76 can be reliably formed.

  Further, since the lock lever 70 is pivotable, it can be reliably locked / released with a simple structure.

In the first embodiment described above, the high-order part 74a2 and the low-order part 74a1 are formed by projecting the protrusion 75 of the piston 74 at the substantially central part of the upper end surface of the piston 74. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, as shown in FIG. 10, the projecting portion 75 may be displaced from the central portion of the upper end surface of the piston 74 by a predetermined distance side to project, thereby forming the higher portion 74a2 and the lower portion 74a1. .

According to this embodiment, the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70 is moved to the side of the central portion of the upper end surface of the piston 74 by the amount of the protrusion 75 displaced laterally from the central portion of the upper end surface of the piston 74 by a predetermined distance. The area of the piston 74 facing the lower portion 74a1 can be increased. Therefore, when the piston 74 is lifted, there is an advantage that the lower portion 74a1 of the piston 74 can be operated while being more reliably brought into contact with the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70.

  Instead of providing the protrusion 75 on the piston 74, the protrusion 80 may be provided on the lower surface side of the front hood 18 so as to face the substantially central portion of the upper end surface of the piston 74 as shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the lower surface side of the projecting portion 80 is the lower portion 80a, and the lower surface side of the front hood 18 is the higher portion 80b.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, it is possible to form the lower portion 90a and the higher portion 90b on the hood surface by forming a stepped portion 81 on the front hood 18.

  According to this embodiment, the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70 can be widely opposed to an area substantially half of the upper end surface of the piston 74. Therefore, when the piston 74 is lifted, there is an advantage that the upper end surface of the piston 74 can be operated while being more reliably brought into contact with the receiving piece portion 70b of the lock lever 70.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment mentioned above. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

The perspective view which shows the vehicle provided with the flip-up apparatus of the vehicle hood which is one embodiment of this invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing the vehicular hood jumping device of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 2A is a diagram using a piston type actuator, and FIG. 2B is a diagram using a cylindrical airbag type actuator. The top view which shows the flip-up apparatus of the vehicle hood of FIG. The perspective view which shows the head of the piston of the actuator of the flip-up apparatus of the vehicle hood of FIG. The figure which shows the hood jumping-up operation | movement by the piston of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a hood jumping operation by the piston of FIG. 4. The perspective view which shows the flip-up apparatus of the vehicle hood when the front part side of the hood of FIG. 1 is opened upward. The perspective view which shows a state when the rear part side of the food | hood hood flip-up apparatus of the vehicle hood of FIG. The side view which shows the flip-up apparatus of FIG. The perspective view which shows the head structure of the piston which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the hood structure which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the hood structure which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 14 ... Impact sensor (collision detection means), 18 ... Front hood (hood), 74 ... Piston (operation part), 30 ... Actuator, 50 ... Hood bracket (hood side attachment member), 60 ... Intermediate arm ( (Connecting member), 70 ... lock lever, 70a ... engagement recess (engaged part), 72 ... lock pin (engagement part), 74a2 ... low position part (lock release part), 74a1 ... high position part (hood jumping action) Part), 75 ... projection part, 76 ... gap, 80a, 90a ... low part, 80b, 90b ... high part, 81 ... step part.

Claims (6)

A hood provided at the front of the vehicle;
A connecting member located at the rear of the hood, with one end pivotally supported on the hood side and the other end pivotally supported on the vehicle body side;
A lock lever for locking the connecting member to the hood side or the vehicle body side;
A collision detection means for detecting a collision between the vehicle and a collision object;
An actuator that raises an operating portion based on detection of a collision between the vehicle and a collided object by the collision detection means to release the lock lever and then flips up the rear portion of the hood. A hood flip-up device,
The lock lever has a receiving piece portion that comes into contact with the operating portion,
The actuating portion of the actuator is in contact with the receiving piece portion to unlock the lock lever, and the hood or a hood side mounting member attached to the hood and a rear portion of the hood. Has a hood flipping up action part
When the hood flip-up action portion is in contact with the hood or the hood side mounting member, a receiving piece portion of the lock lever is disposed between the lock release portion and the hood or the hood side mounting member. A vehicular hood flip-up device, characterized in that a gap is formed. The lock release portion and the hood flip-up action portion are disposed at the upper end portion of the operating portion, and the lock lever is provided on the hood side,
The hood flip-up device according to claim 1, wherein the hood flip-up action portion is formed above the lock release portion. 3. The vehicular hood flip-up device according to claim 2, wherein the hood flip-up action portion of the operating portion is a protrusion protruding upward from an upper end portion of the operating portion. The lock release portion and the hood flip-up action portion are disposed at the upper end portion of the operating portion, and the lock lever is provided on the hood side,
The hood or the hood side mounting member is formed with a lower portion and a higher portion higher than the lower portion, and when the hood is flipped up, the hood flipping-up action portion of the operating portion is used as the hood or the hood side mounting member. Forming a clearance for disposing the receiving piece portion of the lock lever between the unlocking portion of the operating portion and the high portion of the hood or the hood-side mounting member. The vehicle hood flip-up device according to claim 1.   5. The vehicular hood flip-up device according to claim 4, wherein the lower portion and the higher portion are formed by providing a protrusion projecting downward on the hood or the hood side mounting member.  The lock lever is rotatably provided on the hood side, and the unlocking portion of the operating portion contacts the receiving piece portion of the lock lever to rotate the lock lever, whereby the connecting member The vehicle hood flip-up device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the lock between the hood side and the vehicle body side is released.

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